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200mm nitro touring car hot again!!!

200mm nitro touring car hot again!!!

Old 08-13-2007, 01:18 PM
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Originally Posted by quietstorm76
All the hot classes are the cheapest to race imho. Off road is just cheaper.
+1
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Old 08-13-2007, 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted by va_connoisseur

4. Coverage. Most major magazines cover off-road in more depth then on-road. Also, I will say this to I am blue in the face, if ESPN can show poker 2 hours a day, every day, there has to be time for/interest in R/C racing.

OK, rant over.
AMEN!!!! I'd rather watch grass grow than poker! Poker is not a sport! Y da hell is it on ESPN?
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Old 08-13-2007, 01:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Pooh2
AMEN!!!! I'd rather watch grass grow than poker! Poker is not a sport! Y da hell is it on ESPN?
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Old 08-13-2007, 01:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Pooh2
AMEN!!!! I'd rather watch grass grow than poker! Poker is not a sport! Y da hell is it on ESPN?
To get R/C on TV it would be best to start with 1/5 scale. The size makes them easier to track with cameras. Then move on to 1/8 scales and 1/10. The sheer size and speed of the 1/5 would make them a good choice. Also, you could mount pen-cams in the car for the "on-board" feel.
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Old 08-13-2007, 01:51 PM
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I don't know about offroad being cheaper, but it is certainly more popular than onroad in Houston. Racing in general is probably 50% of what it was two or three years ago here though too, maybe more onroad drivers quit.

I race both, and really the maintenance is about the same if you figure engine life, tires and misc replacement parts except offroad bodies last forever, but $8 dollar wings do not. Offroad tires cost around $55 for a set at the lhs, 10th scale onroad tires are about $26, but they last half as long if you're lucky but it depends, offroad tires can last one run on some tracks too.

Getting into onroad can be rough though, but new people can borrow setup stations and tire truers to spread the cost over a few months at least.

Having just replaced both cars, I can give you an idea on the costs for both

Xray xb8ec + nova 367 + pipe, ko 2367 servos = 1400
Xray nt1 + idm evo3 + pipe, ko 2368 servos = 1070


I would really like to know what is killing nitro onroad though, the same thing happened to electric touring car a while back.
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Old 08-13-2007, 02:00 PM
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Originally Posted by brianhatesnitro
I would really like to know what is killing nitro onroad though, the same thing happened to electric touring car a while back.
A factor affecting the on-road scene is the time required to really get a car dialed in, especially for a newbie. Here's an example: I'm new. Went to the track this past weekend and spent more time on the set-up station them on the track.

Where as the big selling point with RTRs is "pull it out the box and be ripping up the road at 70 MPH!!!!"

And then the RTR guy shows up at a track, gets his wheels handed to him and goes back to the parking lots.

Guess, I'm up to 5 cents now.
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Old 08-13-2007, 02:52 PM
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Here's a canucks view and a race director for the on-road track in London Ontario.

This season our track moved to a new location that is out in the public a lot more there for allowing people to see the racing.

This has had two effects overall:

1) Our track has been approched by a number of event organizers asking if the group would be interested in putting on races at their events.

and

2) Car counts are up, but not were you would think. We run a Tamyia Mini class, 19T touring class, and 200mm nitro. Most people would think that the 19T and Mini class were up in numbers due to the cost of nitro. Not so though, we have gone from 2-3 cars to 6-7 or more cars out weekly. Mind you some of the guys racing are 1/8th racers from Hamilton, but there are 2-3 new guys and more interested.

All of the above is just from being in a more public area were people are more likely to see the cars race.

Now view on how to get the counts up,

We DO NOT need more cars on the market (with the exclusion of a top notch race ready RTR the reasonable on $), all that is needed is more exposure to the public. If you build were they can see it, they will come.

Theres my .02 cents on the subject, which with the exchange is only worth
.015 to you Americans
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Old 08-13-2007, 03:19 PM
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Originally Posted by brianhatesnitro
I don't know about offroad being cheaper, but it is certainly more popular than onroad in Houston. Racing in general is probably 50% of what it was two or three years ago here though too, maybe more onroad drivers quit.

I race both, and really the maintenance is about the same if you figure engine life, tires and misc replacement parts except offroad bodies last forever, but $8 dollar wings do not. Offroad tires cost around $55 for a set at the lhs, 10th scale onroad tires are about $26, but they last half as long if you're lucky but it depends, offroad tires can last one run on some tracks too.

Getting into onroad can be rough though, but new people can borrow setup stations and tire truers to spread the cost over a few months at least.

Having just replaced both cars, I can give you an idea on the costs for both


Xray xb8ec + nova 367 + pipe, ko 2367 servos = 1400
Xray nt1 + idm evo3 + pipe, ko 2368 servos = 1070


I would really like to know what is killing nitro onroad though, the same thing happened to electric touring car a while back.
I agree with your quoted price for the NT1 but in off road you don't need that to be competitive. I use to run a RTR kyosho buggy with a OS RG and did pretty good with it. I see guys all the time with rtr's that are very competitive . Most of the people that are racing off road are not trying to be national champion. They are just out enjoying the hobby. They can have a good RTR setup for what a nitro touring rolling chassis cost.
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Old 08-13-2007, 03:22 PM
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Originally Posted by brianhatesnitro
I would really like to know what is killing nitro onroad though, the same thing happened to electric touring car a while back.
Cost
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Old 08-13-2007, 04:44 PM
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I must be lucky in my area Nitro Sedan has been on the upswing the past couple years and frequently enjoys a turnout larger than all electric classes combined.

8th scale has died out and electric sedan has been shrinking for the past 2-3 years with only sportsman level classes getting any kind of turnout. Gas sedan seems to be going strong due to its speed, singular class and ability to run on tracks that would be too small for 1/8ths.

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Old 08-13-2007, 04:46 PM
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i dont like 1/8 offroad
and its not that cheap its just a faze
this hobby go's through them

i am 200mm on road
then 1/12
then mini i do like 1/10 elc offroad though, its fun.

i think in this hobby ppl try and when they cant get as good as they think they can be they go to another class and then on and on and on
and i think the mags have alot to do with it too.
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Old 08-13-2007, 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by SMOKESHOW86
This season our track moved to a new location that is out in the public a lot more there for allowing people to see the racing.
This is absolutely key and oddly enough, three of the major tracks in this area with street views are offroad over the last 5 years while during the same period of time both of the onroad tracks have been hidden. Total attendance may be influenced by subliminal knowledge of the hobby, even from guys that saw it 10 years ago and then got involved recently.
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Old 08-15-2007, 08:03 AM
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Originally Posted by va_connoisseur
3. Such a big difference between the RTR and kits in 200mm. For the most part, you can buy a Losi 8ight RTR and with not effort, make it a pro-level racer. There is no current 200mm RTR that can realistically be made competitive against the top cars (with the exception of may be the Team Magic car).

I can't agree more with this point. One of the big draws for 200mm nitro is the speed. That's usually the first thing out of someone's mouth when they see them: How fast does it go. So they drop money on a RTR kit to get started, and they want to go fast like everybody else. So they get to the track, surrounded by people that have either been in it for years and know what it takes to be fast (money and practice), and newer guys that just spent money on the fast engine that everyone else has. Box stock guy won't stand a chance and may do one of two things: quit soon after he starts or fall into the trap of get the big engine and be fast down the straight and in pieces everywhere else. Even if he does stick it out, he will soon realize that, as mentioned, there is no way his best setup is going to compete with the stock setup of one of the top cars out.

Having a sportsman class to nurture the new guys helps, but even there you need a line between those running fresh out the box and those that got the car and immediately put an 18TZ in there.
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Old 08-15-2007, 12:56 PM
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I just came around the site today to visit... I have been out of RC entirely because theres no 200mm touring in this state anymore... (WI - that I can find at least) or any onroad that isnt just oval racing (GAG...)

I was one of those RTR racers... who went from bashing in a lot with a friend, to racing at a track... I bought a HPI RS4-3SS in 2002 and hopped it up. I got to the track and quickly realized my car will never handle as good as the real cars out there... I spent well over 800$ trying to get the car to work...

It was fun but if I wasnt determined to race I would have quit the hobby right there. The next year I dropped the money and built up a pristine Kyosho FW-05RR with all the hot bits, a good engine, the right body, the right stockpile of foams, the hot servo's and radio gear... total cost me like 1000$ or so. And took about a month to build, test, tweak, tune, and get all set for the track before the season started. With that purchase I had a car that could match the leaders and if they drove my car they took 1 second a lap off their times I had it so dialed in (I was just not that good of a driver so I couldnt get all of the speed from it).

I had a blast driving the car... I won some races, I lost lots of em, but it was a blast, 200mm touring was the most fun I've had in R/C. The speeds, the smells, the drama, the adrenaline and exhaustion from a 20 minute main, and seeing just how much wear happens on a car thats running that long. Even the repairs were fun.

Sadly the track closed (because few people could afford 1. the 1 hour drive out of a major city to get to the track every weekend, 2. the min investment of at least $600 to race a car... $1500 - $2000 a season to do it competitively). I think in the end there was like 5 competitors.

I went to 1/12th which was fun too but that track also closed (this time due to the track owner's issues not turnout) and the costs for 1/12th were too high for the fun level (new foams every track day for way more $ than my 200mm car's foams cost!)

Then to save more money I went to electric offroad buggy... it was fun... but really not even a comparison to the onroad goodness... and in time became a worthless money hole like all R/C does... it just didnt provide any of the fun that it should for that kind of cost though.

Since then I bailed on R/C - sold every bit of R/C I had, I only have like a setup board, and tool case I used for R/C. And you know what... with the state of the industry... theres no chance of me getting back into it... the push to the big back yard bashers, and offroad everything makes me sick.

The day I see a 200mm track near by that has a real turn out... I'll be there again, and be proud to dump money every weekend into the hobby. To me it was SO worth it, and so sad that its almost dead.
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Old 08-16-2007, 04:58 AM
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So it sounds like the convention is for the touring class or racing in general to be popular, a few things are needed:

1. An accessible track
2. A car/truck/buggy that is affordable
3. A car/truck/buggy that can grow with your experience level
4. Magazine(s) that focus on classes other than the "latest and greatest"

Add or edit the list as you see fit.

(up to 7 cent)
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