gigi

hi guys

I'm still new in EP, but a word from a fellow racer from my track really strike me, he said in "order to be competitive in EP, you got to have the best and maybe the latest technology around"!! is it true? Any opinion or experience?

then it comes back to me about the matched battery, do we really need the match pack to be competitive or a champ? can we just race with an unmatched pack and win? does it really makes a different especially in stock class? I'm asking because i dont have a match pack yet

so basically if what he said is true, it comes to this equation:

lots of money = champion

Mabuchi540

Which is why I race 540 stock (or will be anyway) in NZ Johnson 540 motors and 1500mah unmatched stick packs.

Personally I don't think the extra money for that higher capacity pack is worth it the race is still 5 minutes and there's usually no more than 2-3 laps between the best mod and the best stock time anyway.....

with the bonus being it's easier to get the car down to the weight limit.

GundamWZero

iTrader: (4)

Yeah, I hate it too, but that is the way the tire turns.........


oh, I forgot; a crap load of track time to get your driving together!!!!!

414play

ive seen good driver with old gear kick ass,and ive seen drivers with the latest and greatest look like mongs. just get the best gear you can afford and with a bit of practice you might make some of those big dollar boys look silly.

Cole Trickle

Very true.

I'm racing at casual club level, stock class. Lot's of my stuff is from the previous millenium, but I can beat most and give the rest a quite good competition.

trf racer

to be champion depends.
world champion,national champion,regional champion,club champion.
i won my local car championship but all i got was a trophy and dint have any special equipment.
to do well anywere you need knowledge,driving skill,backup and of course money.
now were we won the championship we run stock motors.
so i had bout 5 stock motors for the whole championship.
at the time we were aloud bearings inside so the best bearings i could find were put in.
but i had to have knowldge of the track ,grip and size.
which i did.
basicly money isnt the only key factor but 1 out of thousands.
everything has to be taken into consideration.
car prep etc.

Lonestar

iTrader: (14)

the real equations are:


local champion => practice and brain, some money

national champion => lotsa skills and lotsa money

world champ => insane skills and not that much money (sponsors pay for you)

But the most important is:
Fun = cheap (think mini-z or Tamiya TL01)

As someone else previously said, with a normal brain, a carefully maintained car and some practice, you can seriously humiliate dummies who own the latest and greatest (expensive) equipment. At a certain stage, you will want to go faster, and then money becomes part of the equation... no doubt about that. However, for the past three or four years, the rythm of improvement has somewhat slowed down... you can still be 100% competitive with a TC3, a CycloneTC, and a Reedy Ti...

A word about matched packs: not only are they considerably faster, they also last a LOT longer (not runtime, lifetime...)... All cells peak at the same time, so there's no weak link that gets overstressed. Better buy one low-number matched pack that two P.o.s stick packs... The extra capacity is bonus.

Above all, enjoy the hobby!

Later,
Paul

Mabuchi540

"Better buy one low-number matched pack that two P.o.s stick packs... The extra capacity is bonus."

Above all, enjoy the hobby!

Later,
Paul [/B][/QUOTE]

Unless of course the rules forbid anything else.

Cole Trickle

Very well spoken, Lonestar.

Cole Trickle

Unless of course the rules forbid anything else.
[/B][/QUOTE]

The rules forbid the joy ?

Mabuchi540

The rules forbid the joy ? [/B][/QUOTE]

Take a look what it's like here in NZ lol.

http://www.nzrca.co.nz/rules/NZRCA_E..._2003_2004.pdf

Lonestar

iTrader: (14)

well, the rules are the rules, of course

Qwiglee

It is a mixture of gear and practice that makes you good.

I started a year and a half ago with an HPI Pro 3 with a mid-level esc, monster stock motor and the lowest matched 3300 bats I could buy, cheap charger plus a mid level radio and the low quality servo that came with the radio. I was racing in novice class at my local club then moved into the bottom of the sportsman class. (I could keep up but usually finished low or crashed out)

Then I bought an Xray evo2 on Ebay with a quantum comp esc, better matched batts, high speed servo, Pulsar charger and M8 radio. With this gear I was able to move up to compete for the win in sportsman class.

Recently I bought the Xray T1 FK with quantum2 esc and also started tuning my motors. Those 2 important things helped me move up to the expert class at my local club track.

It would seem like the gear is what made me better but it was only part of it. All this time I have been getting lots of practice and learning new things every week. I have a year and a half worth of experience more than I did when I started in the novice class. Having good gear helps a lot but it will still come down to how good a driver you are. If I gave my car and all my gear to a rookie he wouldn't be able to compete in the expert class just because he has the best stuff.

Speedyjay

iTrader: (1)

I guess its mostly a point of view when you say money....

I got back into RC recently when I got sick of paying through the nose racing full size cars. I sometimes snicker about people that say this sport (not a hobby) costs $$$
Think you cry when you burn up that new hot 70$ modified Armature?? Try Grenading a piston on a motor you just spent a grand and a week rebuilding.

I just was tired of making decent money for my age, and having a garage full of scrap tires (full size) and using burnt 300$ pistons as coffee table ash trays. Now I and my girl are much much happier.

Like any other form of racing their are ways around cost, but that's where dedication and motivation come in. You have to learn as much as possible to eek out every performance potential for what you have, then be motivatied enough to never quit and keep putting your car on the track. In the end its not about what the other person has in their pit, its what is going on in your head.

I have friends that shovel thousands into boats and motorcycles, and seeing thier credit card bills make me smile about my measily 1-2k$ R/C setup that I take out every weekend

Solara

iTrader: (17)

I have to say YES, money = champion............however, for local ppl or regular (NONE team sponcered or sponcered by LHS racer)........that is NOT the case, money is not = champion.

Just understand this........when the top 10 racers of the world racing in the A-main...money is technology is EVERYTHING....because we know the SKILL of that top 10 racers are very much the same, it is skills, and it is LUCK as well, but if 1 of the racer using the last year model of ESC or Pro-match batteries, that very very little outdated technology will cause them the championship, and for the MFR, that is just a too stupid mistake to NOT let their driver has the BEST...

But if you are asking "do I need the TOP NOTCH equipment to be the fastest guy at my local track..?" the answer is NO...

A very simple example:

Lets say your friend and yourself are running the same spec of EP (same car, same motor, same esc, same servo, same upgrades....same everything) and BOTH of you guys have the same skill level..................except he is using a PRO-Match batteries compared to your regular 3300.....and he is ALWAYS the A1 and you are always the A2 no matter how hard you tried...

Then, you will asked yourself...........does his PRO-MATCHED batteries is the KEY why he beated you?

Just ask yourself that question IF that really happen on you....

About me, I just raced my first ever EP racing (I am all nitro in my life) with a used PRO4, used 10x3 and some 1.5 years old pro matched 3300...........and I ended up at A4 A3 position, not to mention, I was using some 54mm lefted over Nitro foam tires on my PRO 4 cause I was too cheap to open up a new set of foams for soemthing that I am not good at.......

Money is not everything, but when you get to the point that you required the best from the market, then MONEY is everything.