RC Oval Pan Car Basic Setup & Tuning Guide

Updated info per questions I've received
While this video is mainly about tuning adjustments and less about overall "setup" due to the fact that setup will vary depending on the track; I did not cover any ride height data and settings.
However, I did want to add this section in the video description for some other useful information I've been asked about that was not covered (I may create a part two video at a later date).
1) The tuning information in this video will apply to pretty much all oval pan car chassis generations & manufacturers. This tuning guide is not specific to the chassis you see in the video.
2) Front toe settings: Generally, I'll run my front toe between zero toe (neutral toe) to Toe out (negative toe). Zero (Neutral toe) means the front tires are parallel to one another evenly measured from front to back. Toe out (Negative toe) means the front of the tires are pointing outward from one another. if measured across the front, the tires would measure further apart and the rear of the tires would measure closer together. I do not run a lot of toe out (negative toe) just a small amount which can help with overall stabilization as well as cornering.
Due to several requests, here's the first basic setup & tuning tutorial video featuring the 1/10 scale oval pan car. In this video we will go over a couple of basic setup areas of the car as well as a tuning to help you know what, where & why to adjust when the car is pushing or loose.
This will be the first "Setup & Tuning" video in the series with more planned in the near future featuring purpose built RC dirt oval cars as well as the Traxxas Slash based street stocks.
Thank you all for the support!
Website links for pan car builds:
I've been asked to provide some links to different manufacturers and places you can get the pan car kits. I'll list that here but wont get into the electronics due to various tracks running different rules. If you would like information on the electronics and rules I highly recommend you attend one of your local races or visit their websites and/or Facebook pages for that information.
/ hyperdriveracing (I currently run Hyperdrive pan cars and they can be viewed here on their Facebook page.)
/ ksgmotorsports
www.mcpappyraci...
The above links are for what I would consider to be the 3 most popular and common pan car kits used locally. No offense to the others that I did not post links for, these 3 are the most common to me locally and the only 3 that I have had experience with. There are others out there as well but this should help with initial research when considering a pan car purchase. I also recommend talking to your local racers and see what many of them are running. Its helpful to have local support so you can get help with initial setups. You can also reach out to the manufacturers for general baseline setup information help as well. Most if not all are willing to help you get them rolling.
As far as where you can purchase these cars; I recommend reaching out to your local hobby shop. They need our support. When I say your local hobby shops I mean your local ma & pa owned hobby shops that specialize in RC hobbies, racing, etc. Hobby Lobby will not have access to such RC supplies. If you do not have a local hobby shop you can likely find a vendor on the manufacturing websites or contact them directly. I hope this additional information will help.

[@JohnWisenbaker]

Dude wish I would have found this years ago I’m on my way to get back into R/C racing I’m in Phoenix area this makes so much sense

[@jbtricklerc]

@@JohnWisenbaker I greatly appreciate the kind words and happy to know it's still helping people. Welcome back to the hobby!

[@lowasteam5319]

Here we go! Thank you JB. Can’t wait to watch this.

[@maxthunder2]

Thanks for the guide it's very helpful!

[@jbtricklerc]

Glad to help mad thunder!

[@williamwesse6114]

Cool video man. Appreciate the information for sure. Thank you.

[@jbtricklerc]

Anytime William! I greatly appreciate the support and comment!

[@rcdad5982]

Great video alot of helpful content

[@jbtricklerc]

Thanks RC Dad! I appreciate that!

[@fc3sboy1]

I miss pan car racing. Back in 1990-94 I ran indoor high bank short track asphalt oval. Man I wish I had some of the cars I had back then like the original hyper drive belt drive car. The lynx pod car the trinity lto that I converted to the trinity light weight. Even had a prototype titan tko that was Jim deaters personal prototype before it became a trinity reflex 10

[@jbtricklerc]

That's so cool! Do you still have pictures?

[@fc3sboy1]

@@jbtricklerc some place i do. Where though I don't know

[@fc3sboy1]

@jbtricklerc what's funny is noone remembers the trinity lto car. I mean it was baller back then and even came with a reverse rotation pink slot machine tuned motor due to the pod was set up to have all the weight on the left side including the motor mounted to the left. When the light weight conversion came out very shortly after the kit came out it put the motor to the right side. It was a short track beast. And I still kick myself for trading off my titan . Not knowing the significance of the car until about 4 years ago. Traded off the car back in 94

[@jbtricklerc]

@@fc3sboy1 I can definitely understand. I wish I would have kept several of my past cars just for RC historical reference. It would have made a great video.

[@billymanilli]

That's cool! I had a cheap-o Bolink pan car with a Lumina Body and "Rowdy Burns" livery (well, the best Rowdy Burns I could do being 11 years old or so...lol)... I REALLY miss those old days i the 90's, reading RC car action stories from the "RC Thunderdrome", and Kent Claussen(sp?) doing his speed runs! No tracks here in the middle of NJ, where I live... at least that I know of... :(

[@zeitgeist1348]

Thank you for the video, we dont know oval in Europe (Switzerland).

[@jbtricklerc]

Thank you for the support and kind words Zeitgeist. We have a lot of fun with it here in the US. There are different forms of oval racing all over here, touring, off-road and more. Good mix of RC racing.

[@timbreedlove1385]

Great advice but that pinion gear wow must have been a long track or banked

[@jbtricklerc]

Absolutely, It is quite a large track with banking as well. Especially for 1/10 scale. They even hold 1/4 scale races here. very cool place. Thank you for the comment and support.

[@redmonkey2091]

Could you make a video about roll out and distance of the track.

[@jbtricklerc]

Funny you mention that. I've thought about doing a video like that for a while now. I'll add it to my film list and hopefully get to it in the near future as well. Thank you for the comment and support.

[@prentissalford]

Great video sir

[@jbtricklerc]

Thank you Al's RC! I really do appreciate it!

[@prentissalford]

@@jbtricklerc no problem sir, keep up the great job with the great information. It took me a min to figure out my custom built 1/8 pan car.

[@jbtricklerc]

@@prentissalford that's awesome! I'd love to see pictures of that. Feel free to look me up in Facebook and share some pictures. That sounds very cool. Thank you again.

[@xxdogg2000]

what are the red things on the steering turn buckles

[@jbtricklerc]

Those are small hair ties. It's an old school trick we used to help remove any steering slop

[@wildcardjoker]

Just finished my setup on used ovalwerks 1/10 scale. Getting ready to race Sunday so I took on street to test and fine at start unless I hit full throttle if I easy the trigger run fine tell it picks up speed and wants to spin out. I also took to a church parking lot that’s paved and did better but at higher speed it spins out I know the concrete track is clearer and free from oil and dirt. But don’t want to get to track and have to adjust is there anything I can change now. Thanks

[@jbtricklerc]

Great question! The truth be told is all final adjustments will have to be made at the track. The surface you race on is the only surface that final tuning will truly matter. Benchtop setup and outside driveway or parking lot tuning is needed, it will help you adjust the diff and all the necessary trims. But even then final tuning will be necessary on your race track. As far as the spinning off the start goes, that can be tuned with the diff and or throttle input if your transmitter allows that kind of tuning. Sometimes I'd adjust the throttle curve so it took longer to reach full throttle which helps with off the line spinning. You're heading in the right direction. Just be prepared to make adjustments at the track as well to get it fully ready. Dont be afraid to talk with experienced racers there. Most will be happy to help you get it dialed in as well. Thank you for the comment and best of luck to you! Have fun and take each race day as a lesson and take notes.

[@wildcardjoker]

@@jbtricklerc thanks for all the good info. The diff was really tight couple guys helped and adjusted it and ran great.

[@jbtricklerc]

@@wildcardjoker Thats awesome news! Glad you got some help and got it running well! Best of luck to you and I hope you have a blast. Thank you for the support!

[@williammielke8975]

Great vlog, however, would it be possible to put in links for the build.

[@jbtricklerc]

Thanks William. What do you mean? Links for purchasing the car kits and such?

[@williammielke8975]

@@jbtricklerc yes sir! New to oval racing and the more information I can gather to help in the decision making process.

[@jbtricklerc]

@@williammielke8975 Sure. I'll get you more information added over the weekend. Be happy to help where I can.

[@jbtricklerc]

@William Mielke I've added some links for pan car manufacturers in the video description. These links will take you to the manufacturer websites where you can get much more information regarding them. As far as places to purchase them, I recommend reaching out to your local hobby/rc shops. Most if not all will be able to get these if they do not already stock them. If not let me know and I will gladly get you in contact with some people that can help with that. If you want to look at various parts and components I recommend looking at mudslidemotosports.com.

[@Legacy75100]

what wheels and tires you use?

[@jbtricklerc]

Legacy75100 for paved oval we are using two different tire types. For the 17.5 lock class it's the BSR Spec Capped tires. For the 8.0 breakout truck or 7.5 car class it's the CRC Track Magnets. Both are a rubber tire and both come pre-mounted. Appreciate the support and comment.

[@MrNascarfan1]

I just got a mcpappy for truck used but I don't think it's new new. Should I still be competitive

[@jbtricklerc]

MrNascarfan great question. I've got some friends that ran McPappy cars and loved them. As far as being competitive, it really depends on what class you plan to race it on. for example, in breakout racing about any pan car chassis could still be competitive. Also, on the paved oval at Easley SC, no matter what class you race I've seen brand new and older models run and be extremely competitive. I personally feel you dont see as much advantage or disadvantage unless you're running on carpet in the faster classes. That seems like it would show more, but thats just my opinion and based on my experience.

[@MrNascarfan1]

@@jbtricklerc no problem going to race 21.5 truck and then SK lite I got a hyper drive. Very excited. Been racing buggies for a bit on off

[@MrNascarfan1]

@@jbtricklerc thank you for the response and the awesome videos. Very helpful and entertaining as well

[@jbtricklerc]

@@MrNascarfan1 I greatly appreciate the kind words and support. Happy you found the information helpful and entertaining as well. Enjoy it and feel free to send some racing pictures and I'll share them in the channel.

[@craigjones2015]

Miss it to back in 91-96

[@jbtricklerc]

Awesome! I came into in the 90s, but believe it was a bit later than that.

[@Elephantnuts]

Huh 🤔🥱🤫

[@jbtricklerc]

Thanks 😁🤪🤓

[@Holmanrc]

I don't have social media and was wondering if you could email me that way we could discuss which direction I should go in? I just had a few questions for you.