trilerian

iTrader: (50)

So... I came back to RC racing last year. Having not raced in 5+ years, I decided to get an Xray T4 18, of course this was after running a TC7.2 for a few months. The Xray has one guy at my track that is very knowledgeable about setup, and extremely helpful with parts support. He is good with other car setup too, but doesn't stock the other brands. But this year, I want to see what I am leaving on the table by driving a standard style TC. Generally speaking, I need a chassis to help me get 2 tenths on an 8 second lap. This is generally how much faster the fast guys are than me. So that has me looking at the Gizmo Genesis and the Awesomatix a800xah. For the Gizmo, I have a team driver at the track to help with setup and parts. For the Awesomatix, yeah, nobody at the track has one, and no parts support. I know that setup is super important to a fast car. And I also know that I am horrible at setup, but I at least feel I should be able to get those miracle laps that are as fast as the fast guys, but no... Is there something in the other chassis that may help, or am I chasing something that doesn't exist? Regardless, if others have driven all three, can I get some feedback on handling differences between the cars. I know there are threads on them, but it is difficult to sift through them. We race 21.5 stock btw, small technical track.

DavidNERODease

Based on your specific situation the Gizmo Genesis sounds like your best chance. Support is huge and I bet the Gizmo team guy would make sure it's not the car that is costing you time.

tbrymer

iTrader: (10)

I'd have one of the fast guys drive your car and see if they are faster than you are with it. I would also suggest that if you aren't very good with setup, you probably don't want to get an awesomatix. It could just be your ability isn't as good as those that are faster than you. Not being mean, I know there are guys faster than me no matter what car I drive

RKeasler

iTrader: (5)

I think I understand his question though, I have the same one, given the "best" setup on each car for the my driving style and equal conditons will the non-conventional cars be faster for me ?

trilerian

iTrader: (50)

I have had the fast guys try and drive my cars before. Generally they can't get the car to go any faster than I do, as in fast lap time. I am not looking for a chassis to make me more consistent, I am looking for something I can put in the corner hard and get on it quick again without scrubbing too much speed.

trilerian

iTrader: (50)

that was a great way to put it, thanks.

CristianTabush

iTrader: (13)

Biased guy giving non-biased answer here.

I think on lower, club race and regional race bite, all cars are more evenly matched, so it really is a matter of what you are looking for.

The Awesomatix is the gold standard on black carpet right now. It may very well be the best "big race" car there is. Until we can prove it with our Gizmo or any of the other brands for that matter, when it comes to big grip, spec classes, Awesomatix is the quickest. (I'd like to think that we are working on closing that gap though :P )

Now, the better question is, what is your level of commitment to the hobby and what is your mechanical and set-up skill level?

If you want durability, a million set ups and not have to worry about putting your car on set up blocks every 3rd run, then XRAY is your choice.

Now here is the pitch from a "Gizmo guy:" If you race in Indiana, your local team guy is likely Zac Donathen. You won't find a more helpful and friendly guy that has a direct line of communication with myself and other team guys. Both you and him can benefit from running the same platform together. It's a people vs brand argument in this case. And for once, in this situation I can sell you on support, (which is not typical!) On a car level, our platform is probably a little less complicated than an A800 and should have similar performance, but still a little more work than an xray.

rccartips

iTrader: (3)

What electronics are you using (radio/servo/esc)? Electronics (steering response) plays a big part in laptimes.

Dan Hamann

iTrader: (27)

Spend your money on practice time to learn more about setup. If you're self professing an inability to setup cars well, changing chassis manufacturers likely won't net much.

JayL

21.5 stock , unless you are already all out you could get two tenths with charging/discharging, or battery or motor or tires

RKeasler

iTrader: (5)

Once again though all things equal it seems the Amx is faster is it or not....all the good advice is not answering the question

tbrymer

iTrader: (10)

I can only say that everyone I know that switched to Awesomatix has lowered their lap times, but it does take a lot of wrenching. I think the Gizmo could be a could stepping stone to get more speed and still have just slightly more wrenching skill compared to a conventional car. Like others have stated, tires play a big part on most tracks, and in stock you obviously have the battery, motor, timing, gearing, etc., that can play a large part.

jlfx car audio

iTrader: (37)

Honnestly to me a Cmain driver in SS . the guys in the A are all running very simular lap times no matter what car they arw running ... But ..... The ability to do it 99.9% of the time is greatly improved with the AMX car ... The car is just more consistent corner to corner when the set up is within the large window they can operate in ...
The amx car probably has the largest setup window of any car and can be tuned in much smaller incriments than most other cars ... But there are enough top teer drivers running a AMX car that post there setups on line ... I was a coppier of setups running xray I followed EA's every change on our cars and really only know the basics of setup ... We was the first to get the AMX at our track and it was night and day better (in 16) so bought 4 more and just learned how to set it up ... With throwing around ideas with others ...
You want to go strait ... It goes strait like bullet strait
You want to turn it turns how ever much you want it too ...
That my opinion on the car ... Also
In the beginning of my experiece with this car ... I wouldn't consider it durable ... But after running the car for 3yrs ... Yea it is ... It dont break anyways ...
But if you slap or hit a wall you need to just pull it and put it on setup gauges ... With 12 turnbuckles on it ... I can promise one moved /shifted /or bent so reset your corners and go again

thecaptain

iTrader: (177)

As one of his local racers I can safely say that electronics are not his downfall. Also we all run jacos blue, its a matter of driver/set up/ set up ability. Genesis is pretty amazing... and the set up i have works real well! Although to be fair the xray gentlemans car is working real well also...

RKeasler

iTrader: (5)

So I'll be done hijacking this thread but I'm about to buy my next car this discussion helps, I also know that the same attention to detail needed will help maximize my other cars regardless. Thanks Justin