THE Cub Report- 06.26.2011- Earning My Money This Week
Hola rc fans, welcome to yet another scrumptious edition of rc’s most satirical column, THE Cub Report. So… where did “Cubby’s Wheel Of Doom” land on this week? Our lovely sanctioning body ROAR of course. 🙂
ROAR has a new rule stating that cars/trucks will be required to run headlight, taillight and grill decals where applicable. Sounds great right? Sure it does, as it’s nothing but good for our hobby for our race cars to look like their full sized counterparts. It’s good for ROAR, it’s good for the manufactures, and it’s especially good for people outside our hobby looking in. I’m glad to see this rule come into place, heck, everyone I talked to loved it. But… this rule goes a long way in showing the biggest problem at ROAR- they are obtuse to the big picture. This rule is such an obvious one why wasn’t it on the books 20 years ago? Better late than never, but still…
ROAR also released rules regarding motor size in the SCT 4×4 class. After reading them it makes me wonder if Anyone at ROAR has ever raced the class on a regular basis. When I see a 4×4 SC I see an 8th scale buggy with a parachute on it, ROAR must see something very different. 8th scale buggies and 4×4 SC trucks have nearly equal wheelbases, widths, and weights, so why are their power system rules so different? ROAR allows 4S Lithium in 8th scale buggy, but only 2S in 4×4 SC. ROAR allows a maximum of a 550 sized motor in 4×4 SC, yet they allow larger motors in 8th scale buggy. My view of the 4×4 SCT class is- the power system requirement is even greater than 8th scale buggy because of the huge SC body (and that’s quite obvious if you’ve ever spent a few weeks racing 4×4 SCT).
Has everyone at ROAR that contributed to the 4×4 SCT power system rules raced that class week-in/week-out? Because if they have, their experience must be a lot different than mine, the people writing up the rules must never have a problem with motor temps or making runtime. My experience has been different, one where small motors on 2S like to get real hot in a 4×4 SCT leading to short lifespans. Being limited to only 2S requires a whole lot of current to be yanked out of the batteries, not optimal for the longevity of the batteries, motor, or speedo involved. Popping in an 8th scale power system on higher cell counts resolves that problem, when geared appropriately you end up with the same amount of power, longer run times, less heat, and no more burnt up electronics.
Now… “some” may argue an 8th scale power system is too expensive for the 4×4 SCT class, but… if they aren’t too expensive for 8th scale buggy, why would they be too expensive for 4×4 SCT? Others may argue 4S 8th scale power systems make a 4×4 SCT too fast, but I’d argue if they aren’t “too fast” for 8th scale buggy, then they can not be too fast for 4×4 SCT. Running an 8th scale motor/speedo/4S set-up in 4×4 SCT isn’t done to blow the tires off the rims, it’s done to have the same amount of power that runs cooler and burns up less electronics. Seems someone doesn’t understand that (yet).
To boil it down- if ROAR is going to take the time to make up rules, they should be good not for just the next 2 months, they should be rules that stand the test of time. 2 pole 550 motors on 2S is not a sufficient power system for 4×4 SCT, nor will it be 6 months or 6 years from now. Adding rules for headlights and grills is a great start for making race cars look more realistic, but a truggy with headlight and grill stickers still looks like a freak’n Martian spaceship resembling absolutely nothing in full scale.
And what’s with the ROAR brass getting on the forums and arguing (and talking down to) with the anonymous masses? Geezus, I’ve talked about this before- there is no winning an argument on the internet, but it sure can make ROAR look like idiots. I guess it only makes sense, if they are that clueless about internet forums they can be equally clueless about some of the rules they are making.
On a different note…
Review Tuesday is right around the corner and BSRC will be featuring the Axial Wraith rock racer this week. Brian, Wrench, and Adam “The Intern” literally drove the tires off the Wraith, what verdict did they come up with? You’ll find out on Tuesday. I didn’t get a chance to drive the Wraith, but it sure looks uber and generated buzz wherever we went with it.
That’s it for this week, support your hobby, local hobby shops, tracks and bash spots!
YOUR Cub Reporter
