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#1
16-07-2010
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Team no idea goes budget racing
Right then chaps and chapesses, this could be a bit long winded so please bear with me!
The recession that we seem to find ourselves in has sparked off a few things in my noggin. As many of you know I am a salesman for Kawasaki and the recent decline in motorcycle sales has left me with days getting quieter and quieter……..so during one of these quite days I flicked through Oople and a few other known RC sites and a common theme/topic is starting to emerge..Budget racing. Now I started racing only 2 ½ years ago and to be honest this new technology such as brushless and lipo is all I have ever known and it has taken me this long and a fair few hundred pounds to reach my first regional A final. For example my X-6 alone has set me back well over £700 by the time you include the donor car and electrics! Let alone tools, equipment the 5 different 4wd cars I’ve raced with (Pred XRS, X10, B44, S4, CAT SX) the B4 and the SC10….All of which sit on the shelf looking pretty. No wonder I’m skint! Anyway back on topic….so here is what I’ve been thinking, did I really need to follow the latest trends and technologies to get to this point? Did I NEED to spend this money buying top motors, transmitters and lipos to reach level I’m at? (Which is still miles away from what you might call….. erm..ok?!) To find out I have a plan, I would like to do a “Top Gear” style challenge. Firstly I’m setting myself a budget of £100. This has to last me through until next spring. With the £100 I have to buy the car, electrics and everything I need ready to enter a race. Now “Easy!” I hear you cry, “buy an RTR Madrat!”. Good plan but then there is no money in the pot for tyres or spares. So it has to be a used car. Just to add to the fun I’m going to have to use old school brushed motor and ESC as again my budget won’t stretch to brushless. And to make it even more fun, the only power source I can use is going to be old fashioned stick packs (because I’ve got loads of them at home already and they won’t cost me anything) Because of the budget I guess it’s also going to have to be 27mhz. No Spekrum here! And possibly only 2wd as 4wd tend to be more money So here are the rules No Lipo No Brushless Stick packs only No sneaking fancy electrics or chassis parts from my other cars! I can't use a car I already own, I have to go out and buy one (that’s the whole point!) £100 budget for the entire length of the test (all winter) The car has to compete in at least the following EPR winter series (if indeed there is one this year) The Petit RC (again if there is one) End of season race day at plough raceway The open class in the Faversham 4wd regional And finally a 2, maybe 3 hour endurance race At the end I hope to find that I can justify the money I have spent so far in my racing career. If it turns out that I can compete on the same level as I do now on a budget of £100 my good lady will probably lop my moose nuggets off! I’ll update you as things progress!! Thanks for reading! Any further ideas? feel free to comment! 
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#2
16-07-2010
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yea sounds good way of getting new ppl in to the sport iv seen my club decline in members it used to be about 80 on a club nite now its lucky to get 15 through the door so ur idea is great
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#3
16-07-2010
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i think it's a good idea - clubs could have the 100 class based on ur rules - and a this could a way to get new people in rc
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RC10 B44 - for sale with new body and few parts RC10 T4 - SP stock club (once it'll work), Tekin 10.5T, Lipo 2s 5000mah 40c, 2.4Ghz HPI e-firestorm GTB esc, Novak SS 10.5T, Lipo 2s 5800mah 40c, 2.4 Ghz RC Sailboats are also coooool Check out www.iomireland.org
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#4
16-07-2010
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Good luck mate, however I wonder if you'll really make whole winter. Oh and fact that you already have stick packs is great.
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Retired from racing
| パベルともうします、よろしくおねがいしますスロバキア人だ、今イギリスにすんでいます。| | Ralls Racing | RCSGraphicWorx - paints, paintjobs, decals, custom wear | Schumacher Racing | Mr.O inserts |
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#5
17-07-2010
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Cheers for the comments chaps!, ive found a few cars that are looking like good contenders. Hopefull ill have something sorted after the weekend!
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#6
17-07-2010
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Wow Martin, that makes you think. Ive spent nearly £100 on lipo's and double that on a speedo just to reach a regional A final. The sport demands that you spend that much if you want to stay competative
 Your idea should certainly bring some fresh faces into the sport, which can only be a good thing
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#7
17-07-2010
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I assume this challenge is for you only, not really an idea for getting new racers into the hobby...
If you can make a regional A final, then you must be a decent driver. You will not do anywhere near as well with budget gear, fact. The fact that we all run similar gear these days, lipo, brushless etc, is the thing that keeps racing close, there's no real reason that a club driver can't go as fast as a team driver, it's just talent on the track that will show in the lap times. Yes you need to spend tons of cash, as you have said to be on a par with equipment, which is a necessary evil. Good luck though, just sounds like you will quickly want the extra speed you know you have with your other equipment, after all it is racing and you generally want to be as quick as you can be. One last thing, with all the new technology, I know that my car / gear is good enough to win, it's me that lets the side down. I can live with that as I know I don't need to spend any more money unnecessarily, I just need to drive better, which is what it's all about.
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#10
29-07-2010
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Hey hey, just thought id keep everyone up to date with the budget racing. I have ended up with a 2wd car sourced from oOple! YAY
It came complete with a pistol style 27MGH transmitter (not good, bring back my sticks!), battery and mabushi 540 motor. I replaced the 540 motor with a 1993 Yokomo 14 turn brushed stock motor and amazingly it seems to have a good turn of speed....ish. This may need replacing for a newer item later but we'll see how things go. The LRP ESC that is in the car has a 12 turn limit so i think i should be able to get something quicker if needed. A very nice chappy has sorted out a few sets of new and used tyres for me which as he is skipping the country he no longer needs and the car came with some schumacher mini spike tyres so that lot should keep me going for a bit. Overall the car is in good shape. the shock tower has been repaired and i doubt it will last but i have £40 left from my budget to get a few bits if needed, parts for this car seem soooo cheap! I intended to run it this weekend at FORCC in the open class but i need a Spur gear/pinion cover as it is missing, so unless i can find one in time im doomed and it will have to wait for its maiden voyage.... ill let you know how things go! Cheers for reading! Just to answer previous comments.... Quote:
The challenge is something i quickly came up with, if anyone wants to join in feel free!! Its was never really about getting people into the hobby, i never intended it to be about that. All im doing is seeing how well i can go with budget gear. Like i say, did i NEED to spend out on top equiptment?, the obvious answer is yes to be competitive but i just wanted to see the differences.I totally agree ill probably hankering for more speed fairly quickly and your absolutley right when you say improvement as a driver over rides the money you can throw at these cars. You can have the latest, best ever, fandoobles kit but drive like a knob! At the end of the day this challenge is purely for a bit of fun.... and i cant wait! 
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#11
08-11-2010
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Ok guys and Girls......its update time! although i cant imagine anyone being interested in this..lol.
Anyway on with the show.... First of all i have blown the £100 without the car turning a wheel in anger.....i have changed the pistol style transmitter with a basic hi-tec stick unit, i have replaced the motor with a 12t and i have sourced some used associated B4 shocks. So the cars full spec is: 27mhz Hi-tec transmitter Basic plastic geared Hi-tec servo (came with transmitter pack) Ae shocks LRP brushed ESC 4500 nimh stick pack 1st meeting was EPR winter series round 2 on sunday (i failed to make it to round 1) 60 odd drivers turned up on sunday for a very exiting days racing. Although it remained dry all day the track was very slippery and in early practice the little rat was having a few steering issues.......UNDERSTEER of doom! After a quick check over from Mr Holmes we decided to put a thinner shock oil in the front and rear, stand up the front shocks and add some washers here and there. The car was getting better and with a bit of weight over the front end and a bigger pinion to give it some more speed downt the straight and it was ready for qualifying. There were 3 heats of 2wd on the day and after the firts 3 rounds i had hustled the car round to 14th overall. I had some really good fun drives and some close battles with Stuart Band which i really enjoyed. Adjusting my driving to the really slow steering, the lack of power, and the lack of adjustment from the trasmitter was very hard to get used to especially as i was running the truck class on the day with my sc10 and using my regular race equipment. The car was very good throught the fast corners after the straight but still understeering out of the slower ones under power and for the last qualifying run i took the inserts out of the front tyres. This gave the car so much more steering, to the point it was too much and the car was pivoting too much. Anyway i ended up 4th in the B final.... cant complain at that. And finally after a very messy final i went from 4th to last to 6th. All in all the cars setup still needs work, its not perfect but i think with a few more runs it could be alot better than it is.
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#12
08-11-2010
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A few pics from sunday
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