Originally Posted by Carl Giordano

Unfortunately, like so many on these forums we're all talking from 20+ years of RC experience. Let's face it, the lack of new blood is sad to see. I'm even finding it hard to get my boys to come race. Kids are not into hanging around all day to race for 15-25 minutes. They'd rather spend an hour bashing in a yard than spend all day at track. We're just a different breed.

I also started racing 1/12th scales back in the 80's with SC battery packs. I was a harsh critic of brushless technology and 1s battery packs when introduced as I felt the technology was going to make matters worse. I was criticized frequently by those who said the technology will make it easier for the average racer. Well, here we are again have the same conversation and the "local" on-road racing scene sucks! The only place the technology has improved "local" racing is in off-road. Less motor maintanence and high capacity batteries provides for a more enjoyable experience.

I agree with Chicky, on-road cars are too fast! No-one wants to hear it but at the 'local" level, on-road cars are just too fast to be enjoyable on a indoor circuit. For on-road, my boys love the Tamiya TCS novice classes because they are controllable and it's fun for them. The slower speeds offer a more enjoyable experience and if everyone is relatively the same speed and can drive under control, the "racing" will become more competitive.

I see 1/12th going the way of 1/8th on-road..."down hill fast"!!!

What made 1/12th scale great back in the 80's was the need to have a racing strategy. You had to gear the car to make 8 minutes, this had the effect of slowing cars down to set a pace for the entire race. Leaders would throttle back, not to let the field catch them but to conserve battery power to finish the race and make the guys behind them waste power.

MY SUGGESTION: Limit the mah in 1/12th scale mod racing to 4500mah, perhaps the enjoyment of a race strategy would come back into play and make that final minute of racing more exciting. If I had any influence on guidelines, I would limit battery capacity for all levels of racing.