Rc life cycle

[werner1619]

This thread is not about a rc cycle or how long your buggy or parts will last, but rather the experience you have from when you start untill you decide to stop racing.

Beginner / Novice: all is new and very exciting and the learning curve is great.
you have a ton of questions and continually looking for answers and enjoy speaking to anyone about rc stuff.

Club racer: You join a club, enter a few races and you are hooked. setup and the parts and equipment become more important. you other half start feeling the strain of your new found love... but eventially she comes around and supports you in what you do.

Nationals: Here I come, this is what count! competing against more people. money starts taking a back seat and you are almost willing to do anything it takes to take home the ellusive A- main first place trophy.

During the hunt to improve your skill and the equipment you use, you reach a point where you have a very good understanding of the racing scene, setup, equipment and thus more.
But still you wonder how do the Top driver still beat you?
Do they do and know things you don't? Is it the factory support that makes them better. Or are you just a shit driver with no abbility

???

after getting on the web and searching even more you come to the conclusion that you are alone. you have absorbed all the information easily available.
The A- main first place starts looking like a pie in the sky, the carret in front of the donkey...
you continue racing trying and doing your best, but it seems they always have the edge over you.

Another racing season comes to an end, yes i still enjoyed it, made some new friend and also left a nasty hole in your budget. :(

So you start thinking, is it realy worth it, spending the time and money.
should you not start living a normal life like all your other friends...?

The end: you decie to give race up. I mean you gave it a good bash, got the T- shirt and all the crap that comes with it. Time to sell the shit you think to yourself and try recooperate some the cash.

MY POINT I AM TRYING TO MAKE IS THAT WE SPEND THE TIME AND WE SPEND THE MONEY, YET WITHOUT FACTORY SUPPORT YOU WONT SEE YOUR NAME AND THE TITTLE "WORLD CHAMPION' NEXT TO EACH OTHER.

SO, DON'T YOU THINK YOU HAVE BEEN LOYAL AND DESERVE SOME SUPPORT FROM THE MANUFACTURER YOU ARE PUMPING YOUR MONEY INTO?

Eg: Congratulations on buying your new **** buggy. We have tested and designed the buggy to have a 60/40 weight split, giving you more on power steering on the following surfaces.....
Also please note that we have found that your servo posts should have 1 mm spacer between the chassis and servo other wise the carbon deck will flex and be tweaked. And the list goes on....

BUT THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN YOU HAVE TO SPEND HOUR FINDING ALL THE FLAWS IN THE BUGGY AND HOW TO IMPROVE ON IT. THE MANUFACTURER JUST KEEPS MARKETING HOW GOOD THE BUGGY IS AND BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Jimmy, would it not be nice to have pro drivers on the forum, giving real adise and tips. Instead of the usual; my esc doesn't work, what pinion do I use with this peace of shit motor i got from my mother hair dryer?

Appologies for being an ass.
so if there are pro driver that are willing to share good information, please rise to the occasion. I have spent the time and the money (have the credit card to prove) and would really appreciate help.

Yours trully and a bit smelly

Dumb ass:bored:

[Agt26]

You don't require factory support to succeed you may require it to get the absolute best out of you equipment but with racing and most other sports it the mental approach they defines the top drivers from the good drivers. Most top drivers will be able to lap no less than a second slower with a car there not used too or have set up there preffered way beacuse they quickly grasp how to drive the car and have learnt how too deal with such situations. Read up on some sports cycology articles it will help you with not only R/c but with must physically and mentally demanding situations. And if you still stuck then ask around the factory drivers for any hints/tips

[Scouser]

You missed a part of the cycle off. When you decide to finish racing and sell all your gear, ten yars later you walk past a model shop. Realising you wouldn't mind starting racing again you get yourself a new car, esc, motor and batteries and realise that technology has left you behind and you are back to square one knowing nothing again!:lol:
As for pro drivers giving tips, if it is something to do to the car to make it stronger, or a trick that fixes a design weakness, then yes it would be nice. Set ups are a personal thing though so I prefer to work my own out and get a sense of achievement when it all goes to plan. (doesn't happen that often though).

[kek23k]

I kind of understand your point, but I do think the situation is much better these days, with the internet and set-up sheets and even this great place! Back in the late 80's early 90's you only had your club guru's to talk to and at higher levels, people could be quite guarded about their set-ups. These days, you can just pull a set-up for a particular track, sometimes from a TEAM driver and get your car at least half-way there. Obviously, support does vary from car to car, but I would say the help and advice on here is consistently good. If you knew what it was like racing pre-internet, I dont think you would grumble so much hehe

I also think with the advent of brushless and LIPO the playing field is much more level, back in the day the factory drivers got all the good cells and motors so it just wasn't as easy to compete. I could be wrong, but I dont think that is the case these days. At the end of the day, some skill and talent are required in both setting a car up and driving and these cant be bought at any price. I used to enjoy finding a good setup as much as driving, and was arguably better at tweaking than driving lol. You should just enjoy the racing as a whole, I think winning was only a small part of it for me and probably others too