Product Spotlight: Team Associated B44.3 Factory Team Kit

Just when you thought 1:10 scale RC racing had reached the pinnacle of performance with the B44 Factory Team electric off road buggy, the same creators of that 3-time IFMAR World Championships model give you their new and improved design: the B44.3 Team Associated Factory Team Kit. Chock-full of serious improvements and enhancements, this new model is destined to surpass the performance level of its winning pedigree predecessor in only a matter of time.

Three Accessories to Deck Out Your RC Car This Winter

As we roll into fall, the weather has begun to worsen and RC enthusiasts all over the country are hanging their heads as they start preparing to store their cars for winter. However, just because bad conditions outside mean confining your RC cars to the indoors doesn’t mean you can’t still hone your hobby this winter. Spend some time tuning and tweaking your RC cars during the colder months, and use the off-season to take your car to the next level with some brand new RC accessories. Incorporate these RC car accessories into your car’s design to have it looking good and performing at the top of its game by spring.

Product Spotlight: Vortex R10.1 2S Competition Speed Controller

This championship quality competition speed controller from Team Orion is the most recent update to its popular and successful predecessor, the R10 Pro. You can expect all of the technical excellence and superiority offered by the R10 and more from the new Vortex R10.1 2S electronic speed controller:

How to Store Nitro RC Cars Properly

Now that the wet season is approaching, or is already here, depending on where you live, it’s a good time to talk about how to store your RC car the right way. As you know, radio control cars do not perform at their highest level when it’s raining, or when it’s recently rained, and can even be ruined in such conditions. So, it’s time to hang ‘em up – metaphorically speaking – for a few months. However, even improper storage can be detrimental to an RC car, with dust, rust, and other tiny culprits that might damage it over time. Read on to find out how to store your RC car safely.

How to Choose & Install a Servo for an RC Car or Truck

The servos installed on your R/C vehicle are important to consider when thinking about ways to give you an edge when racing. Like the old saying goes, "you get what you pay for," and this applies to servos just like it does to most things. Most R/C cars and trucks have two servos: one for controlling speed and one for controlling the direction in which the front wheels are turning. Since speed and turning capability are the two main functions of your R/C vehicle, it pays to know a little bit about how to answer the question, "How does a servo motor work?" We'll try to explain.

Product Spotlight: Team Associated RC 12R5.2 Factory Team Kit

If you thought it was impossible to improve on what already seemed like perfection, take a look at this Team Associated RC 12R5.2 Factory Team Kit. After more than three decades of racing history, Team Associated has learned that it's the small details that allow for continued improvement to their racing designs. This latest factory kit is a great example. While racing their previous 1:12 scale incarnation, the RC 12R5.1, and adding what was learned as well as some tweaks utilizing the newest racing technologies, Associated has come up with a car that's even faster, more precise and a consistent winning contender.

Choosing Tires for your RC Racing Vehicle

One of the most important components of any racing vehicle is the tires. They say never to skimp on things that come between you and the ground – mattresses, shoes and tires. Watch any professional race and you’ll be able to observe how the tires are a critical part of the car’s performance – from the slick tires which provide maximum traction and ultimate speed to NASCAR and Formula 1 racers; to the rugged tires employed by dirt racing champs to conquer their terrain. When it comes to your RC racing vehicle, the right tires are the difference between first and last. Here’s a brief overview of choosing the right RC tires for your machine .

Understanding Tire Surfaces

There are hundreds of tire patterns out there to help with everything from wet track racing to clawing up gravel, but in general, tires are either smooth – having a relatively flat surface with lots of surface area hitting the ground – or ‘nubby’ – lots of points of protrusion which help it dig into the ground. The general idea is that the smoother tires are going to provide a greater contact patch, providing  more traction  and control, especially on hard packed  smooth surfaces. The ‘nubby’ tires are going to allow you control on Loamy dirt and gravel and are not recommended  for flat hard packed surfaces.

There are dozens of variations on each type of tire. For example, some smooth tires closely resemble the tires on your car – allowing them to control moisture and have control in wet environments – while other tires have very small blocks or studs on their surfaces. For knobby/nubby tires, there’s plenty of variation in the size of the nubs – some are minimized to promote better speed, while others have very thick nubs to promote digging into the dirt. There’s no right or wrong, just a matter of what environment you’re racing it.

Wheels and Inserts

RC tires don’t exist in a vacuum – the wheel and insert play a huge part in your racing performance. First is the wheel – available mostly in plastic based on your car or trucks  dimensions and wheel offsets.  It is recommended you stick with wheels  made specifically for your vehicle to stay with in legal racing widths and size. Inserts are foam which is placed in between the tire and wheel – stiffer foam means a firmer ride, and softer foam is going to give you a softer more flexible ride. Think of it like putting air in you cars tires, racing teams are always looking for just the right tire pressure for the best performance, in general, you will want a firmer insert on smooth hard surfaces and a softer insert on rough terrain. No matter which you choose, keep in mind the size of the kit – most tires and wheels are either 1/8 or 1/10 scale, so make sure you choose the right size for your vehicle and select matching tires/wheels.

Tire Compounds

Tire compounds have become just as crucial  as tread design for proper tire selection .  Compounds range from  hard to super soft  and everything in between.  Many tire manufactures  list their compounds by color, name or both in designating the firmness. For Example, JConcepts list their GOLD compound as soft made for indoor clay tracks and Proline Racing’s M3 compound is rated as soft and marks their tires with a green dot and is recommended for outdoor tracks 70 degrees to 90 degrees.  So the bottom line is, when selecting tires for racing, check the description of the compound if you’re not sure what it means, contact us, we are more than happy to help.

Ask Questions

So how do you determine the right tires for your RC car? Honestly, it’s trial and error. There are so many options available that it’s hard to pick just one – but a good idea is to engage your friends and community. Ask the guys who are winning races or a car that is similar to yours about what tires they work with. Use that as a baseline on where to start – maybe purchase those tires and wheels or similar models, and then some different tire types to play around with off of the track. After a few races, you’ll have more feedback and be able to narrow your selections before choosing the perfect tire for your needs.

No matter what your RC parts needs, LA Parts House delivers with free shipping on orders over $50 and same day shipping on orders placed before 2 p.m. PST Monday through Friday. Visit us today for RC racing tires, shocks, full kits and more!