05 Nov Radio Controlled Chaos
Welcome to what we’re calling AJ Day, where the two Fluid blog posts will be dedicated specifically to AJ, our head engineer over in fabrication. This first post is about one of his automotive hobbies/passions, and the second will be a post written by him that essentially lays out the mantra of Fluid MotorUnion. We hope you enjoy the words!
If you remember the earlier post we wrote about AJ, our head engineer, then you’d remember that he has quite the affinity for motorcycles and racing. Sadly, this is not one of those hobbies that can be celebrated year round. When he has downtime from hitting up the track, however, he keeps his idle hands plenty busy in the ever-expanding world of radio controlled (RC) cars. Specifically, we’re referring to his truck, the “Little FMU Tank.”
When RC cars are brought up, some people conjure images of their childhoods, driving around those little plastic toys that don’t go very fast but are still a good amount of fun. These are not the RC cars from days long gone, however; RC cars are fully capable of being adult toys, too. Some RC cars, prepped for drag racing, can reach speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour — some motor vehicles built these days can’t even reach 100! While AJ’s RC “tank” isn’t built for speed, it doesn’t mean that it’s slow by any means. In its stock form (which it certainly isn’t anymore), his Traxxas Revo 3.3 was capable of speeds exceeding 45 mph. Coming from a guy who spends his time on a motorcycle at double those speeds, he needed to build his truck up a bit. And he certainly did.
The engine was only so capable from the factory, so AJ replaced it with an Axial Racing 28RR-2, a .28 cubic inch engine capable of a mind-boggling 39,000 rpm with nitro-methane fuel. This bad boy can push the Traxxas frame up to highway speeds (with the right tires, of course). Handling the output of the exhaust is a Jammin JP-4 performance exhaust. Putting all this power and torque to the ground is no easy task, so AJ replaced the plastic gearbox with a set of steel gears, and added a steel drive line and steel axles.
Of course, those of us who’ve modified cars realize that power isn’t everything; if the frame is incapable of handling the excess power, then the whole project is really null and void. Keeping this in mind, AJ did a decent amount of work to the suspension, as well, extending the chassis and adding an Integy adjustable suspension. All four corners are buffed up with a set of Integy Wide Stance A-arms and hardened Traxxas wheel housings. He’s got two different sets of wheels, depending on the mood of the day (and also the terrain). With the off-road tires installed, this beast looks ready to climb Pike’s Peak way faster than Rhys Millen’s latest attempt. To keep things looking fresh, he painted the body matte black and added some Fluid MotorUnion vinyl. AJ is definitely one man that loves to represent.
RC cars, when it comes down to it, are almost as serious as the real deal. Looking closely at an RC car such as AJ’s, you can really appreciate the fine attention to detail of many of the parts. There’s a lot of craftsmanship that goes into making these parts, and you can definitely notice that on AJ’s truck. It’s a very interesting hobby; if you have a friend who happens to be into the RC scene, take a look at their “toy” sometime. These cars definitely deserve appreciation from all other corners of automotive enthusiasm.
To end with, here’s a video of his little tank tearing up his neighbor’s lawns, before the flat black body work took effect:
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