socaldezboy

I have been in RC for about 4 years now and am thinking about racing.

I have made one attempt to race before at ARC raceway in Temecula,Ca and was a horrible experience. no one really wanted to help or give advice and when i asked a few simple questions like what tires are working the best for short course i got smart ass answers and a lot of the 8th scale guys were jerks and I even had one slam me into the pipping/wall while I was trying to get out of the way and it ended up braking the front brace on my SC10 and ruined my race day.

So I would like to make a second attempt and try SDRC raceway with my TEN-SCTE and XXX-SCT any tips/advice would be great.

mtman75

iTrader: (1)

Try to go a few times before race day and talk to the people there at that time.
It might be just the people at the one track. The people at the track I go to seem very helpful and friendly even the owner of the track helps out people there. I hope you have a better experience at the second track.

emag521

iTrader: (2)

WOW sorry about your first experience. The tracks I go to almost everyone is willing to help the new guy. If there is a hobby shop on site try to talk to the guys there first or try to talk to the people running the race (just dont get in the way). However if you are going to a new place it may be a completely different experience. There are a lot of racers out there that want to grow the hobby (like myself) it always pays to help the new guys as it adds racers to support the track.

Bob Morisco

definitely not the typical experience at most rc tracks. for the most part rc racers are more than willing to help novice racers.

not knowing your abilities or how well you are at driving your rc car let me offer the following (some of which you may have already done.

first, if possible go to a different track. do not make the first time you go a racing experience. find out when they have open practice during a non race day and get familiar with the track as well as the people.

be selective with your questions and when someone gives you advise make sure they can see that you are using the advise they gave you. nothing is worse than having someone ask a question, giving advise and finding that the person did not act on what advise you gave the person. doing this a few time will kill your chances of being helped.

when someone gives you advise don't challenge it. basically shut up and listen.

Unless the track has a novice race schedule hold off and wait until you can control your car well enough in traffic to be predictable. what i mean about this is, when a veteran racer is racing with a less experienced person, as long as the novice continues to run their line the veteran can choose the spot to overtake the novice. what will tick off the veteran is that when he goes to overtake you that you try and move out of the way and ruin his chosen line.

It takes a long time to learn how to control an rc car in a race. to understand and anticipate how to overcome slower cars.

Good luck with your future in rc racing. Just remember the struggles that you are going through when you develop your skills and be sure to take the time to help those trying to break into the sport.

BradS

iTrader: (8)

Some tracks have a more competitive, less friendly culture. You might visit a few and try to find one that has a club feel. A good sign is if you see young kids around 8-12 year old. Don't get frustrated, overall I have found most people in RC are willing to help, they are just not all outgoing personalities. Try to pit next to people that look friendly and just have fun.

Don't sweat getting pushed around on the track. It is really hard to avoid wrecks sometimes. I've found that sometime trying to get out of the way is worse, they may not expect it and might be working to get around you and wreck. Hold your line, the faster guys will find a way around. If you do want to get out of the way, do it early before they get too close to your bumper and pull off into an area that is fluff or loose.

Most people on the forum will give you plenty of help. With questions on setup, post in the section for your model and guys will give you advise.

klaymon

iTrader: (71)

Don't let that first experience deter you from racing. It's a ton of fun and it would be a shame if a few assholes drove you away because you're not on their level.

There have been some good points made in this thread already. The only one I would disagree with is waiting to get into a race until you can control your car at a certain level. Experienced racers will find a way around you whether it's their "chosen line" or not. If they have to take one corner wide to pass you, it's not going to destroy their run. I think the best way to let a faster car by is in a corner by swinging wide and stopping if need be. This is just while you're new. Once you get faster, even if you are getting overtaken you can make room without losing all kinds of time. Racing is a great way to get acclimated to your car and the track.

Finding help should not be such a pain in the ass. You have just dealt with some nasty folks. I would say that 90%+ of the people at our track are willing to help anyone that walks up and asks for it. Sometimes you can get a feel for someone by watching them on the driver stand. If they are having a good time, maybe a little trash talking, odds are you can approach that person. If they are intense and possibly yelling at drivers/marshals, pick someone else.

If worse comes to worse, take a look at vehicles while people are out marshaling. Don't touch them, but you can look at a truck sitting on a bench and see what tires it has on it for example. Look at spring colors, camber link locations, etc. If they won't help you, help yourself.

In short, don't let other people keep you from having some great fun with this hobby. I started about 3 years ago and it's the most fun I have on a weekend.

socaldezboy

Cool thank you guys for all the info I plan on practicing next Friday and racing next Sunday.

Grandturk

iTrader: (5)

One thing I can definately say is to run in a class that has a lot of people showing up. If you run 4x4 SC and there's only three or four cars, you'll end up running with the fast guys and spend most of your time just trying to get out of the way. If there's 20 guys showing up for a class - jump into that as you have a better chance at being shuffled into a heat with guys running similar lap times.

If you go to a small track or a 1/10 track - turn you SCTE down - drop the end point to 80% and go like that. These things can be absolute missiles and 75% of the time you dont need all that grunt.

Roll the big jumps if you have to. You'll end up in better shape than if you case the triples 9 times out of 10.

Relax. Introduce yourself. Apologize early and often.

klaymon

iTrader: (71)

All valid points above. De-tune the car a little bit if you are having control issues and roll jumps or jump one jump shorter than everyone else (if it's a double, then you single-single) until you get a feel for it. There is no shame in it. Driving on a track is vastly different than backyard bashing. You may be the best at jumping your truck off a slide at the local playground, but that double at your track is a different animal altogether.

Everyone at that track and on this board went through the growing pains of learning to drive an R/C car. The shame is, some of them forgot what it was like.

socaldezboy

Thought I would update this I have been going to SDRC the last two months and it has been a way better experience. There were no a holes and everyone was friendly and didn't have a problem answering all my stupid noob questions.

PalmdaleLosi

iTrader: (13)

glad to hear you had a better time at the new track!