Pulse_

Calling all drivers that crack a body bad drivers makes me laugh. It happens to the best, we all do mistakes. That's part of racing. And excuse me but most of us aren't pro drivers from the beginnig... That's not an argument to deprive most of rc fans of tougher products. Bodies could be stronger so why not selling some thicker ones or finding other alternatives?

AE RC10fan

Interesting subject! With brushless motors and high capacity lipos, do people care much about the weight of the body any more? Seems most are adding weight in various places to the SCT's anyway. Granted, adding weight to the body raises the CoG, but a body that is 50-100% thicker than they are today shouldn't make that much of a difference considering the motor and battery advances. You don't have to worry much about a pack dumping at the end of race any more. I would like to see thicker bodies for the SCT class.

Of course, keeping the wheels to the dirt helps save the body too. I am still working on that!

I just bought a new Proline Silverado body for my SC10, not because the old body was worn out, but because I want to change up the paint job. Proline and the other body manufacturers shouldn't worry too much about lower sales if they make the bodies thicker, we will still buy them!

Craig

reracer

iTrader: (4)

It's great that someone from Proline jumped on, but they completely skirted the subject. They don't want to go into depth. Why not? If they've tested other materials and they don't work then say so. I can't believe that after 25 years they couldn't have come up with something better. I also can't believe that the material cost can't be lower. Look at the cost of a liter bottle of soda. Even if there was 10 times the plastic in a car body(which there isn't), for $30 you'd get a car body and 10 liters of soda. We're not flying these things into space, but a little effort would be nice.

SCTRacerX

iTrader: (32)

Please do something proline...I know your trying...I would pay 75.00 if I knew It would last a year...Just to save my time and paint also.

IMPACTPLAYR

iTrader: (7)

FYI: the cost of bodies cannot be compared to the cost of 2 liters of soda....
let's see, let's say proline produces a new body, we'll call it the chevy POS...

designers have to design it.... $$ sallary for them
molds must be made my hand or CNC machining... $$$
materials must be bought....$$
Ads must be ran to let people know about the new Chevy POS...$$
Somebody has to be paid to run the machines that product the bodies and package them... $$
Wait a minute body body doesn't fit ALL popular chassis'.... so design modifications and new molds must be made....$$$$

This is just a small rundown of the costs involved.... and your bitching about the body costing $30???

REMEMBER... the Chevy POS might have a 2-3 year production run... MIGHT.... and produce 3-10,000 units..... now blink your eyes... cause pepsi just sold 10,000 units while your eyes where shut!!! The Molds where made 20+ years ago and guess what??? tons of manufacturers buy from the same supplier... BILLIONS of soda bottles are produced by them ever year!!

Also the plastic in soda bottles only holds it's shape well because of it's shape... IT"S A FREAKIN' CYLINDER!!! To make bodies that would hold their shape well out of that plastic it would have top be super thick and guess what then when it was in a hard impact it would crack....

Stop acting like body manufacturers are in the buisness of screwing people.... cause there are a hell of a lot worse offenders out there...

OF coarse if you think it can be done better I challenge anyone to put their money where their mouth is!!

reracer

iTrader: (4)

I completely understand the cost of doing business, but when someone says that material cost is a factor, they open the door to questioning how much of a factor it really is. Yeah, it was a silly example, but there is a point there.

I never said that the body manufactures were screwing anybody. Plus tires are way more important to the performance of the car/truck. Thank goodness, they come out with new tires and compounds every month. I'm just saying that maybe its time to put a little effort into the materials used for the bodies. Admit it, what other part of an RC car has stayed the same for so long.

Who knows, maybe there's a body material out there that makes them more money so they can stay in business, and develop more tires.

SS LS1

iTrader: (23)

Let me personally thank you for the business specifics on making a product Mr. Obvious! And we don't need some type of angry challenge here that's not part of the constructive discussion others are having. Now back to the original post.

It's funny to read comments about adding duct tape, shoe goo, drywall fiberglass tape etc. just to keep a body alive all while adding weight to the body anyway. I'm with the OP as I would rather have a thicker body to start with (yes a little more weight) and not have to slather all kind of shoe goo, goop, whatever on a thinner body just to keep it in one piece.

reracer

iTrader: (4)

+1

whitrzac

iTrader: (97)

I can't be the only one that wants a thinner, lighter body...

KingdomRacer

iTrader: (5)

+1000
That's why I don't even posts pics of my conversions and layouts as I'm not giving them nothing for free.

ScottKelly911

iTrader: (9)

Thanks for your valuable contribution to this thread :sarcasm tag:

First of all, all of those costs are fixed or variable costs regardless of type of material they use. They're called operational costs and in place already. You know that new body that Proline just released called the Flo-Tek, guess what, all of those costs that you mentioned above had to be factored into the cost of the Flo-Tek body as well. (BTW I really like the design of the Flo-Tek body and will probably buy one) Anyway, lets move on to the rest of your post...

No body is complaining about the cost of a body, quite the contrary, I think everyone's discussing about the frequency that we have to get a new body and how we'd like to see more durability out of them and are actually willing to pay MORE than $30 for our bodies if it means improved quality and durability.

I agree, if the materials used for new bodies were the PET used in soda bottles, the costs would not be the same as Pepsi's even if it's the same amount of material as a 2-liter bottle, for the reasons you mentioned, which is volume. That being said, they'd probably be similar to current bodies, perhaps slightly higher. The raw material is actually cheaper I believe, that being said, it may take different manufacturing procedures which could add to a slightly higher cost. If bodies were $50 vs. $30-$35 but of much higher quality, guess which ones I'd buy, i'm going with the $50 body that'll last a lot longer and save me money in the long run.

Now to your statement about the material not being able to hold it's shape or it'd be too thick and crack...I'm sorry, but do you have any research to substantiate your claim? Because Ridley posted information that seems to be quite contrary to your claims. Also, just like Lexan, I'm sure that PET has a sweet spot where it's flexible but not too thick to where it becomes brittle or too heavy.

I honestly don't know what you're motive for being against body material improvements would be. I dunno, maybe you are a Lexan supplier that stands to lose a ton of money from lost sales Oh wait, that's right RC car bodies probably account for less than a half of a percent of Lexan sales, so that can't be it. Really, if bodies become improved, EVERYBODY wins, including the body companies. Like others have said, I sometimes change my 1/8th bodies just to have fresh paint and new graphics or a new body style on my bodies. So people don't always change bodies because they are broken or cracked, sometime you just want a new style or new paint scheme.

Hemi Killer

iTrader: (2)

Bodies have edges where cracks form. Water bottles are round, with no edges, fr superior in strength when comparing shapes.

Same reason why you grind down weld lines on a frame, sharp edges are a starting point for cracks,


As I get better at driving, my bodies last longer and longer. Quit crashing so much and you,ll be fine

P.s. I would like a thicker body as well

ohh EPiC FAiL

iTrader: (51)

i agree they should make thicker bodies, but to all you that are willing to invest more in a shell, why not make a DIY vacuum former and buy some ultracal30 and make your own form? then you can test out all kinds and thicknesses of plastics and if you find some magical solution, you could consider starting to sell them. you can find lexan at about $100 a sheet shipped to your door, and most places will cut it down to sizes you'd want so that shipping would be cheaper and you won't have to cut it. you can also get sheets for cheaper if you have a local plastics supply shop. i made a vacuum former and spent about $20 on materials. it's really not hard, or very expensive when you look at the big picture. you could spend maybe $150 on materials to make your former, mold, and a whole sheet of lexan 96"x48", and each short course shell would only need maybe 16x24 at max, so that's like paying $150 for 12 shells. can you even find 12 proline or jconcepts shells for that? nope!

sorry for the long winded reply. this is something i've debated on doing, just haven't found the time to actually do it but a buddy and i are planning on making some bodies for ourselves and a few friends soon.

get out there, make your own stuff, start testing materials, and post results!!

Lightdancer

FYI 2 liter bottles have 50% less plastic and are stronger than what they were made from 20 years ago.

I really don't think cost is even the issue here. I think that if anyone in the rc hobby was worried about the cost they wouldn't be in the rc hobby. I made the mistake of going though my RC crap and organizing it and left out my tire bag. Once the wife say how many "$30 sets of tires" there were she freaked. I learned that you don't try to use that point to try and explain track conditions.

Proline's rampage desert rat shows me that they are trying different things.

I still don't disagree with the option of having a thicker body. I mean I would run a thicker body for club nights and practice then use the thinner one for points series.

prestondan

iTrader: (1)

I have seen a couple of custom carbon fiber bodies for 1/8 buggies that were very impressive...I would love to run one.

However, for a SCT there is so much body contact with the rest of the world that I would be concerned about the unintended consequences of a stronger more rigid body shell. Kind of like how I feel about aluminum a-arms... I think the hard shell would transfer more force to parts that are just not made to take it. Body mounts, chassis connections to body mounts, etc. The same reason you want your SCT numbers to bend and flex to absorb impact I think helps the lighter more flexible body shell prevent damage to components attached to it.

I certainly don't know the above to be true or factual at all... That is just my initial concern when I think about a tougher shell. Cool idea though, I hope you find a way to test it out...if it works you have an opportunity.