spike84

i hav been in and out of rc cars my whole life just bashing never racing. I am getting back into it from scratch and would like to start racing . I have been leaning towards short course racing because it looks like fun but then again some people say get s buggy? Then there division mod/ stock my local track is indoor clay is there a reccomend a class for beginners that won't cost a fortune I'm trying to make it happen under $800 for absolutely everything. Also 2wd vs 4wd racing I am overwhelmed so many choices. Also some people online are saying short course racing is on its way out don't wanna get into a class that's going to die out

bill_delong

Where are you planning to race? Got a link to your local track?

I would visit the club on a race day and ask around. In my area, Short Course is still going strong, they comprise roughly 30% of the race entries.

#1 selling point for Short Course is they tend to be the most durable of the 1/10 classes, that will be key for a novice driver so you spend more time on the track racing than having to make repairs.

Typically, 2WD 17.5T Stock Buggy tends to be the most popular class at most tracks I've seen, however they are also the most fragile and tend to break more frequently.

If SC isn't popular at your club, then I would highly encourage you to consider the recently released Tekno EB410, it's going to be the most durable buggy you can possibly get, if you or a family member is a veteran, then I would encourage you to take advantage of Tekno's Military discount program, plenty other companies with discounts listed here: List of Military Discount's - R/C Tech Forums

Here are the only 2 options I would consider if I were to get a novice family member into racing:
http://www.teknorc.com/shop/tkr6500-...ric-buggy-kit/

or

http://www.teknorc.com/shop/tkr5507-...-course-truck/

Depending on what you decide to do, I'd be happy to help you select some reasonably priced electronics that will stand up for club racing

spike84

Ok awesome thank you for all the input. I called the track and they said they do have a lot of short course drivers still but none really in 4wd class most are 2wd not sure if that matters too much. Here is link to the track they got videos on YouTube but can't find many pics on website. Race Track - Coyote Hobbies Indoor RC Raceway

i have heard nothing but good things about tekno products but I tried to piece one together with everything and I was at around $1100 online maybe I'm choosing too expensive equipment.

bill_delong

ok, I found some recent race results here:
RC Scoring Pro | Saturday Club Race October 7th 2017 Results | Coyote Hobbies Raceway

with only 2 drivers in 4WD SC, it's hard to recommend that class... maybe if they had 5 regular drivers it might be worth going that route, what's weird is they don't show any 2WD SC on Saturday, but they have a decent turnout for 2WD SC on a Wed night:

RC Scoring Pro | Wednesday Club Race October 4th 2017 Results | Coyote Hobbies Raceway

So if you decide to go with an SCT, it sounds like you're gonna have to pick a day that fits your schedule where a respective number of drivers may or may not show up to race that class.

If you want to play it safe, then both 2WD and 4WD buggy are solid picks for any race day at your club, but to be honest 2WD will guarantee that you'll never run into low turnout problems.

If you wanna go 2WD, then I would either go XRay or Losi (arguably the 2 most durable brands of 2WD's currently on the market), but after viewing the gallery pics from your track it looks like Losi is the most popular car I see in their pics and that will give you better local track support to help you tune your car.

If I were to build one this the the route I'd go, with these electronics, you'll have one of the fastest cars on the track!

https://www.amainhobbies.com/team-lo...xoCSiIQAvD_BwE
+
https://www.amainhobbies.com/team-tr...ep1506/p665695
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https://www.amainhobbies.com/hobbywi...112000/p464566
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PowerHD LF-13MG Metal Gear Digital High Torque Servo | Value Hobby
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GT POWER X-CHARGER C6 6S LiPO Charger(With Power Supply) | Value Hobby
+
Product pages for Pro-Match Racing's rc lipo packs rechargable batteries

As far as tires go, I would ask the fastest driver at your track what he's running... I can give you a smoking deal on a bunch of brand new clay tires that ran great at my club... I had stocked up long term but then the track switched to turf and now I've got a bunch of clay tires in never opened packages just collecting dust. Let me know if interested

when it comes to stock racing, the 3 most important choices are
1) Motor - The one I listed is one of the fastest stock motors on the market right now
2) Battery - The battery I selected is a beast, you won't find anything better for the price
3) Tires - I've got some decent tires that have won many races at my club in the expert class

bill_delong

The only 2 things I left out are the transponder and radio

I've had good luck with MRT, and if you decide to buy some clay tires off me, I can give you a pretty good deal on a extra transponder that I'm not using because I recently stopped racing on-road cars:
http://www.rctech.net/forum/radio-el...e-pt-news.html

As far as radios go, I really like my Graupner, though you can get away with a Radiolink if you want to cut some corners and it will do just fine, but if you want to stick with the main stream, then consider Futaba or Sanwa... whatever you do, I would stay away from FlySky and Spektrum.

spike84

awesome thank you so much for all of this useful info. It seems to be that I am late towards the 2 Will Dr. buggy division now after everything you have told me and looking at the results from my local track. I was on a main hobbies looking at the Losi buggy recommend it and came across a killer deal on another buggy was wondering if there is a reason it is so much cheaper here is link https://www.amainhobbies.com/hb-raci...116155/p478599
for the price of this buggy I can't buy basically two kids and have a whole set of spare parts for the price but there has to be a reason this buggy is so cheap maybe it is really crappy.

bill_delong

Hot Bodies (HB) used to be a very reputable brand, they were a subsidiary of HPI until HPI went bankrupt a couple years ago and the brand was chopped up... HB was sold off to Neidhart and parts supply chain have been questionable for years now... the biggest problem is that they have stale designs and no team driver support anymore.

Your best bet is to stick with a brand that offers local support and based on what I see in the track pics, your only 2 options are Associated or Losi where there are far more Losi cars in the pics I see posted.

If you're looking to save some cash, then consider buying used, in fact a used 22-3.0 would still be an excellent choice on your clay track.

I see the ST class is fairly popular at your track too, they tend to be more durable than the buggies because the larger wheels absorb a lot more of the impact in crashes, plus they are a lot easier to drive.

If you think you might be interested in ST, then I happen to have a Losi for sale here:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/846865182158619*** I can't post a link to Facebook for some reason... if you can go their url and add the following path to get to my item:
/marketplace/item/846865182158619

For another $100, I'll include 4 pairs of brand new clay tires, transponder, computer radio (with telemetry) and battery.... that's $350 shipped for a completely race ready setup... all you'll need to buy is a charger and you can run the included 7.5T motor in the beginner class until you're ready to run with the sporstman drivers, then you'll need to swap the motor out for a 13.5T motor to meet the class rules.

spike84

Ok thanks I knew it was too good to be true for such a low price for th HB kit. Thank you for your offer but I have had a ST in the past And I seem to break the heck out of them, I think it is the long Aarms sticking out I always snap them. I really think i may be leaning toward the short course 2wd because seems like they will be most durable. But then again buggy seems to be durable too but from all videos looks like only fast people are racing buggies might be a little intimadating for new guy like me coming in with a buggy but I could be wrong.

bill_delong

Which brand ST did you break before? I've never seen a Losi ST break an arm... you might pop a ball link here and there, but it would be very hard to break a Losi. Also keep in mind that the SCT arms are basically the same as the ST arms for the 2WD series... many of the parts are compatible, main difference is longer chassis for the SCT. If I was to buy a 2WD SCT today, I'd go Losi in a heartbeat... and that's what I see is the most popular brand in the pics at your track too.

You might want to double check everything I'm offering for $350 shipped too, it's one heck of a deal... once you install a 13.5T motor in it, the car will go so slow it'll be virtually indestructible, plus the bodies for ST tend to last longer than SCT bodies which can save you more money down the road too, oh and I've already got the truck setup for clay, it's a pure dream to drive