vnmsgt

iTrader: (2)

Sorry I did not mean to start a big argument! LOL! Just that the quality of alot of smaller companies has grown and leaps and bounds these past couple of years. Got nervous there CAM when I saw you posted LOL! I was like uh oh what is he going to say?

camshaft

iTrader: (1)

Hey Chris, yeah I dont usually get worked up enough to post on sites, just when people dont do the research before they type. I remember when this new company started out and built this really low quality vehicle that had horrible transmission problems. I mean this companies vehicle had major problems in its drivetrain and the electronics werent the best. Now they have some of the most innovative products on the market. They stepped outside the box, and didnt care what others thought of them. It was Traxxas, and I guarentee you that all the other brands would have thought of the monster truck, cause even if there arent alot of them show up to races, they sell alot of them. People tend to forget that rtrs dominate the market and that only like 3% of all cars sold make it to the racetrack. Thats what I hope our electric car does for Caster Racing, not just for us, but also the manufacturer. It is the next class, and will pull alot of people that would never have owned an 1/8 car. Just an opinion, but a calculated one!

cam

blowpopracer

iTrader: (1)

I personally think this is a great post and I certainly dont want to argue with anyone either. There are definately benefits from these other companies coming about, as cam is right competition does fuel innovation and new ideas. I also agree that alot of people have their own opinion on which product is best. I try to do alot of reading on here and also watching the new products as they appear on the local track to see how they fare. Because as i said earlier a "Pro" driver like some of the big names could probably power a Wal Mart rc car to the a main.

It was also pointed out that some of the above mentioned companies have addressed the problems that was seen in the earlier models. Again I think that the main problem these smaller companies have is exposure. Which is why I think if they wanna succeed they should offer sponsorship to more of the sportsman type of driver. Like I said earlier in just a few months atleast 5 people bought Mugen truggies after seeing me wheel it. And as much as I would love to say it was due to my abilities it was actually quite to the contrary. Instead it was because I proved that the truck would hold up to anything, then better drivers wanted to try it cause they were so impressed with the durability and suprise suprise they found out it handled awesome in the hands of a better driver to myself.

I certainly hope no one thought I was bashing any particular product I was just stating what I witnessed on the track. With respects to my posts about caster,ocm and losi products I will mention that I have never driven them but as I said I have observed them closely. I wish I would have had the opportunity to drive a caster or ocm to try them but with respects to the losi it just didnt look like it would fit my driving style or lack there of very well.

camshaft

iTrader: (1)

lol, no offense taken bud. Our cars have had thier issues for sure, but are coming around now. If I am ever up there and you want to take my ride around for a few laps, just let me know. Or if you just want to talk, thats okay too! Some of the biggest problems the smaller asian companies have is that they dont know what to do to build thier cars to take the usa tracks. Thats were we come in. Caster has listened to us, and are improving thier products very quickly. Just in the last six months it has gotten much better. So as long as that trend stays true, there will be no stopping it. OCM is proof of that, as they have a good program now, and started about where we started. This is a positive conversation now, lets keep it going!

hakmazter

ABurton, congratulations on a very phenominal post. It sounds exactly like something I would say. I need to do some research on OCM as I can tell that if you do business as well as you communicate in forums, OCM will do just fine here in the United States.

That being said, I would like to continue on with what he was saying... The reality of the situation is that anytime someone comes to market with anything that is similar, it has to be sold for a cheaper price. Look at Honda and Toyota in the 1970s or the Cheri that will be coming soon to a city near you. Want a different area, Look at LG tvs vs Mitsubishi or Pioneer.

The product is equal to or better than the major player, but the reality of the situation is simply as a customer....Here is the major brand name vs here is an unknown...Which do I buy? Now if you as the customer have a good knowledgeable salesperson, they will steer you in the right direction, however, if both products are similar in price, the lesser known brand will never sell. So any newcomer in any industry has to sell for less in order to hope that someone will take a chance or for economic reasons buy the newcomer. They then have to create brand recognition and reputation. If they fail there, they are dead in the water.

If the newcomer has unlimited funding, they can advertise to no end and create their own name recognition. A good example of this is the adjustable sleep number bed or proflowers.com. These companies advertise so heavily that everyone knows them, but the question is, will customers buy because of it?

hakmazter

so, the reality of the situation for most companies that start up is that they have to sell for less. make less profit, grow their business, and create customer loyalty. Hopefully, they become successful and then by selling more, they can slowly raise their prices and spend some extra profit on things like magazine, newspaper, tv, or radio advertising. Then things change for the company as it becomes bigger and there are a bunch of new battles to be fought.

Now for a change of topic, I re-read D Graham's post and did notice that he did mention that he had a prototype Caster buggy and he was unhappy with it. That is a fair statement as the first batch into the U.S. had problems. There weren't a lot of parts available as there is no reason to have boxes of potentially bad parts lying around when the goal is to fix problems. That would be a waste of capital.

There were several team members who were responsible for making changes to the Caster products and then they were dramatically improved upon. Apparently, his wanting to be successful in racing was more important than being a team member of a company that was asking for his help. I fully understand and respect that, I just wish he understood what was going on up front as he now seems to have a bitter taste for us. Hopefully he will give us the opportunity to prove how far we have come at some point in the future (even if it is just a test drive)

The guy from Evansville, I do not know of anyone who owns a Caster in your area. Please try your best to identify who it is you are talking about. I have heard that Cam has been up there and was doing very well. I am just wondering if that has anything to do with your comments. The reality of the situation is that he could drive any other buggy (and has) and do similarly.

The guy from Des Moines, I really do not understand where you are coming from and it is apparent that you must dislike Cam or something. However, to be fair, I will agree with one thing you said...which is that the Caster RTR body is cheap and flimsy. I only have one question for you though...How long have you kept a factory body on? As a hobbyist, I purchase a new body with a new vehicle every time and use the stocker for break in and then pitch it, in the meanwhile, I am painting my own so mine is unique as it is a hobby and it would probably be hard to distinguish one from another. As a matter of fact, at the old Hobby Haven, I had a xxxt and painted it silver. Mike Sanders also had a xxxt. We raced together a few times and he lost a race because we tangled up and couldn't tell whose was whose......

hakmazter

and finally, at one time there was only Kyosho and Associated was a newcomer...then Losi was a newcomer...then traxxas...then xray....then Mugen....then Ofna....then OCM....then Caster, etc....you get the point...

Same thing as there was only Diamler Benz, then there was Ford, etc...

Another thing, why is it that everyone says that a newcomer is a copy of something else? I do not see this in other industries such as a 42" plasma by Samsung is not accused of being a Pioneer copy, etc... but it is prevalent in this industry. A 42" plasma is a 42 " plasma. A 1/10 scale truck is a 1/10 scale truck.

As far as I am concerned, the only thing I have seen that is innovative is the Traxxas cantilever suspension systems and that is technically a direct copy from indy car technology. A person puts a truck body and bigger tires on a buggy and it becomes a 1/10 scale truck. Someone decides to put 8 shocks and big tires on a 1/8 scale and calls it a monster truck, etc.... These are just toys that we all have a lot of fun with, gentlemen. But on the same concept, I do have a question and I am asking to make a point, not to be disrespectful...

With everyone's permission, when Losi, Mugen, XRay, Ofna, etc...decide to make an 1/8 scale electric, can they be called a cheap Caster knockoff? Just wondering.

hakmazter

So, like I said, I am not trying to get everyone wound up or start a war, but there are several things I see that I truly do not understand, but I am not from this industry. I fully understand brand loyalty, etc... but I do not understand the misinformed bashing that goes on in this particular forum and it goes far beyond Caster vs OCM or Caster is OCM or both are garbage because they had a problem just like OFNA, LOSI, AE, XRAY, and MUGEN all did. I see it in every section here and to be honest, I am just as offended when someone says that they saw a guy with a 1/18 scale Losi and it was junk because....(fill in the blank) or "my savage is a piece of crap and broke" and then you see a video on youtube of the guy jumping it over his house onto the driveway.

And yes, Mr. Burton is correct, OCM and Caster Racing are not affiliated in any way but I do hope for his continued success in the United States and beyond.

The Working Man

iTrader: (1)

A Burton Is there a OCM dealer in south Fla. I'm ready to try something new that everyone dosn't have.

dgraham225

iTrader: (4)

yea, you pretty much hit that spot on.. i had one of the first cars before the big order came in, it wasnt the blue car though, it was the newer car (zx-1r?), but yes it still had its issues.. And i wouldnt have minded at all being a team player to help out, but without changing things on the car to another mfrs parts, i couldnt have run the car. and IMO, if someone sees my car on the track and comes over to my pits to ask, i dont want to try and promote a car with other companys products on it, lol! (bb shocks are an exception nowadays to me though)..

and doing so, i left without saying much. i dont want to come off like i was bashing the company at all, i think its great to see upcoming companies getting realtime help from the drivers themselves, not from some armchair engineer, LOL! but i just couldnt play a part in that at the time, i wanted to race! lol!

but yea, looking back at it from now, it didnt leave a bitter taste in my mouth, but i do think the car need some improvements to be made. i just didnt have the time to spend with the car and test/tune, what track time i do get is valuable practice/race time.. but later on in the future, id be more than happy to give it a try again! no grudges here, im not that childish, lol!

ABURTON

iTrader: (24)

yes, Chris Figuero @ holeshothobbies, www.holeshothobbies.com

send me a email to [email protected] and I can get ya set up with him.

mugenlife

iTrader: (4)

i think all the cars can do well just the companies and partnerships have to last in alot of cases to get it to the point you need to make it "big". the actual hard part though is getting the car into the right hands on the club and regional level where most of your potential customers feel comfortable with trying a car no one else has. less experienced racers don't want to feel like they are alone on an island. it is also difficult to really ask questions about a car that you do not own and very few run (compared to the others). what also makes it difficult is when a new design or buggy fails or does poorly EVERYONE knows about seemingly and i think it hurts the other companies starting out.
the way i see it is a car/buggy just needs to be adequate as far as suspention and tuning as well as weight and to be reasonably durable. after that it becomes a skill set as i TRUELY feel that there are precious few who can actually get the full potential out of a car to begin with. much the same with extremely powerful engines over the course of a full race.

blowpopracer

iTrader: (1)

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DirtyDezPirate

iTrader: (14)

Some people like different type of cars for thier own perfernces, i like mugens because theyre smooth and fast on corners. But I like the losi handles well on jumps, straight ways, and bumpy areas.

blowpopracer

iTrader: (1)

I am not from Evansdale I just race there among many other places. Im not going to post names of any particular drivers as I dont want to come across as insulting to them. I was very interested in a Caster cause it had many similarities with a mugen, Im not calling it a copy or knockoff just saying that it looks similar to a mugen and I really like mugen. The other reason I was interested in Caster as I like to drive vehicles that are different from the run of the mill buggy. I did see what I would consider a high percentage of them break on the track some from crazy wrecks some from not, however what model/production date from that I dont know.

As far as how Cam does racing... No offense Cam but honestly where you finish doesnt matter to me cause I admittingly amd not NEAR the driver he is. Cam is a upper tier pro class driver. I on the other hand am a lower tier sportsman class driver. I have no problems with Cam or Caster at all as people can/will driver whatever they choose and can afford. I was just stating what I have witnessed and I am completely honest about it. I admitted I did not own a Caster, have not driven a Caster, and that I am a poor driver. Cam did offer to let me take his buggy for a spin next time I see him, and I may take him up on it.

Bottom line for me is that if any small company wants to make it (with the racers anyways) they need to get as much exposure as possible via sponsorship to the sportsman drivers. For me I try to buy from my LHS over online, so parts availability is a huge factor in my decision on what I buy, it is equally important with durability. With my driving level "the bells and whistles" probably dont help me at all, what does help me is finishing races and thats why I put so much emphasis on the above.

I am a huge advocate of less expensive products as I love seeing new faces at the track and I feel the cost of racing RC's can be prohibitive to many. I hope some of these smaller/newer companies coming out make it, but I strongly feel that to do so they need to sponsor the type of driver that is raw and can prove the buggy is reliable as well as a race contender!