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DIRT O

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Seriousl
128 RADIO CONTROL CAR ACTION JUNE 2004 129
 6
DIRT OVAL: OUTLAWS OF RC

Many EDM racers carefully cut and fold

sheet Lexan to make their own bodies, but
McAllister Racing makes this far more realis-
tic (and convenient) shell. The side and roof
sections are still made out of sheet Lexan,
but the inner section is a more traditional
vacuum-molded piece. Zegers RC Graffixx
whipped up the awesome paint job.

5
EASTERN DIRT 4
MODIFIED
1
These wild-looking machines are favorites
among current dirt-oval racers, and at
some races, their numbers rival those of
the sprint cars. With their open-wheel
design, serious on-track action is
inevitable, and the smaller the track, the
more intense and insane the competition
gets. My EDM is just a slightly modified
1 CAMBER SETTINGS. The base 3 REAR STEER. I race this EDM on a 5 RIDE HEIGHT. This EDM sees
Losi Triple-X buggy. Purpose-built dirt-oval
setup for the Triple-X is great on very small, tight track. To help it get action on a relatively rough, tight
chassis are available for this class and
any dirt track, including dirt ovals, around the corners, I dialed in track. If your track is smooth, you
so are conversion kits such as the but because we’re only turning left, “rear steer.” To do this, I left the can try slamming the car down any
Custom Works Intimidator 10; but on we can make a few tweaks. The rear hub in its most rearward posi- number of ways. The best and,
less-than-perfect, bumpy tracks, a con- camber on the left front wheel is tion and the right rear hub in the unfortunately, the most time-con-
verted buggy can more than hold its own set at -3 degrees. The tighter the middle position. If I want the car to suming method is to insert spacers
and is often the vehicle of choice. At track and the harder the car cor- come around even more aggres- inside the shock and on the shock
most tracks, they have two classes of ners, the more camber you need. sively, I’ll move the right rear hub shaft below the piston. You can
EDMs—one for gearbox-equipped cars The spring at this corner is also the all the way forward. Another way to also lay the shocks down by using
like our Losi and the Custom Works stiffest of the four. get more aggressive steering is to the outermost holes on the arms
set the car up with 1 or 2 degrees and the innermost holes on the
Intimidator 10 and another class for
direct-drive cars like the regular Custom
2 LEFT BIAS. Oval cars work better of toe-out. This makes the car less shock tower, but this will affect the
with as much weight on the left stable going down the straight, but car’s handling. Many racers fabri-
Works Intimidator kit. As in other types of side as possible; this is referred to it will turn into corners with much cate new shock towers and use
racing, these two classes are further bro- as a “left bias.” Although reposi- more authority. touring-car-size shocks or front
ken down into stock and modified tioning the battery would work buggy shocks all the way around.
(power) categories. best, I wanted this buggy to be 4 BODY MOUNTS. With a little cre-
able to return to normal off-road ative trimming, the McAllister EDM 6 SLIPPER SETUP. To improve the
duty, so I just moved the Novak XXL body fits the Losi’s stock body Triple-X’s acceleration out of the

MODIFIED receiver to the left side with GT7

ESC and left the pack centered on
the chassis.
mounts perfectly. The rear of the
body clips to the wing mount, and
the front slips underneath the
corners, tighten the slipper almost
completely. Racers often run with-
out any slipper on tracks that offer

TERN DIRT shock tower and onto the front

body mount.
consistently high traction.

AS
130 RADIO CONTROL CAR ACTION

E
DIRT OVAL: OUTLAWS OF RC

Zegers RC Graffixx was again called into action, and I 2

chose another body from McAllister Racing—the
Hagerstown late model. Another good shell that’s worth
checking out is Parma’s Oval Outlaw. Both bodies are
200mm and fit gas and electric touring cars. If traction
is lacking, a Lexan side dam can be added as long as the
car’s overall height doesn’t exceed 11 inches (says
ROAR rules). 1

LATE MODEL
This is the real surprise of the group. My late-model car is a
Factory Team TC3 with Associated’s rally car conversion. The
result is a completely tricked out and dialed late model. You
could opt for a purpose-built car, but this late-model setup
gives up nothing to the competition. With its sealed drive
train and durable shaft drive, it’s a natural. The rally conver-
sion stretches the TC3 out to a 200mm-wide stance, and the 4
longer shock shafts bump up the suspension travel. If you
want to race in the late-model class, this is the setup you 6
need to find victory lane, but even a standard TC3 can work 5
well; just unscrew each shock eye a few turns to increase
suspension travel for the bumpy sections.

1 DIRT SHIELDS. With all four wheels spinning out in the corners. Before I 4 CUT TIRES. The tires of choice for left side (front and rear), I almost
going, this late model tosses a seri- take to the drivers’ stand for my the late model are foams from always start with zero camber and
ous amount of dirt around. To keep Main, I take one hot lap, and then, if Trinity’s TRC line. TRC includes self- dial in positive camber, according to
as much of it out of the car as pos- I need to, I quickly adjust the APC adhesive sidewall protectors that how the tires are wearing. If the
sible, I taped a Lexan shield to the with a turn of a screwdriver. More really help these soft tires to with- insides of the tires wear faster than
left side of the chassis. Another than once, this speedo made the dif- stand the abuse that dirt tracks dish the outsides, I dial in 1 or 2 degrees
small shield in front of the on/off ference between holding my own out. In front, I went with 26mm-wide of camber.
switch prevents it from getting and barely holding on. tires, and in the rear, 28mm tires. If
fouled with dirt. Also note that the the car pushes, I might put a 26mm 6 TWO DIFFS. Both of the gearboxes
switch is mounted in the far 3 MORE MOTOR. Full-on mod motors tire on the left rear. To increase for- on this TC3 are equipped with ball
right/rear corner and as far away have been the hot ticket for 4WD ward bite, I used a sharp hobby differentials, but many other setups
from the flying stuff as possible. I dirt oval cars, but their speeds are a knife to cut slashes across each tire. are possible. In addition to the obvi-
dressed up the Lexan with carbon- little over the top for most tracks. ous front-one-way setup, try a spool
fiber sticker material from XXX-Main Stock motors are fine, but these cars 5 SETUP TRICKS. Like most oval cars, in front, or, for ballistic acceleration,
Racing. can handle more power. The new the late model works well with a stiff bolt a spool into the rear diff and
crop of 19-turn motors provides the right front spring. It prevents the use a one-way in front.
2 SPEEDO. With its Adjustable Power perfect balance. I selected the new front from digging in too much dur-
Control (APC), the LRP Quantum Pro Reedy Spec 19, which, with its cool ing hard cornering. To help the car
Sport is the perfect choice for this flame motif, won me over on looks come off the corners well and not
dirt-oval machine. Just as in full-size alone. Reedy’s new mill has laydown push into the wall, I use a soft left
dirt-oval racing, track conditions can brushes, Quad-mag technology, front spring. If the car still pushes, I
change drastically during a night of adjustable timing, ball bearings and install a stiffer right rear spring. I set
racing; the previous round’s traction more than enough power to get this right front camber at -5 degrees and
can vanish and leave your car car sideways.

E MODEL
the right rear at -2 degrees. On the

132 RADIO CONTROL CAR ACTION

LAT
DIRT OVAL: OUTLAWS OF RC

The Enforcer’s body comes in pieces that, when assem-

bled, make for one slick-looking, realistic sprinter. The
two side panels have header-pipe details, and the left
side has a molded-in starter motor. Zegers RC Graffixx
did the painting, and I added the popular Custom
Works Speedway hood to increase front downforce.
Custom Works offers a ton of other cool bodies you
can check out on its website.

SPRINT CAR 1
Sprinters are the quintessential dirt-oval cars; with their
open-wheel design and huge wings, they just scream
“Action!” Here’s a Custom Works Pro Comp Enforcer
chassis that has probably won more RC sprint car races
than all the other designs put together. This direct-drive
car is an absolute rocket. Though direct drive is more 2
common, there are also classes for gearbox-equipped 5
sprinters. Custom Works offers a conversion called
“Enforcer 10” that will convert an old-style RC10 into a 4
sprinter; but that setup is now out of date and is being
replaced by a new gearbox kit—the Enforcer GBX—that’s
based on the much more current Team Associated B3.
This new car will be offered as a complete kit and not as
a conversion. For EDM fans, an Intimidator GBX will also
soon be on hobby-shop shelves.

1 THE CAGE. The Enforcer has a sturdy nylon roll cage 3 MOTOR AND BATTERIES. Sprint cars are well 5 PRECISION STEERING SYSTEM. Instead of the bell-
that is mounted on a flat graphite chassis. I dyed the known for being over-powered, and this sprinter crank setup used in many RC cars, the Enforcer has a
cage pieces black using Rit clothing dye (we keep lives up to that reputation with a Team Orion dyno- rack and sliding arm system that is slop free and, as
finding more RC uses for this!). The cage arrives in tuned Core Stock RS motor and some very nasty a result, very precise. Since there isn’t a servo-saver, I
several pieces, and the completed setup is relatively Peak Racing PowerFlo batteries. The voltage on added a Kimbrough unit to the servo. Up front, I can
strong, but resist the temptation to crank all of the these things is just incredible. To keep the front adjust caster by switching mounts. The range of
hardware down extra tight because if you do, you’ll wheels on terra firma at least some of the time, adjustment is from 15 to 25 degrees in 5-degree
risk breaking it or tweaking the chassis. A wrap of the Enforcer’s motor is mounted in front of the rear increments. If you have a hard time keeping a handle
electricians’ tape hides the metal turnbuckles that wheels in the mid-chassis position. on the car while it’s going down the straight, try 25
connect the tail section to the main cage. degrees of caster. Just keep in mind that this sprinter
4 4-WHEEL INDEPENDENT SUSPENSION. Unlike a will really push coming off the corners.
2 FAST FOAMS. I set the Enforcer up with foam tires, full-size sprint car, the Custom Works car has
which are generally the hot setup at most tracks. 4-wheel independent suspension. A solid rear 6 DIRECT DRIVE. The Enforcer’s direct-drive system
Foam tires offer tons of grip and weigh less than axle might have been more true to scale, but the is super-efficient and incredibly fast. The diff
rubber tires. The reduction in rotational mass is Enforcer is a racing machine more than a model, accepts standard spur gears, and you can use 48-
instantly noticeable on the track. The tires’ tread and out on the track, the design speaks for itself. or 64-pitch gears. The motor is mounted in front of
pattern further increases traction, and Custom Aluminum, threaded-body shocks are at each cor- the rear axles on a machined-aluminum mount,
Works offers tires in a variety of compounds. The ner; Custom Works’ new GBX cars will feature and the two sides of the diff housing have the
stick-on wheel discs really finish off the rims and larger touring-car-size shocks. shock and suspension arm mounts machined in.
give them a real dirt-oval look. The front wheels The fit and finish on these and all Custom Works
spin on supersmooth ball bearings.

INT CAR pieces are truly first-rate.

134 RADIO CONTROL CAR ACTION

SPR
DIRT OVAL: OUTLAWS OF RC

Gettin’ sideways
CONCLUSION
If you want to do something fast, fun and different with
RC, get into dirt oval. No dirt oval nearby? No problem.
A dirt-oval track can be incorporated into almost any
You’ve seen the hardware. Are you ready to go racing? Here off-road track. You don’t have a specialized dirt-oval
are some hot sites to satisfy your dirt-oval jones until Sunday. car? You don’t need one. If you have an off-road car
McAllisterRacing.com: no company is
more committed to dirt-oval bodywork and can turn left, you can race dirt oval (but once you
than McAllister. From late models to sprint get hooked, you’re sure to build a left-turn-only rig!).
cars, they’re all here. So now there’s no excuse; see you at the track, and get
sideways!

s o u r c e s
CUSTOM WORKS TEAM LOSI distributed by
(704) 489-8147; Horizon Hobby Inc.
customworksrc.com. (800) 338-4639;
LRP distributed by teamlosi.com;
RCCarAction.com: in addition to Team Associated. horizonhobby.com.
links to all the sites described MCALLISTER RACING TEAM ORION INC.
(928) 714-1799; (714) 694-2812;
DirtOval.com: this is the pre- here, you’ll find a complete team-orion.com.
mcallisterracing.com.
mier site for dirt-oval dudes; it track directory to help you find PARMA/PSE TRC (732) 635-1600;
teamtrinity.com.
covers a comprehensive list of a dirt oval track near you. (440) 237-8650;
parmapse.com. XXX-MAIN RACING
subjects, and its message (877) 744-6793;
PEAK PERFORMANCE
board sees a lot of traffic. (714) 692-8533; xxxmain.com

There is also a great link to Worldofoutlawsracing.com: this is the offi- peakmotors.com. ZEGERS RC GRAFFIXX
REEDY a division of Team (561) 988-5411;
other dirt-oval links that are cial site of the World of Outlaws series. If zegersrcgraffixx.com.
Associated.
worth checking out. you want inspiration for your sprinter,
TEAM ASSOCIATED
check out this site devoted to the full-size (714) 850-9342;
teamassociated.com;
racecars. rc10.com.