9five9

So I've been doing RC for a long stinking time, but one vehicle type I've completely ignored this entire time is the pan car. Now I have an opportunity to get a pan car roller for basically nothing, but I'm realizing one thing - I have no clue what a pan car does, what makes a good pan car, or ANYTHING. Are they fun? Are they challenging? Why are they basically non-existent right now? Are they obsolete? are they fragile? Do foam pan car tires last longer than one run? I'm curious to hear from those with true pan car experience. I've heard some people have used them in dirt oval racing. Are they any good for that?

Thanks!

i8tweety

My Feedback: (11)

Pan cars are my absolute favorite class to race. However, unless you have a carpet track to race on, it's better left on a shelf

9five9

Where I'm at, there are no tracks of any kind. What about a smooth tennis court?

i8tweety

My Feedback: (11)

Smooth tennis court would work if you swept it clean (or clean it with a leaf blower), but you will not see the true capabilities of a pan car until you run on a prepared track

9five9

So is this why you never see anyone with pan car "bashers"? What is it that makes you like racing them so much?

R32GolfTA06

What does a pan car look like?

i8tweety

My Feedback: (11)

Pan cars (1/12 are my favorite) have insane acceleration and cornering speeds. They are extremely agile and will carve corners and chicanes like no other. The moment you provide an input, it reacts. If you anticipate a corner like you would any other car, you will turn too soon. It is like comparing the handling of a lemans prototype class car with a porsche 911, there is none.
http://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/play;_ylt=A2KLqIup78ZSRBQAuGIWFQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTByZWc0dGJtBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMQ--?p=1%2F12+racing&vid=1a18d47a525455666f468a1dfd8b898d&l=7%3A18&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DV.4854465335854328%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D41R10JNERiM&***=1%3A12+Modified+European+Championship+A+Final+Highlights+-+2011&c=0&sigr=11av6bi5s&sigt=11t19nbeh&age=0&fr=yfp-t-715&tt=b

i8tweety

My Feedback: (11)

This is an example of kyosho's 1/12 pan chassis.

9five9

See, I've never run one, but your description makes me want to give it a try, even though there are no proper places to run one within 200 miles of where I'm at. I think it's that it's a new challenge with a vehicle style I've never tried before.

i8tweety

My Feedback: (11)

I am not trying to dissuade you from giving it a go. I just want to make sure you know what is required to experience the incredible abilities of a pan car under the correct conditions. If you have access to a tennis court, sweep or blow it clean and have fun. If you try and run on the street or parking lot, you will be frustrated with the end swapping, erratic darting, etc. that was my first experience and it soured me on this style of car until I ran one for the first time on a clean surface. Since the , I was hooked. I have a dozen 1/12 and 1/10 pan cars in my collection at the moment, and if my local track started running them again, I would add one or two more to the 100+ cars in my rc garage.

suburban_hooligan

i have an old bolink eliminator pan car (1/10 scale). bought it used back in 1997. ran it for a few years. finally broke it, couldn't get parts for it. parked it. but now, thanks to RJ speed (which is really just bolink under new ownership and a new name) im putting the car back together.

bashed the hell out of that car back in the day. i was told pan cars had to be run on a track, or a perfect and preferably prepped surface. it was all bull. i ran it in the street in November when it was full of leaves. i ran it on dirty, sandy, worn out, coming apart asphalt full of small pebbles. i ran it in an empty swimming pool. i ran it on super dusty asphalt school playgrounds. i ran it in parking lots. i ran it on the sidewalk. hell i tried to run it on a baseball field. i didn't run that car anywhere you couldn't run a normal touring car.


from my experience

are they fun? yes, yes they are. and fast.

Are they challenging? sometimes. depends on what you're trying to do with it.

Why are they basically non-existent right now? they're far from it, they're just favored by racers and ignored by the mainstream because people are misinformed about them and have developed a phobia. pan cars have become a specialized breed. but you can do a lot more with them then people give them credit for.

Are they obsolete? nope, they're still being made, new models are still coming out, they're still relevant. and still popular in certain areas of RC.

are they fragile? some of them can be. but i smashed my bolink through piles of leaves. rallied it more than a few times, jumped it off the curb more than once, ran it in an empty swimming pool. frankly i just mistreated it. took 3 years to break. and i only stopped running it because i couldn't find a front kingpin.

Do foam pan car tires last longer than one run? hell i ran one set of foams for over a year. chunked the hell out of them, but they were still driveable. if you avoid skidding sideways and avoid the softer compounds they do last a while.


i don't care what anybody says. pan cars make great parking lot bashers and work just fine in the street out in front of your house.

9five9

Thanks Hooligan! An RJ Speed is the roller I could be getting. It has me very interested but I have no idea what I could be getting into. I'm learning that people take these cars VERY seriously, and that no two pan cars are truly alike. I really like that.

i8tweety

My Feedback: (11)

Most people tend to take pan cars seriously and recommend them for prepared tracks for one reason: that is where they are at their best. You need strong concentration and fast reflexes to attack the track (more than any other class). Nothing else comes close to their performance on the track. Touring cars for example are lumbering and clumsy in comparison.

Can you bash with them as suburban hooligan says? Absolutely.
Will it be fun? Absolutely.
Will you see the true potential of the car? Nope.
Will it be fun? Absolutely.
Will it be better than other cars for running on the street or parking lot? Nope.
Will it be fun? Absolutely.

The point I am trying to make is you need to run the car on a clean surface and experience slot car type performance to truly appreciate what the car can do. Touring cars, buggies, and stadium trucks will all outperform the pan car in bashing conditions (which is fine).

Also, make sure you get a high downforce body for it so you will get better high speed handling when running in less than ideal conditions. It makes a big difference.

suburban_hooligan

yeah, a friend of mine races paved oval, so i know how serious those guys take it. and how much money they spend. it's the most serious form of RC racing iv ever been around. it's insane, it's hard to tell that they're just racing toy cars.
that's why i just bash mine. i can do what i want with it and didn't have to care.

what RJ speed chassis is it?

suburban_hooligan

that's true for any RC car.

that's not the way i remember it. i used to eat nitro TC's for breakfast.

iv yet to try a high downforce body. i ran a chevy nova body on mine. never had any problems. i am going to try a high downforce body on it after i get it back together, but more for looks. my car is a widebody 235mm chassis and im after a kind of old school racer look. but i don't really care how it performs as long as it goes in a straight line. trying to make an old style parking lot terror out of it.


we need to find out what chassis he may be getting. a legends car or a sportsman chassis won't handle like a slot car no matter what you do to it so it wont really matter.

i8tweety

My Feedback: (11)

Not to split hairs, but the legends and sportsman are not pan cars. They are a twin vertical plate chassis design.

Good luck with the acquisition.

Suburban - hope you get yours up and running again soon. Which model is it? I've had a couple in the past and some of the older car designs worked great

suburban_hooligan

iv got an eliminator.
i don't have any pic's of mine handy but it's this one.

i8tweety

My Feedback: (11)

I had one just like it, but I installed a Mcallister solid front axle on it. Great car

R32GolfTA06

They are ridiculously fast in that video clip lol

9five9

Not sure exactly what model this one is. The guy who owns it just says "It's an RJ Speed". he doesn't know what model, but it looks like the Sport 3.2. It was never finished so it's in extremely good shape. It doesn't look as capable as most pan car chassis. But that's why I'm trying to learn about them. Is this model used the same way as most pan cars?

suburban_hooligan

i think the sport. 3.2 was/is mainly mint for paved oval racing. it's fairly low tech compared to a modern race car. but it's still a good car. and great fun for just playing with in the street and in parking lots.

OvalRacer99

Pan car oval is all I race simply because the competition is real close and the cars are fast and nimble.
Yea, we take our racing seriously but it's all in good fun. Competitors on the track, friends off and always helping the other racers to make their cars better.
Nothing beats the rush of running wide open nose to tail and side by side.

Norman2

Hi, O advise you not to buy the RJ Speed pan car. It is very low tech and only a toy. If you want the best pan car in 1/10 scale look
the the CRC Genx 10-LE or SE. A little bit more expensive but the best pan car out there. The site is Team CRC and they also
have a chassis designed for oval racing. Regards
Norman

9five9

Thanks Norman. The main reason I'm looking at the RJ Speed is because a friend has it, is not using it, and will let it go for next to nothing. It needs some work that would require buying parts, and when I started entertaining the idea of buying it from him, I realized I know nothing about these cars. Obviously the chassis looks extremely low tech compared to other chassis out there, but I'm not looking for the best. I can guarantee there's nobody within a 150 mile radius of me that has one of these, so competition is not a priority. There are a few really smooth surfaces in town that are fun to set up a course and run laps once in a while. That's about all this car would be doing.

I think I have most of the parts to at least get the car going, albeit, not extremely well. I have an old tamiya RS540 sport tuned motor and ESC that came with my TT-01, and a futaba steering servo that has never been used. I could get a pinion gear, and borrow a receiver from one of my other rides and have the car running for a grand total about 20 bucks.

9five9

OvalRacer, I see you're not terribly far away from me. What setups are people running out there for oval racing?