No prob. I'll tell you why. First of all there's that list, so lot's of choices from lot's of cool cars. There's paint scheme, originality, numbers, stickers, cool factor, etc. Price somewhat. Availability. Last but not least, performance.

I know it's old news now but the MX-Stang looks good to me. Cheap, available, easy to paint, never seen one at my club, and it apparently is pretty neutral handling. So, I've pretty much decided with one minor exception. The Tamiya bodies. For a newb, those .8mm thick bodies are very tempting for their durability. Still, I've narrowed it down quite a bit.

In the end though, you're right, I should just pick one and go racing!

Thank you sir! Thinking about paint jobs as we speak. Now, how to make Gulf livery look cool on that body.... lol

Dont give up on running just because some of us think that the spirit of the class is getting far too blurred. I just feel that when bodies are being designed for performance rather than scale looks, the original intent of the class is gone.

Yup, that's racing for you. Depending on your perspective, it either makes things better or ruins them! I certainly won't be giving up. Thanks!

The only remedy I can think of would be an extremely unpopular one. But it would solve two problems with the class. Slow it down and eliminate any aero downforce/balance/handling advantages the various bodies provide. The 21.5 motor has significantly improved in performance since becoming the spec motor of the class. The 25.5 is probably the solution. My apologies in advance before the flaming begins for offering my thoughts.

Otherwise like you said....pay your money and enjoy the show. I just believe those who loved the scale realism and variety this class used to bring will continue to choke on the present status quo. That is, and has been said, until the new "hot ticket" arrives on the scene. The scenery may change but the end result will be the same. Races full of just the "hot ticket" body....and at that point, 21.5 TC will provide more body variety than USGT. That would be a sad state of affairs. Again, just my opinion.

Me and a buddy continue to run tamiya bodies while the rest of the field is either Cadillac or mustang. We don’t always win but we’re always competitive. When that day comes I’m not competitive I’ll take a hard look at my driving and setup. There’s faster guys that run the class and will be faster than me regardless of what body I race.

+1 I run Tamiya bodies.. presently the Subaru BRZ and it’s every bit as good as the PF bodies

@ASM changing to 25.5 won’t solve the speed problem.. it just delays the problem, until 25.5s become faster just as 21.5s have. We used to run 17.5 remember ?

Fixed FDR might work.

I loved RCGT. Boosted 17.5, HPI and Tamiya had all the bodies in stock and any spoked wheels you wanted. I believe the only reason it died was the fact that you could no longer get the pro compound X-Pattern tire, the compound of choice. Only the D-Compound was made. The drift compound which wasn't as good for racing. Interest dropped as HPI was hurting and it faded away.

Its interesting... I think as the specs to a class tighten, the competition also tightens up. And people want to reduce variables so that only the driver is the difference. Who else can you then blame for your performance right? Like any experiment you're isolating variables.

Downforce limitations have already been addressed by Rob K when he cut the wing down to 10mm height. Its not really doing anything at that point. So now the rest of the car bodies shape is to be considered. I don't know what people want? Bodies that look cool and don't work? Theres a TON of those! And no one is running them. Or buying them. So thats proof that ISNT what we want right? So whats the incentive for Protoform, Exotek, HPI, Mcallister or whoever to spend thousands of dollars to make a body for one class that does't excel on the track? On top of that Pay royalties and license fees for sales on bodies that don't really sell. They would be paying lots of money to make nothing to satisfy requirements that turn out people don't actually want. Tamiya is not in the conversation because they are a scale model company and have their own series where only their bodies are allowed.

This topic has come from observations about competition at a National level Championship race. Are you asking people to suddenly not care about performance? Thats impossible by the nature of racing! If you eliminated the Protoform PFM-10, Vette and Caddy, Exotek P-Zero, Tamiya NSX and BRZ, McAllister MX Stang right now, people will run whatever works best out of whats left. And next year the field will be full of those...

One thing to consider is that the Nats are a very small percent of RC racers who are good drivers and have the ability to travel at the time for that race. At your local club race if you're a decent driver you can run any body and still fair well. Its a hobby for most of us, take it upon yourself to make your car work with your favorite looking body by playing with your setup. Thats also part of the fun! I'm a decent driver and have been chased around the track by a damn Tamiya Lancia Rally! It has the aerodynamics of an ice cream truck

Personally, Thank you to all the manufactures who are taking chances and racking their brains to try to figure out how to make bodies that look cool and work well. That includes everyone....because for 30 bucks a pop we get to drive whatever we want

The 25.5 motor is set and I don't see it getting any faster with the current ROAR rules in place. It provides the most level playing field of all motors. That why bodies don't make difference at all. Even 25.5 touring is the same. Attached is pic of winning body that I had in 25.5 TC and I was using a Bittydesign Ascari....when do you ever see that body used? I like it because it is the Alfa Romeo Giulia.

Using a fixed ratio is hard to police and not all motors work the same using the same ratio....unless they're all the same brand.

I know the Giulia all too well.. I own a 69!

Ahahaha lol.. that was probably me haha j.k. I love that body and have probably painted it up 10 times through the years for my Rallye basher!

I have never tried it at the track.. might have to give it a shot and see if I can make it work.

Many people make reference to "the spirit of the class" or "the intent of the class". Rob and Kevin are the rules makers and enforcers of the USVTA and USGT classes. If THEY feel that there is an issue with the intent/spirit, I'm sure that they'll let us all know, probably on this forum. :-)

Raman,
I have an Audi 190 body painted like Hans Stuck's car from about 30 years ago. What is a more quitessential AWD touring car than that. I am sure that it will have similar handling characteristics as an ice cream truck, but I'm going to run it anyhow.

I've seen some pretty fast ice cream trucks.... LOL