IROCC 12th Scale Season 2009/2010: What You Need To Know

[Blake]

Hey all,


I've received a few messages from some of you asking about this winter's 12th Scale season.  I thought I'd put together a 12th Scale Info thread here to answer some of your questions:

12th Scale Newcomers

What
IROCC races 12th Scale cars in the winter.  These cars are slightly smaller than our outdoor cars, and are well suited to the smaller track size of our indoor facility.  The indoor track is made of a very fine carpet.  12th Scale cars use foam tires which stick extremely well to the carpet track surface.  IROCC uses the CRC Clik Trak barrier system to create the layout.

This is what an indoor track looks like:
http://www.teamcrc.com/crc/images/stories/Snowbirds09/birds_trackpic1.jpg
http://www.teamcrc.com/crc/images/stories/Snowbirds09/birds_trackpic4.jpg

This is what the cars look like:
http://www.cmldistribution.co.uk/product/AS4018/gallery/Team-Associated-AS4018-1.jpg
http://www.teamcrc.com/crc/images/stories/Snowbirds09/frankscar-sml.jpg
http://www.wnyrcinfo.com/images/Articles/CRCGENX/GENX6.jpg
http://www.teamcrc.com/crc/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=101

Where
IROCC's winter racing facility is the Boys and Girls Club of Victoria (In the gym; follow sloped ramp up the side of the building).  They are located here:

1240 Yates Street, Victoria
http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&q=1240+Yates+Street,+Victoria+BC&ie=UTF8&ll=48.42641,-123.347454&spn=0.014552,0.038495&z=15&iwloc=r0

When
Saturday evenings, 4PM - 10:30PM
Track setup usually happens at 4:15PM.
Open practice is from 5PM - 6PM
First qualifier is 6PM

Which chassis?
There are quite a few choices in the 12th Scale market these days.  Here are some:
Associated, BMI, Corally,  CRC (Calandra Racing Concepts), Serpent, XRay

At IROCC, the CRC brand is the most popular.  That is not to say that you can't choose another brand of car, but when it comes to parts support, you will have the *most* success with a CRC car.  This is simply because 70% of the club uses these cars and so there are many spare parts floating around.

The older CRC cars are called "Carpet Knife" while the newer kits are called "Gen-X or Gen-XL".  If you are a newcomer to 12th Scale, try to find a good deal on a used "Carpet Knife".  This car will will get you around the track and allow you to become as competitive as you need.  Once you can run a race without tapping a wall, then worry about upgrading to the latest and greatest kit.

Batteries?
It used to be simple.  12th Scale cars would run a 4-cell NiMH pack.  Now that NiMH is being phased out of R/C, the 12th Scale market is moving toward LiPo batteries.  For the IROCC 2009/2010 season, all racers are permitted to run either a 4-cell NiMH pack, or a 1 cell 3.7V LiPo pack.  If you are newcomer, try to find a good deal (free) on some 4-cell NiMH packs.  If you're ready to take the LiPo leap, do a little research and be sure that the LiPo "brick style" pack will fit in your car.  Also note that a 3.7V LiPo pack may require you to run a Voltage Booster in your car so that the receiver, servo, and transponder will see the full 6.0V that they are expecting.

Motors?
IROCC runs 12th "Stock" exclusively.  This means you must run either a 27T brushed motor, or a 17.5 brushless motor; same deal as out door racing.  This means that most racers can use the same motor they are currently using in their outdoor Touring Car.

Speed Controls?
Most speed controller will work fine, as long as you can fit it on the chassis.  This means that most racers can use the same speed control they are currently using in their outdoor Touring Car.

Servo?
Because 12th Scale cars are very small, you will likely require a mini-servo for steering duties.  I'm not 100% sure of the best place to get a mini servo....  Common mini servos are the Airtronics 94145 or the JR 3650.  On the budget side there is the Hitec HS-225BB.

Tires?
12th Scale cars use foam tires.  They are very similar to the foam tires we use on our outdoor Pro10 cars, but they are smaller in size.  Note that 12th Scale cars get incredible traction because of the carpet track surface.  So you don't have to worry about spinning out like in Pro10!  There are many compounds of foam tires, but most beginners will do well to start with Grey (or GreyLo) rear tires, and Purple (or Black) fronts.  Do yourself a favour and check with Craig Roberts about tires.  Also note that I have several sets of tires from last year that I will give away free to newcomers.

12th Scale Videos
These video give you an idea of what 12th Scale racing is all about.  Note that these cars are running Modified motors rather than Stock!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seT68ViBrEM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuAn5b8zS8Q


12th Scale Veterans

Changes for 2009/2010
As you all know, the big change for 2009/2010 is the inclusion of LiPo batteries into the mix.  The industry is 100% behind LiPo for 12th Scale, and ALL big races this year are LiPo only.  Because we are a small-time club group, we are allowing both 4-cell NiMH and LiPo technology to run together this winter.  We will attempt to even the field through weight limits, and we've already posted that NiMH cars will run at 880 grams while LiPo cars will run at 730 grams.  Adjustments may be made to this as we run through our initial "short" points series.

If you are interested in upgrading your 12th Scale gear this winter, here is what you need to know:

Batteries
Single cell LiPo is taking over 12th Scale.  Several manufactures have packs:  Reedy, SMC, and Thunder Power.
IROCC is bringing in the SMC pack which is very comparable to the other two.  Basically, we're talking about 4900mAh, 3.7V, 40C.  You *might* be able to run a B-Main AND an A-Main on one pack if you can get a small charge into it while you're re-saucing your tires.

Note that currently all single cell LiPo packs are "brick style" and will NOT fit properly in a T-Bar car.  Some racers in the US are running the pack along the side of the chassis (like in a touring car) with the electronics on the other side.  This is workable, but obviously not ideal.  Hopefully a saddle-pack style single cell LiPo will hit the market soon.

Voltage Boosters
I think it depends on your exact setup, but you may require a voltage booster or receiver pack when running a single cell LiPo.  I haven't done full research on this yet, but there are a few voltage boosters out there:
Novak: http://www.teamnovak.com/products/smart_boost/index.html
TQ: http://www.tqcells.com/TQBOOSTER.htm
MPN: http://www.mpnset.com/english/product.asp?ArticleID=708

Motors
Here are a couple of popular 17.5 motors:
Trinity: http://www.teamepiconline.com/shop/item_new.asp?item=TEP1002
Tekin: http://www.teamtekin.com/blmotors.html

Brushless Speed Controllers
Easily the most popular brushless speed control at IROCC (and maybe anywhere):
Tekin: http://www.teamtekin.com/rs.html


I hope that helps!
Blake

[Blake]

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.  And, if anyone can add anything to the above, please post here.

Thanks,
Blake

[Blake]

I think we *might* want to consider a group-buy on Voltage Boosters if enough people are interested.

Blake

[Falcon]

Blake

Great job on the info for all.

[RC51]

Good work, Blake.

I hear that Tekin has something in the works by way of a voltage booster for the RS and RS Pro. I will follow up.

P.

[Blake]

Good work, Blake.

I hear that Tekin has something in the works by way of a voltage booster for the RS and RS Pro. I will follow up.

P.

Thanks Phil,


Yes, please check with Tekin on that!

Also, I don't know where you stand with your connections, but I can forsee the possibility of some of our racers wanting to purchase Tekin ESCs, and possibly Tekin or Trinity 17.5 motors for the winter season.  If your channels are still open, and you are willing to do this, it might be a good service for those that are looking for something new this winter, but really have no idea where to find it.  For example, I've had at least two racers ask about which ESC to buy, and where.  And I've had three/four people asking about 17.5 motors, and where to buy them.

Of course there are many other options: Shaver Shop, Stores in Vancouver, Online Stores, eBay, etc...  but a familiar face is always nice to deal with.

No worries if you're not "enthralled" about the legwork of managing something like that...!


Blake

[Gorden]

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.  And, if anyone can add anything to the above, please post here.

Thanks,
Blake

Blake I also used this as a receiver pack and it work well.. about $15.00 at the shaver shop

[RC51]

No worries if you're not "enthralled" about the legwork of managing something like that...!

Hey, Blake.

Yep - account still active with Tekin. Someone else can gather the specific details, though - how many RS/RS Pro, Hotwire, 17.5 etc and I will find out about the voltage booster. We won't keep the account with Epic (trinity) open, though. We've been burned in the past and we have no reason to believe things have improved. If someone can get me the numbers of interested parties etc, I'll get a quote together and take care of the admin.

P.

[BCbud]

Good Day!

I am looking forword to racing 1/12th. How many sets of tirers would I expect to go through if I race the season?

Thanks, Neil.

[jarrodH]

No worries if you're not "enthralled" about the legwork of managing something like that...!

Hey, Blake.

Yep - account still active with Tekin. Someone else can gather the specific details, though - how many RS/RS Pro, Hotwire, 17.5 etc and I will find out about the voltage booster. We won't keep the account with Epic (trinity) open, though. We've been burned in the past and we have no reason to believe things have improved. If someone can get me the numbers of interested parties etc, I'll get a quote together and take care of the admin.

P.

if you could let me know on the cost, id be interested in a brushless setup and the booster..

[Blake]

No worries if you're not "enthralled" about the legwork of managing something like that...!

Hey, Blake.

Yep - account still active with Tekin. Someone else can gather the specific details, though - how many RS/RS Pro, Hotwire, 17.5 etc and I will find out about the voltage booster. We won't keep the account with Epic (trinity) open, though. We've been burned in the past and we have no reason to believe things have improved. If someone can get me the numbers of interested parties etc, I'll get a quote together and take care of the admin.

P.

Thanks Phil,

I will check in with the folks who have been asking me about this stuff.  Once we have concrete numbers we can look to do an order.

Blake

[Blake]

Good Day!

I am looking forword to racing 1/12th. How many sets of tirers would I expect to go through if I race the season?

Thanks, Neil.

Hey Neil,

I find that the newer breed of foam 12th Scale tires will last about 4 race nights.  The newer breed tires are smaller in diameter than the old tires.  I bet a set of old tires could last 6 - 8 race nights if you can find em.  Not sure if Craig can get those original tires anymore....

I have a few sets of mounted tires that I will bring to the track on Sunday.  I will be giving them out (free) to some of the newer racers as I am not planning on using these particular compounds this year.  That said, they are still excellent tires and could win on any given raceday!

Blake

[Gorden]

Good Day!

I am looking forword to racing 1/12th. How many sets of tirers would I expect to go through if I race the season?

Thanks, Neil.

I will look to see what I have put away from last season.

[Shawn68z]

Good Day!

I am looking forword to racing 1/12th. How many sets of tirers would I expect to go through if I race the season?

Thanks, Neil.

Hey Neil,

I find that the newer breed of foam 12th Scale tires will last about 4 race nights.  The newer breed tires are smaller in diameter than the old tires.  I bet a set of old tires could last 6 - 8 race nights if you can find em.  Not sure if Craig can get those original tires anymore....
Blake

Shaver shop still has some old style Jaco's for $15/pr.  Purple fronts, gray rears.   
And stormer hobbies has limited old style GRP foam for $13/US/pr.

Shawn.

[Shawn68z]

Oh, should also point out that GSR Hobbies has the new Jaco gray for $12/pr, and the purple fronts are $9/pr.  (Canadian funds.)


Shawn.