I finally see how RC really works!

[RoadRunner555]

Well i've been into the hobby seriously for a year or so and due to me moving out and being on my own i finally see how rc really works. Since i've been not able to afford rc it became crystal clear. It starts off as a new thing and then it amounts to having to buy the latest upgrade or product. trust me i was like that when i had the money to build my maxx into an awesome machine. i did'nt overextend myself in some eyes but i bought some stuff that i did'nt need. Now i see how people can get tied into this hobby and it can really break you if you let "the game" win. don't get me wrong i love rc for many reasons but this is one of them that i hate it for. my point being in this conversation is why do we have to have the latest hop up and not be satisfied with what we have. sounds like a marketing tactic to me if i'm not wrong. happy thanksgiving and i'm preparing myself for some serious criticism cause i don't stand on the side of popularity.

[Mark98SS]

Roadrunner, I know where you'r coming from. All forms of racing & many other hobbies seem to get into a "cubic dollars" mode for alot of people. I was there a few years ago running 1/10th oval. New tires, batteries, bodies, chassis, shocks, axels etc,etc, etc all the time just to stay current. 3 years ago I got an RC10GT & everything changed. I started getting together w/some of my other oval buddies who were tired of the pure racing deal & we would run our gas trucks just for fun. I have a large back yard so me & my friends built a dirt track & we get together every Sunday & play. We still race & we race hard sometimes but we never count laps. We just get the pack of cars on the track together at the start of the main straight & drag race down to the first turn & keep at it hard around the infield. At the end of a couple of laps the lead cars will wait & the ones in the rear will cut a turn or two & we reform the pack & do it again. We have had some awsome side by side runs for several laps at a time with 3 or 4 cars only a few feet apart. Everyone has fun & all our driving skills have improved dramatically. The one thing that is clear is that good driving is worth alot more than all trick parts you can bolt on to your car. Certainly, proper maintenance & set up are important but you don't need the latest titainium widgets or radical port jobs on the motor. Just have fun with what you got & don't pay much attention to kids who's parents buy them whatever they want. I've been into R/C for almost 30 years & the most fun has been the last 3 years & my friends who have taken the same path as myself would agree.

[RoadRunner555]

mark thanks for the reply and seeing my point of view. i'm just glad that i learned this early in my life and hobby career so to speak. so in short now that i see this point of view no matter what i do in the future i can have fun without overextending myself. but since i've only got one response so far i'm waiting for someone to prove me wrong.

[Top End]

Roadrunner - you aren't wrong! Just like any other business there is definitely a marketing strategy behind R/C cars. Cars more so than any other segment of the R/C spectrum. You don't see chrome plated propellers for planes do you? Personally, I can't get caught up in the "latest-is-the-greatest" trap, being a Pastor, I don't have a lot of extra cash on hand for the goodies. I don't really buy anything unless I feel it is really needed and will actually do something other than look cool. I still race very competetively with a T2. I take very good care of my batteries because I can't afford to buy new ones very often. But, I love the hobby, and I don't see myself ever giving it up. I don't worry about the guy who has the newest car or motor or battery. I just do my best to whoop him with my 4 year old truck and 2 year old 2000 pack.

[CusToM_FreaK]

dude you are so right..I'm 16 and my parents can't afford all the newbie stuff...but what stuff I do get is well earned because I have to work my own job to get my own money...over 4 year addiction to this hobby I have 4 cars (I buy one for myself on my birthday)they're not top of the line just stuff for me to play with.I have 2 stock traxxas electric 4-tecs a losi XXT-CR GP and a RS4-MT(my first and favorite and most expensive car!)in conclusion I totally agree w/ you! http://www.rccaraction.com/ubb/eek.gif

[Project MadMaXX]

Bwaaahahaha! That's human condition! You're always trying to keep up with the Jones'Z! I have an old RC10T Team truck with the aluminum tub chassis. They came out with gahitethis, and magnesium that, and there are people that upgrade with everyyears new model, and now they are selling a "High Performance" aluminum tub, which brings you can to the beginning??? Last race I went to had a bunch of tricked out race, over priced everythin, and the guy who won has a stock Losi right out f the box! Haha!

But, I think in many ways, that doing the modifications and upgrades is 1/2 the fun, so it's all good! (If you've got the cash!) Just realize, that a lot of this stuff is just eye candy!

[chucksolo]

Mark you are so right. The most fun I have had is when a few buddies and I get on a BMX track and just go at it for a few hours. We don't race formally, but we race our trucks agains each other. Not the same kind either, stadium, monsters and buggies all on the same track at the same time. It is a blast. We sometimes laugh so hard it's hard to concentrate on driving. I don't know how many times my Nitro Rustler has been run over by my buddies Nitro Quake and we just keep going at it. Racing has it's merits, but the good old fashioned "run what ya brung" mentality is great fun. That to me is the appeal of this hobby, you can be Ivan Stewart, or Bobby Labonte, Tommy Kendall and even Michael Shumacher for a few hours (in a small way of course).

[hm8425]

I have to agree. I have an 11 year old daughter that raced an old RS4 Hpi car in the novice class. The car was all stock. It laughed so hard when the other novices would have the latest and greatest on their cars and she would just go slow and beat them. Man the looks on their faces.

I also ran a HPI nitro RS4 2, out of the box it was fast and top 3 consistently. The only thing I had to change because of the rules was the motor (changed to a used OS .12) and then it was a winner most every weekend with out all the hop ups.

[Mark98SS]

One of neatest things we have learned is how to bump another car out of your way in a turn without wrecking him. Anytime someone can do that he gets congrats from the bumpee. If you do that in a real race chance are the other guy will cop a major 'tude. Don't get me wrong, I still go to the parking lot races at the LHS & run 1/10th pan but since I sold all my "high end" stuff like the dyno, Turbo Thirty, lathe to finance gas (I have an MP6 too) I don't worry about being the fastest. Everyone else is running the latest pan cars & Winston Cup bodie while I run a 6 year old Evo10 with a '61 Impala body. I'm about 5% slower than the fast guys but I have the coolest looking car on the track.

[This message has been edited by Mark98SS (edited 11-24-2000).]

[BadRacer]

Dude you are so right! My first r/c was an old MRC Ironman. Oh god was it slow but after a few 100$ it got better. But now im trying to sale it cuz i just got my first brand new Losi XXXT and it totaly kicks! This truck is going to be with me for a long time! Some ppl go out each year and buy new trucks or cars and i see no point in it, if you have something going good for you why mess it up. I have learned my leason...only buy what i need! Not whats cool! By the way i only paid 129.99$ for the new Losi.

[RoadRunner555]

well to all the people that replied so far i'm glad that i'm opening up eyes and making the hobby fun for all http://www.rccaraction.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[IDrinkNitroFuel]

Hey Roadrunner, i see that you are from buffalo. Do you race at all anywhere in the buffalo area? Anyways, i agree. you pay all this money for a truck/car and then need (according to what you see in ads all over) to hop it up. I guess that people buying things is what keeps this thing going so there is one plus about it.....

[RoadRunner555]

well i used to live in buffalo and when i did there was a place you could race at by hobbytown on sheridan drive. they race in the parking lot or in the other parking lots around the area. anyways i moved out of buffalo for opportunity and now i live in south carolina where i can race almost all year round. yeah you're right about keeping this hobby going. you sell the **** to keep people hooked and then you take it away from them to control them.

[IDrinkNitroFuel]

Yeah, that is where i raced last summer. Next year im going to go to the eastern hills mall. Im told they race there under the lights at night.

[HumbleEagle487]

Yeah you guys are right on, I'm hoping to buy my first real rc car(right now I run radio shack cars) and I've been looking for about a month for the place where you can get a electric rustler. But my opion on like to tude roll cages and stuff is all they do is add alot of weight which slows you down that is why all the stock cars are winning the races. I mean the only real place you would need to replace something is if there is a week spot in the car. I mean if I had alot of extra money lyinh around yeah I'd go buy chrome rims or something but considering I'm 14 and all I have for cash flow is a paper rout I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon. Also I didn't have the transportation to get to a track I noticed that one of the adopt-a-lots(neighboorhood gardens for rent) wans't being used so me and my friend built a small one car track with one or 2 jumps in it for us to use. Speaking of which do any of you guys from around Syracuse know any of good off road and on road tracks that are around my area? I know about Walt's and I hope to go down there sometime before Christmas to check it out but are there any others?

[Hellonu]

My thing with R/C is if your racing, or thinking of it save for the "pro" model of the car for wich ever class your racing.The hop-ups after that are purely there to please peoples egos and need to spend money.

DO'S:
-do get the right tire for your track
-do get a peak charger
-do get a pro kit
-do take care of your car and batteries
-do practice
-do ask questions

Dont's:
-buy all the hyped up alloy upgrades
-buy tires just cuz they look cool
-buy sport kits if your racing(tc3 racer is the exception i find it totally race worthY)
-try to keep up with the "rich guys"


Our top driver in our club runs a box stock pro2 he does not belive in the hype of hop-ups he uses the right tire with the right set-up and wins..

Anyway. Thats my loonies worht on this one. I hate to see people discouraged about the cost of racing. If you make an informed choise to join a class for racing and look at what he fast guys use you can safe your self alot of money.