V-point

Is anybody still making DCJ's that will fit an M-05 ver1 ?

(0000000000)

iTrader: (2)

They had a basic class at TCS. It was called GT2. Plastic tubs only. But again, people would become enamored with the possibility of advancing to the regionals and maybe even get a chance at becoming the next TRF driver.

The point here is that tamiya should not have to regulate what unguided/misguided newbies do. Club racing and club racers need to be more helpful to these new racers

sakadachi

iTrader: (1)

Sorry, what is a DCJ again?

I thought you wanted to regulate the class by how well they actually drove, not by how well their car runs after $1000 mods that some folks can't afford..?

monkeyracing

iTrader: (10)

If you find axles that are designed to fit a Tamiya M chassis, they'll fit all of them.

disaac

iTrader: (10)

http://www.rcmart.com/images/yeahracing-TAMC-016-1.jpg

axle182

iTrader: (18)

No, your not the first to think this, another suggestion is the Pro and Novice mini class, etc etc etc. All of them dilute the mini field. The key is to listen to those who have tested the theory out. If a $1000 mini means you win, then why isn't this happening at ANY track? Its because its so much easier for slower drivers to complain about someone spending more, than to fess up you got beat by a better driver. Ivan is a prime example. I saw him when he was new to rc. He has now put in the hard work, doing a crazy amount of laps with his mini over the years, he is now a robot of a driver, and wins a lot, unless you make him laugh on the drivers stand..... And he has one of the cheapest and usually crapiest looking minis in the world. Hell, he even runs a flag on the back of his mini. Tell me how that makes you win?

The key IMHO, is for the fast dudes to tell all about their setups and continually help the slower guys with their cars and lines on the track. Up here, Scott W (HPRT) Steve Soon, Ivan, all the fast dudes in Alberta, freely give up their setups and help out anyone in Mini. I also freely give setups, I work on peoples cars and have rebuilt a number of other cars to make the exactly the same as mine, to remove the perception that someone is winning due to spending more. If I can pick up someone elses car, put on my shocks and tires, then do the SAME lap times as my fully setup car, then Mini isn't about spending $$$. Its about a decent setup and a quick driver.

Although this is easy with a spec motor like we have up here. Having the open 21.5 down in the states, im sure there is a lot of $ that could be spent to get that last bit of speed. Up here, the spec motors took care of that, and the racing is awesome.

sakadachi

iTrader: (1)

Oh, the double joint universals. For some reason I was thinking bodies.

V-point

Perfect! Thank you. Much obliged.

sakadachi

iTrader: (1)

Yep, I don't disagree here. I think you're doing a great job by offering to help others with their cars. And that spec motor is a great idea.

I've tuned stock motors back in the day where the race coordinator pulled me off the track after a race to show him my armature cause everyone complained I was cheating. Of course I was not. Tuning the motor is part of the fun and acquired skill over many hours of experimentation. So in the back of my mind, people tuning their fast 21.5 brushless today is not just spending money, they are experimenting with all sorts of armatures, timing, etc..an acquired skill. They should be allowed to enjoy the extra speed achieved to win races.

(0000000000)

iTrader: (2)

The GT2 class was tamiya's effort to be what you explained. I personally loved it for what it was. Back in '04, i got my bare bones TA02 tub chassis to finish 3rd in the 3-race regional qualifier (yeah, had to attend 3 races and your point total would allow you to qualify for nationals. Fun!).

But even then, you couldn't stop people from spending stupid money.

- Buying a pair of $500 Turbo 35 chargers to light up those spec nicad packs at 15 amps , dishcharge them at 30 amps
- Buying $300 Power supply to power the Turbo 35
- Buying $500 FM radios with pulse code modulation
- Buying a $500 magnet zapper to juice your motors
- buying fifty $40 Black Can motors that they could break-in, tune, zap and dyno each one.

To the experience people who knew that they were getting into, power to them. But there were also the Newbies who bought a pair of turbo 35's and were charging their stick packs at 4 amps......and then there were Newbies who bought a pair of 414M's to enter in GT1 (having never ever been at the local track) and thought they had plane tickets to Japan just waiting for them.

I talked to these newbies. Showed them how to use the Turbo 35. Showed them how to do basic tuning adjustments on a 414M....and that the kit supplied Allen key was insufficient for their needs. This also took the dose of reality in a good way. After all, nobody just buys a pair of air Jordans and then becomes an NBA superstar.

This is basic help and insight any newbie should get at their local clubs. We can't stop people from going "full retard" and buying a pair of turbo 35's and pair of brand new TRF's as their first rc purchase. But at the club level, these newbies may be better informed about the purchases they make - hopefully before they make them.

M05 newbie

For the record... all of you guys have helped myself a ton. This forum is exactly what I need to 'preserve the wallet'. For instance the shimizu tires. I would have probably bought all of them but instead I had guidance. Same with the bodies and set up options. As well as driving style tips and tricks to see how I drive. I like my rear end loose a little. This forum and these tech guys are awesome. Yourself included. Thanks again

sakadachi

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, that is extreme and not needed for having fun. m-chassis is supposed to be a fun class. I don't go cheap on radios, but everything else no need to go overkill.

(0000000000)

iTrader: (2)

Right on Aaron.

We got a helpful group of people - AND two clubs!

I have found though that Newbies get confused/overwhelmed by the amount of info they get. Your input to a new guy may be slightly different than Ivan's input or Scott's input. In the end though, the cat will get skinned. Just a matter of which way you want to get it done. I always tell new drivers that there are many ways to skin the cat. The choice is ultimately up to them.

sakadachi

iTrader: (1)

Besides oil dampers and stiffing up the diff (shims), I think your next mod could be that PowerHD servo I noted a couple of posts up ($30 or less) and a decent servo saver. Give it a shot, you won't regret having the faster speed and torque.

hprt

iTrader: (9)

This is exactly the statement we hear at our club level from the racer who has a couple of years experience at best - you know the guy, thinks he can drive, thinks he knows all there is to know about the cars, doesn't understand how the fast guys are sooo fast. Rather than ask the questions and watch the fast guys actually run their cars, it is easier to give up and blame it on money or go-fast parts.

Everyone who has been in any form of racing knows that the best mod you can make to your car, at any time, is driving practice. Once you have driving skills, you need to understand setup so you can tune your car to reach your peak performance. It is a combination - no driving skills and you won't win races; no setup skills and you will get to a point where you can't overcome a bad setup with driving skill.

It has been said so many times before that I still can't believe people think that money wins races. Until you can run a race, driving the racing line without touching walls or running 2 feet wide of the apexes, or overshooting the braking zones, you should not be concerned with dumping money into upgrades.

I remember looking at Ty Tessman's radio hour counter many years ago and was shocked at the fact that he was putting on the same hours in a month as I was in a year. Look at where he is now.

sorry for the rant. I know its all been heard before - just hasn't sunk in with some.