Nerobro

iTrader: (2)

$350-450 is cheap for a chassis? And then they have lots of easily broken bits on them.

Since your reply was ... at best ... awful, I'll dig out the assumptions and guess that you're trying to say the A800 is $600. But it's not. Swap in the rebuildable shocks, whatever the latest hot ticket motor and ESC combo is, your 50th set of sauced till they die tires, a $100 5.5ms receiver, a $150 high voltage servo, a handfull of spares, and a $100 battery... well you're closing in on $12-1400. No, the number I put up there wasn't supposed to be accurate, it was meant to be a mild exaggeration. It's not ~that far off~ either.

The $400 car I was sold on for racing VTA, is more like $600. I'm only making it under $400 because I found a motor/esc combination that was $110 cheaper than the motor/esc that the shop was selling me on.

How does someone new to the sport know it's run what ya brung? Who's translating for them? You're talking to a guy who went to the shop, asked "how do i start racing" and the answer both four years ago, and four weeks ago was "VTA." Though 4 years ago, "mini" was also an answer.

Don't whine.
Find ways to get new racers in. If sportsman is the answer, MAKE IT KNOWN. Because it sure isn't known now.

Zerodefect

My F1 was about as expensive as a 2wd buggy (total). But it has hardly any tire cost. That's a great place to start out.

Chaz955i

iTrader: (5)

I love RC!!

spu83

iTrader: (2)

+ YouTube Video

We had a bomber class for the off roader to try out and it seems working

DesertRat

iTrader: (2)

I seem to recall that some asphalt tracks once ran a class called Gearbox where new racers could run their buggies or other offroad cars on the street, usually without jumps, to get their feet wet. Hell, way back in the stone age of the 90's when I was an annoying little kid some guys got into running buggies with foam 1/10 tires in an oval class. That was pretty cool to watch, full bodied and winged buggies whipping around an oval track, I recall it made the most interesting noise.

gigaplex

iTrader: (2)

Sportsman in my area is dominated by veteran drivers with expensive setups. I was just at a trophy race over the weekend and the winner of 21.5 sportsman was faster than the fastest 17.5 driver, and faster than half the 13.5 group.

32819toon

iTrader: (1)

They did bring out a cheap class to bring in new racers, GT12. The cars were less than £100 to keep it cheap. It has been a great class in the UK, some have said it saved their club. However, it has been spoiled by the introduction of £170 hopped up race machines, who race against newbies with their 2nd hand k154 frp chassis original Supastox. I have one still but can't keep up against the Atom.

Zerodefect

Yeah this isn't cool.



Can a rule be put in place where 21.5 drivers hitting 17.5 speeds get bumped up into 17.5?

gigaplex

iTrader: (2)

Considering our 17.5 class isn't sanctioned in Australia, no.

rescue119

iTrader: (1)

F1 are pretty durable and u dont spend need to spend a lot on the chassis.

Thats why i miss the tcs series. The classes were well structured to suit your level of driving.

bertrandsv87

iTrader: (2)

The Nikko F1 was the best starting kit concept for $100, but the design lacked a bit...

rccartips

iTrader: (3)

If someone showed up with a Nikko, I would allow it. Just to get a new driver hooked on racing

(0000000000)

iTrader: (2)

This thread has lost its focus and relevance.

robk

iTrader: (22)

Which one are you talking about? CRC WTF-1 is like $250 and is probably the best car on carpet. The t bar F104 tamiya cars are cheap. The tamiya cars are actually tough, too. The Xray car is expensive, and it can be found for under $350.

ta04evah

iTrader: (2)

This happens here too, hence the proposed motor rule changes to start to address that scenario, but that in itself is another can of worms...

F1 comes & goes, depends on the track, and higher priced kits & equipment are starting to encroach into the market.

Mini, has popularity with non sanctioned events, and raced one night a month at our club.

VTA, goes from a full field, to nothing at all, depending on tracks, and events that are hosting VTA races.

Our club is exploring a couple of options, both with control motor, control fdr, control tires, inexpensive chassis & electrics to keep the costs down, yet maintain a healthy interest for new comers to get into, and keep coming back for more racing.