| Hi Wayne,
Here's some answers to your questions. Winning is related to
BOTH dollars and driving skills. Strictly stock cars will not be
competitive. I bought a stock RC10 with bearings, and spent another
$200 dollars doing upgrades. Things like a new motor, tires and
wheels, extended A arms electronic speed control, battery packs,
etc. Stock motors are all different. By stock, I mean stock "class"
not the motor that comes with the car. Most of those are junk. I
went through 3 "stock" motors before I found one that I could be
competitive with. If you've watched races, it "looks" easy. You
will definately have to LEARN how to drive.
I have to cut this short for a staff meeting. Will continue.
Sorry
Steve
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| Ok, lets continue here. Talking about cost, I mentioned tires. They
make all kinds of different tires. That's because people race on
all kinds of different surfaces. Indoor roller skating rinks require
a fairly soft tire, but racing on dirt requires a hard spike tire
to "dig in". Plus they ware out fairly quickly and need to be
replaced. You will need to experiment with different gear ratio's
to get the best performance from your car for the conditions you
are racing under. This requires buying various spur gears and pinion
gears. So, is winning related to dollars spent......yes. To use
a previous example, the Stock/Superstock class allows up to a $25.00
motor to be used in the car. If your running a $15.00 motor, and
someone else is running the latest $25.00 motor, you will not win
unless you spend the money.
Sorry, I'm going to have to continue this again tomorrow. I have
alot more to tell you.
Steve
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|
Wayne ,
In response to your questions on 4 wheel drive , 4wd
class is a usually a stock class running stock ( $25 motor price
range although some tracks will have they're own rulling on this)
motors and a 7.2v cell . Modified 4wd class is open running an
8.4v , 7 cell battery and up to a $75 "trick" 4wd motor . Notice
I mentioned 4wd motor . there are almost an infinite amount of various
motors out there , for almost any type of racer . They range from
carpet track 1/12 and 1/10 scale cars to dirt track stock , 4wd
and modified class .
In so far as cars the Optima question goes , The type differences
are as follows :
Optima - Original 4wd car by Kyosho with rear mounted motor
and less than acceptable suspension , which is why they revamped
it and came up with the ...
Optima Mid - Mid engine car with much better steering and revamped
suspension . Engine mounted in middle of car gives improved balance
and weight distribution and handling characteristics . also belt
drive is used for driving the tranny's . Some original 4wd cars
used shaft drive ( Tamaiya ) and chain drive ( M.I.P. and others).
Turbo Optima Mid - Same as Optima , but with Heavy Duty speed
control , platinum shocks and extra hop ups .
As far as selection of cars , You seem to be leading toward
4wd , so unless you want to convert an RC10 (using M.I.P.'s conversion
kit , last priced at $250 ) , this 2wd is out of the picture . I
personally like a converted RC10 and own one only because a few
years ago , it was the latest and greatest and if you didn't have
this or a Schumacer Cat , you didn't win races . That makes a good
point about the next car , the Cat . This by far was ( and hopefully
still is , but I've been out of the racing circuit for about a year
now ) the number one car to beat in the 4wd class . It was way ahead
of its time with belt drive , easily changed gears , incredible
suspension , and clutched front drive shafts . I also have one of
these and am torn between it and the RC10 4wd . As far as the Optima
goes , I have never been impressed with any of the Kyosho cars ,
although they have come a long way from 3 - 4 years ago . Anyway,
I hope I've helped answer your questions and given you some more
info to go on , but for more , visit your local track and ask more
questions and watch these "ANIMALS" run . They were enough to hook
me a few years ago and win me many "A" MAINS in 2wd and 4wd class
over about a 2 year span with totals in the $1000 + catagory . Good
luck and BE #1 IN TURN #1 !!!
C U later ,
Carl
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|
Wayne ,
Forgot to mention . Parts !!! Make sure whatever way you go
that parts ( and hop-ups ) are readily available . And price ???
I have about $800 plus in my stock RC10 , About $900 in the 4wd
version , $700 in my modified version , $100 plus in the Cat NOT
including the original price paid for it ; also a couple of "TOY"
cars , Tamaiya's "Boomerang " and "Big Wig" 4wd cars . This doesn't
include the first and foremost mentioned item . Parts !!! You should
have spare motors ( different ones for different types and styles
of tracks ) , spare gears and pinions , spare parts , spare tires
of different styles , etc.... . The list goes on and on but don't
get discouraged . You can build a good stock a little at a time.
Also , make sure you have a good radio . I've seen many a car
go out of control because they had a cheap radio . By good , I mean
reliable and durable . I favor both Futaba and KO . And chargers?
Some type of peak charger is best , Such as Novak or Tekin , etc...
So , good luck and have fun .
Carl
PS: didn't get married until about two months ago ,
so can't help you with the wife . But am willing to bet some thing
small , eg: new car , diamonds are good , and gold , will usually
help in the swaying of the woman .
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Lewis ,
I run a variety of motors depending on the track type
and conditions . My list of stock motors include :
Twister
Associated stock (blue label)
Associated Super stock (green label)
Losi Revolution ( My personal favorite ! )
Kyosho 360
Modified motors are :
Losi Insane
Kyosho 340T (green label) \
Tamaiya Technegold /__both good for 4WD
Rev Tech "Monster" motor
Assorted others too numerous to name !
I really like the Kyosho and Losi motors . They seem to have
the best characteristics and "Dyno" with the highest ratings . sure
hope this info helps you out . I'm sure there are many more new
motors out there that I may not have mentioned , but I've been out
of the racing circuit for about a year and a half and haven't kept
up on all the latest and greatest "hop ups" . Hope this info helps
you out !
Carl
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