Newbie

[richianwarrior]

Good evening,

I am considering getting into rc car racing. I would be a complete novice but hoping for abit more information as to what is required in order to race.

What sort of spec car would i need in order to be eligiable to race.

Also any recommendation of cars would be much appreciated.

Cheers

[LongRat]

Well if you are near Gloucester I would recommend coming down and seeing the classes of car that we race. You can make a better decision once you see the cars in action. We race 1/10 touring, mini/Mardave, F1/GT10 and currently also 1/10 buggy.
I would go for either the mini class or touring if I were you. Also people are often selling second hand cars at the club, the cost of starting racing really is pretty low.

[RogerM]

If the answer is yes then it makes the recommendation simple - go for a Mardave. Why a Mardave? Well again they are simple, easy to work on, not much to go wrong and not much to confuse yourself with setup wise. They are small and thus suit the track size very well for a novice.
If the answer is NO then it becomes harder to choose so let’s try and help you.
Next question would be "do I want to be able to run my car anywhere, including jumps etc. or am I more of a flat tarmac sort of guy?"
So what are the difference between on-road and off-road racing, assuming that both are 1/10th electric classes for now so you can race them at Insworth?
On-road racing or 'touring cars' is essentially done on two surfaces in the UK, permanent tarmac tracks like 'Cotswold' near Cirencester or Mendip to name two fairly local examples or carpet tracks such as Ardent Raceway or the events held at Chipenham (again just picking too localish venues). The cars can be prepared to a number of different sets of regulations (mainly based on different motor & tire specs) but essentially they are all twin plate flat sheet chassis, cells down one-side and motor and electronics on the other, twin belt drive permanent 4wd with a diff in the rear and a fixed axle (referred to as a spool) in the front and predominately wearing slick rubber tires these days.
For a newbie it is a ‘spot the difference’ affair when looking at the various chassis’ out there as they all seem to have settled on a single solution for the layout and driveline leaving just the subtleties in suspension geometry and build quality to separate them. It’s almost a case of do you prefer a certain colour for the anodising – Kyosho is the red car by the way, if you’re going to have a blue one then get the Tamiya and there isn’t anything wrong with the Orange Xray car either J
I have never really done touring car as anything other than a ‘club class’ personally as I don’t find the cars very ‘interesting’ to drive but from what I am told to go quickly you will be spending a lot of time and money on tires & their preparation, need several different bodies to balance downforce for different styles of tracks etc. etc. etc.
That said as a club racer it is much easier, just run what the friendly fast people run so that you can benefit from their wisdom and experience. Most people seem to get reasonable life from a set of tires (between 6-10 weeks at Insworth I am told) and due to the nature of the track construction body shell damage and car breakages are fairly low.

Off-road, well this has been my class of choice for over 25 years now so I am probably a little biased but having tried most classes in this sport I keep returning to 1/10th off-road as for me it’s the most fun! Why is this? Well simply the challenge of the different surfaces (a lot of off-road tracks have areas of really high grip and others of near zero and sections between the two) along with the gradients changes & jumps mean that there is so much more going on than on a typical relatively flat tarmac track. That means you have to consider more than just running between the apexes and spotting your braking points to be quick in off-road. When transferred in to a small tight indoor venue like Insworth that is difficult, if not impossible, to reproduce so if you’re just thinking of racing at Gloucester club you won’t see much of that side of things sadly (the hall isn’t big enough and we have to handle many different classes in one night).
So you’re considering the joys of off-road racing so what car to get? Well first question is do you want to do 2wd or 4wd? When it comes to the RTR (Ready To Run) cars which are popular with novices for obvious reasons there are a few options for both.
In 2wd there is the Associated B4 RTR and the Ansmann buggies. Both have their merits; the B4 has been very popular at all levels for a number of years now is still featuring in world championship A finals in ultimate form, the Ansmann gives you the option of running mid-motor which is easier to drive quickly in multi-surface off-road conditions and on the carpet indoors.
In 4wd the two popular choices are the Kyosho ZX5 RTR and the LRP Blast RTR. Again both have their merits. Personally I am obviously going to point you in the direction of the Kyosho car but to justify that I will say that the latest version with the brushless technology is a great club level car and give you a strong basis to build from. To balance that I will say that there are certain must have upgrades before you start putting big power through it BUT a novice should learn to go as quick as they can with mild power before making life hard for themselves by upping the horses!!
One thing I always say is make a relationship with a good model shop and keep with them. Not only will they be able to offer you lots of advice and information but usually they look after repeat customers well. In my opinion there is none finer in the UK than JE Spares, if you ring them ask to speak to Nick (Kyosho driver) or Stu (Ansmann UK head boss-man) and tell them I sent you they will guide you through everything I am sure as they are both super friendly, keen and knowledgeable.
Pop along to the club and have a chat to people, see the cars in action and make an informed decision from that point going forward. Next meeting I believe is the first Friday after the New Year. Feel free to come an find me out (chubby guy with long hair so easy to spot), always happy to chat to newbies and hopefully can give them objective answers to any questions, although expect to hear the names Kyosho & Orion mentioned regularly

[Simion Wabs]

Hi Rich,

good responses from the guys above both are very friendly and offer excellent advice when it comes to car setup, advice etc....
I have personally been back racing for a number of years now at Glos and I have raced in every class available. So thats touring cars, buggies, F1 and mini/mardaves (12th scale). I think the only type not tried is 12th pan cars. I am unable to attend other rc events due to family commitments so my main rc fix comes from the indoor Glos track at Innsworth.
I started on TC and got very disillussioned with the cost of repair as things inadevrtently break. Especially during the learning years. I then purchased a 4wd buggy, I tried the most local off road track at Ledbury, but again breakages became costly.

I then bought a second hand Mardave V12 and put some of my old electrics into this lighter and smaller car. After spending many many weeks pestering the more knowledgable guys at Glos, (Dave B and Gordon) for setup advice I finally had a car that handled well. For me, the closeness and fun of this racing class brought a smile to my face week in week out. The cost of repair is also ridiculously cheap. You could almost buy a new V12 for the cost of a pair of driveshafts for a TC! So for me the advice to a beginner is this, buy a mardave V12. You will learn how to setup a car (basics at least), you will learn to drive an RC car, you will learn the etiquette of racing and the cost on the wallet for all this will be minimal. Once you have mastered the V12 class, then you can naturally move into the more technical classes, TC, F1 Buggies etc...

I look forward to seeing you at Glos some time soon, ask for Si if you fancy having a dabble on the sticks
Si

[Gunter]

Agree with Simon mardave is a cheap way to learn about the sport and learn to drive and all the other things Simon said which I would Neva had thought of.

Personally I'm a touring car driver always have been since I started when I was 14 ish possibly earlier n still love it 7 years later. Yes things are expensive but it's not that bad when you no where to go, what to buy and where not to buy. I don't spend much to race in glos these days I think almost all of my kit is 2nd hand, speedo, motor, servo, receiver, radio. It's just knowing who to buy from as not every1 looks after there kit like I try to do.

I'm personally selling a touring car ATM with a load of spares and I could possibly find a few more such as faster blocks and wishbones which is about all I ever brake.
Let me no of ur interested but do come along we racing again the first Friday in January and racing starts around 8 but I'm there from about 6:45 closest to the door :-)

[richianwarrior]

Well thank you all for your responses. I had heard abit about mardaves but could never find where to buy them? I do like the look of the touring cars, Gunter how much is your going for?

I will check out a few more sites etc but if you could
Point me in the right direction id much appreciate that.

Thanks all again

[richianwarrior]

sorry to be a pain again fellas,

i have been looking a lot online and one thing i have noticed is that some cars are saying they no longer need crystals to determine who is on what frequency.

is this the case? or to race would i still need to use a car with set crystals in?

[teamorsum96]

Originally Posted by richianwarrior

sorry to be a pain again fellas,

i have been looking a lot online and one thing i have noticed is that some cars are saying they no longer need crystals to determine who is on what frequency.

is this the case? or to race would i still need to use a car with set crystals in?

if your running 27,40 meg handset and reciever you will need crystals, if your using a 2.4g handset and reciever then it does't matter as you bind your handset to you reciever.

hope that helps

[teamorsum96]

where you from?, are club in sherburn (west yorkshire) runs mardaves (brushed,brushless), micro buggies and we race on saturday nights

http://www.modelracing.co.uk/

[richianwarrior]

Im from Gloucester and a complete novice, been thinking of getting involved for a while but now just trying to find a car!

[ryan edwards]

Hi

a good place to find mardave parts is mardavespares.com

have a look on that you might find out some more information and a rough cost

[Gunter]

As said above things have changed in rc and if running 2.4 ghz then crystals are not needed. You can but radio sets that are 2.4 rather cheap these days!

7 years ago £50 get you a 40mhz handset and recever with no electrical adjustment
Now you can get 2.4 with a range of electrical ajustments for Ye same money. Your spoilt these days ;-) and as said in my email let me no if you getting into tourig as I can get a new radio,lipo ,charger and speedo for about £170 n that's a top spec speedo and lipo :-)

[LongRat]

Get down to the Gloucester club this Friday and check it all out, it is a lot better to buy a car after coming to the club than the other way round. A lot of the time people end up selling what they just bought immediately.

[RogerM]

I agree with Dave, you might find that what you think looks like the best class to race for you actually isn't when you see it going around too.

Hope to see you Friday.

[Gunter]

I'll be there Friday 1st person inside the doors onthe right hand side :-)

We don't bite ;-)