ckaspar

iTrader: (1)

I have been racing offroad for about a year now and with OCRC's onroad track opening and West Coast R/C Raceway opening I am considering getting an onroad car but it is so damn confusing for someone looking in.

1/12, RCGT, Mini Cooper, Touring Car, etc. What is the differences, what does what? Foam/Rubber tires/bodies/chassis.

This is so confusing!!

Can some one please give me a primer or point me in the right direction please??

Thanks in advance.

RaceAce701

iTrader: (87)

the best thing to do is go 2 the track watch some racin and talk 2 as many people as possable

see whick class is biggest and go from there

RCGT and mini cooper are cheeper that a full blown tc but just as much fun

1/12 can be very twitcky for a new onroad driver but the are very precise and fun 2 drive ans are a bit cheeper that a tc

zangonli

iTrader: (5)

I would recommend m-chassis, which is 1/12 4wd. These are a little more expensive than the mini 2wd but have more agile handling without being much harder to drive.

Here in the US I believe we currently have two major manufacturers, ABC Hobby and HPI. I am not familiar with the HPI car, but see here for more info on the ABC Genetic chassis:

http://www.rctech.net/forum/electric...e-mseries.html

revo523

iTrader: (8)

I say go with the 1/12 pan car is cheap and easy to drive.

wingracer

iTrader: (24)

It will depend on what classes your track will be running but 1/12th is about as cheap and simple as RC racing gets. Only slightly more expensive and easier to drive would be WGT.

maxepower

iTrader: (1)

If you want something that looks realistic then RCGT class is good, but you will need the proper spec motor, tires and body to race.
If you just want to go fast then TC sedan is the way to go! This class you can run any body any motor and a composite chassis. This is not for the faint of heart. You can drop a lot of money depending on how deep your pockets are. Plus you can go very fast or very slow, ie run a silver can johnson motor to 3 turn brushless motor!
If you want to run exclusively on carpet then 1/12 would be the way to go. You can run 1/12 on asphalt but it's not good if your track isn't completely flat.
If you want to run carpet and asphalt then TC, mini cooper, or RCGT will work. Rule of thumb on which to choose is usually the more expensive the kit the more complicated set-up and expensive it will cost to replace parts.
Last thing, out of all that you listed I would choose mini cooper any short chassis HPI, ABC , Tamiya. They are the easiest to build and the most fun to drive.
Last,last these three will take a beating if you roll them or hit a dot or board or another car which will happen until you get used to driving them.
The last last last thing is the guys who race them are the most willing to help you and probably the most easy going bunch of racers you'll find.
Oh yeah! the last last last last.... final thing is whatever you end up buying make sure you "HAVE FUN"!!!!!!!

robk

iTrader: (22)

**1/12 -2wd straight axle "pan car"-uses foam tires -simple suspension -attention to detail is key -4cell or lipo, classes from 17.5 to mod -Can am/ Lemans style bodies

**World GT -2wd straight axle "pan car"-uses foam tires -simple suspension -considered easier to drive than 1/12 -13.5 motor, 4cel or 1s lipo -2 door gt style bodies

**mini cars -Tamiya 2wd or 4wd by other manufacturers -cheap to start with -easy speed to handle -full suspension with limited adjustment -6 cell or 2s lipo -most times limited to 540 silver can -scale looks


**sedan -4wd full suspension, full adjustment -usually 6 cell or 2s lipo

-breaking this down further...

Rubber tire- all motor classes run -rubber tires are considered easier to deal with than foams by many (tires remain the same size), work on a wide variety of surfaces, more forgiving than foams in terms of handling -bodies shaped to perform best

Foam tire -all motor classes run -foams provide maximum grip and corner speed, almost always hook up on carpet or prepared surfaces, can provide razor sharp handling (some times too much), more work due to changing tire sizes -bodies shaped to perform best

RCGT -17.5 motor -uses a spec tire in 2 compounds -realism is stressed in body selection -similar to rubber tire, but slightly slower

Trans AM -21.5 (limited gear) or 17.5/27 w/4cell -uses a spec tire -realistic muscle car bodies -close racing because of slower, beginner friendly speeds -similar to rubber tire, but cars have little aero help and less overall tire grip


Overall, i would recommend trans am to start with. You can easily run an older chassis and be competitive (think TC3) while learning how to tune for on road, and have a lot of fun. If you don't like it, you probably can sell everything pretty easily. RCGT is similar, but a little faster.

1/12 is awesome and pretty cheap, but they are sensitive to adjustments, and it really is best if you have someone who can guide you in building and setting up the car in the small details.

ckaspar

iTrader: (1)

Now I feel like I know less than before. LOL

Can someone give me a manufacturer or two for each of the "classes" below:

1/12

World GT

mini cars

sedan

Considering that I already have stuff for a 1/10 offroad vehicle it sounds like a sedan would be easier for me since I already have the electronics/batts/etc. What types of classes are typical for that model of car? Is 17.5 still considered the stock class as it is in offroad? For sedans, is there a carpet car and an asphalt car or is that just tires and setup that makes it either or?

Thanks again

redbones

Question for you is: What do you want to run? What appeals to you? What does your local onroad racers support?
Mini if you want to test the waters, TC if you are heavy into speed/mechanical, 1/12th if you want the challenge(makes you a better driver overall).

Cpt.America

iTrader: (52)

The most important thing to do... BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE.. is figure what classes are going to be run at your new track. Why research and invest in a class that wont even race?... right?

Most likely, TC Sedan will be the most popular. There are a dozen manufacters and most of them make a perfectly competative car. It wouldn't hurt to run what other guys will be running, as that will help when it comes time for setup help.. or even a broken part or something. Within TC, you might have a 17.5 class, 13.5 class, open mod class... but thats no different than off-road. If your trach is going to be asphault, most likely your TC classes will run rubber tires. Research Sorex tires. If the track is going to be carpet, they can run rubber OR foam. (depends on what the track desides upon)

1/12th pan car is an entirely different game. (I am just getting started here myself) They are rear wheel / direct drive instead of 4wd driven from shafts or belts in the TCs. They run foam tires whether the track is asphault or carpet... Instead of 6cell/2s lipo, they run 4cell/1s lipo. 1/12th classes also usually pick a motor to run, like 17.5, 10.5, or open mod. Whatever the class runs, you will need to run. Pan cars tend to be more simple, but I think a bit more difficult to drive, and are FAR more sensative to setup issues than TCs.

Trans-Am... think of this as the Slash class of on-road. Enough said.
Minis... this is also like a slash class.
World GT.. I have no idea. I think 1/10th pan car with a specific body/cell/motor restrictions? I could be wrong here.

The key is to figure out what the track will be running before you invest too heavily.

ckaspar

iTrader: (1)

Things are getting a little more clear I think. I am sure that TC will be the main class of both tracks. I was just trying to figure out what other things are out there.

I appreciate your guys help and if I have any more questions I will post back. Thanks again.

Hyde

iTrader: (1)

If you want to race something cheap, fast, fun then I say the Tamiya mini class. (M03, M04 RWD, new M05/M05Pro)

Or you could go with 1:12th scale touring car(ABC, CupRacer, Team Atlas)

Both these classis are very fun and you'll be right in a big race in NO time. Also there's only stock 540 cars. So there's no worries about what class you wanna run. There's pro, and novice.


TC is a little more money but it could be done cheap. Tamiya TA05, some low end Xray TC(not sure of the name)

Even a old Tamiya TL01 will be very good for stock racing. And tower still has parts.

TC3,TC4 will do very good in 27turn/17.5 and 19turn/10.5 racing as well.


Pan cars are for better driver JMO. There RWD and running on roams. So if you were to inter the onroad scene with a pan car youll need to know a lot about it and learn more then what's stated above.

Whatever you do don't buy all the best stuff. You'll get over welmed with all the advanced stuff and drop out.

heretic

Definitely, TC is your best choice. Avoid foam tires by all means if you're starting on-road. They chunk, and the diameter keeps changing ( so fdr, roll centre, downstops, ride height, etc. also change all the time...), it requires a lot of discipline to use foam tires correctly. Yes your skill will improve a lot if you drive pan cars but keeping the level of performance constant is almost impossible if you're a on-road beginner. + setup is very very subtle.

Rubber tire touring car seems obviously the way to go for you. At least one of the most popular class anywhere on earth if not the one with the most attendance, lots of cars to choose from ( just choose the most popular car at your track...easy to get spares !). It is 4wd so a high grip carpet track will be ok as well as a dusty asphalt track...

You can find premounted tires so no gluing hassle... the tires are very often handout so that's one less thing to worry about...etc, etc.

you'll love it ! welcome to onroad !

joe of loath

iTrader: (1)

I HIGHLY recommend a TA05 for your first car too. Lots of people have reliability issues with other cars like Cyclone S, or spend too much on a top level car that they simply won't use to its full potential.

Also, buy some cheaper electronics to start. You won't tell the difference between a £10 servo and a £60 until you're a very fast driver. The same with a £50 radio and a £200 one. 2nd hand kit is good to start out with too, there are lots of brushed ESC's going cheap now everyone is moving to brushless. Get to the club, bag yourself a bargain and get racing!

niznai

Not sure about that. A good servo will be in service for years on end whilst a bad one can frustrate you forever and that's especially bad at the begginning when you have many other unknowns to worry about. One less can only help. At the moment we have servos capable of transition times well below 0.1s@12Kg of torque and I think that will be fast and strong enough for the next decade so you're very likely to get your money's worth well and truly out of it.

Radios and speedos are a bit easier to buy second hand (they either work or not, there's no inbetween) and really good ones pop up on ebay every now and then indeed. A second hand race kit I would buy only if I knew its history very well, or intended to use as a source of spare parts. Hidden problems can be very subtle and daunting to understand (let alone track down) for a begginner.