A Question For All You Club Racers Out There...!

[minimole]

Hi people,

I hope you dont mind me asking you guys (and gals?) a (few) question(s)...

Anyway, I guess this is aimed at, not the bashers, who maybe occasionally meet up with mates in a carpark and just drive round, or, on the other end of the spectrum, for those who travel all round the country (world?) reguarly, have multiple sponsorships e.t.c, but it IS aimed at those people who race, maybe once a week, just locally, maybe travel far a couple of times a year, arent die-hard racers, but do it for the fun of racing.

Anyway, what Im tryin to find out, is how 'into' it most club racers are, what kind of equipment they have, how 'good' the stuff people have is.

So, I would appreciate it if any of you people who fall into this 'category' could tell me:

What car you have (whether it be Nitro or Electrics, On or Offroad, whatever scale),
What powerplant you have (engine or motor/battery),
How often you replace tires,
What Radio system you have,
What charger you have (for E- Racers),
If you would drive your car anywhere apart from the race track (Im quite interested in this, I guess the answers will be different for a Savage and a Pro4...),
What upgrades you have on your car,
How much, on average, you spend a month (or year),
How often you race.

I dont want this thread to end up people showing off thier setups, with flashy pictures and so on, I just wana see what setups people are running, if they are the latest flashiest TXs and batteries, or the RadioShack 1500mah packs...lol

And yes, I know its 90% driver, 10% car but still, you want a half decent car dont you...?

Im sure some of you will say 'go down to the local track, and see what everyone is running'.
Thats the thing. There isnt one yet. Its still in its planning stages, I just want to be a bit ahead of the rest, and get some stuff before it 'starts'. Plus, I dont know what classes will be run, hence me asking about all different types of cars.


Any other comment would be nice too :)

Cheers, Duane :D

[Legend_Car]

Well lets see i race in a local club as well.

I run an E-maxx
A Losi XXX-t
TC4
Bolink Legends
Mini-t

This year i plan to run my E-maxx and legends, maybe the mini-t

Some of the drivers use the basic setups while others are really into it and have their cars all dialed in.

My E-maxx is all stock except tires body bumpers and 23mm rims and adapter
Mini-t Has a mamba HS81MG servo, Airtronics MX-3

A set of foam tires will last me around a season on my legends, ive never changed my rubber tires. Foams get chunked, because the drivers arent pros and the're a lot of crashes. Basically get good at driving and drive around wrecks.

Ive seen Stock radios all the way up to Spektrum DSM
Motors Stock all the way to 12 turn mod
bodies vary
Batteries Ive seen duratrax1500 to IB3800 to gp3300
It is fun to race every week, you get to know who your racing and they all help you and are friendly.

I drive my cars in the street to get setups right and also at a local dirt track which i also race at.

This is all indoors, hope this helps

[Maxxcrazy]

What car you have -
A One off TT01 converted to a 4wd buggy. I used to run a XX4

What powerplant you have-
I have a 14x2 in the TT01, I had a 10x1 in the XX4. Some 3300 cells in both cars.

How often you replace tires-
1/4 tread left

What Radio system you have-
JR XR3

What charger you have (for E- Racers)-
Duratrax Digital Peak

If you would drive your car anywhere apart from the race track-
I have my own backyard track I run on.

What upgrades you have on your car-
Lets start with what is not modded, the rear diff. The rest is modded

How much, on average, you spend a month
It depends. Anywhere from $0 to $150 a month. If your talking about matience, usually no more than $20 a month

How often you race-
Not often, I hope to run at least every other week this summer.

[Neon_Dave]

I have an Electric TC3, and a Micro RS4 that will soon have a 540 stuck into it

For the TC3 I have a 10X2 w/ 7 cell 3000's, and currently for the Micro a Trinity Micro Monster w/ 4 Cell SubC 1500's

For the TC3 I have, I replace my tires something like once every half-year or so, and for the Micro, I still have the stocks (I only got it a few months ago) but I suspect that after the 19T 540 finds its new home tire replacements will be quite frequent :)

I have a Hitec Lynx Sport radio, that I swap from my Micro to TC3 every time I want to drive one or the other

For a charger, I have some pretty decent "Universal Smart Charger" I bought off Ebay for 60 bucks CDN along with two 6-cell subC 3300's (charges just about anything in 1.5 hrs or less)

I drive my cars at a church parking lot and on my street, and sometimes when I'm not lazy I bike to the local school track/field 400M track.

On the TC3 I have a set of aluminum CVD's, a ton of heavy-duty stainless steel chrome screws all around( :) ), some new springs, RPM ball cups, and that's about it. With a 10T and 7 Cell at around 50 mph it's doing fine with what it's got.

Now the micro, thats a different story: I have made a custom double deck fiberglass main chassis, 2 different fiberglass upper decks, and now a modded rear deck. Currently being shipped as I speak is a set of aluminum front shocks w/ springs, a GH front one-way, and an HPI rear ball diff. ( :eek: I just realized I forgot to order the steel CVD's :eek: )

More recently, I spend about $40/month, about 600-800 a year.

I don't race, but I do attend practises every so often just for the sake of driving on a track and putting my foams to good use :)

-------

Other than that, I try to be as wallet-friendly as possible, always trying to find the best deals I can and buying the cheapest stuff I can find without sacrificing quality and preformance.

I am the type of person that likes to do speed runs with any car, thus don't have any racing upgrades or mods on either of my cars.

-Dave :)

[Giant655]

I am a club racer, little more serious than most since I would like to get into racing, sponsored by someone big ( I.E kyosho, HPI, associated, whatever)
but here is my toy.
kyosho 777 SP2
engine ( depending on size of track) O.S VZ-B with V-spec guts, or RB WS7
I replace tires at least once every month or so, looking to take longer once I get my hands on some of those pro-line molded foams for buggies.
Radio I just run a simple 3PM radio, but would like to get either a 3PK or a helios
charger I just use a simple super brain 959, does the job good for its price
bashing I wont even take my car out to bash anymore, tears more stuff up than racing, plus it wears stuff out more, so you'd have to replace it-again before you got to the track.
upgrades since the 777 is just a kit i'll list the servos, pipe, and whatever. servos are 2 KO servos ( 2343 for throttle/brake and 2344 for steering) JP-2 pipe, I do have the king headz chassis braces, torque rods have always rubbed me the wrong way for some reason, just dont like em'
I work at a hobby shop, so I get parts for less than what normal people pay ( 30%)
and it has to be at least minimum 3-4 figures depending on what I race that season.
I havent started racing yet this season, but last year it was every 2 weeks, looking to do it every weekend this year, just cause I love it. Any other questions?

[Fluke]

1/8th offroad buggy
SH PT2004-XB with Kyosho FEMCA 512 pipe
replace tires once a year(yeah,i mostly run onroad and use rallygame tires which are supa-durable + i don't race much and i have 3 sets of tires)
Sanwa M8 + Hitec and Futaba servos
run everywhere :D
mostly upgrades for durability
spend $30 a month(when i don't need parts)
race every weekend

[highroller]

Even after many years in rc, things used, level of competition is much different from attending local club racing to attending a big local event to traveling for a regional event. Not only does your level of competition changes but depending on experience at attending big events so does the equipment. I take the minimum of parts for weekly races, not as meticilous in maintenance - may use the same set of tires longer, batteries may be much older and body patched. Depending on event I attend again the stuff I use depends on whether it's a local big event or attending an out of town regionals. I do more pan car oval racing now, may have 2-3 sometimes a forth chassis built for a particular track or class. For tracks I haven't raced on I get as much information from racers on what setups to use. Amount of equipment and stuff carried increases as well, more battery packs (2-6 new packs), motors, spare parts, tires (5-8sets), couple of newly painted bodies.
If money isn't a problem - aftering accounting for travel, food, hotel and misc then I might purchase a spare esc, or other costly item just in case.

[brc358]

That question can have can have an endless amount of answers, depending on how invloved the hobbiest is into the hobby.
For instance, I myself have 28 on-road nitro cars, a couple of electric cars,two monster trucks, and a couple of 1/8 scale buggies,a couple of 1/18 mini trucks, and a heli.
For an average weekend I ususally take only 7 to 8 cars to the track.
I mostly run Ofna CD3s,Mugen MTX3,tricked out NTC3s, and a very tricked out Savage.
I dont go for the bling look, and try to keep all the upgrades to performance factors. OS engines,modified 5 port Novarossi engines in the 10th scale, and a Pico 27 in the Savage.
I usually pick Venom battery packs, Airtronincs servos<I do have some JR servos> and the Airtronincs M11 radio with the Spektrum system in all the cars and trucks.
Its kind of difficult to say how long a set of tires will last, as I take about 40 different sets to the track, and change them as the track changes throughout the day.
It is not uncommon for me to spend anywhere from $150.00 to $250.00 per weekend for various parts, although I have cut it down some now because I have been duplicating some of the parts when I do need them. That way,if I do need something, be it front end parts, servos whatever it may be, I will have it in my parts bins that I carry with me.
But on the other hand, I know drivers who can go to the track with one car, maybe one extra set of tires,some fuel,charger, and run all weekend long for around $20.00 to $25.00, and have a good time doing it.
But I go to the track anywhere from 5 to 6 days a week, and in doing so, there is bound to be maintance,broken parts, or just plain costs invloved in running the cars and trucks.
Choose the best parts you can afford,dont scrimp on battery packs or servos, and this will payoff in the end for you.
Not sure if this was the answer you were looking for, but hope it helps

[highroller]

The only time I took more than one car is when I plan on racing more than one class, stock, mod or 19turn. In the case of oval I use to run three class 1/10 stock, mod and 1/12 mod, but now it's a little too costly. Years back I thought it was easier to run more than one vehicle offroad stock buggy, 7cell super stock (240stmotors), 4wd stock. Each vehicle had it's own radio, esc and set of batteries (most weren't matched then), tires etc., seems I had more vehicles and money to spend towards it.

[spidude]

What car you have?
TC4 RTR, TC4 TEAM, TC3 RALLY, TC3 TEAM

What powerplant you have?
XSPOWER ADRENALINE PRO 27T , GP3300, Venom 3000 & 3300.

How often you replace tires?
Every 2 months running Advan 038 belted radials from HPI.

What Radio system you have?
Futaba 2PEKA FM

What charger you have?
MRC Super Brain 969

If you would drive your car anywhere apart from the race track?
Occasionally do demos at the LHS and car shows and fairs etc.

What upgrades you have on your car?
LRP QUANTUM 2 , motor listed above.

How much, on average, you spend a year?
$500 - $750

How often you race?
Wednesdays and Sundays.

Visit my clubs site at http://www.thebrca.com/