WillS

iTrader: (32)

This might sound aggressive to some but I have a lot of passion about RC and please remember I always make sure to have fun first and foremost. I want to see it grow as it does provide a lot involving math and science which seems to be going further and further away in US teaching.

I look at it like this. The car works well out of the box for low/medium bit asphalt, but people think it needs to be Spec'd to race in the US. Low to Medium bite are what most tracks are in the US. The US Spec T4 was an EA option, not an Xray Option. The x12 is a different story and I don't follow 1/12th scale. The Sakura 20m is a race car at an cost friendly price. They do that by not sponsoring, and using cost effective advertising, saving themselves money that they can give back to us racers on costs of the kits. Its our job to promote it, especially to new comers.

Most of the day in/day out onroad racers know what they need to do to race on the surfaces they race at. Like Danny is already doing, he made an aluminum chassis so that the car will be more efficient on black ozite carpet, hit him up and buy one or wait until 3Racing releases theirs. Not all carpets or high grip asphalts need an aluminum chassis but maybe they need the harder carbon chassis (which 3racing has now). The swaybars are pretty much the general starting combination (1.3/1.2) for every manufacturer on every surface. The springs are more often the first thing changed, but the kit uses the standard setup spring rates that most manufacturers start out with for low/med bite.

3racing has built a great car and are fixing the small flaws, that mass production typically causes, as fast as they can. I know my first runs out with the car in 21.5 TC, I was able to place faster more consistent laps than the rear motor car I ran prior. I did so on older tires which says a lot, as the spec tire we run has a .4/lap drop off after 3 runs.

Now, if we worry about relying on setup sheets for tracks and surfaces, the racer never learns the car and what to do to correct the problems associated with bad setups (remember a bad radio or esc setup could be just as bad as a bad build/setup on a car). I do understand we need base sheets for surfaces. But if the setup sheet someone relied on creates a poor handling car, the new racer can become frustrated and leave a platform thinking it is what is making them not win, regardless the brand. Racing is about learning your platform and making it perform to its best, which means learning what everything does. Something like the Xray setup helper should be made or referenced to more often than not. This is something I recommend to every new racer as it can answer a lot of questions fast for them (and these can be crossed referenced over to other chassis). Having some company build spec kits using country specific description will not make the car better for everyone as it will create an idea of is what is needed. By selling a US spec, some might think that they need the aluminum chassis to run in the US when its not the case at all. Now people are upset with the brand that sold it to them thinking the kit is garbage because they didn't learn what they needed for the car. I would much rather it be referred to as carpet version but then it selling aspect will be low because carpet is more of a winter thing to most racers. My willingness to stand behind someone who does a clinic and teaches how to make the car work would be greater, than to offer another kit which is not right to be called a US spec as its not designed for all US surfaces. You can see the growth this provides to a company when someone supplies information making it easier to understand the chassis like JQRacing or Xray. More people are jumping to these chassis platforms because Joseph and Alex are doing live videos explaining the car and what to do in what conditions.

What 3Racing needs to put focus on is the complaints some racers are having. Which they are doing. There are more complaints about the plastic stiffness that should be addressed first than worry about making a surface specific kit. I am lucky enough to race on tracks with berms so I experience less of the brittleness that many have experienced with the 2018 car. With our hotter temps, the stiffness to me is a good thing as the plastic is less likely to warp and stays more consistent. 3racing keeps their costs low because they do not sponsor drivers. So its on groups like this to help each other and make the chassis perform to its best. I would much rather see a facebook group created as its easier to monitor and post pictures/videos to help each other out like when someone new to the chassis is at the track and needs help while racing.