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Tezcat
New Member
United Kingdom
22 Posts |
 Posted - 04 January 2011 : 20:19:05
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Hi, hopefully I'm posting this in the right area.
I'd like to start racing and I'm stuck between stadium trucks, 2wd 1/10th and 1/8th nitros. I want to keep costs down in the long run and have a budget of £400 to spend now. I live in Sleaford so not to far from your venues. Wish I'd found you earlier so I could have popped out and had a look tonight. Are all these classes well represented at your club?
I'd like a bit of general advice on which of these classes would be suitable to a race virgin. My only experience is with tamiya in the street years ago (and I mean years, the 80's). I can see that electric would give the bonus of indoor racing as well but the kit seems quite expensive initially compared to nitro. Also, I can't use steerwheel radios (I've tried but its a left handed thing although not tried a left handed one).
Any info appreciated as well as prices for membership (BRCA also). |
Edited by - Tezcat on 04 January 2011 21:27:41 |
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frecklychimp
Average Member
852 Posts |
Posted - 04 January 2011 : 22:42:43
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Hi, firstly welcome to our friendly club.
Most of us 'more mature' members started off with tamiyas too, racing around 15+ years ago!
personally, for a beginner to the hobby i would recommend going for an electric 2wd short course truck (sct) rather than a 1/10th buggy or nitro 1/8th.
2wd buggys are quicker, same sort of starting costs as sct's but a lot more precise to drive and more prone to damage with exposed suspension arms/wheels. 1/8 nitro are more expensive from the offset and regular fuel and higher maintainence costs should be considered and would probably blow your starting budget unless buying second hand.
SCT's are very beginner friendly, we have racers of all experience levels so you wouldn't have to worry about being a beginner, there are no 'strict racing rules' in this class, rubbing bodies is all part of this very fun based class. We race these both indoors and at our outdoor track so you would get plenty of use out of it.
We race all the classes you mentioned, with 2wd short course trucks being the most popular at the moment, there is a spread of makes and models but the HPI Blitz or Associated SC10 are the most popular, with both being strong and reliable, very few (if any breakages), the Traxxas Slash is also a good beginners truck as it is very strong but not as competitive as your experience grows, with tuning options being limited and cars are slightly more expensive.
I like the new Team Losi XXX SCT, similar priced and should be a good contender with Blitz and SC10 but as its very new released cannot recommend as no feedback on how good it is yet. (old school Losi fan!)
The Blitz or SC10 can be bought 'ready to run' (look for rtr)for around £200 ish, you will need batteries and a charger on top of that, i would go for 2 cheap hard case LiPo packs and a suitable charger, budget for around £100 max. rtr cars are all built and painted out of the box, just add charged batteries and go play. You may find you will want to upgrade tyres and change shock oils etc to help the truck handle, but to start with you can use it standard straight out of the box, as many of our racers do.
If you struggle with steering wheels it will cost a bit more as all rtr cars come with wheel controllers these days, although a stick set up can be bought for around £40 and you could always sell the unwanted controller on ebay to recoup some cost.
I'm unsure of this years membership costs, haven't renewed mine yet, but with A1 membership you get BRCA membership and 24/7 access to our outdoor track venue for unlimited practice when you like (as long as any meetings or track maintainence are not scheduled)
Best thing to do is try to attend next weeks tuesday race meeting if possible, come say hello and one of us will show you the basics, you may likely find a member willing to let you try a few laps to see what you think.
If you are itching to buy one, go see Lewis in Access models in Grantham, he will sort you out with what you need, but also attends the club meetings so you can have a look at racing before making final decisions!
Hope this helps,
Mark. |
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Tezcat
New Member
United Kingdom
22 Posts |
Posted - 04 January 2011 : 22:58:09
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That helps tremendously :)
I'll probably get a kit due to the tx issues and a brushless set up as these seem to be recommended everywhere I read. Someone has suggested a 10.5t motor as a starting point but also said its best to ask people at the club what they use.
Next tuesday night sounds like a great idea. May also have a trip to the model shop in grantham tomorrow. I'm getting a hole burning in my pocket!
Nick |
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grasshopper
Senior Member
1652 Posts |
Posted - 05 January 2011 : 00:11:31
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Despite what everyone thinks about the 'Frecklychimp'* - he does talk some sense!
If you want indoor/outdoor use - definitly recommend SC truck. 1/10 buggy (2 or 4 wheel drive) are okay but they're only little in comparison to the others and as Mark said - a bit more prone to 'problems' (twitchy lil' buggas).
If you can hold off making a purchase you could have a look and probably have a go with some of the different types next Tuesday - although Lewis wouldn't steer you in the wrong direction, the final decision would be yours.
*only joking - love you really! |
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frecklychimp
Average Member
852 Posts |
Posted - 05 January 2011 : 07:52:30
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Hi again Nick,
a 10.5 Brushless set up is about all the power you will need for a 2wd SCT... but....
personally i wouldn't rush into getting a brushless set up until you have got used to the truck in standard form, depending on talent it will take you some time with standard rtr kit set up before you feel ready to have more power, a 2wd truck will be hard to control with too much power and inexperience, the standard set up will probably feel twice as quick as your standard Tamiya cars used to be!
Some of the A1 club racers have been doing the hobby for years and still started truck racing with standard kit gear till they were needing more power... it will take you plenty of practice to get round the track without crashing, if you can do that on a regular basis then you have cracked the hobby and will regularly have good results.
You will lose more time in a race crashing and being marshalled back on track than you ever will with clean laps and a slower motor... think tortoise and hare!
If you want a 'kit' rather than 'RTR' then there are really only 2 options... the HPI Blitz ESE and Associated SC10 Factory Team, these are the more expensive 'competition' models, to be honest you won't notice much difference in racing them, they have some extra fancy shiny bits etc to look prettier on the bench and mildy improve handling (if set up correctly and built well) but you pay a premium for them.
Cheers Phil, the love and respect is mutual, purely plutonic and no 'Bromance' required! |
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grasshopper
Senior Member
1652 Posts |
Posted - 05 January 2011 : 11:36:09
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Once again - loads of sense there.
My Associated SC10 is still on the 'out of the box' brushed motor, speed controller and steering servo the only 'mod' has been some suspension adjustments and a set of different tyres - I'm able to keep up with all the other trucks on the straight and might actually be quicker than some in acceleration.
I have some serious issues with the handling and cornering of my SC10 - I am a consistent driver and have consistently acheived last place in every race for the last couple of evenings (if not more, I've long given up checking the reults sheets!)none of the issues can be blamed on the equipment!
We have regular drivers when racing 4WD Nitro buggies and Truggies outdoors always place first or second - indoors they are racing 1/10 electric 2WD buggies/SC trucks and are having some serious problems going in straight lines - they seem to enjoy the idea of increasing power all the time but are then adding loads of weight and running loose slipper clutches to keep them on the track and make them corner.
Buy what you fancy, run it as near box standard as possible and then modify later if you get consistent (good) placings.
Doesn't matter how good you think you were whilst driving up and down your street - start racing on a track against other drivers and things get a lot more interesting and fun.
No-one minds how good or bad you are to start with - we're all there for the fun of it.
that's 'Platonic' - as in Plato the philsopher, mind you, with your behind the size of Pluto.......nope, just kiddin'...again! |
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ianholt
Average Member
United Kingdom
750 Posts |
Posted - 05 January 2011 : 12:40:54
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Hi Tezcat. I used to race a 1/8th nitro buggy but now race a 1/10th sct. I love the plug and play simplicity of electric sct's and they are big enough to use on the outdoor track. I have no plans to return to nitro!
Ian |
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Tezcat
New Member
United Kingdom
22 Posts |
Posted - 05 January 2011 : 18:49:15
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Had a chat with Lewis today and walked out with a 4wd sct. Went for the 4wd so that my older slower reactions can have a bit more assistance and I could also get a kit one. Ordered batteries and a charger so probably looking at a couple of weeks before its all fully functional. The 4wd will also allow me to mess around at home as well.
If I start to learn to drive ok I may switch to 2wd later on in the year as I'll have all the kit and will just need the car (or take the shafts out of this one :) )
I'll pop down on tuesday night to have a nosey and see how everything works. Look forward to seeing you all! |
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frecklychimp
Average Member
852 Posts |
Posted - 05 January 2011 : 23:19:51
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Congratulations on your first truck, obviously a man with taste... i run a Hong Nor SCRT10 4wd too!
I have been in to see Lewis today but you beat me to him... you must be keen!
They are an absolute animal with a 6.5T brushless system in, but not for the feint hearted, i love it because its lairy fast and suits me, but nobody else thats tried can get on lapping at pace with it as it needs throwing sideways into corners and sliding on power! (seriously don't put a 6.5T in it... its too much, you will see if you pop over tuesday as i'll be running it, can't get it flat out at our outdoor track with 40m+ straight!)
Get Lewis to point me out if you visit next Tuesday and i'll happily give you some pointers on setting suspension geometry and shocks up, i've been busy doing some 'home-made' modifications but they are not needed, just OCD fettling to improve centre of gravity/roll centre and make it a bit lighter.
The SCRT10 is a good truck and will be plenty of fun as you get used to it, i have broke it a couple of times but only down to my error and with too much speed its surprising how little damage was done, all parts that i've broken are in stock with Lewis as spares.
I've never got on with 4wd racing before so its a first for me to find one i enjoy racing, hopefully you will find it as easy to drive, Lewis is enjoying racing his 4wd and his driving has improved a lot too,
One note of caution... check the diffs have plenty of proper grease on the ring gear and pinion in front and back gearboxes... mine was quite noisy out of the box... put it down to having metal gears, but on recent strip down inspection after many meetings the rear diff was bone dry of grease from the factory, luckily no obvious damage to teeth but maybe a little accelerated wear and i expect strain on bearing life with heat... mine has had some hammer too with the 6.5 in it!
Not sure if you have sorted suitable tyres out... best tyres for the 4wd trucks are Fastrax Koarse King spikes (£9.99 ish a pair and wheels at £7.00 ish a pair), they work well both indoors and outdoors, the kit tyres are rubbish on both our venues so save them for testing at home etc and advise investing in spikes for racing (using spikes on tarmac will wreck them very quickly) |
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Tezcat
New Member
United Kingdom
22 Posts |
Posted - 17 January 2011 : 15:49:07
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| Still waiting for some bits to arrive but sorted out my timetable so that I'm free to pop down tomorrow night (18th Jan). Is it 7.00pm you start? |
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admin
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
1189 Posts |
Posted - 17 January 2011 : 16:38:05
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first heat is on the line for 7.00pm...
Cheers
Chris |
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Tezcat
New Member
United Kingdom
22 Posts |
Posted - 24 January 2011 : 16:46:07
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I have everything except my charger :(
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grasshopper
Senior Member
1652 Posts |
Posted - 24 January 2011 : 19:42:16
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What do you need to charge?
I won't be racing tomorrow evening - but I have some fully charged hard case li-po's you could use - I could make up an adaptor if I haven't got one already to match my powerpole connectors to what ever you've got, alternatively we could get you charged up on site.... |
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ianholt
Average Member
United Kingdom
750 Posts |
Posted - 24 January 2011 : 20:43:08
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| I can bring an extra charger if you want to use it. Depending on your battery capacity it will take about an hour. |
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Tezcat
New Member
United Kingdom
22 Posts |
Posted - 25 January 2011 : 14:14:12
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Thanks for the offers. I'll skip tonight as I still need to set up the speed controller and need to shake down the truck which I'd rather do here than in a race environment :)
On the plus side though, I've picked up a second hand nitro rallyx car which will be with me wed/thurs. Its a HPI/Hotbodies Lightning 2. |
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grasshopper
Senior Member
1652 Posts |
Posted - 25 January 2011 : 15:25:47
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Race environment......best place for a shakedown, plus lots of people on hand to help sort any issues.
Well done on the nitro rallyX looks like you're getting into the hobby in no uncertain terms... |
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