Stories

A few months ago I wrote about how vehicles in the 2WD buggy class have changed over the years by giving a small profile on each vehicle that won at the IFMAR off-road World Championships. This time I’ll explore track surfaces used at these elite races. I hope to figure out if tracks changed due to the cars, or if cars changed due to tracks.

This article was originally published in RC Driver’s October 2016 issue. by Chris Kovachevich

Cool Stuff from RC Driver for your Car: Graphite Arm Plates, Trackstar V2 Sensored Motor, Electric Clutch For 1/8-Scale, Magnetic Rpm Sensor, More!

While aimed at first-time buyers, this article can also be beneficial to anyone considering their next purchase because we’re going to take this from a totally different perspective.

The year was 1985 and off-road racing looked almost nothing like it does today. In a short 30-plus year time span off-road buggies have completely evolved from bumper to bumper while the tracks they race on have seen complete overhauls. Things have changed so much that a 2WD buggy from today

If you’ve never been on a trail run, you’re missing out! To help you get started I’m going to show you exactly what you need to get going. Then we’ll go on a run with a few of my friends and see what kind of adventure we can stir up.

When I saw what he was cooking up for some monster truck racing I knew I wanted a closer look. Ghostbusters is one of my favorite movies and with a new production due in theaters soon it’s no surprise that Chris’ Ecto 1 caught my attention. It isn’t the first time I have seen an RC Ecto 1 but it’s the first Clod based version I’ve seen and it has a roof full of ghost busting equipment.

There is a new track opening near the RC Driver offices and I’ve been there quite often helping the facility with everything from advice to manual labor painting walls, building pit tables, track design and soon. We’re pretty excited that yet another track is opening where we will be able to test products for the magazine.

More Cool Stuff from the Editors of RC Drive Magazine: Nitro Stainless Screw Kit, Pit Tech Mini Car Stand, 4Mm Polarized Connectors, Prospec Shocks For 1/10-Scale Buggy. More

Over my thirty-plus year run in the hobby, I've hung out in my fair share of hobby shops and raced at more tracks than I can possibly remember. When I and many other RC racers hit up these places, we have our routines which are often executed with blinders on as to what and who are around us. Sure there are racers and a track and most likely a shop, but lurking in the background are newbies!

My father-in-law used to spend his Friday and Saturday evenings just hanging out at the local hardware store with his friends. They would spend hours just talking shop or sports or whatever other topics would arise. This is a lost luxury these days. We are always in a rush to do this, go there, get that done. One hobby shop in Pasadena, Maryland has unknowingly started to bring back the lost art of face-to-face conversation.

Way back around 2005 we reviewed the Nitro 6 from Truckstop Racing. It was an Associated Nitro MGT that had been converted to a 6x6 monster with the cab of a tractor trailer. It was a beast and a half and was one of the most unique offerings of that era. After the initial review I did a follow up in mid 2006 and treated the truck to a host of hop ups and a new body…this time a pick up truck.

Let me ask you a question – when you think RC, what companies come to mind? Team Associated? HPI? Traxxas? I bet you can name a handful of cars that those companies make. If you're a real RC nut, you might even be able name some of their 'vintage' offerings or where the companies are located. However, there's actually a lot of cool trivia out there about these companies. After some serious digging, I came up with 6 things you probably didn't know about 6 companies you know. Let's get started.

What to do on a fine day in March when you own a 1/5-scale or RC rock racer vehicle and live in sunny Southern California? For the past four years you'd better be sharpening your skills and prepping your race cars as it's time to go racing! On March 19, 2016 the Ashley Cup 4 RC charity race for St. Jude's Children's Hospital was held at Irvine Lake RC Park in beautiful Southern California.

This has to be one of the coolest points in our hobby. Never have we had so many scale offerings to choose from. Axial, Tamiya, Vaterra, HPI and many other companies are working with full-scale vehicle manufacturers on items ranging from bodies to accessories to bring realistic replicas of full-scale products to our scaled-down RC world.