how acceptable is it to modify parts on a kit?
 

just a general topic I would be interested to hear peoples views on.

how acceptable is it to have to modify, dereml, drill parts on your car to make it fit or to get it to work?

would not not buy a car because of this?
do you like to do this?

do you expect a national level competition kit to have to be finished by hand?

I wouldn't expect it to 'need' finishing by hand but I quite enjoying making changes or 'improvements' by dremeling and cutting the original stuff. :woot:

Mass market kits tend to be over engineered to be stronger for the general public so I think there is a lot that can be done to make them better\faster (maybe at the expence of a little durability).

i would think like any top end specialized vehicle,some modifying and or dremmeling to be done,i enjoy it,and find it hard to see any firm making competitive priced cars that don't need it,theres just to many variables,

another one....

if you buy a product for your car, how acceptable is it to HAVE to buy another product (from another manufacturer) to be able to fit/use this part?

depends if its in the original instructions or detail, ie (to use this u must have )

Yeah, agree with bigred, as long as it's stated clearly and early on then to me it's OK to buy something that also needs something else.

Depends on the part. If it's breakable and only one bit breaks i don't want to be buying a pack when i could get just one bit. I think as long as the parts are properly labled as needing more to complete i see no harm in it.

In answer to your first question, I think it is unacceptable.

For the basic kits made for the mass market - the people buying these do not neccesarily have the skill or knowhow to do this, therefore do not get the best from the kit which may deter them from continuing.

For the Pro/Team/WE kits - we are paying a premium for the best kit available, it should therefore not need to be "fettled" to get it together properly.


As for your second question, unfortunately I do not understand what you mean, do you have an example?

I think if it makes the car faster/easier to drive, racers wouldn't think twice.

G

thanks for the replies.

an example of my second question.

I have an AE car.

I see a new product from Toe-Racing that I really want, but to make the Toe-Racing part fit on my car I ALSO need to buy the PieSpeed part. (and it does clearly state that)

acceptable?

I think I am biased on this one, well in fact I am.

I think that everyone has a choice of what to buy and that choice is based on information and personal preference. So as long as you know what you are buying, what else you need and what are options then it's OK. It is possible that you determine the best car for you is the hardest to build/assemble, becasue that will be fastest. Others will not agree.

We all chose to buy car kits that come with no eletronics, some people from outside the racing part of our hobby might think this is unacceptable, or that we buy seperate tyres and wheels and have to glue them together. We as racers see this as necessary!

Yes as long as both are available freely. Would be a bit of a p!sser if you really wanted part A but part B were discontinued :D

If its a 'hardcore' racing product then maybe it doesn't matter so much - but people generally want it all handing to them on a plate - and if they want something, they want to buy it and have done, not be faffing about searching for another thing as well. If both things were offered at the same source and it was easy to understand etc then thats ok - but saying you need to go find this piespeed part yourself 'good luck' isn't really good.

Yes I think so if you choose to use an hop up from an alternate supplier especially if they make you aware before you buy

Ooohhh, some new Toe Racing and PieSpeed parts! I can't wait :woot:

G

If PieSpeed have a patent so that Toe-Racing cannot make it then they wouldn't have a choice.

A lot of this is also down to the economics of actually turning out parts for the small racing section of toy cars. As and engineer and my involvement with X Factory I think I understand true costs much better than most people. I often get annoyed when people suggest that manufactures could easily do this and that when they don't realise the cost of molding tooling etc.

That said nobody likes poor quality plastics and mouldings etc, especially from the larger companies.

Please note I continue to acknowledge my bias to this thread!

good points everyone, lets hear some more...

for referance - I am not currently planning anything - some people have asked!

its just general research that I am interested in peoples views

I dont like a kit where you have to dremmel this and that during the build i dont mind filling the packing pieces of parts but i do like having a fiddle with things and making them for my own interest.

A

(biased)

If I was to buy a complete kit, such as a B4, T4, etc etc etc, then id expect the thing to be able to be built up with no dremelling or filing.

I do expect to have to file pips off parts, dremel wishbones so they don't bind and tap some threads before putting a screw in. But this is my choice, it should not be a requirement though, just choice.

If I was choosing a conversion, such as a X-factory, then by the nature of the car then id expect to have to do some dremel work to build it, to adapt the donor car to fit. Some people take some pleasure in doing this, some don't, everybodies different.

If I was buying an aftermarket part for a specific car, then id expect that part to fit straight from the packet - unless i was buying something which wasn't intended for the car and I choose to fettle it, such as putting a XXX4 DC Racing diff into an X-5/XX4.... thats my choice.

Chris

Exsample of what i mean is my mini t to make it more tuneable i dremmeled 2mm off each side of the rear hubs and put two washers so i could have ajustable wheelbase like on the cr its not neccasery but i like to do it.

A