Is 1/5 scale a bad class to get started in?
09-20-2012, 08:30 PM
#31
I've surprised quite a few 1/8th drivers on the track with the 5ive-T. They aren't the track incompatible piles the bajas are!!
09-21-2012, 12:00 PM
#32
Baja's are 2wd, while the Losi is 4wd. While 4wd is a little quicker out of the corners, and easier to drive, I preferr the Baja because it's harder to drive. Still, the most important factor in RC racing is the driver's ability. A good driver with a Baja will smoke a new driver no matter what car they're driving. When your first starting out in this hobby, I like to recommend people start with a 2wd vehicle simply because they will learn a lot more about car control driving the 2wd. People who start out in 4wd cars, buggies, or trucks, don't learn as much about car control simply because 4wd vehicles are too easy to control. Over driving them doesn't produce a spinout, so most of them have no idea they're actually overdriving the vehicle. We've all heard the phrase "you have to slow down to go faster."
The major problem with 5th scales is that if you don't know what you're doing, it will quickly become high maintainance, and very pricy. If you do some research, and get the correct aftermarket products, you can eliminate 90% of the maintainance, it's going to need.
Badaml
You make this statement "Gas = Charge the rx pack. Dont forget to stop and get gas too. Hope you remembered to bring some two stroke oil to mix also. Damn, the spark pug needs to be changed, forgot about that last time. Don't forget you are on your last spare pull start. Oh, and dont forget to bring some clean air filters too." then you tell US not to be lame?
Anyone that forgetfull would forget to get dressed before going to work at least once a week. I wouldn't even let them drive a WalMart RC car on the track because they could (and most likely would) still damage other people's equipment.
The major problem with 5th scales is that if you don't know what you're doing, it will quickly become high maintainance, and very pricy. If you do some research, and get the correct aftermarket products, you can eliminate 90% of the maintainance, it's going to need.
Badaml
You make this statement "Gas = Charge the rx pack. Dont forget to stop and get gas too. Hope you remembered to bring some two stroke oil to mix also. Damn, the spark pug needs to be changed, forgot about that last time. Don't forget you are on your last spare pull start. Oh, and dont forget to bring some clean air filters too." then you tell US not to be lame?
Anyone that forgetfull would forget to get dressed before going to work at least once a week. I wouldn't even let them drive a WalMart RC car on the track because they could (and most likely would) still damage other people's equipment.
09-21-2012, 02:36 PM
#33
Baja's are 2wd, while the Losi is 4wd. While 4wd is a little quicker out of the corners, and easier to drive, I preferr the Baja because it's harder to drive. Still, the most important factor in RC racing is the driver's ability. A good driver with a Baja will smoke a new driver no matter what car they're driving. When your first starting out in this hobby, I like to recommend people start with a 2wd vehicle simply because they will learn a lot more about car control driving the 2wd. People who start out in 4wd cars, buggies, or trucks, don't learn as much about car control simply because 4wd vehicles are too easy to control. Over driving them doesn't produce a spinout, so most of them have no idea they're actually overdriving the vehicle. We've all heard the phrase "you have to slow down to go faster."
The major problem with 5th scales is that if you don't know what you're doing, it will quickly become high maintainance, and very pricy. If you do some research, and get the correct aftermarket products, you can eliminate 90% of the maintainance, it's going to need.
Badaml
You make this statement "Gas = Charge the rx pack. Dont forget to stop and get gas too. Hope you remembered to bring some two stroke oil to mix also. Damn, the spark pug needs to be changed, forgot about that last time. Don't forget you are on your last spare pull start. Oh, and dont forget to bring some clean air filters too." then you tell US not to be lame?
Anyone that forgetfull would forget to get dressed before going to work at least once a week. I wouldn't even let them drive a WalMart RC car on the track because they could (and most likely would) still damage other people's equipment.
The major problem with 5th scales is that if you don't know what you're doing, it will quickly become high maintainance, and very pricy. If you do some research, and get the correct aftermarket products, you can eliminate 90% of the maintainance, it's going to need.
Badaml
You make this statement "Gas = Charge the rx pack. Dont forget to stop and get gas too. Hope you remembered to bring some two stroke oil to mix also. Damn, the spark pug needs to be changed, forgot about that last time. Don't forget you are on your last spare pull start. Oh, and dont forget to bring some clean air filters too." then you tell US not to be lame?
Anyone that forgetfull would forget to get dressed before going to work at least once a week. I wouldn't even let them drive a WalMart RC car on the track because they could (and most likely would) still damage other people's equipment.
How many baja races have a driver that doesn't crash? 1/8 has lots that can at least make several laps, if not the entire race, without crashing. I guess guys from Phatdad and Hostile are just bad drivers, because they crash. There is pretty much zero control with a baja once it is in the air, that is a fact, and is not subject to driver skill. You can argue about hitting the jump right, but at any baja event, there are lots of crashes.
It is lame to say electric sucks cause you have to spend so much time charging batteries. If you don't like electric, and prefer gas, cool. But don't make it seem like gas is just fill and go with nothing else. Batteries still need to get charged, air filters cleaned and oiled, etc..My comments about the pull start and everything else is valid. I am not saying that those things are every time, but it requires more maintenance and more forethought when going to an event than electric does. I grab batteries and a charger and go. When I would bring the baja, it was not quite so simple, and if you run a baja, you know this.
Bajas can be fun, but you do need lots of room to run them. If you are running on a track that actually has jumps, you will need lots of upgrades to make it reliable. Research and planning on the upgrade parts? That helps as it does with any rc, or any hobby for that matter. How much is into your baja? If you bought everything new, and have it upgraded, I would bet in the area of $2500-$3000. That is a lot of money, more than what any other scale costs for one rc.
What do you consider as minimum upgrades for a baja? Steering servo, Turtle shock towers front and rear, turtle clutch system, tires and maybe hostile foams, Phatdad inclined shreadstack, outerwears, Killer RC suspension cables, and a Killer RC killswitch. That is what most people have at a minimum, and it is all for durability, maintenance and safety, not really gaining any performance with those upgrades. Those upgrades also go in the area of $600 total, unless you are waiting for the Deal of the Day.
1/5 can be fun, but it is expensive. 1/5 has the most realistic handling compared to any other scale, but that also includes parts prices. Front brakes and some really good shocks can easily run over $500.
Last edited by badaml; 09-21-2012 at 07:34 PM.
09-24-2012, 03:04 PM
#34
I always laugh when I hear people complain about charging batteries with electric. Do gas and nitro guys have no batts to charge?
Nitro = rx pack to charge, glow plug starter to charge, and in some cases a starter box to charge.
Gas = rx pack.
Electric = main pack.
If I am going to run, I charge batts or just bring my charger and batts.
Gas = Charge the rx pack. Dont forget to stop and get gas too. Hope you remembered to bring some two stroke oil to mix also. Damn, the spark pug needs to be changed, forgot about that last time. Don't forget you are on your last spare pull start. Oh, and dont forget to bring some clean air filters too.
If you prefer gas or nitro, cool. But don't be lame and say charging batts is too much of a hassle
Nitro = rx pack to charge, glow plug starter to charge, and in some cases a starter box to charge.
Gas = rx pack.
Electric = main pack.
If I am going to run, I charge batts or just bring my charger and batts.
Gas = Charge the rx pack. Dont forget to stop and get gas too. Hope you remembered to bring some two stroke oil to mix also. Damn, the spark pug needs to be changed, forgot about that last time. Don't forget you are on your last spare pull start. Oh, and dont forget to bring some clean air filters too.
If you prefer gas or nitro, cool. But don't be lame and say charging batts is too much of a hassle
- I charge the RX lipo before the event, and maybe before the mains if it's a 3 day event. Non-issue.
-I charge my glow ignitor maybe once a year. It's the big Hotshot ignitor, best ignitor in the world.
-I might charge my starter box once a season. 5000mah 4s lipo
Gas
-charge a Rx lipo every 45min or so.
Electric
-charge every opportunity I get throughout the race day.
Charging now a days is a complete non-issue. Except for giant scales that require enough battery to power my Rv for a week. Gas and nitro require far less charging if your using quality equipment.
09-27-2012, 10:46 PM
#35
Nitro
- I charge the RX lipo before the event, and maybe before the mains if it's a 3 day event. Non-issue.
-I charge my glow ignitor maybe once a year. It's the big Hotshot ignitor, best ignitor in the world.
-I might charge my starter box once a season. 5000mah 4s lipo
Gas
-charge a Rx lipo every 45min or so.
Electric
-charge every opportunity I get throughout the race day.
Charging now a days is a complete non-issue. Except for giant scales that require enough battery to power my Rv for a week. Gas and nitro require far less charging if your using quality equipment.
- I charge the RX lipo before the event, and maybe before the mains if it's a 3 day event. Non-issue.
-I charge my glow ignitor maybe once a year. It's the big Hotshot ignitor, best ignitor in the world.
-I might charge my starter box once a season. 5000mah 4s lipo
Gas
-charge a Rx lipo every 45min or so.
Electric
-charge every opportunity I get throughout the race day.
Charging now a days is a complete non-issue. Except for giant scales that require enough battery to power my Rv for a week. Gas and nitro require far less charging if your using quality equipment.
I would rather charge batteries in between races then changing/cleaning air filters. Electric is cleaner and less maintenance, not sure why people want to debate that fact.
Again, if you prefer nitro or gas, cool. I have run all 3 at some point, but right now, I prefer electric. I don't particularly care for the smell or sound of nitro, the larger 2 stroke gas are cool, but not when my car smells like it from running lol.
I am not saying one is better than the other(s), not sure why everyone wants to argue that point.
You want to bash on people running electric, have at it, whatever. Argue the point all you want, but the simple reality is in lots of places, electric is the way to go, and sometimes the ONLY way. Noise restrictions,lack of ventilation indoors, etc., sometimes make electric the only choice.
09-28-2012, 04:58 AM
#36
as all things rc, 5th scale can be as expensive as you want to make it. i race bajas fairly competitively with minor upgrades. Aluminum clutch housing, turtle shock towers, darksoul wheel extenders, outerwears prefilters are the upgrades on my cars. (5sc and 5B). If you learn not to land on power the reliability gets much better. The losi is a little forgiving of this because of its center diff, but the baja will break something in the driveline. This (myself included) is why people who have raced other forms of rc cars have so much breakage with 5th scales.
My problem is that I like 2wd's. So, its electric in the winter (thank god my local track just went indoor offroad), gas in the summer.
My problem is that I like 2wd's. So, its electric in the winter (thank god my local track just went indoor offroad), gas in the summer.
09-29-2012, 06:34 AM
#37
as all things rc, 5th scale can be as expensive as you want to make it. i race bajas fairly competitively with minor upgrades. Aluminum clutch housing, turtle shock towers, darksoul wheel extenders, outerwears prefilters are the upgrades on my cars. (5sc and 5B). If you learn not to land on power the reliability gets much better. The losi is a little forgiving of this because of its center diff, but the baja will break something in the driveline. This (myself included) is why people who have raced other forms of rc cars have so much breakage with 5th scales.
My problem is that I like 2wd's. So, its electric in the winter (thank god my local track just went indoor offroad), gas in the summer.
My problem is that I like 2wd's. So, its electric in the winter (thank god my local track just went indoor offroad), gas in the summer.
2WD/4WD=totall different driving styles along with the totally different breaking styles of both types of vehicles.
A quick 'Tale of 3 Bajas' - built 3 different ways!
# 1 Modded to the hilt - lots and lots of aluminum and upgrade parts - very cool looking and somewhat heavy!
# 2 A few 'meaningful' mods - aluminum clutch mount, RPM arms, cage mounting to ease removing cage & T/R diff housing (so if you kill a diff, you don't have to take MOST of the truck apart to retrieve it)
# 3 Totally stock - only modifrications are OuterWears for air filter and fan housing.
Over several years, the most reliable vehicle was the totally stock one and we attribute a lot of that to 'designed flex' that keeps most parts from breaking and the ones that do are easily and quickly repaired.
Experience with these vehicles points out that when strength is increased in an area the 'breakage point' moves - and frequently ends up in a spot that is more expensive or harder to fix. I honestly don't know IF manufacturers design them this way or 'just lucky' but the bottom line is the stock (or closer to stock) Bajas tend to be quite reliable. I would qualify this by saying IN A RACING enviornment; which I honestly feel is probably easier on the vehicles than bashing.
I also have a Losi and I'm doing my best to increase speed without decreasing reliability - an admirable goal but probably achievable on a limited basis at best.
My modifications include:
Dogpile Racing Immortal Child 29.5 Zenoah based engine with Outerwears everywhere.
SNR dual steering with HiTech 7965 (?) servos and the OEM Steering servo moved to throttle duty.
Saddle pack lipo (5800) for that all day run experience now that all servos are 7.4 friendly!
Losi Aluminum steering brace to add a bit of rigidity and prevent steering binding.
Losi hard anodized shock bodies (probably not 100% necessary at the moment BUT the standard shocks will eventually wear through their coating and blacken up the oil).
The Losi is HEAVY and there's no 'replacement for displacement' in my opinion - TO A POINT!
My plan with the Losi mirrors the HPI - meaningful modifications that contribute to durability over the long haul.
Someone said it best when they said that you can spend what you wish on these - they're fundamentally good vehicles - they're popularity suports this! The engines are easily tuned and STAY TUNED, the CY in my Baja hasn't been touched in YEARS! I think that the Losi is fundamentally more durable (hence the weight) but I haven't sold my Baja yet - an indication that I feel like it too is a lot of fun to race!
Sorry for the length of this; it's hard to stop me after I get started!
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