Questions about 1/5 scale...
11-17-2013, 06:08 PM
#61
Tech Regular
Thread Starter
So for the whole year, its going to be probably triple that!
11-18-2013, 05:09 AM
#62
I still haven't been able to find a good comparison of the amount of money I would spend on replacement parts for a 1/5 vs. a 1/10 in one racing season. If the price total spent on each scale was very similar, I would jump on the 1/5. My biggest worry is getting the 1/5, and then not having enough money to fix it when something breaks, and then it just sits there. Thats what has me the most concerned.
I have driven 1/10th scale at a national level. I've been on the road for a good many years and spent a ton of money on building and maintaining just my 1/10th Nitro. I've produced my own parts and done a ton of work on 1/10th over 20 years...... lots of fun but expensive!
I have a 1/5th scale Formula 1 car that I bought used (Tip: If you can find a good one there's good deals around!!)
Over the last two years I have learnt alot about running these things. (I would imagine running SCT or off-road to be very similar in lots of ways)
I have spent quite alot of money basically renewing parts that were worn, upgrades, to the chassis and to the engine only nothing too outlandish. No 7HP engine or anything like that. Something I could still go racing with.
All in all, I have found the cost to be very similar. I would say, if your bashing around having fun in parking lots and the occasional track meet, 1/5th scale is maybe a little less on the pocket. After the initial cost of the kit/ car.
Actual running costs I found alot lower then my 10th scale.
If your going racing, again very similar. It costs an arm and a leg either way. How deep are your pockets .... but thats racing.
All in all ...... apart from the initial cost. 1/5th scale costs less to run.
Racing costs as much as yo've got to put into it.
Have fun..
Regards
BM
11-18-2013, 09:18 AM
#63
Tech Regular
Thread Starter
Well ..... just my experience here.
I have driven 1/10th scale at a national level. I've been on the road for a good many years and spent a ton of money on building and maintaining just my 1/10th Nitro. I've produced my own parts and done a ton of work on 1/10th over 20 years...... lots of fun but expensive!
I have a 1/5th scale Formula 1 car that I bought used (Tip: If you can find a good one there's good deals around!!)
Over the last two years I have learnt alot about running these things. (I would imagine running SCT or off-road to be very similar in lots of ways)
I have spent quite alot of money basically renewing parts that were worn, upgrades, to the chassis and to the engine only nothing too outlandish. No 7HP engine or anything like that. Something I could still go racing with.
All in all, I have found the cost to be very similar. I would say, if your bashing around having fun in parking lots and the occasional track meet, 1/5th scale is maybe a little less on the pocket. After the initial cost of the kit/ car.
Actual running costs I found alot lower then my 10th scale.
If your going racing, again very similar. It costs an arm and a leg either way. How deep are your pockets .... but thats racing.
All in all ...... apart from the initial cost. 1/5th scale costs less to run.
Racing costs as much as yo've got to put into it.
Have fun..
Regards
BM
I have driven 1/10th scale at a national level. I've been on the road for a good many years and spent a ton of money on building and maintaining just my 1/10th Nitro. I've produced my own parts and done a ton of work on 1/10th over 20 years...... lots of fun but expensive!
I have a 1/5th scale Formula 1 car that I bought used (Tip: If you can find a good one there's good deals around!!)
Over the last two years I have learnt alot about running these things. (I would imagine running SCT or off-road to be very similar in lots of ways)
I have spent quite alot of money basically renewing parts that were worn, upgrades, to the chassis and to the engine only nothing too outlandish. No 7HP engine or anything like that. Something I could still go racing with.
All in all, I have found the cost to be very similar. I would say, if your bashing around having fun in parking lots and the occasional track meet, 1/5th scale is maybe a little less on the pocket. After the initial cost of the kit/ car.
Actual running costs I found alot lower then my 10th scale.
If your going racing, again very similar. It costs an arm and a leg either way. How deep are your pockets .... but thats racing.
All in all ...... apart from the initial cost. 1/5th scale costs less to run.
Racing costs as much as yo've got to put into it.
Have fun..
Regards
BM
11-18-2013, 10:49 PM
#64
How expensive it is compared to smaller scales, has everything to do with the small scale track you are running on, and how hard it is on TIRES. Most club racing tracks are pretty easy on tire wear, but some, you end up burning through a set a week. Obviously that can become extremely expensive real fast. Other than that, electric 8th scale, and 4x4 sct, you rarely break many parts....so besides tires...it's super cheap. 1/8th nitro though, was pretty comparable expense wise in my experience.
5th scale tires usually last a bit longer, but it's more consumable as for parts. Between clutches, tires, tire foams, driveline wear and rebuilds, motor rebuilds, carb wear and replacement, fuel, plugs, new body, ect....I had about 6-700$ of upkeep for the 5th scale this racing season, but that was racing it every weekend. My smaller scales were around 300$ each, but mainly only because i needed a limited tire selection for the tracks I ran. It's not uncommon to blow a grand on rubber for the season per class, as absurd as that may sound to a new rc enthusiast. If you only run one track, and it's easy on tires...you might get a whole season on just a couple sets. In that case, smaller ELECTRIC scales are FAR cheaper.
So, to make an educated guess on your expenses, I highly recommend talking to your local racers about tires and tire wear. And yes, RC in general is stupid expensive.
5th scale tires usually last a bit longer, but it's more consumable as for parts. Between clutches, tires, tire foams, driveline wear and rebuilds, motor rebuilds, carb wear and replacement, fuel, plugs, new body, ect....I had about 6-700$ of upkeep for the 5th scale this racing season, but that was racing it every weekend. My smaller scales were around 300$ each, but mainly only because i needed a limited tire selection for the tracks I ran. It's not uncommon to blow a grand on rubber for the season per class, as absurd as that may sound to a new rc enthusiast. If you only run one track, and it's easy on tires...you might get a whole season on just a couple sets. In that case, smaller ELECTRIC scales are FAR cheaper.
So, to make an educated guess on your expenses, I highly recommend talking to your local racers about tires and tire wear. And yes, RC in general is stupid expensive.
11-19-2013, 03:11 AM
#65
Tech Regular
Thread Starter
How expensive it is compared to smaller scales, has everything to do with the small scale track you are running on, and how hard it is on TIRES. Most club racing tracks are pretty easy on tire wear, but some, you end up burning through a set a week. Obviously that can become extremely expensive real fast. Other than that, electric 8th scale, and 4x4 sct, you rarely break many parts....so besides tires...it's super cheap. 1/8th nitro though, was pretty comparable expense wise in my experience.
5th scale tires usually last a bit longer, but it's more consumable as for parts. Between clutches, tires, tire foams, driveline wear and rebuilds, motor rebuilds, carb wear and replacement, fuel, plugs, new body, ect....I had about 6-700$ of upkeep for the 5th scale this racing season, but that was racing it every weekend. My smaller scales were around 300$ each, but mainly only because i needed a limited tire selection for the tracks I ran. It's not uncommon to blow a grand on rubber for the season per class, as absurd as that may sound to a new rc enthusiast. If you only run one track, and it's easy on tires...you might get a whole season on just a couple sets. In that case, smaller ELECTRIC scales are FAR cheaper.
So, to make an educated guess on your expenses, I highly recommend talking to your local racers about tires and tire wear. And yes, RC in general is stupid expensive.
5th scale tires usually last a bit longer, but it's more consumable as for parts. Between clutches, tires, tire foams, driveline wear and rebuilds, motor rebuilds, carb wear and replacement, fuel, plugs, new body, ect....I had about 6-700$ of upkeep for the 5th scale this racing season, but that was racing it every weekend. My smaller scales were around 300$ each, but mainly only because i needed a limited tire selection for the tracks I ran. It's not uncommon to blow a grand on rubber for the season per class, as absurd as that may sound to a new rc enthusiast. If you only run one track, and it's easy on tires...you might get a whole season on just a couple sets. In that case, smaller ELECTRIC scales are FAR cheaper.
So, to make an educated guess on your expenses, I highly recommend talking to your local racers about tires and tire wear. And yes, RC in general is stupid expensive.
11-19-2013, 10:57 PM
#66
I had an HPI Baja 5b, and then my buddy got one. We both got rid of them for several reasons.
They need a LOT of room to run. They also kick up a lot of dirt (duh lol). It was hard finding places where we could run, and local parks were out of the question, not only due to noise since we were running gas, but the amount of grass they would tear up would have us charged with paying for the damage.
Since they require much larger spaces to run, you are at a further distance away, which makes the size kind of irrelevant. Looking at an 1/8 buggy from 50 feet away or a 1/5 from 150 feet away, the size really doesn't matter.
Tires/Wheels/Parts. I thought 1/8 was a little pricey until I got into 1/5. For the cost of one new set of 4 tires, foams, rims and beadlocks a nice 1/8 roller can be bought. Yes, I know the wheels/foams/beadlocks can be re-used, but when I was looking at picking up some Hostile Slicks for parking lot runs, I wanted the Proline Desperado's too. $300+ was just a bit much for me to spend.
So the 1/5 was sold, and we stuck with 1/8 for a while, then picked up a few 1/10 sc's. Lots of fun, and fairly inexpensive. Part of that reason was also less time for rc, but whenever I think about 1/5, a quick visit to DDM and the prices always make me remember why I sold mine.
Just giving a different perspective on 1/5 ownership.
They need a LOT of room to run. They also kick up a lot of dirt (duh lol). It was hard finding places where we could run, and local parks were out of the question, not only due to noise since we were running gas, but the amount of grass they would tear up would have us charged with paying for the damage.
Since they require much larger spaces to run, you are at a further distance away, which makes the size kind of irrelevant. Looking at an 1/8 buggy from 50 feet away or a 1/5 from 150 feet away, the size really doesn't matter.
Tires/Wheels/Parts. I thought 1/8 was a little pricey until I got into 1/5. For the cost of one new set of 4 tires, foams, rims and beadlocks a nice 1/8 roller can be bought. Yes, I know the wheels/foams/beadlocks can be re-used, but when I was looking at picking up some Hostile Slicks for parking lot runs, I wanted the Proline Desperado's too. $300+ was just a bit much for me to spend.
So the 1/5 was sold, and we stuck with 1/8 for a while, then picked up a few 1/10 sc's. Lots of fun, and fairly inexpensive. Part of that reason was also less time for rc, but whenever I think about 1/5, a quick visit to DDM and the prices always make me remember why I sold mine.
Just giving a different perspective on 1/5 ownership.
11-20-2013, 02:19 AM
#67
Tech Master
Wow that has not been my experience with my 1/5 scale. I am a basher not a serious racer. Me and my wife race against each other loser has to clean the house!! My 1/5 scale is a onroad 4wd FG Sportline. And a set of tires for it cost on average about $120.00 they last me a year. I guess running 1/5 scale offroad is more expensive than 1/5 scale onroad. I have broken very few parts after a year + of hard running.
11-20-2013, 03:19 AM
#68
Tech Regular
Thread Starter
I had an HPI Baja 5b, and then my buddy got one. We both got rid of them for several reasons.
They need a LOT of room to run. They also kick up a lot of dirt (duh lol). It was hard finding places where we could run, and local parks were out of the question, not only due to noise since we were running gas, but the amount of grass they would tear up would have us charged with paying for the damage.
Since they require much larger spaces to run, you are at a further distance away, which makes the size kind of irrelevant. Looking at an 1/8 buggy from 50 feet away or a 1/5 from 150 feet away, the size really doesn't matter.
Tires/Wheels/Parts. I thought 1/8 was a little pricey until I got into 1/5. For the cost of one new set of 4 tires, foams, rims and beadlocks a nice 1/8 roller can be bought. Yes, I know the wheels/foams/beadlocks can be re-used, but when I was looking at picking up some Hostile Slicks for parking lot runs, I wanted the Proline Desperado's too. $300+ was just a bit much for me to spend.
So the 1/5 was sold, and we stuck with 1/8 for a while, then picked up a few 1/10 sc's. Lots of fun, and fairly inexpensive. Part of that reason was also less time for rc, but whenever I think about 1/5, a quick visit to DDM and the prices always make me remember why I sold mine.
Just giving a different perspective on 1/5 ownership.
They need a LOT of room to run. They also kick up a lot of dirt (duh lol). It was hard finding places where we could run, and local parks were out of the question, not only due to noise since we were running gas, but the amount of grass they would tear up would have us charged with paying for the damage.
Since they require much larger spaces to run, you are at a further distance away, which makes the size kind of irrelevant. Looking at an 1/8 buggy from 50 feet away or a 1/5 from 150 feet away, the size really doesn't matter.
Tires/Wheels/Parts. I thought 1/8 was a little pricey until I got into 1/5. For the cost of one new set of 4 tires, foams, rims and beadlocks a nice 1/8 roller can be bought. Yes, I know the wheels/foams/beadlocks can be re-used, but when I was looking at picking up some Hostile Slicks for parking lot runs, I wanted the Proline Desperado's too. $300+ was just a bit much for me to spend.
So the 1/5 was sold, and we stuck with 1/8 for a while, then picked up a few 1/10 sc's. Lots of fun, and fairly inexpensive. Part of that reason was also less time for rc, but whenever I think about 1/5, a quick visit to DDM and the prices always make me remember why I sold mine.
Just giving a different perspective on 1/5 ownership.
Wow that has not been my experience with my 1/5 scale. I am a basher not a serious racer. Me and my wife race against each other loser has to clean the house!! My 1/5 scale is a onroad 4wd FG Sportline. And a set of tires for it cost on average about $120.00 they last me a year. I guess running 1/5 scale offroad is more expensive than 1/5 scale onroad. I have broken very few parts after a year + of hard running.
11-20-2013, 04:26 AM
#69
My experience with a Baja was poor as well. The buggy just doesn't do anything real well imo. I sold it, and if that was the only 5th scale available, I'd never have gotten back into it. The Losi 5ive however, is night and day different, and is the most fun RC I've ever had. By far the most realistic handling rc I've ever driven, and works great on everything. It's sad that the stigma of 5th scales being crappy, due to the Baja being such an ill handling car, still exists and keeps many serious racers from venturing to the 5ive, which is a phenomenally designed and performing vehicle.
11-20-2013, 07:16 AM
#70
Tech Regular
Thread Starter
My experience with a Baja was poor as well. The buggy just doesn't do anything real well imo. I sold it, and if that was the only 5th scale available, I'd never have gotten back into it. The Losi 5ive however, is night and day different, and is the most fun RC I've ever had. By far the most realistic handling rc I've ever driven, and works great on everything. It's sad that the stigma of 5th scales being crappy, due to the Baja being such an ill handling car, still exists and keeps many serious racers from venturing to the 5ive, which is a phenomenally designed and performing vehicle.
11-20-2013, 12:28 PM
#71
Tech Regular
Thread Starter
So after reading through all these posts again, I'm on the fence about whether I should sell all my current RC's and get the 5ive, or just avoid the 1/5 scales all together...
11-20-2013, 01:36 PM
#72
Tech Master
Don't avoid the 1/5 scale just continue to search until you find one that meets your needs . Go to you tube and check out various videos of the Losi five running on different tracks. Checkout the MCD's and the FG offroad buggys before you decide. Check out this link to a video from you tube of a guy raising hell with his 2 speed Losi . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwSZ-g8TYXM
Last edited by nitrohead5300; 11-20-2013 at 01:58 PM.
11-20-2013, 02:01 PM
#73
Tech Regular
Thread Starter
Don't avoid the 1/5 scale just continue to search until you find one that meets your needs . Go to you tube and check out various videos of the Losi five running on different tracks. Checkout the MCD's and the FG offroad buggys before you decide. Check out this link to a video from you tube of a guy raising hell with his 2 speed Losi . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwSZ-g8TYXM
11-20-2013, 03:11 PM
#74
I would rather have the 5ive and nothing else if that was my only options..
I race a 1/10th 2wd buggy in the winter but it is no where near as fun and rewarding as my 5ive...
Find someone local with one and try it out..you will have a huge smile on your face..
If your racing only the baja should not be a option..if the losi is not in your budget a Losi SCTE would be my second choice.
