Hot Rod Hobbies Shootout 2015

Hello Everyone! I had the privilege of attending the Hot Rod Hobbies Shootout this year in Saugus Ca. I ended up entering myself into Pro 2 and Mod Truck. The track was very smooth and free flowing and the traction was great initially. I had only one set of tires for my mod truck, which made things difficult for me.

My pit spot was awesome! I got to see a lot of top drivers, I was close to the heat sheets and simply right in the middle of it all.

I glued up some Pro-Line Electrons in the x2 compound when the track was dry and they were hooked up. The traction was consistent and controllable and it kind of felt like cheating to me. I was able to get several runs on theses tires with plenty of tread and grip left over. I absolutely fell in love with these tires for blue groove conditions!














Here is a shot of the fresh tires all mounted up! I was super pumped on these tires.













Here is a shot of my trucks after the first day of qualifying. Both trucks where dialed and my lap times were getting faster and faster. My confidence was starting to build but then something happened.







RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

The track got soaked but the track crew got us up and running again. It took a lot of work form those guys and the effort was much appreciated.










I only had one set of tires for the entire race for my Stadium truck and it was tough for me. I ended up in the C main, but I had a great time driving so it was all good. Check out the Video.

After mod truck, I was ready for my short course final. I unfortunately did not get to race my last two qualifiers on account of rain so I tried my best to make it to the big show. Fortunately I had plenty of tires for my Pro-Line Pro2 SCT.  After some testing I ended up going with Pro-Line Tazers  on all four corners and I was pretty happy. Check out the Video.

Overall I had an amazing time at the HRH Shootout and it was an experience of a lifetime. My Venom Batteries served me well as they always do and my Pro-Line tires performed phenomenally!

Good luck at the races! Remember, you can always ask me for help, just look for the Venom powered Pro-Line vehicles and the KLA logo at the track.

-Matthew Garcia

My Pro-Line Pro2 Stock Short Course Truck

Hello everyone! I wanted to share my Pro Line Pro2 Sct Stock class racer. I have spent some time getting this truck dialed in, and with some ideas of my own and some help from friends, I got this truck to perform the way I like it.

The truck is fast and nimble and rotates well in the corners. I have plenty of traction yet the right amount of push so that I do not traction roll. 

This truck is bullet proof and has very low maintenance needs. I use the Pro-Line gear diff with 7k diff oil. I have about 30 batteries and 3 races through the transmission currently without ever opening it up and it is still performing great.

The shocks do need tending every 10 batteries but mostly it is just a oil top off. 32 1/2 wt associated oil in the front and 30 wt in the rear. The shocks are amazing and they help the truck jump really well.

I did do some upgrades to the shock towers and front top plate. They are Anza racing carbon fiber parts. They helped stiffen up the truck a lot and I find the the handling is more consistent.
I added a front aluminum bulkhead for a while, but I found that the Pro-Line plastic bulkhead performed a little better. The plastic has more flex and it doesn't make the steering too aggressive.








I put on Lunsford turnbuckles for added durability and for the weight savings. Furthermore, I added all ceramic bearings for smoothness and less rotating mass. The bearings are also easily cleaned and end up saving you money in the long run.

I did change the rear axels to Traxxas telescoping axels part 6852x. The axels compensate for the change in shock position due to the shock tower upgrade.




I run Pro-Line Suburbs in the front and Electrons in the rear, both in clay compound.  The tires last such a long time and they are almost always dialed for me. I just scrub them clean and add a little tire sauce to them.









I have noticed a big problem in stock racing lately. A lot of people buy these 300+ dollar chargers that can charge batteries and discharge them at 35 - 40 amps. Cycling the battery with the high amps gives the truck more punch and a little more top end. The catch 22 is that the batteries don't have nearly as long of a lifetime when you cycle them with high amperage. Most spec class racers cant cant afford to spend lots of money on a charger set up that has the extra amps. Also, the batteries need to be replaced more often which is even more money. I honestly cant afford to get an edge like that, but what does help me reduce the advantage of high amp charging and discharging is using my Venom 4500 100c batteries. I charge my batteries with the Venom medion dual charger... nothing special.

Don't take my word for it, look at this video of me racing my spec class short course against the 4wd guys. My truck has plenty of power to keep up.

Good luck at the races! Remember, you can always ask me for help, just look for the Venom powered Pro-Line vehicles and the KLA logo at the track.

-Matthew Garcia

Team Losi Racing 22T 2.0 Unboxing

Hello Everyone! Yesterday I picked up the new TLR 22t 2.0 and I wanted to share my experience unboxing it!

I have started putting the truck together and I am really impressed with the kit! The kit comes with that you need from wheels and bodies all the way down to the thread lock! I am really happy I made the change to this kit! All I need now is a Venom square pack and some Pro-Line tires to get me on the track!

Good luck at the races! Remember, you can always ask me for help, just look for the Venom powered Pro-Line vehicles and the KLA logo at the track.

-Matthew Garcia

Venom Lipo Batteries Review

Hello Everyone! I have been using Venom batteries for a couple seasons now and here are my thoughts on them.

At first I was racing my SC10.2 and SCB10.2 using the value batteries from hobby people, the ones that cost 40 bucks. At first, the value battery was great or so I thought. I always wondered why everyone else would so easily pass me on the straight aways and clear the big triple jumps. One day a friend of mine let me try one of his Venom batteries and I immediately noticed the difference power. 

 I went out and bought my first Venom battery, a 5800 70c. I loved how the battery gave me all the power I needed to finish my race. I was able to push my vehicles as hard as I wanted without worrying about my battery fading near the end of the race. During the 8 minute main events in the Grass Roots Racing Series my Venom batteries never let me down, they never faded, and they never got hot.

 After the GRRS I was hooked on the batteries. I purchased the 7000 70c as soon as it was available. The battery was insane when I tried it for the first time. There was more power and even longer run time than I had ever experienced before.

As my vehicles changed to Pro-Line Pro2 SCT's over the past two seasons, my batteries never ceased to meet and exceed my expectations.

At one point I decided to convert to shorty packs and Venom had the batteries I needed. First I started with the 3800 60c and I was not lacking any performance due to the smaller battery size.  Out of all the batteries, I had one of my 3800 60c packs puff up which was a bummer. Although the battery puffed up, I did not notice any loss of performance.

 When Venom came out with their 4500 100c shorty packs, I immediately bought some. The new shorty packs are my favorite so far. The current shorty packs are a great balance between weight and power. They do not have as much power as the full size packs, but they have more than enough for my 2wd Short Course truck.

I have let several people at the track test out my batteries and every response I have got is that "There is a lot of power in these batteries". Also people have exclaimed , "I need to re gear my truck to use this battery!".


Performance
     In terms of performance, I give these batteries a 10/10. I have never been left wanting more from my batteries and so far they have never let me down.


Reliability
    I abuse these batteries, running them to lipo cutoff over and over again. The batteries always charge up and balance for me, even the 2 year old batteries are still crushing it. For Reliability I give these batteries a 10/10.


Quality
    Overall, the batteries have been premium quality. Although, I did have 1 battery puff up on me and some of the labels came partially detached out of the box. Thus, I give the batteries a 9/10 in terms of quality.

Warranty
    The warranty for these batteries are amazing! There is a 1 year replacement warranty for defective batteries for the first year and then you can trade in your old batteries for 30% off a new battery from year 2 onward. To me, the warranty is a 10/10.


Looks
    I really like the look of these batteries. The translucent red case really looks awesome in my opinion. The bad part of the case is that the positive and negative terminals are not easy to identify sometimes. During the early mornings of racing I have plugged my speed control in backwards. I ended up coloring the negative terminal with a black sharpie and I never had trouble seeing the terminals again. I have found the many batteries have the same issue with trying to identify the terminals. If there were simply a large raised negative and positive sign, identification of the terminals would be much easier. I give the batteries a 9/10 in looks.


Overall the Venom Batteries get a 9.6/10. I would highly recommend these batteries to anyone that is trying to race and get maximum performance or to anyone trying to get the longest  and most powerful bashing sessions they can get.

Good luck at the races! Remember, you can always ask me for help, just look for the Venom powered Pro-Line vehicles and the KLA logo at the track.

-Matthew Garcia

Top Notch Series round 2 at Coyote Hobbies

Hello everyone! A couple of weeks ago I attended Round 2 of the Top Notch Racing Series at Coyote Hobbies. It was a full house with a lot of fast drivers in attendance which made for an amazing day of racing!  My Venom Powered Pro 2 SCT performed amazing after I finally fixed some issues I was having.


My first practice session in the morning went well and my truck was performing great. I was really happy with my driving consistency and the traction that my Pro-Line Electrons where giving me! My Venom batteries also performed awesome like they always do!
















After my second practice session, I noticed my ball diff was starting to bark at me and perform very inconsistently.  I ended up taking apart the diff and noticed my thrust bearing had exploded. I ended up rebuilding the diff and it exploded again during the break in phase. The MIP guys where in attendance at the race and they really helped me out with the issues I was having. Unfortunately I had no extra parts to rebuild the diff again and neither did the MIP guys. Here is a shot of my thrust bearing, or what was left of it.














I ended up switching back to the Pro-Line gear diff with 7k oil in it. I was extremely impressed with the gear diff since I never actually tried it indoors. I found that my truck performed more consistently than it ever has. I also noticed that the truck rotated much better through the corners. The truck handled very differently than I was used to, but overall I liked it. Although my day started out super frustrating with my diff failing and the lack of parts available to fix the issue, it ended with a new found respect for gear diffs.  I am going to finish the season with the gear diff and I hope to get my truck fully dialed in for the next race.

Here is a video of the main event that I shot with my Sony Action Cam.

Good luck at the races! Remember, you can always ask me for help, just look for the Venom powered Pro-Line vehicles and the KLA logo at the track.

-Matthew Garcia

 

 

Custom painted Pro-Line Evo Body

Hello Everyone! I recently painted a couple new bodies for the current racing season and I am pretty satisfied with the results! They are both the Pro-Line Evo SC body part# 3413-00.


Here is a side by side shot of the two bodies. I tried color swapping this time and I am really happy with the results!






I really like these bodies for racing. Going from the Flo-Tek to these was a significant difference. These bodies fly better int he air and provide excellent downforce on the straight aways.

 Here is a shot of the body on my Venom Powered Pro-Line Pro2 SCT.

This picture was taken at round 1 of the Top Notch Series at IERC.

If you ever see me around southern California at OCRC or any of the other tracks that participate in the JBRL or TNS series and your child is starting out as a rookie, give me a blank body and I may just paint it for him or her... that is if you like my painting style! I am always happy to help out the little rookies when I can. 

Good luck at the races! Remember, you can always ask me for help, just look for the Venom powered Pro-Line vehicles and the KLA logo at the track.

-Matthew Garcia

Top Notch Series round 1 at IERC

Hello Everyone! Happy Holidays!   A couple of weeks ago I attended the Top Notch Series round 1 at IERC. I have been out of the game for a while because I recently got married and did the whole marriage and honey moon thing. I decided to pick up my Venom powered Pro-Line Pro SCT without any prep or practice and head to the TNS race. 

There were a lot of people attending this race and here is a shot of a very busy pit. I must point out IERC is one of the nicest tracks around. They have a huge projector on the wall for tv, coolers for those hot summer days and most important of all a challenging track with consistent traction.

Here is a shot of the track right before you get on to the straight away. There was a fast and flowing section into the straight away that proved to be very challenging. Many vehicles would get the section wrong and either hit the wall or jump out of the track

Here is a shot of the middle triple section. The triple was right after a very tight turn and a very big challenge to clear consistently. Furthermore, your vehicle had to be set up perfectly for maximum traction in order to gain enough speed to make the triple. Most people double singled out on this obstacle. 

Here is a shot of the after the straight away. A drop off and a speed check jump proved to be very fun. It was a great place to pass people. Many people flew off the track at the end of the straight away due to all the traction!






 Here are two shots of my truck.  The truck perform pretty good all day, but I did notice that it was not very nimble in the tight corners. My low speed steering was nil without a little throttle manipulation. Pro-Line has a shorter chassis designed for tighter tracks, part #6093-06. Also, there is a new battery mount for the shorter chassis part # 6093-07. I purchased both parts already and installed them on my truck. I am still doing some testing, but the new parts made the truck handle a lot better.
I will do a review of those parts soon!
My Venom 100c shorty batteries performed flawless all day. I had plenty of power and did not have to worry about my batteries failing me. Venom did a great job with their latest Batteries.



I would say the TNS race went well for me. I ended up getting 11/19 which is not bad for coming out cold, but I still want to get my PRO2 on the podium. I was really close to making the A main, but I did not quite make it. Check out my race for yourself.

Good luck at the races! Remember, you can always ask me for help, just look for the Venom powered Pro-Line vehicles and the KLA logo at the track.

-Matthew Garcia