robk

iTrader: (22)

Thank you for brushless F1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cementsurfer86

Awesome job on the site Fred, SOOOO stoked for this year!
Planning my first nat's trip as we speak

monkeyracing

iTrader: (10)

Really cool combination of change and tradition. Great stuff!

Just curious: What's the kv rating on the average 17.5 motor as spec'd for Mini Pro? They'd be around 2200kv, wouldn't they?

Jim

f1larry

iTrader: (22)

The rules look awesome, can't wait for the season to start.

Curious on what the difference is between the specs of the Novak as pro 17.5 and the Novak ballistic 17.5 and why only the ballistic is allowed for mini?

tiko

iTrader: (35)

The only thing that I can think of is the sensor wire is attached to the motor on the other one.

gcooper

Kudo's to FMW on the rules.
Seems like a great start on the season and the next step needed on the quest for making the series greater than great.

A-Ko

iTrader: (2)

FMW,

Last year Type A's were allowed for carpet and premounts for outdoors for GT classes.

The 2012 tire rules seem pretty vague, no part numbers or detailed info listed about tire spec. Will A's be allowed for carpet and premounts for everything else in the GT classes?

Just don't want to invest in something that is no longer "legal".

KELVIN KHNG

iTrader: (15)

FMW

On the topic for premounts... The 2011 season saw type C's being legal for TCS racing on carpet.. With the introduction of Type A premounts this year.... Does that mean that the type C's from 2011 can no longer be used?

ercwhtsd

iTrader: (1)

The one thing that comes to mind is the ease of timing tech on the ballistic versus the SS. Past the last line on the Ballistic, no go. Easy to see and tech.

According to Novak, I believe they are the same. There are other motor choices for the mini class as well.

C5R01

iTrader: (1)

Eric,
Do you have the same motel deal you had last year? trying to get a jump on everything.

FMW

iTrader: (1)

Hi everyone,

The January TCS race at Tamiya America is being pushed back a week or so. I neglected to notice the ROAR Region carpet race locally that we don't want to conflict with.

rccardr

iTrader: (8)

Nice to see that Tamiya has aligned their TCS brushless equipment rules with what's being run in club races across the country. Very wise.

Like others on this forum have said, not sure how to interpret the driver experience guidelines. With 24 years of racing experience, I'm certainly beyond 'intermediate'. But if you've ever seen me drive, you know I'm no 'expert'...at least behind the wheel. Me + 13.5 or F1 = tragedy.

I figured the new brushless Mini class was going to be my logical choice, but since both silver can and mini brushless are listed as for intermediate drivers, guess not. That excludes me, and -let's face it, folks- pretty much everybody else who's a serious Mini wheel. Craig, Brandon, Chuck, Mark, Casey, Chef Matt, that whole A-Main crowd- unless I'm missing something, we're just too old and too 'sperienced.

Any truly intermediate drivers out there who want to buy a perfectly set up M05 & M03, several boxes of parts, some bodies (I think I have new ones in all 3 lengths), a buttload of tires and wheels including several sets of spec S-Grips, and a whole lot of tuning experience to help you go fast, give me a shout at [email protected]. It appears that Tamiya values your participation in that class more than mine.

ewippler

iTrader: (129)

Hi Doc,

I spoke to Fred on the subject. Other than GT3, the skill levels are "minimum" recommendations to compete. It is ment as a guideline for those other classes to gage which classes are applicable to enter (i.e. a beginer might want to stay away from GT1). Otherwise anyone running GT1 wouldn't be eligable to race other classes.

Hope to see you racing mini again soon.

Erik

FMW

iTrader: (1)

Hello everyone,

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the "skill level" criteria.

I will attempt to shed some light on the whole thing so bear with me.

Think of the TCS website as a hub for the following groups of customers: NEW, occasional and our long time supporters. Also, it's meant as a information hub for retailers with racing programs to get information about the series.

The "skill level" posting is to give everyone what we suggest is the "minimum" skill level suggested to have fun and be successful in the class. For instance, GT-1 uses the fastest and most expensive products in our catalog. If a new person were to inquire about the TCS series and was eying that cool new TRF417X on the store shelf and wanted to race it in TCS, well.....they should be forewarned. We are making them aware it's going to be a hard class. If a new comer to racing still has that urge to race the GT-1 class they can, but we at least let them know.

Also, think of it as the skill level recommendation you see in a plastic model kit. If you've never built a skill level three we won't stop you, but don't say we didn't warn you when the part count seems daunting.

Mini is listed as an intermediate class because the cars are FWD mostly. They aren't the fastest cars on track (top speed) and most people are able to get around the track with them. So...the skill level needed to have fun or be successful isn't that high. This does not mean that long time racers or good racers should stay out of the class. We don't want that. Advanced racers are more than welcome to race in Mini. You guys know how to drive and intermediate skill level racers need to race with you to get better. That's why it's the largest class in TCS. It appeals to many racer types and to be in the A main you're going to have to race well.

I hope this clarifies our intention on the skill levels. Just about anyone can race mini. It's a fun class for all.

And before anyone goes there...GT-3 is not that way. Since we offer so many GT classes, the really experienced people, who know how to drive well, have no business sand bagging in the GT-3 class.

FMW

iTrader: (1)

Note:

I have updated the TCS GT class rules:
(Carpet track regional races are “open” Tamiya tires and wheels)

I neglected to carry this rule over from the 2011 season.