4WDRC | Brian Kinwald

Starting a series of car preparation tips from 2-time World Champ Brian Kinwald, one of the top R/C drivers of all time. "I will write and photograph all the stories, with a new one every week or so. No particular order, just what occurs to me today. It'll be lots of fun showing you the inside stuff we do that makes such a big difference out on the track."

Have you ever wondered why the top factory drivers always seem to have faster, more durable cars? Mostly it's preparation – they just take far more time than the average racer when building/maintaining their cars and they do total re-builds constantly. Most of us don't have the time or inclination – this is a pleasurable hobby, not a job. That's just fine.

But what do the pros do that's different? Brian says, "It's really not all that complicated. I just work hard at it and pay attention to the tiniest detail. The car has to be absolutely perfect. There are lots of tricks to get perfection in a short time – when you break your car in a qualifier and have to install a new chassis before the next one, plus run a race in two other classes, it's got to happen really fast but still be good.

"The standard of perfection is higher the closer you get to the top. We're dealing with 1/100 of a second per lap here and the smallest thing can make that difference. So, when I build my car in the week before a race, I take my time and build it right. Then, when I'm repairing it at the track, everything is right except what's broken so I can concentrate on that. A few short cuts will often yield that perfect result fast, and knowing them can mean all the difference.

"Some of these Trickz are pretty simple but help to organize things so you can find what you want in a hurry. Other Tipz may show you prep stuff you never thought about. Some will just make your car look good. I may even throw in a few driving Tipz."

We have a Tipz & Trickz button on the left side of the home page that takes you to an index page. That shows you all the different Tipz – click on the one you want to see. Get started Here!


Brian Kinwald Shows You All the Inside Car Preparation Tricks

Starting a series of car preparation tips from 2-time World Champ Brian Kinwald, one of the top R/C drivers of all time. "I will write and photograph all the stories, with a new one every week or so. No particular order, just what occurs to me today. It'll be lots of fun showing you the inside stuff we do that makes such a big difference out on the track." Have you ever wondered why the top factory drivers always seem to have faster, more durable cars? Mostly it's preparation – they just take far more time than the average racer when building/maintaining their cars and they do total re-builds constantly. Most of us don't have the time or inclination – this is a pleasurable hobby, not a job. That's just fine. But what do the pros do that's different? Brian says, "It's really not all that complicated. I just work hard at it and pay attention to the tiniest detail. The car has to be absolutely perfect. There are lots of tricks to get perfection in a short time – when you break your car in a qualifier and have to install a new chassis before the next one, plus run a race in two other classes, it's got to happen really fast but still be good. "The standard of perfection is higher the closer you get to the top. We're dealing with 1/100 of a second per lap here and the smallest thing can make that difference. So, when I build my car in the week before a race, I take my time and build it right. Then, when I'm repairing it at the track, everything is right except what's broken so I can concentrate on that. A few short cuts will often yield that perfect result fast, and knowing them can mean all the difference. "Some of these Trickz are pretty simple but help to organize things so you can find what you want in a hurry. Other Tipz may show you prep stuff you never thought about. Some will just make your car look good. I may even throw in a few driving Tipz." We have a Tipz & Trickz button on the left side of the home page that takes you to an index page. That shows you all the different Tipz – click on the one you want to see. Get started Here!