Porsche 911 GT3 and RCP Mini 96
 

Well, yesterday i received my RCP mini 96 track and today my two Porsches 911 GT3 arrived. While my wife was glued on the TV with Flashfoward and Grey's Anatomy i was glued in my RCP track and testing my Dnano.

I set up the track with the soft side up (low traction, i suppose). Run the Dnano stock. Wow, if it wasn't for the rails i didn't have the Porsche by now. It can fly! The stock tires don't work very well with this track because my rear was always shaking. It's easy to turn over the Dnano. Can someone help me and say what will be the best tires set up for this track?

Run the Dnano with the gyro and bearings. Much smoother than the first time and a little strange to get use to the gyro. I had reduce the steering travel at the beginning of the test (before installing the gyro) but now the turns were too wide...don't understand why, but fixed that by resetting the steering response.

Overall, it's almost 1AM and i can't sleep! To excited about the Dnano, lolo

Just have to buy a good screwdriver and a mini tool box. This car is very nano indeed...

Nuno Miguel Alves

the "soft" side should be higher grip actually. i haven't run on RCP since the first time i touched a dNaNo but i believe its surface is similar to ours so i would recommend either 45F/10R or 35F/8R (this means you'll need a combination of PN Racing, Atomic & Kyosho tires depending on the combination you choose).

the porsche 911 gt3 is prone to rolling because its very narrow. high front traction when cornering at high speed will almost certainly cause this problem. i reduce the steering angle (widens the turning circle) to lessen the problem but throttle control & braking before entering corners will eliminate the problem (reduce your breaking strength to just above minimum).

if you don't have a ball diff & aluminum wheel hubs, get those to add weight to the rear and increase rear traction as well. last but not least, pick up the atomic t-plate set and find the right rear suspension setup for the RCP surface. have fun and post some pics (here & on our forum) when you have them ;)

Hi Q'on, can you explain me the numbers? what do they tell me? just to understand the logic of it..

Ok, i'm used to brake a lot before the corners...but i have to change that...smooth ride is a thing that i don't have, lololo

I have to take care of that...but first a need to find a place where i can run with other guys...i'll learn faster, that's for sure.

Thanks,
nuno

I'm not sure what you mean by soft side unless you mean the more "fuzzy" side. The fuzzy side is the higher grip side which worked well for my Dnano's last year when I had my RCP track. I've never tried the smoother side which was more designed for drifting than grip-racing.

If i remember the instrucions, i'm using the side with less traction, the one that is very smooth. The other side is more rough (probably it attrack more dirt also..). Even so, the Dnano from time to time rolled over...imagine if i ran on the grip side.

Speaking of dirt, the Dnano is very unforgiven about it. Must talk to my wife to shave her hair ;-)

Nuno Miguel Alves

I think he is using the smooth, none textured side. I use the textured side of the RCP Track with my dNaNos. It has great grip when using many different tire grades. I have been using PN's tires exclusively and love the ride and feel on the textured side.

If you are using the smooth side, go ahead and flip the track over and try the textured side. Use a shop vac or similar on the textured side. It will help loosen and clean up the fibers from the manufacturing process. The grip will get better, the more you run and vacuum the track. Over time the loose fibers will be removed from vacuuming and the fibers that stay attached will give you the grip. That is why PN Racings original track at their shop, which is at least 3 ~ 4 years old, has outstanding grip.

Thanks,
John

So, can I assume that i'm using the "not so good" side? Because of the Dnano dimensions i tought that this was the appropriated side...

Well, now i have to talk to my kids an offer them another wii game so they can flip the track (and change the rails...thank god i'm not using the male-don't-remember-the-name-in-english to secure the rails).

But do you think that the smooth side won't work at all? At least i read here someone telling that they are using that side because it felt better.

By the way, your RCP Track is absolutely great. If anyone has any doubts about it, they just have to forget it. Absolutely great!

Thanks,
Nuno Miguel Alves

You can use either side. I would guess that 20% of our customers use the smooth side and 80% use the textured side. I like the textured side because it has a porus surface that allows the dust to settle lower than the top surface fibers. It allows for a more consistant surface without having the dust settling on the track and having to clean it after every few runs. I also think the tiles mesh together better with the textured side up and looks better this way. The cutting tools cut from top to bottom and we have the textured side facing up during the cutting process. Cutting the top surface first allows for a better looking mesh with what ever surface is cut first.

I don't use the top threaded PINS, when running my dNaNo's. The cars aren't really heavy enough to lift the rails. My kids don't mind setting up the track. I store the track with the rails attached and they enjoy putting the pieces together. Must be a kid thing.

Thank you so much!

Nuno Miguel Alves

FYI, we have some new tracks coming out for the 2009 Holiday season that have a different surface texture than the smooth and textured side currently available on our black surface tracks.

The kits will be available through Toysrus, HSN and a few other large retail chains and come with a complete track and two 1/40 scale RC cars. The cars are high end toy grade and come with operational front and rear headlights.

The track surface is a stamped print, which is sort of in between the smooth side and textured side of our current tracks. The 1/40th scale cars work very well on the surface. I have tested the dNaNo on the surface at PN Racing's headquarters and it performs well with PN Racing high grip tires. With the new surface you get the feel of the smooth side with close to similar grip as the textured side of our current tracks. The tiles are dark grey in color, the straight side rails are black and the turn rails are yellow.

I think offering an entry level RC car with a professional track in the toy industry will only help sales and popularity of the Mini-z and dNaNo. Many will look to upgrade to a hobby grade RC car at some point. There are many people out there that don't know that the Mini-z and dNaNo exist. By getting our tracks into the masses of the toy industry, opens up many doors for people to get into the hobby side of RC.

if you could, please be sure to share that information with me ;) i can have an appropriate subforum setup for those entry level folks :)

Hey their RCP, will this new track with the 1/40 scale cars be of appropriate scale for the cars? Normal Mini96 is too wide/big for the Dnano's. I'd like to see pictures of these when available.

no way. the mini-96 is what i would suggest as the minimum for the dnano. you get these up to full speed and anything thinner than a mini-96 and your asking for a game of rail tag.

co-signed. the tiles on our circuits 1 square metre so by comparison, our tracks are huge for dNaNo but any smaller and it gets crowded with multiple cars

re: Tire Compunds
45F/10R = PN Racing 45 degree front tires + Kyosho #10 (Stock) Rear Tires
35F/8R = Atomic 35 degree front + Atomic 8 degree rear tires

The higher the number the more grip they have? Or it is the opposite? I just don't understand the ranking of the numbers...

Thanks Q'on,
nuno

I think a lot depends on your space available and how many cars you anticipate on your track at one time. For the home racer who usually practices by himself and does not have a lot a space, a narrow track will allow a longer more chalenging course with more turns. A wider shorter course with less turns in the same size space can become boring quickly. I have 16", 24", and now a prototype 32" wide track and I find myself always going back to the 16" wide track for the dNaNo. The dNaNo just looks and feels right on it. It is challenging when you are practicing by yourself and it really hones your skills. When I put the dNaNo on the 24" wide track the car looks lost on it. With the wide track width compared to the small size of the dNaNo, the racing line has a unatural feel to it where you seem to be spending a lot of time driving laterial on the track. Although it is difficult to get a clean pass on the 16" track. Just my experience

Lower number = softer compound, more traction
Higher number = harder compoud, less traction

Thank you!
Nuno Miguel Alves

The lower the number the stickier the tire is.I have the Lambo Murcielago and am running the stock 10 rears and Atomic 35's on the front. I am running on the HT USA carpet track and the 35's make the car really twitchy at first.I tend to be a slower learner at driving it took a couple of battery packs to get used to them but they are great tires.It also may have to do with the diff setup you have also.You need some slip to help with power transfer and to help settle the rear end down.I still have a little work to do on my Kyosho ball diff but it is real close.For rear hop try adding a piece of foam between the chasis and rear pod it will act as a shock of sorts and help dampen the rears tendancy to hop use airplane radio box foam.

Are you using the shims that comes with the Kyosho Ball Diff? Or anything different?

Thanks
Nuno

Well,

Last night I flip the track and ran 3 packs on the grip side. As RCP Track already told with this side up I'll have to clean it less often...I can not see the dirt, and that's good. And i have to say that the body was less dirtier. Regarding the performance, because of my poor skills, i didn't notice anything special. Maybe i ran more in the track and less in the rails ;-)

One thing is for sure, this thing gives me the same pleasure as the 1/10 Electric Touring that i ran during the last year in Portugal. And in my living room!

Thanks
Nuno

scale appearance wise, i agree completely. the 16" tiles are much more scale in apppearance. here you can see the difference with both a mini-z, dnano, 24" tile, 16" tile over a mini-96 section 3 tiles wide.
http://mini-zracer.com/mini-zgallery.../IMG_11841.JPG
practical racing with more than 2 car, i suggest the 24" tile. you would have to be either very good or going very slow to race more than 2 car on the 16" tiles and do so cleanly. in my experience with my kids, that just doesn't happen. i need all 24" available when driving with my kids to avoid disasters.

the mini-96 is wider than the 16" rt tiles and thinner than the 24" rt tiles so it's a good balance of both scale and practicality.

that being said, the painted lanes do add that special scale appearance that some look for in a home track. just wish side rails were available.

if you do race frequently on your mini-96 and with others, i think you could benefit wit the use of the wide inside turn kits and maybe the expansion pack. i felt both were worthwhile purchases.
http://mini-zracer.com/mini-zgallery.../IMG_11791.JPG

i also bought the rail liners that were technically made for the 50cm rcp tiles however rcp has posted instructions on how to use them with the 30cm tiles however i just have not found the time to install them. i'm tempted to donate them to our club track (50cm) for use with club racing.

Hey there arch. How do you like the Real Tracks tracks? What tires are you using for both Z's and D's?

I've sold my Mini96 a while ago and would like to get another track some time soon. I've been looking at the RealTracks cause they seem like they would be more durable when you have pet's around, plus the surface look's easier to clean. Can you race the Mini-Z on that surface as well? I'd like it to be universal for the two cars.

It look's like the 24" is perfect for Z's and the 16 is ideal for Dnano's. I some how imagine the surface of Real Tracks to be similar to slot-car tracks?

i like the realtracks products i've tried so far. the experience is very different from rcp. for mini-z, rcp tire setups work well. all i have are stock dnano tires and they are to hard to keep up speed on realtracks tiles.

yes, they would be less susceptible to pet damage. both are easy to clean. vaccuum or wet swiffer sweeper, both are easy. yes, per above, you can race both.

ideal is a subject opinion which i've discussed below/above, depending on how your post lineage is set. the surface is nicely textured which works well. i don't own any slot cars/tracks so i can no compare them. be aware that as the tiles are more rigid, you will need a smoother floor surface as the tiles are less forgiving than rcp tiles. as you can see i have a tiled floor and it did not cause any problems.

if i could improve realtracks in anyway, i would add side rails. it's a personal preference really as some really like being able to run off the track.

Didn't they originally make tracks with rails and went away from that for more realistic racing? I suppose if you wanted to do some scale modeling, the run-offs would be nice to have. But for flat out racing, I like the rails. My only issue with the rails on the Real-Tracks tracks would be seems they'd be harder to hit than RCP's soft rails. If I'm going to have rails, I'd want soft rails to hit and bounce off.
On three of my Dnano's, I currently have PN's 45 rear and 15 fronts. I wonder if those would be suitable for these tracks. I'm thinking one would want slicks?

that would be a good question for the realtracks vendor forum :)

j,

Been thinking about importing a K dnano track... I don't have
the luxury of time to drive to the nearest HT, or know if they
even have them yet... I'd much rather spend my weekend
cheering for the team or with family.

I'd love to be able to pick up a good track at toysrus during
holiday shopping since there are about 3-4 (15-30 min) near
where I live.

Any pics or pricing available?

Can you give us a good idea on when other than the
"holiday season" lol? :)

Do you plan on offering regular rcp set ups at toysrus too?

Sorry for the hijack nal lol.


parts

I doubt regular RCP tracks would be sold at TRU, but I like the idea of the 1/40 scale sets being sold at said place.

the kyosho dnano track sold in jpn is not the same track ht stores have.

lets save the new rcp track details for the rcp vendor forum :)

This morning i added more two packs to my curriculum. The chattering of the rear is s little bit annoying...must use foam, change tires and install the Kyosho Ball Diff (don't have the lube...).

My other White 911 GT3 Porsche is still without use (and the correspondent starter kit). My kids don't want to run the Dnano...now they want a micro plane...go figure.

Nuno Miguel Alves

Hey, no problem, join the table!

Nuno

Hey arch I have another question regarding the two types of track's. RCP's and RealTracks which one is easier to store? I would think RealTracks as it look's thinner than RCP? Does it take less room?

Leave it on the floor! It's like having a glass of wine (or beer) in your table: always ready when you want to satisfy yourself ;-)

realtracks stacks in a much smaller space compared to rcp however is much heavier when stacked.

As I live with Dad, I don't have the opp to leave it in place. Thus one reason I sold the RCP track. I'm thinking of Realtracks because of what arch just said. It is more stackable and takes up smaller space.
I think one issue my Dad had with the RCP track was it just took too much room to store. Even though I had it stored under my computer desk, it was still a lot to put away.
I sold it because with 2 year old Irish Setter who is full of energy, would probably destroy the RCP track. I'm hoping RealTracks would be more durable. Then again, the dog is afraid of my micro helicopters when I fly them so chances are he might leave the track alone. But if not in use and just sitting on the floor, I'd hate for it to be wrecked by dog running across it.
So, looking for something durable and easy to put away.

My RCP track on oneside of my living room:

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/IMG_8677.jpg

My Porsche:

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/IMG_8682.jpg

Nuno

Some how the Porsche look's so much nicer in silver than white. I hope to get the silver AutoScale soon to replace my white one. I thought I'd like the white one better.

Well, after 10 packs or so the stock diff needs some help. First i tought it was the mesh btw pinion and diff. But later realized that the diff sometimes, at very very low rev, got stuck. Where's my grease?....
Now i'm using 35F 10R. For me it's ok...

Nuno

Track looks great in your living room. Nice pic of the car on the track.

I think the Mini-96 kit is a perfect fit to scale for the dNaNo. If you layout the track incorporating long straights, there is no need to hold back. With a good set of soft rubber tires, the textured side can handle any speed you throw at it. The tracks will provide a perfect platform for the RCP 2010 dNaNo cup series events.

The dNaNo RTR's and auto scales are not cheap and the soft side rails really help protect your investment. I can see your son up against one in the pic.:)

The texture side is really great. But even greater are the rails! For me, the best feature that RCP track has, because not all guys that run Dnano are serious racers and the rails are a big help.

Still have that little bumping in the rear when turning but i think with more weight in the back will resolve that.

Nuno

I agree with your statement RCP. When I had my Mini96 and Dnano's last year, I found the Dnano's more suited on the track than the Mini-Z's. I found the Mini-Z's almost too big and the track too tight. Dnano's were a lot of fun on that track. Wish I had the space to leave it up permanently.