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Preface-- In the world of R/C (Radio Controlled or Remote Controlled which ever you prefer) there are many different types of cars as well as scales of cars. The scale of the car is simply the size of a car. The car most common to all of us is the 1:1 scale. You know, what you see on TV when watching a Nascar, F1, CART, or IRL event. If you were to down size a real race car you would scale it down.
ie: If you took Mark Martins' Viagra Ford and shrunk it down to half the size it is in real life,
you would have a 1/2 scale. If you then shrunk it half of that size, you would have a 1/4 scale. Shrink by a half again and you have a 1/8th scale! Get it?
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What's the difference in Electric and Fuel powered? The power that drives a scale car is either fuel or electric. The difference being, Fuel powered cars use a "Engine". Electric cars use a "Motor". I Thought a "Motor" and a "Engine" were the same thing!....Nope! I haven't pulled up a definition from Websters, but I can tell you that a "Engine" produces power, a "Motor" uses power. The results are much different. An engine produces it's power by burning a fuel. That fuel remains at a constant state of liquid until pulled in by the engine during which it is atomized through the carburetor and burned in the combustion chamber producing power. A motor utilizes electric current supplied by batteries and discharges that current until the supply is exhausted. What?, You say there isn't much difference. Run Time! That's right! Run time is the major difference. While some electric cars can be geared to achieve the same speeds as a fuel powered car, they would have a very hard time matching the run time with any consistency. Fuel engines produce horse power in the range of 1 1/2-3 Hp. They can produce that in the first minute as well as in the last minutes of a race. That race could be as long as 1 hour. Typically the electric car has a run time of 4- 8 minutes depending on the class and type. True, batteries can be changed, but at this time not as fast a a fuel car can be fueled with any consistency. Batteries also must be recharged. At todays prices, ranging from $10-$25 a cell, batteries are getting quite expensive, and do not like to be cycled more then once a race event I'm told. In racing (when properly tuned) a fuel car typically will accelerate at the same predictable rate during the whole event, while a electric car will tend to lose it's edge after the first few minutes and slowly burn off speed and lose torque. Most 1/8th fuel cars reach speeds of 60 mph while the average electric, when geared for racing, will only reach the 20-40 mph range in it's first few minutes. I don't want this to sound like I'm bashing electric racing, because I'm not. I too, race electrics occasionally and do enjoy it, but it's not my love. Electrics are much cleaner, and it is much easier to find a track close to home to race at in the electric world, but when it comes to racing for me...On-Road Fuel Racing is where it's at! What? .....Whats this?....On-Road?
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What is a On-Road Car? A On-Road Car simply refers to the type of racing that is done with said type of car. If it were a Off-Road type car it would mean that the chassis were suitable for off-road applications. Examples of a "Off-Road" car would be one that races bajia or on dirt tracks in which the racing surfaces/terrain are rough and/or hilly containing jumps, moguls, and table tops. No, not a table top as in what your pc is sitting on, but a raised mound of dirt with a level top. Nick named: Tabletop. A On-Road Car is used for smooth racing surfaces such as carpet or asphalt. On-Road also has dual meaning as there are 2 types of On-Road cars. Oval and Road Course! Oval and Road Course refer to the configuration of the track. Ovals typically are run in a counter clockwise direction and have only left turns. Road Courses however have both left and right turns and are generally run in clockwise direction. Exceptions being in Europe where they are run counter clockwise. In the early days the typical On-Road car would just have it's suspension changed for the different configuration of tracks. Now-a-days, there are specially designed cars for oval tracks. These cars having there weight located in different areas as suspension setup requires different weight distribution. Most of the larger scale models are available in both "On" and "Off- Road" configurations. As this site dedicated to On-Road Cars, but not limited to, the information contained hereafter will be directed toward them.
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Where & When are the races? This site is intended for, but not limited to, the use of racers interested in racing that live in or are visiting the Richmond, Virginia area. The "Virginia On-Road Racing Association (V.O.R.R.A.) Points Series" is a series of races held at VORRA's track on route 360 in the 360 west shopping center and is sanctioned by ROAR. ROAR or "Remotely Operated Auto Racers" divides the country up into different regions according to population and interests in each area. ROAR membership is required at all VORRA races and major events held in the Region! The VORRA Points series consists of 14 races. Of the 14 races, 12 will count toward the point's championship in any class. That gives each competitor two throw-away races in which to drop their worst events. We believe this is necessary as everyone has a bad day or a day in which something comes up that may cause his or her absence. Points will be awarded for the Top Qualifier only in each class and main event finishing position for all drivers. Qualifying will award a maximum of 2 points for first place only. For Mains, first place will award 200 points, second place 195, third place 190, and so on down at regular 5-point intervals. The reason for the five point spread in main finishing position is to put more emphasis main finishing and not qualifying. Since the main event requires more preparation, concentration, and skill, we thought it more important to structure it this way. If you are not located in this region don't despair. There, more than likely, is a track near you. You may have to do a little looking but trust me...they're out there!
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All the items above are essential. To become successful you will need them all. I will attempt to cover them one by one with simple explanations.
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Desire, Determination, and Patience:
This probably more than anything will determine your success. The driver/racer is the most essential part of the formula! There are a lot of ingredients that make a racer successful. I my opinion, Desire is the most essential of them. If you don't have the desire, you can have all the determination in the world, but fullfilment in any goals that you reach will be empty! Desire drives determination! Patience.......It's a virtue they say!! Who the hell are "they" anyhow? Patience should have many meanings to the competitor. Cars are temperamental. So are engines and the weather. Trust me...they all will try your patience! Remember that this is a hobby!! If we were in it for money, I could understand people yelling at turn marshalls because they are moving to slow, getting ticked off because that guy who can't drive is slowing you up, or that engine that keeps flaming out at the end of the straightaway (you know, way out there...your starter box is way over here). Have patience!! You will have your day!! As a competitor you have to learn how to make a day, "Your day!". When learning how to drive there are many different things required for the Novice to learn. Remember, you too were one once! Some rules for the Novice driver:
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Money:
Money makes the world go around. R/C racing varies in expense. How much you spend depends on how well you want to do! The old adage;....Speed Costs, How Fast Do You Want To Go? rings especially true in this case! If you are getting started you may want to invest in some used equipment because one can usually find deals in which alot of the essentials are included! Plus a lot of stuff can be used from one model to the next. Another up side to used stuff, If you find out that R/C is not for you, you haven't lost a bundle and can usually recoop a good portion of your investment especially on sites like EBay. Warning! When buying used stuff remember, It's manufacturer may be out of business making replacement parts impossible to find!! BE CAREFUL!
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A Radio:
Nirto Cars vibrate violently at times!
Buy a Good Radio! Don't buy junk! These cars weigh from 2 - 5 1/2 pounds and travel at speeds up to 60mph.
Imagine something traveling that fast and then losing control of it! If you ask anyone who has had a receiver take a dump, what's the fastest they have ever had their car up to, they'll tell you when I lost the radio gear!! I've Been there!! I didn't want to do that!! Radio glitches will drive you nuts as well! Buy a spare receiver and servos! Problems with either one will make your race day a short one! There are many manufacturers of radios. Airtronics, Futaba, KO, & Hitech. Quality costs!! But if you shop around you can find some good deals! Insulate your receivers when mounting them in your car. Remember that vibration is a receivers worst enemy. Also If you know where you are going to race and with who, it is a good idea to buy a radio on a different frequency than your competitors. Most clubs have a listing of what frequencies are in use and you can specify when ordering what frequency you want. Of course there are some more options out there. Synthesized Radios and the Spektrum systems are now available for the most popular radios.
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A Car:
Decisions must be made before getting into R/C On-Road racing. Any scale cars come in many different configurations and with multiple options. Things you'll have to decide! Which car is best for you? How much money do you have to spend on this hobby? How experienced are you? What class do I want to compete in? For Novice (beginners) drivers it is recommended that you start with a used car. If your learning to drive you don't want to buy the highest thing out there! Face it, Your gonna break stuff, and it costs money to replace this stuff. Older cars are usually stronger. They've already been through the factories R&D (research & development) as well as the previous owners upgrades. Note: this can be a bad thing too!! Be careful. Some cars come in both 2 and 4 wheel drive. While 2wd has less moving parts and would be cheaper to maintain, thay also have disadvantages. Being 2wd the car is driven by the rear wheels and therefore suffer corning stability. 4wd cars have more moving parts, are slightly heavier, and rob more horsepower from the engine, but are much easier to drive. Reason being both rear and front wheel are driven. What a 4wd car loses in horsepower, it makes up 2 fold in cornering. On a 4wd car, there are more moving parts, thus more maintainance, more cost, and more knowledge to be retained to be successful with this type. There are many different manufacturers of Cars out there. Mugen Seiki, Serpent, SMP, Delta to name a few. All are good cars and most have good factory support! You may want to find out who has a distributor closest to you. Most have different models at different stages of support.
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Parts:
Cars break! It happens! So does your everyday passenger car. Like any race car, the harder you treat it, the more attention it needs!! Maintainence is a big part of success! To make your car dependable you must maintain it. To do this you must have parts!! It's a good idea to have plenty of nylon suspension components as they are the most fragile parts of the car! If you hang a board hard, your fault or not, it's good chance you just broke something. While these cars are tough, it's all realitive to how hard stuff is hit as well as how it was hit! The better you get at driving the less parts you break. Then something else happens! You start wearing stuff out! Belts and gears wear as a result of many thousand rpms. Dirt gets into pulleys and eats up stuff, bearings, drive axles, and ball joints. As a rule, It's good to have one of everything on your car......at least the stuff thats not metal! Parts usually can be acquired from your cars distributor. If they don't have it they can get it!!
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Tires:
Here too, there are many manufacturers. Most distributors carry tires.
Brands include Arrow, Ellegi, RCM, and Ufra to name a few.
This is my biggest expense during a racing season. I usually purchase 30 complete sets to run 1 warm-up race, 14 series races, The Regionals event, and the East Coast On-Road Championships. That's a total of 17 races.
As a rule, I use 2 sets per race day! The faster you go, the more tires you wear! it's all realitive!
I buy in quantity because most manufactures give breaks to buyers purchasing them that way.
Tires can be bought pre mounted or unmounted. I buy my unmounted because they're cheaper that way.
If you getting started you may want to buy them pre mounted because they come with new wheels and it's a good way to accumulate some rims for mounting your own later!! Tires also come in different softnesses. Their softness is measured by a tool called a durometer. A durometer measure the density or a given surface and determines it porousness. From this measurement tire wear as well as the handling characteristics can be estimated.
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A Engine:
Here also there are many choices, Nova Rossi, Picco, RB, and OS to name a few. All are quality Engines and they have many different models in different price ranges. Remember if your getting started, 1/10th scale uses a .12 & 1/8th scale uses a .21 You don't need the hottest thing out there!! If you're getting started I suggest you get a good durable one. Remember to break it in per factory procedures and not to run it to lean. Leans engines are fast, but don't last long that way. Rich engines are slow and unless extremely rich won't cause any serious damage. Always tune from rich to lean. The best running engine is a properly tuned one. If you aren't use to tuning seek help. It doesn't take long to ruin a $350 engine!
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Bodies:
Here's an area that's fun. Bodies come un painted and allow you to use some of your creative juices to personalize your car so that people know it's you out there!
If your like me and don't see too good, bright colors work well, But remember that you paint the underneath of the clear lexan. "Lexan?" That's what the body is made of.
Remember to paint dark colors to light colors. as a lot of flouresent color need white as a back ground to get the proper reflective properties.
They come in many different shapes. There are replicas of Lolas, Elfins, Mercedes, BMW, and more.
A lot of companies make them and they also will give you a break if bought in quantity. Have Fun! Even if your not the fastest on race day.....you can be the best looking out there!! |
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Fuel:
Fuel is the topic of discussion.
What type? What percentage of nitro? What percentage of oil? Fuel is made up of basically, Methonal, Nitro, and Oil. Methonal is a filler fuel that has cooling properties and burns quickly and efficiently. Nitro is unstable and burns very hot! Oil lubricates and cools as well! Depending on how much Nitro is contained in the fuel on what percentage it is referred to as. The more nitro, the more oil is used. The more nitro, the hotter the burn! Fuel comes in different percentages. I've seen 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40%. I've personally used the 15, 20, 25, and 30% blends. What I've discovered. The more nitro the better the engine idles and shorter the engine life. Older engines seem to like more nitro. Newer ones seem to like less nitro. You'll have to make your own decision on what you like better. I recommend 20-25%.
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Fuel bottle & Glow Plug Igniter:
A few accessories that you cannot do with out.
Buy yourself a fuel bottle. It's kinda tough to pour fuel right
out of the bottle into that fuel tank!! They come in different styles and virtually last forever. A glow plug igniter can be purchased for a reasonable price and is a necessity. It's used for heating the glow plugs in your engine! They are available in many different materials and some of the better one even have a meter to let you know if your plugs good or not.
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| Starter Box: Starter boxes are another necessity that can be converted for use on practically any type of car. You can make your own or buy them ready to go! Serpent has a very nice box available. While expensive, it is very compact and works very well. |
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I estimate to be competitive; $400-$1200 to get into a car and another $1500 - $2000 to operate it for a full season.
Estimate on getting into a car includes buying the car, radio, engine, starter box, and fuel, the low end would be used stuff, the high end for new. |