Mike Truhe comments on brushless electric 1/8 scale racing..
 

(Mike Truhe drives 1/8 scale nitro for Team Losi)

From pp 140 of the February 2009 issue of "Radio Control Car Action"

A couple preliminary questions and answers, then.....

Quote:

RCCA: Switching gears.. now that Losi offers a brushless 8IGHT-E, will you and the Drake race and promote it?

MT: I am sure if there are opportunities to race, we will. Its definitely interesting. We helped with testing, and we will probably run it if classes are offered. I think its good to have a car out of the box that's meant for electric power. Its exactly how it should be for an electric car.

RCCA: Do you think electric-powered buggy are the future?

MT: I think they are part of the future, but I don't think they will take over. The gas engines, the noise, the length of the races and the pit strategies are all part of nitro racing. I don't think you'll get that from electric. I can see 1/8 scale electric taking over 1/10 scale electric but not gas.

RCCA: If 1/8 scale goes electric, what do you think the racing format should be like?

MT: It all depends on the batteries. Who knows what they will do? Maybe they will Maybe they will have pit stops and battery changes. Right now, it would be too hard on the electronics to go for that long. Maybe we can race 15- or 20- minute mains with the technology we have now.

End quote.

The interview continues with general racing questions and answers....


Keeping in mind in a few years we will be able to plunk down around 50K and buy a Chevy Volt that will have a battery power range of around 40 miles (assuming they're still in business in a couple years)..

I still predict an all-electric NASCAR exhibition race at MIS within a few years.....

Can we consider this an open invitation to Mr Truhe to visit Pheasant Run this coming summer?

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it will not overtake 1/10 electric. the world is gettin smaller and most facilities (especially those on grounds of a hobby shop) dont have the room for big 1/8 stuff. need i say 1/18 scale and its growing popularity. he's right bout the aspects of nitro vs electric. roar says 10min, just go with it.

i will say the 2 E8 bugs that were mixin it with the nitros at the local indoor (yes indoor nitro) track sunday scared the crap outta me. flyin over ur head with ease and a short run up, making a triple out of the big double and the speedbump b4 the uTurn. insane stuff--moreso when u see them lift or hit the power late b/c they can easily overjump the entire turn and end up in next lane over or even into the warehouse wall!

granted, they also smell real bad when they burn up now heh

R

They sure do fly.

Seeing them run on our smaller tight indoor track seems to me it just puts more pressure on the drivers for skills, running fast in tight places.

Then outdoor, they can stretch their legs and run (and fly).

It wont and isnt meant to take over anything. It is just another option. Now electric drivers have a chance to run on larger tracks. 10th scale is a whole other world...

Electric 1/8 is going to really help the hobby grow. Many folks don't like that 1/10s are so fragile, but are put off by the noise and mess/tuning of nitro 1/8. Electric 1/8 is the sole reason I got into this hobby. Best of both worlds.

I predict that we will see larger indoor facilities opening to cater to electric 1/8. I also think more nitro guys than folks believe are going to switch, especially at the club level. It isn't going to happen overnight, but it is happening fast.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that in five to seven years, nitro will be relegated to a niche part of the hobby. The technology of electric is just moving too fast to stop this train.

As time goes by and property getting hard to come by we will see more electric racing. Noise will be a factor at alot of tracks as more and more houes are built those people will have enough power to complain about noise and eventually chase away nitro tracks.

I have already seen this happen and it will happen more and more as housing and business expands to more rural areas.

10 Minutes!Thats like runing a Nascar race for only 100 miles.Or a supercross main for 5 laps.The technology is there to easily do 20 minutes.1/18th scale is dead on the west coast.(the mecca of the RC industry)

dup

1/8th E Bug will end up only racing at 1/10th Electric events,
because gas will never blend with Li-Po....:nod:

The "part" that still amazes me is how the off road guys just dont get it..In on road they dont run electric with the nitros..you have 2 separate classes..why is this so hard to understand..Electric is faster..spools up quicker, more power on tap..I think as it gains popularity you will see them (track owners) put them into separate classes..I have ran electric for most of my racing career but I prefer nitro nowadays..I enjoy the challenges that nitro racing has..but I will eventually get an electric 1/8 scale buggy..I'm quite sure that as technology improves they will only get faster and be able to get run times over the one hour mark..

Hey Oasis - There are probably some good reasons for the on-road/off-road difference. I don't know about on-road, but most off-road races have an open class. The 1/8 buggy guys can run a .21 or a .28 or whatever. Open is open. There are no limitations on power, so why not electric? I suspect on-road has tighter rules in regard to power.

The main reason electric 1/8 scale guys run with nitros is that there usually isn't enough electrics to make a class on there own. And to help grow the class (and it doesn't hurt you get an extra entry fee) track owners at a variety of tracks have been allowing the electric guys in with the nitros with some limitations. It reminds me in a way like the currently dying classes that get combined in with other similar scales to allow those people a chance to run or the initial truggy designs were ran with MT till enough was established to split them off. In this day and age, makes no sense to turn away entry fees for club level races if rules can be put in place to not allow an advantage as far as point series, etc.

For me out here being the only electric 1/8 in the area during 2008 summer season For club-level events I was allowed to run with 1/8 scales as long as I pitted. I also made it a point to advise the track owners / directors that I was more than willing to not count for points, trophy, etc. and to place me as "last" behind all nitro vehicles so I wasn't taking someone's spot in the mains. This worked well as I got to race at pretty much all the events I attended. And if it was a no go there was no hard feelings.

ultimately us electric guys need to be very accomodating to what the concerns of nitro guys are till there is enough vehicles out there for our own class.

1/8 Electric will actually probably only be run at 1/8 events, not 1/10. The problem is that 1/10 tracks are generally too small. Even though 1/8 is electric, they still tear up a track like a 1/8 nitro. All it takes is for 1/8 to accidentally land on a 1/10 to break it in two. At my local track, they run an electric only practice night which is all 1/10. The times I have shown up, it has been a delicate walk since I can use the 1/10 as speed bumps.

There are certainly some advantages that electric has over nitro. However, until the class is big enough to be separated, we will continue to race with nitros. Most nitro guys don't care. At the end of the day, it comes down to the better driver. No amount of electric power is going to make someone who sucks, not suck. In fact, I believe electric off road takes more skill to drive anyway. It takes quite a bit of finesse to handle the instant torque and acceleration. Nitro is way more forgiving IMHO.

Five years... in five years there will be more electric 1/8s than nitro. Just wait and see.

ELECTRIC KINGDOM!!!!!

BOOM!

BOOM!!

BOOM,BOOM,BOOM!!!

:D

Last event at our track had 14 cars entered in the 1/8 Buggy Class
(for an A & B Main), and a near full class of Truggies....

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