New To 1/12th.
 

I've been hopelessly devoted to RC since the early 80's.
I've had almost every RC vehicle genre that has been produced-except onroad cars.
Well I'm all growed up and ready for some real racing action in the form of a precision piece of remotely controlled mastery that is the 1/12 pan car.

I have an idea for my first car, but would like some input from experienced 1/12 scalers.

1st-What kit to start of with?
2nd-Electronics recommendations?
3rd-How to get started in racing these machines.

Take your time gentleman, I'm an information sponge.

Thanks for your time in advance.

I am also new to 1/12th, but tried to learn from several threads.

There're thousands of pages, which contains useful information.

1/12 Forum
http://www.rctech.net/forum/electric...-12-forum.html

1/12 Tires for Asphalt
http://www.rctech.net/forum/electric...s-asphalt.html

1/12 Tamiya RM-01
http://www.rctech.net/forum/electric...ng-master.html

Thanks Claw.
Yeah I've browsed almost every forum, video and website I can find.
Have you chosen a car?

Pretty much all the information you seek can be found here:

http://www.rctech.net/forum/californ...ll-so-cal.html

As for what car to get...These days pretty much all 1/12th scale kits are quality and can do well. Look at what design you like best and what is supported at your local track. If you are ok with mail ordering all your spare parts then pick which design tickles your fancy. If you want the ease of getting replacement parts trackside get something that the local track's hobby shop carries.

Not yet. I am still considering my options.

The available kit at the nearby LHS consists of :
Kyosho Plazma LM
Tamiya RM-01
Yokomo R12C


Kyosho and Yokomo are the better kits compared to Tamiya. However, if I choose Tamiya, then I could participate in TCS Race too.

The Kyosho Plasma LM has a longer wheelbase to accommodate the Le Mans looking bodes. It's not a chassis you would not necessarily race with other 1/12 scale chassis'.

If your local shop can order in Kyosho products, you can ask them to order in a Plasma Ra which is a true 1/12th scale.

@Edward2003

Oh I see. Thanks for your info :)

Btw, I asked you several questions in the 1/12 scale's thread :D

Whatever car you choose, make sure you can get parts for it. If you're in the USA, consider domestic models like AE, CRC, Speedmerchant, or something else readily available.

Have fun. Welcome to real racing!

All great suggestions by everyone so far.

One of my personal favorites is Mark Payne's 12th scale blog. He hasn't updated it in a while, but an article like this one on how to tweak a car is still relevant. Check it out and click through some of his other stuff for more info. :nod:

One of the great things about 12th scale is that almost all of the currently available chassis, properly built and setup, can be competitive.

Good luck and welcome !

Thanks you guys for chiming in.

So what I've read then is true...most cars are competitive. It's the setup, the driver, and then the setup that makes the difference.

I was thinking an XTI(I want the narrower chassis with the inline or transverse option) , Novak sc and motor, Spektrum radio, sanwa servo, procuts and a R8 body.

Ya dig???

I would ditch the novak and spektrum. Go with either Hobbywing or ORCA esc and an ORCA or Trinity Killshot motor. This way you at least have a shot of being competitive! Airtronics (Sanwa) has the MT-4 radio which is pretty excellent for $200. I have heard Spektrum is not great for onroad, especially 12th.

If you are running outdoors on asphalt, consider the CRC, it seems to have a much wider setup window on that surface than the AE or Serpent does. About the only thing i do not like about it is that it is screwed in imperial rather than metric. But if your in the USA that should not matter too much.

With setup, tyres are the most important thing here, and are 90% of your overall setup. The rest are just small changed to geometry and springs. Pretty much juust go out there and have fun. 12th is the most fun class of racing there is.

PROMOD, I was hoping to buy American when it came to my speed control and motors-I don't see too many people running Novak in 12th-is that a sign?
The GTB3 seems to be a good sc.
Anybody used one?
LRP Flow was my other consideration.

And motors? Novak Vulcan? LRP? Trinity? Orion? Reedy?

The Xti is either in-line or transverse. The stock Xti with the transverse chassis doesn't fit the battery in-line. The chassis is shorter and the rear pod plate is longer than the stock in-line version of the Xti. You'll need a few parts to be able to go between both setups. I have the in-line Xti and my friend has the Altered Ego and we run on asphalt. Both handle the track very well and are fast.

If you want to buy American for an ESC...get a Tekin. You will need to run a booster or a RX pack but it is a good ESC. Personally though I run an Orca now and it's great!

Hobbywing v3.1 1s is pretty much what is running at our local track because it doesnt need booster or rx pack. On top of that, it doesnt need external capacitor also save lot of space and wiring not to mention the use of programming card make setting up esc so much simpler than blinking light indicator.

If you are getting xti, I have one with the airtronics srg-hr servo that I ran only a few time that I want to let go for cheap because getting part for crc is too painful in Taiwan. Let me if you are interested