Questions about beginning to race
 

First off, before anyone says it, I have done a ton of searches but couldn't find an answer to my questions.

On to the questions. I am really wanting to start Slash Spec racing and the LA RC Challenge is coming up and they are going to have a class for it. I am just not sure what all I need to actively compete. I do not think the track that is hosting the first race has a hobby shop attached so I will need to have all equipment necessary. Obviously I know I need the truck, radio gear, battery and charger but what about spare parts and such? Would would be best to have besides an entire spare truck? Also, is it a mistake to begin racing using the Traxxas radio gear? Should I upgrade to 2.4 right out of the box?

Thanks for any input you can give me.

First tip, never pay attention to Lightin', he hates the Slash and he trolls any thread that is about the Slash.

Second, it would be best to find out from the track what batteries are allowed. Also see if they allow you to change the gear cover to the RPM gear cover.

As far as the radio is concerned, if you have the money to upgrade to the 2.4 Ghz, do it.

As far as spare parts, I haven't broken anything on my Slash yet, so I wouldn't know.

The Slash is one tough Rc truck! It'll take a beating and keep on ticking... I've never seen one break... It doesn,t mean that it can't happen... Just that it's unlikely! You won't need many spares....

CODMAN

upgate to 2.4 for sure. the traxxas radio gear has no set up.

as far as parts i would go with aluminum shock caps.
buy a pair of rear hubs and front caster blocks with pins. front and rear arms. extra servo horn. thats pretty much about it.

maybe a front bulkhead. all that will be about 35 buks max. but good to have in your box

thanks to everyone for the input so far.

as for set up with a 2.4, having never raced, I am not sure I would even know what to use all the settings for. It is a series of races, a points challenge thing, so I may just run my factory stuff for the first one and see how i like it and how the race goes and then upgrade if i need to for the follow up events.

Might want to check with the track before changing too much. My local track only allows the slash guys to change the body. Shock caps. Radio. And they may only use certain batteries. They are really tuff the trucks I mean what a blast to watch and they abuse the heck out of them. And they just about never break. Good Luck

Most likely you can get away with running a 6 cell NIMH battery with stock gear and still be in compliance with your track rules. In all honesty, you may want to upgrade to a DSM type radio so you don't have to worry about interferance. Other than that, just have fun and keep practicing. You can still be competitive with a 6 cell battery and stock gear because it trully depends on your driving and the tires limit what you can accomplish with more powerful motors.

You can get a Losi RTR 2.4Ghz DSM radio on eBay under 100$ easily. No Frills, but for a slash you really don't need much besides dual rates for steering. Dual rate is just an adjustment for how much steering throw you can get.

Both of my kid's Slash's have these radios, work great. Nice feature that they are easy on batteries, and only need 4 AA's for the transmitter.

You can upgrade the radio, because if you couldnt there would only be 6 trucks per race:lol:

Futaba Fasst is a good 2.4g radio, easier to use than some others, and is not that expensive.

If they allow lipo batteries, buy one. Nimh will work fine, but it beats upgrading your batteries later down the road.

As for parts buy some shock caps, body clips, front a arms, and a front shock tower.

Just my .02

He asked about beginning a race not beginning the hobby :rolleyes::lol:

1- Be sure to get enough sleep
2- stay focused
3-do some hand exercises
4-Take a few laps to re access your setup
5-then take a few laps with bald rear tires to get warmed up
6-put your qualifying tires on and make your spot
7-Drive it like you stole it

2.4ghz is def the way to go, no more troubles and is faster. Just a general rule of thumb the higher grade 2.4 radios react slightly faster and seem to have more range, but this isn't something for you to worry about yet.

Everyone else pretty much covered everything that you really needed

Be sure to note what tires the fastest drivers are using