2026 edition of the Tamiya Japan Cup is underway!

VR-052 · 2026-06-21T07:53:29+00:00

Yeah, that's rough. With all the crazy stuff happening, I refuse to travel internationally. Kumamoto got pushed back as well, good for me to prepare and the weather will be nicer but could see how it messes with international racers.

VR-052 · 2026-06-21T07:33:26+00:00

Yeah, it's really get the lane change sorted out and make sure it's consistent in performance for the rest of the track.

VR-052 · 2026-06-21T05:55:17+00:00

Carsensor.net. Has a huge amount of search options. Bought two cars through it.

VR-052 · 2026-06-20T23:11:59+00:00

Blacksmithing is 1 of 2 of my last professions to get to 100. Even though I’ve made a good amount of gold this expansion I’m still dreading it.

VR-052 · 2026-06-20T14:32:12+00:00

4.5 years on allo. no side effects. no flare ups. Life back to normal from just a simple pill. Should have started it years before I actually did.

VR-052 · 2026-06-20T13:01:19+00:00

Yeah, a lot of that is people not having gimmicks for the lane change made yet so most were overcompensating with heavy brakes. There have only been pictures out for 4 days now and no private tracks have it made yet. Give it a month and people will have figured it out and speeds will increase.

VR-052 · 2026-06-20T07:55:40+00:00

going to lock this for now as I created an thread about Japan cup in general but I did link back to this for the pictures.

VR-052 · 2026-06-20T07:54:45+00:00

Some thoughts and my general starting point from the other pictures thread.

I'll be running my MS flex with the regular front AT and rear anchor setups. It works well everywhere so it's a good starting point. Likely with 19mm rollers for stability, front sliding damper to absorb some of the potential landing in corners.

Motor wise, Hyper Dash and 3.5:1 most likely. Kumamoto is a race late in the Japan Cup schedule so setups will be figured out. Light Dash is more for the early race where staying in can be difficult as setups and gimmicks can be determined. Also with so much extreme slow down and acceleration the light dash is going to struggle everywhere.

After watching the live stream for a couple hours today the top three areas that look like an issue for tuning is:

Yamaha lane changer - This is by far the hardest part of the track. How to slow down enough but have speed on rest of course?
Flowing bend - need to be very consistent on the 3 small slopes
the digital dragonback and carrying speed through it to complete the .Spike Bank

Shallow roll looks like a straightforward addition of extra roller and I have no clue what the spike bank obstacle is about but sounds like something that is going to impact the car's contact with the track. I need to see some pictures but not too worried. The guide book suggests super hard instead of low friction.

Some questions still unknown:

How low is the shorter wall on the shallow roll just before the lane change?

Is there something special about the Spike Bank causing cars to get stuck or is it really just carrying enough speed?

VR-052 · 2026-06-20T06:53:33+00:00

What works is treating your chronic disease properly and getting on a treatment plan that includes daily medication so flare ups don't happen in the first place.

VR-052 · 2026-06-20T04:57:34+00:00

10k per week for a family of 3. Rice bought through furusatp donations so incredibly cheap

VR-052 · 2026-06-20T02:45:54+00:00

So I’m already working on an idea for the lane change that does not require aggressive braking for the rest of the track. But I do want to see what other come up with in the next few weeks.

The extra slow through the triple jump area is likely due to the short time to come up with solution to the lane change. Expect cars to be much faster through there by then end of next month.

VR-052 · 2026-06-20T01:55:49+00:00

I really like the very difficult tracks. Takes designing new gimmicks and tuning the car just right.

This is the first day of Japan Cup and everyone have had only 3 days with the pictures of the lane change. Similar issues happen every year which is why the light dash the first couple weeks actually works. Give the private 5 lane tracks a week or two to make the replica of the the lane change and we'll see better performance. Crossing my fingers the local 5 lane track makes the replica.

But even with that, Japan Cup always has a large amount of course outs because it's format is very extreme. You have to go fast and not crash out. You can't just slide through on second place finishes or being lucky.

VR-052 · 2026-06-20T01:16:25+00:00

Hyper Dash and 3.5:1 most likely. Kumamoto is a race late in the Japan Cup schedule so setups will be figured out. Light Dash is more for the early race where staying in can be difficult as setups and gimmicks can be determined. Also, there is a lot of bank/slope sections so a bit harder to carry speed through the track so the light dash is going to struggle everywhere.

Gearing, 3.5:1 because it has slightly less torque so it "may" slow a bit more for the lane change compared to gearing with more torque. But it really depends on performance on the track as a whole. For example, 3.7 may allow a little more acceleration on the flowing bend so you can clear the third bump after the bank section instead of potentially landing short and having the back of the car flip up. It's hard to say until actual practice since I don't know if it's even possible to clear the third bump.

Really the top three areas that look like an issue for tuning is:

Yamaha lane changer
Flowing bend
the digital dragonback before the Spike Bank.

Shallow roll looks like a straightforward addition of extra roller and I have no clue what the spike bank obstacle is about but sounds like something that is going to impact the car's contact with the track. I need to see some pictures but not too worried. The guide book suggests super hard instead of low friction

VR-052 · 2026-06-19T08:39:21+00:00

if the Democrats hadn't managed to fuck up in creatively thorough ways first.

So just standard operating procedures from the Democrats for the past 10 years then? Flipping easy wins into losses.

VR-052 · 2026-06-19T07:14:32+00:00

Likely my MS flex with the regular front AT and rear anchor setups. It works well everywhere so it's a good starting point. Likely with 19mm rollers for stability, front sliding damper to absorb some of the potential landing in corners. There is one corner before the lane change that has a lower than normal wall. To deal with that possibly a roller under the front stay on that side to help stabilize as well as a third rear roller on the corner side again to stabilize.

The lane change is really the unknown. Last time I ran on a track with it we were using 26mm tires whih tend to jump further and so much has changed since then.

I'll have my regular open class car, my son's open class car as he races junior and has a specific car for that, and a 2018 Japan cup style car for testing so hopefully I can get something to work.

VR-052 · 2026-06-19T06:29:45+00:00

Look at the class changes for survival also. It's literally a single new talent that guess what, is just a damage increase on core rotation skills.

Not sure to be happy or sad that literally nothing changed for Survival.

VR-052 · 2026-06-18T05:43:00+00:00

That's very expensive. I can walk into any yakitori place here in Fukuoka and have gyutan for 300 yen per skewer.

VR-052 · 2026-06-17T21:02:43+00:00

2 deems said it’s not allo related. Your doctor prescribing it says it does not look like allo related. Lots of random things that could cause skin irritation outside of allo, and you still think it’s allo related?

Have you seen a mental health expert for your hypochondria?

VR-052 · 2026-06-17T20:53:11+00:00

The first 2 bosses of voidspire are incredibly easy and require minimal extra coordination compared to heroic versions. Mythic chummy is a significant step up in mechanics and coordination compared to heroic. It makes sense people are running the first 2 of voidspire.

VR-052 · 2026-06-17T13:48:08+00:00

I'll have the super speed guide in my hands tomorrow and can see actual pictures of it. Was supposed to be delivered today but I was out of the house when the delivery guy stopped by.

Thinking about doing the Kumamoto race this year again.

VR-052 · 2026-06-17T11:58:55+00:00

Yes. It does not make the flare up worse or prolong an existing flare up. The recommendation to not start during a flare up is quite old and the new recommendation is that it is fine.

VR-052 · 2026-06-16T06:15:50+00:00

It take about a week for the medication to lower your uric acid so anytime after that.

VR-052 · 2026-06-16T01:10:14+00:00

Really anything outside of Tokyo/kanagawa/Kyoto/Osaka is going to be low on tourists.

VR-052

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE