One of the
most fun and action-packed forms of RC has been electric
on-road sedans. There are a number of reasons why
this has come to be, from the realistic-looking bodies
that sedans utilize, to their awesome performance
due to having exotic suspensions, or the exceptional
speed and acceleration that these cars have thanks
to their efficient drivetrains. If you’ve wanted
to get into the RC hobby in the past, there were always
inexpensive RTR sedans out there, but those can often
be of a lower quality, have poor parts support, or
other issues. Running space can also be a concern,
as not everyone has a huge area available for them
to drive in. Never fear, as Sportwerks has the perfect
answer for drivers who still want to enjoy electric
sedans without “keeping up with the Joneses.”
Sportwerks is proud to announce its new fun and feature-packed
series of vehicles, E-Racers, and the first vehicle
available under that banner, the 1/14-scale Recoil.
Chassis Overview
The overall layout and design of the chassis that
the E-Racers’ Recoil uses is simple yet effective.
Unlike smaller cars that can seem cramped for space
and a pain to work on, the larger scale of the Recoil
provides more room for mounting your electronics,
while also being easier to work on and modify. The
E-Racers’ chassis, brace, and upper deck are
all precision cut from fiberglass and, once bolted
together, provides the Recoil with an extremely rigid
and sturdy platform. The optimized chassis layout
accepts a variety of battery configurations, from
in-line, 4x1, or 4x2 battery packs. Plastic side braces
are screwed into the left and right sides of the car
to help protect the chassis in case of an impact.
The servo, motor, speed control and receiver are all
mounted to the right-hand side of the chassis, while
the battery pack is mounted along the left-hand side.
The chassis has 7-battery slots along the left side,
allowing you to shift your battery pack forward or
back to alter the handling characteristics. This tunability
provides for even weight distribution from the left
to the right side of the car, which aids in the neutral
handling characteristic of the Recoil.
Drivetrain
Let’s face it—driving
your car is much more fun than replacing parts or
having to wrench on your ride. For this reason, the
E-Racers Recoil utilizes a simple, efficient, and
durable shaft drive drivetrain. This is a proven design
and is similar to those that have won many national
and international 1/10-scale sedan races. A unique
slipper clutch helps protect the driveline’s
ring and pinion gears inside the gear cases from abuse
and damage. And, if that weren’t enough, the
Recoil comes equipped with beefy front and rear gear
differentials that are simple yet effective. Each
and every moving part on the Recoil’s E-Racers
chassis spins on quality shielded ball bearings. This
is an expensive and painstaking upgrade on other mini
and micro chassis that, by being an included item,
saves you time and money. The included ball bearing
set helps to extend your runtime and reduces the wear
and tear on parts as well.
Suspension
Many other mini- and micro-sized cars suffer from
poor handling characteristics due to their limited
or outright lack of suspension movement. This is not
so with the E-Racers chassis, as it has many of the
same tuning options found in most high-performance
1/10-scale sedans. You’re certain to drive your
Recoil on a variety of surfaces, including driveways,
parking lots, rec rooms, and more. Many of these surfaces
are less than perfectly smooth, but the Recoil feels
sure-footed, thanks to its supple suspension. The
front and rear of the Recoil feature oil-filled shocks
with aluminum caps as standard equipment. If the time
comes when you want to tweak your setup to get the
competitive advantage when driving with your friends,
the Recoil’s suspension is fully and easily
adjustable. While it handles terrifically out of the
box, the E-Racers chassis will allow you to change
the shock angle, wheelbase, inboard and outboard roll
centers, Ackerman, anti-squat and more.
Electronics
Many micro cars use sub-standard or lower quality
electronics. Even worse is when you discover that,
once you have your car, you still need to shell out
extra cash to purchase your electronics separately.
That’s not the case with the Sportwerks’
E-Racers Recoil, as it comes out of the box with all
of the electronics included and installed for you.
Talk about simple, it doesn’t get much easier
than this. The Recoil includes a proven 27MHz transmitter
that features adjustable throttle and steering sub-trims.
To keep things as simple and effective as possible,
the electronic speed controller and receiver units
have been combined into one unit that has a smaller
footprint than two separate pieces. To keep the Recoil
headed in the right direction, it uses a dual bellcrank
steering system that is actuated by an industry standard
3-wire servo. Finally, you’re not going to go
anywhere without a motor or battery pack, and you
can’t really have a complete package without
one. The Recoil includes a high capacity battery pack
and overnight charger, along with a stout 370-sized
motor for killer acceleration and awesome top speed.
When you purchase an E-Racers Recoil, there’s
truly nothing else that you need to buy in order to
start having fun.
Wheels,
Body, and Tires
Who wants to drive an RC car that has a body that
looks ugly and unrealistic? We sure don’t and
we’re pretty sure you don’t want to either.
For that reason, the Recoil comes with a highly detailed,
painted and decaled officially licensed Mazda 6 Body—currently
one of the most popular shells in 1/10-scale racing.
The Mazda 6 is not only a stunningly attractive body,
it has excellent handling characteristics as well.
To protect the front of the body in the event of a
collision, a high-density foam front bumper is included.
Along with supporting the nose of the body, the foam
bumper also adds a layer of protection to the front
suspension parts too. To get the power to the ground,
the Recoil comes with some pretty trick-looking wheels
and tires. Sticky treaded tires come pre-glued to
awesome white dish wheels. These treads hook up well
on a variety of surfaces, from carpet, to asphalt,
to concrete and more.
Official Sportwerks E-Racers
Hop-Ups
The E-Racers Recoil is an absolute
blast to drive out of the box, but you can unlock
the hidden beast that lies underneath its mild-mannered
appearance. By using some carefully placed option
parts, the performance potential of the Recoil will
become even more apparent. If you plan on driving
on carpet for example, a set of foam tires might be
a perfect upgrade. Foam tires are lighter than rubber
tires, and by making this swap your Recoil will accelerate
harder, reach a higher top speed, and have more grip.
If you enjoy tuning the suspension on your car, then
a set of turnbuckles or aluminum shocks might be right
up your alley. Turnbuckles will make it possible to
change your camber and front toe-out settings at the
turn of a wrench instead of having to pop the link
off. Aluminum shocks operate with less friction than
their plastic counterparts and add a bit of style
to your car. Other tuning options coming from E-Racers
include CVD’s, front and rear anti-roll bars,
ball differentials, and more. The E-Racers Recoil
chassis has nearly limitless potential.
Performance
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the E-Racers
Recoil is how well it drives out of the box. The stock
rubber tires are absolutely dialed on just about any
surface, whether it’s been prepared and swept
or even if there’s some dust on the ground.
The radio feels perfectly balanced and comfortable
in your hands, plus the trim knobs are easy to adjust
for fine-tuning too. The efficient shaft drive drivetrain
makes excellent use of the included motor’s
power, rocketing out of corners and reaching a respectable
top speed. You also can’t say enough about the
stunning good looks and detail that has gone into
the officially licensed Mazda 6 body. Not only is
it a great-looking shell, but it has the same handling
characteristics as its 1/10-scale cousin; good initial
turn-in, neutral mid-corner handling, and excellent
on-power traction. The runtime provided by the stock
battery pack is also very good, as is the punch. Overall,
the E-Racers Recoil is a fun car to drive, that handles
well and is remarkably fast—all right out of
the box.
The Sportwerks E-Racers line of chassis
is truly something to behold. Starting first with
the Recoil, and following later with other upcoming
E-Racers cars, there is a way for anyone who wants
to get involved with quality RC vehicles to do so.
Whether you’re someone who is looking to enter
the hobby, an experienced racer who wants to try something
different, or someone in-between, the E-Racers Recoil
is one of the most unique cars to come out in some
time. Its excellent out-of-the-box performance, in
combination with optional hop-ups, makes the E-Racers
Recoil huge fun in a small package.
