Spec Slash Racing

[Arise0185]

Any spec slash racers on here?

I've been bitten by the racing bug, and most of my RC time these days is getting in practice laps at the local indoor carpet track, or racing at the Friday night off road events.

Spec slash is an appealing class because it's so limited in terms of what mods you can do, greatly reducing the cost of entry to have a competitive rig. It's also great fun to race because nobody really takes it that seriously.

I picked up a used 2wd brushed slash for $90 (came with 2s lipo battery), then have done the following mods:

• 40 wt shock oil all around $8?
• springs from slash 4x4, white w/ black stripe (stiffer than 2wd) $10
• 86t spur gear (stock is 90t) $3
• 8mm travel limiting spacers all around $free
• Electrical tape the outer edge of front tires $free
• S1 compound tires in rear $30?
• Savox black edition servo $70
• Futaba 4px transmitter and receiver $125

 

[razorrc]

They let you change the servo and radio?

If they let you gear up, that helps. Also a slop of bad horsie gear locking diff grease. New body will drive better if that's allowed.

 

[Bustedaw11]

I've got a good friend that races spec slash. Or did for a couple years.
There are a whole lot of slick tricks that the more experienced guys use from what I've heard to gain an advantage.
I'm sure that is on a track by track basis for sure like with anything.
I love the idea of spec class myself. Wish they'd use a better platform such as an associated pro2 though.

 

[gotnitro]

Any spec slash racers on here?

I've been bitten by the racing bug, and most of my RC time these days is getting in practice laps at the local indoor carpet track, or racing at the Friday night off road events.

Spec slash is an appealing class because it's so limited in terms of what mods you can do, greatly reducing the cost of entry to have a competitive rig. It's also great fun to race because nobody really takes it that seriously.

I picked up a used 2wd brushed slash for $90 (came with 2s lipo battery), then have done the following mods:

40 wt shock oil all around $8?
8mm travel limiting spacers all around $free
Electrical tape the outer edge of front tires $free
S1 compound tires in rear $30?
Savox black edition servo $70
Futaba 4px transmitter and receiver $125

Racing was my thing but never SCT's. They sound like geriatric empty milk jugs struggling to make it down a straight. When 1/8th scale buggy's or truggy's bite, now you've got a problem. Keep it goin man!

 

[Arise0185]

I forgot to mention that I also have the 4x4 traxxas springs installed on the shocks, which are stiffer than the 2wd springs.

They let you change the servo and radio?

If they let you gear up, that helps. Also a slop of bad horsie gear locking diff grease. New body will drive better if that's allowed.

Yes, both local series allow servo and radio, surprisingly. I think I saw your post on RCtech about bad horsie! And any SCT body is allowed. Is there any particular body that drives well? And for what reason? The old body was pretty busted so I snagged a 4x4 ultimate body off Jennys for now.

And thanks for the reminder, I did change to an 86t spur gear from the stock 90t. Definitely seemed to help. May experiment with going down to the 83t.

I've got a good friend that races spec slash. Or did for a couple years.
There are a whole lot of slick tricks that the more experienced guys use from what I've heard to gain an advantage.
I'm sure that is on a track by track basis for sure like with anything.
I love the idea of spec class myself. Wish they'd use a better platform such as an associated pro2 though.

Yes, lots of tricks to be learned over time, I'm sure. I think the slash is just so ubiquitous it is purely a convenience/accessibility thing. I would love to try driving some other better-performing platforms at some point.

Racing was my thing but never SCT's. They sound like geriatric empty milk jugs struggling to make it down a straight. When 1/8th scale buggy's or truggy's bite, now you've got a problem. Keep it goin man!

Haha, I think I saw your comments about this over on the 4S Mojave thread Unfortunately the closest tracks to me are both indoors carpet that only run 1/10 scale. At closest track, MMR (molzer mowery racing), there are no truggies to speak of, only buggies. At the second track, Dollar Hobbyz, there are mostly buggies but a small truggy class does seem to exist as well.

Just because of popularity, I see my next foray being 2wd buggies, and specifically the Associated kit because those seem to have the most local parts availability.

 

[razorrc]

Proline flotek fusion body is what you want. Your truck will actually stick to the ground better and fly straighter with less float.

 

[Arise0185]

Proline flotek fusion body is what you want. Your truck will actually stick to the ground better and fly straighter with less float.

I was getting all gung-ho about ordering one of these bodies, but then I learned that the local track only allows Slash bodies. I don't particularly mind, since it's all about keeping it affordable and leveling the playing field as much as possible.

I feel as though my driving has improved quite a bit over the last few weeks. Out of the last 4 races, I had two podiums (3rd, 2nd, 3rd) and one mid-pack finish. The class usually consists of 10 or 11 drivers. My stock 2wd buggy driving... not so much

Honestly, I feel a big part of my improvement has come from the fact that, once I started racing 2wd buggy, the slash class became more of a "fun" class and less of a "serious" race. Since I'm more relaxed, I find myself driving more consistently and making fewer mistakes. I do still get the jitters and find myself making tons of mistakes in buggy, however.

 

[Lefty_Al]

Depending on the rules at your track you might want to check out the Mud Boss videos that OvalRC put out on YT a little while ago. That series shows a tweak aorund the bearings in the transmission and some concepts that may translate to what you are doing.

 

[Arise0185]

Depending on the rules at your track you might want to check out the Mud Boss videos that OvalRC put out on YT a little while ago. That series shows a tweak aorund the bearings in the transmission and some concepts that may translate to what you are doing.

Thanks for the tip! I'll look into it

 

[Arise0185]

Recently learned that my closest track allows aftermarket ESCs. See thread here. Ended up going with a Hobbywing Quicrun 1080. First run out, I didn't notice much of a difference performance-wise with the same 16/86 gearing I was running. However, I dropped the spur to an 83T and my pace picked up quite a bit. I had tried dropping to an 83T spur while running the XL-5, and I recall it not making any difference. However, I was also a less experienced driver back then. Hard to say if the upgraded ESC was worth it, but it was a relatively affordable experiment at $50 from the LHS. Next I need to pick up a larger pinion and see how tall I can gear this thing without overheating the ESC or motor. I'm guessing the ESC will be fine, and the motor will be the limiting factor.

As others mentioned in the ESC thread linked above, I should probably also look at properly breaking in a new motor, and performing proper maintenance on it (lube, cleaning... I need to learn).

The other rule I learned about is that my closest track actually does allow aftermarket bodies. So once this slash body is no longer serviceable, I'll pick up a Proline Flotek.

The track runs offroad racing every Friday night, but no races this week... I don't know if I can wait a whole 2 weeks to get my racing fix again!

 

[Arise0185]

Bought a new motor and performed a wet break in. Unfortunately no race this week but I may try to get some track time at an open practice day. Will compare the wet broken in motor against my used motor (not a great comparison, I know), and will also compare my used motor before/after cleaning the contacts with contact cleaner.

Wet break in consisted of running the motor at low rpm in tap water for ~10 min, letting it drip dry, flushing with contact cleaner, then adding a drop of oil to the two end bushings.

After I compare the motors back to back, I will also be playing around with gearing. Picked up an 18 and 19 tooth pinion (stock is 16), and have the 83, 86, and 90 tooth spurs on hand. Current gearing is 16/83.

 

[Arise0185]

Wow, of all the changes I made, the new/broken in motor made the biggest difference. Currently geared at 19/86. Motor temps are about 120F after a 5-7 minute race, measured with an IR temp gun. Stuck a small piece of black electrical tape on the motor can because I wasn't sure if the reflectivity of the shiny metal can was affecting the readings.

Anyway, I am now on-par with the next fastest competitor. Previously I was a lap or two behind him by the end of the race, but last night I was leading the whole race by 10 seconds, until I got involved in a 6 car pileup caused by some lappers. Ended up finishing 2nd, which I'm still happy with.

Also made it to the A-main in stock buggy, which is a first for me!

 

[Arise0185]

Motor troubles this week - had the brand new motor crap out. Good thing it happened on a practice day.

https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/12t-titan-stopped-working-open-circuit.68659/#post-1050511

 

[Arise0185]

No major changes on the Spec Slash for a while, other than buying a new motor after my previous motor troubles. Well, I bought a half dozen "prepped" motors that were each used for a few races. I think I paid $6 per motor. They've basically had the commutator cleaned/polished and the bushings lubed. Can't say they feel much different than a brand new off the shelf motor, but they were cheap!

Oh, I also realized my two rear shocks shafts were bent, so I replaced those. And I realized that my tires were VERY worn out, so replaced those as well.

Had a rough few weeks (placing 4th/5th and generally not feeling very composed while on the driver's stand), but the last two weeks were great. TQ'd and won the main event the last two weeks, so something is working right.

 

[gotnitro]

No major changes on the Spec Slash for a while, other than buying a new motor after my previous motor troubles. Well, I bought a half dozen "prepped" motors that were each used for a few races. I think I paid $6 per motor. They've basically had the commutator cleaned/polished and the bushings lubed. Can't say they feel much different than a brand new off the shelf motor, but they were cheap!

Oh, I also realized my two rear shocks shafts were bent, so I replaced those. And I realized that my tires were VERY worn out, so replaced those as well.

Had a rough few weeks (placing 4th/5th and generally not feeling very composed while on the driver's stand), but the last two weeks were great. TQ'd and won the main event the last two weeks, so something is working right.

I've done water break ins for spec brush classes. Didn't do squat for me. When the motor stops working in a heat or a main, have your pit guy smack the back of the can with a hammer, shakes off the dust and you make contact again.

 

[Arise0185]

I've done water break ins for spec brush classes. Didn't do squat for me. When the motor stops working in a heat or a main, have your pit guy smack the back of the can with a hammer, shakes off the dust and you make contact again.

Yep, probably not gonna spend the time and effort to do that again.