What do you 10th offroaders think of us 18th microers?

[mole2k]

It's the fact I would buy the car then have to buy driveshafts, then a diff, then something else.

I mean sure for somebody who's raced micro's for a while they can buy the car and all the bits needed to be competitive and reliable but to a complete outsider they would have to do loads of research to make their car competitive and reliable. I would much rather pay whatever it took to get a fully functioning car that I know I can race out of the box without any difficulty and be on pace with the other cars. Buying a car that is sub-race standard and buying the bits to make it race standard seems like such a waste, it would be cheaper if the car came with the upgraded bits in the long run.

[Northy]

99% of B44's run AE shocks too And the 'team' guys say not to run the 1 way front diff.

The point is just about every 10th kit I can think of is competative out of the box, infact some of the Losi guys HAD TO run it box stock - in the contract.

Anyway, I'd love a Blaze, and had a look at one in a shop yesterday, but if I got one I'd have no idea where to get the hop up bits from.

G

[Gaz_Stanton]

Got to agree with the previous comments about micro being difficult to get into. I was looking into micros about this time last year but didn't get one because it didn't seem worth it. (in my opinion)

The 1/10th market has developed well over the years so we are now in a good place where most kits are fully competitive out of the box. With the latest kits it will be the driver that is the limiting factor and not the car, right up to Worlds level. (B44 was world champion with AE shocks & front diff) To me it looks like the micro kits are a new product and are where the 1/10th kits were about 15 years ago(think buying a Pro-Cat and then having to buy a carbon chassis, MMS diffs, wasp belts, kyosho shocks etc, etc to be competitive).

The other thing that i don't like, which may be controversial, is the lack of basic rules spoiling the micros.
If you have a micro buggy class, make sure it stays a micro buggy class. If people are racing they improve the cars to go faster, and basic physics says a micro buggy will be quicker with a wider track and bigger wheels. So we have people using lowered truck chassis with 1/10 touring wheels. This then gives odd cartoon looking cars that are wide with big wheels but a disproportionately short wheelbase. Looking at these cars it looks like they need a longer wheelbase for stability so that will be the next performance trick, if not done already. So you end up with a micro car + wider track + bigger wheels + longer wheelbase which is just a bigger car, so why not just run a bigger 1/10th to start with!

Why don't the drivers ranting about other classes not understanding the micros do something about it. How about putting together a guide to the latest/best micro buggies and what mods needed to make them last the race and what mods are desireable to imrove performance. I'm sure a well written guide telling established 1/10th & 1/8th off road drivers what they would need to get a micro running over the winter would boost numbers.

[twisty]

I think most of you are missing the idea of micro,i think it is here to encourage new blood into the sport without huge costs,if things are kept pretty standard then the field is fairly even.If people want more competition and/or they decide to continue with the sport ,they might move on to 1/10 or 1/8 or even (heaven forbid)Largescale I have all scales ,on and off roaders and they all have thier place.
Micro HAS to be a winner in the long term because you need less space and effort (lazy gits setting up and putting away) to build a track "to race" look at the W.O.R.M videos of how much fun can be had in a small space or hall.Am thinking school hall size venues are a lot cheaper to hire than a sports hall,the whole thing can be run more economically.
No one wants to take anyone away from other scales,it is more to complement whats here already and encourage new folks in ,who might really have to watch the pennys.
I just like racing things with wheels

[dave p hall]

let's be honest,you can spend load's of money on any class,scaleunless specific rules are runi had a go with a blazewould never race one,too small

[frogger]

Would be interesting to get Mr Harris or Mr Doughty's opinions in here

[Body Paint]

Cue Mr.Harris

I can see where the 10th ers are coming from. If you'd asked me this 2 years ago I wouldn't even have read this thread. After seeing the videos posted on here by Dan O I went to see them in action at Weston and I havn't looked back, they are fantastic fun and compared to 10th they are like racing for free.

Up until know it has been hard to find cars, speedos and lipos but that is all about to change.

1/ Spire Model Distribution are about to get stock of the Ultimate Micro Off Roader, the LRP Shark Monster Pro, soon to be available at all your LHS's. It will cost under £160 and has all the hop ups included, the only thing you need to make it into the same car I race is a £7 buggy bodyshell and a different set of tyres (lets face it when did you last use the tyres that came with your kit?)

2/ Novak produce the fantastic Sensored Brushless System again available at your LHS

3/ Trakpower now have available a 1600mah LiPo

Job done!

Hmm, I think a "micros for dummies" coming up with pictures setups etc. Would that help anyone?

[Oscar]

Ok, as you probably know already I'm one of the "10th" guys who did a few micro nationals and the micro challenge event too.

I like the relaxed ruling system, enough to keep it fair without being too serious in my opinion.

I like the fact it's possible to assemble a track indoors in a small area, it opens up opportunities for new clubs/venues more than larger classes.

I like the fact there seems to be a few younger people racing, without these the sport would die.

I like the fact the cost of cars and parts is reasonable, especially tyres (I ran the same set for the whole season and could probably do another season again )

I wasn't overly troubled by the mechanical failures I experienced, but they were noticably more frequent than what I would expect in 1/10th

And finally all the venues are quite "southern" for me, but you can't host events local to everyone

I think the inexperience of the new micro seen is noticable if you compare to the long established 10th class, but I fully expect both manufacturers and organisers will rapidly catch up.

Hope to see you 18th guys again sometime over this season

[ashleyb4]

You can get a competative 2wd rolling chassis for around 120 pound or cheaper if you get a second hand mini t.

A

[frogger]

If you buy a LRP Shark you can even use your favourite 1/10th scale servo.

As Craig says, same set of tyres for a whole season. Beat that with a pair of Schumy Yellow Mini Spikes

[frogger]

Oh and this is what one looks like for those that haven't seen one

[Tim Ward]

My local club races mainly 1/18th Micro. I race 1/18th, 1/10th and 1/8th buggies.

I personally run an RC18FT. Apart from a stronger front shock tower it is pretty stock and works well once tuned to the track.

We put some fairly harsh features into our tracks and I always find the RC18 very strong.

Many of the impacts bourne by the 1/18ths would knock a corner off my B4!

I suggest talking Worksop into having a heat of 1/18th at their winter indoor series and we can show them what 1/18th can do!

[c0sie]

John - Nice to read your thoughts from what you saw at last years Nationals and UKMC3 event you attended with Team oOple

Gaz - Our section has never been a 'Micro Buggy' scale, its a 'Micro' scale, and we chose that word over the likes of 1/18th or 1/16th to allow all cars that fitted within a certain sizing to compete.

For those of you who think that EVERY micro scale car needs a wage packet spent on it to be compeptive, you are wrong. Im glad this thread has got into a nice civil debate as its good to see why people choose NOT to buy a micro or racea micro National, ut as has been proven by Craig, you can buy a £160ish LRP Shark ST and other than foams and electrics not need to buy a single thing to make it race ready. It comes with alloy shocks, steel driveshafts, steel ball diffs and an extremely strong PBS system.

I would urge any of you who looked into the micro scene EARLY last year to reconsider and look around at how our section has progressed since the start of the Nationals.

I can honestly say I take alot of inspiration from the "10th Offroad" scene, allbeit the indoor element, but ever the less out cars are kinda like your offspring in a way lol.

As has been mentioned before, we now have a Novak sensored brushless system, comparable to the GTB, doing the rounds. LiPo's are common place and avaliable widely, foams can last upto and over 6 months a set if looked after (just basic checks to make sure the bead is still attached to the wheel).

The progress we've seen over the last year is very healthy, and whoever mentioned the 'Dummys guide to Micros'..we HAVE taken note of that and are working to make that happen, so thanks for the idea

I appreciate that a majority of micros are released and promoted as toys, but for those of us dedicated racers there is a world of seriousness (and huge fun) that hopefully will start to take the edge off the "toy" label

Thanks for all your comments and thoughts though. As ive said, it is good to hear reasons for and against the micro scene

[Chris Doughty]

I have been in and out of Micro/18th scale racing ever since the Mini-T first appeared.

and as has been said before, in the last few years, maybe even just the last month (LRP/SMD distribution) things have moved on SO much in terms of whats available to buy as a race car.

I remember back in the day of the Mini-T and the fact you had to carry 4 sets of diff gears because getting a 5 minute run without blowing the diff gears was close to impossible.

those cars are still around, but they are much more reliable versions of them.

and the LRP Shark ST and FTX Blaze on the scene are perfectly capable and tough cars.

the FTX blaze is made reliable with driveshafts and diffs, same for the stock LRP Shark

the LRP Shark 18 'Monster' Factory Team version is well over spec'ed - when I got mine they didn't have any FT ones in stock so they sent me the stock one with a few option parts, its ace!
back to the point... is possible to buy a car that comes out of the box ready to win national races.

the good thing about the LRP or FTX cars is the amount of options you have for servos, the thing that used to bug me about Micro racing was that my 10th scale cars had super-quick 0.07 second servos in them and would feel as sharp as a knife.... my micro car had a tiny HiTec thing in it that would barely reach full lock it... But now the same servo fits in the LRP or FTX car that my 10th and 8th scale cars use, if you really wanted you can run a 0.07 second 2123 KO FET servo in your micro, the same one you take out of your 10th scale or even your 8th scale Buggy or Snoring car.

the lack of control tire used to put me off or made me feel like I could go to a meeting and not have the best tire and therefore not have a chance, but there seems to be a now common standard foam tire that lasts for ever, much like in 10th scale you go to worksop indoors and know its schum yellow mini-pins.

as has been said before, electronics have come a long way in micro racing recently, sesored brushless speedo/motor... however, the Kit LRP or FTX motor can still be competitive, much like 10th off-road, its easy to over-power the cars.

and the LRP or FTX car is pretty damn strong, we always give them a good ramp around or bash at the end of a club night at Wycombe, but never need to fit it afterwards.

I do think that there still is a feeling about micro racing that it can't be someones 'Primary' racing class - not sure why but I do feel the same a bit, however, during the winter, I would certainly recomend picking one up and blasting it around your local track or the Micro National series.

[lochness42]

I think that 1:18th is great class for newcomers. I raced both 1:18 TC (for about 5 years?) and buggy (this winter). I decided this summer not to race TC as long as it came to overpowering them (Doughty is right) and whole run it's hard to know what car will do (I call it uncontrolled rocket). I have buggy just for fun but it's great. I got second hand slightly tuned Anderson MB4 from Canada (same as LRP Shark or Duratrax Vendetta). First thing I broke was graphite front shock tower (alloy is better). I also noticed after last cleaning of car that standart alloy drive shafts are better to change. They melted a little bit (alloy on alloy makes too much friction - last owner didn't think about that) so I had to change fronts to steel one (I got one pair with car) and made one "good" pair from rest alloys. I lubricated them with graphite grease - I hope it'll help. I use standart Anderson 380 motor and standart diffs (I have one ball diff new in bag) and I was able to be competetive to faster Mamba brushless. I also use one set of foams that doesn't look used even after whole winter series.

It's nice class but bigger looks like more fun. I'm waiting for 1:8 electric class because here aren't many tracks dedicated for 1:10 and rest is really rough. For winter indoor series it's great choice.

[Dreadstar]

Well,over the winter months,my club,(CSOR),is starting up a Maverick Atom championship.The rules will be,that you can only run the car as it comes out of the box,no hop-ups or mods allowed,and at a penny under 70.00,you really can't complain.It comes in 2 flavours,buggy and truggy,both models use the same chassis and running gear,the only difference between them is the tyres and bodyshell.They can be bought from Mirage Racing,they also have the RRCI review posted on their page.We are really looking forward to trying these little things out.

[Chrislong]

Just done round 1 of the Micro nationals, and really really enjoyed it. For me this is the class id recommend to anyone starting out on a budget, and certainly would not classify them as toys - these things have come on so far since the Mini-T and stock 18T. The LRP Shark Monster pro is just a beast and is a fantastic piece of kit from the box, along with Novak Mongoose, Trakpower Lipo and KO 2143 servo - what a tool!!!!

Expect to see more of me at anything 18th.

[Chris Doughty]

they look pretty ace too!

[Lee]

How did you get on chris

[_sleigh_]

Pretty good from what I heard. Last report I had, he was running 4th in qualifying.