The Future of RC Racing (Your Opinions)
06-06-2011, 10:59 PM
#61
considering brushless/lipo is a hell of a lot more reliable, faster, cleaner, and easier to run I don't know why you would insist upon nitro.
06-06-2011, 11:05 PM
#62
There are way more than just 2 tracks near LA.
-Revelation Raceway (Ontario) 50 minute drive
-OCRC (Huntington Beach) 56 minute drive
-West Coast (La Mirada) 40 minutes
-HotRod Hobbies (Valencia) 34 minutes
-Thunder Alley (Beaumont) 1hr and 27minutes
-ARC (Temecula) 1hr and 40minutes
-HCR (Hemet)... 1hr 40 minutes
I mail order nearly everything unless I can drive down to Ultimate hobby in Orange.
06-07-2011, 05:20 AM
#63
Tech Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
I think I'm going to take the hard line on this whole thing. Not to long ago a song said it well. If you got no money take you broke butt home. It is a hobby. Hobbys are some thing you do when you have extra time and money. Not enough money? Then what are you doing with your time? Find some way to make some more flow and then your hobby becomes more fun. Just stop crying broke, please. Use you time wisely grasshopper. Rant over, you can flame now.
06-07-2011, 07:12 AM
#64
No flaming here, I pay what I need to to get what I need. I am not poor by any means but somethings are ridiculous just because its a niche hobby. I consider huddy (Xray), mugen, serpent to be tops quality wise and have no issue paying for it. Then there are great manufactures that have top quality but are reasonable (m2c, king headz ect.). I agree though if you want to complain about it you don't have to buy it (fironi and kyosho come to mind here)
06-07-2011, 07:52 AM
#65
Yeah bottom line is 1/8 electric or nitro will cost you a startup of $1500 or more to race competitively. Most parents ain't buying there ungrateful kids something that expensive. Heck most adults aren't gonna buy themselves that. When you look at what you get for the price it really does suck. I enjoy racing and have probably spent $3000+ in only a year on racing and i've been somewhat conservative yet i want to be competitive. It kills me every time I have to make an order. I'm not sure i believe the manufactures are making money hand over fist. It's such a specialized hobby that I don't think they get the volume. I could be wrong tho. I know my LHS's aren't making any money to really speak of. Probably just enough to stay open and barely make the business worth it. I've tried to get friends into the hobby to no avail. It takes a special kind of person to race RC cars.
06-07-2011, 10:42 AM
#66
I agree and when I asked when the fuel was coming in he said "at 45 a gallon and 2500-3000 dollars order it is going to be a LONG while before the fuel comes in. So i had to goto horseheads to buy sidewinder for a good deal of $23 with tax but with my 4x4 that gets 14 mpg it really costs mord than 23. Nearest track is 1 hour, next is around 3.50 hours for a NY track. Pa tracks are over 3 hours and not worth going to, and with my sons scouts and baseball games on weekends this year, price of gas there will probably be no racing for me every week end(1 day only on sunday nights)
06-07-2011, 10:50 AM
#67
Tech Addict
iTrader: (30)
Yeah, there's really nothing cheap about this hobby. Even the SC craze, which was high on "cost efficient, competitive racing" has become expensive. To be competitive in the "stock" class requires the purchase of a 17.5 brushless system at $150+, in addition to the truck itself at $200+. Throw in a decent LiPo pack or 2 at $50-$100 bucks each, and you're into it for about $500!!! Yeah, it's cheaper than nitro, for sure, but an expensive proposition for someone who hasn't raced or driven an RC car before.
This hobby is what it is. If it gets too expensive, I guess I can always take up bird-watching!!!
This hobby is what it is. If it gets too expensive, I guess I can always take up bird-watching!!!
06-07-2011, 11:05 AM
#68
As long as there are little cars and trucks that move as fast as these things that we call R/C's, there will always be people like myself that are addicted to them
One of the main reasons that I got into this hobby is because im getting to old to be racing motocross and desert racing on my quads! Im also getting to old to be going 180mph on my crotch rockets lol.. But what im not getting to old to be doing is racing these little things!
Sure, its expensive at times, but once you have your initial equipment, and learn how to properly set things up, its not to bad.. Unless your one of those that likes to travel.. My biggest complaint is the price of transponders! What the hell makes a "my laps" cost over 100 bucks!
One of the main reasons that I got into this hobby is because im getting to old to be racing motocross and desert racing on my quads! Im also getting to old to be going 180mph on my crotch rockets lol.. But what im not getting to old to be doing is racing these little things! Sure, its expensive at times, but once you have your initial equipment, and learn how to properly set things up, its not to bad.. Unless your one of those that likes to travel.. My biggest complaint is the price of transponders! What the hell makes a "my laps" cost over 100 bucks!
06-07-2011, 11:46 AM
#69
Okay, I'm not trying to come across as a [enter your favorite explicative here], but a lot of nitro guys seem to think that electric has to be just as expensive as nitro, but that's a lie. Don't get me wrong, it can be if that's what you want, but electric R/C is a lot better for the beginners.
I don't know if anyone has touched on this yet, but look at Slashes, or even Blitzes. For under, about $260, if not less, you can have one running with a battery and charger. That's buying everything new. Slashes (and Blitzes) are great beginners trucks too. Durable, yet still able to compete once the driver is ready while staying affordable. Even in something like Stock Truck (stadium truck, that is). I race a Losi XXX-T CR (after starting with a Blitz) and I bought a lot of things used and I don't have more than $260 in it total, excluding my DX3S (which really wasn't necessary but I had the money). Now, nitro is cool and all, but you guys have to admit, it is expensive, especially for a beginner.
Also, I'd like to add that Toys R Us is now selling Slashes, I believe. Some guys see this as a downfall to the hobby, but I see it as a good thing. It will get more people into buying hobby grade RCs, and they may race then. If they don't race, it still can support a LHS, because when they break, Toys R Us won't have the parts to fix them.
I don't know if anyone has touched on this yet, but look at Slashes, or even Blitzes. For under, about $260, if not less, you can have one running with a battery and charger. That's buying everything new. Slashes (and Blitzes) are great beginners trucks too. Durable, yet still able to compete once the driver is ready while staying affordable. Even in something like Stock Truck (stadium truck, that is). I race a Losi XXX-T CR (after starting with a Blitz) and I bought a lot of things used and I don't have more than $260 in it total, excluding my DX3S (which really wasn't necessary but I had the money). Now, nitro is cool and all, but you guys have to admit, it is expensive, especially for a beginner.
Also, I'd like to add that Toys R Us is now selling Slashes, I believe. Some guys see this as a downfall to the hobby, but I see it as a good thing. It will get more people into buying hobby grade RCs, and they may race then. If they don't race, it still can support a LHS, because when they break, Toys R Us won't have the parts to fix them.
06-07-2011, 12:02 PM
#70
Well
People will begin to ask even more questions on forums. More questions that could be answered with a bit of research and will be less able to make their own decisions on an engine or car.
Kyosho will continue to win races and the price of their buggy will stay close to 1,000 dollars as it has been for 20 years......
The top US racers will continue to gain weight. We are a big ol country.....
Mugen and Xray will not get more team drivers in this country. Oh well their loss....
Electric 1/8th scale racing will continue to slam into Nitro racers legs when we are marshalling cause we can't freakin hear them and they can't drive for squat......
Hobby shops will continue to "not make money", and the manufacturers will continue to "rake it in"...with no regard for the people who help them....
Truggies will have more than 3 treads for each brand.
Sponsorships will continue to decrease as there is really no advantage in the eyes of manufacturers for guys who don't go to the big races. 50 pecent discount will turn to 25%......Free stickers, but no t shirt.....
Kyosho will continue to win races and the price of their buggy will stay close to 1,000 dollars as it has been for 20 years......
The top US racers will continue to gain weight. We are a big ol country.....
Mugen and Xray will not get more team drivers in this country. Oh well their loss....
Electric 1/8th scale racing will continue to slam into Nitro racers legs when we are marshalling cause we can't freakin hear them and they can't drive for squat......
Hobby shops will continue to "not make money", and the manufacturers will continue to "rake it in"...with no regard for the people who help them....
Truggies will have more than 3 treads for each brand.
Sponsorships will continue to decrease as there is really no advantage in the eyes of manufacturers for guys who don't go to the big races. 50 pecent discount will turn to 25%......Free stickers, but no t shirt.....
06-07-2011, 01:42 PM
#71
This hobby has always been expensive. My mom paid $400 each for my brothers and I tamiaya set up.... I was 11 years old.
If I had a nice track 30 mins from my house i would be there everyday. You guys can complain about he manufacturer but guess what, they are still around. The amount of money they sink into R&D to get a high quality buggy made is ridiculous. Try to make one your self.... I honestly dont think the manufacturers make all that amount of money once everyone involved gets paid and benifits bla bla bla - I bet they dont get tax breaks..
People talk about tracks like it only cost a couple hundred dollars to start. You people are delusional. I have seen and been apart of a track opening and he had free land and he still sunk 10 grand easily. And not to many people will give you free land to play with dangerous toys...... ALOT of tracks do not have their own insurance and rely on ROAR for this purpose. What is it like a million buck in coverage for each track. Im not a fan of ROAR rules, but with out them we will have to travel hundreds of miles for a track then pay 100 bucks to race.
I will not by a "clone" of an engine. OS, RB, NOVA even the other asian engines spend ALOT of money in development of these eninges... You think its cheap to produce......hahahahaha. You think metal that can with stand the abuse these things take is cheap.... You think a "clone" of a RB would be the same as the real thing.......
The only problem I have with this hobby is tire cost. BUT if your smart, and shop, you can get them for about 25 bucks a set of 4.
Local hobbies shops are here for us. Yes they may charge a little bit more but its there when you need it in most cases.....
Fuel Prices - thank our federal government for that....... Thanks to home land security we now pay a extra 10 bucks per gallon for fuel. Some hobby shops eat that, and some pass it on to customers.
Getting in to RC Racing at a serious level is expensive, dont care if its gas or EP. If you just want to play with one in your back yard will cut the price down by 80%.
You got to remember how small RC Racing is compared to RC as a hobby. It will grow, hell we are in a recession and I dont remember it being bigger.......
If I had a nice track 30 mins from my house i would be there everyday. You guys can complain about he manufacturer but guess what, they are still around. The amount of money they sink into R&D to get a high quality buggy made is ridiculous. Try to make one your self.... I honestly dont think the manufacturers make all that amount of money once everyone involved gets paid and benifits bla bla bla - I bet they dont get tax breaks..
People talk about tracks like it only cost a couple hundred dollars to start. You people are delusional. I have seen and been apart of a track opening and he had free land and he still sunk 10 grand easily. And not to many people will give you free land to play with dangerous toys...... ALOT of tracks do not have their own insurance and rely on ROAR for this purpose. What is it like a million buck in coverage for each track. Im not a fan of ROAR rules, but with out them we will have to travel hundreds of miles for a track then pay 100 bucks to race.
I will not by a "clone" of an engine. OS, RB, NOVA even the other asian engines spend ALOT of money in development of these eninges... You think its cheap to produce......hahahahaha. You think metal that can with stand the abuse these things take is cheap.... You think a "clone" of a RB would be the same as the real thing.......
The only problem I have with this hobby is tire cost. BUT if your smart, and shop, you can get them for about 25 bucks a set of 4.
Local hobbies shops are here for us. Yes they may charge a little bit more but its there when you need it in most cases.....
Fuel Prices - thank our federal government for that....... Thanks to home land security we now pay a extra 10 bucks per gallon for fuel. Some hobby shops eat that, and some pass it on to customers.
Getting in to RC Racing at a serious level is expensive, dont care if its gas or EP. If you just want to play with one in your back yard will cut the price down by 80%.
You got to remember how small RC Racing is compared to RC as a hobby. It will grow, hell we are in a recession and I dont remember it being bigger.......
06-07-2011, 02:00 PM
#72
The future of RC is bright, as it has always been. The internet spreads the RC virus, gets us racers in contact and not only the top level racers are meeting each other, we also meet on forums and some of us in national/international races.
When we meet we know each other from the forums, from the pictures and from the youtube films.
The internet is a great boost for our sport and it helps to get the people to the tracks, the equipment to the customers and the shops to keep updated with the latest developments and requirments of their customers...
About the costs; the are relative...
Every hobby/sport has starting costs, if it's fishing, RC, golf, MX, BMX, ice hockey, tennis or football. You always have to buy equipment and nothing comes cheap, since hobby/sport products are always a niche for oly a small group of the total population. And to compete with the top you have to invest more money. In every sport or hobby the top is very small, there are talented people in every sport and hobby and their talent combined with the 'best' materials make winners.... If you not that talented, expensive equipment will give you some edge over the competition and then it is your free choise to compensate lack of talent with the 'best' equipment.
A talented guy will drift on top in every sport without expensive equipment, and when his talent is recognised and some top equipment will be sponsored this guy will reach the top...
When we meet we know each other from the forums, from the pictures and from the youtube films.
The internet is a great boost for our sport and it helps to get the people to the tracks, the equipment to the customers and the shops to keep updated with the latest developments and requirments of their customers...
About the costs; the are relative...
Every hobby/sport has starting costs, if it's fishing, RC, golf, MX, BMX, ice hockey, tennis or football. You always have to buy equipment and nothing comes cheap, since hobby/sport products are always a niche for oly a small group of the total population. And to compete with the top you have to invest more money. In every sport or hobby the top is very small, there are talented people in every sport and hobby and their talent combined with the 'best' materials make winners.... If you not that talented, expensive equipment will give you some edge over the competition and then it is your free choise to compensate lack of talent with the 'best' equipment.
A talented guy will drift on top in every sport without expensive equipment, and when his talent is recognised and some top equipment will be sponsored this guy will reach the top...
06-08-2011, 12:04 PM
#73
If I may ad my five cents. Well Ive gone full circle with this sport/hobby. I built my own track thought I was going to revive a dead sport or get new people involved.
I built a facility in a sportcomplex away from residential areas, not very far, closer than a cornfield. Rigged it up and what happened?
People refused to want to pay to ride on the track. I had a track that was fully maintained on a daily basis. Holes were patched up as they appear. Tracked would be altered to suit. I even gave up my job to start a hobby shop.
I think I am intitled to share a opinion on the future of RC. And I am refering especially to 1/8th scale. As far as I am concerned everything else in RC is toys. Sorry but thats just me.
I own only buggies and truggies. Nitro and brushless. At the moment they are shelf queens as I refuse to bash with them. I refuse to bash my OS Speed.
It will remain a shelf queeen till one day I ride it on a track.
Thats how seriously I am about my racing.
I have all the engines I would need. IMO the best. The chassis I have is of the top 10 brands of 2008 worlds so I dont need a new chassis. The new cars are not faster, and we are being hypt into constantly upgrading. If you have a good chassis it will be sufficient.
Now brushless in my opinion is awesome. I can make it go very fast ,wheelie etc . I'll do a few laps around the track and say woww and then I'l throw the buggy in boot and take out the real nitro buggy and do the laps.
So people that dont like nitro should drive brushless. I just like the tech of Nitro. To fast you must have the combination of tech ie engine tuned perfect, clutch setup, diff oils, tyre choice driver skill the lot.
The Future for RC 1/8scale? Grim. Only the die hards will remain and you have a churn. The end numbers remain the same. As one leaves a new one start. They only leave because of money or wife.
Chhoo long post. Enjoy you die hard.
Long live 1/8 scale.
I built a facility in a sportcomplex away from residential areas, not very far, closer than a cornfield. Rigged it up and what happened?
People refused to want to pay to ride on the track. I had a track that was fully maintained on a daily basis. Holes were patched up as they appear. Tracked would be altered to suit. I even gave up my job to start a hobby shop.
I think I am intitled to share a opinion on the future of RC. And I am refering especially to 1/8th scale. As far as I am concerned everything else in RC is toys. Sorry but thats just me.
I own only buggies and truggies. Nitro and brushless. At the moment they are shelf queens as I refuse to bash with them. I refuse to bash my OS Speed.
It will remain a shelf queeen till one day I ride it on a track.
Thats how seriously I am about my racing.
I have all the engines I would need. IMO the best. The chassis I have is of the top 10 brands of 2008 worlds so I dont need a new chassis. The new cars are not faster, and we are being hypt into constantly upgrading. If you have a good chassis it will be sufficient.
Now brushless in my opinion is awesome. I can make it go very fast ,wheelie etc . I'll do a few laps around the track and say woww and then I'l throw the buggy in boot and take out the real nitro buggy and do the laps.
So people that dont like nitro should drive brushless. I just like the tech of Nitro. To fast you must have the combination of tech ie engine tuned perfect, clutch setup, diff oils, tyre choice driver skill the lot.
The Future for RC 1/8scale? Grim. Only the die hards will remain and you have a churn. The end numbers remain the same. As one leaves a new one start. They only leave because of money or wife.
Chhoo long post. Enjoy you die hard.
Long live 1/8 scale.
06-08-2011, 12:45 PM
#74
one big thing happened to the demographics of RC. I was looking through some old race pics from the late 70s and the 80s. I see a striking difference between then and now: KIDS. Well, those kids back then are what makes us now, but I see way less participation from kids these days.
Back then, kids had a dream of being able to remotely control their toy cars. I mean, that's all we had back then. It started out as a "dream". Or on the other end of the spectrum, it is way too complicated (recent changes to electric). So what does kids have these days? There's not much room left for imagination with all these RTR's and instant gratification gadgets. That's why I commend companies like Tamiya for still selling super entry level cars like the Holiday Buggy 2010.
What changed with the kids minds? I remember building my very first kit, the Sonic Fighter when I was in the 3rd grade. Now that I think about it, I can't believe I got it to run all by myself
. My young nieces nowadays can't even use a screw driver properly 
The future of RC racing lies with how we can get more new blood into the hobby imo.
Back then, kids had a dream of being able to remotely control their toy cars. I mean, that's all we had back then. It started out as a "dream". Or on the other end of the spectrum, it is way too complicated (recent changes to electric). So what does kids have these days? There's not much room left for imagination with all these RTR's and instant gratification gadgets. That's why I commend companies like Tamiya for still selling super entry level cars like the Holiday Buggy 2010.
What changed with the kids minds? I remember building my very first kit, the Sonic Fighter when I was in the 3rd grade. Now that I think about it, I can't believe I got it to run all by myself
. My young nieces nowadays can't even use a screw driver properly The future of RC racing lies with how we can get more new blood into the hobby imo.
Last edited by inpuressa; 06-08-2011 at 12:55 PM.
06-08-2011, 02:55 PM
#75
Tech Initiate
i think the price of consumables is flat out ridiculous. 70$ for 4 little tires? I can put a real tire on my real truck for that cost. the most ridiculous has to be shock boots. almost 10$ for 4 boots? And of course clutch shoes, i am to the point where i keep certain clutch shoes for racing only i tune and practice with junk tires, junk shoes in a junk car that i practice with. Price of air filters is obscene as well, for the price of 4 filters i can get a foam sheet and make 30 (which gives me an idea).
on the flipside engineering companies with oem parts like mugen for example, design everything and machine all the parts and mold all there plastics which may not seem that expensive but cnc and injection molding machines are mucho$ and someone is not going to go through all the trouble to design parts with the tolerences and fit and finish that we see from xray, mugen etc unless they are going to make money and i have no problem with that. Its the absurd things like the cost of a little bottle of silicone oil, air filter oil etc. Fuel tubing is another one, you pay 4$ open the package and it's not even 2 ft long. And what the hell makes a transponder so dang expensive? It cost as much as a fhss3 reciever
I have wised up and started buying same products that are not RC related (brake cleaner instead of nitro spray for example). I also believe RTR has taken away ALOT from the hobby, i wanted to come back into the hobby earlier then i did but when i went to the rc shop all they had was RTR, i was like WTF? I had a hornet and rc10graphite as a kid and building and working on it was most of the fun, so when i realized everything was already put together i jetted straight out of the hobby shop. It was 2 years later that i realized that you could still buy "kits" to put together but they were like 600$ But i HAD to have one because I HAD to put it together.
Anyway i am done. Let me know when those
7$ shoes come out.
on the flipside engineering companies with oem parts like mugen for example, design everything and machine all the parts and mold all there plastics which may not seem that expensive but cnc and injection molding machines are mucho$ and someone is not going to go through all the trouble to design parts with the tolerences and fit and finish that we see from xray, mugen etc unless they are going to make money and i have no problem with that. Its the absurd things like the cost of a little bottle of silicone oil, air filter oil etc. Fuel tubing is another one, you pay 4$ open the package and it's not even 2 ft long. And what the hell makes a transponder so dang expensive? It cost as much as a fhss3 reciever
I have wised up and started buying same products that are not RC related (brake cleaner instead of nitro spray for example). I also believe RTR has taken away ALOT from the hobby, i wanted to come back into the hobby earlier then i did but when i went to the rc shop all they had was RTR, i was like WTF? I had a hornet and rc10graphite as a kid and building and working on it was most of the fun, so when i realized everything was already put together i jetted straight out of the hobby shop. It was 2 years later that i realized that you could still buy "kits" to put together but they were like 600$ But i HAD to have one because I HAD to put it together.
Anyway i am done. Let me know when those
7$ shoes come out.
As for the fuel tubing, if you aren't bothered about running it in silly colours then go to your local petshop that deals with aquarium supplies. You will get clear silicone tubing for half the price.