Last raced 20yrs ago

[Jnunu1]

Hi

I last owned a r/c car and raced it (badley) over 20 years ago! Looking to get back into it and Bury seem like the closest club to me.

I last raced an Ultima but always wanted a 4wd so will prob get one now I can afford it!

But I am a little worried about turning up to a race with all new kit and being pants and crashing into someone and busting thier car! Is there a "newbies" heat type thing?

Also, I can see from other threads that some indoor meets require "control" tyres with "additive" (?). Would this be a requirment for Bury?

Cheers
Jnu

[bigred5765]

almost any tire works indoor at bury additive naaaa no need for that kinda stuff mate,and trust me if you have raced before there will be people there much worse than you lol, sorry guys but you no its true lol

[rob m]

i raced in the early-mid 90's and just got back into it this year,i soon picked the handling back up again,its a lot easier now with lipos/brushless systems,no messing with sticking brushes and discharging/charging half a dozen ni-cads.dont worry about breaking other cars it happens,mainly to me! well most of the time recently its self inflicted

[Si Coe]

I'm still using a car from the early '90s!

[woOdy]

Originally Posted by Jnunu1

Hi

I last owned a r/c car and raced it (badley) over 20 years ago! Looking to get back into it and Bury seem like the closest club to me.

I last raced an Ultima but always wanted a 4wd so will prob get one now I can afford it!

But I am a little worried about turning up to a race with all new kit and being pants and crashing into someone and busting thier car! Is there a "newbies" heat type thing?

Also, I can see from other threads that some indoor meets require "control" tyres with "additive" (?). Would this be a requirment for Bury?

Cheers
Jnu

You dont worry about other cars, u just turn up and enjoy. There are plenty of nice guys to help also

[kitesurfer73]

Am like rob raced in the early 90's and got back into it, get uself down to bury great bunch of lads down there there so helpful, once you get the bug there will be no looking back,just tell the wife she will never see you again on a sunday lol see you down there.......

[Jnunu1]

Thanks for your replies guys. I will get the credit card out and get spending. Won't go into the whole car choice thing but think its a toss up between a Lazer/B44/Bmax4 (the Cat is tempting and real teenage dream but at £350? - bridge too far).

Thanks again.

jnu

[rob m]

i have a b4 which is great and ive just got myself a b44,i think im going to like the b44 from what little run ive had so far,matt b has a lazer sp,im sure he will be happy to answer any questions about it. the associated cars are easy to get spares for to,thats something to think off when choosing a car.

[Si Coe]

If you want the Cat there is a cheaper version out called the S1. Its a different chassis material (more flexible) and steel turnbuckles etc, but that rips £100 off the price making it in the same league as the others.

But realistically we've got a wide range of cars in regular use from 2wd B4s and X6s to more 4wds than you can image. The clubs regulars now cover the following current 4wds:

B44
BJ4
BMax 4
Cat SX
D4
Durga
Lazer
TRF501

plus a few older cars too! All of them are good in the right hands (ie not mine)

[Jnunu1]

Thanks to all for the advice.

I am building a shopping list and budget - looking like thick end of £500.

I am going to go to my local neighbourhood RC specialist shop (Blackburn/Preston, done some rooting on the interweb and come up with 3 so far) to ask some q's and get some costs re:

motors and how they relate to speed controllers, should I bother with brushless etc.

radio gear - is it worth investing in the newest fequency's or will the old style crystal sets be ok.

batteries - think I am happy with LiPO (although it looks a bit technical with all that balancing).

Lets see if I can get that cost down!

Thanks again for all help.

Jnu

[bigred5765]

go brushless saves time money hassle,
radio gear as long as its half decent 2.4ghz 40mhz what ever
lipo is like garlic bread its the future

one lipo is more than enough to get you through the year with ease, you don't have to balance charge every time,unlike nimh which became i pain full stop and not to mention dangerous,

brushless is almost a must for us, no skimming,no soldering brushes in every other run,

pop over at bury indoors theres loads of us will to talk show you whats what,

[Si Coe]

If you don't mind internet shopping brushless need not be pricy.
There are always cheap second hand escs and motors going here on Oople or on ebay at dramatically reduced prices.
If you don't fancy second hand look on ebay for the fantastic Hobbywing Ezrun systems. They aren't BRCA legal so you can't be using them for nationals, but club use is fine. In fact you'll see plenty in use as in terms of value for money nothing comes close. The only real issue is that they can only be bought from Hong Kong, which means a 2-3 week wait for delivery.
Cost in the order of £60-70 delivered which is a hefty saving if you consider that most sensored motors cost £75 on their own!

Radio wise its all good, but there are a few 2.4ghz sets at low prices if you don't mind using a wheel so why bother with crystals? The Ansmann W3 24ghz is rapidly becoming popular for offering full 2.4ghz function at just £65 , and you can have a Spektrum for as little as £90 if you shop around.
That said if you still have an old decent radio you might as well use that. You'll find the switch to 2.4ghz has left 27 and 40 mhz pretty quiet!

[kitesurfer73]

You can go alot cheaper than £500 ive only been racing a few weeks and am now at the point i can say i have all the gear and be properly prepared for raceday.Ive gone down the cheaper buy it from hong kong route and it has payed off,well if you see me on sunday at bury without my ezrun esc it might have not!!!!!I would look also into maybe buying secondhand car from a racer like i've just done myself cheaper and most of the time well looked after,there always swapping and changing anyways, here's the breakdown so far for me.>>>>>>>>>>
Secondhand factory x6 £140
3xni cad's 3700 £14.00 each
orion charger nicad £20 secondhand
ezrun brushless system £60
2 5000 40c lipo's £85.00 from hong kong (on route as we speak)
rc core lipo charger £60.00
spektrum dx3 cheapest one.. £90.00 from bolton modelmart
some tools/table/12v battery/etc

Thats me ready to roll £400.00 apart from breakages of car shouldn't cost to much from now on then again my driving isnt great!!!!..but i love the hobby so i get the money from some where,just get what you are comfortable with go out and enjoy like i am