Speed Run RC Bodies: A Guide to Breaking Records Safely
Recreational RC cars are a blast to run whether you’re tearing up the back yard or testing your car on a proper track. You’re never going to fire one up and get bored.
However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for a competitive spirit in the hobby.
If you’re looking to max out your car's performance and break speed records, without your car falling to pieces halfway through a run, one of the main parts you want to look at is the body.
Today, we’re going to take a look at speed-run RC bodies and how they can get you closer to breaking records and truly competing with your fellow hobbyists.
What’s a Speed Run RC Body?
RC cars, whether they run on fuel or electricity, have a lot of things in common with an actual automobile. One of those things is the body of the car and how it impacts overall performance.
For most cars, the body is more or less just a shell that protects the core components and holds everything together in a visually pleasing way. However, when you look at a race car, the design of the body is streamlined in every way possible, features such as spoilers are added, and more to help increase its aerodynamics and streamline it.
The same concept is applied to RC cars.
The average RC car you see in recreational use has a body that’s mostly designed to protect the car and look visually pleasing, but when you move into competitive speed runs, you’ll notice the bodies are a lot more streamlined.
How to Break Records with RC Bodies
So, how does this all play into the more competitive side of RC speed runs?
Well, it all comes down to four main categories and how well you can balance them against each other. With the right body on your car, you can boost your speed and control to allow for faster times with every run.
Obviously, your body only does so much for your car’s overall performance, but as long as you’ve invested in the right parts and built a good car in the first place, getting a proper speed run body will give you the extra edge you need to maximize your potential.
Here are the four traits you need to focus on balancing with your build to achieve that.
1: Aerodynamics and Drag
First, focusing on the aerodynamics of the body is crucial. Every RC body you find is going to produce some amount of drag. Drag is when the body of the car “catches” on the air as it’s moving, and that prevents it from moving as quickly as the overall system could push it without any sort of resistance.
Speed run bodies are specifically designed to minimize drag and boost aerodynamics, but that doesn’t mean they all do it well or that their other traits are in line with what you need.
Drag also isn’t the only factor. So, don’t just look for the sleekest design possible without making other considerations.
2: Weight
Weight is another key factor to consider. All the parts that go into your build might be relatively light to you, but they add up, and since the car is scaled down, that "lightweight" is actually substantial.
Every ounce of added weight puts more strain on your RC car and makes it work harder to achieve its maximum speed.
You can’t really scale down the core weight because those components are absolutely essential, but when it comes to the body, cutting back on weight is crucial.
The best way to do this is to get a body that’s made of plastic.
Furthermore, the weight distribution is crucial to look at. In the next section, we’ll look at how bodies are made in a little more detail, but parts of the body will be heavier than others. This is negligible for recreational use, but in a competitive setting, every bit counts. Having more weight in an unoptimized spot can throw off your car’s handling. Even when you achieve your top speed, wobbling around or taking unoptimized routes because of control problems can make you miss a record-breaking opportunity.
3: Durability
This has less to do with increasing your speed and more to do with keeping your car from falling apart.
Your RC body doesn’t just need to be sleek and lightweight. It also needs to be sturdy enough to withstand high speeds, and unfortunately, high-speed bumps and wrecks.
It’s easy to lose control and send your car flying when you’re pushing a well-built car to its limits. Having a body that is more likely to protect internal components well and not shatter itself is crucial.
However, body stability is also key.
A lot of vibration is generated when you push an RC vehicle to high speeds. With lower-quality bodies, fastening points, seams, and other bits can break apart and cause the body to deform, break, or simply fly off. That will definitely ruin your run.
The type of plastic used to make the body, and where the manufacturer made the form thicker or thinner for added stability and protection, play into this factor a lot.
This isn’t a problem with RC vehicles that aren’t being pushed to the extreme, but in a competitive space, it’s something to look out for.
4: Control and Stability
Finally, how the body affects your control and stability is crucial, too.
Speed-built RC cars tend to have a very low clearance with the ground, and that means any frame that extends lower than the frame of the actual car can create clearance problems. This is especially true if your run is done on a normal road, dirt, or anything else that isn’t specifically made to be perfectly flat.
Extraneous pieces can add drag for no reason, and you also have to watch your wheel clearance to ensure you’re not rubbing or catching on the body while turning.
This is an easy problem to solve. Just buy a frame that is built with your RC car in mind, or check the detailed dimensions to ensure everything will fit well without impacting performance. You might need to make minor alterations if you’ve built your own car from scratch.
Break Records with Speed Run RC Bodies from Delta Plastik USA
If you want to take the fast route to get a premium speed run body for your RC car, Delta Plastik USA has you covered.
Our American-made, specialty-designed, speed run bodies are built to enhance performance and check off every requirement on our list. We offer a range of accessories, 1/7 Scale Bodies, Traxxas Slash Bodies, Arrma Vendetta 1/8, 1/8th GT 325mm Bodies, 1/10th Bodies, Speed Run Bodies, 1/8 GT2 360mm Bodies, 1/8 On-Road Bodies, 1/8 Vintage Bodies, 1/8 Off-Road, Thunder Truck Bodies and many more!
To start breaking records with your RC car and get into the competitive scene, visit Delta Plastik USA today.