ty2000

Why is every other car a RTR! it was cool when everything came in kit form, you build it so you know how to fix & tune it. i seen something a few weeks back that made me sick, i was down at the local hobby people trying to buy a few sets of sorex tires and ther was about five people in line all holding RTR'S trying to get' em repaired because little jonny broke it but since he did'nt build it he can't fix it, so since im last i gota wait till the clerk fixes this servo and try's to show some kids dad how to get a RTR nitro truck to start and try to explain to some 12yr old's mom why 90 dollar batteries are better than those brite yellow stick packs on the counter, lets not water down our hobby because some people are scared to try to build a car... it's so bad that i know of a shop in OC that charges people 35 dollars an hour to fix cars!

DriftingDragon

then dont buy an rtr get a kit and stop complaining

cheech4

yeah why are you complaining, there are some people out there and its the majority that when they buy into an RC they want it complete, with motor and radio. dont get me wrong building a kit is awsom and there nothing better than fixing your own problem. but people have choices and if its a rtr then so be it. no big deal.

ty2000

dude i aint complaining its a fact. i have been into rc since the early 80's and there were few if any RTR'S and in some cases RTR'S are ok but why are people selling pre built full bolwn race cars. a RTR plastic wheel drift car is ok if you like that stuff, but do you really think kinwald ,hara,masami,pavidis would have a use for RTR! NO, you think the drift king goes out and buys a fully built AE86 because it saves him time & all he has to do is jump in and start drifting NO, all im saying is that if everything was pre built then OUR hobby woul'nt be what it is today, building the car you RACE is an IMPORTANT part of our hobby mr drift dragon. And check this out drifting lizard or whatever your name is,their not pre building these cars to help you out so you can get racing faster they build them because they seen that sales were falling off a cliff, due to the fact that young boys & men were not as willing to put the time in building the car or intimidated to build the cars themselves so the best way to get sales up was to build the car for you and put everything you need in one box, to me thats just as lame as two guy's on one motocycle!

[]TEX[]

There are still more kits than there are RTR's so I am not worried. I don't buy RTR's so I don't think about it much.

ty2000

your totally right ! what im saying is what is the need for a pre built full blown race car! if you wana have fun cool but your not gona take a RTR race car to the ROAR nationals!

[]TEX[]

Majority of the people want it right now and don't care to build, plain and simple.

ty2000

hey dudes you guy's are right i never thought of it that way! sorry if i offended anyone here!do whatcha like is the point and it did'nt take long for me to see it that way.

[]TEX[]

No offense taken, us kit builders gotta stick together!

Raguvian

RTR's have great bang for the buck. If you want to just get started in the hobby I think they're fine.
However, I think building and repairing is half the fun of the entire experience, so even though they're more expensive I will continue to buy kits.

explod3

Hi i'm new to the forum! I found it on yahoo just now...

I agree in with you in that in getting into rc, you should at least build the thing yourself so that you know how to put it back together or fix something in case something breaks. I built my first rc10 when i was 11 years old, and i finished the whole thing in 5 hours. If a stupid kid like me could do that, anyone can.

At the same time tho, you gotta think about the perspective of the manufacturers. Everyones in for a quick buck. RTR gets people into RC and fast. The next thing you know they're buying a competition model and buying hop up parts for it. Also, the fact that everything in the world of RC is sold seperately can be intimidating to people. They realize that everything adds up fast, and before they know it they're at 500 bucks when the kit itself only costs 200. Now they're frustrated and they just want a RTR so they can go home and play.

FP 4LC4PON3

i Agree as well but then again i dont. I like building the kits because i get to learn and when something goes wrong i know what i gotta do to fix it but at the sametime i like RTR's. I dont race i just simply Bash and will i ever race, Nope. The reason i like RTR's is cause i got money and when im bored of my stadiums, my onroads or my MT Truck ill just go grab something thats RTR and pretty much destroy it. now if that was a kit it would take forever to build and then im bored already.

like i was playing with my savage 4.6 ss and i got this idea to destroy the xtm x-cell. i had a thought about ramping the x-cell into a telephone pole at full throtte. so i went and got the xtm from rednecks came home didnt even break it in fueled and tuned it improper and smashed it right into the pole and i sold it a week later for 50 bucks. 200 bucks down the drain but it sure was fun.

cobra26

There are still kits available but the overwhelming choice of cars/trucks fall into the RTR or pre-built "roller" category. I bought an RTR Raze to get back in the hobby after a few years of just flying, and because of my kit experience from the '70's and '80's, I am able to work on it and fix it. I will probably never buy another RTR for myself, but I guess they make sense to introduce someone to the hobby or get them reaquainted with the sport. If they're seriously interested, they'll learn how to fix 'em when things break and will probably lean toward kits in the future. I know that only kits are in my future now.

tjscrogins99

We should be happy for any kits rtr or not that bring people into our hobby. When little billy goes to college and comes out making all kinda of money may go buy all kinds of kits because of the fond memories of the cheap easy rtr he had as a kid. The more people interested the better, the better the products the cheaper the prices the more people to race. The local hobby shops have enough trouble competing with online stores as it is, let them fix billys rtr truck 50 times if hes going to pay for it and keep them in buisness.

DaveG55

Plain and simple, y'all should be thankful for RTR's not complaining about them.
If it wasn't for RTR's this hobby would only be a small pale shadow of what it is. You like all those cutting edge race parts? They've been designed because there's a market for them. And why is there a market? RTR's that's why!!!! Kit's may have started this hobby but they are not the saviour of it, RTR's are. RTR's are what brings people into the hobby, not kits, not ROAR but the companies that make it easy for people to buy an RC and catch the bug, that's what the driving force behind this hobby is. If it weren't for RTR's there would not be enough profit in the business end of RC to keep the diversity that we have today. We'd all be down to 1 or two choices and be stuck in the 80's again.
If you want a high dollar, fancy race kit, great, go get one but, be honest, does knowing how to build a kit make you a better driver or racer? No, it doesn't. Someone with experience driving will blow away a newb weather that newb is driving a $1000 kit or a $400 RTR. Even if the experienced driver is driving an inferior car, they are going to win.
And the kits themselves... By the time you buy the kit, the engine and the electronics you have more into one than most new people are willing to spend AND then you have to put it together. And what about picking the engine and electronics. A newb has no idea what's good, bad or indifferent. And, face it, that stuff and those choices are confusing even for experienced RC'ers. If kits are to survive then they need to be less expensive and come with recommendations for everything else that is needed to get running.

Sorry that ran longer than I intended. I just get so aggravated when people are naive and say RTR's suck and kits are all you should buy.

ty2000

Dude no one should be thankful for RTR 1ST of all, 2ND if they are so good for our hobby and they get so many more people involved & interested then explain to me why are their less shop's & tracks open today opposed to say five years ago, i think its because A large amount of guy's that choose to buy RTR DON'T or RARELY RACE!, good shop's & tracks are shutting down left and right i live in SOCAL and in my area it was 5 or more tracks you could go to at all times now there just gone,, from the ranch pit shotp to M&M raceway now SOCAL ,,all gone. I understand now that RTR has its upside but people should also see the down side, and that down side is tracks closing and shops not supporting the group of guys that kept them in bussiness for so long anymore, now to me that is not good for the future of of our hobby..

cobra26

Here's a good argument for building a kit:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_66...tm.htm#6687338

Poor guy has no clue...

DaveG55

It's not the tracks that are not supporting the racers, it's the racers that are not supporting the tracks and shops. This hobby is market driven. If there were a market for kits then everybody and their brother would be selling them. But there's not, so no one sells them. If you want the tracks to stay open then go there exclusively. Of course lots of people like to bash and who wants to pay track fees every time they want to run but you cannot blame that on RTR's, that's just childish and simplistic. Besides, the tracks and races I see are mostly running vehicles that are, or were, RTR. Shops and tracks are not closing because of RTR's but because of poor business practices and lack of interest in racing because of all the crap, politics and just plain BS that racers insist on fostering. If you don't believe me then open a track yourself. Do what you think should be done to support racers. If they've all closed, it should be a great opportunity for you. You want a track that will stay open then open one that's friendly to everyone - no matter what they're driving and not condescending or snobbish then you might make it.
To blame track and shop closing on RTR's is, as I said before, naive.
If you'd have blamed it on the internet you'd be a LOT closer to the truth.

Oh, and by the way, the Revo (a RTR) has won at the ROAR nationals the last two years.

DaveG55

Not necessarily, he'd probably not have a clue if he were building a kit either. Some people are just not mechanically inclined. And face it, not all kits have good instructions.

PSXBatou

RTR's are good for introducing people to our hobby, its a great quick way for them to dive in and see if it is something that they are interested in. Kits while better may end up frustrating them to all end and they may just give up, which would be bad for our hobby. RTR sales help our favorite hobby stores, and help our tracks by bring more people to them. People nowadays want it "right now" which kits don't easily lend themselves to, the companies see this and are marketing to the "right now" crowd with RTR's. Like it or not these companies are after money, and the more people you market to the more money they can make.

RTR's help our hobby more than they hurt it, the store closings are imo more of an affect that online has over brick and mortar. If Tower can offer me a product cheaper than my LHS chances are I will get it from Tower, this is what drives them out of business, not RTR's if anything RTR's help them more than hurt them as it brings more customers in. The tracks usually have LHS like facilities on site, those are what make the most money, tracks in general aren't much of a cash cow, its the retail side of things that bring home the bacon which make them suffer as much as standalone LHS's when it comes to Online retailers undercutting their prices.

ty2000

Dude i have NEVER been to a track where the majority of cars & trucks are RTR, NEVER! i have also never been to a track where people were mean, rude,condecending or snobbish if you have experienced that stuff im sorry. And look if you wana bash fine i do it all the time, you make some good points about bad business practices & all ,,but racers not supprting tracks i dont see that, what i do see is the same guys i have been seeing for years at the tracks & not many new faces so even with huge influx of people intrduced to r/c through RTR they are not making it to the tracks! i mean when i used to run offroad it was about 14- 16 heats of racing ,now when i go racing there is no more than 10 heats most of the time, with the huge amount of r/c's being bought RTR & KITS you would think that there would be 16-20 heats by now, & you think this is because of the racers, snobbs,condecending people and poor business practices & nothing to do with RTR's & their weak radio systems ,slow motors, low capacity batteries,downgraded shocks & wire thin turnbuckles just to name a few. yeah these cars & trucks get you interested and out to the track fast BUT when you get there and you see that you car is slower, does'nt handle as well as the others, can't finish a 4min race cuz your batts. dumped and you keep bending tie rods hell thats discouraging and they may never return, when if they were intrduced to something better from jump they might have a better experience and get hooked and return. dude i bet they didnt win the NATS. with that revo in RTR form! i bet every thing on it was upgaded, pull one right out the box change the tires and win a national championship!

DaveG55

"Dude"
I don't wish to start a flame war and this will be my last post on the subject because you obviously don't want to hear what I and others have said.
However, my comments about rude, condescending and snobbish behavior are borne out by your replies. Look in the mirror to see why tracks are closing. If I were to go to a track and be greeted with that attitude, I'd never return.

ty2000

wow! dude dont be but hurt, its just my opinion & please note that i have been racing for about 20 years and this post was the first time i have said any thing about RTR, i even agreed that they do have a place in r/c yesterday, i dont agree totally with you, but i am not attacking you or you character either so dont be a jerk! you dont even know me or what i am about i am the first guy at the track to help a newb out with anything they need wheather it be giving them parts outa my tool box or buying it for them without asking for or accepting repayment ,i have even went to the pro shop many time to buy replacement parts for guys who broke. so you dont know poo about what your talkin about. and i will jus leave it at that MR.

new2drifing

I might be a newb in the Rc hobby but for me i went with a kit because i didnt have money for a RTR which i wouldve bought but im sure i would of upgraded to the kit. to me RTRs seem to be a good way to get into it then notice things could be better with buying a kit after getting more into it and seeing if it is something the person wants to get into.(just my opinion ignore if you want to)

ty2000

hey there is nothing wrong with being a newb we all were at one time,my basic point is alot of the RTR'S claim to be ready to race out the box and thats not true like you said you would have went with a RTR but it was too expensive, now i dont think they are that expensive because your gona get everything you need to get running in one box for a few hundred buck, the thing is the stuff that comes with it is very low grade(radio, servo, esc, shocks, batteries and some times even the chassis) and by the time you upgrade the car alone just to compete at a local level your gona spend maybe two hundred more bucks and thats just the car. so to me it just does'nt make sense to go out and buy a RACE READY RTR when almost all the gear that comes with the so called RACE READY RTR is gona need to be replaced to really be race ready, i started out racing with a losi jrx-t i had all the high end batteries, charger and esc but my radio was crap and my servo wes crap and i could never get higher than 3rd place because my car glitched and my servo was weak & slow, i quit for like a month until my dad got that servo, now imagine if all my gear was crap and i went racing, i would have placed even lower... I would have quit and maybe never returned, because being that young and coming in 9th & 10th place every week would have been very dicourageing i think.