Originally Posted by
Granpa
Jim, kinda curious about a couple of things, cause I'm assuming that these are your basic club rules.
Are most of the venues you race on carpet and if so are they permanent or just laid down before the event??????? Do you ever race on outdoor asphalt or parking lots?????
Since you've opened up the tires and "hop ups", how do you rule on the "home made" stuff?????
Why does establishing a minimum weight do much to eliminate cheating???? Your rules are so generous, that cheating is nearly impossible as long as you use the stock gears in a Tamiya Mini chassis. No criticism implied, just an observation.
GP, I can help, although im sure Jim is probably writing a reply lol.
These rules are for the large race series for Western Canada with the exception of the open tires, and have worked very well. Its 99% Carpet, mainly due to onroad not being very popular in the summer and the carpet racing is all during our long winters. An Asphalt race was using the same quidelines just this past weekend.
By allowing any mini tire at club races, anyone was free to use up or try other brands. Ive tried many other brands myself, I found the 3 racing radials worked well also, but nothing had an advantage, or was out of reach of anyone. Going open tires also eleviates the issue of availability too. Best part is on all of our carpet tracks, the Tamiya S grip is the must have tire, and is legal to race at the large race series, so it works.
As for the hop ups, this was debated for a while, but after a few years now, there hasnt been any issues regarding open hop ups. And should a major advantage be found Im sure it could be dealt with. No one is building any special parts themselves, because all racers, from the top of the A mainers, to the bottom, still realise this is mini. Not only would you be hurting the class, you would be shunned by your fellow racer also.
Fact is Tamiya only racing is expensive. Going with aftermarket hopups has cut down the costs. No one has found any significant advantage at all, and over the past few years, the same names are finishing in the same positions at the races.
I havent done a tonne of asphalt racing, so I cant compare, but our carpet racing has really plateaued as far as setups and speed are concerned, hell we have one guy whol races with a large flag hanging from his car.... and wins. Its now down to who has the cleanest run. Everyone has been sharing the setup advice, and at the local clubs, you will see the fast guys setting up anyones cars for them. Best part about this is id say a large amount of us race our mini, sit it on a shelf for a few months, and take it out again for the next big race, and its always competitive.