Surviving the winter months
 

This is a question for you guys who live in parts of the world where you can't really run nitro outdoors during the winter months, and don't have access to an indoor track that allows nitro (this is the situation I'm in).

How do you "survive" not being able to practice, race or really run your nitro vehicles at all for several months?

Do you run electric indoors during this time or do you keep occupied with something else completely? Do you buy new kits/equipment and spend the time building and getting them ready for the next season?

I've never had any interest in electric myself but I guess if you do, maybe it's the best alternative that allows you to keep racing for the whole year...

I'm just really feeling the frustration today, looking out through the window when it's -1 Celsius and there's not a spot of ground to be seen that's not covered with either snow or ice.

VRC is how I stay sharp (as best possible). I usually run tracks that are nothing like the home tracks, that way I am not trying to rely on track memory.

And usually all buggies and truggies get a refresh over winter. Also I break in motors as well.

But we do run a winter series at the local track, with our older buggies (1 or two gens before the current) and yes its Brushless with only a 1600KV motor limit (Handout). Center Diffs are all locked. We run aggressive pin tires like the Proline Badlands, Sweep Cubix, or 6mik T-rex. Usually in good fun, we run 6 races in the winter, usually being that the track surface is hard / frozen, it does not tear up the track. Its mainly a bunch of guys that hang out at the track and the clubhouse. But it too keeps us fresh, although the driving style is a bit different and one can say more cautiuos.

I run 1/10th off-road in the winters until it is warm enough to go outside. I also refresh/rebuild my 1/8th scale cars. I feel the frustration as well though.

Perhaps at the end of next summer I'll look into getting a 1/10 scale electric as well. Will have to learn how the electric stuff works first though :lol:

when does the snow melt over there? your a little farther north than I am but right on the ocean most of our snow melts late march early april, except last year when we never really got snow

1/10 scale electric indoors. Its the only way! I can't get on with VRC at all.

Nitro in the summer and Electric in the winter.

race some indoor here but if you want to see winter months fly by, get involved with your local club...ask the exec if they need any help

I'd say it melts around the same time here. The local club expects to open the track again around April 20, so that date is definitely marked in my calendar :smile: That's when the temperature is expected to be around 10 deg. Celsius or above on average.

I just stare at them and figure out things to tweak and improve till I can go outside and run :) You'd be surprised what you think of.

Hahaha this is what I'm doing as well. Gonna take mine to a BMX track next weekend though because the temperature is expected to be at a tropical 8 degrees C (46 degrees F). Amazing! :lol:

if you have an indoor track buy an electric car. I'm in the same boat as you though. we used to have 2 nice indoor offroad tracks. one was big enough for 1/8 scale. both closed the same time in 2015. so now I have a decent 8th E buggy but still can't run it. lol
I'd rather do rc in the winter months as I'm always riding my motorcycle in the summer.

I keep thinking back and forth about maybe buying a 1/10 electric. It's just that half the fun of rc is the nitro Imo :(

This is something that has really been getting me down and frustrated as a nitro addict also!

Actually our whole club has taken a dive because of the long winter we are still struggling to shake off, we don't get snow but it's been wet and windy for so long that a lot of our members are losing interest.
We should have had a couple of months of racing in warm sunny weather by now but even when it's sunny during the week the rain comes in on race day!! :flaming:

I've built a new kit, run in some new motors and overhauled my truggy.
Been practicing a little with vrc, although I don't enjoy it as much unless I'm racing one of the season rounds - working away forces me to miss them a lot...

First world problems eh :ha:

If we had an indoor facility I would be setting up some tenth scale cars for sure, will just have to keep praying for better weather :rolleyes:

Be strong in these hard times fellow nitro racers :batman:

I thought the seasons were reversed in New Zealand compared to up here :lol:

So did I!haha
Had snow on the mountains last week... it's supposed to be the middle of summer :weird: