Scale stage rally

[Lesac]

Posted this on R/C tech, but was thinking id like to have the input from some crawler guys too.

Ok guys Ive been wanting to try out R/C rallying for quite some time now, and after talking to a few people im hoping to start something up eventually. As of right now I own two tamiya rally cars, and am experimenting with various chassis/tires/motors etc... to see what works with driving an onroad car offroad.
My ultimate plan is to get somewhat of a club organized locally, then move on to bigger things. id rather not make it an official club, but instead just more of an interest group of people who wanna be involved in doing something fun maybe once a month without the stress of actual racing. Basically I see it as R/C rock crawling only faster. Or similar to drifting in terms of its still a competition however you are racing the clock not other cars. I have talked with Alex at hobby town about possibly getting some sort of stage set up possibly behind the building. the other thing is this could be setup just about anywhere just like a crawler event could.
What im working on right now is seeing how big of an interest is out there, if there would only be five of us to start, in all honesty im fine with that. I love racing, but do get burnt out on it, and would just like to have more fun with rc. Keep in mind that you would be able to get into this VERY CHEAP. in all honesty if you wanted to you could go out and buy a Tamiya tt-01 for just about $100 that comes with an esc and with everything else you need be rallying for about $200 total for EVERYTHING you would need. another option would be taking an older tub chassis touring car such as a xxxs or a tc3 for even cheaper and making something that would be cheap and durable enough to run.
In addition I am already in the process of starting an R/C rally forum, because i am unaware of any that exist currently that are in english however there are tons for drifting/crawling/monster trucks and what have you. so I do believe that even if it is not super successful it will be able to pay for itself and i think diehard rally fans like myself would appreciate it.
Right now, im looking for any input. Positive, negative, or whatever, ill take whatever you have to say. Just as with crawling or drifting It may be somewhat of a fad that carries over into a select group, however It could also be the next thing to take off. look how monster trucks were, then 18th scale, then drifting and now crawling... all it takes is an interest.

VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvpDCGUiOT8

thought id add a few images to show what im talking about

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvpDCGUiOT8
credit for pics and video goes to rallybrno.cz a site overseas

 

[mcho78]

I've always been very interested in this particular aspect of RC... just wondering though... what would be the most ideal setup for a rally rig? I know using a highend touring car platform would provide the durability required in terms of gearing/diffs (for these crazy burshless systems we are now using) etc but I would think one would lean towards a more forgiving chassis (as opposed to using CF)... Would love to hear your thoughts "thumbsup" mike

 

[Lesac]

I've always been very interested in this particular aspect of RC... just wondering though... what would be the most ideal setup for a rally rig? I know using a highend touring car platform would provide the durability required in terms of gearing/diffs (for these crazy burshless systems we are now using) etc but I would think one would lean towards a more forgiving chassis (as opposed to using CF)... Would love to hear your thoughts "thumbsup" mike

so far ive found the cheaper the better almost. you dont need carbon and you dont need the best of the best. I currently have a DF03RA which is a tamiya buggy that they put short arms on and made a touring car out of it. it works excellent, and it has ball diffs. you can also add a slipper clutch to the car which works well. another good one is about any cheap tamiya. they have plenty of slop in them which doesnt really matter because of the low traction on the dirt anyway. the nice thing is that they are made of a very flexible plastic that does not break very easy. I have owned just about 50 cars in the 12 years ive been into this so i have raced quite a few different cars... none of them in rally but still have a good idea of them. i also think that the tc3 would make a great car being that the bottom side is very smooth and that you can pick them up a dime a dozen. I think the key will be either a tub chassis car or a ladder chassis like an older tamiya. the durability and drive terrain will be more important than handling characteristics. last thing ive found interesting is that i was thinking that soft tires would be what you want for traction, however the super hard tamiya tires seem to work great for a few reasons.... number one they still hook up well enough on loose stuff. on pavement they slide just enough to drift a little, and last they just give the car an all around realistic amount of traction.... other than that i dont think you need much power. a stock motor or 17.5 or slower is plenty. im running the stock silver can motors and dont think you need much more in all honesty.

 

[DeweyCJ5]

thats kinda cool ....i used to watch a lot of WRC and play a lot of Colin MCrae rally on the ps2

 

[kwkride]

That looks like it might be fun Kevin.
Keep us posted.

 

[mcho78]

so far ive found the cheaper the better almost. you dont need carbon and you dont need the best of the best. I currently have a DF03RA which is a tamiya buggy that they put short arms on and made a touring car out of it. it works excellent, and it has ball diffs. you can also add a slipper clutch to the car which works well. another good one is about any cheap tamiya. they have plenty of slop in them which doesnt really matter because of the low traction on the dirt anyway. the nice thing is that they are made of a very flexible plastic that does not break very easy. I have owned just about 50 cars in the 12 years ive been into this so i have raced quite a few different cars... none of them in rally but still have a good idea of them. i also think that the tc3 would make a great car being that the bottom side is very smooth and that you can pick them up a dime a dozen. I think the key will be either a tub chassis car or a ladder chassis like an older tamiya. the durability and drive terrain will be more important than handling characteristics. last thing ive found interesting is that i was thinking that soft tires would be what you want for traction, however the super hard tamiya tires seem to work great for a few reasons.... number one they still hook up well enough on loose stuff. on pavement they slide just enough to drift a little, and last they just give the car an all around realistic amount of traction.... other than that i dont think you need much power. a stock motor or 17.5 or slower is plenty. im running the stock silver can motors and dont think you need much more in all honesty.

Hey Kevin, thanks for the great info. So basically, stick with Tamiya and I should be GOLDEN "thumbsup" That actually works out great for me... cheaper the better right? I just bought some stuff for my crawler so I can't imagine buying anything this month but I might just pick up a cheap chassis here (HK is super cheap) and just plug in some old electronics. :mrgreen:

Quick question. If I were to stick a... 4.5T brushless system in one of these... would the slipper be sufficient. I don't want the rig to crap out the minute I pull the throttle.

I know, I know.. with the limited traction, stupid wheel speed won't be of much use... but I want to be able to play on blacktop as well as I live in the city and that's what I'm surrounded by...

Thanks again for the great information!
Mike

 

[Lesac]

Hey Kevin, thanks for the great info. So basically, stick with Tamiya and I should be GOLDEN "thumbsup" That actually works out great for me... cheaper the better right? I just bought some stuff for my crawler so I can't imagine buying anything this month but I might just pick up a cheap chassis here (HK is super cheap) and just plug in some old electronics. :mrgreen:

Quick question. If I were to stick a... 4.5T brushless system in one of these... would the slipper be sufficient. I don't want the rig to crap out the minute I pull the throttle.

I know, I know.. with the limited traction, stupid wheel speed won't be of much use... but I want to be able to play on blacktop as well as I live in the city and that's what I'm surrounded by...

Thanks again for the great information!
Mike

i think a 4.5 would just be WAY too much power, the slipper would just melt, or if it was tight enough you would probably break some sort of driveline parts. the cars can definately handle some power but probably not that much.