newbie

[mikee2k]

Guys

im a complete newbie to all this but keen to get a new car and start getting involved in some events

1st question what would you reccomend for a first car i have done my research and i want an electric one, i have a budget of around £175-£200

2nd question do they do a beginners format to racing on track days and if so where can i find more info

Thanks in advance
Mikee

[cutting42]

Hi Mikee

There have been a few threads on this topic but mostly the answers are:

1/ Find a local club first
2/ Ask what cars are people racing
3/ Probably (but not exclusively) it will involve 1/10th Buggies
4/ 2 wheel drive is cheaper and more popular but you can do 4WD on a budget but it is trickier
5/ If you buy RTR (ready to run) you should get everything in the kit except batteries and a charger. However if you get a kit you need to budget for a radio system, batteries, chargers, motor, speed controller and servo.
6/Consider second hand as you can get someones whole kit and caboodle including spares for a knock down price.
7/ Everyone will promote their favourite car but top makes are Team Associated, Schumacher, Losi, Durango and Kyosho. Ansmann make some great value cheaper kits and some of the Tamiya kits can go very well.

Cheers

Gareth

PS, most clubs are very friendly to new racers. You will be placed in a series of races called heats that are generally sorted by experience so there will be a beginners heat where you can learn your craft. At the end of the evening there will be finals graded by how well you did in your heat with the A final for the best, the B final for the next and so on. Depending on how many people are racing you may be in the G or H final for example

[benl]

Hello Mike,
If you are completley new to all of this, as I was then the first thing you
need to ask yourself is what you want to race ie. 1/10 offroad 1/10 on-road 1/8 nitro offroad etc (I'm guessing 1/10 offroad as thats predominantley what this site caters for, and Its the best).
You also need to choose between 2wd and 4wd, 2wd allegedley has a steeper lerning curve than 4wd but having never tried 4wd I couldn't comment.
Once you have decided that you should try and do is visit your local club and have a chat with the guys there.They should be able to give you some good advice on what car to buy (you want something that is common at your club so spares are available should you need them).
The best resourse I have found for information by far is this very site so you could do a lot worse than spending a few hours trawling through posts on anything and everything until you feel more confident with all the terminology etc.
Unless you have a healthy budget your best bet is to buy second hand, again I would suggest for now look mainly for items from the for sale section on this site (you can check the seller out in the trader section before you buy anything).
This is how I started in the Summer and I'm still loving it!
Good luck mate and have fun
and remmeber its not about the racing its mainly about the cool stickers

[Burty248]

Hello mike

1st read this:
http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60671

Great guide and may answer some of your questions.

I started racing mid summer this year and i am having loads of fun. I started in 2wd because that's what i had. 2wd is generally simpler and easier to get into than 4wd but takes more driving skill. but that's only what i have heard.

Good thing to do is go to your local club if you don't know which is your local club have a look in the around club talk section. once your at the club have a chat with people see what there running watch the racing ect. you might even find that someone is willing to sell you some gear.

best bet on car would be 2nd hand. also with electrics (electrics can be expensive). maybe post something in the wanted section? As with the car you may get loads of suggestions whats best but as a newbie it wont matter, as you wont be that good to outperform the car. Just don't get something that is over the top and stick to the main big brands.


best thing about being new is that hitting first jump and watching your car fly through the air for the first time.

James