rcjetman

Hello everyone.

I recently got into racing cars last year after doing every other rc hobby from boats to turbine jets and have 12 + years of high-end RC experience. E.g. I can build a 25K twin turbine, 60 Pound, 3.3 meter long Super Hornet and fly the pants off without issue…. Just clarifying I’m not some noob who doesn’t know anything about RC.

Running cars now and absolutely loving it …... I think I particularly enjoy the competitive side / pushing yourself to become better and being able to race against others and the clock.

I started at our local off-road 1/10 dirt track not knowing what I wanted to do I decided to purchase one of everything and try all the classes out and see what I liked.

4WD SCT
2wd buggy
4wd Buggy
Stadium track
2wd SCT
1/8th buggy

After purchasing one or two cars of each category and countless motors in bits and pieces I quickly realised how dynamic RC car racing is. I really had no idea just how many options there were to choose from and how dynamic setups can be. Absolutely nothing like model aeroplanes.

Now I have decided I’m going to get into on road as well as it is easier and i don’t have to worry about the whether as my time is very limited.

My question is coming.

I’m running at our local track with what is called 1/10 13.5T stock class on road. On my first ever race with a simple sakura XI sport car i managed to Q6 in the A mains class which wasn’t too bad. However it quickly became apparent just how little I know about tuning and the art of dialing in a car properly to be truly competitive. I think I’m a decent driver skill wise BUT do respect how much effort and skill it takes to consistently run TQ fast lap times and that is something I have to work on ….. Hence my questions below

I was told I needed a better car, so I purchased a Yokomo BD7 black 2014. (Yet to be driven as im away on work but it has been built for me )

The question is this….. To save a lot of time and unnecessary purchases such as multiple cars to then find out there is a better one.

If you could spend whatever you wanted no matter how much was what is the best possible equipment you can buy to run in this 13.5T stock class.

For the Yokomo I have already purchased a hobby wing V10 motor, hobby wing black 3.2 120 speedy (apparently the best they had).

I’ve also recently just purchased a HUDY professional set up kit with apparently everything you need.
Tyre warmers

I also just purchased some ORCA , SMC and other batteries to test them out to try and find out which is the best brand……

Hopefully you can help me shorten this process.

Anyway I would be really interested to get your feedback as to what you think is the most competitive, high quality equipment out there as I figure I may as well get the best possible equipment upfront and work back from there.

THEN
learn how to actually tuned and modify the car to increase performance (I’m sure I’ll get lots of help with this at the track)

THEN
practice like crazy to actually improve my skill which is something you can’t buy and is probably the most important part of the equation.
However I do have the ability to make the first part easy but I’m not exactly sure what to buy. I would prefer to stay with the Yokomo as the track has an on-site shop with parts and my friend also has one which is good to be able to share information with.

Your comments will be appreciated and i do anticipate there will be some debate as to what is best but that’s what forums are for.

The average lap time at our track is about 14 seconds with lots of corners and a big long straight and I’ve heard people referring to it as a medium grip track for what it’s worth.

Salkin

While your wallet is apparently in its generous mood, you should buy another kit, just as spares. Every time you break something, you take it from the kit and order a new spare for the kit so it is complete at all times.

You could maybe have several of the parts that breaks often, ask in the corresponding Yokomo thread which parts these could be. Otherwise, it will eventually be clear for you which parts you break often, and you know which part to stock in more than one piece.

No top dollar equipment can help you if you break a hub and don't have a spare.

Salkin

Concerning setup of your car.

You can, as I do as new in onroad, use the setup sheets posted on the car manufactures website. You can probably find standard kit setups for asphalt and carpet, and for newcomers like us, these will do just fine.

When you go practice or race at the clubs/tracks and some of the "pro" guys gives you tips on the setup, you can incrementally improve your setup (and knowledge) until it reaches a satisfactory level.

No need to start from scratch

TB03Racer09

iTrader: (1)

The Yokomo BD7 is an excellent choice, its also doing really well on the world stage with Ronald Volker winning so many races with it. Great choice of motor and esc too, I am very happy with my Hobbywing products. I purchased my first Orca battery a month back and its been really good so far, no puffing and great punch.

Looks like you have got yourself a great setup so far in my opinion.

cplus

iTrader: (11)

Yep, great chassis. But, doing well with volker in mod doesn't necessarily translate to being the ultimate for 13.5T blinky however.

As well as driving talent, being top of the sheets in TC will come down to meticulous (and correct) car setup, gearing, tyres (including race day prep), body, balance (battery capacity effects this massively) and electronics set up (ie TX and ESC settings)

You can't just buy your way to the top. If you could I'd be winning everything I entered too

The fact you're not building your own car is a worry though - what are you going to do when something breaks or isn't right at the track? Ask the bloke that built it to fix it for you?

sosidge

I echo the concerns about not building your own car - it is a core part of getting to know the car, and not every "expert" builder is quite as good as they think (having seen plenty of examples of "team driver" cars that have been bought second hand and have major build errors...)

As far as equipment goes, 99% of the top end equipment is very good, you've mentioned the car and powertrain but don't rule out the quality of the radio and servo, a well set up radio is just as important as a well set up car.

I also note you have decided to go for the "spend money first, set it up second, learn to drive it third". This is the mistake most new drivers make, assuming that the car wins races.

Actually drivers win races.

Those of us with some experience have realised that the most important thing is driving. Admittedly, you need a car that drives correctly to get any worthwhile practice in, but virtually all the cars on the market today are good out of the box and as long as you get the steering throw equal on both sides and set the ESC to the radio properly, you are ready for the track. You need to get the motor geared right for the class but if you have chosen a popular motor that info should be easy to find. You need the right tyres too.

Of course this advice tends to fall on deaf ears and the usual path through the hobby is "I'm slow so I need a better car/I'm still slow so I need a better motor/I'm still so slow so I need better setup equipment/I'm still slow so I need new tyres every run etc etc". Unfortunately this causes a lot of drivers to drop out early on because they think their equipment is holding them back. Those that do stay with it soon realise that the biggest improvements come from time on the track, not the cost of the gear you put on it.

I have very good equipment in my main cars, but I also have a 7 year-old spare car with cheaper equipment in it and I can lap it within a few tenths of a second. Yet most new drivers would turn their nose up at my spare car if it was listed for sale as it doesn't have the number 14 in the title...

The only positive about spending lots of money early on is that you can experience lots of different cars which gives you a better idea of the normal range of performance. Sometimes people persevere with their first car without realising how much of a mess they have made with the build and the setup.

WheelNut

iTrader: (5)

You already answered your question. Practice, setup and maintenance are the most important factors in RC racing. You've already got lots of good equipment. Now you just have to learn how to exploit it. If you have lots of money then another good option is buy multiple cars and run a variety of classes. You'll get more track time and become a more versatile driver quickly. 1/12th is great as it requires serious precision and you get 8 minute runs, F1 is fun and tough to drive (good training), run mod touring if its available at your track (13.5 will feel easy after mod!). Hang out with the fast guys and learn from them. Read setup books: XXX main used to print one and it might be available digitally now, your Hudy system should have come with a good setup book, and there is THE book "Tune to Win" by Carrol Smith which will show you how race cars really work (http://www.amazon.com/Tune-Win-scien.../dp/0879380713).

Have fun, go to regionals, nationals, etc...Most of the cars and electronics out there now are pretty good, so I really wouldn't worry to much about being held back by equipment. I've been beat by better drivers running TA05s and TC4s and I've been racing for 10 years now.

WheelNut

iTrader: (5)

Mods: Can we make this a sticky? Good post!!

aeroace66

Buy someone racing for you.

WheelNut

iTrader: (5)

You could always start a race team and finance them. Like Richard Branson's venture in F1, Red Bull F1 or the Tinkoff-Saxo cycling team. RC could probably provide a platform for a 1/10th scale billionaire race team owner.

OttoKrosse

iTrader: (4)

After being away from RC racing for over 25 years....the BEST advice I got was BUY DECENT EQUIPMENT AND LEARN HOW TO DRIVE THE CAR FIRST!

Then you can work on set-up. IT WAS TRUE BACK IN THE 80S AND IT HASN'T CHANGED.

Having deep pockets is great but it doesn't help if you don't know how to set up the car....something I'm still learning since I got back into RC racing with my 2 TC6.2s over the past 3 months....and will likely continue learning for many more months to come.

Next find someone that can walk you through some of the basic set-ups for your local track, try those set-ups and use what fits your driving style. Specific car set-ups will vary from one driver to another so what works for 1 driver may not for others.

Good drivers and cars are not built overnight, or with big budgets.....it's all about time spent racing and tweaking.

Good luck.

rcjetman

That is a very valid point however the hobby shop is literally in the same building as the track so you can walk next door and buy anything at any time.
However I might buy another complete car anyway so I can do back-to-back testing on setups and if i break one i can always make the next round.

Salkin

Please don't forget that if you go to other tracks it may not have a hobby shop affiliated or it may not stock parts for your brand of car. Or if you race outside opening hours of the shop.

Even though it is more expensive, having everything yourself guarantees you not going to a track in vain.

rcjetman

Also a good point. I did speak to some of the pro guys and ask them about setup / tips. It was fairly evident to me through the expression on their faces that the ready to run XI car that I was using was clearly not up to race spec “chassis / car wise “.

They said I was clearly capable of driving well but the type of car i was using would not be conducive to producing consecutive and reliable lap times as to many of the components were plastic and would shift and move about….. This was clearly evident that every time we put it on one of their set up stations.

When looking at their cars I would have to agree they were all built from much better materials and looked a lot more serious hence the BD7 purchase as they recommended.

I also got the impression they weren’t really interested in helping me trying to tune a car that isn’t really designed to be tuned to that level of precision in the first place so I couldn’t expect too much help from unless I actually went out and got a proper car.

rcjetman

Okay so it sounds like the car is a good choice. Tick

To clarify at NO point in time did I assume i could buy my way to the top. I completely understand that the large majority of the success is down to set up and the skill of the driver.

My rational thinking was such: Buy the best equipment $ can buy and get that out away

Then improving is purely down to practice, setup and skill of the driver. I heard many people complaining about their equipment and subsequent performance so I figure buy the best stuff so that you can’t blame the gear and just focus on getting better.

It’s an option I’m lucky to have so why not, I’m sure you would ALL do the same


I’m more than capable of building my own cars… Its just when you run and own your own company having 6-8 hours of spare time to build an RC doesn’t happen. Fixing cars if they break at the track is fine as it is generally a small task. Im actually very skilled mechanically especially in my line of work.

But I do appreciate and understand the importance of building your own car it’s just something I don’t have time to do unfortunately