Got the short course racing itch?...

shawn said:
Yeah, but either way.... I think the whole discussion detracts from what's really more important:

Get a bunch of cars that are more or less the same.

Get together on a regular basis.

Race your friends.

Drink beer and talk shit.

Scott's got a point... but if you're basically restricting it to "stock" parts... set minimum weight and max wheel travel... then go race for a karate kid trophy.... there's no big money at stake aside from maybe side bets or a purse pool. There's not much benefit in cheating... especially when everybody's going to call you out on the internets. :flipoff2:

And if there's anything I've learned from watching a bunch of ECORS racing over the last few years, it's that fast cars aren't enough to win. You've got to have a well-prepped car. You've got to be able to drive. You've got to make the car last. You've got to have a lot of good luck. And you've got to be able to keep your head in the middle of a race. Can't tell you how many times I've seen somebody's junk dragged out of the woods because the driver did something stupid.

Coming to the line with an extra 20hp isn't going to make up for any of that.
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I've talked with Scott Decker on the phone a lil bit. Whats to stop us from starting our own NC series based on bro lite rules that he establishes, possibly make it more than just a trophy class and combine the separate series once or twice a year. Say we race there, and they race here. But all the while, we continue to run our series at URE,Flats etc...If we/I establish a race or a series at ure with the bro lites, Rob and ECORS wouldnt even have their name on it. ECORS can still do the ecors races...this would be seperate. The URE race would have a class for bro-lites,utv's A class type and B/C class type rigs.

I really dont see Bro lite racing fitting the ECORS tracks..not without alot more track planning and or building. After all there only 2wd..
 
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would the ecors guys stay in if the series aren't merged and just plan non conflicting dates? or would this even be a concern?
 
Hey everyone, My name is Scott Decker, I am heading up the Bro-Lite effort out of West VA. I built the first truck and have been able to run it around a couple locations at this point. It is as fun as it looks, even just running it by myself.

It sounds like there is an excited group of guys down there that have been looking for something similar to this already. I spoke to Dylan on the phone today and we are working on figuring out a way to build this series so that we can run together and separate, so that everyone gets as much racing as they want and can afford. I am sure there will be more news about this shortly, but we are currently working through the details.

A couple of notes for everyone, based on the main questions and concerns I have seen from this thread:
- I am working on a "build guide" based on what I did with my truck to help simplify the build process for everyone, IF they want to follow it. Nothing in the build guide will be required, but just something to work off.
- Fuel cell: I have and would recommend a 12 gallon cell. It drops between the rear frame rails nice and makes mounting easy. The part number for the cell will be in the guide. It is a JAZ cell, basic one.
- Fuel pump: Its hard to build a bladder cell to incorporate a factory fuel pump setup, plus a fill and vent. I am using an e2000 fuel pump that I had laying around, which seems to work fine with a cheap filter and rubber fuel hose.
- Claimer rule: We plan on adding a claimer rule if we find that people are abusing the rules. Our group of guys want to RACE, we already all have cars that arent fun to race against each other because they are too different. You will want to be the best driver, not have the fastest truck. The claimer rule will be set at $5,000 and you get to keep your seat and seat belt. So i wouldnt recommend spending more than that on your truck.
- Minimum weight: This is another rule that we like, but we do not currently have a way to enforce it or plan for it. I am ALL IN on racing, it is everything in my life, and I still dont have any way to weigh my truck. After a couple trucks are built, if we find weight to be an option, we will figure out a way to get scales to the races. I would plan on 2600lbs including the driver, but build your truck as light as you safely can, much easier to add back weight than remove it.

We've been planning this series for 2 years now, behind the scenes, but this is the first year we've committed to the race. We are working hard to build something that lasts and grows, its up to the truck builders to build an event that people want to watch. Keep that in mind as you build your trucks, we will continue to update everyone as information becomes official. The most up to date info will be on the facebook page.
 
@88xjscott
Scott,
Thanks for posting up!
Youve definitely got the curiosity peaked!

What do you envision a track layout like? table tops/whoops/moguls etc?
Or more of a flat dirt road race style course?

@Infamous1 these cars are not currently legal in any ECORS class that I can tell, or at least certainly wouldnt be competitve.

Anyone building one of these would be building a pretty specific brolite "race car"....
 
Dylan W. said:
I really dont see Bro lite racing fitting the ECORS tracks..not without alot more track planning and or building. After all there only 2wd..
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That's the down side. The upside... If we can make it work... Is that bro lite would have the benefit of an agreement with a landowner (they typically want something in return for letting you race there) and paramedics, which typically cost money. That helps to reduce costs for the racers.

Infamous1 said:
would the ecors guys stay in if the series aren't merged and just plan non conflicting dates? or would this even be a concern?
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and there's that. It's hard enough to keep one race car together... Much less two cars on two separate race schedules.
 
With only 3 races on the ECORS schedule this year, I don't think it would stretch the racers too thin.

Stuntman and I are running ECORS and we're both talking about building Brolite rigs.

I just want to make sure this is going to go somewhere before I spend the $$ to buy and build a truck. I'm very interested in building and racing a Brolite though.
 
These trucks are fun on a groomed track, with jumps, sweeping turns and rhythum/mogul sections. No rocks, the smoother the track starts, the better in our opinion. Holes will form as the race goes on! So thats the plan, model it after the best tracks out west. Crandon, Bark River, Glen Helen, Miller Motorsports park, Firebird, Wild West, etc.

I just posted a picture of what we are working with so far https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...8.373709692766559&type=1&theater&notif_t=like

The benefit of the races being run by racers is that we can schedule our events around us. Our race in WV was coordinated with the RcRocs, Line Mountain and Ultra4 races, because those are going to be the guys who build trucks and we need to count on them being there.

As for prepping two trucks, our group of guys just wants to race more. Obviously this will mean that we have more to prep, but prepping a Bro-lite is minimal compared to an Ultra4 car.
 
shawn said:
That's the down side. The upside... If we can make it work... Is that bro lite would have the benefit of an agreement with a landowner (they typically want something in return for letting you race there) and paramedics, which typically cost money. That helps to reduce costs for the racers.
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I couldn't agree more. Not sure about other venues. Hopefully, this will all be addressed in the near future through talks with Lee at the URE facility.

Hoping to convince him that if he invests in the right kind of track, that through bro-lites and other types of racers/races, that his facility will start being used more by racers. Then there wont be an absolute need to travel very far to get your racing fix.

On the optimistic side...I envision monthly bro-lite races with the opportunity for ECORS style racing at each event too. Which would include utv AA,a,B,and C Class cars as well. The key is the track build.. build it and they will come. After talking with several potential racers, I have found that more than a couple will build something AS LONG AS they have a place to play with it as often as they can.
 
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MarsFab said:
Does your cell have a bottom sump. Most guys have trouble pulling from the top of a bladder tank like this with an e2000 (I'm assuming that's the pump your talking about maybe)
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on the pump issue...

Not sure of the cost but I found this. A universal in-tank pump unit
aaeromotiveinc.com_wp_content_uploads_wpsc_product_images_18668_18669_2.jpg
 
Those are nice but to add them to the required bladder cell would mean major cutting on the tank and the bladder. For an individual who's building the truck by himself it could work great but to keep my package price reasonable maybe not.

An inline pump should work fine to get fuel to the rail pump as long as it's rated to pull from the top. Plus they can be changed in a few minutes if they fail in a race. We just need to agree on one that is decent and readily available hopefully.
 
That track looks fun!

I know others will have a lot of input to the track build at ure..however my personal vision is a course that is much more compact with table top jumps ,tight turns, a straight section or two, whoops section,and as many sweeping turns that we can fit. Almost fit within a half of a football field if done right.

That's what I call short course , tight close action. Even if we never get above 45 mph..would still be one helluva spectacle.

And then, to accomodate the non bro lite racers, offshoots can be built with rocks,logs,ruts and whatever else we can do to make 4x4 a must.

Keep in mind, the ever growing utv class should be able to have a ball on the main track as well. And would be included just as if in ecors race. Not to mention, maybe a separate utv series could spawn off there. Like I said, it all depends on the track build.

I've already got a nice list of folks willing to bring equipment in to work the track, once we get Lee to see the big picture.

And we are planning to meet up and each in the group offer up their own opinion of certain aspects of the track.
 
So tell me...is it wrong of me to envision dumping the clutch, side steping to the brakes while flooring it... and roosting some unlucky bastid whos lined up behind me...just before we leave the line..?:cool:
 
MarsFab said:
Does your cell have a bottom sump. Most guys have trouble pulling from the top of a bladder tank like this with an e2000 (I'm assuming that's the pump your talking about maybe)
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sorry for the late response. Yes custom built with a bottom sump. Yes on the part number. Just like what the brolite man posted except mine has no bladder since I built it from scratch. Full throttle hammer down and bouncing/ No hiccups or starvation, then again it is only a 2.9 liter V6 in mine!
 
Yea I'm guessing the e2000 would probably be adequate. My only concern is all the guys who hate it and have had nothing but trouble out of them (probably due to poor plumbing). I know guys who run them out the top just as we will in these trucks with no problems at all but sure as I use them it'll be my fault when they fail :) I'm just scared to pull out the top with one.
 
You can't get a bladder lined cell with a bottom sump and bottom mounted bungs??
 
Dylan W. said:
is a course that is much more compact with table top jumps ,tight turns, a straight section or two, whoops section,and as many sweeping turns that we can fit. Almost fit within a half of a football field if done right.
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We aren't talking about racing r/c trucks, they will need some room to spread out too. You can't fit a 3 wide turn on half a football field.
 
Ive been reading and watching this thread to see whats happening. That track looks fun and i'm ready to get on it. I've been looking at trucks to buy I about have a deal worked out on one. Keep us posted what we need to do and Dylan if you need help with talking with the land owners or anything else let me know.
 
tw89yj said:
We aren't talking about racing r/c trucks, they will need some room to spread out too. You can't fit a 3 wide turn on half a football field.
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My truck is gonna be radio controlled and I don't want it to get out of range. Bad things happen when they get out of range.

I was just thinking that a track that's too big, would take away from the real tight ,packed up action. Its just a vision though, not that I'll be pushing for a little track or anything.
 
RenegadeT said:
I'm curious...what size tires are needed to put a ranger at the minimum ground clearance?
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Ground clearance isn't the issue. Not exactly. You want enough tire to be able to smooth out the washboard stuff and bounce out of the cross-grain. My first thought was you could run a 215 or 235 to keep the rotating mass down and give some gearing advantage... but now I think a skinny 31 is where it's at. The smaller tires would catch the ruts in the corners and put you on your lid.

Edit: Is there a 10" box rule in Bro Lite or Lucas? I'm thinking there's not....?
 
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