search results matching tag: off road racing

» channel: motorsports

go advanced with your query
Search took 0.001 seconds

    Videos (10)     Sift Talk (0)     Blogs (1)     Comments (26)   

RC Rock Crawler Sumo

newtboy says...

I’ve had a few, from the ubiquitous grasshopper to a racing Kyoto 4wd. I remember the old speed controllers not being good at minimum power…a tiny bit of stick and you would hear the controller whine but no movement, a bit more it would shudder a bit but not move, a bit more and it would suddenly jump forward a few inches before I could pull power back to crawl. Tiny precise movement was difficult, at least for me. That was also over 30 years back.
Granted, I was known for only having two throttle positions in my RC driving repertoire…full off (and breaking) or full throttle. My full size off road racing style was similar.
I still think the transition from static to in motion is hard to control at those scales (maybe electronics can overcome that now), and it’s easy to overshoot the needed power, especially in the heat of battle.

cloudballoon said:

I don't remember the model my brothers & I had anymore, as it was like over 3 decades ago, but they were analog Tamiyas. In addition to being analog sticks, there were sliders that I can fine tune acceleration limits on every axis (can control helicopters too). And that was then. Can't imagine entering these competition without these type of advanced controls with if you have a in-it-to-win-it mentality.

newtboy (Member Profile)

Sky Brown the 12 year old girl and her mega ramp

newtboy says...

I had a friend in high school that had a 15' vertical ramp. He liked to climb to the roof of his 3 story Victorian to drop in, around 40'. Another friend's ramp had a big tree next to it, he liked to grab it >30' up and sit down to rest, then drop back in from the branch. He never looked scared at all.

When you're doing what you love, the fear of failure dissolves.

That's how I was able to drive 140 over unknown uneven terrain with +- 3% traction and feel good about it. It was horrifically unsafe, but some of the best times of my life I would repeat in a heartbeat if I was still able. Thanks to various broken parts including my back, that's a pipedream now. (Hilariously, maybe ironically, I broke it working on my house, not off road racing, not downhill biking, not whitewater kayaking, just removing a cast iron bathtub.)
At least there are some decent off-road video games now to keep me out of the buggy.

SFOGuy said:

It's---frankly terrifying? Even if you were supremely confident in your physical body's skills, to be any age and launch down that ramp---my imagination (and several previously broken body parts) would not let me do it. I hope she is somehow never really hurt badly...

Burt Munro's World's Fastest Indian Bike Started Up!

newtboy says...

His story reminds me of my racing years....no team, no budget, only a deep desire to go fast. While I didn't come all the way across the Pacific, I did end up driving farther than that in a few years, easy when races are 4-500 miles away in the desert somewhere, then another 100-300 miles tearing through it before driving home. I was the only lone wolf in VORRA (Valley Off Road Racing Association) for a few years. Good times.
*promote *history

Lucas di Grassi on how quickly Formula E has evolved

newtboy says...

You would like formula off-road, Icelandic off road racing. Those cars have no electronics, just 800 HP motors, industrial gearboxes, and military axles tied together with steel tubing. The things they can do with that minimalism are astonishing.

vil said:

This is all fine, why not. IMHO Formula 1 is basically approaching this from the other shore most of the time.

Racing cars used to be about adrenalin, taming a beast, surviving unlikely odds and so on, an adventure for gentlemen.

In the last 40 years it has become a competition in pushing buttons, mostly.

If racing cars can have ABS, automatic gearboxes, power steering and all, why not an electric motor?

I still think it is sad and I am glad I saw F1 in the 70s.

Speed

newtboy says...

Like short course off road racing for boats.
Some day I want to see them try a land rush start....or even a Le Mans start. That could get interesting.

How to drive a HMMWV in Iraq.

newtboy says...

They REALLY need a better horn, or better yet a siren if they're going to ignore all traffic laws and instead use off road racing rules, which are... to pass-honk, tap bumper, ramming speed, preferably in that order.

Rally car takes detour through carpark and still wins stage

newtboy says...

Perfect example of why spectators lining the course always seem suicidal to me. In off road racing, we tried to think of them as bushes with clothes on, otherwise it's impossible to bring yourself to drive flat out when a tiny mistake might put you 50' off the course. At the least, they shouldn't allow people to sit on the outside of corners and curves.

Go Cart Literally Flies Past Competitor

newtboy says...

Agreed, it was an impressive flight. I think I've seen similar in Formula1 and similar racing, but not if you multiply for scale.
I think because these were (allegedly) kids, the carts and the drivers were extremely lightweight with large flat bottoms that act like a wing (the cars' bottoms, not the kids') unlike most open wheel classes (like my off road racing buggy), but the speeds were still pretty high. (EDIT: Also, no suspension to soak up the sudden upward thrust) Everything came together just right to launch her. Damn fine recovery on her part....even if she couldn't continue for long.

ChaosEngine said:

yeah, I've seen that before, just never with a cart and certainly not that kind of height!

On Any Sunday - The original film (Steve McQueen)

Never quit; never surrender...

newtboy says...

*promote the never surrender mentality of rally racing.
You can only be sure you've lost if you've quit.
The first off road race I ever saw was a short course race in the LA Coliseum, and the front runner completely lost a front wheel with 2 laps to go...and continued on to win the race. I was hooked from then on.

Frank Kelly - Fast, Sideways and Mental

Why are these people standing so close to the course?

newtboy says...

The same thing happens in off road racing. We call them 'bushes with clothes on'. That's the only way to stay on the gas, if you think of them as people, there's no way you can go as fast as you should (unless you're a psychopath).

What's worse, people bring their small children and stand on the outside of corners, just asking to be hit. It's maddening to be a driver with these people on the course, and I always wished the racing organizations would do something to keep them back, at least keep them off the outside of corners where a loss of control by any car will mean loss of life.

Massive GT4 European Series crash at Red Bull Ring

newtboy says...

First, about the leaving room part. In most car racing, you don't have to 'leave room', as long as you don't touch. Cutting off another driver's line is part of racing, you don't just LET other cars pass you, normally. Turning into a car's rear axle, that's NEVER OK in racing (except demolition racing).

Secondly, and more to the point, there WAS room. Not much, but definitely enough. If you look really close, at 21-22 seconds is when the contact happens, and the yellow car is at least 1 foot away from the white line, and no where near the 'run out' (red and white striped 'curb') for the corner. He intentionally turns into the rear of the white car, hitting it instead of just keeping it straight and coming in behind. I don't think he even would have used the run out had he just kept it straight, and certainly wouldn't have been off the track. His other option would be to let off the gas, then move right once the car in front is clear, but then he'd be in second. I think he expected the white car to crash, but not take him with it. He certainly should have known what would happen when he turned into the other car at that speed coming out of a turn, and that it would be terrible.

The car behind has the greater duty to avoid an accident on the track. At least, that's how it was when I did off road racing.

Side note...at :46, I'm pretty sure some poo came out of the guy with the blue flag.

AeroMechanical said:

I'd actually call that the other way. It was the driver of the inside car's responsibility to leave room for the car on the outside. Really, it's probably what you'd call a 'racing incident' and nobody's fault.

Mountain biking with no chain

newtboy says...

In off road racing (which I used to do), equipment failure was really usually more of an issue than driving speed. Something broke in almost every desert race I ran, it's not letting that stop you that the sport was all about, even more so when you are a lone wolf racing team (one man driver/owner/mechanic-no pit crew). I have to think the same goes in mountain biking.

Asmo said:

Where do you stop? Tyre goes flat half way down, re-run. Front fork breaks, re-run. Brake breaks, re-run.

Same with most race type disciplines (eg. rally cars), equipment failure is just part of the sport and everyone has to deal with it.



Send this Article to a Friend



Separate multiple emails with a comma (,); limit 5 recipients






Your email has been sent successfully!

Manage this Video in Your Playlists

Beggar's Canyon