Xray T3 2012 Track Test and Conclusion
So after the build ( http://www.thercracer.com/2012/04/xray-t3-2012-build-thread-step-seven.html ) I was ready to take the car out on t...
https://www.thercracer.com/2012/04/xray-t3-2012-shakedown.html
So after the build (http://www.thercracer.com/2012/04/xray-t3-2012-build-thread-step-seven.html) I was ready to take the car out on the track
Ardent here we come
I took the afternoon off work to take my car for a shakedown and its first race if everything goes well that evening. The venue for this event is Ardent Raceway (www.ardentracing.com). I will be doing a review of this place. It’s fantastic but more onto my car.I got there and the sun was shining-ish. Unloaded my car and what a breath of fresh air a hauler bag is! I spend the last tests I have done carting boxes in and out of my car, one bag keep everything together and it has wheels! If you don’t have one, buy one!
I paid my dues and set up my pit table. I’d done most of the prep the night before, steering straight, steering throw etc. however when I prepped the tyres for my first run, the drivetrain would not rotate. This baffled me for a minute or two until I realised that the driveshaft pins were coming out and fouling the hub. I refitted them and the driveshaft span properly.
Out onto the track for my first run but there is another problem. Turned the car on and notice when I accelerate the wheels rotate the wrong way. Checked and double checked the motor was soldering on correctly, which it was. After thought I looked for help from Ian who is the raceway manager I suppose at ardent raceway. This guy knows what he talking about. He listen to my car accelerate and said “Sounds like speedo not set up”. Speedo setup??? Oh yeah opps forgot about that.
After Ian set my speedo up properly and me feeling quite stupid, i got some laps in. Car felt good but very slow! Gearing was an issue. I must have worked this out wrong, so again with Ian’s help I put a 30 tooth pinion on and “hay presto” it was a lot better.
warm up
The car felt good. Good level of grip, so I spend the afternoon just enjoying being there and driving my car. With the intention if everything went well to race in the Club night, everything is looking good. I played a little with additive, found without any I got good grip for four minutes or so then back end became very loose. On finishing that stint I discovered why. The rubber pickup on my tyres was unbelievable; it was like a solid sheet of rubber on top of the tyres. Tyre looked like they had done a thousand laps of Le Mans! I then put addictive on and the difference was amazing. A couple of very small dots not a great deal at all. Makes sense to use additive to me just for that reason.Started to have a problem with one of my LiPo’s. Plugged it in to my charger and it came up with a voltage error message. Couldn’t work it out, anyway I got a charged pack in and set the faulty one a side for a minute. I connect the faulty one again and the same happened, I selected charge mode instead of balance and it worked. I assumed it was a faulty pack until I disconnected it and the balance lead fell off. That be the problem then! Heat shrink off, resoldered and new heat shrink. Thank dean for the heat shrink.
By this time it was five thirty so I decided to have a break and wait for the club night to start. I bought a transponder, plugged it in and I was ready to go.
Race Time
Booked in, paid my monies, gave my new transponders number and waiting for round one.Round one came, I lined up in the second heat as car number one. The car was good, my drive however wasn’t! But other than that I registered a 22/309sec, or so I thought. What had actually happened was my transponder had clashed with dean’s (guy who lent me the heat shrink) and actually he had done 22/309 not me.
Round Two saw similar issue with transponders clashing despite race director adjusting as few bits but as it happens it didn’t matter because I hit a barrier and suddenly didn’t want to turn left. Had a look on the track and couldn’t see too much but still wasn’t right after another lap so I pulled off. On inspection I found the right front shock absorber had come off the shock tower. Bolt holding it on had disappeared so spare bolt and we are sorted.
Round Three saw dean swap heat as to prevent the clash. My transponder wasn’t linking to my name but otherwise not too bad. Race director managed to sort out why it was doing it and rectify for the last and final round of the evening.
Round Four, I started last despite the timing system telling to go first (due to the clash the info was incorrect). I didn’t want to get in anyone’s way. But I had a good round, I managed to keep my rhythm and post a 20/321sec four laps behind TQ. I’m happy with that but more importantly it’s something to improve on.
So I leave around nine forty five after spending nearly ten hours there. Had a great day playing and enjoying my hobby!
Round Three saw dean swap heat as to prevent the clash. My transponder wasn’t linking to my name but otherwise not too bad. Race director managed to sort out why it was doing it and rectify for the last and final round of the evening.
Round Four, I started last despite the timing system telling to go first (due to the clash the info was incorrect). I didn’t want to get in anyone’s way. But I had a good round, I managed to keep my rhythm and post a 20/321sec four laps behind TQ. I’m happy with that but more importantly it’s something to improve on.
So I leave around nine forty five after spending nearly ten hours there. Had a great day playing and enjoying my hobby!
Conclusion
The Xray T3 is a superb car, easy to assemble and fast and easy to drive. Xrays are popular due to this reason and they are also quite robust. Parts are expensive and the car is a little heavy (Although that's probably why its planted and easy to drive).
If you want a great 1/10 Touring car you should really consider one of these.
Awesome write up, i can't wait to see you and the car evolve as a team! Good luck!
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