Will onroad return in the north?
 

I can understand why onroad racing has died off. The economy + the cost of onroad. I raced VTA and even though the cost was high I miss all the effort that went into the racing itself. I think offroad has become too "simple" to say. Dose anyone see onroad making a return or is it dead. RC performance track (Madison wi) is a thing of the past and S & N trackside made the change to dirt so I would like to see it return but is it a lost cause :(

I'm not sure what would make on road back, but as soon as the weather is good and my local spots put up the loop, on road is back. On road has some problems that I believe are hard to get around, places to race and expense. When parents come to watch our parking lot races and see the F1 battles and the dads watch VTA cars that they associate with their childhood and then see the speed of 17.5 sedan you can see the excitement build as they walk through the pits. Then they ask you THAT question (how much) and as you explain that on the low end you have about $800 on the table (and you know you have at least $1400) you wave goodbye knowing he wont be seen again. IMHO the saviors of on road are playing in the dirt now. After someone gets that Slash and starts racing for $200, they soon get the batteries, chargers and all thats needed to race because RC cars and racing them was the lure. Once the price was reasonable they hopped in. After the initial investment in equipment I believe its easier to give on road a try. At my local track, we have a lot of dirt divers coming over to onroad this summer to give it a try because they have made the initial investment and we have the best permanent on road facility in the world (IMHO). Both problems were minimised and the turnout hopefully reflects that. I race off road in the winter but make no doubt about it I am a on road guy. I think when some of our on road guys raced off road this winter it made off road guys want to see how they would do against the same guys in a different discipline, but my home track gives us that luxury. We're looking forward to a great year of racing and I hope it's a sign of on road coming back. If not, I am sure that those who race on road will be there, they always are and not many options are available for us now.

It's weird to watch the EOS videos and see how off-road seems like an afterthought in Europe. It just seems like in this country prefers simplicity. And that's not to say off-road is simple, I think it's every bit as complicated as you get better, it's just not as apparent when you're getting started.

Yeah, but in Europe they realize F1 and DTM are real racing! I think I saw an article on line that asked if Jimmie Johnson was the greatest driver ever. If he is, I don't think the greatest driver ever could take the Red Bull RB7 and qualify mid pack @ Malaysia next week(IHMO).

I think the entry cost for on-road is the main factor. Until that can be reigned in then off-road will almost always have the upper hand due to that alone.

I think that for on-road to get any real growth I'm thinkin' a 2wd class would help, sure they wouldn't handle as well but the initial cost would be slightly less and less moving parts means less consumables wearing out. Also,consolidating the myriad of 1/10 4wd classes there seems to be. Just from my observations there are so many different classes that are slightly different but almost equal in cost I think that fractures the field a bit.

I've also noticed a much more frequent turnover in technology when compared to off-road (1/10 scale anyway). Having to buy a new chassis every two seasons isn't cheap either.

Plus, it's easier for a parent to get their kids involved with off-road. I know when my daughter gets old enough to start driving an r/c (and she wants to do it) I'd feel much better letting her pile-drive a $200 Slash than a decent race machine that costs some serious bank.

Keep in mind these are outside observations from an off-road guy who has always had an interest in the on-road side but who can't take the plunge due to availability of a track nearby and cost. :)

Anybody that has been around RC for any length of time knows the hobby goes through an "in thing" cycle. 3-4 years ago onroad was on top, but then migrated to 1/8th off road and is now going towards short course. A couple years from now it will be something different. Some areas will see this effect more then others but eventually it will all change again. Onroad will never completely go away and offroad will never go anywhere either. Tracks just may have to adjust to what's popular at the moment if they want to survive though... Just the way it is, and probably always will be.

I'm kinda crunk, so don't hold this against me... but what would it take to make a SCT-based on-road car? A new body for sure. Something to keep the chassis from rolling too much. Otherwise? Maybe some tire options for different levels of traction. Maybe some dots for little obstacles on on-road tracks. Otherwise? Am I nuts?

The number one thing new drivers at our track complain about is on road durability. I know to a seasoned racer a c-hub & a-arm is nothing. But to new RC addicts it's a big deal. We Lost several this year to that very issue. Then, since they had the esc, batteries, etc they made the move to SC off road at our track. We attract a lot of new racers, and this pattern just repeats itself. Fortunately VTA has helped, but the ones that want speed go to 17.5 and it's like signing a death certificate. They want "instant potatoes" driving skills for that class and it just doesn't happen.

the onroad manufacturers need to build more rtr kits . every one of them should have a rtr VTA car available . i am talking about walking into a store and coming out with a car that you can race that afternoon . offroad has lots of vehicles like this available for lots of classes ... onroad has ...?

bingo :nod: i dont understand why hpi has VTA looking cars with the tires and the bodies, but they put some stupid fast motor and crap esc in the car. pretty much makes it unable to race.

We gotta talk to Traxxas about that:nod:

Double bingo:nod:
At the local track I want to race at this summer the guy that runs the HS told me a guy bought a HPI flux from him two weeks ago and tried it on his track then left with a bag of full of parts.... Not because he bought more, but because he wadded it up on the back stretch because he couldn't control it.

I doubt this guy will be back to race even though he to told the owner he wanted to, that was before he wadded the car up of coarse.
Lynn

Same thing happened at our track, except it was the club president that vaporized his car first time out in his first round. We haven't seen him back since.

The biggest problem I see and have seen is what was said above. If they race dirt and are driving fast vehicals there they want and think they can do the same thing in onroad. When what they should be doing is turning the boost off and not worry about timing as much as just being able to drive the car around the track without breaking it. The big thing everyone seems to forget is slow is fast and it is a legitimate comment. Go slower get used to how the car handles and drives and learn the layout. After you can do consecutive laps with out breaking anything or can finish a race with nothing broken then worry about going faster. I have proved to many at our local track that the onroad will help their offroad as well and they now get it. I started out running dirt then found onroad and loved it more then dirt. I would do the same thing in that I would race dirt over the winter and onroad in the summer. Others would race dirt all year round and would wonder why since I was not racing dirt I could come back and still beat them or hang with them. They were not getting corner speed and it applys to dirt too.

Onroad is and always will be expensive no matter how you look at it. It really depends on how good you get and how much you want get out of it. Bottom line on any of it is you should be having fun with whatever you do.

I still have trouble understanding the arguments that on road HAS to be expensive. With VTA and USGT available , that statement just doesn't hold water when you're making a comparison to off road. Granted, a new high end touring car is expensive compared to a new Slash but thats not a fair comparison. Lets compare a new Cyclone S, Sakura S or even a TA05 and then the difference isn't so great. Electronics are the same so that shouldn't be in the mix.
And if you're one of those people who are telling an interested spectator that your 800 or a 1000 dollar car is the norm....then the problem is YOU !! There are far better ways to explain costs and the first way is to NOT tell someone that what you have is the norm. Personally I have a used 150 dollar car with VTA electronics (104 bucks) and a used M8 with 2.4ghz. My total is more like 400 to 500 and I'm more than competitive. A new Tactic 2.4 radio is less than 100 bucks so, if anything, the costs are going down a bit on some of the previously more expensive items.
THAT is what you should be telling newbies.