psycho

ausracer

I think the blues will be too hard for asphalt and the greens will be too grippy for carpet. I would suggest that you run green rear/purple front for asphalt and (if you can find them) grey rear/purple front for carpet. Actually, greys are great for asphalt too, but they are hard to find. You'll probably want to get a tire truer so you can just buy donuts and glue them up yourself. I run 25 or 30 weight oil in my my F1 cars and it seems to be about right. I would gear around the 6:1 area to start with. The P2K has a lot of torque, so you might need to gear lower to keep the backend from coming around if the traction isn't so good. Somewhere in the 5:1 to 6:1 range should be right. I usually run a Reedy MVP on tracks with low traction because it has less torque in the lower rpms and more torque in the higher rpms. It's not a great advantage on a small track, but it makes the car more manageable when you jump on the throttle out of a tight turn. P2K Pro is an awesome motor in F1 when you have good traction. Good luck!

ausracer

thanks for the help, i will buy a tamiya shock and maybe try the 25 weight oil i already have and see if i need anything else. i dont know if i have much choice in the tires right now so i will try the blues and if the car pushes too much i will go to the greens on the front. i am only running on asphalt so i guess the greens might be more apropriate. on the gear ratio i will try and get the biggest spur i can and get a few pinions in the range you said and see what works out to be the best.

TimPotter

iTrader: (15)

ttt

_neas_

I know the new F1 is coming from Tamiya...but what are the other models available currently? What is the most competitive...I was thinking about trying to start a class at our track...

Jimmyd

There are Cross CF01, Corally F1, HPI F1 and Tamiya F103.
From what I know the HPI and the Corally are the most competitive. The HPI is the most adjustable with its variable caster and camber front end and multi- ball and pivot rear end. Its now discontinued but might still be able to get used and spares. The Corally is still available and like the HPI it uses a rear end similar to pan cars and able to uses pan car tyres and wheels. The Cross have many parts that are interchangeble with the tamiya and offers more front adjustments. For more information of this car visit:
http://www.formula1-rc.com/showcase/showcase.asp

TimPotter

iTrader: (15)

The Tamiya and Cross are the more popular of the two F1's right now. If you are running foams or capped foams only, then the other two cars do come into play. You probably can get a CRC also, they are discontinued. The other option is a Keil F1 car.. if can find one, they are nice, but not imported into the US.

Of the Tamiya and Cross, the tamiya is more durable and cen be tuned to be fast. The Cross car is a newer addition to the F1 scene and people are just finding its capabilites out. It does have alot more tuning options than the tamiya. I fyou need any onther questions answered about the Cross. Check out www.formula1-rc.com or give Les a call. I think he has sold more in the US than anyone.

If you give F1 a try.. you will love it. I use it as a break for "Fun" racing. As TC is crazy right now

psycho

_neas_

Your timing is excellent in starting an F1 class. With all the hype about Michael Schumaker last year and the anticipated JPM/MS matchup this year in the "real" series combined with the new Tamiya F201 release in April and the recent articles on the Cross car, there should be good support for the class. I thinnk the most important thing is parts availability, though. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to support a class entirely through mail order. You either have to spend a ton of money to have replacement parts on hand or wait for shipping. Either way, for a racer, it makes it tough. As far as parts availability goes, Tamiya and Cross have the most availability or parts and hop-ups and many are interchangable. The Corally car is pretty bulletproof, but you are tied to 1/10th scale pan car wheels which should be more scare soon now that Jaco is out of the foam business. As the Cross and Tamiya cars are the lowest cost and have the widest range of parts available, I would suggest starting there. Good luck!

_neas_

The LHS can get Tamiya in, so...that might be the way to go. There was some 1/12 scale people but that faded and now Bolink sprint cars are what everyone is doing...so maybe I can lean people towards F1...

Is it worth waiting for the new F1 from Tamiya? if not where is a good place to pick up the existing tamiya models? (I saw one for 269.00 on Tower from Tamiya....seemed spendy???)

Thanks for the replies
Sean
TC, hopefully micro soon, hopefully F1 soon

psycho

The F201 is not supposed to be available until April. It will likely have a street price of around $169 according to Tamiya America. Tower should have the F103RX in stock and it should be around $129. If you want a Cross car, try www.mdiracing.com. He should be able to get the Tamiya car too. Either way, you will also need a body. Cross, Tamiya, Protoform, Hot Bodies and Parma make bodies that will fit.

Mike F

That Tamiya that you saw for 269 was actually the F103LM (Lemans Kit) If you get this kit you'll need to get the bottom plate to make it an F-1. A regular F-1 body will not fit on a Lemans kit, the bottom plate is too wide. I got this kit because it had all the Hop ups. I purhased the carbon chassis and used that as a template for my Lemans bottom Graphite plate. Once I had it etched out I used my dremel with a carbide disc and cut away. After the cut I applied some crazy glue to the edges so it wont de laminate. The bottom plate that comes with the F103LM kit is the way to go, it's stiffer and more durable. Tamiya wanted $80.00 just for the TRF bottom F-1 plate, I got the regular plate for $23.00 . You can get those RX kits for about $110.00.

Good luck. Driving an F-1 (2WD) will make you a better driver in all other classes. I've seen it happen on our track. This will be my first year in F-1 so I'm pumped. Our season starts next week , yeah baby

Jimmyd

Agreed. I actually find it more fun and cheaper to race. Everyone tends to get the latest and most expensive equipment nowadays to gain that last measure of speed. In F1, its easy to go fast with just stock motors and batteries have more runtime. Tyres and motors also last longer. In this class the drivers with best skill win instead of the ones with fattest wallets.

Mike F

I heard that jimmyd

Type S

im about to get a hpi f1 in a trade. it is basically stock from what i know. how does this car compare to the other f1's? also what are the best looking f1 bodies out there now? any one know where i can get the decals for the current f1 teams?

TIA

Darkseid

iTrader: (9)

Type S: From what I remember of the HPI F1, it was pretty good when compared to other cars. Its a real shame that HPI doesn't produce them anymore. They'd sell more of those than they are of the Pro3, thats for sure!

psycho

Type S

You've got mail. The HPI car is sort of a combination between a Tamiya F1 car and an Associated Pancar. Many of the parts are interchangable with Tamiya and it uses Associated style 4 bolt pancar wheels. A buddy that I race with runs one and it handles very well. You want to run grey rears and purple fronts. I wouldn't even mess with any other tire compunds. The greys may be a bit tough to find, though.