whats the crack these days???

[Thargor]

hey guys.. i stumbled upon your forum while looking for something else but it got me thinking.
i used to race years ago in the 90's. i got a mardave meteor for one christmas (when they were competitive) and i used to race in horwich every sunday at bolton buggy club...we modded the mardave so much i think it was the quickest one in exsistance at one point with the original chassis and silver star speed controller!!!! haha. i moved on to schumachers and i think ive still got a cougar 2 works somewhere in the house. i stopped going and the club closed eventually. i had a spurt a bit later at 1/8th on road as they sounded nuts.. didnt last long and i went to uni and discovered booze and girls...
i was just wondering what is the equipment to have these days? and could my old schumacher even come close to the pace of the new 1/10th buggys?
things i can remember being good from when i used to race electric are:
13 double motors that used to pretty much melt most mid priced speed controllers
SCR nicads? i think they were the best battery's
ha, a futaba attack transmitter on 40mhz (it was dated then when i owned it)
schumacher yellow spot tyres
an oakley sticker on your back wing
slipper clutches were coming in
and i think the last car to come out i knew about was the cougar 2000

i was just wondering where the technology was at these days and if the races were still 5 mins or if technology had advanced so that you can run longer races? when i last raced the cars would run out of power crossing the line most of the time and the really quick 4wd's would not usually finish the race haha...

cheers for any info

steve.....

[Bungleaio]

It's moved on so far it's unbelievable.

The essential parts of the cars are the same but the electronics are so different. Motors no longer have brushes and are ultra efficient. Batteries are all Lipo's now really, massive power and able to run for 15 mins + if you want to.

Races are generally 5 mins still as it's a format that works but dumping is not an issue.

Have a look at one of the shop's websites and have a look at the kit available. www.rccarshop.co.uk

[Thargor]

cheers yeah i will......

not sure where this "start the clock post has come from"


brushless motors? how do they work? does that mean no more skimming??? i remember that being a pain... i used to run a 15 x 3 motor i think.. i had a 16 x 6 somewhere too....

do you thinkk the old chassis / gearbox could handle the power?
i know the old girl could get through the corners (probably) but would the diff / spur gear hold on??
i think another problem would be seals for the shocks.. but i bet some new shocks are the same length.... you still run 2.2" tyres??

[bigred5765]

i would say leave the old cougar as it worth a few quid now its a vintage class car spares will be hard to get hold of,and fare from competative,

[Thargor]

are old cars becoming collectables?? ive got some sick old sleds stashed away in my loft...
yes i think it would depend on the spares really... would be cool to see a quick cougar 2 again tho....
whats the grid sizes like nowadays? i remember at bolton back in the day we used to have finals all the way down to G at a club race....i remember going to somewhere in bury a few years ago and the turnout was really poor.... i supposedthe kids like playstation now instead....

[Si Coe]

You can run it, and its better than you'd think, but given how cheap a Madrat kit is (£50) I suspect you'd be better off with that.

Anyway - I've PMed you more, but now this thread is tidied up I'm happy to post here.

Bury's typical club turnout these days tends to be around 30, Roundabout slightly less. Southport gets a little more, but 50+ is rare for a club meet.
The indoor series at Chadderton sometimes pulls in 100+ drivers though.

[Bungleaio]

People will pay good money for the right old cars, dig them out and get some photos in the vintage section and the guys will be able to help you with some prices.

Some meetings go down further than G finals but club days it won't be that busy.

[JCJC]

Originally Posted by Thargor

cheers yeah i will......

not sure where this "start the clock post has come from"


brushless motors? how do they work? does that mean no more skimming??? i remember that being a pain... i used to run a 15 x 3 motor i think.. i had a 16 x 6 somewhere too....

do you thinkk the old chassis / gearbox could handle the power?
i know the old girl could get through the corners (probably) but would the diff / spur gear hold on??
i think another problem would be seals for the shocks.. but i bet some new shocks are the same length.... you still run 2.2" tyres??

Brushless motors are almost fit & forget, no skimming, are faster & have more power (windings on the rotor, electronics in the can cause it to rotate, only a bearing at each end to worry about), mostly an equilivant to a 9 turn is used (lower in TC), motors need a matching speed control, these can be programmed with different profiles.

Batteries are easy to use lipos, a lot less weight, always lots of power, without extra weight in the car they are too fast. Controls are 2.4g - auto picks a free channel (no crystals) always locks on to your car, switch on and go. Makes for more time twix heats for a wander & a chat, a nicer day for most ( not sure whats upset captainlip) cars all have slippers, still run yellow spot tyres etc. if the races were longer then we would not fit the heats & finals into a day. Big changes in the last couple of years, get down to a club a look around.

[Thargor]

just looking on that website now
yes those batterys/motors look very different...
cant believe after 20 years tyres are the same price!!!!!

[Thargor]

yeah i was pretty young when i started racing but i remember being totally busy between races tyring to get the car sorted for the next heat....
wow sounds awesome... no crysatlls??!!! amazing. you could get basic program speedos when i stopped. bet the cars weigh nothing... i suppopse charging the batterys is better now too.. i remember i had a special set of slow charge scc's i had to save for the final. i spen so much time messing with those things.. i had car headlights to plug them into to make sure they were discharged the right ammount before putting them oon charge at the exact time on sat night for them to be peaking in the morning before setting off...
are there any local indoor clubs racing in the evening in the mcr area??

[Si Coe]

As you are a Manc, I'd suggest JE Spares or Roundabout Toys depending on where you are in town.

Bury's club president and font of all Ansmann knowledge Stu Wood works at JE Spares.
Dave at Roundabout runs Roundabout Raceway.

Pop to either shop and talk to the guys there and they will fill you in on all you need to know to slot straight back into the racing scene.

[bigred5765]

bury are still up and running, southport are still racing,and round about raceway is a newish one
horwich is long gones and leigh to, shame i used to be able to race almost every day of the week,

[Si Coe]

Originally Posted by Thargor

yeah i was pretty young when i started racing but i remember being totally busy between races tyring to get the car sorted for the next heat....

are there any local indoor clubs racing in the evening in the mcr area??

Roundabout races every other Wednesday in Denton. They've got a proper, decent indoor offroad setup these days.
Stockport races on Thursdays in Cheadle. Its really more a TC club, and the track is tiny, but its still good fun, and very cheap.

Also a bit more of a haul, but Ribble run on Fridays in Leyland.

And yes - Bury and Southport still race Sundays.

[bigred5765]

lol forgot about leyland sorry guys and i only live 1 mile away from the track,didnt know stockport were still about,

[Si Coe]

You hadn't noticed that Terry pops up every time classic RC's are mentioned?
Mind you, I can't see Matty racing at that track!

Actually Thargor - Take your Cougar to Stockport. Their race director is a classic RC nut and will likely try to buy it off you there and then!

[Thargor]

if i can find it and blow off the cobwebs.. as i remember its in pretty good nick...
ive also got a serpent vector 1/8th ic an origional mardave meteor that has seen better days tbh and a 1/12th mardave stock car somewhere too....

[Thargor]

whats a madrat???
if i was going to race again and the cougar was not up to it i think i know what car id get......

whats the best current 1/10th buggy..?? jut name one dudes, see if im right

[Si Coe]

TBH, if you've got exactly no modern gear, I'd get an RC10B4.1 Brushless RTR. Its not perhaps the very best, but its £200 for a competitive 2wd chassis, 2.4ghz radio and a brushless system. Not national level for sure, but good enough for a season of club racing.

[Daryl]

In the same boat mate

Ive dug out a load of my BOSSCAT spares and found all my old race batteries and speed controller box and servo

its been about 16 years since i last raced competatively and the club i raced at no longer exist, I wish I had kept all my old cars now


Still looking forward to getting back involved

[Thargor]

so thats the full package????
there supposed to be quite good?? and i did always want an rc10
i cant drive with those wheel things though