What's the SCTE of on-road cars?
 

By that I mean, if you are starting from scratch the SCTE is a pretty sweet setup. Out of the box the SCTE performs very well, is durable (after several releases), parts are available, and it is easy to work on. I personally don't have an SCTE b/c I run a highly modified lcg slash 4x4. But when someone asks me which 4x4 sc to get I always end up telling them the SCTE. I don't want a sc10 4x4 on-road type car either that is only cool b/c it's different but otherwise is a pita to work on and doesn't even perform that well for all the effort.

My track is starting up on-road again. They have both oval and TC. They said they are trying to start up a mini class as well. So give me your opinions.

Associated TC6

I noticed the Tamiya mini thread seem to be one of the most popular in here, just like the SCTE thread. Is that a good option?

Tamiya Mini is probably the most accessible class in terms of cost. They are relatively cheap to buy, very easy to build, and come with a usable, cheap motor in the box (we spec a different "labelled" silvercan locally). They look good too.

I'm a Tamiya mini racer as well. If your club has that class, go for it. It's the funnest racing there is.

Now that sounds more like SC racing; it's the drivers having fun while racing. Is the mini durable, easy to drive, and easy to work on? I see it's fwd, does that make it easier are harder than a 4wd car?

I'd say the mini is durable, it is not difficult to drive but needs a little finesse to get the most out of it, they are mechnically simple although some jobs take quite a lot of time to do because of the way the car is designed.

They are definitely a lot of fun.

Is the mini sort of where the traxxas slash 2wd was when it first came out? For example when it first came out it was very popular. Once AE and losi came out w/ a SC we all became aware of just how poor the slash handles. So is tamiya the only mini out there? Is the handling on par or even close to other onroad cars?

Tamiya have been making Mini's for over 15 years... the latest M-05 is not that different from the M-03 which came out in 1997-ish. This platform has staying power.

If you keep the class all-Tamiya, then it stays very even. There are a handful of other mini's available, all of which are faster than the Tamiya. But if you start an open Mini class it quickly becomes just as expensive as touring cars.

We have a class called Mini Formula at the CWIC series local to me. It has 20+ entrants per round which is probably the highest of any Mini class in the UK. The rules are M-03 and M-05 chassis only (no rear wheel drives), a handout HPI Saturn 20 brushed motor and Sweep pre-mounted tyres. The cars are very closely matched and the racing is great fun.

if they are going to race fwd mini's then get the tamiya, mo5 or m03 doesn't matter.
they are tougher then just about any other car i can think of right now.

check out rc-mini.net for great tamiya mini advice and setups.
box stock is very good, there's not a lot you can do to it, which is good....keeps the racing cheap.

Thanks, I might just have to pick one of these up just to take to the track the next time I'm there.

If your track's onroad program is just starting and you are just starting out and are going to be investing in a new chassis, spares, peripherals, etc... you may want to wait a month or two and see what classes have decent entries.

Without seeing results/class listing/entry lists from your track, my initial opinion would be to stick with a touring car....