ASK Cubby – Gobble Gobble Edition
“Down the road a ways
Cubby,
The hobby sure seems to have changed over the last two years, where do you see it 5 years from now?
Manny W.”
Cubby- Hey there Manny, thanks for taking the time to write me an email. I tend to get a lot of questions like this, and tend to skip over a lot of them, but sure, I am gonna huck an answer out there today. It is a crazy big question that nobody has the answer to, so remember, my answer is 10000% speculation.
The hobby 5 years from now, my best guess (I’m sure you guys will remind me how far off I was 5 yrs from now, LOL)-
As I am just hucking out guesses today, I would guess the hobby to be about the same size as it is today. However, I do see it on the uphill side again for sales. Right now, and really since 2008, sales have declined in our hobby. Sadly, it doesn’t seem that we’ve “hit bottom” quite yet, but the good news is that there will be a rise at some point. I would predict rc is very close to turning the corner to sales rising again and that they will be on the uphill side 5 years from now.
As far as technology goes, reduced sales mean less new products. You’ve probably noticed how we used to post a bunch of new cars every week. Now days, we are lucky to have one new car announcement in a week’s time. Until sales start really blowing up, I would not expect a radical change in rc tech. However, a radical change like making a strong commitment to FPV style driving (across the board by all manufacturers), just might be the catalyst to a big change in rc. But, my guesses are probably about as accurate as yours, nobody truly knows. What I do know is that there are a whole lot of people working and enjoying the rc hobby that would really like to see it regain back some of its former luster.
That’s my best guess bro, I hope I am wayyy under-guessing how the hobby is going to perform, but we shall see…
“Speed Run Tires
Hello Cubby, I have been reading your stuff since day 1! What belted tires do you think are best for my 6S Kraton? This is for speed runs mostly. Most of the time I run on the street using a GPS to measure speed, so far my best run is over 60 mph. I really want to improve on that! Help me!
Troy B.”
Cubby- Ya know Troy, a lot of the letters I get are about tires, and for good reason. Perhaps more than any other mod, tires can make the biggest difference in how your car drives.
For you Troy, Mr. 6S Kraton speed run guy, I would highly recommend Pro-Line’s new 3.8″ Street Fighter HP belted tires. No, they aren’t rated for 200 mph, but they are most likely a billion times better than what you are running now. The Street Fighter HP’s are molded from P-L’s M2 rubber compound which gets excellent grip on pavement. They also come with P-L’s herringbone style belt that absolutely eliminates tires expansion at speed. These were specifically designed for how it sounds like you drive- on pavement, doing speed runs. Get a full set and LMK just how much faster you go over your previous tires.
Oh and btw, when switching over to belted be prepared to gear up a bit. Because the P-L tires don’t have pizza cutter mode, your gearing remains constant, so for a lot of installs, you’ll probably need to bolt a few more teeth on the pinion to keep the MPH up.
Have a serious question that nobody will answer? Need an answer that nobody else has? Have a rant that you just have to get off your chest? Email me- thecubreportrc at gmail dot com.
