tallyrc

iTrader: (12)

man i wish those tamiya F103gt's were more popular, i'd be all over it..

jiml

iTrader: (3)

Bullfrog, not fiberglass but remember the molded chassis the sedans started with? The TC3 had one, and then they made a carbon reinforced one. A class for TC's with a molded chassis not carbon reinforced is what I'm thinking of. The flat graphite chassis is lighter and stiffer than the molded chassis, but it is also much more expensive. This would be one way of reducing the cost of a TC.

jiml

iTrader: (3)

Desolas, if you don't want to move up you don't have to, but if you're looking to improve yourself or show potential sponsors how good you are wouldn't you rather race in the faster class with the better drivers?

Let's flip this, you have the best motor, best batteries, and best car, and you're a very good driver. You race in a class with cars half as expensive as yours and okay drivers. You TQ and win the A by 2 laps.

What have you really proven?

And, what about the 3 new guys who came out to race, took one look at your stuff and said forget this I can never compete with this guy.

Elboogie

iTrader: (-1)

I agree with slowing down the motors, and I don't agree with slowing down the motors.

I look at it this way and I am a experienced racer. I have run modified in the past when I wasn't experienced, because back then I wanted to get sponsored etc etc. But even back then as a inexperienced racer I had to make a choice and a choice was out there. Do I run a 10 turn double and be able to control my car, or do I go out there being unexperienced, and grab a 7 turn single and risk breaking my car because I can't control the speed?

I believe that new racers these days have a choice as well. Instead of getting a modified motor, do it gradually. go stock, get experience, then go 19 turn and get more experience. When you think that you can handle modifieds, get a mod. I think that this is a simple choice.

Imaging you going out and buying a ferrari. If you have never drove the car, you are not going to get on the highway and puchh 150 right away (some people that is . ) Where the issue comes in is when you get a inesxperienced racer and the only thing that they want to do is go fast and go out and get a mod motor and tear their car up and not step up gradually. Now there are some racers that started off in mod and never looked back but that is rare.

I think that racers need to make a wise judgement on how they progress, not to go to the track and just because everyone else is ripping with a 7 turn single means that you have to do the same.

Take a look at this years IIC entry forms. Stock was probably the fastest class that sold out. Why? Because many people can control the car and the competition is there.

I dont' disagree with you but I just think that inexperienced racers should make smarter choices on how they progress.

Just my 2 cents.

GCracker

iTrader: (6)

I just picked a recoil from my LHS and I have to say that it would make a great chasis for a newbie class. RTR only comes with 380 can 1/14th scale with a limited amount of hopups, bearings, springs etc total cost $170 for the kit and 35 in hopups not a bad deal for what could be a decent stocker class???

Desolas

iTrader: (2)

If you're looking to become a professional driver and get sponsorships, sure, I see the point in "moving through the ranks." But there are a lot of people who just want to race cars because it's fun. They don't travel to races. They want to get together once a week, have a good time, and race some cars. What about the places where you have 10, 20 guys who all race stock consistently. They all run newer cars, they all have the batteries and the motors .... they should move up and out of stock because there aren't enough drivers to form a novice class? So they move up and out to something else...now you have a novice class with 4 people racing. Not exactly fun for the new guy with that scenario either.

Speaking of which .. what ever happened to Novice, or Sportsman? Why did Open Stock become the novice class? When I started racing as a kid, 20 years ago, the new kids ran novice. Once you learned what was going on, you ran stock.

Isn't it possible to enjoy racing R/C cars and not be on some holy quest to get sponsorship? What ever happened to that?

ASCI_Blue

iTrader: (1)

One thing that's happened at my local track (I found this out recently and spaced on it till reading some of the stuff here) is one gent, who's a genuinely good guy who's still in the 'novice' class but packing a tricked out Xray and a decently kitted TC4. He's managed to stay in Novice due to not getting just enough points to advance to another class.

That being said there's only 3 or 4 people in novice class and we're all running 19 turn motors. I'm one of those 3 or 4.

One of the bad things about my local track is lack of open practice days. The group here is so small and the track is in a different room in the mall it costs ~$50 just to turn the lights on which is having 5 people at $10/head there to drive. When I lived in NY the tracks were open all the time as they were in the hobby shop. 7 days a week one could go drive, practice mon - fri and races were generally sat/sun.

I even got a surprise today those carisma cars are a pretty hot deal, too bad they're 1/14 rather than 1/18 or something. I bet those at the LHS would be hot sellers.

tallyrc

iTrader: (12)

the idae of simply having a novice class does not necessarily work, especially at the vast majority of small club tracks that barely have enough to field 1 class.. remember, novices improve and do move up, so you will need a steady influx of newbies.. this of coarse is the problem, getting folks out in the first place.. honestly, the first thing we ALL need to do right now is ENCOURAGE new guys to give it a try. tell them it's ok to "be in the way" (and it is, we've all been there) rather than yell at them for wrecking us, help them get better..

jiml

iTrader: (3)

First of all, it's never been called open stock. It's just stock. And 20 years ago when I stared racing there was a class for beginners. It was called stock.

As you point out, every track is different. Some clubs only had stock, while the club I stared with had stock, modified, and pro.

A cost effective class is something for tracks and clubs to try. It may not work everywhere, but it may be just the thing for some.

And why is there this huge resistance to run 19 turn? I can see why you wouldn't want to run mod (too hard on equipment) but 19 turn is not that much faster than stock.

At my local track (South Shore Hobby) after years of trying we finally got all the good TC drivers to run 19 turn. For a while there was only a 19 turn class. But then a handful of new kids came in and got involved with racing. 19 turn was too fast for them, so they asked if they could run stock. By the end of last season there were 2 distinct classes in TC, 19 turn for the experienced racers, and now a new stock class for the newcomers. In all ther are now 8 new racers!

Yea it's fine for 20 guys to get together and have fun racing cars, but unless you do something different it will always be the same 20 guys. You won't see any growth.

RCSteve93

iTrader: (11)

My local track has plans to do the same for TC. Send the fast guys up to 19T and keep the newer people that can't keep up in stock. We are keeping 1/12th scale one class though.

gndprx

iTrader: (18)

Step 1 is to get them exposed...step 2 is to show them an inexpensive startup and introduce them to racers who will help them ease into it...after that it's self sustaining

We have several ways to take $$ out of the equation at our track.

I have helped to start a 1/18 scale off-road and brought back Legends racing to the oval. These two classes allow us to have any novice jump in next to the experienced racers and become competitive with a limited amount of practice. For less than $200 for a new RTR 1/18 or a Legends with new spec motor and battery and a budget remote...you can be on the track running. Most of our club racers are happy to offer one of their available chargers between heats, but when they have enough for their own charger you can generally find a good used one for about $50 or pop the $120 for the ICE for the only charger they are likely to need for a long time.

We also have a 4-cell Nastruck class on our oval which is any pan car chassis in any configuraiton you want, however there is an 8 second breakout. So no matter how much money you throw into motor, batteries, tires, etc...you still can't go faster than 8 seconds or the lap doesn't count. This keeps the cost lower and helps build driver skill and consistency. This also makes for some of the best racing and has brought more spectators into the sport than any other class we have. Myself included...I was an off-road guy and bought a pan car because it just looked like so much fun...I now prefer oval to off-road.

vtl1180ny

Really??? All 3 of them???

UN4RACING

iTrader: (22)

THE BASHER IS:?
The free spirited racer. Bound buy no rules. The street is there track.
AND USUALLY KNOWN BETTER AS THE X-RACER.

Safety is the only guide line to bashing.

Rules are great to race by. But they tend to get in the way of the free spirit of the hobby. I believe hobby first, racing second is the best approach for the clubs.
The run what you brung class is the answer. I think.

So many times I go to the track and its as if its the grand national championship. On a Tuesday night. Speck this speck that. geez.

Personally fast has been good for the hobby. Right.

So if the racing of the hobby is to be good, I don't think slow is the answer.?
Of coarse opinions are like A-holes Right.?

Stock racing has all but taken over what used to be mod racing.
In the clubs mod is pretty much the WICKED WIZARD OF RACING.
So wheres the new racers.?
I know the old ones are either done with the cost of keeping up, or bashing.

I think the rules are the #1 reason for the loss of racers. And the competition is to much for the new guy to have any fun, so off to the parking lot they go.
To bring a new racer into sedan racing is a tuffy most start out in the dirt. Or bashing.

Cost is not the biggest problem to some one with an addiction.

Its a problem if urging some one to race.

If the enthusiasm is not there or kept alive, even if the kits cost 10.00 you will not have new racers.
I feel for the Clubs......... Cater to the committed, or promote for the new.

Any HOOT.!

GO FAST AND TRY NOT TO CRASH.!..........

tomkelley

I would care to watch a show about the future of Ford!

Although there have been alot of good rc race shows on you tube. I think getting racing organized and out there in front of more people is the way to go. Also the simplicity of pan cars/ or the fun of F1 cars are great for beginners. My first onroad car was a F1, maybe we should be thinking about fun and simple classes to maintain for beginners to race in.

ruinn

Check it out, onroad is the only part of RC that is really dying. It used to be the hottest thing but we chopped it up too many ways, tring to take every dollar you have in your pocket. After a while there was no one to race in your class. Racing is no fun alone. When everything was rubber you had 2-3 classes Novice-stock-mod and enough people to fill them, now you could put everyone at your track in one class and it still wouldn't be as many people as we use to have in each of the three classes 8 years ago.

So with less people racing what do we do?
Double the classes.
BRILlIANT!
Local tracks and roar events there should be spec everything for stock. Oh and KILL foam tires they are a major part of what is killing onroad.

When everything was rubber onroad rocked.