Local Racing Fees
08-22-2007, 10:06 AM
#76
From my point of view, when a track raises the price of race fees and people quit racing, their reasons or excuses are irrelevant. The prices raise for a reason. Whether it is due to the rising cost of insurance, rent, etc… or whether the club or track just wants to purchase a new item.
Reason:
I have a family. A 4 year old daughter and a set of 1 month old twins. My wife does not work. I used to race a Corally RDX, stock, foam tire, 4200 batteries. Since the additions to the family I have went to a TA05, brushless, lipo, rubber tire. By cutting out all the needed tools, tires, and what not’s, I can still afford to race every weekend.
Meaning:
If you are a true die hard racer and enjoy going to the track as much as I do, you will find ways for this to happen. If you quit racing because the price to race raised $5 or $10 then you were just looking for an excuse to quit racing. It shouldn’t matter the price we pay to race our little toy cars. If it were $30 I would still race. I would just cut back to only eating 4 or 5 hot dogs at the track. lol
Reason:
I have a family. A 4 year old daughter and a set of 1 month old twins. My wife does not work. I used to race a Corally RDX, stock, foam tire, 4200 batteries. Since the additions to the family I have went to a TA05, brushless, lipo, rubber tire. By cutting out all the needed tools, tires, and what not’s, I can still afford to race every weekend.
Meaning:
If you are a true die hard racer and enjoy going to the track as much as I do, you will find ways for this to happen. If you quit racing because the price to race raised $5 or $10 then you were just looking for an excuse to quit racing. It shouldn’t matter the price we pay to race our little toy cars. If it were $30 I would still race. I would just cut back to only eating 4 or 5 hot dogs at the track. lol
08-22-2007, 10:15 AM
#77
Ozzie, unfortunately those that quit cause the track to close so none of us can race. The higher the rate goes the more people quit so there is no price increase that is enough to cover the expenses. Unless its just a single person willing to spend a $10000 per race but then he would have no one to race 
I think its safe to say most of us on here would spend whats necessary but it isnt us keeping the tracks open. Its gotta be Avg Joe RC Racer that does. Unless we can find the variables that keeps those people interested for the money we will continue to lose track IMHO.
I think its safe to say most of us on here would spend whats necessary but it isnt us keeping the tracks open. Its gotta be Avg Joe RC Racer that does. Unless we can find the variables that keeps those people interested for the money we will continue to lose track IMHO.
08-22-2007, 10:55 AM
#78
Tech Fanatic
More than anything else it is the economy that is in the toilet and killing the race crowds. With everything going on in the world right now, alot of people's "fun" money just isn't there. I've seen kids get a RTR for B-day or Xmas and come out to race it only to break it and not come back.
08-22-2007, 11:21 AM
#79
Price out a building, Then you will have no prob paying 20 bucks at the track
08-22-2007, 11:32 AM
#80
Orbital made this point earlier "If we are on RcTech as regularly as me and you then obviously we are more into the hobby then some."
Which means that everyone posting 'here' would be willing to pay more, maybe even twice as much as they are now to keep racing, but we're not a reflection of the average racer/basher. Afterall, 90% of people with RC cars choose not to race them.
The soft demand is why race fees have not kept up with inflation. And we have any many, many threads already about turnout. The problems are so systemic and intertwined that they are impossible to resolve. But what is lacking the most is mainstream acceptance which has nothing to do with costs.
When you can turn on your TV and have 100 channels at your disposal and you can see spelling bees, lawn mower racing, cup stacking, 30 year old NBA games, darts, hunting, fishing, but cant find 5 lousy minutes of rc cars racing anywhere you shouldnt have to wonder why.
Which means that everyone posting 'here' would be willing to pay more, maybe even twice as much as they are now to keep racing, but we're not a reflection of the average racer/basher. Afterall, 90% of people with RC cars choose not to race them.
The soft demand is why race fees have not kept up with inflation. And we have any many, many threads already about turnout. The problems are so systemic and intertwined that they are impossible to resolve. But what is lacking the most is mainstream acceptance which has nothing to do with costs.
When you can turn on your TV and have 100 channels at your disposal and you can see spelling bees, lawn mower racing, cup stacking, 30 year old NBA games, darts, hunting, fishing, but cant find 5 lousy minutes of rc cars racing anywhere you shouldnt have to wonder why.
08-22-2007, 11:35 AM
#81
Yeah the lack of TV surprises me. We get a pretty healthy crowd of interested people watching our outdoor races. It would seem based on that there is some interest. Unless maybe it just doesnt translate to TV well. The scale speed is so fast a race on TV may be unwatchable. But I guess thats a whole other topic.
08-22-2007, 11:49 AM
#82
Tech Adept
Ozzie,
Myself and a few others did the same thing several years back. Except we went from TC or 1/12th to the Micro RS4's. We did really well for a while but I think what ultimatly killed it was a combination of things. One of those was being looked down upon by the other more serious racers. Eventually, partly b/c of that we lost many of the newbies. When the newbies left it killed the entry class. As we ran stock and modified. Once they left we had a very difficult time getting new blood b/c there was no longer an extremely cheap entry class. Eventually we gave up and went back to TC and 1/12th.
So I guess my point is that not everyone can afford a high end TC but can afford the less glamorous cars. None of us had any problems with the $10 entry fee and would have gladly paid more. So perhaps the problem is not really the entry fee but the cost of equipment. If many of you guys would realize that almost all your high end equipment was about useless and saved a little the entry fee wouldn't be a problem.
Flame on
Myself and a few others did the same thing several years back. Except we went from TC or 1/12th to the Micro RS4's. We did really well for a while but I think what ultimatly killed it was a combination of things. One of those was being looked down upon by the other more serious racers. Eventually, partly b/c of that we lost many of the newbies. When the newbies left it killed the entry class. As we ran stock and modified. Once they left we had a very difficult time getting new blood b/c there was no longer an extremely cheap entry class. Eventually we gave up and went back to TC and 1/12th.
So I guess my point is that not everyone can afford a high end TC but can afford the less glamorous cars. None of us had any problems with the $10 entry fee and would have gladly paid more. So perhaps the problem is not really the entry fee but the cost of equipment. If many of you guys would realize that almost all your high end equipment was about useless and saved a little the entry fee wouldn't be a problem.
Flame on
08-22-2007, 11:55 AM
#83
New technologies wont create 1/100 of the interest that decent TV coverage could provide. If a company or a driver or whatever could step up and be the face of RC like Tony Hawk did for skate boarding, racing RC cars could really take off.
But I don't see that happening anytime soon.
But I don't see that happening anytime soon.
08-22-2007, 12:15 PM
#85
We are going to have a couple of entry level classes....
1. Porsche Cup.....a complete car can be set up for under $400
2. Recoil....in the Stock class, you can run right out of the box, $170 plus batteries...under $300 if you go crazy with batts and charger...
The other thing we will do to help, we are going to have a "New Driver Day" on a monthly basis...probably in between races, maybe after....who knows, but the idea is this....Bring your car, or we will let you run one of our club cars, and one of our better drivers will take them up on the drivers stand and have them play follow the leader. Start off at maybe 5mph....just so they get the feel of turning and such...then slowly pick up the pace. Also, we are looking at having a Tech Day....have one of the local hotshots discuss car set-ups one day, like Battery and Charger Do's and Don'ts...Chassis Set ups....Tire Selection...whatever.....does anybody else do this?
1. Porsche Cup.....a complete car can be set up for under $400
2. Recoil....in the Stock class, you can run right out of the box, $170 plus batteries...under $300 if you go crazy with batts and charger...
The other thing we will do to help, we are going to have a "New Driver Day" on a monthly basis...probably in between races, maybe after....who knows, but the idea is this....Bring your car, or we will let you run one of our club cars, and one of our better drivers will take them up on the drivers stand and have them play follow the leader. Start off at maybe 5mph....just so they get the feel of turning and such...then slowly pick up the pace. Also, we are looking at having a Tech Day....have one of the local hotshots discuss car set-ups one day, like Battery and Charger Do's and Don'ts...Chassis Set ups....Tire Selection...whatever.....does anybody else do this?
08-22-2007, 12:39 PM
#86
Race Fees
Just thought I would post what our track does for race fees/classes.
1st off...we try to provide a "family" deal.
Our race fees are
13 1st car,
3 2nd car
2 3rd car.
that's 18bucks for 3 cars.
NOW..if you have say a "Dan'n'Lad" come and race...it's the same price
Dad's 1st car = 13
Dad's 2nd car = 3
Lad's 1st car = 2
Lad's 2nd car = 2
So that's 20bucks for 4 cars.
To keep the cost down for classes, we've divided up basically couple classes into (2) divisions.
Advanced and Novice.
Why I think this works... Were basically a "stock" class track. the track is only 60x36 and tight. we've ran a few mod classes, but the lap times don't get any better. (could partically due to talant..don't know) But in anycase, the stock TC Novice class is NO DIFFERENT then the stock TC Advanced class. when a person feels they are ready for the "next step" all they do is signup for Advance. If we "the race directors" feel somebody is kinda "milking" the novice class (which is rare, but has happend) we ask them to step up. This has worked out well cause a lot of the younger kids get a chance to "place" well instead of getting beat by the "fast guys" all the time. Builds their confidence and they leave with a good feeling.
Lipo/Brushless
We have integrated the 13.5 with the stock motors. But as were watching the different threads, lots are saying the 13.5 with sintered rotor is faster then stock brushed, so that's somethign we'll be watching this year. We all know it's coming, it's just a little difficult for us all (racers and directors) to integrate the 2 while going through this transition. The reason we've chosen to integrate vs. segragate, or even not allow is we don't want to dilute the classes. I would rather race 12 people every week in the same class. vs. 6. know what I mean Vern?
Lipo... were kinda dragging our feet on this one. We had a couple guys that were "hard core" lipo, but when they had one go bad on them..they kinda eased up on the lipo. I do believe it's the future, (or something there about) but since were ultimatly responsible if something goes wrong (catches fire) were a little slow to start allowing them. Yes, they can be safe in the "right hands", but I'm sure there's one at every track...somebody that tries to go that "extra" mile w/o knowing what he/she is doing. Maybe next year (08-09 season)
1st off...we try to provide a "family" deal.
Our race fees are
13 1st car,
3 2nd car
2 3rd car.
that's 18bucks for 3 cars.
NOW..if you have say a "Dan'n'Lad" come and race...it's the same price
Dad's 1st car = 13
Dad's 2nd car = 3
Lad's 1st car = 2
Lad's 2nd car = 2
So that's 20bucks for 4 cars.
To keep the cost down for classes, we've divided up basically couple classes into (2) divisions.
Advanced and Novice.
Why I think this works... Were basically a "stock" class track. the track is only 60x36 and tight. we've ran a few mod classes, but the lap times don't get any better. (could partically due to talant..don't know) But in anycase, the stock TC Novice class is NO DIFFERENT then the stock TC Advanced class. when a person feels they are ready for the "next step" all they do is signup for Advance. If we "the race directors" feel somebody is kinda "milking" the novice class (which is rare, but has happend) we ask them to step up. This has worked out well cause a lot of the younger kids get a chance to "place" well instead of getting beat by the "fast guys" all the time. Builds their confidence and they leave with a good feeling.
Lipo/Brushless
We have integrated the 13.5 with the stock motors. But as were watching the different threads, lots are saying the 13.5 with sintered rotor is faster then stock brushed, so that's somethign we'll be watching this year. We all know it's coming, it's just a little difficult for us all (racers and directors) to integrate the 2 while going through this transition. The reason we've chosen to integrate vs. segragate, or even not allow is we don't want to dilute the classes. I would rather race 12 people every week in the same class. vs. 6. know what I mean Vern?
Lipo... were kinda dragging our feet on this one. We had a couple guys that were "hard core" lipo, but when they had one go bad on them..they kinda eased up on the lipo. I do believe it's the future, (or something there about) but since were ultimatly responsible if something goes wrong (catches fire) were a little slow to start allowing them. Yes, they can be safe in the "right hands", but I'm sure there's one at every track...somebody that tries to go that "extra" mile w/o knowing what he/she is doing. Maybe next year (08-09 season)
08-22-2007, 02:38 PM
#88
I am very new to the hobby. I know my screenname says I registered in 2003 but I went to one or two races and then parked my TC3, got fed up of showing up and car breaking, never finishing a race and when I did being like 5 laps down and knowing that I was as good of a driver as some of the faster guys but could do nothing about it because I just didnt know how to make my car handle..
fast forward to today. About a month ago I pulled the TC3 from teh attic where is sat last 4 years. dusted it off and bashed about on the street a little. Then got on here just out of interest. Ended up meeting a local racer who bascially took me under his wing. Explained lots of things to me, told me what to do and what not to do. Helped me set up the car.
To me the cost is a big issue. Having a RTR class or a cheapo class is def something that is neccessary. Not everyone, esp kids can afford to get the new Xray TC and spend 1k on chargers and all that. Even with it all, he still has no idea how to set it up and race it, but more than that. Having a local racer there to help guide and to get information from is the biggest thing. I dont mind spending 100$ if I know I am getting a good deal cuase this guy tells me its a good deal and its what I need. I have a problem dropping 400$ on a new car that wont make me any faster than a used one or getting ripped off because I didnt know any better. So, all you seasoned racers out there on this forum need to keep taht in mind. When you shrug of a kid or an inexperianced racer because you are too busy putting traction compound on your tires that you can probably win this club race without anyway. You are only hurting yourself further down the road. you have to help make it a good experiance for the newbies.
fast forward to today. About a month ago I pulled the TC3 from teh attic where is sat last 4 years. dusted it off and bashed about on the street a little. Then got on here just out of interest. Ended up meeting a local racer who bascially took me under his wing. Explained lots of things to me, told me what to do and what not to do. Helped me set up the car.
To me the cost is a big issue. Having a RTR class or a cheapo class is def something that is neccessary. Not everyone, esp kids can afford to get the new Xray TC and spend 1k on chargers and all that. Even with it all, he still has no idea how to set it up and race it, but more than that. Having a local racer there to help guide and to get information from is the biggest thing. I dont mind spending 100$ if I know I am getting a good deal cuase this guy tells me its a good deal and its what I need. I have a problem dropping 400$ on a new car that wont make me any faster than a used one or getting ripped off because I didnt know any better. So, all you seasoned racers out there on this forum need to keep taht in mind. When you shrug of a kid or an inexperianced racer because you are too busy putting traction compound on your tires that you can probably win this club race without anyway. You are only hurting yourself further down the road. you have to help make it a good experiance for the newbies.
08-22-2007, 03:29 PM
#90
Well the cost of racing equipment wise has pretty much stayed the same if not gone down over the years. Battery packs that I could never afford back when I first started racing in the early 90's ran upwards of $150 for a good race pack. These days you can get the same quality or better for $80. Bodies have pretty much stayed the same in price as have high end race kits. High end electronics cost about the same but are vastly superior in technology and low end electronics cost phenominally less and are still better quality then years ago. So in terms of the hobby itself we've actually seen deflation. However the realestate it takes to run a track has definately seen inflation. Besides that though the cost of racing has gone up partly because of the racers themselves. I remember first starting out I'd run my tires until I was racing on rims, motors would be ran for several months before getting a rebuild, and batteries would last a couple of seasons. But that wasn't because the equipment lasted any better then they do now. It's because the racers didn't feel the need to make up for that 1/1000th of a second lost because a motor had been ran once. Today that is no longer the case. That's a big reason why regulated (not necessarily spec) classes like Mini do so well. Regulate the battery and motor and all the hopups availabe won't make a difference to a decent driver with a well setup car.