Whoa! RPM RC has just about every electric Traxxas vehicle covered! This new cover is for ALL ELECTRIC Traxxas Slash, Stampede, Bandit, Rustler. This inclues the XL-5 and VXL models. They carry their limited lifetime warranty and are only about $7! We are big fans of RPM and their dedication to bashers!
The full press release will be posted in the NEW Product Forum.
Some new products from Muchmore Racing are coming in. First up is this Multi-Wheel Balancer. It uses specially designed magnets to balance racing wheels, two way adapters to fit all on-road and off-road 1/10th scale wheels, and comes with a caddy for shafts and adapters.
A few years back I was having issues getting around a dirt track when someone suggested I try to balance my wheels. I honestly didn’t think it would really make that much difference, but I couldn’t of been more wrong. Having balanced wheels is night and day! From accelerating to cornering, it’s really an important step. If you are looking to improve your driving, make sure you get balanced!
The full press release is in the NEW Product Forum if you need all the awesome details!
The Duratrax people have tossed their hat into the ever growing LiPo Battery ring. The packs are protected inside an impact and puncture resistant ABS case. They are wired for balancing with gold-plated bullet connectors for all terminals. They can be bought with a variety of leads such as Deans or the standard DTXC2211. I find the bullet connections right to the pack interesting.
The full press release is in the NEW Product Forum if you need all the awesome details!
This has to be one of the slowest news weeks in recent memory. But aha! The Cubbster can always dig up a little something to rant about. (even if it is a “nice rant”)
Horizon/Losi pre-released some hype on a “top secret” price leader being introduced at the end of the month. Official release date is 08.29, but if you sign up for their super dope newsletter, you get the scoop on this secret model one day early! Hobby shop price is going to be $179, making it more affordable than most Losi offerings, and right in the heart of Traxxas price territory.
It’s nice to see Horizon/Losi getting a grasp on today’s internet based advertising model. Very few of the crusty old school rc companies even know how to approach the young internet crowd, but Horizon has obviously kept their eyes open, and have learned from other progressive companies on how to reach out to the young one’s. By “hyping” this new “secret” model via a pre-release announcement, they are getting a lot of bang for the buck advertising wise, in addition to actually getting all those X-Box head youngsters attention, which is incredibly hard to do. Anyways, kudos to Horizon for getting a clue about todays advertising, they are just beginning to tap the potential.
But, with such an announcement, comes one more nail in the coffin of the beloved rc trade show, and one less hot new model to make a splash there. Over the past half decade, most all rc companies save little, to no, new products to debut at RCX, Vegas or I-Hobby. It makes you wonder why manufactures even bother to pay the big money it takes for a booth, rental cars, hotel rooms, food, and airfare for any of the trade shows, when they can get more publicity with a simple email/press release to the on-line mags. There will become a point, perhaps not too far in the future, where the big dogs, Horizon and Great Planes, no longer decide to pop the big bucks to participate on the trade show circuit. At this point, based on their return vs investment that they currently get from trade shows, I would not blame them. And, the more they get it together with their internet based advertising, the less important the trade shows will be to them. Once GP and Horizon pull out of the big shows, the final death of the shows won’t be far behind.
Because this is a very short Cub-Report, I’d like to close with some thank you’s. First off, huge thanks to Brian at BigSquid, for making the report possible, and more importantly, for dealing with the bulk of the hate mail from irate manufactures every Monday afternoon. Next, special thanks to all your readers (both Bob and Jim). Without you two guys, the only people reading this article would be the legal departments for basically every rc company in the industry. Lastly, I’d like to thank those “rc insiders” that help write the report each week by emailing me “behind the scenes” info. Strangely, these people will tell me how messed up their new truck is, yet call and leave a 10 minute curse filled voicemail to me after I put it in print. Thanks guys!
Support your LHS’s and local tracks!
Your Cub-Reporter
While normally we only post Fan Pictures for the Big Squid RC Contest here on the front page that have Big Squid RC stickers on them, these pictures from TitaniumXRC were just too beautiful not to post! I left them at a pretty hi-res also for people to check out.
Keep those awesome pictures coming! Hopefully TitaniumXRC will find some stickers for his next amazing shots!
For those of you that own a Traxxas Slash, and since that seems like anyone into RC, Pro-Line Racing has you covered! I can’t believe how this truck is taking off, and now you can finally get your paint out and look different. The Traxxas body is called the Hardcore Slash. This body is built to be durable and ready for action. It’s got some cool details like roll bar, radiator, rear shocks and wing and everything you would expect from Pro-Line You know you need this! Wait for it….. GO!
Welcome once again to another exciting and infuriating Cub Report!
BigSquidRC.com’s top man, Brian, is not at the top of his game. He was actually hospitalized this week, but seems to be doing better now. If you get a chance, shoot him a “get well soon” note to brian (at sym) bigsquidrc.com . We need to keep Brian well and healthy enough to keep my checks coming. Thanks! 
Also in BigSquid news- aspiring models are needed. If you are, or know of a pretty lady that would like to get in some trade show modeling experience, shoot Brian an email as he is looking for “booth-babes” for this falls I-Hobby International Hobby Expo in Chicago. If you know someone, help Brian have the coolest booth at the show, and help a young lady gain a nice reference on her resume.
I can’t help it, I’ve got Olympic fever. I just can’t get enough! Phelps, Liukin, and others- how can I resist? It just looks so damn good in HD. Seems I’m not the only one, as the ratings of this years Olympics from Beijing are through the roof. But what does this have to do with rc? Not a damn thing other than it’s nice to see a well organized event come off as a huge success, and I’ve got some results from the question I asked last week about who us Americans would like to see represent us if rc racing was actually an Olympic sport. The top 3 vote getter’s from BigSquid readers are….
Honorable mentions- Brian “Dirtinator” Kinwald, Scott Hughes, and Billy “Mr Versatile” Fischer.
3. Mark Pavidis- Perennial front runner Pavidis garnered 3′rd place in the votes. Mark would certainly be a good pick for the team, as he has nerves of steel, and really picks up the pace the bigger the event is. He doesn’t back down from anybody, forcing passes when he has to. And perhaps his largest asset? Car set-up, he’s simply a master at making the most out of his equipment.
2. Ryan Maifield- AE’s latest hotshot has been tearing a wide swath through the pro ranks, winning nearly everything he enters. Driven, determined, and even a bit cocky, Ryan drives the tires off anything he races, and isn’t afraid to huck it huge to make a tricky pass. And, he doesn’t just like to win races, he prefers to CRUSH the field. Confidence is a dangerous thing, and he has lots of it right now.
1. Getting the most votes for our theoretical “Olympic RC Team America” is- Adam Drake. The Drake is not some pretty boy model type, he looks just like you and me. But what he is, is perhaps America’s top racer at the moment. The Drake is known for incredible corner speed, but less known, and more importantly, he is the king at finding good lines. If you want to find the very best line through any section (and have the skill to follow it), just watch where The Drake goes. Likable, friendly, and smart, The Drake deserves his title as being the best liked racer in America, and would represent a Team America in only the best light.
Of course there are tons of super talented drivers left off this list, but the most surprising to me was that not one carpet guru got made the top 3. Just goes to show that BigSquid readers, along with most Amercian rc’ers, know the top dirt guys better than the top carpet guys.
Did you tune in live to Speed TV this weekend and catch the CORR race? Gotta love CORR’s tv package this year with Speed, as you can’t beat Live! Rockstar/Makita/Kal-Gard’s Kyle LuDuc pwned Pro 4, Rockstar Energy/BFGoodrich’s Rob MacCachren took Pro 2, and BOSS Plow/Kumho/Amsoilʼs Chad Hord took Pro Lites. And what the Heck does this have to do with rc? Well, Thunder Tiger/AE unveiled their new rc CORR truck at the event, that’s what!
Dubbed the SC8, which stands for “short course”, the new AE rc CORR truck is based off their extremely fast RC8 nitro platform. The trucks look phenomenal, very scale, even down to the tires and mud-flaps. But will it be a bigger hit than the Traxxas Slash? Oh, it’ll be a hit alright, but don’t expect to see as many of them as the Slash. The Slash has a much better price point, and, it’s electric, which is all the rage now. I’m also disappointed to see the SC8 being a nitro, as it’s obvious the industry is swinging hard to electric now, but, I’m impressed to see AE jump into the “CORR” truck game so quickly. Industry rumor is that word about the Slash leaked out over a year ago from guys within the CORR ranks to the Thunder Tiger/AE camp, giving AE a bit of a “head’s up” to get a similar truck to market. Truth? Who knows.
Not to be outdone, Horizon/Losi released info on their 8th scale nitro buggy based Oval car this week. Dubbed the L8ight, this is what you get when you take one of their 8th scale off-road buggys and convert it for oval use. Does it look trick? Sorta. Will it suddenly be the boost that dirt oval needs so desperately? I don’t think so. But, it will open a lot of eyes, and provide lots of enjoyment to owners. I’ve seen converted 8th scale dirt oval cars race, and they look like a blast! Very realistic, lots of roost, tons of fun!
Now, if Thunder Tiger/AE and Horizon/Losi can FINALLY release their BL/Li-po 8th scale RTR’s! I-Hobby, you’ll see. 
As previously posted by Brian on the main page, Tekin’s former sales and marketing man, “Scooter” has opened up a new BL and Li-po company. Scooter has been a warm face to see at many a race, and I personally wish him the best on his new business venture. The BL/Li-po sector is a hard one to break into, but Scooter is a down to Earth guy that knows what racers are looking for. I am looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table.
Lastly, Red Bull Cola tastes awesome! It tastes best well chilled, just like normal Red Bull. It is quite strong, but very pleasing. If you can find a can, it’s worth a sip or two.
Till next week, support your local tracks and LHS’s, and check BigSquid daily for the latest and greatest!
Your Cub Reporter
This is awesome! RPM RC has started to support the big boys! And by big I mean 5th scale. These are the new a-arm sets for the HPI 5B. Not that they do not come in these colors, these have been dyed. I also can’t believe that they can look that good dyed. I so have to try that. Anyway, if you own a 5B, your bashing world just got a little better!
The full press release will be posted in the NEW Product Forum.
Here is the link for the Hi-Def version of the video I recently uploaded. This is from the first Lynwood Dragway event of the year. It was also the first event shot with the new Hi-Def camcorder! The video is zipped, and around 40 meg. It’s in mp4 format. If you don’t think you can watch such a video, check out the online version HERE! It’s in flash format. Enjoy!
R/C Drag Racing – Lynwood IL, Midwest RC Drag Racing Series Event – 40meg. MP4 format. (please right click, and save as)
First off, I would like to personally congratulate all our French readers (as if.. LOL) on their country’s SILVER medal in the men’s 4×100 swimming relay.
Experts seem not to know why ratings are way up for this years summer Olympics. Of course, if you are actually watching them at home, you know the reason, HD baby! Finally, loads and loads of great looking HD programming.
Back to what we’re here for- rc news!
MaxAmps batteries is one of the true “sleepers” in our industry. Based out of the climatic Pacific Northwest, a virtual rc industrial dead zone, they’ve gone from a young man’s dream, to selling more lithium based packs than the nearly all the “big” names combined. And, most impressively, they’ve done it without selling their souls to GP and Horizon.
This week, MA made some big waves, and in more ways than one. The first being they finally got a ROAR approval on their lithium race pack. This was not easy for MA, or at least not as easy as it was for other more mainstream companies that were already in ROAR’s “good ole’ boys” network. Regardless of the political mess behind their approval, the new MA packs are gnarly, and are rated for 35C constant discharge.
MA also introduced their new “leaded” packs- Lithium based packs that come with lead weights under the battery pack. This is something no other company has done in the industry, and it’s a great idea for a couple reasons. Lead added to the packs not only help keep your chassis balanced, but also help meet the minimum weight requirements for sanctioned racing. Props to MA for coming up with something original that can actually come in handy at the track.
Seeing as how this is an Olympic week, I’m asking BigSquidRC readers to send in their votes to “America’s Dream Olympic RC Team”. If the summer Olympics actually held rc car racing as an event, what 3 American drivers would YOU like to see representing the red, white, and blue? Shoot your replies to brian@bigsquid.com , and I’ll post your results in next weeks Cub Report.
Btw, last weeks report was probably the most positive and “nicest” report I’ve ever done, yet it yielded the most love/hate mail. Not sure what’s up with that, but keep the emails coming, it proves that at least someone reads this drivel.
On a slightly different note, this week, there has been a lot of talk about what constitutes “C” ratings on Li-po’s, and where capacity ratings come from.
Here’s the scoop for all you lowly rc industry insider wanna-be’s.
Capacity of a lithium based pack, is typically determined at the point of origin by design perimeters. Some underpaid, goofy toothed, marble mouthed engineer in China will sit there and calculate predicted capacity based upon how he has designed the cell. This is typically way off, as much as 20% from what I’ve seen first hand, in the actual end result.
And how is end result/real world capacity tested? By discharging a cell at a 1C rate. For instance, if you are testing a 1000 mah pack, you discharge it at a 1 amp rate, and if the pack meets specification, it will put out 1000 mah. This rarely happens, so it’s really up to the end seller (the reseller/rebranders putting their stickers on the cells) to test the cells they get in, and make sure “real” capacity is listed, regardless of what their manufacture in China says it should be. The better resellers do NOT list capacity as what the manufacture tell them it will be, they list it after their own testing at a 1C discharge.
Oh and, regardless if it’s a Lithium based back, a Ni-mh, or Ni-cad, the higher the discharge rate, the less mah the pack is going to put out. Like Duh. So if you think your Joe Blow’s Battery Shack 5000 mah pack (at 1C) should still put out 5000 mah under a 100 amp load (20C), you are living in a fantasy world- put down the crack pipe, and realize that you can not dodge the rules of physics.
Some consumers are wondering where those wonderful “20C Constant Discharge” ratings come from- just how is that determined? Once again, leave it to the Cub to educate the world. Here’s the scoop. It’s determined just like the capacity is for the vast majority of resellers! Some greasy, overworked, communist China-man mathematically predicts what the maximum constant discharge current should be based on cell design.
But here’s the kicker. This “rating” isn’t one where the cells will live very many cycles, this is just a prediction of what they can theorhetically survive one time. So, if your Joe Blow’s Battery Shack 1000 mah pack is rated at 20C, it will (maybe?) survive a 20 amp discharge. But, don’t expect it to survive a 20C charge very many times without a raging chemical fire developing.
From what I’ve seen first hand in the industry, you are lucky to get 5 to 10 discharges on most cells at it’s maximum constant discharge rate (based on the ratings the overseas manufactures state on their cells), with insane discharge temps and pee poor voltage. Now, that’s not to say that some American re-badgers don’t test their cells, and adjust their stated “max continuous C ratings” accordingly, as
that will vary with each company. But as far as what I’ve seen in the industry, those are far and few between. Most just print the rating that their manufacture gives them, and now you know where the manufacture “rating” comes from.
So, here is what I’ve proposed for a long time. A standardized “maximum continuous C” discharge rating SHOULD be determined this way.
1. No “horseshoe” in discharge curve at this rating (a horseshoe looking discharge curve indicates that a given cell can not handle the load applied until it warms up enough to do so)
2. Maximum temp of 140 F under given charge rate (temps above this start entering the danger area for most common chemistry/designed Li-po cells)
3. Must maintain at least 3.2 volts per cell under this load (anything below this also nears the a danger point for most common Li-po type cells)
4. Should be able to survive this rated discharge at least 10 times without thermal runaway or catastrophic cell damage (what’s the point if it can only do it once?)
So if you are in doubt of whether a certain Li-po pack can do 20C (or 30 or 35), what do you do? Only buy from reputable battery companies with awesome customer service. Great customer service is the single most important factor when buying Li-po packs (or nearly anything for that matter)! That way, if you do have a problem, or have a pack that will not meet your performance demands, they will take
care of you.
One last note on Lithium cells this week. Because of rule changes for 2009, full size Formula One racing will be forced to partially recover energy normally wasted during braking, and use it to help accelerate the car (KERS). So what the heck does that have to do with rc? Well, the Formula One teams spend BILLIONS each year on development, and now, part of that budget will be used on making sure their Lithium packs used for this regenerative braking are the best on the planet. If an rc company can get an inside scoop on the details on the cells they are using, they are sure to blow away anything commercially available right now. Of note, the Red Bull F1 team has already had to evacuate one of their buildings due to a Lithium battery fire. But, with the budgets the F1 teams have, they will solve the inherent dangers and performance downsides. F1 racing will get further with Lithium cell development in a few months than the rc world will in decades.
Hopefully that tech shows up in the rc world sooner rather than later.
That’s it for this week folks, be sure and get your daily dose of BigSquidRC.com , support your local LHS’s and tracks, and shoot us an email with the top 3 guys on your American “Olympic RC Dream Team”!
Cubby
Electric RC guys, fear not! Outerwears now has you covered. By using the Outerwears Pre-Filter, you will keep out a lot of the dirt out, and keep your electric motor running smoother and better! It has elastic and zip tie closures around the wires and comes in black, blue, red, yellow, orange, purple and lime green!
Outerwears also has a special version for the Hot Bodies D8 which has a reinforced hole in the top for a durable and precise fit.
Make sure to visit the official Outerwears website for more information.
Here is the info sheen on the new Parma 1/8th scale R12 Nitro Race Body. It’s got a closed cockpit, tons of aerodynamic improvements and even has body stiffeners. If you are a on-road rc racer, this is probably on your ‘to get’ list! Click the image for the full version.
Just wanted to post up a few pictures of the winners from the Breakneck Bash at the Lynwood RC Dragway. Anyone who came out to support the RC Drag Racing scene is a winner in my book!
Congrats to all the winners! Check out their cars and sweet winners plaques. (Provided by Big Squid RC)
HPI Blitz
Tactic 2.4Ghz Radio
HPI Savage Flux
Novak HP Pro Brushless Conversion
Tekin RS Pro Redline
Team Overdose Car Stand
RC Lights - LED Combo
Traxxas Slash 4x4
Team Associated - SC18
All Other Reviews HERE!
May 28-30th, 2010
NO LIMIT RC!
June 4-6, 2010
LargeScaleRC.com POWER JAM 2010
Your Event Here!
Midwest RC Drag Racing
