Mid life crisis - looking to go race.
 

Hi all. I have a bit of a dilemma. I'd like to go racing. I've never raced before and only messed around with Tamiya electric cars in a field.

I've found 2 clubs near me that race 1/8th rallycross and also short course trucks (they have the 2wd/4wd classes as well but these 2 appeal more).

I don't have any old kit lying around apart from tools and have a budget of £400 to spend to by all I need. I've had a good look around and I'm looking for some advice. I'm technically minded (well, I think so ;) ) so I'm happy building, repairing, tweaking stuff. I've noticed a lot of cars are available as RTR, which is great financially but they all seem to have steerwheel controllers and as a left hander I really don't get on with these, I prefer sticks. Would I have to by a complete new system or just a Tx?

These are the cars I've been looking at:

Hyper 7.5 RTR

Associated SC10 Brushless RTR Pro Comp

TEAM LOSI 1/10 XXX-SCT SHORT COURSE TRUCK - RTR

For the trucks I'd get a couple of lipos and a charger from HK as I've seen mentioned in other posts.

I'm trying to look at the pros and cons to running nitro or electric. Some alternative inputs would be a great help.

Just a quick thought, you can race electric indoor and outdoor at more places giving you more scope to practice, check out the Ansmann kits for value

Cars and classes are a very personal choice so I'd not put any opinion into the mix :)

However as far as transmitters go it depends on the frequency..if an RTR comes with an older 40 or 27mhz rig you could just buy a crystal based transmitter and swap crystals to your new handset. If however you have a 2.4g system then it's usually 'bound' to the cars receiver. In this case you would need a transmitter and receiver set to replace the whole set up in the car.

You can get 2.4g stick systems from £30...

J

If you decide to race 8th take a look at the losi 2.0 rtr that is the one i was recommended awhile ago. I think most rtr kits now come with wheel and trigger but can soon be changed to sticks

Nitro does interest me but having never used one before I don't now how easy they are to race/set up and maintain.

Electric cars do seem simpler to operate and there is the bonus of using them indoors. The trucks do look to be a fun and interesting class.

Price difference between the 2 is minimal for the models that I'm looking at but I've no idea on long term costs. The lower the better :)

Found this as well which looks interesting:

Kyosho Ultima SCR

Okay I will put my opinion in the pot...

If you are really wanting to race 2wd SC then I'd have to recommend the HPI Blitz ESE... I have the Truggy version the Firestorm..an amazing car and the upgrades available are almost endless, you could with the right amount of money almost have a 90% Alloy chassis if you wanted haha..

But really...it is a very good chassis and is race proven and very tough.

J

This doesn't seem to be available any more and the price is a tad high for what I'm looking to spend.

Overall I PERSONALLY believe that:

(1) Short course trucks are a flash in the plan thing in Europe and they do not teach you how to drive (in the same way as you dont learn to drive a real car by buying a wheelbarrow)
(2) Nitro will always be more expensive than electric.
(3) 1/10th Electric Off Road is for life.. other formats are just for Xmas.

With that in mind, I could have a fun year with the trucks, build up my electrical kit and then move to 1/10th off road next year when I have some experience of racing and events. A cunning plan.

why not start out with 1/10 off road? second hand B4's go for cheap enough on here all the time. Then you can buy your choice of radio gear, and if your buying bits from HK you might aswell add a hobby wing brushless combo to your order and then your ready to go. Start as you mean to go on, racing in a well established class that won't fizzel out once the novelty has worn off.

Thats my 2 pence worth, good luck in whatever you pick! :D

edit: sorry that sounds really negative about SC trucks, my point is more about if your starting out your gunna need plenty of help and advice which will be easier to come by if your racing in a big class and running a car thats been around for a long time.

Having raced both classes over for over 20 years i would say:

Electric and IC are equally as good.

The IC cars are heavier and generally more stable and easier to drive. The downside is you need a friend to tune your engine before the race and refuel it in the finals.
Also learning to tune your engine takes time and patience and can be frustrating (A lesson learnt from experience).

The electric cars are just as fast nowdays and with LIPO and Brusheless require very little maintenance. And you can go racing on your own without having to arrange for a pitman (this is why i switched back to electric).

I have also found that i tend to wear out more tyres on my 1/10th buggy than my 1/8th rallcross car.

The other thing i would look at is what classes your local clubs race as that is probably the best way to choose.

Whatever you choose i hope you enjoy racing as much as i do.

PS i agree with Adam most newcomers at our club start with a B4.

www.trcmcc.co.uk

That leaves you with a really bad driving style, a useless, horrible shoebox of an RC abomination and a an uphill struggle to learn how to drive proper cars that don't handle like wobbly pieces of crap.

You might have noticed I don't like short course trucks too much.

Have you checked out the B4.1 RTR Buggy? Great piece of kit and very capable. If you really want to get into racing properly this would be the way to go in my opinion...

The B4.1 looks a great deal although I'd have to change the radio kit so I could have sticks instead.

The reason for looking at nitros and the trucks is that they are popular at both tracks near me. I'm looking at doing this on a fun basis so I'm not too worried about the future at the moment. I'm just looking to get into racing now and then maybe get serious later on.

Looks like electric will be best for me as the missus is not willing to be my pit crew :(

Would racing a truck mess me up that much? Maybe I should look for an indoor circuit if the 2wd class isn't popular?

I raced my short course up EPR on sunday and had a wicked time, was great fun :thumbsup: there were about 16 of us in total I think in the short course class, so is certainly popular.

I had practiced with a B4.1 up at EPR and I can say that it was slightly harder to handle round the bends, so agree that a better driving style is required......however having said that, sold my b4.1, b4 and b44 and all that I've decided to keep and ultimately race with outdoor/offroad is the short course.

Short course is certainly more forgiving for a newbie on the track, and ultimately our end goals are the same....to have fun, short course class is certainly that.

You mention indoor racing, would that be the tam mini come mardave classes? I've just invested in both these classes, but can't feedback on racing them yet....mardaves are ridiculously cheap as are the spares to go with them, check them out on ebay :thumbsup:

How about this?

Schumacher Cougar SV - Race S1 - Kit

As I would have to replace the Tx on a RTR set up, this seems like a good kit. There doesn't seem to be many kits around. There is a cougar in the for sale section but it seems a bit pricey.

If you're clubs race Trucks..then get a Truck :) SC is not going anywhere any time soon. In the UK and Europe it might not be massive but basically every club in the US runs SC and will run SC for the foreseeable future.

I like SC and will probably add one to my collection eventually.

As a note... most SC cars are a convert or variation of a buggy...so with a small amount of parts swapping you can easily convert a SC into a buggy or vica versa...in fact a few kits have come as both.

J

It's nice to hear someone say something positive about the trucks. They don't seem to be so popular (with the pure racers?) As a new racer forgiving sounds better to me and then if I like it maybe get into more serious stuff?

I'm looking to have fun, especially as I'm just starting and the trucks are popular at the 2 local clubs. If it was indoor, I'd be looking at the minis as these look fun and not too expensive and have a good turn out at a club 15 miles from me.

If i were you i would get a kit rather than an rtr. As you say all the rtr's come with the wrong tx for you anyway, with a kit you can install your preferred electrics and the cars usually come slightly better spec'd. The cougar is a good car, as is the b4.1 and also look at the new TLR 22 thats on the way as that is under £200 too.

:thumbsup:If it's popular at two local tracks do it, that's your answer :thumbsup:

Yeah opinion on oople is quite mixed about this class, from reading past threads.

And yeah I supose the point is you can get race confident with a sct, then if you want to take the next step then go down the b4, cougar route.....or do the whole indoor tam mini thing too, get the best of both world then.

Indoor racing when it's raining and freezing cold and outdoor in the warmer weather :thumbsup: (that's my plan anyway)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Associated-SC1...item19c224dc8a


pretty sure that this seller is an oopler?

The trucks are also raced indoors through the winter here as well, along with 4wd and 2wd. At least I've decided on electric :)

This looks like a good option. May be tempted by this. I think the motor and esc selection would be the most difficult choice. From what I've read, brushless seems the best way to go. What's the brushless equivalent of a standard motor?

....indoor and outdoor sct :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Erm, can tell you what I had and now have in my sct....1st went for the Hobbywing 35a 9t sensorless brushless set up (£50 from HK on ebay) and then downsized the motor to a Brushless Novak Havok sensored 10.5T (£75 here on oople).

Most peeps on here would prob recommend you go for something along the lines of a 6.5t brushless - but this will ultimately depend on your track, corners, straights etc.

I'd recommend taking a pop down to one of your locals and having a chat with the race director, that's where my advice came from to get the 10.5t and they were spot on, yes it's not a super fast set up, but for me and track I've started racing at, it's perfect :thumbsup:

they are an oopler, tis in the for sale section below (6 days ago - cutting edge)

Where are your local clubs ?

Grantham. A1 racing which is the main one I'm interested in.

And...

As for being a mutant lefty, there are options for pistol control if you ever fancy it...

Like this Futaba

Have a surf around...

J

I had a look for some wheels that convert to left handed but they all seem rather pricey. It would be rather costly if I didn't like it although it does appeal to me.

SCT's are great. My 2wd slash is one of my favourite rc cars of the last 20 or so years. I wouldn't worry about it, especially if your local club races them. If you can get one of these racing around a circuit well you won't have any problems moving over to buggies at a later date if you wanted to.

im not going to get started on what class or car to buy, but the one thing that i would say is matt is right start with a 10.5, why! yes it not the fastest, but the point of becoming a racer to to become smooth, not to hit anything, when i started a long time ago i only ever ran the old school 27t untill i never hit a thing... i found that ppl was asking me what i had in my car, and when i told them they were shocked that i was beating them when they was using a 14t.

so start of right and become a real driver and not just a speed nut:p

:lol::lol::lol::lol: nice way to start a moring with a nice laugh thanks

Christ, this must be one hell of a long Christmas..... 16 years on/off involvement in 1/8 IC RallyX, feels like Groundhog Day!

Get a 1/8th IC RTR - Much more fun than buzzy little elecy things.... ;)

Seriously, IC seems to suit those that like to tinker with their cars as there is so much going on in them. Electric is more simply but just as much fun, it's horses for courses really. As someone pointed out you do need someone to help in IC however most drivers at good clubs will help you out with guiding you with engine tuning, setups, pitting etc etc. Remember we all started somewhere.

Good luck in what you choose either way...

I've decided to get a truck. The appeal of all year round racing works for me. I may look at rallycross cars again in the summer but for now I'll stick to the ease of electric cars.

I'm going to order lipos from HK. Does it matter what size? I'm looking at these:

Turnigy 5000mAh 2S2P 7.4v 40C hardcase pack

and this charger:

IMAX B6-AC Charger/Discharger 1-6 Cells

Will these be ok? So many different batteries available.

That charger is fine but you will need a 12v power supply but most people just use their real car batteries.

I know a couple of people who have had Turnigy batteries swell up on them and when that happens they are dead.

The charger uses mains as well. The batteries are a lot cheaper than UK ones so I may take a risk on a couple of packs and pick up one pack over here to be safe.

The IMAX B6 is a great little charger, it does have a charger available so get it at the same time (laptop type - actually I do believe you can use a laptop charger but please do check)

Ebay have plenty from HK, but I got mine from the UK via an Ebay supplier with the charger :) for about £25 quid.

After a discussion with the very helpful guy at my local shop, I came away with a Hong Nor SCRT10. This looks like it's going to be great fun!

cool, a 4wd sct :thumbsup:

Hope you have a barrel load of fun trackside.

I couldnt agree more :)