ROAR Motor Approval

[Shawn68z]

Now on another note, the Turnigy TrackStar 17.5T  is now ROAR approved as is the complete line of TrackStar red can motors.

Great to see an in-expensive motor show up on the ROAR list. Definitely has peaked my interest...

If IROCC is thinking about using a spec motor next year for touring stock, I would vote on this one. I do not think you can get more bang for the buck on other ROAR approved motors.

Hate this idea... ROAR is ROAR.  Making everyone that already races swap out their $90 ROAR motor doesn't sound like a good idea.. But! If its for a $35 ROAR motor, it will definitely make the decision easier!


I wonder now that Turnigy is ROAR, if it will force some of the other motor companies to lower their price.... I have noticed the Novaks have slowly been raising their prices, and a good novak now costs over $100.


Shawn.

[Shawn68z]

I don't know, we will have to see, don't know where you guys are racing anymore lol, I was called a cheater before it was approved so maybe just leave this year on a low note and try something else not so regulated lol.

Wasn't me.  The only confirmed cheater I know is Rob.  His car actually gets wider as it drives down the straight..   I don't know how he does it, because if I did know I would do the same!   


Shawn.

[Shawn68z]

Sorry to jack your thread Neil. But I was looking back on our website for points from last year and I couldn't find them. I wanted to see who was making it so expensive that we needed to have a tire rule to "lower racers costs" I understand I was not at the meeting and I chose not to but with the tire rule we have put in technically I could buy a new pack of batteries every couple of weeks and or a new motor every week and probably be faster than  you are with your one of three sets of tires. I don't know what the answer is or what happened from before but it never seemed this restricted and it seemed pretty close. Hell until summer speed weekend most of my tires were worn out during the summer as they were the winter weekend tires, that was cheaper for me and I enjoyed racing every weekend. Seems to me something has changed it from the low cost club we used to be, to a more than highly competitive hobby that we all laugh and know are only toy cars. Even though we all know this is not a cheap hobby either. If I was on the outside looking to get into the hobby I would not have a clue what to get and would only see more and more dollar signs over time. The fast are gonna be fast and the for fun members are gonna be that but the line is blurring and moving more and more apart over these last few years. Everyone has to set their own budget for their race team.
Just my .02 for what it's worth. Again sorry Neil.

This new tire rule is not a big deal. No body is saying you "have" to change your tires with everyone else. The club will grandfather in the old tires, and  I am running old tires until Speedweekend (which is not included in the tire count), and for speedweekend, I will run new tires, which will carry my car until the end of the year.     Cameron is not going to follow the tire rule, and I am going to put on his car whatever I have.    Some guys will choose to run new tires whenever they get a chance, but I have no ambitions of running more then 2 sets of tires during the entire summer. Period.   Cameron will run tires to the belts, or when the rim breaks. Whichever happens first!

Honestly the tires don't worry me, the talk of Spec Motors does, but that will come up next General Meeting.

Shawn.

[rcshadow]

Not coming to the general meeting is the same as not voting in an election. If you don't vote, don't bitch about the results.

Shawn.
[/quote]

I wasn't complaining about the meeting decision, I was happy about the ROAR motor news, and I  was stating a possible loop hole about the clubs "spec racing". And people stop voting cause they feel their opinion means nothing everytime they get a chance to vote.  But everyone bitches about something can't please everyone.

[valk]

spec tire seems normal in most clubs but a spec motor is kind of overreaching and I dont think id support that decision. at what point would we simply tell everyone to buy serpent rtrs and race that?
club racing really shouldnt be so serious. its nice to keep parity with what we will race at our big races though. I don't see a point in spec tire for club racing and not for speed weekend.
but meh. im still the club noob, im not interested in politics, only what happens on the track.

[gotnitro]

back in the brushed motor days we ran a club motors for indoor for a few years . it meant having to true motors and try different brush compounds or oils. but everything was the same other than that. Brushless has taken that away and means time to tune the cars and not the motor is nice. Either way not sure what the answer is?

[Shawn68z]

back in the brushed motor days we ran a club motors for indoor for a few years . it meant having to true motors and try different brush compounds or oils. but everything was the same other than that. Brushless has taken that away and means time to tune the cars and not the motor is nice. Either way not sure what the answer is?

Thankfully the brushed days are gone. The motors might have come "stock", but I have a hardtime believing guys were running them stock... I have heard the stories of drilling out the brass bushings, twisting the commutator, running bearings, Special Cut brushes, can "zapping" and  hood "alignments".  That was far from "stock" racing.

Its also a different story if you dont own the equipment already, and you knew a brushed motor would wear out and need replacing. Brushless motors dont really wear out the same as a brushed motor did, so switching to a spec motor now causes people either sell the motors they already own,  or put them on the shelf for another day.  Either way it will cost racers more money needlessly.


Shawn.

[serpent]

the point about spec tires and possibly motors is to keep the cost down not turn people away. in the past I have never seen irocc turn away a new racer because he didn't have the right stuff.i personally stopped running touring stock because of a few racers with big wallets putting on new tires all the time it made it so if you ran old tires you were not competitive no fun racing.part of the reason to go with spec stuff is makes it possible for our crappy club executive  to have what you need at the track and buy in bulk from local hobby shop all these things we are trying to do are to help you  guys so your tires and motor is the same as the other guy and just because new stuff is available you don't have to by it to stay competitive by one club motor at a cheaper price use it for the whole season possibly more seasons to come after that, its not like were telling you you have to buy one every week or month .if you guys really think we are out to make you spend money you totally missed the point.some people will make any excuse not to show up.if you are against us then we will never make you happy if you talk to us we will try .I lent people motors all year .because of stupid roar legality .if we run club stuff roar may influence our decision but not change club rules mid season.i don't no of any popular racing organization that runs with no rules.bashing is fun but some people like racing.i do a lot to help people get what they need  so I am getting tired of hearing that what we are doing is trying to screw you over.. I know its impossible to make everyone happy but if you don't give us input before a decision is made its impossible for us .

[Shawn68z]

I don't see a point in spec tire for club racing and not for speed weekend.

Acouple reasons!

It adds a  big expensive and financial exposure for the club to place a big order of tires/wheels must purchase cash up front  well in advance of the event.  If the club doesnt sell all the tires, it could hurt the bottom line for the event.

I like running my car on Sorex. Thats normally what I run, so if I goto an event I would prefer that tire, rather then having to completely change my setup for a tire/wheel that the local club is running as their spec.

Allowing people to bring their own tires, and running a simliar compound (32's), prevents the blame game, if someone is not happy with the events wheel/tire choice. It takes the responsability of having a good tire away from the event organizer. Look at Vegas 5 years ago when the Jaco Blues first came out and became the events spec tire. The Tires were junk, and everyone complained and bitched about the tires. (They were falling apart).   We can avoid that by not have a spec tire.

Shawn.


With a club spec tire, its not really going to save anyone any money, but it wont cost any extra either. But with running that tire/wheel, it will be worth my time to change my setup and make my car work properly on the tires that we have chosen.

[Shawn68z]

Not coming to the general meeting is the same as not voting in an election. If you don't vote, don't bitch about the results.

Shawn.

I wasn't complaining about the meeting decision, I was happy about the ROAR motor news, and I  was stating a possible loop hole about the clubs "spec racing". And people stop voting cause they feel their opinion means nothing everytime they get a chance to vote.  But everyone bitches about something can't please everyone.
[/quote]

I dont think I would call it a "loop hole",  but unless we spec every part on the car, its not going to be "spec" racing, but hopefully a close "stock" racing series.  Do we need to spec batteries too? With equal motors and tires, the focus just changes to batteries and chassis.. Ultimately if someone wants to try and spend their way to the front, there is nothing the club can really do about it.

The way I am looking at it is, lets give it a try this year with the spec tires, and then at next year's General meeting, we will discuss if the spec tire program worked, and accomplished its goals.  I honestly dont know if there was a tire war last year that prompted this, but from some of the comments I wonder how many sets of tires people actually used last year.

Cheers,
Shawn.

[jarrodH]

Maybe more people should start attending club meetings?..there were what 8 people at the last one? 2 of which were me and mick, I'll admit I don't come out as often as I'd like to.

Club had handout motors back in the day,( crazy that I can now call it that.) and it was good. Motors cost less then buyin yourself because of the large group buy, and it took the. "Motor of the week" battle out. It came down to tuning, which is just experience.

I think it makes it easier if someone wants to join. You can buy the same motor and tires the fast guys have right at the track, don't have to research and scour the net tryin the find the "fastest" motor, or tire of choice. Just show up, screw them on and your racing .

[Blake]

Hi all,

I don't normally chime in on these hot topics, but since Craig spent an hour on the keyboard, I felt I better too!  No hard feelings, just some questions and clarifications:

This club has tightened the noose so tight with these massively restrictive rules I'm seriously considering selling this touring car before I've even put a speed control in....

You guys need to go the OPPOSITE way if you want to encourage people to race more.

Open up club racing to ANY motor you want, keep the battery restricted to two cells and enforce your tire rule, but for gosh sakes lose the motor rule COMPLETELY for club racing...

Seriously.....

Mick, unless I missed something, we do not have a motor rule other than it has to be a 17.5 BL motor.  The only time we've ever enforced ROAR motors and batteries is at Winter Speed Weekend since we're been part of the WCICS series.  Am I missing something here....?

Secondly, what are the other massively restrictive rules to which you are referring?  I am genuinely curious to know.

Hell until summer speed weekend most of my tires were worn out during the summer as they were the winter weekend tires, that was cheaper for me and I enjoyed racing every weekend.

Glenn, please re-read the original summer rules, or my response to you and Gerry.  You can run your existing tires.  There is zero difference in your requirements to race this summer than any other summer.  And, as a side benefit, you won't have to worry about competing against a racer who comes to the track with a new set of tires every week.

Seems to me something has changed it from the low cost club we used to be, to a more than highly competitive hobby that we all laugh and know are only toy cars. Even though we all know this is not a cheap hobby either. If I was on the outside looking to get into the hobby I would not have a clue what to get and would only see more and more dollar signs over time.

I plainly disagree.  Our club, racetrack, rules, and schedule have been basically static for the last 10 years of summer racing.  Yes, chassis/battery/motor technology has evolved, and racers buy new equipment, but honestly, that's just part of the hobby - just like any other.  Fortuntely for us, the new technology has reduced the cost to the racer with longer lasting equipment.

but when you have some new guy come out and he got a 10.5 with his used car, you're gonna turn him away because it's not "ROAR" legal, and hence, you've lost another potential member.

Mick, as far as I can remember, we've never turned someone away because their equipment didn't match up.  What I can remember is Craig lending that person a car and letting them try it out.  That I can remember happening on several occasions.


Other thoughts:
At our AGM, we discussed the *possibility* of a Spec Motor for the Summer 2015 season.  Obviously we'll get feedback from everyone before making a change like that.  Seems like we already have some feedback!

And, just as a reality check, some of us just got back from the Seattle last night.  They run TC 17.5 with a spec tire, and ROAR-only batteries/motors.  They charge $10 per class and they have to setup and teardown their track every week.  This is a pretty standard formula....  If anything, IROCC has taken the standard formula and reduced the costs of entry, tires, and batteries/motors.


Thanks,
Blake

[gotnitro]

Glenn, please re-read the original summer rules, or my response to you and Gerry.  You can run your existing tires.  There is zero difference in your requirements to race this summer than any other summer.  And, as a side benefit, you won't have to worry about competing against a racer who comes to the track with a new set of tires every week.

I understand the spec tire rule I just don't see myself buying the tires as I just use my tires from the previous season. unfortunately I have to tighten my spending strings and cut cost and racing time .I do like the idea of spec motor and battery

[MickSz]

I have not been there for a few years so I'm only going on what I've been told. Listen guys, I don't want everyone thinking I'm the crazy old guy standing on the street corner holding the "THE END IS NEAR" sign, LOL. because thats not what I'm about... I want more than anyone that this club thrive and carry on.

I understand that for the seasoned vets you want a level of control and I'm all for that, I just want there to be an inviting atmosphere for anyone interested in joining, and the more rules you throw at people the less likely a new person will want to participate. It takes a lot of work to keep new people coming into COR and we have significant advantages over road cars so IROCC needs to do all that it can to make it easy for new people.

That is all

[Blake]

I could not agree more Mick.

PS.  The visual of you on the street corner with the "THE END IS NEAR" sign is now stuck with me forever...!

Blake