Schumacher ?? no more off road ?

[jimmy]

I heard that schumacher might be totally out of off road now? anyone know more about this ?

mossy now drives for CML and tbh i dont know anyone still driving for them in off road ?

[strobe]

Looking on the CML website they will have a good off-road team for 06.
Neil Cragg, Paul Bradby, Simon Moss and Lee Martin, he has also signed up for CML for 06.
They will be using the new 4wd Yokomo Buggies and AE B4 2wd buggies.

[andys]

Seems like a real shame if they have called it a day. Schumacher used to be way ahead of the game, they should just re-release the CAT XLS like Tamiya have done with a number of models, i'm sure there would be plenty of interest. Personally I would love to race one again.

Mentioning the new Yokomo, it could almost be a Cat 3000 ? Shame they haven't tried anything new. As much as I love / hate the Pred, at least it's an engineering leap forwards from all the sameish buggies that are coming out !

And as for Losi, surely they should be called 'Lostie'. Going back to an old design and then stating on the web site that it works better on 'rough' tracks, come on fellas, this is 'off-road' it's supposed to be rough. Don't make me laugh. Also, their new sort of prototype is based on the latest tourer, now surely they should realise this didn't work out too well last time ?

So, I for one hope / prey that Schumacher haven't gone away, we need some innovation and Schumacher have always had that in spades, it's too easy to copy what everyone else is doing, so come on Ceicel (thinks that's how you spell it, Mr schumachers 1st name....), get back to your roots and bring us a new buggy. :lol:

[DCM]

I think it comes down to money in the end, the money is in touring cars, nitro and toys, off-road just isn't the market it used to be. Schumacher lost their way with the biggest market, 2wd, and never seemed keen to jump on the moulded tub design like AE and Losi, mores the shame. 4wd, I think you can keep chucking money at a limited market, as it isn't big in the USA or UK relevant to the other classes.

Losi designed the XXX4 for the smooth blue groove tracks in the USA, and that is that, everywhere else it was a compromise, and to me, a big cockup by Losi and I think, without the release of the X-5 and some Team Testing in the UK, the XX4 would NEVER of seen the light of day again.

As for TTech, as Radical as it was, it isn't now and I think they are way behind the game when compared to the likes of the Kyosho. The only thing that makes the Pred stand out now is the inboard suspension.

[andys]

Interesting stuff.

RC cars are a global hobby, so it stands to reason that if a Uk manufacturer has a good car, it will not only bring them profit from the UK ?

I still think the Pred is the most innovative 4wd buggy around. The Kyosho is very much a copy of the BJ (I have both so I have a good idea, also check out Jimmy's comparison) It's a shame someone like Kyosho couldn't have being more innovative when you would have thought they could afford to afford to be.

I hope someone like Tamiya can bring something to the 4wd market, if they engineer it like their world beating touring cars that would be something. Also an established company like Xray could probably afford to take a crack at something innovative. Lets keep our finger crossed.

Who knows, maybe Schumacher has something in the bag ?

[chrislee]

Being innovative and 'different' doesn't necessarily mean it's better. Why waste time and money developing something different which may work as well as what is already out there? I can't see any legal innovations to make todays cars much better than they already are.

Chris

[andys]

Hi Chris.

Interesting perspective you have there. I'd initially agree, but you have to think beyond what we know and accept today. A few years ago I remeber thinking how will anyone ever produce a car that's better than the CAT ? I'm also sure that in a couple of years time we will look back and wonder 'why, did we all really think the B4 was so good ?' as we will be running something far superior.
Everything is constantly evolving, materials, manufacturing processes and associated technologies. It's so easy to look at today's cars and think 'that's it, it's the pinnacle of what can be achieved, I see no way whatsoever to improve it'
That's the challenge for future designers, and it's the challenge that will see some manufacturers be successfull through innovation and design and others fail. I remember when the Losi Kinwald was the totally dominant 2wd car and the B3 was a joke. It didn't stop associated designed something that was a significant leap forward, the B4 ? Hopefully we will see this kind of 'leap' time and time again, it's what keeps the hobby interesting for many people.

[DCM]

I think you get to the point where design is normaly then a remush of whats been before. I think that the 2wd platform has honed itself pretty much fine and anything BUT a complete step away from the current design would make it substantialy different.

Most designs are mainly adressing specific problems or handling traits, or change in trends.

With 4wd you have much more scope to play with the chassis design, and a far greater choice of transmission styles. When you have been racing long enough, designs soon start to come round like the seasons. the XXX4 design was seen in the 80's on PB's, the new Yoke on the old Cat, the Kyosho on the Academy. What made the Pred different was the way it transfered the direction of rotation through an axis compared to the likes of the Tamiya which used a transfer box. Unfortunately at the time, either the materials or the stumbling on the right design never cam about for TTech but now there are more shaft drives than you can shake a BIG stick at.

I reckon the biggest advances recently have been in modular design and accesibility of components and tunning. The next big step will be to make these cars accept the power that will be coming in the next couple of years.

[jimmy]

my SG coyote has the same style transmission as the pred, the motor is above the main shaft though, crap CoG ! and thats from 1985 or so