Limitless Why did you start speed running?

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Its quite ballsy to do it there and then, it adds loads of adrenaline compared to running it on a relatively dangerless runway (like Raz)

Also crazy how much work and money goes into like 2min of adrenaline rush. We could be renting and driving fastest cars for fraction of costs and for 10x more time 🤣
The night runs are cool, I need to get some lights even for my daytime runs so I can see which way the car is pointed when I turn it around.

However, I think @K-BASH gets the Big Brass Balls award for running 143MPH on a city street with traffic.

The Icon 2 is surely a fine vehicle. But that's definitely not what I'd recommend for speed running. A RWD car is a whole other challenge and not something I'd recommend to start out with. You're going to have problems with traction, finding gears that are suitable for the task (that car is made for carving up tracks, not straight line speed). Go with a 1/8 or, better yet, 1/7 scale long wheel base AWD platform. They're far more forgiving and docile and are a perfect platform for speed running. They're not cheap, but they're durable, there are mountains of aftermarket parts for them and they where it's at right now when it comes down to which cars are the fastest.
We have another thread talking about 2wd Speed runs. The consensus is that it can be done and there is merit but it's alot more work.

Also you will need space. I'm running a stock Limitless body and finding new and creative ways to arrange me gear to be more efficient. If you go with a GT body you get a ton more space. Most of my problems come from my choice of batteries - the gigantic CNHL 9500's.

Start on low voltages. 3S - max it out. 4S - max it out. 6S - max it out...try to forego bankruptcy for as long as possible by having less accidents. Working your way up from lower voltages will help you have less accidents. If you jump into it on 6S or, God forbid, 8S, you will wreck. Badly. 100% probability.
This is good advice that I did not exactly follow. :banghead:

Instead of just using smaller batteries, I used the ESC Max power setting to reduce the power output. This bit me in the butt because messing with all the buttons and knobs in the ESC is a bit complex and I had a hard time tuning it correctly. The car did weird stuff. I ditched that setting and now use the throttle D/R on the radio to do a couple of warm up passes. Then open it up as I go. Eventually I hope I don't need to warm up.

Right now I think I'm plateaued because I was consistently doing 117-120. After the runs I noticed scratched on the bottom of the pan and confirmed that with video. This means I have too much down force. I'm working on that now and think it might be another 5 mph. Then I will gear up. This is all baby steps.

When I decided to do this I thought, build it send it, no big deal. Oh boy was I wrong. Just keeping it straight at 100 mph is a challenge at first. I've had a few crashes, the worst was the curb at 76 mph. It was a rookie move, I ran out of talent. The damage was minimal, but still a lesson. I'm sure there will be more crashes and more expenses, but that's part of the budget.
 
The night runs are cool, I need to get some lights even for my daytime runs so I can see which way the car is pointed when I turn it around.

However, I think @K-BASH gets the Big Brass Balls award for running 143MPH on a city street with traffic.


We have another thread talking about 2wd Speed runs. The consensus is that it can be done and there is merit but it's alot more work.

Also you will need space. I'm running a stock Limitless body and finding new and creative ways to arrange me gear to be more efficient. If you go with a GT body you get a ton more space. Most of my problems come from my choice of batteries - the gigantic CNHL 9500's.


This is good advice that I did not exactly follow. :banghead:

Instead of just using smaller batteries, I used the ESC Max power setting to reduce the power output. This bit me in the butt because messing with all the buttons and knobs in the ESC is a bit complex and I had a hard time tuning it correctly. The car did weird stuff. I ditched that setting and now use the throttle D/R on the radio to do a couple of warm up passes. Then open it up as I go. Eventually I hope I don't need to warm up.

Right now I think I'm plateaued because I was consistently doing 117-120. After the runs I noticed scratched on the bottom of the pan and confirmed that with video. This means I have too much down force. I'm working on that now and think it might be another 5 mph. Then I will gear up. This is all baby steps.

When I decided to do this I thought, build it send it, no big deal. Oh boy was I wrong. Just keeping it straight at 100 mph is a challenge at first. I've had a few crashes, the worst was the curb at 76 mph. It was a rookie move, I ran out of talent. The damage was minimal, but still a lesson. I'm sure there will be more crashes and more expenses, but that's part of the budget.
Yeah man. I've been telling people to put lights on their car, even if they're running during daylight hours. At distance it becomes difficult to make out what the car is doing, especially if it spun. Lights are definitely a good idea, irrespective of what time of day you're making passes.

Just to be clear, I wasn't saying that 2WD speed running isn't possible. It clearly is. I was just trying to give someone who is just getting into the game advice on how best to proceed so that his first experiences are as successful as possible. A RWD F1 car, to my mind, might be one of, if not THE worst choice for a first speed runner. If you already have a number of speed cars under your belt and you're looking for a new challenge, sure. But as an opener? I don't see that going very well.

Yeah, I liked to adjust the max power via the AUX channel on my Castle ESCs too. I found it was a great way to ease into a new setup, whether it was a new motor, gearing, etc. But I think what's different just going down in voltage is that you get a more complete experience by just working within a given power envelope and try to get as much out of it as you can with gearing, batteries, suspension tuning, etc. Basically a similar process of what the big guys are doing on 8S, just at much lower speeds which is a great way to learn a lot about your car and how changes will affect the car, but where the consequences of getting it wrong just aren't as severe. The 3S Challenge here was one of the best decisions I made, generally speaking when it comes to speed running.

You got lucky. A crash at 76mph isn't nothing, but it's a speed at which crashes are very survivable.
 
You got lucky. A crash at 76mph isn't noth
Let me tell yall about the time stupidity stuck me in the middle of a run. I was running 6s with no idea what I was doing besides big gears and full trigger. Well, I was getting close to 85mph in a parking lot, probably geared for somthing like 135 🤣🤣😁 and tried to push it just a little further than usual. 💣💥 locked up the tires and hit a concrete baracade at about 45ish. Bent chassis, shock towers, broke the diff housing and all kinds of screws and bolts.
 
You got lucky. A crash at 76mph isn't nothing, but
Lucky indeed. It was some plastic bits for the most part, but it was enough to see my wallet fly out the window and teach me a valuable less for about $23 in plastic.

I was watching RC Innovation, he's been doing this a long time and is pretty skilled. However, this time he "almost died" and I concur. 15 lbs of Limitless coming at you is sketchy when it's on the ground, but in the air requires a change of underwear.
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Lucky indeed. It was some plastic bits for the most part, but it was enough to see my wallet fly out the window and teach me a valuable less for about $23 in plastic.

I was watching RC Innovation, he's been doing this a long time and is pretty skilled. However, this time he "almost died" and I concur. 15 lbs of Limitless coming at you is sketchy when it's on the ground, but in the air requires a change of underwear.
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Ahh, that wasn't that bad. "Almost died" is bit hyperbolic, though it certainly would have made a dent hat it hit him. He's got a wide open area there...there's not even a curb to trip over so as long as you keep your head on a swivel, you should be alright. This is from 2 or 3 years ago, innit? Raz had a much closer call at a much higher speed on his runway when the car went sideways and slid along the lip of the runway only about a foot behind where he was standing.
FPS Russia shot at vehicles 25 yards away from him that were prepped with C4 and had 5lb. slabs of shrapnel miss him by maybe only 1-2ft. Sometimes you need a little luck, because simply being awesome isn't enough to get you to the top. It takes a measured amount of both.
Now...am I saying what he did was smart? lol...hardly. But it does make for good content. :)
 
Ahh, that wasn't that bad. "Almost died" is bit hyperbolic, though it certainly would have made a dent hat it hit him. He's got a wide open area there...there's not even a curb to trip over so as long as you keep your head on a swivel, you should be alright. This is from 2 or 3 years ago, innit? Raz had a much closer call at a much higher speed on his runway when the car went sideways and slid along the lip of the runway only about a foot behind where he was standing.
FPS Russia shot at vehicles 25 yards away from him that were prepped with C4 and had 5lb. slabs of shrapnel miss him by maybe only 1-2ft. Sometimes you need a little luck, because simply being awesome isn't enough to get you to the top. It takes a measured amount of both.
Now...am I saying what he did was smart? lol...hardly. But it does make for good content. :)
A little dramatic, maybe.

FPS Non-Russian, yah, I remember that guy before he went to jail. That particular video had a very high pucker factor, I cringed and gasped, then watched it 2 or 3 times more.

Also one of Raz's video where someone jumped over the car. That could have gone badly in so many ways.
 
August 2020 I was given a basic Redcat Blackout and on the very first run, I was amazed at how fast it was. Brushed motor and nihm battery packs. AMAZED. Eventually I moved up to a 3s Senton and was blown away. Done near died and went to heaven when I then bought a Senton 6s..
I was happy. I was content.
Then K-Bash dropped some videos of his Senton 6s on 8s. I was inspired and driven. All those comments on the frustrations in speed running are bang.on! I myself almost rage quit twice. Luckily I'm more stubborn than smart. One has to admit that our wipeouts give as much an adrenaline rush as our successful passes once the shock wears off.
 
I started speed running so I could give 1st hand advice and helpful tips to forum members here. It was an area that I was inexperienced to speak on without actually doing it myself.
My first goal was a 100+mph Typhon, then it kinda got out of hand from there 😂
 
I started after watching guys on here break 100mph such as @Notorious J and @jondilly1974 . At the time I thought man they are insane, I'd never try anything like that. It was unreal to me seeing these little cars hitting 100mph as I had just got into the hobby with a 3s Granite. After I got my 6s Typhon I got the bug and thought maybe I'll give it a try... First ever pass was 64mph and I got hooked! Then it was 75 then 80 then I had to hit that big 100mph mark. So mmx8s went in got some CNHL packs and pushed tell I hit that mark. From there I was addicted and pushed the Typhon to 125mph. Then got a Limitless and rest is history. 8s PB of 153mph 6s PB 138mph 4s PB 125mph 3s PB 106mph and 2s PB of 81mph.
 
That's easy. Set your sights higher and go for 180mph. You have to understand that reaching higher speeds isn't simply a matter of throwing money and horsepower at a car. There's a lot more that goes into it than that. Sometimes you really have to rethink your setup because you've reached a plateau. The key is understanding that plateaus are only there to make you think that you've maxed your car out. That's why it's great to have so many other speed runners that have gone a lot faster so, no matter what you may think, you haven't actually maxed out your car, you've only come up against the limits of your own understanding, knowledge and ability. Finding a way to break on through and to stretch your own abilities beyond what you thought you were capable of.

And if you persevere, you will crack 180mph. So, you may ask, "Then what?". Set your sights a notch higher and aim for 190mph. It can be done. It has been done. The same goes for 200mph. The Limitless/Infraction platform is the current WR holder at 204mph...and that's still not the end of the flag pole. There's still a long way to go if you're serious about "maxing out" a car. Chances are 100% that you'll have some accidents along the way that will set you back. Then what? Rebuild. Figure out what went wrong. Make the car better
This is exactly why I do this. There is nothing more painful than watching something you spent months of thought, time, and money being destroyed in seconds. And there is nothing more satisfying than figuring out what went wrong and how to stop it on the next pass.
 
I don't know what I said or if I said anything before but I 60% started speeding because of this forum and these whole hearted people here and the other 40% is Raz Shifrin.
Mr. Shifrin does have a bit of an infectious nature about him. He definitely played a role in my entry into this niche corner of the RC world as well. While he's not the reason why, he certainly didn't contribute to my not getting involved in speed running.
 
I started mostly because of Raz and KT.
The catalyst was the video where Raz was running dual 1721 2400s and one kept bbq'ing itself.
I love problem solving, so I figured I could figure out how to do a dual motor car that wouldn't hard bind the motors together the same way - hopefully working around the high RPM sync issue.
So a few months and some custom parts later - I have a dual 1721 2400kv offset motor GT car that is ready for its first 4s full power test. I'm also starting on another limitless build. And if I'm still having fun after getting some drive time under my belt - my dad and I might start working on something a lot more custom than the limitless.
 
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It's not to say the Kevin Talbot hasn't influenced me a ton and Francis from RC Review also. Both of them really tell you how the product is, the good, the bad and the ugly. Even the up and coming brands get some love with them. They are the ones that got me in to crawling and SCT.

I really appreciate Kevin's attitude. He has a ton of haters and just replies with "Dude. We are adults playing with toy cars. Do what puts a smile on your face." That was this is really about. It's highly unlikely that any of us are going to get rich doing this, so have fun.

I'd love to spend a day with Kevin in the shop, bashing or whatever. He's seems like a lot of fun.

With few exceptions (military, crime, etc), hoarding knowledge is a disease.

I get it, people are competitive; but if you are the best, share your knowledge, help others and you WILL grow from it. You won't be on the pedestal forever, and when it gets knocked out from under you what will people say. I, personally don't my legacy to be that I was an A$$#%le and couldn't be trusted.

To me successful people are leaders. They share their success, acknowledge others, pass on the knowledge to the next generation.
At some point there will always be that one guy who masters it. One has to think it gets lonely at the top.
SO why not share your "Secrets". Creat some competition. Raz does get secretive about his gear setups if you noticed. Always need to keep some info close to your chest. Gearing is not any rocket science. Just a matter of learning it well. And Gear Calculators take much of the hard work out of it.
 
Glad none of the top guys influenced me. Why? Because it may have killed my approach to speed running. Meaning everything I do is new to me and questionable to others. I don't care if someone tried and found it doesn't work. To me, it means they didn't/couldn't get it to work. What little I do know of the hobbys history tells me it grew more in the last 10/15 years than it did its first 40. Not too long ago, 200mph was the holy grail and now it's slowly becoming norm. I choose to look at this as people stepping outside the established norms and trying new things. That's one thing I like about KT. Sure he tries things and yes he fails. But he did it with a smile and a hearty laugh. All that matters is if you are having fun. Otherwise why do this?
 
^^^ for some of us, throwing big $coin$ at our RC rigs is not an alternative/option..
 
^^^ for some of us, throwing big $coin$ at our RC rigs is not an alternative/option..
Don't tell anyone but it really isn't for me either. My recent splurging was actually saved up for. I'm only trying to field a serious non-Limitless contender to join up with some local guys in a local speed run group jointly run by NotoriousJ. All I really want is to beat a Slash on their list as that Slash and my Senton are the only 2 Short Course Trucks on that list. And I came soo close it hurts 😆
 
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