lightfoot

iTrader: (2)

So why is on-road dead ?
economy ?
Too many tracks ?
Too many classes ?
Too expensive ?

Off Road seems to be doing just fine, so what is it about on-road ?

I've been in this hobby only 3 years, and I hear the stories about the old So Cal track having huge turn outs ? What happened ?

T4 Razer

iTrader: (5)

I think at least for me, most like to jump their car and get it dirty. Also I think sometimes the thing that keeps some away is the real competetiveness in every single class. In offroad you are not relying on every little change you make to a car to go fast. In offroad you are trying to go as fast a possible while driving on the edge of control. It is trying to keep the most traction as you can.

tpczx6

iTrader: (3)

You can buy a Slash for 230.00 ready to run and have a class for it to race in No one makes a Onroad car thats Ready to run and strong enough for a little Bashing let alone for 230.00

Ryan Price

iTrader: (23)

In my area the track owner didn't want to put forth the effort of organizing events.

dstyles

for me, onroad has been my moneypit.

motojon

iTrader: (3)

in my opinion everyone can drive off-road not everyone can drive on-road

JasonC

iTrader: (120)

There are several contributing factors for the decline in on road racing attendance

1 the economy ( most of us just don't have the expindable income we had 6 years ago)
2 the price for an competitive on road kit has gone up $200+ for a kit
3 many manufactures of onroad kits give out 50% sponsorships out like it's candy which inturn decreases the profit from sales at local tracks creating less revenue, in addition many mfg have an obserd minimum order $ Making it so many tracks with on site hobby shops won't carry on road parts or are very limited on what they do stock
4 Rules Ever track has them but they are all different from track to track and day to day, if onroad racers and track owners would work together
5 To many classes, everyone wants a class caterd to them so they have a better chance of wining, make it simple stock 17.5 no timing speedos/expert 17.5 with timing speedos/ PRO open mod
6 Off road is alot easier to drive and maintain when compaird to onroad (for example if you break a shock tower on your sedan in will take aprox 30 min or more to replace because you have to double chech every thing droop,ride height, tweak, camber...etc where as in off road 5min and your back out on the track.

In order for on-road racing to flourish like it was 6 years ago every one will have to work together track owners / racers/ and MFG's

racer x 1

iTrader: (27)

too many different options, its a lot harder to make the car work, expense, the rules constantly change to slow ppl dwn, and lastly pretty much no beginner class.

Green Machine!

iTrader: (10)

A little too refined of a sport for some. Some would even say elite.
Plus marketing doesn't help. When was the last time anyone picked up RC Car Action and had on road stuff all over the cover and all the Off road stuff pushed to the last two pages? And of course price is tripple in most cases. ;(
But it's worth it y'all if you can get past the newbie stage and don't bail out pre-matturely.

TRESFR

iTrader: (3)

Jason makes many valid points,

There are many factors but the timing speedos were the final straw that killed on road. It opened up a class grouping nightmare. How nice it would have been to have 21.5 beginner 17.5 intermediate and 13.5 expert. Wow, a class for everyone at speeds each grouping could handle without breaking there car. The above 3 class concept could have been repeated as a standard from track to track so where ever you raced you could set your car down and run. Brushless was supposed to reduce cost and hassle and provide consistent speeds that equalized the field in terms of power with very little maintenance. Now a laptop and joining the software of the month club is mandatory to keep pace. The non timing speedos had a more linear power curve and were easier to drive and the brakes were more consistent. It happens all the time where people show up to race but and there is only a timing speedo class or not enough 21.5 and some have timing and some don't . Many of us don't live for RC so when we do allocate a day we want to know for sure there will be a class we can count on to be there. This is not the case especially for beginners or intermediate drivers. You cannot stop technology from evolving but it seems the timing speedo has done irreversible damage to a segment of the RC World that could not afford a set back.

Kent Beal

iTrader: (70)

+1 on all that's been said above. But another reason people often over look is the fact that they are hard just to go have fun with right outside your house. There is hardly anything but slicks out there for tires and it's just hard to drive them on a un-prepped surface. With an off-road car like a slash it can be used everywhere: street, dirt, beaches, mountains and snow.

It's hard I think for most to spend that kind of money on a car that only works good at a track.

lightfoot

iTrader: (2)

TRESFR , I think your right about the new ESC... I fought getting one and invested into a 21.5 sedan , non programmable ESC, but the class never took off... All there as left was 17.5 guys driving as fast as MOD guys and now just because I want to race in a class with people I had to join them, so I am now one of those dudes with a laptop, one more $250 expense, plus a $35 cable and I've already burned up a motor... I used no NEVER burn up a motor... On road is becoming more and more expensive to compete... it's crazy...

kdeselms

The problem is, people always cry that "stock classes never work" - but they DO work, as a gateway drug. Since the introduction of the Slash, short course has evolved from a box stock class into four different classes as most tracks, as other companies got involved. But the people who got hooked with the box stock Slash are still driving it - some stayed in spec, others moved up. Still others abandoned their stadium trucks and buggies to get into short course racing. At Hot Rod Hobbies, stadium trucks and buggies have all but vanished in club racing.

I thought HPI's Cup Racer could be that kind of car, honestly...like a larger scale Mini-Z, almost. They just need more (and cooler) bodies for it...but I still think that would be an awesome "gateway" on-road class for new people to try, and low cost. Just buy one, stick a battery in it and race. I was originally attracted by the RCGT class, but the guys who race that class are also just too fast for me, as a beginner.

timmig

iTrader: (25)

A VERY simple solution to On-road is to get BACK to pan cars!! They are two wheel drive---handle GREAT--with a minimum of bearings / A arms and parts to break. You can run 1/10 with 2s lipos and 1/12 with 1s lipos and have a LOT of fun without a huge expense. Even the tires are MUCH cheaper then your average rubber sedan tires. I've never understood WHY people don't race these cars more---their FASTER than the sedan cars-- EASIER to setup---and CHEAPER to run!!! So why not--"Back to the FUTURE"?????
FWIW
Tim

lightfoot

iTrader: (2)

Great point.... BUT.... It's going to take a manufacture to make it new again, and promote it... And I don't even know if that will work to be honest... I've seen ABC try to promote these very cool and bullet proof cars with very little turn out... I also remember HB underground towards the end of the series giving away $160 brushed ESC to the top three drivers and only two drivers signed up... WTF ???

It's disheartening going to many different tracks and seeing very low turn outs, and that's EVERY track... I'm getting to the point where I'm feeling like only going out once a week now, and it's been twice a week for me for two years...