Revisiting the Kawada in 2010

So, one year after getting a TOP Photon, here I am again, racing the Kawada in VTA for now. I ran it in VTA all summer long, starting sometime in April. Why the switch? Well, VTA sort of fell out of favor due to the rampant Tekin speed 2.03 brought the class, and competition was light, so I geared the Photon up for 17.5, and dragged the old white and orange body out for VTA again.

The car has had a slight update since last I raced it, and it seems minor, but has made a big difference in the handling of the car. I've ground off the top of the C-Hubs and put a ball stud for the upper camber link through the top hat to significantly lengthen the upper camber link in the front. Since then, my incidents of traction rolling has drastically reduced - I do still have to be careful on VTA tires in their prime though. I've gone back to the stock steering location, but put in a good servo - Futaba BLS451. I've found that the 46mm aluminum Photon CVA's are a PERFECT fit, even with the correct spacing for the drive pin.

I won the last points series pretty handily, but I missed the opening two weeks of the current one, which leaves me vulnerable if I miss another one. The turnout is steadily improving, and several of the "fast guys" are coming back to the track. VTA is seeing 5-7 people each week, but we're due for a change soon as the 25.5 rules will get adopted in the near future (I presume after this points series).

Oh, and Matt turned a faster fast lap (12.867 to my 12.877) than I did this past week and claims it wasn't a "short lap". His VTA Photon and his driving keeps improving - I told him I may have to go back to the Photon if he keeps that up!