Nitro Down Fall Period Common?
07-07-2011, 01:08 PM
#47
A change can always help,
Even if it's a crawler. LOL. The main thing is to find the right balance between the ammount of time you spend racing/wrenching and what ever else you have or need to do in life. Once you find that balance, all other things will fall into place. At least it has worked that way for me.
For some that balance is hard to see until it's too late and they totally give up on the hobby/racing. That being said, when I was single, I'd eat, sleep, and breathe racing and all that went with it. Was very easy to do when you don't have people counting on you for other things in life. A bit selfish for sure, but when you're single you can be as selfish as you wish. Then again, my wife would probably disagree. LOL
On maintaining the rides. I've scaled back my maint. routines a lot from when I was super serious about racing. Used to be I'd do a full tear down after every race or practice. Break it down to when it was like building the kit for the first time. Rides were always ready, but it took a lot of time and about every month and a half to 2 months I was in need of a new kit. Looked like it was new, but almost all of the plastic parts were about 1 turn of a screw away from being stripped.
I'll still keep the rides clean, but I don't do full tear downs until I need to. I also found the quickest way to clean the rides and not have to spend a lot of time doing so. Right now I'm at about 15-20 minutes total to have my truggy cleaned up after a race or practice. The 1/10th stuff has yet to be cleaned. Mostly just knock off the chunks of clay that might be around and do a quick check of the bearings in the hubs/axles. Probably should be a little cleaner, but that is one benifit of running indoors. Cars stay cleaner.
Even if it's a crawler. LOL. The main thing is to find the right balance between the ammount of time you spend racing/wrenching and what ever else you have or need to do in life. Once you find that balance, all other things will fall into place. At least it has worked that way for me.
For some that balance is hard to see until it's too late and they totally give up on the hobby/racing. That being said, when I was single, I'd eat, sleep, and breathe racing and all that went with it. Was very easy to do when you don't have people counting on you for other things in life. A bit selfish for sure, but when you're single you can be as selfish as you wish. Then again, my wife would probably disagree. LOL
On maintaining the rides. I've scaled back my maint. routines a lot from when I was super serious about racing. Used to be I'd do a full tear down after every race or practice. Break it down to when it was like building the kit for the first time. Rides were always ready, but it took a lot of time and about every month and a half to 2 months I was in need of a new kit. Looked like it was new, but almost all of the plastic parts were about 1 turn of a screw away from being stripped.
I'll still keep the rides clean, but I don't do full tear downs until I need to. I also found the quickest way to clean the rides and not have to spend a lot of time doing so. Right now I'm at about 15-20 minutes total to have my truggy cleaned up after a race or practice. The 1/10th stuff has yet to be cleaned. Mostly just knock off the chunks of clay that might be around and do a quick check of the bearings in the hubs/axles. Probably should be a little cleaner, but that is one benifit of running indoors. Cars stay cleaner.
07-07-2011, 01:31 PM
#48
Tech Master
For some that balance is hard to see until it's too late and they totally give up on the hobby/racing. That being said, when I was single, I'd eat, sleep, and breathe racing and all that went with it. Was very easy to do when you don't have people counting on you for other things in life. A bit selfish for sure, but when you're single you can be as selfish as you wish. Then again, my wife would probably disagree. LOL
Take care of your understanding wives.
maybe take some time off RC and do some family activities? you don't know what you lost until you lose it. balance is key.
07-07-2011, 02:35 PM
#49
Honestly never understood why anyone would be with a person who is not accepting of their hobbies. People get enjoyment from different things and that's something i feel your entitled too! My wife supports the idea of this hobby because she know it makes me happy, same way i support her desire to whatever it is she likes to do.
Obviously everything needs moderation, but if the bills are paid and daily duties are fulfilled...i don't see the problem.
Obviously everything needs moderation, but if the bills are paid and daily duties are fulfilled...i don't see the problem.
07-07-2011, 02:57 PM
#50
Yeah the wife's are another story mine doesn't really complain anymore shes even asking me why I'm not racing or wrenching but shes not complaining when I home on the weekends its actually nice spending more time with the family good change 
07-07-2011, 03:19 PM
#51
Yep, understanding wives are awesome(mine is cool) 
I coach football during the fall and take grad courses. During the summer, I am at the track 4 times a week and race 4 times a month. It is nice to even be out to the track to hang out with the other RC guys when I need a break from the other coaches
Once the season starts, I put away most of my rigs, keeping one for play and I may race once a month at that and practice maybe twice a month. I have enough things going on away from the track, so I am able to keep myself busy! I am fortunate in this area to have so many local tracks (Delta, Norcal, Chico, RC Tech etc etc) within a 50 mile radius that it is great!!
I coach football during the fall and take grad courses. During the summer, I am at the track 4 times a week and race 4 times a month. It is nice to even be out to the track to hang out with the other RC guys when I need a break from the other coaches Once the season starts, I put away most of my rigs, keeping one for play and I may race once a month at that and practice maybe twice a month. I have enough things going on away from the track, so I am able to keep myself busy! I am fortunate in this area to have so many local tracks (Delta, Norcal, Chico, RC Tech etc etc) within a 50 mile radius that it is great!!
07-07-2011, 04:58 PM
#53
A change can always help,
Even if it's a crawler. LOL. The main thing is to find the right balance between the ammount of time you spend racing/wrenching and what ever else you have or need to do in life. Once you find that balance, all other things will fall into place. At least it has worked that way for me.
For some that balance is hard to see until it's too late and they totally give up on the hobby/racing. That being said, when I was single, I'd eat, sleep, and breathe racing and all that went with it. Was very easy to do when you don't have people counting on you for other things in life. A bit selfish for sure, but when you're single you can be as selfish as you wish. Then again, my wife would probably disagree. LOL
On maintaining the rides. I've scaled back my maint. routines a lot from when I was super serious about racing. Used to be I'd do a full tear down after every race or practice. Break it down to when it was like building the kit for the first time. Rides were always ready, but it took a lot of time and about every month and a half to 2 months I was in need of a new kit. Looked like it was new, but almost all of the plastic parts were about 1 turn of a screw away from being stripped.
I'll still keep the rides clean, but I don't do full tear downs until I need to. I also found the quickest way to clean the rides and not have to spend a lot of time doing so. Right now I'm at about 15-20 minutes total to have my truggy cleaned up after a race or practice. The 1/10th stuff has yet to be cleaned. Mostly just knock off the chunks of clay that might be around and do a quick check of the bearings in the hubs/axles. Probably should be a little cleaner, but that is one benifit of running indoors. Cars stay cleaner.
Even if it's a crawler. LOL. The main thing is to find the right balance between the ammount of time you spend racing/wrenching and what ever else you have or need to do in life. Once you find that balance, all other things will fall into place. At least it has worked that way for me.
For some that balance is hard to see until it's too late and they totally give up on the hobby/racing. That being said, when I was single, I'd eat, sleep, and breathe racing and all that went with it. Was very easy to do when you don't have people counting on you for other things in life. A bit selfish for sure, but when you're single you can be as selfish as you wish. Then again, my wife would probably disagree. LOL
On maintaining the rides. I've scaled back my maint. routines a lot from when I was super serious about racing. Used to be I'd do a full tear down after every race or practice. Break it down to when it was like building the kit for the first time. Rides were always ready, but it took a lot of time and about every month and a half to 2 months I was in need of a new kit. Looked like it was new, but almost all of the plastic parts were about 1 turn of a screw away from being stripped.
I'll still keep the rides clean, but I don't do full tear downs until I need to. I also found the quickest way to clean the rides and not have to spend a lot of time doing so. Right now I'm at about 15-20 minutes total to have my truggy cleaned up after a race or practice. The 1/10th stuff has yet to be cleaned. Mostly just knock off the chunks of clay that might be around and do a quick check of the bearings in the hubs/axles. Probably should be a little cleaner, but that is one benifit of running indoors. Cars stay cleaner.
07-07-2011, 10:00 PM
#54
Thanks guys,
It's taken me a long time to find the balance I needed. Tough, some days I'm still not there. At least that's what the wife says. LOL
I'd say she's usually pretty understanding, but has her moments where she gets a little ticked off at the money that gets spent on RC stuff. I have my usual lines of defence, I'm not out at the bar all night, I'm not out chasing women, and I'm not doing drugs (though I do jokingly say that RC is a legalized form of Herion, Costs just as much to do, is just as addictive, but is cirrently legal to do). Those defence lines will usually get me some time from her being ticked off too much, but I do see where she comes from. Never fails when you spend money on something and you'll have to spend almost the exact ammount on something else that more needed. LOL.
It's taken me a long time to find the balance I needed. Tough, some days I'm still not there. At least that's what the wife says. LOL
I'd say she's usually pretty understanding, but has her moments where she gets a little ticked off at the money that gets spent on RC stuff. I have my usual lines of defence, I'm not out at the bar all night, I'm not out chasing women, and I'm not doing drugs (though I do jokingly say that RC is a legalized form of Herion, Costs just as much to do, is just as addictive, but is cirrently legal to do). Those defence lines will usually get me some time from her being ticked off too much, but I do see where she comes from. Never fails when you spend money on something and you'll have to spend almost the exact ammount on something else that more needed. LOL.
07-07-2011, 10:49 PM
#55
heres the good thing if you race is being single nobody to answer to no bitching from the other
07-07-2011, 11:57 PM
#56
That's true TC,
But sometimes life grants you with something that you weren't looking for and can take you in a different direction. With balance, things always work. Not just in RC either, rather life in general.
I did read you posts about going elec. and 1/8th tracks. Elec. 1/8th has it's own set of Pro's and Con's. I can't say for sure that one is better over the other for me. Though I do understand the headaches of tuning a nitro motor. Has taken me a long time to figure most of it out and still learn new things all the time. Each motor is the same yet different. Get carried away with tuning an ESC and you'll find that some of those headaches of tuning are pretty close to nitro.
Also wasn't sure what you referred to with "true" 1/8th tracks? I'm going to guess that you were meaning the general size of the track and all things on it being more for 1/8th racing as opposed to the general track size and features on it that's more geared to 1/10th. I actually prefer running 1/8th on a track that is geared to that scale. I have found that it's not that much harder on the equipment once you figure how to run on it. Sure the size of the layout is bigger and the jumps are bigger, but all the same things you would do with a 1/10th scale on a 1/10th track carry over. Downsiding jump sections helps a ton on the equipment, plus it looks way better to do and is usually faster.
When you run on a 1/10 friendly track with a 1/8th (nitro or Elec.) you tend to over jump a lot of stuff and have a tendencey to land flat in places that you shouldn't. That gets to be pretty tuff on the equipment after a while. Flat landings are one of my biggest pet peeves on layouts. I always prefer a nice flowing layout, but will race on anything that's there. When you do a layout for both 1/10th and 1/8th, it gets to be a very fine balancing act to make the layout work for both scales. Not impossible, but takes a lot of thought to get right and usually some trial and error to tweak the layout to get it to work the best for both. I've always liked tracks that have seperate 1/10th and 1/8th tracks for that very reason, but most places don't have the room for two tracks nor the racers to warrent two tracks.
But sometimes life grants you with something that you weren't looking for and can take you in a different direction. With balance, things always work. Not just in RC either, rather life in general.
I did read you posts about going elec. and 1/8th tracks. Elec. 1/8th has it's own set of Pro's and Con's. I can't say for sure that one is better over the other for me. Though I do understand the headaches of tuning a nitro motor. Has taken me a long time to figure most of it out and still learn new things all the time. Each motor is the same yet different. Get carried away with tuning an ESC and you'll find that some of those headaches of tuning are pretty close to nitro.
Also wasn't sure what you referred to with "true" 1/8th tracks? I'm going to guess that you were meaning the general size of the track and all things on it being more for 1/8th racing as opposed to the general track size and features on it that's more geared to 1/10th. I actually prefer running 1/8th on a track that is geared to that scale. I have found that it's not that much harder on the equipment once you figure how to run on it. Sure the size of the layout is bigger and the jumps are bigger, but all the same things you would do with a 1/10th scale on a 1/10th track carry over. Downsiding jump sections helps a ton on the equipment, plus it looks way better to do and is usually faster.
When you run on a 1/10 friendly track with a 1/8th (nitro or Elec.) you tend to over jump a lot of stuff and have a tendencey to land flat in places that you shouldn't. That gets to be pretty tuff on the equipment after a while. Flat landings are one of my biggest pet peeves on layouts. I always prefer a nice flowing layout, but will race on anything that's there. When you do a layout for both 1/10th and 1/8th, it gets to be a very fine balancing act to make the layout work for both scales. Not impossible, but takes a lot of thought to get right and usually some trial and error to tweak the layout to get it to work the best for both. I've always liked tracks that have seperate 1/10th and 1/8th tracks for that very reason, but most places don't have the room for two tracks nor the racers to warrent two tracks.
07-08-2011, 12:33 AM
#57
That's true TC,
But sometimes life grants you with something that you weren't looking for and can take you in a different direction. With balance, things always work. Not just in RC either, rather life in general.
I did read you posts about going elec. and 1/8th tracks. Elec. 1/8th has it's own set of Pro's and Con's. I can't say for sure that one is better over the other for me. Though I do understand the headaches of tuning a nitro motor. Has taken me a long time to figure most of it out and still learn new things all the time. Each motor is the same yet different. Get carried away with tuning an ESC and you'll find that some of those headaches of tuning are pretty close to nitro.
Also wasn't sure what you referred to with "true" 1/8th tracks? I'm going to guess that you were meaning the general size of the track and all things on it being more for 1/8th racing as opposed to the general track size and features on it that's more geared to 1/10th. I actually prefer running 1/8th on a track that is geared to that scale. I have found that it's not that much harder on the equipment once you figure how to run on it. Sure the size of the layout is bigger and the jumps are bigger, but all the same things you would do with a 1/10th scale on a 1/10th track carry over. Downsiding jump sections helps a ton on the equipment, plus it looks way better to do and is usually faster.
When you run on a 1/10 friendly track with a 1/8th (nitro or Elec.) you tend to over jump a lot of stuff and have a tendencey to land flat in places that you shouldn't. That gets to be pretty tuff on the equipment after a while. Flat landings are one of my biggest pet peeves on layouts. I always prefer a nice flowing layout, but will race on anything that's there. When you do a layout for both 1/10th and 1/8th, it gets to be a very fine balancing act to make the layout work for both scales. Not impossible, but takes a lot of thought to get right and usually some trial and error to tweak the layout to get it to work the best for both. I've always liked tracks that have seperate 1/10th and 1/8th tracks for that very reason, but most places don't have the room for two tracks nor the racers to warrent two tracks.
But sometimes life grants you with something that you weren't looking for and can take you in a different direction. With balance, things always work. Not just in RC either, rather life in general.
I did read you posts about going elec. and 1/8th tracks. Elec. 1/8th has it's own set of Pro's and Con's. I can't say for sure that one is better over the other for me. Though I do understand the headaches of tuning a nitro motor. Has taken me a long time to figure most of it out and still learn new things all the time. Each motor is the same yet different. Get carried away with tuning an ESC and you'll find that some of those headaches of tuning are pretty close to nitro.
Also wasn't sure what you referred to with "true" 1/8th tracks? I'm going to guess that you were meaning the general size of the track and all things on it being more for 1/8th racing as opposed to the general track size and features on it that's more geared to 1/10th. I actually prefer running 1/8th on a track that is geared to that scale. I have found that it's not that much harder on the equipment once you figure how to run on it. Sure the size of the layout is bigger and the jumps are bigger, but all the same things you would do with a 1/10th scale on a 1/10th track carry over. Downsiding jump sections helps a ton on the equipment, plus it looks way better to do and is usually faster.
When you run on a 1/10 friendly track with a 1/8th (nitro or Elec.) you tend to over jump a lot of stuff and have a tendencey to land flat in places that you shouldn't. That gets to be pretty tuff on the equipment after a while. Flat landings are one of my biggest pet peeves on layouts. I always prefer a nice flowing layout, but will race on anything that's there. When you do a layout for both 1/10th and 1/8th, it gets to be a very fine balancing act to make the layout work for both scales. Not impossible, but takes a lot of thought to get right and usually some trial and error to tweak the layout to get it to work the best for both. I've always liked tracks that have seperate 1/10th and 1/8th tracks for that very reason, but most places don't have the room for two tracks nor the racers to warrent two tracks.
about the 1/8 electric i dont mess with the tuning on it i just leave it as is from previous expreience ith running electric it can be a pain and confusing to mess with that lol.
yea i know what you mean about tracks, for 1/10 and 1/8 scale you can over clear jumps kinda of easy and it can be hard on your stuff but i just learned not to use as much throttle to hit a jump and clear it.
if there was never sc trucks most tracks whould only be 1/8 scale.
yea the funny thing is im faster with the e-conversion truggy than running as a nitro .
and won a main race againest nitro truggys.
yea my time will come with the personal things.
07-08-2011, 08:09 AM
#58
TC,
Glad you found a set up that works for you and doesn't give you headaches all the time. Elec. 1/8th isn't for me, but if that what's keeping you racing, so be it.
Just be sure to keep an eye on the drive line and your tires. Elec. setups are a bit harder on both of those. Mainly because of all the instant torque that setup has and the fact that many tend to over motor their rides (running too fast of a motor than is needed). If your pretty smooth with the power, you shouldn't have too many issues.
The rest of the personal stuff, like a wife and family some day. I'm sure you be there one day.
Glad you found a set up that works for you and doesn't give you headaches all the time. Elec. 1/8th isn't for me, but if that what's keeping you racing, so be it.
Just be sure to keep an eye on the drive line and your tires. Elec. setups are a bit harder on both of those. Mainly because of all the instant torque that setup has and the fact that many tend to over motor their rides (running too fast of a motor than is needed). If your pretty smooth with the power, you shouldn't have too many issues.
The rest of the personal stuff, like a wife and family some day. I'm sure you be there one day.
07-13-2011, 10:16 PM
#59
Buggymaster and I used to talk a long time ago......no matter what, RC is in our blood (been doing RC for 20 years +) Its in your blood too......No matter how long you take a break, try other hobbies, spend time with family, whatever.....You will come back to RC. Believe me....learn from my mistakes young lad. Take a short break and limit yourself...Allow only so much time for RC and spend some quality time with the family.....They should be #1. Quality time is making time with them count...not just laying around at home. You know what I mean. Yes, everyone wants to do good and win, thats why we spend what we spend, wrench til we can't stay up any longer, spend every sunday at the track yada yada yada......Limit yourself good buddy and do it for the fun of it. I too am guilty of becoming too competitive at times and get out of hand too. Thats why I'm on my short break right now. When we get too competitive, we lose sight of what is really important and set these aside all for the competition. I been there how many times bro. Call me up and come by the shop one day. Lets go out for some beers or something.
Just don't sell anything yet....I made that mistake alot of times too. Like I said, its in YOUR blood bro. RC for life! Hang in there
Call me.