Caster Racing SC10 4wd SC – Video LEAKED

Recently we stumbled across some news that Caster Racing USA was actually seen testing their new prototype 1/10 4wd short course trucks. We confirmed that there is a video that was leaked, found the link, and started investigating. A call to Mike over at Caster USA confirmed it and he said he would answer a few questions to a couple of news sources if they were submitted quickly. Here is the inside scoop…
1.) So we hear you guys are testing a short course truck?
Mike: Yes we are. Finally after about 3 years, it is becoming a reality. We have a game plan and sometimes, the plan takes longer to execute than the car itself. What I mean by that is literally the day the Slash came out, I said we needed one and all the engineers in Asia kept saying it would not be popular, too much money to make it, etc. Just a bad return on investment in their opinion. In the meanwhile, they were working on the 1/18 lineup and the 1/10 buggy and I kept looking and thinking and designing and reevaluating it and watching the market explode. To be honest, I was frustrated and determined to see it become a reality. So about a year ago, we all finally agreed we needed to build one and now we are beginning to see the fruits of all our labor. Coincidentally, we decided that the 2wd version just couldn’t be done right at a fair price point so we opted to do a 4wd. Thank God that 4wd is still in its infancy stage and that people are actually upgrading into 4wd.
2.) What is it going to be?
Mike: Well, we have a few options available and we are definitely doing things differently. That is what is great about Caster. Do you want to know the current platform or the overall plan?
3.) Both actually.
Mike: Ok, the current test platform is basically similar to the 1/10 rtr buggy. The majority of the car is plastic, but has the great Caster shocks we are known for and a solid driveline. The best part is that it is absolutely perfect for the beginning racer and can be completely changed part by part at the customer’s desire into a pro kit or some form of offshoot. Back to the truck, it has a hobbywing system in it, a 2.4 ghz radio, front and rear swaybars, gear diffs that are exactly like the 1/8 bulletproof ones, only miniaturized, and of course, the bumpers and body of a SC and 12mm hubs. If you compare it to the OFNA, it is slightly longer in the wheelbase, slightly wider depending on the wheels, but much narrower in the chassis, and well over a pound lighter loaded up. Of course, to keep the balance, we are using the typical Caster dual pack setup that made us famous with the 1/8 buggy and truggy, but these are obviously 3.7 volt saddle packs in series.
As for the future, well if you do a comparison to the 1/10 buggy, you can see that the whole truck will be aluminum, still be lightweight, and add more CVDS and right now, we are engineering a center diff so we can run 5mm motors in it. We also have plans to do the 1/8 buggy conversion ready to go just in case the market swings that way also or instead. Right now, in my opinion, there is a battle in 4wd sc. Some companies have gone the start with a 1/8 and lighten route, where some are more take a 1/10 and bulk it up method. There are advantages to both, and we are small enough that we can be flexible and go both ways.
4.) What is this perfect 10 we heard about?
Mike: good question, basically we are not saying our car is “perfect”, but it is by far the most versatile and optional car on the planet. Of course, it is 1/10 scale so that is where the 10 comes from. Just imagine this. You want a chassis plate or towers or battery straps or top braces for your car and you do not want to pay an aftermarket company a fortune for parts to make the car better. Well, due to a joint effort with Diggity Designs, Caster can get you those parts in plastic, anodized aluminum, or carbon fiber. Just imagine you want to tune the truck with cvds or dogbones, you have that option. Shocks have spring and piston options. Pretty much every part that isn’t in the driveline is available in plastic or aluminum. Small track that is not supercross, maybe you should run plastic on a few parts. Keep breaking a plastic part? Upgrade to aluminum. You have options, you have durability, you have the Caster family supporting you online and on the track.
5.) So what is up with the video?
Mike: Yeah, that was sort of an oops. We have a section where we can discuss engineering back and forth, post pictures, etc… and I wasn’t able to post up the video as it was far to large for our server program to handle it without me calling our computer guy. And of course, I wanted to be the first to post a video of the truck on a track and I wanted a couple of editing companies to be able to see what I wanted to do down the line and get a few quotes. So I used a youtube account, loaded it up, and figured it would be safe. I guess I should have had one of my kids help me since I apparently blew through the privacy settings. Oh well, we are close enough that it doesn’t really matter at this point. I am hoping for an actual release date of Feb 1 for the rtr and a little more for the pro. I really didn’t want to be the guy that releases a car and then have to wait for 4 to 6 months for customers to be able to buy them, so technically I am not announcing this as a release, but they WILL be coming soon. Trust me, when we get them in boxes on the way over, I will completely disclose pics and specs and everything else you guys ask for, because this will make Caster even bigger.
By the way, I want to thank a friend of mine Dave Marble for taking the time out of his day to drive the truck and make it look great on a dry track. He proved the truck handles like a Caster and you can do whatever you want with it and stay in control.
Thank you for your time guys,
Mike
Tags: Caster Racing