RC Nightmare Community Blog

RC company Traxxas has once again set a new record this year for receiving 18 awards from leading RC Magazines!!

The Traxxas Slash 4X4 was named “Truck of the Year” by the editors of Radio Control Car Action, and R/C Cars’ editors named Slash 4X4 one of their “10 Best.” Radio Control Car Action’s readers also selected the Slash 4X4 as their “Best Innovation”pick in the Readers’ Choice Awards.

The 2WD Traxxas Slash was a big winner in 2009 and didn’t stop this year with “Best Truck” awards from the readers of RC Car Action and RC Driver, and the editors of Xtreme RC Cars named Slash the Best Short Course Truck.

Along with those, Traxxas also earned awards for the new 1/16 E-Revo and Slash, E-Revo, Revo 3.3, Nitro 4-Tec 3.3, and Slayer 3.3. RC Car Action’s readers named the Revo 3.3 their “Best Nitro Truck,” making the Revo undefeated in the Nitro Truck category for another year.

The editors of R/C Car named the Traxxas Off-Road Championship (TORC) as one of their “10 Best,” citing the TORC series’ success in spreading the word about our exciting hobby to a vast new group of potential R/C enthusiasts.

That is a pretty big milestone for Traxxas and I am sure they are proud for all of the recognition.

Just reading up on Team Associated’s website and saw that the long long awaited Reedy 121 VR-ST off-road competition nitro engine has finally arrived and is in stock and shipping! Extensively track-tested by Reedy factory drivers such as Ryan Maifield (one of my favorites), Craig Drescher, Neil Cragg, and Richard Saxton, the VR-ST incorporates state-of-the-art features in a proven package.

The current 121VR engine has already proved itself in performance and pricing and the VR-ST takes performance to an entirely new level with the addition of a balanced ADLC-coated crankshaft, ceramic rear bearing, lightweight piston, and ADLC-coated wrist pin. An ultra-lightweight heatsink head with “diamond cut” fins improves cooling while lowering the center of gravity.

Here are the main features:

• 3+1 Port Chrome Plated Cylinder
• High Silicon CNC-Machined Lightweight Piston
• Knife-Edged 7075 Aluminum Connecting Rod
• ADLC-Coated Wrist Pin
• Chrome-Plated Back Plate with Turbo Scoop
• Ultra-Lightweight Machined Aluminum Heatsink Head
• Thermo-Insulated, Screw-Mounted 2-Needle Carburetor
• Balanced Turbo Scoop Crankshaft with ADLC Coating and Silicone Insert
• Precision Steel Front Ball Bearing
• Precision Ceramic Rear Ball Bearing
• Oversized Finned Turbo Head Button
• 7.0mm, 8.0mm, and 9.0mm Venturi Inserts

I’m sure we can expect the Team Associated guys to be racing with this engine soon!

Any Engineers out there that are also RC fans?! If so, I have a pretty exciting announcement for you . Schumacher Racing, the leading British RC car manufacturer have a job opening up based in Northampton, UK. They are looking for an Engineer/Buyer – meaning an engineer with good commercial acumen and manufacturing knowledge. Read on »»

A pretty cool event took place on Thursday at Regency RC Park in Lake Forest, California. It was called the 2011 Regency Hill Climb and it was the first annual event. It featured a field that included former ROAR on- and off-road National Champions doing battle for the prestigious title and first-place prize. Team Associated’s Richard Saxton bested a field of competitors driving his Associated SC10 Brushless Ready to Run RC Truck.

The course was extremely challenging due to the recent heavy rains in the area and an exposed root near the top of the course. Saxton was the only one able to complete the climb legally! On his 6th attempt, Saxton found the line and crested the top of the hill out of view of the spectators. Sean Cochran was the second place finisher but was later penalized for a start line infraction. Had he not been penalized at the start line he risked another penalty for lack of style and a slow climbing time. Not cool. Rick Hohwart rounded out the podium in third with his Reedy-powered SC10.  Rick was grabbed by a plant at the edge of the course just short of the top of the hill and returned to the bottom of the hill in spectacular fashion.

This event sounded really difficult so congrats to Saxton! It was no easy feat.