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-   -   12th Scale Shootout (https://www.rctech.net/forum/electric-road/17040-12th-scale-shootout.html)

Accord 04-25-2003 03:18 AM

12th Scale Shootout
 
I'm in the market for a 1/12 scale car and was wondering if any of the magazines like RC Car Action, XRC, etc. have ever done an article comparing many different 1/12 scale cars. If so, what magazine and what issue was it?

Also, in your opinions, what do you think is the best 1/12th scale car and why?

I started reading the 1/12th scale thread, but after the first couple hundred posts it just turned into lots of chit chat about things that don't have anything to do with 1/12th scale, and i'm not going to sort through all of it so I just made this thread hoping to get peoples opinions :).

stormperson 04-25-2003 03:54 AM

I would highly suggest the speedmerchant Rev. 3, its design is well tested and it has won every big race out there, and it just TQ'd and won the carpet nats a few months ago (so its still fast).

its very easy to work on, and since it doesnt have a t-bar there is really nothing that can break on the car, go to www.speedmerchant.com for more details and they also explain how the specfic design aspects are better than other cars out there.

odpurple 04-25-2003 12:33 PM

I agree, the Rev 3 is a great car. The Carpet Knife is essentially the same thing and might be easier to get and support in some areas.

I have both and I think the Rev 3 has the edge for durability. The Chassis material on the Rev 3 seems to stay together better and the motor pods on the Knife (red edition) are too soft.

If you are concerned with parts availability you can't beat a 12L3.

O'D

jiggamacdaddy 04-25-2003 01:39 PM

i think personally that the trinity switch blade 12 cyrul edition is the crap. its balistic on carpet and asphalt and is quick to get set up. i personally think the crc cant come close in handaling. and thats after i worked on it after six months:weird: :nod:

stormperson 04-25-2003 04:40 PM

The crc and speedmerchant are very similar however the speedmerchant has some subtle yet distinct design advantages that do make a difference. The crc's chassis is strong up front (ie doesnt bend easily) however in the back around the batteries where all the weight is, and where it matters it has way to many cut outs, and the chassis flexes. also the roll center in the back (where the rear links pivot) is way to high, and it throws off handling, the CRC six pack doesnt have these problems, but its a t-bar car. T-bars are bad for a few reasons: it is both side to side and front to back dampning and thus it has a harder time absorbing bumps and it throws off handling even on smooth surfaces since it has to flex in two different directions (thus each one affects the other). also they break! and they are a pain to replace, since you basically have to take apart the whole car to get them out. Also they are inconsistant since they are made out of plastic basically, and they wear and change their stiffness. also they have "lines" in them, which provide stiffness and some t-bars have them going at an angle (since they basically cut them out of a large sheet and to get more bars per sheet they have to cut some at bad angles) so that throws of handling as well. also since it has to be in the center of the car the batteries (heaviest part of the car) cant be in the center and thus are at the outside of the chassis, which makes for bad handling.

Parts avialability is a mute point. the only thing that is different between the speedmerchant, CRC and rc12l3 are the chassis and how the rear end pivots. they all have the same rear bulkheads, diffs, center shocks, and front end (sorta). I personally run an IRS 12 ball diff (standard diffs are 6, 12 ball diffs literally last 5x longer and are much more consistant, and they dont blow diff bearings as much), IRS lowered bulkheads on my Rev. 3. The only things you EVER break on a 12th scale are maybe once ina blue moon a front arm, thats it on the chassis, you can crack rims and chunk tires and ruin bodies, but NOTHING breaks on the actual chassis, so dont worry about parts.

odpurple 04-26-2003 10:07 AM

To say that 12th scale cars never break parts is ludicrous. To say that parts availability is moot is true only of the parts are available easily.

Motor pods bend, chassis get beat up after time, even normal maintanence usually requires some parts replacement. Most of the guys I run with use either a Carpet Knife or a Rev 3 and someone's always in need of something. Don't tell me you've never broken a Rev3 battery plate.

Even if you don't break anything you will want availability of different parts for set up chages as you learn to work with a car. Shock, front and side springs, roll cones (rev3) etc.

Don't forget this guy was asking about getting a new car-there's always a learning curve.
O'D

stormperson 04-26-2003 12:58 PM

i am saying that the parts that you break are not specialized to each chassis. of course peope bend motor plates and maybe break a front arm from time to time, but they are standard AE parts. the only real speedmerchant or CRC parts on the cars are the graphite pieces and damper tubes, and side links (none of which break) otherwise all of the other stuff is standized 12th scale parts. to crack a chassis you really have to be lucky, and even then most of the time its repairable with some super glue, and both CRC and speedmerchatn stuff is avialable online, so its not a big deal.

things like side springs and front springs, and shocks are standard piecies as well, and you really dont need to chane them, normally the stock set up is pretty much dialed.

and in my years of running rev. 3's i have yet to break a battery plate! honest!

odpurple 04-27-2003 12:24 AM

enough is too much
 
Rev3 damper tubes do break, I've seen it plenty (not just me). CRC tubes get bent and bind up. I've also known of side spring plates (graphite) to break. These are just some examples. anything on the car can break or wear out, at which time you will have to replace it. I can't argue with you about the ease of parts ordering on the internet, providing the parts are in stock somewhere. An example is that there were no Rev3 damper tubes available for most of our carpet season . When I broke one I had to replace them with CRC tubes (which I like better anyway).

My original statement was simply that you can't beat a 12L3 for parts availability. It's not my car of choice for racing, either (although I have one), but the whole car is "standard AE parts"!

I think I've deviated too much from the original topic here. When it comes to picking a first 12th scale car, I think any of the top brands will do great. They just all have thier individual quirks you have to deal with.
O'D

Boomer 04-27-2003 11:26 AM

The other question originally asked was whether or not RCCA or Xtreme or anyone else had written any reviews. . . The answer is yes and no

RCCA did a review on the 12L3 a while ago and it was horrid. The guy obviously didn't know how to drive a pan car. He was driving it in the parking lot. He obviously didn't have any sauce on the tires. I'm not even sure he had a GTP body on it.

The problem with car mags reviewing any pan car is that they are all either off-road drivers or sedan drivers and they don't ask for a pan driver to review the pan cars for them, mistakenly thinking that if one can drive a sedan they can drive a pan - sorry, dudes, they're completely different cars! :rolleyes:

So, stick to this thread and the responses from your fellow 1/12th scalers. :lol:

Accord 04-27-2003 11:32 AM

Thanks for all of the replies :).

My LHS is great, they stock all of the major 12th scale cars, parts, etc. and they have an amazing indoor carpet track. Parts availability and whatnot isn't a problem at all, I want the best possible car out of the box :). They have the Yokomo YRX-12 and the silver graphite looks amazing, but i'm not sure how well the car performs, it was the most expensive car though.

fatdoggy 04-27-2003 01:27 PM

Rc-Car did a review of the 12L3 and RCCA did a review of the SP12M as well. I've taken some pics of the pages and there readable but there pretty big so I can't attach them to my posts. If you want them sent to you then pm me with the email address you'd like them to go to, if not no sweat. :tire:

Accord 04-27-2003 02:16 PM

I just PM'ed you!

Thanks

stormperson 04-27-2003 04:59 PM

i dont think they have done a shootout, or at least not in the past few years.

the yok chassis was made for the asphault worlds in South Africa, and wasnt meant to race on anything else really. its a longer wheelbase car, and the chassis has flex to it, so great for asphault, bad for carpet, although it does look very trick.

you really have to try hard to break a damper tube, and those were the old ones. the news ones (which are all black) just came out a few months ago, and i think they are more durable. and i have never heard of the graphite tweak plate breaking, you would have to have some messed up boards to accomplish that, lol.

fatdoggy 04-27-2003 05:18 PM

Accord - Mail sent. :nod:

TimPotter 04-27-2003 06:10 PM

Hey John,

If you come by the track on wed, you can check out at least 4 different chassis.

I have a corally SP12m and a Yokomo.
Steve and Les both have a Bloody Knife.
there will be a couple of 12L3 cars too.

Here is my quick take on what I know ( not that much about 12th)

RC12L3 - Probably best all around car.Good performer,Easy to get parts and is pretty inexpensive out of the box. Prolly your best bet.

SP12m Great car, easy to drive and learn on, but the front arms are a little fragile. I spoke with Rob from Corally USA this weekend and he said they have some new stuff for the car coming. Downside is you have to run Corally Tires...

Yokomo - Man I really like the car, it is said to be a little flexy for carpet, I will tell ya soon. Was very fast on the track in Coral Springs. Just a really nice RC12L3

CRC, not a tplate car, Stev and Les' are very nice and they have good support. They are plain fast.

Speedmerchant - do not know much, but saw that vforce front end at the Snowbirds and it is pretty neat.

In short, most of the cars have a similar thread and parts do carry over ( except the Corally)

Can anyone else that knows more about 12's comment....


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