Team Losi Racing's 22 2WD Buggy Kit

I have been thinking about getting a 2WD Buggy for a long time now, and I have been narrowing down what I think I want and have come to to opinion that this might be my best choice.  So for the moment I'm 90% sure that I will be getting a Losi 22 for my next RC.

Here is a review that Horizon Hobby's did about the LOSI 22.

Here is a breakdown of some of the specification for the Losi 22.


Features: 

• Mid and Rear Motor Mounting Options: Depending on your driving preference or track conditions, the 22 will deliver the configuration you need. For the first time, TLR is providing both rear- and mid-mount motor configurations in a single kit.
• Complete Kit: Build the 22 from the ground up so you know and control the entire assembly process to your exact specifications.
• 2.5mm Hard-Anodized Aluminum Chassis: The precision-machined 7075-T6 2.5mm aluminum chassis is hard-anodized for increased durability and a great look.
• 12mm Big Bore Shocks: Smooth the ride, tame large jumps and tune suspension performance with these over sized shocks with bladder compensators.
• Adjustable Front Kick (20-25°): The 22's front end has best-in-class clearance that allows for improved handling. It gives you more clearance when you enter and exit steep jumps. Plus it's tunable via a shim from 20 to 25 degrees.
• Adjustable Caster (0, 3, 5, 10°): The 22's caster can be adjusted in 0-, 3-, 5- and 10-degree* increments via the spindle carriers. (*NOTE: 0-, 3-, and 5-degree spindles are optional.)

Specifications:

• Wheelbase: 284-288mm 
• Width: 9.9 in. (250mm) 
• Weight (Approx): 3.4 lb. (1,550g)* 
• Chassis: 7075 aluminum plate w/radiused sides and built in front kick-up 
• Differential: 14 Ball, Ball Differential 
• Suspension: Lower A-arms w/steel 3.5mm turnbuckles 
• Steering: Molded Channel Rack for slop-free steering 
• Shocks: 12mm threaded shock bodies w/Upper and Lower Caps 
• Wheels: Molded dish style w/12mm hexes in the rear 

KBRL Round 2 @ Fear Farm RC Raceway

October 29th, 2011

It was another great day of racing, this time it was round 2 of the KBRL series at Fear Farm RC in Phoenix, AZ.  Myself, Dean and Dragi from Wolfpak Racing, and our friend Ernest all met and shared a pit tent together down at Fear Farm.  This was my first visit to Fear Farm and was impressed by the setup and crew that ran the event.

Setting up in the pits getting ready for round 1 of qualifying.

I am racing in the Pro-Lite 13.5 category with my HPI Blitz in the KBRL Series, and it is a blast.  There is a bunch of great competition out there in this class and in today's racing that was very evident.  For round 2, there was 39 in the Pro-Lite class, my friend Dean from Wolfpak Racing decided to dust off his SC10 and join in on the melee that is the Pro-Lite racing.

Here is the results of the first two rounds of qualifying for myself and Dean:

Round 1 Qualifying: Pro-Lite 13.5

For round 1 my goal was to try to get 9-10 laps, and I ended up getting 9 laps, and finished 9th in the Heat. I did manage to record some round 1 Pro-Lite action on my phone, will be ordering a Hat Cam soon, so this will improve the quality and the number of videos I will be posting in the future.

Round 2 Qualifying: Pro-Lite 13.5

I made some adjustments to the truck for this round, with the help of Dean and Ernest, and it seemed to make a huge improvement to the truck.  The Blitz felt great driving and I almost pulled off getting 10 laps, although I still seem to be over steering in the turns and spinning 180's, I feel that some slight changes in my setup and more practice will help with this. I ended up getting 9 laps and again finishing 9th in the heat.

With 39 entries in the Pro-Lite 13.5 category, there ended up being 5 mains for the category.  It seemed that 11-12 laps was the goal for round 2 to qualify for the A-main, myself and Dean qualified for the E-Main, Dean started the E-Main in 2nd and for myself in the 5th position..

E-Main: Pro-Lite 13.5

For the E-Main I did not do as well as I had hoped, and ended up finishing in 4th place.  I slight mishap in my driving got me tangled with Dean in the last minute of the main and we both lost 5-6 secs, or I think he would have easily gotten 10 laps (he missed it by 2 secs), and I feel I would have gotten 9 laps (I missed it it by 4 secs).

Dragi from Wolfpak Racing, and Ernest and Myself in the background.

Ending thoughts:

Even though I did not finish the way I had hoped, I had a blast racing with a great group of drivers.  I want to give a shout out to those of you that I talked to while at Fear Farm, and want to thank those for giving me advise on ways on improving both my driving skills and my truck.  I have not been racing for very long, and it always amazes me that the people in the RC hobby are so friendly and always seem to not mind helping out other people.

The next round of the KBRL series will be at Scottsdale RC Speedway (SRS) on November the 26th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  I am really looking forward to the round, as SRS has changed is layout for the Arizona State Championships on Nov 18-20.  Can't wait to see and race the new layout, I will probably go next weekend to get in practice and club racing.

KBRL Series Round 1 Racing

Saturday Oct 1st, 2011

I raced in the first round of the KBRL Racing Series on Saturday, the first round was at Canyon Vista RC down in Tuscon, Az.  My friends over at Wolfpak Racing joined me down in Tuscon, they had two drivers entered into the racing league as well.  Although the drive was long to come down to the racing, it was well worth the trip, as I had a blast down at Canyon Vista, the layout and facility was great and the group at Canyon Vista was the best.

Myself (sitting) and Dean from Wolfpak Racing.
Sorry for the picture quality.

The day started off great, although the weather did play a huge factor in things as the day went on.  So here are some of the results of my racing:

Heat 1 Racing:

Laps RaceTime Fast Lap

Frank Lilly     7      5:10.519     39.647

Round 2:

               Laps    RaceTime    Fast Lap

Frank Lilly     8      5:20.403     33.743

There was a rain delay finishing round 2 of the heats.  The rain let up a little and they were able to complete round 2.  Another rain delay happened before the Mains started.  The afternoon felt great after the rain, it brought the temps down and it felt great outside, I don;t know about anyone else, but I love the rain.

Dean's Buggy from Wolfpak Racing

C-Main:

For the C-Main I'm not sure what happened.   I don't want this to be an excuse as to why I finished where I did, but I feel with the rain I made a wrong tire choice, and had huge traction issues.  Below is the results for the C-Main.

I am looking forward for round 2 of the KBRL series, it will be held at Fear Farm in Phoenix, Az.  Not sure if I am going to be making any changes for the truck for the next race.  But will get in some more practice time before the next race.

Losi 5IVE-T 1/5-scale 4WD Off Road Truck




Just thought I would share this video, 1/5th scale, very cool.

RC Racing over at Warehouse 3 in Phoenix

Friday Sept 9th, 2011

This night of racing brought me to a new track, Warehouse 3.  Once again I met my friends from Wolfpak Racing for another great night of RC racing.  For my friend Dragi from Wolfpak and myself this was are first time racing up at Warehouse 3.  Being indoors was great, it started raining outside about halfway through are racing, so being indoors was a plus.

Being my first time at this track, I joined my friend Dragi in the Novice class.  Here is the results of the heat races:


Heat 1 Racing:
I ran 15 laps, and was running a steady 2nd/3rd place for almost the entire heat, with about a minute to go in the heat, I lost control of my truck and had intermittent radio issues and ended up finishing in 4th place.  Side note for other drivers that are new, if you are in the pits, please leave your radios off until the racing is over.


Heat 2 Racing:
I ran 12 laps, I was in the lead for the entire heat, but on the 12th lap I got tangled up in lap traffic, and busted the bottom shock mount of the right rear of the truck, with less the a minute to go in the racing, I was unable to get back out I ended up finishing in 3rd in the heat, lucky for me, other drivers were having more trouble then me.


B Main:
Had an improvement for this main, I ran 1st until the last lap, where I got tangled up in lap traffic and on the last lap was just edged out and I finished in 2nd place.  Below is a video that my friend from Wolfpak Racing took of Dragi and mines B Main racing.  My truck is the Orange and black HPI Blitz.  Dragi's is the green buggy.

Video of my B-Main

Video of Dean from Wolfpak in one of his Heat Races.

His truck is the red SC10.