Carrerista Jamboree Pt 2

28th Dec, Sunday...

Went there to participate in the 23T open race...But there wasn't any due to lack of participants...So the whole event became a practice event and a demo...Some of us even played catching 1/10 RC style...

Managed to get my car steady...Thanks to Nic for driving around in his Cyclone 12, spreading the traction compound on the racing lines...Lolz!!

Didn't manage to squeeze all my stuff into one bag...But at least its lighter le...

Had fun with the drift demo...Shawn and Botak setup a couple of obstacles and we tried to drift through them...Thats to attract the crowd...I felt abit of pressure when I was doing the solo drift demo...Didn't think I could perform all that just now without using a BL motor...

Left the area around 730pm to send Dave for his student exchange programme at the airport...
Now, back at home...11pm...Haha...

Carrerista Jamboree Pt 1

27th Dec, Saturday...

Tio cheat by food industry today...
1. Bryson, Nic and me tio conned by the stall at the event...$5 for fried rice, 2 vege and 1 egg...Daylight robbery...
2. Chicken rice at J8...$5.50 for half the amount of chicken, half the cha-shao and an egg...Crap...

Well, back to the events...
I didn't go around to look look...Maybe tomorrow or wednesday bah...Bring my R35 shell around and take photos...
Lost to Winson and got 2nd...Oh well, mistake on my part...Haha...

First minor scratch on the R35 shell, just below the left headlight...Argg...

Hell, its a super long trip there...I think it cost me $15-20 fuel to and fro...

Nobody check tickets today...So I got 2 tickets for tomorrow and wednesday IF they check...But if we go early, probably they won't check like today...

Parked quite far away from the building...Its nearly a kilometer road march into the building...With a pit bag, HPI bag and a transmitter bag...Totaling 20-30kg...Gonna do some weight reduction tonight...YESSS...

Christmasssss...

24th Dec

Bought a whole chicken from the stall at AMK hub for dinner...Too salty and too small...Zzz...

Test my drift car at SK meet...Seemed to perform rather well, but just cannot accelerate out of corners as well as others...

Got hooked on the korean drama on Channel U @ 10pm...Well, something to do than playing games...


25th Dec

Went for the D-evo compy, though got first, but didn't really feel happy...

Round winning criteria was first to complete 2 laps...If the leader has an accident, he has to let the chaser overtake...I'm fine with these rules, different comp, different rules mah...

What I dun like is, the permission to nudge...My definition of nudging is small bumps to pressure the opponent and not bumps to overtake others!! Thats what some did and put some of us off...

When I did my runs, I try to be further from the track markers so I won't crash, but I also didn't go far so nobody can pass through...Also if the opponent bumps me, overtake and wins the round, I will do the same...Cos I seen too many people tio bumped, overtaken and lost the round...

Went to Cafe Cartel after the compy for dinner with family...Shared Sirloin steak, Ribs and Pork chop with parents...I find their quantity is nice, but quality is something to be desired...

Huh and ermmm...

Took a liking to Vitasoy recently and also due to the 2x 1 liter for $2.50, I got drawn to buying it when I go to the supermarket...Maybe thats why I got a tummyache today...

Had almost the whole of SC gang at LAS drift meet today...Pretty fun with the exception of some pro-wannabe who dunno how to squeeze through a small gap safely...Cannot go thru means cannot go thru...Force thru and damage my car...Zzz...A new crack on the front of the 350Z le...

Received an SMS saying that there's miscommunication between the organising committee of the interpoly, so I'm not a judge in the interpoly anymore...
Situation was, earlier messages state that the committee has been informed, and later messages state that the committee wasn't promptly informed...
The time gap between early messages and later messages were 10 days...Wasn't 10 days enough to inform me if there was a miscomm or anything?
Anyway, I voiced out my discontent...I'm fine with being replaced, but being informed last minute was abit too much...

Subsequently one of the committee members called and apologised...End of the call it made me feel like I was forcing them to reinstate me as a judge...I dun have the intention to do so, but oh well...

Recently - 2nd December '08...

- Just completed my exams...Not sure of anything, but hopefully can pass...

- Went for SGDrifters competition and got into top 8 before being eliminated...Another bump to my opponent that cost me the whole thing...

- Went to BK and practiced after an abscence of 2-3 months since the last HPI at Funan...Running alone is pretty ok...Haven't tried running with people of the same standard...

- The track is pretty flowy and I think a gear ratio of 6 and below should be better...I'm using 6.125 FDR, but using lipo instead of NiMH...I used lipo because I didn't want to wait for the NiMH to complete 1 cycle...Then got lazy and didn't bother to change the battery...

- Surprisingly when I charged the battery, it can only pump in approx 1400mAh before its full...So does that mean that I've only used 1400mAh to complete a full 6 min run without stopping?? I'm kinda surprised at the low power usage...The battery was around 7.6V when I stopped, which is a very safe level...Its warm, but not hot...

- Even though the battery can last long, but the motor can't...I feel the drop in RPM and torque after the 5min mark...Dun think its due to the voltage, but more likely the heat causing the magnetism of the motor to drop...

- It rained soon after and I couldn't practice anymore...Went to Ulu Pandan DM...Though my car wasn't performing well, but didn't really cared...

- Now I know the secret behind the realistic engine sound of Zhirong's car...Very ingenious...Just a simple device at a strategic spot...Would try asap...

Finally...A Lathe!!

After 3+ years in RC and abit less than 2 years in 1/10 scale, I finally got my own lathe...
I know people who have been in RC for less than 6 months and they got everything or more of what I owned...

This lathe, is from Eagle Racing...Quality wise its not as good as Hudy ones, but as long as it cuts its good...Got it for $80, what more can I ask? Haha...

Hudy lathes use a better lathe bit than the one I have now, hence it produces a slightly smoother finish...Oh well, I can always change the lathe bit, just that its expensive to get a diamond bit...

Had some problems when I lathed the first comm...The lathe bit stand was kinda shaky...I thought it was normal for such quality, but I was so wrong...There were afew grub screws where I can tighten the freeplay and etc...Wheee...Now its not shaky!!

At 4V input to the lathe, it draws around 2.4A...

Hmm...Probably I can start charging people for trueing their commutators...Haha...
The standard rate of $1 or 1 can drink would be nice...

The small demi-god of drift luck...

Why?

1. At Tampines HPI drift challenge, Kenny won me and he became 1st of the event...
2. At SGDrifters UP Challenge, Billy won me and he became 1st of the event...
3. TODAY, at Bigsplash...Charles won me and he became 1st of the event...

Win me, 80% chance getting 1st...
Win me, 99% chance getting top 3...
Basket...Haha!!!

10.5~!!!

I got a Roche 10.5 brushless motor!! Its sensored and sintered!!
Its 2nd hand though...
Cost me $65 + $13 for the sensor wire...

Never tried on the car...But should be quite ok...
It felt abit weak...Might be my ESC/Tx settings...Maybe can test on a touring track to see how it performs...

S15 pre-decal stage...

[Click picture to see original size]

Dun think I have the time to do in November as its quite near my exams, so I tried to finish the masking and spraying today...Now its almost complete, except for the decals which is being printed by Bryson's dad...Thanksss...

Kinda regret that I didn't spray enough white on the 1st layer of some parts...I can see some of the orange from the 2nd layer...But other than that, the whole car looks quite ok...
Maybe I'll use the decals to cover the messed up areas...

Masking was tedious for the stars and the lower edges...

The headlights are actually transparent, just waiting for the light buckets...I haven't got the time to spray some necessary parts black...

Total time spent on this shell at the moment, 4hrs...See whether can make it for the HPI event or etc bah...

Upcoming project...

This is the 1st draft of the S15 shell I'm gonna do...
Based on Macross Frontier - Ranka...
Will be adding more stuff when I work on the actual shell...

iPhone~!!

Just got a iPhone from a recontract...
I got the white 16GB version...

Dislikes:
- Limited ringtones or message tones unless you install other applications...
- Typing is a chore...Must get used to it...
- Need to use iTunes to put songs and videos...
- Cannot act as storage device for PC...Whats the point of 16GB?
- Need to convert video to MP4 for playback...

Likes:
- Very sleek...
- Can play song loud loud!! Weee!!
- Video quite smooth...
- Can do lap timing above 100 laps!! Old phone only up to 19...
- GPS!! But must calibrate by WiFi...

End of the day, I still prefer old technology...Maybe need a month or so to really get used to the phone...Then I can say whether its good or bad...

Milk Milk...

Haven't been to the supermarket lately, but I expect alot of chocolates and other diary products to be off the shelves due to the recent turn of events in China's milk industry...

Not surprising what suppliers over there do to earn more money...

Luckily I'm not a big fan of diary products except cheese...Dun think this will affect my life...

One thing I can expect, is that my professor for EG2401 module will surely say something against china...And before he say anything, he will state that he has no grudge against china...Again...

The recent...

Tampines...
- Didn't perform well in the open drift...Dunno why, but the car dun have grip at all...Forget it...

- Joined the Sprint 2 endurance, only challenge was from Adil...He's one of the top Mini-Z drivers I know last time, so it was pretty hard to pull away from him...If not for his hardware failure, I doubt we could place first...

- Never joined the 23T as I want to take a break from RC...

Funan...
- Joined 23T...Car was sliding here and there without grip...Thats irregardless of traction compound, cleaning, etc...Tried to set the car with various settings...But simply dunno why car doesn't work at all...Today got 4th...Not bad for a tail-happy car, and 2nd overall...again...

- Joined Sprint 2 endurance, but without the car I set previously...It was loaned to Team Fast & Furious (TFF) and that car seemed to be alot more stable than the one I was using, which is Julia's car...TFF had a problem with the motor at the last 10mins where I was probably 27laps away...I calculated that I need 6-8 mins to catch up and we did catch up to 2nd place...1st place had a grippier car which solves everything that I want Julia's car to have...

- Overall track, is utter crap...Lots of red FUR, lots of spinouts...If it was the same carpet, the whole race would be successful, fast and very happening...Now is just watching everyone try not to spinout while some had more grip than others...

- Grand Finale luckydraw...Abit unfair when they said everyone has a chance at taking home something...Nobody expected the something to be a bag...YES a BAG...Till now I'm still wondering why I only have 1 chance at the lucky draw even though I participated in 2 endurance races...Is it because my name wasn't inside? Hmm dunno...

If they want to make everyone happy with the lucky draw, they should restrict those who got something already, to items that are leftovers...At least everyone would get something nice and not a bag...

Conclusion:
1. Funan carpet is crap...It makes everything disappointing...Elsewhere is pretty nice unless its wet...
2. Transponder system is lousy...
3. Lucky draw is not lucky at all...With several people getting stuff for 3-5 times...While some have nothing else than a bag...

HPI @ IMM Pt 2

Track was slightly damp after the long straight due to Saturday's downpour...The damp area was at the starting grid and I had 'drift' starts or understeer upon entry into that corner...

I was in the same group as How Jiang who have difficulty in getting the car to be stable...Most likely due to his low-downforce shell...

After the 5/6 round, I was tied in points with Joe Hwee but I have the advantage of a better lap timing and probably the most number of laps in 5min...
And best thing is I went against Joe at the 6th round...It was either him or me situation...
Well, was pretty lucky that I found a good line and managed to be consistent...Got 1st as a result...

Set the car to be more stable, hence I feel more confident driving it...

HPI event @ IMM!!

Went there for the open-chassis drift event...
Got 1st...Yup...Pretty happy...

Didn't really like the track layout...Or maybe particularly, I dun like carpet...The feeling of having grip when you dun want it, dun have grip when you need it...I prefer the feeling of running on tiles...

The 15T Drift Meister motor dun like me or I dunno how to tune it well...I did the usual alignment stuff less the comm lathing...Mid range rpm doesn't feel linear...
Maybe its the setting in the VFS-FR that I bought <24hrs ago...

Speaking of ESCs, lucky I never use my MC330CR...Dun really like using a 15T motor on a 13T limit ESC...Might just be so suay to burn it...And Harold really burnt a MC330CR...
Then he burnt another MC330CR which I sold him on the spot...Sad case...
Would prefer Taising HPI to allow open-motors so as to prevent burning ESCs...


Wasn't part of the enduro, but was an advisor for a team cos I'm beside them...Haha...
3 teams took part and the teams placing was as expected...

Shawn helped me spray a very nice shell...Now most of us have the same theme!! Mine's fluoroscent orange which is a rather striking color...Niceee!

SGDrifters Challenge...

Car setup was great...Surprised that my 0-2mm offset rims can work so well...
But, too trigger-happy...Unconsciously banged into Billy during the top 8 rounds...

Quite stunted haha and that really deducted alot of points...
Oh well, at least Billy got first!!! Not too bad of me who lost to first!! Kakkaaa....

Track layout was pretty easy...Used tires with velcro tape and IMO, uber goooddd...
Will keep these tires and try use elsewhere...If they work well, why not? Haha...

Dunno why some say my car very fast, but I didn't do anything to the tires!! Haha...

Would like to join another SGDrifters compy bah...

I really DUN like the community center's logo and etc on the shirt's sleeve...Maybe can bleachhh it off...

F1 Enduro...

Though I never join, but I am GLAD that they told us to let others join...
Would really hate to drive such a fragile car...

Congrats to:
Team Super subs - Expected them to win...Khng, Zhikai and Tony...No surprise...Lolz...
Team PFW - Kinda expect them to win too, with Ken with them I think...Well done having the best time lap...
Team Almost There - A surprise at first, but kinda expect it as drifters have good sense of control...Just that they need to get used to touring...

Team PFW2 - Not really expecting it...But only 2 laps from 3rd, abit suay bah...
Team KBJ - Seemed to be performing quite well before I left...
Team DNA - From the laps, must be car down...

Not gonna join any endurance from now onwards...Got other priorities to take care of...

Junction 8 neh!!!

22nd August 08, Friday...

- Went to J8 at night to help build track...Have to wait for 933FM people to clear before we can do anything...Supposedly we could get the track by 1030pm...Waited till 12am...
- Went home before the track layout was finalised...

23rd August 08, Saturday...

- Went to school for a 3hr lesson from 9-12pm...Even though there's webcast, but I dun want to miss it...
- Reached J8 around 1215pm cos we were released slightly early from lessons...
- The track was bigger than what we planned on Friday night...

Endurance Team AMS - Alan, Marcus, Shawn

- Installed electronics onto endurance car just 1 hour before it started...We rushed to setup the ESC and center the steering...Luckily we managed to finish in time...
- Didn't modify the car setup since the previous endurance at Bukit Pangjang, but surprisingly it worked well!
- Rained and the carpet was wet around the long straight...But managed to avoid touching water as it would make the car spinout or understeer...

- Was doing on par with Team Velociti (Alan, Zhikai, Tim) till they had a damaged ball diff...They were running front one-way and ball diff which is not as good to drive as our all-round gear diffs...Thats what Zhikai said la...Haha...
- By the time Alan went back home and got the spare gear diffs, they were around 200+ laps behind us...

- About 2hours into the race, our spur gear adaptor broke...When we had 49laps advantage over the Team PFW (Martin, William, Jonathan)...Though I had a fright of my life cos my teammates were busy in the pits, we managed to get the car ready in 6min, which dropped our advantage to 14laps...

- Shawn used the Cyclone center spur hub to secure onto the Sprint 2...Thanks to William for pointing out to us...

- Being quite close to losing, I tried to increase the advantage so that if we have another breakdown, there will be lesser laps to catch...Surprisingly the modification held till the end of the race and we had an advantage of 33laps...

- After the modification, I drove gently cos I dun want to damage the mod...But gradually I pushed so I'll know what is the limit to the mod...

- This endurance is the most relaxed one we ever had, save for the spur gear incident...

24th August 08, Sunday...

- First time I didn't lathe the motor at all...
- Tried Jack the Gripper, a traction compound Joe Hwee helped us to order...I'm quite impressed with it, maybe I can use it on my drift tires? Haha...

- Due to oversight by organisers, I was paired up with Joe Hwee on the grouping...Not too good for this race format...But was quite happy as I got someone to pace...
- Found that a stable setting work better...Didn't perform well for the first 3 rounds as the car is abit oversteering...
- Even though I got 3rd overall, was still quite happy...
1. Marcus
2. Lorenzo
3. Me

Around 11 Aug 08...

- School has finally started...Again comes the stupid module bidding and tutorial balloting...How I wish its like poly when they assign you the modules and tutorials...Argg!!

- Petrol prices has dropped!! Previously the price for SPC 95 was $2.22/litre, now it has dropped to $1.98/litre!! Weeee...

- Heard CRVs are the target of car thieves...Seems like any key can open and start the car even with the immobilizer system...Oh crap...Time to change car to Honda Stream? Probably a RSZ version if possible...Hahahaaa...Or my parents' Odyssey would be nice too, while they get another one...Hehe...

- My newer set of T-drifts aren't as grippy as my older set...Dunno why leh...Uncle Martin says its because I run it on rough ground, but my old one I run rough and smooth ground till the tire gonna pop out...Haizz...Maybe I need to put traction compound onto that icy-slidy new set...

- Will be looking for SWP chrome rims around +7 and +10mm offset if I can fit PVC into them...Then I will use my Odyssey shell for the SGDrifters compy...Somehow didn't want to use my WRX as its abit old, and my SX4, cos doesn't seem nice to drift when I tried it on Sat and Sunday...

As for the Golf, I have a feeling its gonna feel the same as the SX4 so kinda...dun bother...

- Where the hell is my 2.4Ghz Mini-Z coming!!! Basssskett...My Ko Propo ASF module is collecting dust!!

- Wanted to try the HPI 15T Drift Meister motor...Getting it if I join the Junction 8 drift event...But saw from Psychophant's car, the motor eat brush like cake sia...So having 2nd thoughts on whether want to join to practice track...Also was thinking of using it for SGDrifters challenge so I need not wait 2 seconds due to failsafe of the Novak GTB...

- Upgraded my TX exterior look!! Cost me $37 @ Taising, but at least it looks pretty neat...

- Playing Combat Arms Online nowadays...Nick is Nov9G...

- Would be going less and less to BK...Cos no point going when the HPI 23T races are at Capitaland malls...As for drift meets, dunno...But will go to drift meets to play...Won't be setting car like last time...Touring-drift or etc, I dun care anymore...

Just noticed...

Just noticed Ian's siggy...

"Why are Yokomo parts so expensive...Guess quality comes with a price..."

My version...

"Why are Yokomo parts so expensive...To see something break nicely comes with a price..."

BBQ'ed @ CHIJ...

Just realise the Racial Harmony Day event was organised by the GRC and not by CHIJ...CHIJ only sponsored the event...Zzz...
So pretty much can see little kids running around and parents...No xiao mei mei...Kakaka...

Will reconsider the judging rules to become more friendly and better...Maybe next time at front wheels over the marked area...
Also the judging stand should have a shelter...BBQ'ed up there!!

Lucky there's only 1 unhappy sentiments by 1 person, kid...

If he thinks that I'm biased towards a certain group of drifters...Let him think that way bah...I cannot stop him thinking that way huh...
He could have voiced out, but why he didn't? Beats me...

If I'm biased, then nobody in the certain group of drifters will even fall into the wildcard category...

In fact thinking back, I was more strict in my judging with people whom I think have the skill, hence I demand more from them...

One part of my judging which I never state clearly is...If you had an accident very near the judging apex, in which I minus'ed 1 point...Then I would not minus point for the judging apex if you didn't make it to my expectation...

* Changing to the best equipment in the world would not gurantee a sure-win...
* Dun like the judging, be a judge yourself!! I didn't go to the trouble of planning etc just to get shot at...
* Dun like me, ban me from your drift meet...Like I care about it...I can always go elsewhere even if it cost me more...Drifting is not the only place I can use my car...

Skali, he also complain SGDrifters' judging...


***A fence is like friendship...A nail is like arguements...Once a nail is punched into the fence...Even if you take out the nail and repair the fence...The hole will still be there forever...

13th July 2008, Sunday...

Nice day nice weather, abit hot but no rain thankfully...

Car was good on Saturday, crap on Sunday...Had oversteer on left turns during my practice runs...Realised that the handout tires were not glued properly...Sad, but lucky that I realise it before the actual heats...

Car became understeer even after sanding the tires and reset the car...Didn't change the settings as I thought it was the tires, and it would become normal after awhile...I was dead wrong...But got TQ 1st for qualifying...

In the 1st main, I was still understeering and thanks to Joehwee for giving me a little slap, I flew and dropped down to at 6th or 7th place...Managed to chase back to 3rd position by 3:30 minutes...But I couldn't catch the top 2 as my car was simply understeering too much...

Back to the pits and changed the front camber from -1deg to -2deg after noticing the slight uneven wear on the front tires...

2nd final main..I had slight oversteer, making the whole car abit twitchy but still driveable...Wasn't able to get consistent laps, but managed to pull or maintain distance from the rest...
Thanks to few guys like Lorenzo, Eric for letting me pass when I came around lapping them...
Also thanks to Joseph for helping me to tune my motor on Saturday...

2nd Overall ranking on the Series 1...
I was tied in points with Marcus for best overall 3 races...But he had 5/5 race attendance while I had 3/5 race attendance due to exams...
Oh well, I dun really care about ranking...Just having fun with friends would be sufficient!

5th July, post compy; feedbacks' feedback...

Saying that I dun deserve to be a champion is alittle harsh...Well, I admit...I probably be 3rd bah...

Friends that are not friends, yet friends...

Someone created an account on Rctech just to comment on that match between Winson and me...Oh well, I kinda guessed who will do it...

'Palia', I dunno what this meant, but I guess its about biased judging or something near that...

Me using a Tamiya 416 vs Winson using a Cyclone...And this is a Tamiya event...Personally I dun believe Marah will be biased based on product, as he's not really a staff of Tamiya...Nothing gained from being biased to me...
Its not like "Because 416 is winning, so it proofs to be a way better car for drifting and touring!!"...

I seriously dun believe Tamiya can sell more 416, retailing at $720, just because someone has won afew compy with it...

To me, I kinda feel like someone shooting seeds at me from sour grapes...

5th July, post compy...

I dun like 0 or +2mm offset rims...Never was and never will...
Had understeer problems thru out the whole event...Performed pretty well on the straights, but was understeering inside...

Never had that problem with my +6 +9mm rims before...Wrong decision to put the new Super Driftech tires onto the 0mm rims...Although I never used them...Probably gonna sell the spare as I have 3 sets now...1 for tarmac, 1 for carpet, 1 spare...

Personally I didn't drive cleanly and was quite nervous...Didn't had the car in proper control and somehow nudged alot of people...

There was a loser pool again, where those who lost got a chance to come back...Probably due to lack of participants, so they need people to make up the top 16...

I find difficulty in facing some opponents...Won't mention names here...Haha...Just hope to be better next round...Gotta find a good setup with 0 or +2mm offsets...

This time I used my dust-collecting WRX...A big bang at the rear thats all...Haha...No damage, but I think its gonna go back to the shelves again...

$20 for a set of drift tires, a trophy and experience that cannot be bought...Well, an extra $13.80 for indoor parking vs $11 for outdoor HOT parking...$2.80, somehow ok la...

4th July 2008

- Checked out Leisure Park at Kallang...Track isn't up yet at 5pm...Hope the layout would be simple...

• There's 7-11...So drinks and snacks are settled...
• I dun see any fastfood...So probably have to go to the drive-thru before arriving...
• Open-air carpark G or indoor? Hmm...I think open-air better...Cheaper by $6, but hotter by 10deg celcius...
• Hope I get a parking slot next to the entrance...Then no need to walk so far...
  

- Kinda lost when my 23T touring car isn't as fast as it should be...Maybe I should use another style of Step charging? Haha...Motor lathe le, still slow as hell...
- Gonna try 0 deg castor on my 416...Hope it will perform as well as I planned...
- Gonna get the KO Propo 2.4Ghz Mini-Z ASF module and modify to Futaba use...Probably need to spend $150 to get the module and the receiver board for my Z...Then I can sell off the AM module and the old receiver board for $80 or so...
- Next week HPI 23T race...Hope to be in podium...

Things are getting expensive...

As fuel prices rise, things are getting expensive!
Experts say that fuel prices will only drop around 2009...And expect USD$170 per barrel soon...Currently around $140...

Went to BK today...Did a major rewiring on the car that makes most stuff modular, that is, some stuff can be unplugged easily instead of soldered on...

While about to complete my soldering, BK said I'm using the solder for too long and using his solder lead which is very expensive at Sim Lim and he has a business to run...Told me that I should get my own solder and do it at home...

I understand his situation as the shop owner...But...

1. Its not like I never pay my track fees...I thought my track fees covered some part of the electric bills?
2. He could have charged for using the soldering iron and etc...Or kept it from us...
3. What about other people bringing their own soldering iron and leaving it switched on for the whole day?
4. If I could do at home, would I waste my playing time to do solder there?

I've a soldering iron and lead at home, but its for small PCB/SMD...Not for these sort of things...

After he made that few statements, I seriously lost the mood to play...Though I just hurriedly finished 3 packs to try my car and charged only 1 pack before I left...

I've learnt my lesson, I'm gonna buy my own high wattage soldering iron and lead...

The respect I held for him is diminished...

416~!!!

As like Tamiya's TRF 416 dominated some of the touring races internationally, my 416 managed to get first in 2 recent drift competitions!!
1. Far East
2. Rivervale Village RC (Sengkang d-evolution)

Went to Sengkang drift competition with Bryson today...And we came back as the first of our categories!! Quite happy with the results...Hehe...

By far, this trophy is the biggest I've got...Well, if I managed to win 3 Tamiya endurance rounds, probably that will be biggest...Only won the first one, and its dominated by Team Redline Roosters...Oh well, Haha...

Someone at Groovydrift said that my chassis is severly imbalanced...I admit, yes...But something is proved...An imbalance chassis is BETTER for drifting!! Lolz...Just kidding la...


Back to the event today...

Things that I didn't expect:
- Ah de, Danny to get knocked out earlier...
- Some of the better drifters to face each other and take each other out...
- For me to face off with an easier opponent for the first round compared to others...

Tried tires from a friend...Its the highest grip among the 3-types he had...At BK, it was extremely fast and really performed like a real drift car...
At Sengkang, its not a good option as its too fast and uses too much power...I may want to try the lowest grip version and see how...
If its good, I will start spreading in the forums...Its only $15/set compared to HPI T-drift $20/set...And its slightly thicker which equates to longer lasting tires!!

Hope Zeal has some good vids or pics to post...I want to see how I fare in the video cam!!

I need to get some low profile lead weights man...At least 200g to make it more balanced...Hopefully in 20g segments...

Unhappy sentiments in forum?

Not me...But I can feel some people are not too happy about the motor issues in the recent drift event...

Some are saying there's an distinct advantage in using brushless for drifting over brushed...Maybe, but this is an unrestricted drift event...People are not restricted in what motors/batteries they can use...Of course I use whatever to my advantage...

Batteries: Comparing a lipo to a NiMH...Yes, Lipo have continuous punch throughout, while NiMH is only punchy for the first few minutes in touring...But one thing they didn't consider is, drifting uses less power, hence the punch can last longer like 10-15min...And the drift rounds are only 4-8laps at most...Which is at most 5min...
Who has complained of lack of punch in drift competitions before!!

Lipo being lighter than NiMH is also an advantage, this I cannot argue...But for some cars, being lighter on one side is being unbalanced!! So this is an disadvantage instead!! As such, the weight advantage between NiMH and Lipo is somehow negligible for drifting...


Motors: Brushless and brushed...I only see slight advantage of BL or brushed...A less friction and maintenance motor are the ONLY advantages...I see people associating brushed motors as anything higher than 23T stock and brushless as modified motors (13T etc)...This is crap...
I can always use a brushed motor thats around 11T to perform exactly like my 6.5R...So stop the crap with brushless and brushed...

This is drifting, not touring...A faster motor doesn't guarantee you a faster drift car...

I can see afew getting a brushless system after this event's results...

Weee...

7th June 2008...

- A very lucky win in the Tamiya drift event at Far East Plaza today! I was kinda prepared for 2nd place cos Bin goes closer to the apexes while I took a safer, wider lining...I must admit that my car has more grip and speed than most others...Once I'm in front, I can safely pull away at long drifts...Also I didn't encounter the big shots in the first few rounds, so I'm spared from getting kicked out like the time at Big Splash ECP...

- My 350Z shell is slightly bashed...I loaned my car to one of the racequeens and forgot to limit the throttle End-Point-Adjustment EPA...She full gunned the throttle for quite afew times...Once into the wall, another along the wall like a Tamiya Mini-4WD and also reverse into oncoming cars...Oh well, a lesson learned...Lucky the shell only had a 2mm crack...Now to repair with aluminum glass tape ahahha...

- Parking at Far East is very expensive...$16.82...Plus today's drift event registration fee $10...I spent $26.82 to get the 1st medal + a Tamiya t-shirt that I already have...I gave it away cos I dun like that shirt...I always wear polo-t...Hehe...

- Didn't tio lucky draw, haizz...

- 1st round vs Edwin
- 2nd round vs Wee lock
- 3rd round vs Clifford
- 4th round vs Ian
- 5th round vs JJ
- 6th round vs Bin
**Might have missed someone, but thats what I can recall...Too long of a break...
Was pretty nervous for the first few rounds...Kinda got steady after a near kickout at 4th round with Ian...Whew!!

31st May 2008

- Checked results yesterday, never fail any subjects...I'm happy le...

- Bought some Tamiya educational kits to build my project trolley...Haven't assemble...Zzz...Sunday will do bah...

- Ultrasonic range detector doesn't work!! Zzz...Wasted 10 bucks to buy the components...Will try out Infra-red sensors instead...

- Officially converted my 416 to a drift car...Didn't have the time to take pics of it...

- My 350Z, I guess I prefer my car without any stickers covering my Polka dots...Just the current one will do...Lots of kisses and scratches on the shell already...Damn, me and my noob driving...Well, time to take some good outdoor pics!!

- Interested in photography...But no $$ to get a DSLR...

- Also got interested in 1/12 scale...But will only try once I sell my 415MSXX MRE...Hehe...

-

2 wheels + 4 wheels = accident...

Met an accident today...
Signalled right, turning right and a motorbike crashed into my car...
Rider was ok, said he only had a sprain, but he seemed to be ok, walking around fine...

His bike's headlight was damaged, but my 2 side doors were dented...

Due to shock, I didn't really think much...But after awhile I realised that I wasn't at fault cos I signalled pretty early, slowed down before turning right...Heard from my friend that bikers are not supposed to be on the right side of a single lane...Dunno whether its true anot, but I suspect he's speeding abit and didn't notice that I wanted to turn right as there was a van behind me...

Well, he demanded $125 for damages, said he willing to forget about the injury...
As for my car, I gotta repair the front and rear right doors...Crapppu...Even my sun-roof's abit weird le...My damages are alot more...

Now back to doing my ultrasonic range detector...Knnnnnn...

Zzz... Part 2 ~

No offense to poster at SGDrifters...But really find this abit funny...

"You're WRONG!! Gold cannot be cut by an electric grinder"

Eh...Hmm...Haha...
Gold is soft, dense, ductile, etc...I've 99.9% confidence of cutting it with a butter knife...

Zzz...

1. Project - Airport of the Future, is still in early stages...Hope the team can finalise on the roles etc by this week...

2. I dun like people asking me for leftover spray paints...Spray paints are something I use for multiple shells...I dun open a charity...When I offer leftovers, its a different issue...

3. 416 is here!! Test drove it on a Novak 6.5R at BK today...Pretty good chassis to run about, but it gets tweaked easily...Have to untweak it after a crash...

Dot dot Fairlady

Still a Work-In-Progress, WIP shell...
Gonna proceed to printing decals to make this my 3rd Itasha car since my Swift and Odyssey...

Lucky weekend? haha...

Got 1st for 23T class A-Mains for HPI series 1...
Kinda surprised at the results as I expect to fight for 3rd position instead...
I'm also shocked or abit scared of kenny when I find it very hard to shake him off my tail...Kudos to him for silently improving so well! Haha...

The new special semester has started, time to do projects le...
Hope I have the time to paint my 350Z shell...

These past few weeks...

03 May 2008 - Saturday

1. BigSplash @ Playground (East Coast)

Really really F'ed up...
Judges had not much experience in drifting competitions...
I'm still wondering its a touring or drifting compy...

2. Past few exams

Physics, pray for blessings...
Maths, eh...Seems ok...At least I manage to do around 50% of the paper...
Micro-processor, paper is not easy yet not hard...
Electronics, Q1 & 2 quite ok...Q3 & 4 omg...

3. Upcoming exam

Management and Organization, lots of words...Hope to finish my revision asap...

4. Others

Friend got ill, I'm quite worried even though we never talked much with each other...
Gonna watch Ironman after the last paper on Wednesday..
Set my touring car on Thurs, Fri and Sat, for the Sunday race...Hope to get my rusty skills back...

1 of the upcoming project !!

Wanted to do another Itasha car (Anime-theme car)...Couldn't think of any bright ideas...
So this is a planning phase...
WIP after exams...

Based on Azumanga Daioh...
Paint scheme:
- White
- Brilliant Blue
- Black for headlights

Would need alot of circle masking tape...Keke...Need to go bookstore to scout around le...

K1 Bedok Motorsports RC drift event

RC drift event is organized by Stargek, Tamiya Singapore...

Thanks to Joe Lee for the pics~!

The only MPV among 24 cars...Who says MPV cannot drift? Haha...
Managed to squeeze into top 8 positions, but due to careless mistakes never managed to progress further...

Hatsune Miku Odyssey shell done!!

This shell is only 95% complete!!

HPI 200mm Honda Odyssey
Works Meister rims
Tamiya graffiti decals
Self printed Miku decals

This is the preliminary design of my new bodyshell...The Hatsune Miku Odyssey! Its a HPI Honda Odyssey 200mm shell, which is gonna be used for the upcoming HPI drift meet...

I didn't add the mini wing which I've already installed onto the shell...This car will be in white...Lightbuckets, eh...Haha...

Track at my house! ~temp...

Just assembled the track and just realise that my house isn't big enough to use ALL of the track mats...Haizz...
But had 15minutes of fun testing out the track...Wahhaa...

Below's the video!!

A swap of chassis for CNY

Changed one of my kits yesterday...
Gone is my Tamiya TB Evo 5...
And an addition to the family is the HB Cyclone Hara Edition~!!

Hopes to get this 'halal' Cyclone up and running asap!!

Future news~~!!

There will be a new MRT line to be completed by 2018!! It would be linking Sembawang/Punggol area to Marina South...Almost like a beeline from top to bottom...
Just nice it will build a stop at Sin Ming!! Which is within 100m of my house!! Wee!!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chassis change this year maybe...
Jan/Feb: Tamiya TB Evo 5 --> HB Cyclone
May/July: Tamiya TRF 415MSXX MRE --> Tamiya TRF416 or later ver.

A weekend burned...

19th January 2008, Saturday...

Went to BK-RaceCraft Infinity to play before the Endurance race started...
As it progressed on till the evening, the endurance started and I became the general helper or aka intern...Haha...

I helped out mainly with Team JMSW which consisted of Joe Hwee, Marcus, Shawn and Weilong...Whom eventually won the endurance race using a HB Cyclone S...
Surprisingly, the rear ball differential of the car was still smooth after 4 hours of endurance AND 1 hour of tuning before that!!

Went home late around 11pm, and slept 1230pm...

20th January 2008, Sunday...

I was supposed to wake up at 630am, but overslept till 720am...
'Rushed' to BK-RCI to reserve tables for the rest, but was beaten by Weilong and Zoe...Haha...

Track was slightly changed from the Endurance layout...Kinda surprised because I was informed that the track would reverted back to the previous one after the endurance...Oh well~~~

At the end of the day, I finished as A Main 6th out of 28 people who joined...
Had fun driving with the top EP drivers in Singapore...

Entry 070108

My random rants about everything today...

The army style of date-entry has been fused to my brain already...Hence the 070108, 07 Jan 2008...
If I live for another hundred years, I would write the same date again...

Just did a reset to my 415 in preparation for a race on 200108...
Would test settings soon...

Things to do soon:
- Ballot for tutorials
- Spray a Mini Cooper shell...Will post up once I'm done...
- Redo the exterior design of a S15 Silvia shell...
- Sell the various comic books I have...

Watching anime:
- ARIA > Kinda like the relaxing feel of the anime + abit of sci-fi + Venice-type of background...

My resolution for this year and every year till 2010 would be, get good results in Uni...Haha...