Author: Tony Phalen

As an avid RC enthusiast, Tony has been building, bashing and racing RC Cars for over 30 years. He has participated in every kind of surface racing events - 1/18 scale trucks, 1/10 scale TC, Rock Racers, Rally - if it had wheels, he's raced it! He's also worked on both sides of the industry fence; collaborating with many major manufacturers (as well as being a sponsored driver) to working for a high-profile industry magazine. During this time he has learned many tricks, tips and techniques and is sharing that knowledge on CompetitionX - the most informative RC website on the internet!

Review: Axial SCX10-TR Trail Honcho

Review: Axial SCX10-TR Trail Honcho

Axial Racing has placed itself as one of the leading companies in rock crawling. Just recently they released the SCX10 Trail Truck kit, a crawler ... Read More

HPI Formula Ten Formula 1 Project Build

HPI Formula Ten Formula 1 Project Build

HPI's Formula Ten gets a F1 Makeover A couple months ago I did a full review on the HPI Formula Ten. I enjoyed the car ... Read More

Review: CEN Matrix 5-B

Review: CEN Matrix 5-B

Large-scale RC cars have been slowly growing in popularity over the past couple years. With events like Bajafest, Dunetoberfest, and 5th Scale Power Jam, there ... Read More

Review: ABC Hobby Genetic Mini

Review: ABC Hobby Genetic Mini

My first experience with ABC Hobby and the “Genetic” Mini was about 3 or 4 years ago. I had attended a 1:1 scale import car ... Read More

Team Associated SC10 Project Build: Short Course Street Cruiser

Team Associated SC10 Project Build: Short Course Street Cruiser

SC Stands for Short Course and Street Cruiser Short Course racing in RC has become hugely popular due to the scale realism and the platforms ... Read More

Review: Kyosho TF-5S Kit

Review: Kyosho TF-5S Kit

One of the most popular racing classes at my local track is the RCGT class. The beauty of this class is the scale realism and, ... Read More

Review: RJ Speed Digger

Review: RJ Speed Digger

When I started playing with RC cars back in, um, well, a long time ago, my buddy and I actually owned a pair of the ... Read More

Review: Tamiya M05 Pro

Review: Tamiya M05 Pro

Tamiya has recently released a race-spec version of the M-05 chassis, designated the M-05 Pro. The new M-Chassis includes quite a few of Tamiya’s aftermarket ... Read More

Traxxas Slash Race Build: STRC LCG Conversion Project

Traxxas Slash Race Build: STRC LCG Conversion Project

Giving Your Slash A Second Chance Anyone who has driven a Traxxas Slash knows that this truck is an extremely capable Short Course contender. It ... Read More

Review: Tamiya FF-03 Pro Touring Car

Review: Tamiya FF-03 Pro Touring Car

Over the years Tamiya has released a few strange chassis layouts that, fortunately, have gained huge followings. One of them was the FF-01, a FWD, ... Read More

RC Shocks Explained

RC Shocks Explained

What Are Shocks? Shocks are one of the most important components of your RC car’s suspension system. Their job is to control how the chassis ... Read More

RC Brushless System Terminology

RC Brushless System Terminology

There are plenty of terms in the RC industry that can be confusing to a newcomer - most of those revolving around your brushless ESC ... Read More

Review: HPI RS32-01 RTR Calsonic Skyline

Review: HPI RS32-01 RTR Calsonic Skyline

Most people looking for a fun RC car don’t usually look smaller than 1/10th scale. Anything smaller is usually considered toy grade and not worth ... Read More

HPI Baja 5T Project Build: Creating the Ultimate Desert RC Bug

HPI Baja 5T Project Build: Creating the Ultimate Desert RC Bug

One of the biggest Baja events of the year, Dunetoberfest 2009, was once again held at the beautiful Buttercup Recreation Area at Imperial Sand Dunes, ... Read More