why are .21 onroad engines soo overpriced?
 

it seems that .21 onroad engines are a lot more expensive than their .21 offroad brothers.
i don't see any difference in cost of materials or the manufacturing process so why are they a lot more expensive?

It's the same way with the .12 motors as well (there are just fewer meant for offroad).

Really I dunno. It may because of the extra research and testing they do with the onroad engines to get them at their peak performance.

im sure if engines would be cheaper then it would attract more people into the class.

The class itself is the highest of highest end for nitro racing on-road. The cars themselves have been going down in price but used to be quite exspensive. The motors themselves have exotic metals , high quality and very high precision machines cutting them with lots of r&d , this equals high costs. There are more budget based motors to get you going. But when you start getting high profile and or modified motors from Italy , prepare to drop the big bucks.

Supply and demand. You know you have a good product, you can set your price accordingly.

Why
 

Yep, it supply and demand.

If they sold as many On-Road engines as they do for Off Road they would have lower prices too.

That’s one of the benefits the Sport of RC racing would have if we grow it into the “mainstream”, the more units sold, the lower the costs will be.

Look at it in simple terms, 10 thousand units vs. 100 thousand units = lower cost for all. ;)

If you look at the quicktime movie on the novarossi site (on the history page) you get an idea why there so pricy....so much special machines!

Why
 

On-Road engines are indeed special works of art and much research goes into their development but if a distributer placed an order for 100 thousand of a unit, I’m sure the pricing for that unit would reflect the size of the order. Correct?

If a manufacturer wants to sell more product, they must promote their product to a large audence, right now the RC racer arena is too small to ever sell 100 thousand of any single product; with the possible exception of tires & batteries.

The price of a product is always better with Hi-volume purchasing power. The problem with On-Road engine Hi-pricing is related to the low volume of purchasing of units on a global scale.

Promoting RC racing at the same old places & venues where the "mainstream population" never goes or will see, will never grow the industry to more than it is today.

I just don't understand how a product so small can cost that much. You can buy a 1:1 engine for the same amount.

Ahem......I'm sorry but you are not going to buy a 1:1 engine that makes 14.2 HP per cubic inch for $800.

Overpriced is really a general term and only relevant to an individual. Some people have no problem spending $600+ on an engine every new race season. Some people look for the best deal they can get.

I know more than a couple people who go into a season or into the hobby all together with no budget at all. They want the best they can get and they really pay for it.

Very good point and because of that reason a 35 plus 21 is $550.00. Someone is always willing to pay it.

you also have to factor in the Euro dollar is stronger & that also drives the price in the U.S. for certain overseas Manufacturers

If you serious racin' It is really expensive really because you want to catch up with those sponsor driver' but if you just runnin' on parking lot' there is a motor only over $200.00'

For the US there is the yen, yuan, vs. the dollar. We should be seeing cheaper motors coming from asia with weaker currency.

Any US made motors anymore? I don't see why there isn't a company that can feasibly do this. As long as they could design competitive motors, there could be a good source of engines at a consistant price (no currency fluctuation). As a matter of fact, motors exported to europe might enjoy a price advantage because of weaker dollar to the Euro. However I'm not taking into account whatever tarrif barrier us goods have in europe or asia.

they are strong engines

[QUOTE=tomkelley]For the US there is the yen, yuan, vs. the dollar. We should be seeing cheaper motors coming from asia with weaker currency.
QUOTE]

Yeah but notice when you buy product of those web sites eg RC-MUSHROOM
all the prices are in US$ because there own currency is worth jack :nod:
any way just my US$ 0.02c :lol:

Why would any US company (or any company for that matter) make an engine that is as good as a Novarossi and sell it for a lot less? The market dictates the price. Also a lot of people equate price with how good the product is, so someone that is not so knowledgeable(sp?) might think that the cheaper motor is not as good.

well that's true, but racers generally keep up on good deals. Ninja .12 and JL Red Dot engines are selling well.

.21 onroads are more expensive because less are sold that's the only reason. The other indirect reason is there is a false perception amongst buyers that the .21 onroads are more accurately cut, or produced, or researched. this isn't true, just as much research goes into all engines, infact, a 2 stroke, is a 2 stroke, is a 2 stroke, whether the development is with a .21 or a .12 the same priciples will apply almost across the board for what your research has discovered.

Also, a novarossi .21 offorad is made in the same factory, with the same machines as a .21 onroad, the materials are the same. yet the offroad engine is cheaper. They charge more for .21 onroads because less people use them. Buggy is alot more popular.

- ask your local machinist how much he would charge to replicate a 9 port sleeve............ :lol:

:confused:

actually i work in a machine shop so i get a look from both the manufacturing side and the consumers point of view.
thats why i said that in terms of cost of materials and manufacturing i see no difference between onroad .21 and offroad .21

you would be amazed how easily it can be done on cnc these days.

US companies do it all the time. I can buy traxxas and associated products cheaper than the overseas products.

i understand that it's all about supply and demand but have engine manufacturers ever thought that if they lower their prices then what ever money they lose can be made up through quantity?

maybe NOVAROSSI does not want to make the most engines, only the best engines.
ever thought about that? :sneaky:

Then they have to stop with there Rex and Top engine line..... and stop with there BIG choice in .12 engines.....

But, since you work there, why can't you just ask?... :sneaky:
(geintje Peet, dat weet je wel....)

stopping with REX & TOP is kinda tricky.
those 2 brands are made to overcome the problem that one distributor could not cover the complete country, France, Germany or the US for instance.
And having 2 NOVA distributors in one country is not possible, so they made those 2 brands.

that explains a little bit why Holland has only an NOVA distri. and Germany an NOVA and REX distri. while Fusion @ USA does all three.

I was once told that there is a much higher scrap rate with the .21 on-road sleeve's do to the size shape etc. of the corrector ports. Any truth to this?

If you ask me, thats a pile of bulls$%&t. Im a machinist and I program and set up my own machines everyday, and if done right, and they have the money to do it right, the scrap is minimal. The machines will make all the parts the same, everytime, as long as the tools are kept sharp, and a big company like Novarossi will have a schedule of how long tools will last.

Traxxas products are made in Taiwan, and so are most Asc.

They are American companies are they not?

Well I think that other companies are very close so Novarossi is not going to have to worry about making so many engines. :o

and aluminuim and brass arn't exactly hard to machine compared to other materials.