It would be nice if there was a RTR car that was legal out of the box. Even if it wasn't good long term, that sort of kit would drive startup cost way down and add a way in for people who are afraid of putting together a car to race. I mean I could piece together a legal USGT car for about $300ish, so that should be possible. They won't be driving to the limit of the chassis for while awhile anyways.

there is, its called the Serpent 411 RTR, just change your motor...

How fast is the new spec motor? Hopefully much slower than the current crop of 21.5 motors? Slightly slower? USGT speeds has changed a lot since we first ran it at our track 5 years ago.

It just drives the costs up. To hit min weight you need a carbon chassis car or start worrying about stupid money on upgrades that save single digits of grams all over the place. I'd rather see min weight go up to make more low dollar and older cars possible to run. If you want a faster class where your $1000 chassis can really shine there are plenty of other classes.

To get younger drivers and more drivers you need a reasonably priced or cheap car. But, it has to be very durable. In my experience with junior/middle school kids, the only TC type car that meets those standards the 4Tec 2.0. We have run TT01E's and TC4's in the past.. We ran the 4Tec class like the Euro Truck Class except we didn't care what body they had and we ran Jaco Blues, which were donated, on grey carpet. The 4Tecs we bought came without a body. There were basically two issues with the car and that was an occasional dog bone would pop out and because of the design and tightness of the servo saver we had to replace a few servos. We bought cheap metal geared servos for about $12 from Value hobby and they held up well. If you want to get more people involved and have fun I suggest the 4tec 2.0. The people making decisions should consider such a class. In todays world the fact that the 4Tec is RTR is important. Two years ago we ran a Euro Truck Class and they did not hold up as well. Unlike many years ago the students had less help at home and there were problems with them building their cars. It could be called USGT Sportsman or whatever you like.

Transponders are not talked about enough. $90 is a big fraction of ~any~ build.

Personally, I have no problem swapping the transponder from vehicle-to-vehicle. Of my 6 (soon to be 7, once my TLR 22T 4.0 is built) vehicles, 3 of them are race-ready, plus I have a mount in each vehicle. Swapping from one vehicle, to another, takes less than a minute. Now, I will admit I've considered (and, am still considering) getting a second transponder, which would allow to have any 2 vehicles "ready to go". With this setup, even if you planned on running multiple vehicles in the same day, swapping is simple, and fast.

For those still not "convinced" of the benefit...especially the financial benefit...of having only 1 or 2 transponder(s), you could always have a buddy swap one transponder (say, from vehicle 1, to vehicle 3) while you're running vehicle 2. In-turn, you can do the same for your busy when s/he's on the track, and you're not. While there is a strong, and serious, competitive nature within RC racing, what some people seem to forget is that it's meant...first, and foremost...to be FUN. It's the "seriousness" that had caused a lot of people to leave RC, and caused others who were initially interested to not bother getting involved. Help each other, and, in turn, you help yourself.

EDIT: I had to update/edit this, considering what I just came across. I was having breakfast at a small cafe in Boulder Creek, where I typed everything above. Using the restroom before I left, I noticed a sign hanging on the wall. After reading the sign, I thought to myself, "Every RC track should have this sign hanging at their entrance.

As always, no one can ever be satisfied.

USGT is not an entry level class. It's definitely faster than trans am. The reason it's moving to a spec motor is all the 9th place 17.5 drivers who are buying $150 dollar motors so they can win in USGT. IF the problem is the drivers who have unlimited budgets for motors, or access to the best examples of motors, how can this be an entry level class?

It is not. It's not the highest level of competition, but it's not really for those who are just starting out. The intention is good close racing, fun, and at least "scale-ish" looking cars. It's been my favorite sedan class as an old, washed up, "never-was" driver. We used to have a lot of really good close races. I'd like to get back to that.

As far as the masses who are just waiting for the special, magical combination of equipment and specification to flood on road tracks everywhere, well, I have no idea what that is. It would be great if you could just take something out of the box and start driving it at a race track. Slashes were kind of like that until everyone ruined it.

I agee that USGT is not entry level and VTA is not an entry level class. If people want more participation in on road racing then there needs to be an entry level or cheaper classes with RTR cars in my opinion. As you said people ruined the Slash Class. So why not use vta association might be able organize an entry level class?

I agree. I think that's as an excellent idea...although, I don't think it should be limited to just RTR vehicles. I think BNR & kits should still be allowed...but, whether RTR, BNR, or kit vehicles are used, running a RTR powertrain (motor & ESC) should be required.

For example, if someone wants to use a used XRAY T4, that would be ok...as long as they're running an RTR powertrain, such as a Traxxas VXL motor/ESC. This way, people would have the choice of buying a new RTR or BNR...or they could buy a used rolling chassis (as most people selling used cars typically remove the motor & ESC), install any RTR powertrain, and they're ready to go...cheaply. What better way for someone new to RC to get involved in "high-performance" racing, with as little cash output as possible.

As I said, I really have no idea what would work. Everybody has ideas that don't seem to get much traction.

The only thing I have seen that does work is when the race director or other person in charge actively makes new people feel welcome, and helps them have fun. It's pretty rare, since it involves a certain amount of personal charisma. The most new people at a track featured a guy like that and a sportsman or novice class that was mostly run what you brung. And if there was not enough, he would wedge you in a class somewhere, so you had a chance to race.

Trans am and USGT have made quite a few companies a lot of money. That's not the point, but you would think these guys would have a vested interest in figuring out how to get more participants instead of relying on goofs from the internet to figure it all out for them.

Agreed but a must have for all racers. Too many times I see new racers scrambling to get their house transponder mounted and ready. Sometimes the house transponders are old and don't register. House transponders are the number one cause of delay at the tracks I frequent. That and untimely marshalls.