View Full Version : Triad area micro racing
Trying to get a feel for how many folks are up for a place (indoor) to race micros in the Greensboro, Kernersville, Winston-Salem area.
It would be a small layout to begin with but could grow if the interest is there. We are talking 1/18th scale initially but 1/24 or 1/28 as well if there is interest in that.
Let's hear what you think.
matt
dbracin
12-01-2004, 06:02 AM
Where might a track like this be located? I think if you advertised at KC Hobby in Archdale, you would find alot of people eager to race.
Track would be in the Kernersville area. Don't want to start advertising just yet.
Just wanted to see what kind of interest there was, types of cars people have and what classes to run, etc..
Any ideas/suggestions are also welcome.
dbracin
12-01-2004, 09:34 AM
Well, since I just bought a RC18T, I'd like to see a class running 1/18 4x4 trucks. With Trinity and X-Ray also making these trucks too, that might be a growing class. Add 2wd Mini-Ts and 1/18 Micro cars and you should have something for everyone.
Cosmo
12-01-2004, 10:04 AM
I would be interested. There are about 20 of us who run micros/mini-t's here. We have an outdoor track here, but would be more than willing to travel to an indoor track.
The track is at K-ville Hobby in Kernersville.
They are located at 113 N. Main St. Kernersville, NC 27284. Phone # 336-992-2411. Open Tuesday through Saturday.
Track is 24' along the back and 12' on the end, with 30" wide lanes. They got the carpet down just last night. I was out to test it out today and it is tight but fun! Anybody that has been out to the Sunday runs at the old K-mart will recognize the layout. Right now this is a flat road course but they will be making the jumps for the trucks soon.
Not sure when the organized racing will begin but the track is now open for practice. $5 is the fee to practice for the day. As soon as we get enough folks coming out the racing will begin. What I've heard so far is that Saturday will be raceday.
matt
dbracin
12-05-2004, 05:37 PM
Sounds kind of small for the 1/18 size trucks. The micro rs4 and the x-ray might do ok. An oval track that size might work out better than a road course. But, thats just my opinion and I know there will be plenty of others. :o
At this point I'm just happy to have a place to run at that I don't have to drive a couple hours to get to.
You are right, it is very tight. I am anxious to see what others think of it after they run on it for a bit. The micro rs4 and m18 are more precise than the trucks and will do better but the trucks can also be competetive as a class since everybody has to drive the same layout. I hope some folks with trucks will come out and give it a drive and we can see what they think. We have to start somewhere and the shop is on the small side. If this track is popular then it is easy to justify a larger layout.
matt
dbracin
12-06-2004, 10:34 AM
Can you post a picture of the track? Do you have much pit space? What are the normal store hours? And, do you have a webpage?
BrianCio
12-06-2004, 10:47 AM
Matt. I do will buy a 1/18 scale car just as soon as I find a job. I am always up for supporting my LHS and I am not standing outside in 35 degree weather this winter :)
I'm going to try and get by some night after work this week and snap some pictures to post. Of course I will have to run just a FEW laps while I am there. Somebody has to lay down that race line. Then again, anyone who has seen me drive knows they don't want to follow my line. :eek:
There is pit space. At the moment it's just find some free space and set up your stuff. Things can be moved as needed to make more space. I'll bring my own table and set it up if needed, it's not very big(2X4) but neither are the micros. I could share some space.
I believe these are the current hours: Tue-Thu 12-7, Fri 12-8, Sat 12-5. If there is a crowd at closing time I don't think they will run you out without good reason.
They have a rudimentary web page at http://home.earthlink.net/~kvillehobby/
I want to work on the web site for them when I get some time.
I am trying to put together an old pc with some lap timing software so we can get proficient enough with the software to start running some races soon. It will be a manual(keyboard) entry system at first, unless someone has an AMBrc system they aren't using and want to donate. :D
For the latest info call the shop at 336-992-2411.
Hey Brian - sorry I've been so slack with the other thread lately. The last couple of weeks Cindy, Mike, and Chris have been busy with the Kernersville events so the track has not been set up. I plan on being at the store this Saturday - stop by if you can and take a few laps. I think the layout works pretty well for a small micro track. I definitely hear you on the 35 degree weather. I was there last Saturday and it was quite nice!
Remember - these are the first baby steps for this track it will rely on folks coming out to support it and offer input and ideas as to what they want it to be.
matt
BrianCio
12-07-2004, 01:46 PM
Matt. I everyone basically running xRays? Do you have a 1/18 car? Are there as many upgrades for them as the 1/10 scale cars? Do you need a magnifing glass to do work on them?
Cosmo
12-07-2004, 03:15 PM
Sounds good. A bunch of us will get together and make a road trip down there after the hoildays. I love the smaller tracks. I can't stand going to these large tracks where the philosophy is "put in as many cells and as big a motor as you can fit".
dbracin
12-07-2004, 03:42 PM
Please post here what day and times you are getting together and I might can come and bring a few more racers with me.
Brian, I have a stock micro rs4. Some of the other guys have micro rs4s from slightly to highly modified. Mike, Chris and Romney all have shiny new xrays with brushless power. not sure where they will fall into the classes.
cosmo - it's definitely a tight track. my little stocker with 6 cells and foams was doing quite nicely against Daves tricked out rs4 on 6 cells and a modified brushed motor. he had trimmed his throttle back to about 80 % while we were running. he did have an issue with his foam peeling away from the wheel on some of his wheels. mine were ok. lack of traction is not an issue on this track.
dbracin - I plan on going out this saturday afternoon to play around some more. not sure who else may be out then. I am going by tomorrow evening after work to take a few pictures to post and I'll try to find out how many others plan to be out saturday
matt
dbracin
12-08-2004, 10:18 AM
I'd really like to come out this weekend,but it is my weekend to work. Maybe next time.
Cosmo
12-08-2004, 11:17 AM
cosmo - it's definitely a tight track. my little stocker with 6 cells and foams was doing quite nicely against Daves tricked out rs4 on 6 cells and a modified brushed motor. he had trimmed his throttle back to about 80 % while we were running. he did have an issue with his foam peeling away from the wheel on some of his wheels. mine were ok. lack of traction is not an issue on this track.
Were either of you running traction compound?
Cosmo - My tires were orion fresh kicks right out of the box, no compound. Dave had previously treated his tires but not the day he was running.
here (I think) are a couple pics I snapped this evening:
one more - with a car for reference.
Cosmo
12-09-2004, 09:29 AM
Yikes. That thing is tight. Is that a BRP car on the track?
We have a little larger track here (5' wide lanes), but it's outside. So we won't be racing until spring at the earliest...
http://www.dooleyprinting.com/roanokerc/track.jpg
BrianCio
12-09-2004, 05:40 PM
Matt. I went up and looked at the track before I looked on here. i like it and think that it will work until I can't stand people smoking in the store. Yeah, the Duratrax is $80 that's not bad at all. But if most of the guys are going brushless already then I can't see starting off at the low end and being frustrated. I drove the demo that Cindy had and honestly, I have driven faster Tyco cars... but I really like the car, it ran great. I like the VW bug, Matt.
Cosmo - Yep, it is very tight. It ought to make for some interesting racing. That is a micro rs-4 with the beetle body. Where is that outdoor track at? It looks nice.
Brian - I hear you on the smoking thing. One of the track rules is no smoking in the store. That rule needs to be enforced or folks won't come back.
I think the only benefit of the brushless on this track is the little to no maintenance on them. Save your money, for now. The Duratrax you drove has slick rubber tires, don't even try to judge it like that. If you can get out saturday I plan on coming out, I have foams on mine, drive it a bit and you will find it is a completely different animal. With the stock tires it is really bad on carpet.
matt
Cosmo
12-09-2004, 10:54 PM
That track is in Salem (Roanoke) VA. It's in the front parking lot of the business I own. We ordered some of the Road Dome barriers and corner dots, and we have a lap counter, so hopefully next spring we can get some of you to come up here.
drsmooth
12-10-2004, 03:41 PM
Matt. I went up and looked at the track before I looked on here. i like it and think that it will work until I can't stand people smoking in the store. Yeah, the Duratrax is $80 that's not bad at all. But if most of the guys are going brushless already then I can't see starting off at the low end and being frustrated. I drove the demo that Cindy had and honestly, I have driven faster Tyco cars... but I really like the car, it ran great. I like the VW bug, Matt.
BrianCio! Don't worry about starting off at the low end. The tracks size and layout are perfect for stock. The stock rtr's are going to need some tweeking to get the performance out of them. I run a DRP RS4 with a comp brushless system. I've been running this car for two years. This car has lost very few times. But many times when this car won, it was not the "fastest" car on the track(straight away speed). Most people think that they've got to have "the fastest car". I have found that cornering and consistency will win more races and give the driver more fun than straight line speed. The last race at Boone, I raced against two exrays. My car, on the long straight, was the slowest, but not by much. The rest of the track, I was the fastest. In other words, my car was better on 70% to 80% of the track due to set-up, not speed. . If Dave or myself can help anyone, we'll be happy to. Thanks. Dave and I will be at K-ville Saturday having fun
BrianCio
12-10-2004, 03:57 PM
Dr Smooth. Welcome to our side of the world. I went through the whole not having the fastest car on the track with my TC3 and going through upgrading it. My car will keep up with the nitro cars on the outside track with the right driver. I will be up there tomorrow just to check it out and drive Matt's bug a lap or two. I am ready to start another hobby on top of the 1/10 car, truck and 2 airplanes. It's fun!! And this winter is going to be cold.
Ron Zee
01-06-2005, 10:14 PM
I just don't understand the reasons people go out and buy expensive motor systems like the brushless things and then wonder where all the drivers went. That happened around here in the BRP clas, the Mini-T class, and it's starting to happen to the Carisma class. What's the matter with the stock HRP RS4 motors in the micros? My little X-ray has been running an old stock motor in Cary against big blocks and even a couple of brushless cars, and it seems to do very well against them. Actually, I let others drive my car to get them into racing that night, and so far with 4 different drivers, it's won 4 times. This thing is compleatly stock out of the box. No hop-ups at all, except for the fact that it has Orion foams on it to run on the carpet and a motor out of one of my RS4's. Let's get back to what the two classes are: stock and MODIFIED.
A stock Mini-T doesn't come with a brushless or a big block or even a speed motor.
sedanracer8
01-06-2005, 10:34 PM
hey ron where do you come up with that. Why is the carisma class going to that. They are all the same motors. And as far as the mini-t and brp, i believe your buddy was the first to put a aftermarket motor in his mini-t then decided he didnt wanna run anymore and then he did the same in BRP. :) sorry you know its true. haha
Ron Zee
01-06-2005, 10:59 PM
Hmm, all the same motors huh? Well, I have found that there are other motors out there that look exactly the same as the stock ones but go quicker. The Carisma race motor for one. Same size, color, capaciters, wiring, with a sticker. Peel off the sticker, how do you tell it's different? Unless you can prove a motor is stock, there will always be a doubt. And when there's doubt, there's people thinking their getting beat by someone cheating.
As far as Jimmy goes, he wasn't the first to change the motor in the BRP or the Mini-T. He did do it as you say, but in response to others that were running them at the time. He thought that was why he was getting beat so he "ran what the other guys are running.".
Me personally, I'd like to see all Carisma motors handed in at the end of the day and put into a box kept at the track. Then the next race day, you reach in, pull out a motor and that's what you run that day. No marking them except maybe to number them to keep track of them.
Maybe it's time to start tearing motors apart if for nothing else but to get rid of a "fast" one.
sedanracer8
01-06-2005, 11:05 PM
i agree with that i suggested that to smitty a long time ago about the motors. he didnt seem to like the idea. same we do it when i am racing my big truck, i dont know what tires i am getting till i get to the racetrack, then i have about 15 minutes to get them like i want and then qualify on them. take them back off at the end of the night and give them back. oh and jimmy was the first with the motor in mini-t he had the trinity motor in it, then rodney bought one then i got a baja, not that it matters just saying. As far as the motor goes in carisma if you will vote for it so will I. anyways i'll prob see ya saturday I think rodney is going to run spec at rosewood with the car he got from smitty haha yall take it easy on him. I will prob just come watch unless you guys wanna run the carisma or if some mini t's show.
I know it seemed like my Carisma car wasn't as fast as some, but I figured maybe the brushes weren't seated in good or something. I did take it out of the car and cleaned and oiled it tonight.
Oh, yea, it was pointed the wrong way on the track for what seemed like most of the race. But I was so tired and frustrated at that point, I probably couldn't have driven it in a ten acre parking lot. :rolleyes:
Oh well. Is there any motor limit in the Mini-T class at Cary? I might make it up there oneday.
Later, Dee.
sedanracer8
01-06-2005, 11:21 PM
i believe me and rodney were the only two with the 14 tooth pinion on which makes a difference in speed but will not make it for the 6 minute main. rodney dropped back to the 12 for the main, and slowed down at least a tenth.
dbracin
01-07-2005, 11:10 AM
Rocketman2
At this time we're waiting for management at The Race Factory to make an "announcement" about the mini trucks. There has been no real rules that
I know of. The trucks I've seen run brushless system there were just moving
( very very fast ) obstacles. The serious threat though has been the trucks
with the baja and similar motors and the stock RC18T.
Ron Zee
01-07-2005, 11:51 AM
Like Don says, the Mini class is sort of open,, run whatcha' brung type of thing. Sorta sad though, you see 4 cell alkalines with stock motors out there running with the brushless motors and 6 cells. Well, maybe not too bad,, most times the "slower" one gets around the track better.
Thanks guys.
Cary is a little far for me to drive, but I'll try and check it out sometime soon. Sounds like there has been some good racing up there.
Dee.
Cosmo
01-11-2005, 10:38 AM
I just don't understand the reasons people go out and buy expensive motor systems like the brushless things and then wonder where all the drivers went. That happened around here in the BRP clas, the Mini-T class, and it's starting to happen to the Carisma class. What's the matter with the stock HRP RS4 motors in the micros? My little X-ray has been running an old stock motor in Cary against big blocks and even a couple of brushless cars, and it seems to do very well against them. Actually, I let others drive my car to get them into racing that night, and so far with 4 different drivers, it's won 4 times. This thing is compleatly stock out of the box. No hop-ups at all, except for the fact that it has Orion foams on it to run on the carpet and a motor out of one of my RS4's. Let's get back to what the two classes are: stock and MODIFIED.
A stock Mini-T doesn't come with a brushless or a big block or even a speed motor.
FINALLY! Someone who thinks like I do!
I get so tired of people asking "How many cells can I fit in this?" or "What brushless is the fastest?". If you are drag racing, then fine. If not, you don't need it. Learn to drive first before you make your car faster.
The fastest cars at our tracks are usually powered by the stock motor. Yes, it is the drivers that make the cars fast here. Mine is stock, but in my case the driver keeps the car at the back of the pack.
Anyways... enough ranting. How is the micro racing going down there? Now that the holidays are over, I might be able to do some travelling to come race.
dbracin
01-11-2005, 06:04 PM
Check out the Race Factory forum. Lots of good racing there now on Sundays afternoons. Mini trucks, 1/12th and 1/10th are there every week. There is not always 1/18th cars there, but sometimes there are. I think the mini trucks are the most fun at that track, due to it's size. :D
I would be interested. There are about 20 of us who run micros/mini-t's here. We have an outdoor track here, but would be more than willing to travel to an indoor track.
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