Always On The Pipe · Proudly Made in the USA · Melbourne, FL

The CVEC Mugen MTX-3 ProSpec touring car

CVEC Racing

Performance tuned exhaust systems for radio control cars and trucks, machined by hand in Melbourne, Florida. Built by racers, for racers.

Our Story

CVEC started as CVEC Power Systems, short for Controlled Velocity Engineering Company, and grew into CVEC Racing: a small Florida company making radio control exhausts at a time when very few were still made in the USA.

Melbourne, FLCNC machined and polished

Touring · SavageJato · Revo · T-Maxx

Great PlanesHorizon Hobbies

2002 – 2009Racing and building

CVEC began with a clever idea: a regulated exhaust that adjusts to what the engine is doing, tuned for strong low-end power and top speed without giving either one up. The tagline said it all: Always On The Pipe!

CVEC was owned before Joe by Gary Cornwell, who started the company in Melbourne. Joe Anderson came in as a racer. In 2003 CVEC sponsored him, and he began developing the RS series, the company's touring car pipes. By 2004 he was running CVEC's research and development and sales, and the company grew from there.

Joe was also the RC department manager at a hobby shop, which meant talking with the Traxxas team almost every day. That friendship paid off when the Traxxas Jato 2.5 was on its way. With an early look at it, CVEC had a Jato exhaust ready the very month the truck came out. The Jato became the star of CVEC's first show in Las Vegas, alongside a Jato body painted in CVEC colors, and it even earned its own magazine.

Every CVEC paint job came from Pete, of Paint'in Pete's Bodies. The look started on an HPI R40, moved to the Mugen MTX-3 ProSpec and then the Kyosho V-One RRR: blue and orange with black shadowing, with tribal graphics that became the face of CVEC.

As orders kept pouring in, Joe sponsored Ben Griffin to race for CVEC. Ben won CVEC's first ROAR event, and in 2006 he qualified in the top 10 at the Winternats in Fort Myers, alongside then World Champion Chris Tosolini, who ran CVEC on the side of his car.

Most CVEC pipes went out through Great Planes and Horizon Hobbies, and the Jato and Revo pipes were big successes. CVEC no longer makes pipes, but plenty of racers are still running them, and this page is for them.

“We make the pipe right here on CNC Haas machines, in Melbourne, Florida.”
Joe Anderson, 2005

The pipe that never was

CVEC's next pipe was going to be lighter, stronger, and better performing, and it took one third less time in the machine shop to make. It never reached production, but it did race: Ben ran the prototype at the 2006 Winternats in Fort Myers, FL, and qualified in the top 10.

The CVEC Timeline

From racing for the brand to running it, one season at a time.

2002 – Racing daysJoe takes 3rd in A Main Touring Nitro at the Speedway Spectacular at Daytona International Speedway (March 22-24), places 8th A Main at the HPI Challenge, and wins the Superior Hobbies Summer Sizzlin Points Series A Main in 4wd Nitro Touring.
2003 – Sponsored by CVECCVEC Power Systems begins sponsoring Joe, and he starts developing the RS series, CVEC's touring car pipe line.
2004 – Joe takes overJoe takes over CVEC, running R&D and sales, and wins 1st in Nitro Touring Expert in the Superior Hobbies Summer Sizzlin Nights Points Series.
Spring 2005 – The JatoAs RC department manager at a hobby shop, Joe talks with the Traxxas team daily, and that bond gets him an early look at the new Traxxas Jato 2.5. CVEC has an exhaust ready the month the Jato is released (it began shipping in the U.S. in late April 2005). The Jato is the star of CVEC's first show, the Las Vegas table top show, complete with a Jato body painted in CVEC colors by Pete, and it even inspires a magazine feature.
2005 – HPI ChallengeJoe finishes 5th in A Main, RS4 Nitro Modified, at the HPI Challenge.
June 2005 – New chapterCVEC launches its new touring line under Joe Anderson, with the RS120TLC (ROAR legal) and RS150TLC (outlaw class) touring pipes: CNC machined, polished, and proudly made in Melbourne, Florida.
July 2005 – Built with racersThe touring pipe is designed together with Pete of PNP Hobbies, and the Savage 4.6 SS pipe is next on the list.
August 2005 – Podium sweep at DaytonaThe top three cars all run CVEC pipes, including Joe himself in first place.
2005 – IHobbyExpoCVEC shows up at the IHobbyExpo with its proudly American-made pipes.
October 2005 – First ROAR winBen Griffin wins the 1/10 touring class at the State Race at Kissimmee RC Raceway on a CVEC pipe.
August 2006 – New productsThe RS230BK Savage pipe, the RC121RT and RC121LT side-exit pipes for Savage, MT2 SS, RC10GT and XXX-NT trucks, and tuning springs.
Winter 2006 – Winternats, Fort Myers, FLWith orders piling up at CVEC, Joe sponsors CVEC driver Ben Griffin to race for the company. Ben runs CVEC's prototype next-generation pipe and qualifies in the top 10, alongside then World Champion Chris Tosolini, who ran with CVEC on the side of his car.
December 18, 2006 – Trophy Dash1st place at the PNP Hobbies Christmas Trophy Dash at Andretti Thrill Park.
Later years – Jato and Revo pipesCVEC expands beyond touring cars with Jato and Revo pipes that find a lot of success, sold mostly through Great Planes and Horizon Hobbies.
The end of an eraWhen CVEC’s longtime backer Red Voldness passed away, the company closed its doors. See the tribute below.

Gallery

The cars and the paint

Joe Anderson's CVEC MTX-3 touring car — **The main car**Joe's Mugen MTX-3 ProSpec. Every CVEC paint job was based on this one, a tribal design painted by Pete, who did all the CVEC paint jobs. The paint scheme first ran on the HPI R40, then the Mugen MTX-3 ProSpec, then the Kyosho V-One RRR.

CVEC Savage 4.6 SS — **The CVEC Savage**Blue, orange and yellow tribal graphics with black shadowing, painted by Pete, who did all the CVEC paint jobs.

CVEC Savage front view — **Savage SS 4.6**Painted body, CVEC Racing and Pro Fuel graphics.

CVEC car at the 2006 Winternats — **2006 Winternats, Fort Myers, FL**Ben Griffin's car at the 2006 Winternats, carrying Joe's CVEC body and the PNP Hobbies logo on the wing. Orders at CVEC were piling up, so Joe sponsored Ben to race for the company.

An early Paint'in Pete's Bodies paint job — **Paint'in Pete's Bodies**One of Pete's early bodies, with his logo on the wing.

Signed Space Coast Hobbies body — **Space Coast Hobbies body**Autographed by some of the world's best RC racers, including Atsushi Hara and Barry Baker. This body was never run.

**Kyosho body**The Kyosho touring body, still on the wall.

The pipes

Blue CVEC tuned pipe — **Blue anodized tuned pipe**Machined in the USA.

Black CVEC tuned pipe — **Black tuned pipe**Shown with its tuning spring.

Shows and events

CVEC booth, October 2005 — **The CVEC booth at IHobbyExpo, October 22, 2005**Showing the 2006 lineup: race series, outlaw series, a quieter series and a helicopter pipe.

Trophies and plaques

**Speedway Spectacular, March 2002**3rd place A Main, Touring Nitro, at Daytona International Speedway.

**Summer Sizzlin Points Series, 2002**1st place A Main, 4wd Nitro Touring (Superior Hobbies).

**Summer Sizzlin Nights, 2004**1st place, Nitro Touring Expert (Superior Hobbies).

**HPI Challenge**A Main 8th place in 2002 and A Main 5th place in 2005, RS4 Nitro Modified.

PNP Hobbies trophy — **1st Place, December 18, 2006**PNP Hobbies Christmas Trophy Dash at Andretti Thrill Park.

CVEC Dedication

A slideshow of the CVEC racing team's cars and drivers, set to music.

Tuning Instructions

Setup and tuning notes for CVEC pipes, kept here for everyone still running them.

Operation & Installation of a CVEC Power System

From the original CVEC Power Systems site (2004). This covers the patented spring-regulated CVEC Power System.

Installation

Put CVEC in the desired location and mark the pressure-fitting hole with a magic marker.
Remove the exhaust and convergent (regulator) cone from the divergent cone.
Drill the pressure-fitting hole using a 9/64 drill. (Safety first.)
Install the pressure fitting with the gasket on the outside.
Install the convergent cone (regulator) into the divergent cone first.
Then reinstall the exhaust cone and install CVEC into the truck.

Spring tension

Setting the cotter pin in position #1 increases your run time by a third or more, but you lose some top speed. The looser the spring tension, the more fuel you use but the faster you go. In every setting the low speed and mid range torque is the same, so it is fuel economy versus speed. In most off-road applications the factory setting (#3) is ideal for fuel economy. For on-road use where top speed is desired, positions #4 and #5 are best.

Adjusting

Be sure the high-speed needle is fully rich so that it does not interfere with the low speed setting.
Remove the 4 screws that hold the fuel tank on so you can get to the low speed adjustment.
Secure the truck to a stand, start the engine, and adjust the low speed needle in until the engine starts to speed up.
Be sure the engine responds quickly to the throttle.
Shut the engine off and fasten the fuel tank back on properly.
Restart the engine and adjust the high speed needle until the desired speed is reached. Check with the engine manufacturer for proper temperature; most range from 230 to 295 degrees Fahrenheit.

Joe's tuning tip

Always start at the factory carburetor settings for your engine, then tune from there.

Pipe-specific tuning notes for the touring, Savage, Jato and Revo pipes can be added below.

Thank You

CVEC was never just a pipe. It was people, and I owe every one of them more than a few lines can say.

To Pete Pepe, who painted every CVEC body and made our cars the ones people stopped to look at. To Ben Griffin, who carried our colors onto the track and put a CVEC pipe in the top 10 with the best in the world. To Bobby Watson, Scotty Meeks and Dave Franklin, for your help, your friendship and for standing with CVEC when it counted. I couldn’t have done it without you, and I’m grateful you were on my team.

And to the many supporters of CVEC Racing all over the world: every racer who ran a CVEC pipe, every hobby shop and distributor that carried us, and everyone who stopped by the booth, wrote a kind word, or told a friend. You gave a small shop in Melbourne, Florida a reach I never dreamed of. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Always on the pipe.

In Memory of Red Voldness

CVEC would not have made it through those years without Red Voldness. When CVEC began sponsoring me and I was developing the company’s first ROAR-legal exhaust, Red would come down to Space Coast Hobbies and take me out to lunch. We talked about life, and we talked about CVEC. When CVEC came up for sale, Red and my Dad worked it out together, and that made it possible for me to take over the day to day and leave the hobby shop to run it. When Red passed away, CVEC closed its doors.

Dad, thank you for working it out with Red and making it happen. Red, thank you. Thank you for believing in me, for the lunches and the talks, and for giving me the chance to build something I’m still proud of. I hope every CVEC pipe that is still out there running makes you smile. — Joe Anderson