True The two nearest tracks are 60 miles away One track is indoor short course and the other one is on road Indoor track closes during the summer and the on road track opens in the summer and closes in the winter.
What really helped me get started racing was by having a local hobby shop. I used to just bash around in the backyard until I went and watched some of the races they had. If it wasn't for my local hobby shop and my fellow racing friends, I would probably have never raced.
The guitar was a great analogy ... So a little story that highlights your point. It was my birthday (many years ago) and watching a great band live down the pub, the guitarist was really good. I asked him during the break if he could play Euruption by Van Halen for my birthday. He comes out and smashes it, absolutely killed it. At the end I asked if he did lessons for beginners, "sure no problem" went round his house with a mate, had a lesson and when I came out Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden drummer) was there having a cup of tea. I Google his name later (Phil Hilbourne) and later asked why such an acumplished guitarist helped a complete beginner, "everybody starts somewhere" and tbh that has stayed with me til this day (30 years) , wether its at work or play, if someone wants to give it a good go I try my best to give them a hand. It comes down to being humble.
You and Ryan are a real representation of Love and Enthusiasm for the hobby in all of its aspects and really express a genuine importance on honesty in what we all can do to make this great hobby great again. I truly appreciate what you and others like you are trying to do for the hobby. The Hobby needs more JQs and Ryan’s for sure. You guys are awesome!
The pricing is what scares everyone off. I try to get people into the racing side of things but as soon as they hear what it takes to get one up and running they shy away from it
Someone should be able to buy a $150 HSP/Redcat/whatever 1/10 buggy and feel welcome to drive it on the track. As JQ pointed out, it's only as expensive as you make it. Heck, I've seen people at the local track with Traxxas monster trucks, and we had a blast of a time racing. Just dial the EPA on your transmitter down to match their speed, and there you go, it's a race! As the newcomer's enjoyment increases, so will the drive to buy a competition-spec car. It's all a matter of not only making it fun, but making it accessible, so that further down the line there can be room for better gear.
@@MiataDriverX I agree! If someone shows up with a 150$ redcat/ or whatever they can enter the novice or sportsman class. But it’s up to the rest of us to encourage them, and help/teach them how make that car better and then, hopefully, from there they will have enough interest to keep going and someday get a more race oriented race vehicle! ✌️
@@MiataDriverX WLtoys are suppose to introduce a 1/10th electric buggy, the 104001. It may increase the interest of new comers as its very robust and could sell at a vwry reasonable price. With the right mods can also be competitive and most of all..fun.
Thanks JQ for putting in the time and effort for all your videos! I believe that video games could help bring more of the younger generation to the hobby. If PlayStation and Xbox made a game like VRC PRO it could be a game changer. VRC has helped me get better. Sure it doesn’t help with the mechanical aspect of the hobby but with the driving aspect it’s a 100% help. Keep up the awesome vids!!
Okay here’s an idea I’ve been sitting on: spec racing rental night. If I ever get to build my track/hobby shop this is what I want to do. Fleet of 20ish identical cars ( buggies or stadium trucks)stock motors and esc, and a decent metal gear servo. $50-60 entry gets you a car, radio, transponder, help fixing broken parts, and charged batteries for the evening. 2 qualifier heats of head to head racing, random start order for the first heat, and you reverse it for the second heat. Final grid position is determined by your average finish position from the qualifying rounds. 5-10 min final with small prize purse for the top 3-5 finishers in the form of store credit. Make a rent to own program so new comers can come rent a car 10 times and walk away with a decent race car and starter radio after 10 weeks of racing (less if they win or just want to buy a car) just run the class once a week, should only take 2-4 hours and let’s new comers learn to drive, wrench, charge batteries, lean about what items they want to buy as they get into the hobby. Give them that instant dopamine hit with minimal commitment. The after the race have store employees fix the rentals up over the week and get ready to run the class again.
The idea works best at a track/hobby shop combo. You’ll get the cars for 50-70% of cost because that what retailers do. You make revenue off of the rentals for a season, each time they rent you collect som money. Then whatever cars were not rented to own, you sell them for 50% of cost at the end of the season for a budget minded racer. Each time you sell a car you create a new customer and full time racer. This is what my local bike shop did with mountain bikes growing up each season and it’s what the race track did with go karts. I understand most tracks barely break even. That’s why you need to take a new approach, treat it like a business and come ready to spend and lose money for the first 2-4 years, just make sure your spending that money on developing a loyal customer base. The final part of being a good shop owner is to offer advice that is unbiased, and push people towards the best value for money options rather than the most expensive or profitable option. This goes hand in hand with having unbiased media and reporting in the industry. We need a magazine that does side by aside comparisons of every platform and has an unbiased buyers guide every year, have pros and you tubers wrote monthly columns ect.
I like your thinking. I live out in NY born and bred native NY'er and I always loved RC from when I was young. And @ 56 yrs old have seen alot in this hobby. We had a track out in Lindenhurst NY and I do recall he had regular race days Sunday, Tue and Fri. During the week On tues and friday the races were run at night starting at 7 or 8pm and running till 12-1am. On Sundays The races ran late morning till mid afternoon. Also he had traxxas slash trucks he used for Birthday parties. Kept a fleet of 15-25 handy.and for many bday parties the moms are usually doing chucky cheese, or bowling. He found that niche and I guess had promoted to those Mom's somehow and had quite a few parties on Monday thru Sat.
The problem is that is a steep asking price to rent a car for an afternoon. If your goal is to get more people involved in the hobby then you have to take pricing into consideration. Sure, a person already in the hobby might see the value you are offering and be willing to pay that much, though to be honest, even people who are in the hobby are likely to find that price too high. But a person who is not already in the hobby, who is just at the track to check it out, is not going to pay that much money for a couple hours rental. Then the other thing is that People aren't going to want to spend $50 or $60 every time they want to practice. You could rack up $200 or $300 in just a couple weeks at that rate. That is going to make the hobby even more expensive than it already is, and most people will be turned off by that. I'm not saying rentals aren't a good idea. I'm just saying the price has to be much lower. And yes I understand that track maintenance costs money. It's a tough thing to balance. In my personal opinion, RC tracks probably need to be operated either at a wash, or a slight loss. The true purpose of the track is to keep people coming to your shop to race, and therefor to your shop to buy kits and parts and hop-ups. The track is there to increase profits by bringing more traffic to your store, not to create profit itself.
Years and I mean YEARS ago my dad's friend owned and ran an indoor RC track. He ran a speck class with RC10Ts. I built like 20 of those damn trucks and set them all up the exact same. Same motors, brushes, servos radios, shock oil and ride height, all of it the same. It was $10 to rent one for the day and it was $10 to race them. If you broke a part you just had to pay for that part. We had a ton of fun racing those trucks. Even though I raced RC10s RC10Ts both stock and modified, I would still rent/race those trucks from time to time or if they needed 1 more person to fill the field, I would grab one off the shelf and run it.
Nice one! I raced RC, then after a 5 years break to real racing, returned with the same emotions as the real car. Great video. Noticed the passion that you used when speak!
Your long form video on carb tuning was amazing and is exactly what you are talking about at about 50 minutes. It was extremely helpful because I have never tuned a nitro engine before and using concepts as a teaching method so that you understand rather than memorize is exactly the right approach. There is a guy named doctormosfet who did a bunch of very detailed videos on tuning the suspension that are along the same lines. EXTREMELY helpful to someone like me who is a beginner racer.
Maybe I can give you sight from a beginner in RC-Racing. I found a local indoor track where I could have a good time in winter. When I got the chance to drive a competition buggy I was hooked and it was obvious for me to start racing if I buy one. So this is IMHO one other little thing, giving interested people the chance to drive a good set up car.
Exactly. We need to bring sct back to our tracks. We had 5 kids show up in nelson NZ this last week. We had 10 registered to race what had been the club members. But 5 kids!!! I made sure to talk to the fathers I don't care about no amain of 5 people. The kids are the saving grace. Parents are looking at the gaming alternative
racing is intimidating. I've had top drivers be just amazing supporters for me and other drivers just be kind of arrogant and such... there will always be the super-helpful drivers and super competitive/grumpy drivers. But overall, if the culture can improve... I think that would be huge.
@@PabloGonzalez-hv3td that's not true Pablo - to race, you have to have a competitive mindset - if you don't, you're simply a person who's not interested in winning, so why would you race?
Excellent video....i raced 35 years ago and left to raise a family. Now I'm retired and getting back into it. Ryan Harris......was the encouragement i needed!
JQ, great information. I am looking at owning my own track to grow this hobby/sport. Everything you said I strongly agree with. I get tired of watching other youtubers just bash rc's then hate on the racing scene. Hobby shops bring nes clients as well as tracks. People need fun competition. Rc tracks provide that competition and grow this hobby. Keep up the great content.
Ya now, I've never raced myself but I've learnt so much from you and many othe people on UA-cam. Your someone I look up to and you inspire me to help the hooby out. I live in Serbia and there is only 1 track in Serbia and its 2 and a half hours away. My dream is to open tracks (indoor and outdoor) and a hobby shop to grow the hobby. Many people here know nothing about the hobby, there is probably only 100 or less people that know of RC racing in Serbia. So thanks, I've learnt lots from you I've got more to learn. I can't wait to save a little more money to buy my first kit (it'll probably be the JQ Black Edition).
So glad you made this video. I just got into rc this past year or two and I've been wanting to get into racing myself. I dont have the best buggy to start with but I'm confident it will work. Personally though I havent raced yet because it's not going on around me this time of year I have still been working hard on getting pretty much all my friends and family interested in the hobby as well. We are just waiting for the winter to be gone at this point because the only track near here is outside
really good point with "drive to survive" we need Heros or somebody we can look at and push the enthusiasm to the level it belongs. That is also a reason why we need good content like yours to show how fun this Sport is. Greatings from Germany here, we have at least one guy who is kind of famouse here: Marc Rheinard
I love this video. Out of all the BS I consume on UA-cam, this is by far one of the best, compelling and well thought out videos I’ve seen. I see this EXACT thing at my home town track (which I’m very thankful for) happening now. It’s dying. I love your content bro. Keep it up. I’m even an American and I like you. ❤️😉
Radio Controlled RC Car Racing, here in Idaho Falls. Died in the mid 90's. I only dream of Racing and studying the professional Drivers, as they tear up the Track!!! I will watch this series of Videos, just because I am curious about what you are gonna talk about!!! 😎
Also as a new guy myself, thank you. It has been so important for me to have a group of people i can go to at the track here in Albuquerque NM and have them help me tune my car.
I remember showing up at the track as a kid and instantly being hooked, I feel like if when we bring new people in we show them the racing first. Getting them into something cheap like a slash, but at the same time showing them that they can take this brand new car they just bought and go straight to the track and race. People also should be more open to sharing tips that they learned, because when everyone has a car they’re comfortable it makes the racing more enjoyable in my opinion. Btw this video is awesome, and you and Ryan are awesome
started racing since 2018 summer. Two months contionouly racing really pays me back. But when local tracks keep closing one after one, that gave me a really depressing feelings that RC hobby is leaving. I hope most of the rc manufactories can help local track to survive. Could not image a big city like chicago where there are only one or two small tracks are still opening.
I raced offroad/dirt since the 80's & it's always lacked popularity except the boom in the 90's. Then the internet shopping began to kill the hobby shops/tracks except for major cities. I don't see tracks disappearing completely for non pro, local racers but seems they will continue to hang by a tread unless the big companies fork the money to build & maintain attractive venues which I don't see being realistic.
100% agree with the full video. I live in Belgium, Bruges region and we have to drive 1h30 to race. It's easier to get drugs these days than build a racetrack and practice a nice hobby. Not to mention the noise nuisance and the permits you need. This is the only thing stopping me from starting offroad raming again. There is a beautiful on-road circuit 20 km from us, but the club is bleeding to death. The atmosphere there is as you describe in your movie, there is no ambiance, no cool website, few or no updates. But a wonderful accommodation. There is even a beautiful cafeteria, but only open on Sunday mornings. I wish I could do something more for this hobby.
Fantastic! Great analysis and recommendations... I used to race in Peru back in 1997 and fast forward 24 years I hear the same problems... everyone tells you you need to spend over 5K if you want to be competitive... being welcoming to new comers is a great approach...
Thank you to make a video that inspire new passion for speed people into this category of auto nitro sport , I love when you mention Dominican Republic , which is the country that I come from, I wish I can bring back RC cars back into my country, but for now , I’m learning about nitro , I built my first car to start racing this season coming up here in New York at the barnstormer, I hope everything goes well and get to Learn a lot more as I go . Thank you again for the support and the good content of this video !
Great video brother. I got out of the sport (hobby) about 30 years ago because, I thought it was dying, tracks just disappearing. Recently I have been thinking about getting back into it but, still concerned it will not be around long. You are on point with this video.
Great video JQ, you nailed the worst point of the industry on the head if your not welcomed at the track you'll most like never come back especially if you're new to rc. I remember going for the first time to my local track in Australia, it was linked to a Hobby shop and everyone helped each other out and it was good and I felt welcomed and all, however the track eventually closed. So myself and a few others started going to another track close by and we were instantly ostracized and made fun of and referred to as "the other club" among other things, I stuck it out for about a year and packed up my gear. Fast forward 10 years and a move of Country from Australia to Ireland and I joined my local track in 2017 and it's members are absolutely fantastic. Nothing too serious, everyone helps everyone else out couldn't be any better really.
I’m getting back into rc after being out of it for around 20yrs. A lot has changed! It seems so expensive. There are no tracks near my house so I’ve been making my own on my short course style track on my concrete driveway and have been racing Losi mini-b cars with my friends. I’ve just ordered a LapMonitor setup. I feel like these cars could play a big part in getting new folks into RC. They’ don’t need a lot of space, they’re super fun, drive well and I can get them on a track RTR with multiple batteries and a transponder for $200. A few weeks ago I found Ryan Harris’ channel and I love what he’s bringing to the sport. The content that’s available today is amazing compared to “when I was a kid” - all I had was RC car action and that was it!
Great video. I just got into it and love just practicing on the tracks. Racing was fun but I spend 8 hours of my day to run for 20 minutes. I don’t bother anymore.
20 year RC race veteran and this is the first RC Channel I have subscribed to. Sad to say after racing mainly onroad at an ultra competitive level and racing a few years in offroad as well when onroad in Orange County died I bought my first Arrma. I wheeled my new Typhon 3s around my neighborhood and within 2 weeks 8 neighbors had Arrma Typhons and Sentons. We need fun tracks and maybe a Traxxas/Arrma RTR class. When I show them my Xray Touring Car and B6.1 and tell them they cost 1500 each they laugh and lose interest. No Qualifiers, Three 8 minute mains. Full 10 car heats. No separate class for Senton, Granite, Typhon, Slash. Full heats and racing. Some will stay and play in the class and bring new friends and some will want higher quality racing and step up their game and buy an AE or Losi Buggy. The track will no longer be filled with just lifers who look like they live at the track and will never get out of sportsman and intimidate new people who want to come into the hobby even though I could put my typhon on 2S and beat them in a race with their 1500 dollar 4wd buggy. JQ, I was typing this while I was listening and you kept saying what I was typing. I look like I was summarizing what you said but these were my thoughts I was typing and then you would say what I just typed. Keep up this logic and maybe RC has a chance.
Traxxas/Arrma class is a good idea. Close it off to the race chassis, and just let it exist. I dont see those brands (certainly Traxxas) going anywhere, but we all know they dont reeaallyy belong on the track. But what does belong on the track? People enjoying the hobby....and whatever it takes to spark a renaissance is what we need to do.
I'd say open that class up to the bashing-focused RTRs from Losi and Associated as well as the Redcat stuff and you'd got yourself a winner. Also, you _should_ break out your Typhon and whoop those assholes' asses with it. It'll teach them a lesson.
The racing community needs to go big! 1/5th scale. Bigger trucks, and buggies. Bring in basher and racers together. Bigger is always better. 10th scale and 1/8th almost only. Maybe a freestyle monster truck series. Check out dupperbash. Maybe in-between races? My Dad bought me a grasshopper back in the mid 80s I was hooked. Took a 30 year break until I seen Arrma and Traxxas.
I just got back in this hobby this past May in 2020 during lockdown and I love it. I am racing mini zs at the moment and Its really fun. Also cant wait to get into off road or indoor 10th scale.
So glad I found your page. Extremely informative so thank you. I am gonna be petitioning my city to try to get a track or two built here. Gonna be looking for sponsors soon so I can make a presentation with some funding already in place. If more people had more access to tracks and just information in general it would get popular again.
Hey man, first time viewer of your channel here. Excellent video mate. There's a lot of food for thought and also a lot to unpack here, so let's just dive in. First off a little of my own background and where I'm coming from: I'm a gen-Xer who got into RC cars in the mid 80's, kind of a hay day of RC in its own right that sprung an entire cavalcade of cars and chassis, some of which (much to my amazement) have survived all the way to the present. A lot of what Lefty talked about really hit home and reflected much of my own experience back in the day. RC Car Action was my bible for a number of years and I would read each one cover to cover over and over and over again. I've also been a guitarist since about age 11 so a lot of your analogies just really worked for me. You were speaking my language so to say. The analogy does break down though at a point because what you're trying to equate are the champion drivers of a fringe nerd niche industry who no one knows with people who are in the business of being performance artists who are looked up to (in many cases) by millions of people around the world, be it that they decide to follow in their footsteps and pick up an instrument or not. While I agree with the basic notion of making the hobby/sport/profession of RC more appealing by creating stars and heroes one might look to emulate, it does pose significant challenges when attempting to make "cool" something that is almost universally perceived as "way too old boys playing with their small expensive toys" if you take my meaning. But I hear what you're saying. What the sport needs is a Ken Block of sorts and the team he surrounds himself with. It need not just be one person, but someone/anyone who can advance the image of RC racing in the public's eye to a point where it stops just being a toy but rather a technical endeavor/adventure that is both exciting and fun (except that unlike the Gymkhana/Hoonigan creations this is actually approachable and affordable to essentially anyone at some level or another). So I don't want to get too far into the weeds with this post but you said some things that raised an eyebrow or two and also a little bemusement because I couldn't help but think that you're not seeing the forest for all the trees. In the video you kind slagged off the advent of the non-racing bashers and the flood of Traxxas and ARRMA vehicles now out there. But did you ever consider instead of trying to draw those folks into what have become the kind of traditional vehicle classifications of 1/12 onroad, 1/10 on and offroad both 2x4 and 4x4 (include sub-genres such as truggies), and 1/8 onroad (I may be out of the loop on this, but most of my own viewing experience with 1/8th scale were nitro powered flat track racers), to expand the horizons of RC racing and just create a few new classes? I think a stock Infraction league where everyone is just running bone stock vehicles would be an absolute riot and great fun. Infractions are both fast and exciting yet retain a somewhat docile nature which make them a great platform for intermediate racing but keeping them stock would avoid the pitfalls of the "arms race" that has many a victim to claim (slot car racing immediately jumps to mind as that was what did that form of racing in). I'm fairly confident that any 1/8th scale road course would provide sufficient room for the slightly larger 1/7th scale vehicles. You could do the same for Traxxas X-01s or Kratons or, hell, even X-Maxxs. I would LOVE to see a race consisting of nothing but stock X-Maxx trucks where the winner will come down to driver skill in both the actual driving of the car and vehicle setup. Anyways, you get the idea. I just get the feeling there's an already existing customer/enthusiast/driver base you haven't taken into serious consideration. To be fair though, I HAVE been out of the sport for a LONG time however, so there may be problems with my idea that I'm not seeing that you might be able to elucidate for me. So there's my first initial thought spill upon watching this video which brings me to a final question I'd like to wrap this somewhat verbose post off with...what the F is that cool ass accent you have? I'm pretty international and can place most accents with a high degree of accuracy, but yours has stumped me. What's the nature of its origin? Thanks for a great video. This is a topic that, really, should interest anyone with even a cursory interest in the hobby/sport and should make for interesting discussion and debate. I very much look forward to parts 2 & 3. Godspeed, Diem
I’ve been doing some interviews and filming some mains etc on east coast USA mainly north east. Plan to do a lot more videos this year, all my stuff is of everyone and no particular team etc. my goal is to show more people Rc racing and racers to share the videos of there racing with there friends to get more people to the track etc. I always help the new guys out and every year my goal is to get a couple new people to the track. Keep up the videos.
Are you located in New Jersey? I assume so by the username, what are some good tracks/shops to check out? I'm in central Jersey and most hobby shops within 30 miles from me closed. I have never raced any of my RC's but I've always wanted to watch a day of racing.
@@Grifter371 yup I’m in jersey, yea in 2019 my local track wall Rc wall nj closed jt was 35 min drive for me. I used to be there 5-7 days a week working and driving on track but it got shut down by town. It was 1/8 off-road. You can find videos of it on my channel. Then earlier in 2019 family hobbies track that hosted the first roar nationals closed as well. So right now there is no 1/8 off-road tracks in jersey. I mainly race at barnstormers in Chester ny and trains and lanes in Easton pa but trains didn’t race in 2020 due to covoid but trains has a really big hobby shop wjth everything good people there to support. In central jersey the hobby shop in Aberdeen has some Rc stuff race mini z and so does hobbytown in Toms River, hobbytown also does some mini b and mini z and euro trucks etc. 2 tracks further away but not that far are r2hq shippensburg pa good 1/8 track and Lcrc in Oakland mills pa. Huge 1/8 track and hobby shop. If you wanna know anymore info etc subscribe to my UA-cam I have a lot local Rc videos etc and you can always message me for more info etc. I’ll be happy to give info help for racing etc. I started out just watching races and actually started filming races before racing. They race onroad at Jackson Rc to and there’s another onroad in south jersey. They race 1/10 off-road clay at critters Rc in Fairfield nj north jersey they have hobbyshop and another hobby shop in north jersey is cruizin with Rc they also do 1/10 Astro off-road mini z. Feel free to message me on my account if you need help
@@rcjerz Great, thanks for all the info! I've heard of almost all those shops, hard to keep track of which ones are still open and which ones have races. I'd love to check out a 1/8 off road race one of these days.
@@Grifter371 no problem, 1/8 off-road in north east is from like April to October. Come watch one day or if you have any Rc car basher etc bring it out race in novice class and you’ll have a good time plenty of people willing to help out if I’m there I’ll help you out etc.
JQ I like what you and Ryan talked about helping the new racer. This is how my company got started back in 2009 and what we still do to this day. #trackstarrc
I'm glad you made the difference of Bashing, Hobby and Professional. If Tamiya can't keep their track going, I don't know who can. I've been on and off in the hobby since the 90s due to tracks opening and closing. Tracks seem to be moving further and further away from city centers. I think small scale will keep the LHS going for a while. Ultimatley the future will be clubs that will set up in parking lots, or some other rented space, and all purchases will be online.
Hey! haha I race Traxxas... geez lol. I'm new to the hobby (just a few months now) but having a lot of fun. Just found your channel, been very helpful in getting my cars set up right.
I'm involved in a 10th electric buggy club in SW Scotland, we've had potential new members rock up with Grasshopper cars and have driven well, and been encouraged and made to feel welcome, but we're put off at the thought of competition. It's just fun but I think there was some parent influence involved...maybe there were other factors but it's difficult to tell in some cases. We invested in a number of gazebos so new racers can pit with the rest of us and we're one big group...pre social distancing...and we generally advise that you can start racing for around or less than the cost of an Xbox. Pitting as one big group meant we could just help the newbie without them needing to ask, or feeling apprehensive about asking. Practice weekends where it's just a laugh and track time work well to build confidence. Lots of good points in the video, and it's a good subject to tackle. Gone are the days circling your fav car in car action or radio race car international...it's all online nowadays, and likely changes that anticipation as people can watch a lot of UA-cam...some channels more influential than others and some not containing good content...it might spark and interest but then people don't know where to go to explore the hobby further...🤷♂️
Anything we can do to keep RC alive is all good. All us our RC guys need to stick together. RC is great in all its forms :) RC Racing is cooooool The main issue for most people is lack of clubs or areas where people can gather to play
You nailed it right on the head towards the end of your video when I’ve gone to my local tracks and wanted to get into the racing because I’ve got a ton of Bashers and a couple older race buggies I have a B 44 and a B3 8E the people are not very nice they want to turn you away, what you have is not good enough to be on their track and they’re in their own click do not make you feel welcome at all. at least that’s my experience here in the north Florida area
I learned a lot of these things young in motocross. Didn't matter what you showed up with for a bike, how fast or skilled you were, as long as you were riding. The more people the better and encouraging participation was the most important thing. Hell half of the time the dudes that showed up on clapped out old bikes would end up winning their classes just a couple of years down the road. I'll never forget getting laughed at by a couple [young] pros while training with them because I didn't have a shoe sponsor, such a stupid thing to even think about now that I'm grown. Made me feel like crap at the time, embarrassed, because the group of people I was with had sponsorships for literally everything, including stuff to ride and their day to day casual wear. That stuck with me and forever changed the way I approached new riders and continues in to the way I approach this hobby
Thanks for raising this topic. No one else is taking about except Ryan. My experiences: 1/8 nitro buggy. Very strong cars that are loud and exciting. They sell themselves. However for me it’s a 2 hours drive to get to an off-road 1/8 track with drivers stand. 1/10th touring car. As a beginner I assumed Tamiya touring cars would be fine because that what people raced 20 years ago. Thank god no one told me it’s a piece of crap, and you are correct, I figured it out on my own. Only then do I realise how much I enjoy owning an X-ray. However if there are guys with $1000 cars and $200 motors and $200 batteries racing in the sportsman class and lapping you, it’s quite hard to say to yourself, “wow I’m progressing well, perhaps I should move up a class”. We should be welcoming beginners by pulling out our crappy plastic cars (even driving field) and giving them a handicap (golf) and maybe even assigning them a mentor/coach (every other sport ever). In my opinion this is the reason people come and don’t come back. There was no battle going on. They came last too many times. They didn’t feel like they fit in. Give that guy someone with a similar car and driving ability and he now has a reason to come back. Finally the 1/10 off-road track. They all tell you to start in 2WD buggy. Wwhhhyyy are we making it harder for newcomers? 4WD is easier to drive. The novice category never has enough numbers so why are we banning newcomers from running 4WD in the 2WD class. They aren’t going to win. Let them play in a popular category where they might find someone of similar pace. And my final point. Mix it up a bit. Why race cars by chassis similarity? It’s infinite and infinitely boring. Group people by lap times instead of grouping cars. That will make for more interesting racing
I live in an area where there are only about 3 tracks within an hour one-way drive of my apartment, and they're all 10th scale tracks. I have 1/8 scale rcs and I would love to go to a great track setup for larger RCs. Hopefully since so many people got into RC because of COVID we will see renewed interest in RC racing.
While your video was a little long, I was happy watching it. Great that you included Ryan into your video. Ryan is correct in the way people treat new people and people getting back into this hobby. What you both did not include is the delays caused by equipment suppliers when there are faults with there equipment and trying to get it replaced so you can race. If you are a factory sponsored driver you have the parts in no time. Can you also talk about the rules?
Great video, I’m new to this hobby and I just starting to race, but just at a club level. I have a Spec Slash for now, but I’m looking at a buggy at some point. Great stuff, keep up the great work!
Great content, thank you. I’ve been victimized by a club track shutting down because the city pulled their permit. The land for the track was under a bridge and hasn’t been used for anything else since. Also not for profit clubs rely heavily on volunteers and burnout is inevitable and the club suffers and eventually fails. When the track fails the local hobby store that everyone relied on for kits, parts expertise, and fuel goes bankrupt. To lefty’s point, I freaking loved rc car magazines. I remember looking at rc plane magazines just for the car ads. Then when rc car action came out I was in heaven. Still have my first copy.
I'm sorry - I tried to, but I just couldn't get through Leftys RC media bit 😂 Great content, I'm looking forward to seeing how you'd get new people into racing. The issue is that different people want different things: some are here for the racing, some for the amazing machines and the technical side. Some dont want to work on maintenance, And I agree about the last bit - my dad and I didn't feel very welcome when we started. Most of the guys were super serious and made fun of our pit setup. It took us a long time to actually develop RC friendships. Luckily we really wanted to do this, so we didn't care - but its much nicer to have a beer with some great friends after the race.
Great video with valid points. This is a needed discussion and am happy you are making a video on it. In my opinion, 702 RC Raceway in Las Vegas is a pinnacle example of what a RC racing facility should be. I think every person who walks in their doors comes away with a desire the race RC. Other track owners should take note on their efforts. I agree 100% about the cost of RC. There is no other form of motorsports racing that is more affordable. Being hands on with your vehicles tuning set up and overall build/repair is half the fun. Next to RC, the most affordable motorsport racing would be karts. This is comparing basically apples to oranges but if you have a desire to be hands on and have the racing itch, RC is much more attainable.
American here, I watch all of your content. I love your brutal honesty, and your willingness to question or slam the status quo. The biggest issue im running into in the Hobby/Sport is the fact that people cling to what they have been told, and what they "know". I am brand new into the hobby as of June, and I came in and progressed very rapidly, and people A. began to alienate me because I haven't "put my time in", or because I was now faster, and therefore now i'm the asshole. There are some great people in the hobby, but there are some absolute turds also, and the problem is those turds tend to alienate the new blood. I speculate that this is what drives people away from the sport, sadly those turds seem to be the "chassis sponsor" guys. Coming from racing motocross my entire young life, the community in RC is extremely toxic, and the sponsored drivers are unapproachable, and seemingly unwilling to accept new blood.
Europe here 😉🙂 Yes, there are a lot of people who talk crap... It seems they forget it's a hobby... ... and a hobby has to be fun (far away from all the stress, negativity,... that surrounds us every day), wright? They just don't get it and probably never will... Keep enough distance from those people and focus on the great ones (there are a lot of them). Have LOTS of FUN with the hobby, Matthew! 👊🏻😉
It’s as simple as this: the fact that JQ racing has 8k subs and Kevin Talbot has 800k subs tells you where the enthusiasm is in this hobby. Bashing is more fun, cheaper and easier to get into. And racers who prefer to spend hours and hours at the track tinkering and tuning in hopes of winning a cheap plastic trophy continue to look down their noses at bashers who account for 90% of the revenue at most local hobby shops. We’re all just playing with toy cars gentlemen. It’s supposed to be fun. And racing sucks the fun right out of RCing for most of us.
Well I disagree with you. 1. Fun is subjective, I think racing is a lot more fun. 2. Playing with toys....I think it's as much playing with toys as football is playing with a ball.
We can respectfully disagree, although many of your points are valid. Chief among them are cost and time considerations. Racing is expensive and takes a considerable amount of one’s time. Bashing is cheaper and takes less time. True, “fun” is subjective, but I seldom have fun when I’m wasting my time and blowing all my money.
You are absolutely right about the tracks, it is important to keep them alive. Otherwise, no track = no driving = no racing. And for me it is vital to think about how young people can be invited to this hobby/sport. When I started some 13 years ago with 1/10 touring cars I went together with my dad to the local track here in south bavaria (germany) as we were told there was held something called "youth day" or "kids day". Every child and teenager could come and race with whatever they have, it didnt matter. There were only two classes: nitro and electric. I started in the electric class with my Tamiya TT-01 and drove pretty decent which brought me the second place. My parents and I were hooked and got into it more and more. Three years later I was driving my first german nationals in 1/8th nitro onroad. But nowadays these kind of events for young people are not there anymore. And it is really hard to get people into nitro onroad, it is a hell lot of fun. But stuff is complicated and rather expensive. And what you said about the local people from the clubs is unfortunately true in some clubs. I was lucky, people were very helpful and kind when my dad and I started, so we also always try to help and be welcoming to new people.
Great video, not done yet JQ, app half..as a former racer and always combined bashing with racing. The attitude among people needs to change, not saying 1 group, but all of them.
the racers at my local Oz track are spending thousands on setup. and paying at least $150 of tires a session. It's out of reach for most newbs. They need more beginner racing and less restrictions on vehicles. They need budget racing competitions.
JQ with another one 💥 Boom. Great vid bro, I think that person people want to be like are bashers. UA-cam bashers have large followings because the industry is pushing many cool bashers. How many cool racing kits or race series have you seen being promoted properly.
Up here in Washington State South of Seattle we have no off road tracks that allow 1/8 Nitro Buggy, the closest one is 1.5 hours away and with the price of gas I cannot afford to put there every weekend, at best I can get up there 1x a month. I have asked local Hobby shops why they don't invest in a track, and the common answer is, the only sets that sell are Arrma and Traxxas and most of the buyers arent interested in competing
All good points... seen RC come and go and come back again, only to leave again from my area over 4 decades. There are some problems that just can't be overcome: The buy-in cost is very high. A stock class 2wd buggy or sct built with descent equipment is easily $800. Then you need a couple batteries, a charger, a lot of tools, fluids and wheels & tires. All in it's hard to get started for less than $1200 and you haven't even worn out a set of tires, transportation to the track, paid track fees & transponder rental or paid your yearly membership in ROAR, or bought a couple sodas at the track. I do a good bit of onroad racing with a local club. We are fortunate to have a guy who owns and maintains a trailer and all the equipment needed to set up a track in any parking lot that will give us weekend access. When he gets to old to continue doing this, there may not be anyone to pick up the mantle and continue the club. These are some of the complicated details you referred to. One of the most popular classes we race is Euro Truck based on stock Tamiya euro trucks. With no mods allowed, it it the least expensive way to get into road racing. We need more classes like this. I get more views on my channel for the WLToys 124019 than almost any other category... why? Because it's an inexpensive RTR buggy. It's the kind of car a kid can convince his parents to buy for Christmas or as a birthday gift. But, no none of the tracks I know of offer a class for this vehicle. Why not? People have to start somewhere and if they can't race what they have, they bash till it breaks or they get bored not having anybody to race with. That would be a great buggy for beginners to run in a no-mods class. Stock motor, batteries and radio... maybe a few tire options. Anyway, just my opinion... I am glad you're trying to start the discussion. I've seen a lot of people try a lot of things to generate interest... one of the best ideas was one shop with an off road track was holding a summer camp style activity for kids. The kids would get a basic package of tools, a sct kit, and electronics... all the same. They would all learn to build their trucks and learn to drive in a day camp atmosphere. A couple years later the shop and track were gone. Go figure.
"...stock class..." There's your problem, at least in part. Stock Class is Pay-To-Win class - the highly restrictive motor limit has resulted in people paying hundreds for weight and rolling resistance reduction parts just to be competitive in that class, not to mention a decent competitive stock-class motor tends to cost around $150-$200 unless you want to run an EcoPower. Schumacher's helped a bit with this by releasing a version of the Cougar Laydown that comes with all of the factory options for stock class but you still need to splurge on oil-lubricated ceramic bearings and a high-end motor. And the result is a "stock in name only" class where the cars are practically as fast as mod in terms of lap times. Heck, I remember seeing a video where someone ran a stock-class buggy in mod and won. Meanwhile, Mod class tends to self-regulate to an optimal amount of power, and that power can be reached with a cheap hobbywing sensorless system. And because you have more power at the motor you don't need to go crazy with the weight and resistance reduction. So, why not completely ditch stock class?
I’m enjoying your videos, thank you. One wish I have is when big races only follow the pros on camera, they need to follow the lower classes too, we,re the ones paying the bills for live Rc.
You have some very valid points I also do see at the tracks. Yes, some top drivers are rude and only thinking to themselves making newcomers not well invited. On the other hand many newcomers are also shy, do not dare to mingle among the rest and dare to ask for help/tips. Also when they are a bit known into this sport their direct goal is to be sponsored and so they run like flies around the people who are sponsored or the people who can give a deal forgetting all friendships with drivers who like to do it on their own, you can see this on personal racereports where all the brands are tagged. On tracks you see brand related groups have no eye for other brand drivers because their brand is perfect and te whole paddock should know they are a tight group with loud music and other kind of expressions. Then there are wars between several shop owners and distributors. any penny is one so they have an aggressive way to get customers but also speak out the hate to people who do it more on their own and/or try to teach different because that can cost more penny's to them..... I am a guy who is more into the "do it yourself". I buy cheaper model engines and modify them to better performance, I can make stuff so I do try stuff from outside the box, I even have seen a manufacturer and other people copying my experiments and still be hated because I do it all on my own in a cheap way. With no sponsoring you do get the feeling you do not belong in a world where most drivers are or do want to be sponsored. Then about the amount of track visitors..... Having some contacts with bashing groups I know there are a lot of RC drivers out there who do not want to go to tracks. They do not want to face track rules and they also have the fear to suck in performance while on Facebook they all can brag about their modified engines and all kind of option parts on their car. They also think going to a track means racing while for sure it doesn't. But these guys are also the ones who like to drive at late nights or early mornings with an as loud possible exhaust in their streets annoying others. Those guys are actually giving a bad name to the hobby, sports and tracks and they do not mind at all because they drive where ever they want. Tracks should look up these local basher communities and get them somehow to the track. Last thing is indeed a lack of promotion. As mentioned before I see many toplevel drivers only taking care of themselves so are always busy with preparing and racing bigger races, clubraces have no meaning for them and if they participate they can not ease down with like a cheap RTR engine to give themselve a handicap to give others a chance to win. These guys do not promote the hobby and sport but when their sponsor ask to make nice brand promotional movie clips (see the whole Infinity team...) then they do it. Promoting the sports on a motorsports event they sadly will not. And that is where we must be, show our self as a serious form of motorsports for all ages and even the poor and disabled persons.Over here in Holland we have had a missed chance. When Max Verstappen did enter the F1 many kartclubs saw many kids entering kartracing in the hope going to be the next Max, sad enough no RC club/organisation here in Holland used the popularity of Max to get the group that could not afford kartracing.
It'll never happen. The performance and ease of brushless systems is putting nitro out of business. Also, even if you managed to get it going, it would be about a month before somebody shows up with a monster truck with a lower stance, longer chassis, and longer arms. Then you have the rebirth of the truggies which killed the MT class the first time around. I'll be honest. I ran nitro MTs for 15 years and I kinda hated every minute of it. Nitro engines are just too finicky. Requiring a retune every time the temperature changes 1.5 degrees, or because the humidity dropped slightly, or because that dog barked. Not to mention the fuel is so damn expensive. They are just a huge pain in the ass. If somebody made a working computer controlled fuel injection system that automatically tuned the engines on the fly, I would think about getting back into nitro. but I don't see that happening so I'm sticking to brushless motors and 1:5 scale gassers.
@@KurNorock Nitro RC's are an enthusiast thing, everyone knows this. With that attitude we might as well not even have RC's and do all VR racing. Nobody runs nitro engines for ease and simplicity. Its out of passion. I will admit nitro is severely lacking innovation while maintaining high prices, driving many away. I don't expect nitro MT to be big again. Some local clubs are attempting to put races for nitro MT's With guidelines to stop MT/Truggy hybrids from ruining the fun. Electric RCs are hands down friendlier/better, but cannot replace that feeling nitro gives.
@@HKvsGlock For f sake man. Way to take things way out of proportion. Yes, I know it is an enthusiast thing and at no point did I ever argue that nitro RCs should completely die off. All I did was explain why a nitro MT class is VERY unlikely to ever be a thing in the RC hobby again. There is just too much going against it. Now, sure, maybe you can get 5 or 8 of your buddies together, and hold your own unofficial race by renting out a track for a few hours, but its never going to become part of the official racing schedule. By the way, that "feeling" that nitro gives is just the noise. It sounds cool. but once you've driven the same truck with a nitro and one with a brushless set up, the difference becomes immediately apparent. The power difference is insane. The control is better, the handling is better, everything is better. Yes, hearing an actual engine revving sounds cool, but so does hearing the tires on a 4s or 6s brushless kit tear across the ground while watching the truck pull wheelies on demand and give you full control in air off of jumps. Then you go back to driving the nitro and it just seems slow and clumsy. Makes a lot of noise with no sense of power to match. Again, I'm not saying it is wrong to be a fan of nitro. I get it. I'm just saying that for most people, the choice has been made. Brushless systems have taken over the market in the same way that RTR kits have. It is easier and more accessible to more people while providing better performance to boot.
Just watching this late but here I my 2cents as when I went to the track to learn and run my rc car I was met with a lot of upset ppl competing and any questions I asked I was met with I’m asking stupid questions and was told to watch and that it 🤷🏻♂️ I feel tracks should have sponsored drivers teaching day bring an rc and teach the new ppl with out the pros having to race that day or have a day where new ppl can come learn something but for me I won’t go back at this point with a 100 rc cars I own I just bash and play having fun where I can rather then race and not have fun competing like a job idk love your videos I learn a lot thanks 🙏 my 2 cents from my experience 😂
For one, I always wondered how you win in a race. I dont know what proper terms to use to explain this but I don't see anything in the internet a very brief and short explaination how race "cup/series" is won. Like how do you get to the championships? How to get points? How is the starting grid positions are determined? Is it a one day race? I know races are different in each countries but explaining how races are done in your country could serve a good template for this beginner to understand races.
I started racing in September 2020. I had a slash and immediately fell in love with it. Now I have an e-buggy, nitro truggy, and mini truggy. Im racing my first big series race (Tekno winter series) and I stand out as a super novice driver there. My first round wasnt a great experience, I had people yelling at me because i would crash and end up in their way, I could tell marshals were making fun of my lack skill when I would crash by them alot. Bad experience, almost didnt want to go back. The next round I went it was my first time racing a nitro car I had no idea what i was doing, built my clutch wrong, but I ended up getting some great help there from Chris Nunez (Tekno driver) and round two was a completely different story as far as my enjoyment goes. But I think Jq and Ryan are spot on when they talk about "be nice to the new guy" because it can be discouraging when people act in a way that doesnt give the beginner a good experience.
RC Car Action pit tips and the dream of coming up with a solution to a problem and your genius idea being drawn into a picture and being in Pit Tips!!!
I think this is a great perspective. I used to love going to the store and picking up the most recent Dirt Rider and Ride BMX magazines. I'd tear out pages (after purchase) of the new quad or dirt bike I wanted and put them on my wall. I finally got jobs and purchased them for myself. I think a professional roaming "reporter" of sorts would be a good thing. An unbiased, passionate person that accurately accounts for all the racing action would be really cool to see. People can tune in to Live RC for the racing, but they are tuning into the (Insert name) show to see what happened in the pits, on the stand, and how it really went down. Lefty did a great thing with the Rivkin/Phend incident. He brought it out and got people talking about it. It would have been cool to see that roaming reporter walk right up and get some interviews with Rivkin and Phend after the race. We could have seen the heat in their eyes and how they felt about it. You want a rivalry, you have to catch Mayfield on camera talking about throat punching Marco. You need someone on the ground with responsibility is to get that action. I really like this idea and would love to see it made into reality. It's time to get passionate out here.
Have never lived near any track. Would love to have a nice paved track for bashing or racing. And would love to have a nice outdoor and indoor track for offroad racing. Im in eastern NC and unless you live in a bigger city tracks dont exist. If the city could simply build a park that isnt fenced off, create some tracks so that people with rcs can casually go eventually it'll lead to more demand. No one wants to keep driving in flat circles in the grass or parking lot.
im from the uk, i love bashing as its easy for me. im 17 and dont have a car yet, my closest track is open once or twice a year and thats 20 miles away, the next closest track is 60 miles away. I have a nitro 1/8 buggy and have no where to race, so i bash. If i could race id love to, its just difficult for me. great video, i agree we need to get rc out there per say.
P.s Ryan has kinda always been that guy that I've been looking up to. No offense but I just found you today and randomly saw him in your video as well. So that's cool
Ha, brilliant incorporation into the JQ channel of Ryan Harris! He’s perhaps one of the most influential folks in teaching and encouraging new racers today. And not surprisingly Ryan was spot on. I am a relatively new RC racer but have really been hooked by it and enjoy it a great deal. My skill level can be described as “average” at best, but I have a lot of fun and the folks I race with do too. When I attended my first “big race”, which for me was simply a regional stock race, I personally experienced the derision and aloofness of the sponsored “fast guys”. It was such a downer and highly discouraging. It’s also strange sine there are not that many hobbies where this would happen to you as an enthusiast. I bike and play tennis casually as well, the exact opposite occurs, in these activities folks encourage you and are ready to offer support. RC is odd in this regard. Great piece JQ, keep em coming
@@LJoel We could easily get that down to 3-4 if people were willing to stop being shits about motor classes. But no, we HAVE to separate Stock and Mod even though there's practically no difference in lap times these days, because the stock guys want to pay to win.
I built a local track years ago. The track was built on the hill, cause my friend own the land and he lended it to me freely. From day one the local RC car player knews about the track location, they complained it was far from city, which it was only 10 miles away from downtown. when the track is built up, in order to attract more players to join RC racing, I let everyone used the track freely for two years. I also stored some spare parts for sell (same price as online), no one is buying. I mean seriously, two gallons of fuel is the only thing that I sold. Then I decided to charge the entry fee, they started to call me selfy and stopped coming to the track. Half year later, I quit. I lost over 10 thousand dollars for building and keeping the track ruuning, all I left is 'selfish'. In my country, there is an old saying called you can only make dumplings and feed them to pigs once (what a waste). that's what I feel to build a track for local players.
Yes lots of nerds in my local track also not very friendly. I also support my local hobby shop but when i need support they will say call the manufacturer. That’s why i sold all my racing buggys
Yes, yes I know. Audio issues, my microphone decided to adjust itself. I don't know why.
BTW.....I loved the RCGP.....but there is no merchandise. Id'd love to wear a shirt and support it.....but I cant !
Its good JQ least we hear it twice now less likely to forget it. LOL
Okay good, thought I had a stroke for a second...
Your microphone setings has nothing to do with panning one channel to both L and R channels. That's what you have to do in the edit.
@@Screwed53 no I don't have to do it in the edit.
The lack of local tracks is what is hurting my experience, unfortunately even good bash spots are hard to find sometimes.
I hear that. There isnt a track within 50 miles. Takes an hout and a half to get to my closest track.
Tbh, lots of them just can't survive. There isn't enough demand for people who are willing to pay money for racing.
its a catch 22- great hobby for virus activity- but folks getting together to run ghem discouraged
True
The two nearest tracks are 60 miles away
One track is indoor short course and the other one is on road
Indoor track closes during the summer and the on road track opens in the summer and closes in the winter.
What about crawling? Any rock crawling/rock racing competitions?
What really helped me get started racing was by having a local hobby shop. I used to just bash around in the backyard until I went and watched some of the races they had. If it wasn't for my local hobby shop and my fellow racing friends, I would probably have never raced.
The guitar was a great analogy ... So a little story that highlights your point. It was my birthday (many years ago) and watching a great band live down the pub, the guitarist was really good. I asked him during the break if he could play Euruption by Van Halen for my birthday. He comes out and smashes it, absolutely killed it. At the end I asked if he did lessons for beginners, "sure no problem" went round his house with a mate, had a lesson and when I came out Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden drummer) was there having a cup of tea. I Google his name later (Phil Hilbourne) and later asked why such an acumplished guitarist helped a complete beginner, "everybody starts somewhere" and tbh that has stayed with me til this day (30 years) , wether its at work or play, if someone wants to give it a good go I try my best to give them a hand. It comes down to being humble.
You and Ryan are a real representation of Love and Enthusiasm for the hobby in all of its aspects and really express a genuine importance on honesty in what we all can do to make this great hobby great again. I truly appreciate what you and others like you are trying to do for the hobby. The Hobby needs more JQs and Ryan’s for sure. You guys are awesome!
The pricing is what scares everyone off. I try to get people into the racing side of things but as soon as they hear what it takes to get one up and running they shy away from it
Someone should be able to buy a $150 HSP/Redcat/whatever 1/10 buggy and feel welcome to drive it on the track. As JQ pointed out, it's only as expensive as you make it. Heck, I've seen people at the local track with Traxxas monster trucks, and we had a blast of a time racing. Just dial the EPA on your transmitter down to match their speed, and there you go, it's a race!
As the newcomer's enjoyment increases, so will the drive to buy a competition-spec car. It's all a matter of not only making it fun, but making it accessible, so that further down the line there can be room for better gear.
@@MiataDriverX I agree! If someone shows up with a 150$ redcat/ or whatever they can enter the novice or sportsman class. But it’s up to the rest of us to encourage them, and help/teach them how make that car better and then, hopefully, from there they will have enough interest to keep going and someday get a more race oriented race vehicle! ✌️
You're from the US, right? Here in Europe the middle class can "easily" afford RC racing.
@@MiataDriverX WLtoys are suppose to introduce a 1/10th electric buggy, the 104001. It may increase the interest of new comers as its very robust and could sell at a vwry reasonable price. With the right mods can also be competitive and most of all..fun.
@@ripmax333 Oooh, now that's interesting. I may even pick one up, just to hand off to friends to play around with if I take them along to the track.
Thanks JQ for putting in the time and effort for all your videos! I believe that video games could help bring more of the younger generation to the hobby. If PlayStation and Xbox made a game like VRC PRO it could be a game changer. VRC has helped me get better. Sure it doesn’t help with the mechanical aspect of the hobby but with the driving aspect it’s a 100% help. Keep up the awesome vids!!
Okay here’s an idea I’ve been sitting on: spec racing rental night. If I ever get to build my track/hobby shop this is what I want to do.
Fleet of 20ish identical cars ( buggies or stadium trucks)stock motors and esc, and a decent metal gear servo. $50-60 entry gets you a car, radio, transponder, help fixing broken parts, and charged batteries for the evening. 2 qualifier heats of head to head racing, random start order for the first heat, and you reverse it for the second heat. Final grid position is determined by your average finish position from the qualifying rounds. 5-10 min final with small prize purse for the top 3-5 finishers in the form of store credit.
Make a rent to own program so new comers can come rent a car 10 times and walk away with a decent race car and starter radio after 10 weeks of racing (less if they win or just want to buy a car) just run the class once a week, should only take 2-4 hours and let’s new comers learn to drive, wrench, charge batteries, lean about what items they want to buy as they get into the hobby. Give them that instant dopamine hit with minimal commitment. The after the race have store employees fix the rentals up over the week and get ready to run the class again.
I've heard tracks usually barely make enough money to break even, so most track owners would have to pay for those cars out of pocket
The idea works best at a track/hobby shop combo. You’ll get the cars for 50-70% of cost because that what retailers do. You make revenue off of the rentals for a season, each time they rent you collect som money. Then whatever cars were not rented to own, you sell them for 50% of cost at the end of the season for a budget minded racer. Each time you sell a car you create a new customer and full time racer. This is what my local bike shop did with mountain bikes growing up each season and it’s what the race track did with go karts.
I understand most tracks barely break even. That’s why you need to take a new approach, treat it like a business and come ready to spend and lose money for the first 2-4 years, just make sure your spending that money on developing a loyal customer base.
The final part of being a good shop owner is to offer advice that is unbiased, and push people towards the best value for money options rather than the most expensive or profitable option. This goes hand in hand with having unbiased media and reporting in the industry.
We need a magazine that does side by aside comparisons of every platform and has an unbiased buyers guide every year, have pros and you tubers wrote monthly columns ect.
I like your thinking. I live out in NY born and bred native NY'er and I always loved RC from when I was young. And @ 56 yrs old have seen alot in this hobby. We had a track out in Lindenhurst NY and I do recall he had regular race days Sunday, Tue and Fri. During the week On tues and friday the races were run at night starting at 7 or 8pm and running till 12-1am. On Sundays The races ran late morning till mid afternoon. Also he had traxxas slash trucks he used for Birthday parties. Kept a fleet of 15-25 handy.and for many bday parties the moms are usually doing chucky cheese, or bowling. He found that niche and I guess had promoted to those Mom's somehow and had quite a few parties on Monday thru Sat.
The problem is that is a steep asking price to rent a car for an afternoon. If your goal is to get more people involved in the hobby then you have to take pricing into consideration.
Sure, a person already in the hobby might see the value you are offering and be willing to pay that much, though to be honest, even people who are in the hobby are likely to find that price too high. But a person who is not already in the hobby, who is just at the track to check it out, is not going to pay that much money for a couple hours rental.
Then the other thing is that People aren't going to want to spend $50 or $60 every time they want to practice. You could rack up $200 or $300 in just a couple weeks at that rate. That is going to make the hobby even more expensive than it already is, and most people will be turned off by that.
I'm not saying rentals aren't a good idea. I'm just saying the price has to be much lower. And yes I understand that track maintenance costs money. It's a tough thing to balance.
In my personal opinion, RC tracks probably need to be operated either at a wash, or a slight loss. The true purpose of the track is to keep people coming to your shop to race, and therefor to your shop to buy kits and parts and hop-ups. The track is there to increase profits by bringing more traffic to your store, not to create profit itself.
Years and I mean YEARS ago my dad's friend owned and ran an indoor RC track. He ran a speck class with RC10Ts. I built like 20 of those damn trucks and set them all up the exact same. Same motors, brushes, servos radios, shock oil and ride height, all of it the same. It was $10 to rent one for the day and it was $10 to race them. If you broke a part you just had to pay for that part. We had a ton of fun racing those trucks. Even though I raced RC10s RC10Ts both stock and modified, I would still rent/race those trucks from time to time or if they needed 1 more person to fill the field, I would grab one off the shelf and run it.
Nice one!
I raced RC, then after a 5 years break to real racing, returned with the same emotions as the real car. Great video. Noticed the passion that you used when speak!
Your long form video on carb tuning was amazing and is exactly what you are talking about at about 50 minutes. It was extremely helpful because I have never tuned a nitro engine before and using concepts as a teaching method so that you understand rather than memorize is exactly the right approach. There is a guy named doctormosfet who did a bunch of very detailed videos on tuning the suspension that are along the same lines. EXTREMELY helpful to someone like me who is a beginner racer.
Maybe I can give you sight from a beginner in RC-Racing.
I found a local indoor track where I could have a good time in winter. When I got the chance to drive a competition buggy I was hooked and it was obvious for me to start racing if I buy one.
So this is IMHO one other little thing, giving interested people the chance to drive a good set up car.
Exactly. We need to bring sct back to our tracks. We had 5 kids show up in nelson NZ this last week. We had 10 registered to race what had been the club members. But 5 kids!!! I made sure to talk to the fathers I don't care about no amain of 5 people. The kids are the saving grace. Parents are looking at the gaming alternative
Man, great video, we plan on promoting clubs, races and RC racing when we get out of lockdown in the UK👍
racing is intimidating. I've had top drivers be just amazing supporters for me and other drivers just be kind of arrogant and such... there will always be the super-helpful drivers and super competitive/grumpy drivers. But overall, if the culture can improve... I think that would be huge.
Just remember that at the end of the day we're all just playing with toy cars
@@PabloGonzalez-hv3td that's not true Pablo - to race, you have to have a competitive mindset - if you don't, you're simply a person who's not interested in winning, so why would you race?
That's why it's dead , very toxic culture
@@allenpinson1198 agreed. But there are some places that have positive culture... just not enough.
Excellent video....i raced 35 years ago and left to raise a family. Now I'm retired and getting back into it. Ryan Harris......was the encouragement i needed!
JQ, great information. I am looking at owning my own track to grow this hobby/sport. Everything you said I strongly agree with. I get tired of watching other youtubers just bash rc's then hate on the racing scene. Hobby shops bring nes clients as well as tracks. People need fun competition. Rc tracks provide that competition and grow this hobby. Keep up the great content.
Ya now, I've never raced myself but I've learnt so much from you and many othe people on UA-cam. Your someone I look up to and you inspire me to help the hooby out. I live in Serbia and there is only 1 track in Serbia and its 2 and a half hours away. My dream is to open tracks (indoor and outdoor) and a hobby shop to grow the hobby. Many people here know nothing about the hobby, there is probably only 100 or less people that know of RC racing in Serbia. So thanks, I've learnt lots from you I've got more to learn. I can't wait to save a little more money to buy my first kit (it'll probably be the JQ Black Edition).
So glad you made this video. I just got into rc this past year or two and I've been wanting to get into racing myself. I dont have the best buggy to start with but I'm confident it will work. Personally though I havent raced yet because it's not going on around me this time of year I have still been working hard on getting pretty much all my friends and family interested in the hobby as well. We are just waiting for the winter to be gone at this point because the only track near here is outside
Nothing like glaring out the window at rain and glaring at the 10 day forecast just waiting for conditions and timing to align. Good luck this year!
really good point with "drive to survive" we need Heros or somebody we can look at and push the enthusiasm to the level it belongs. That is also a reason why we need good content like yours to show how fun this Sport is. Greatings from Germany here, we have at least one guy who is kind of famouse here: Marc Rheinard
I'm not gonna lie. I really like the intro and the music.
lol 😂
I love this video. Out of all the BS I consume on UA-cam, this is by far one of the best, compelling and well thought out videos I’ve seen. I see this EXACT thing at my home town track (which I’m very thankful for) happening now. It’s dying. I love your content bro. Keep it up. I’m even an American and I like you. ❤️😉
this is the most accurate video I've seen. Thank you for sharing. Here in NYC there are 0 tracks within a 50 minute drive. It Really sucks
Radio Controlled RC Car Racing, here in Idaho Falls. Died in the mid 90's. I only dream of Racing and studying the professional Drivers, as they tear up the Track!!!
I will watch this series of Videos, just because I am curious about what you are gonna talk about!!! 😎
Also as a new guy myself, thank you. It has been so important for me to have a group of people i can go to at the track here in Albuquerque NM and have them help me tune my car.
I'm new to RC in Albuquerque to
@@brandonchavez3481 I've not been able to go to the track because of child care issues. Hope to get back soon. What do you run?
I remember showing up at the track as a kid and instantly being hooked, I feel like if when we bring new people in we show them the racing first. Getting them into something cheap like a slash, but at the same time showing them that they can take this brand new car they just bought and go straight to the track and race. People also should be more open to sharing tips that they learned, because when everyone has a car they’re comfortable it makes the racing more enjoyable in my opinion. Btw this video is awesome, and you and Ryan are awesome
started racing since 2018 summer. Two months contionouly racing really pays me back. But when local tracks keep closing one after one, that gave me a really depressing feelings that RC hobby is leaving. I hope most of the rc manufactories can help local track to survive. Could not image a big city like chicago where there are only one or two small tracks are still opening.
I raced offroad/dirt since the 80's & it's always lacked popularity except the boom in the 90's. Then the internet shopping began to kill the hobby shops/tracks except for major cities. I don't see tracks disappearing completely for non pro, local racers but seems they will continue to hang by a tread unless the big companies fork the money to build & maintain attractive venues which I don't see being realistic.
100% agree with the full video. I live in Belgium, Bruges region and we have to drive 1h30 to race. It's easier to get drugs these days than build a racetrack and practice a nice hobby. Not to mention the noise nuisance and the permits you need. This is the only thing stopping me from starting offroad raming again.
There is a beautiful on-road circuit 20 km from us, but the club is bleeding to death. The atmosphere there is as you describe in your movie, there is no ambiance, no cool website, few or no updates. But a wonderful accommodation. There is even a beautiful cafeteria, but only open on Sunday mornings.
I wish I could do something more for this hobby.
Fantastic! Great analysis and recommendations... I used to race in Peru back in 1997 and fast forward 24 years I hear the same problems... everyone tells you you need to spend over 5K if you want to be competitive... being welcoming to new comers is a great approach...
Thank you to make a video that inspire new passion for speed people into this category of auto nitro sport , I love when you mention Dominican Republic , which is the country that I come from, I wish I can bring back RC cars back into my country, but for now , I’m learning about nitro , I built my first car to start racing this season coming up here in New York at the barnstormer, I hope everything goes well and get to Learn a lot more as I go . Thank you again for the support and the good content of this video !
Great video brother. I got out of the sport (hobby) about 30 years ago because, I thought it was dying, tracks just disappearing. Recently I have been thinking about getting back into it but, still concerned it will not be around long. You are on point with this video.
Great video JQ, you nailed the worst point of the industry on the head if your not welcomed at the track you'll most like never come back especially if you're new to rc.
I remember going for the first time to my local track in Australia, it was linked to a Hobby shop and everyone helped each other out and it was good and I felt welcomed and all, however the track eventually closed. So myself and a few others started going to another track close by and we were instantly ostracized and made fun of and referred to as "the other club" among other things, I stuck it out for about a year and packed up my gear. Fast forward 10 years and a move of Country from Australia to Ireland and I joined my local track in 2017 and it's members are absolutely fantastic. Nothing too serious, everyone helps everyone else out couldn't be any better really.
I’m getting back into rc after being out of it for around 20yrs. A lot has changed! It seems so expensive. There are no tracks near my house so I’ve been making my own on my short course style track on my concrete driveway and have been racing Losi mini-b cars with my friends. I’ve just ordered a LapMonitor setup. I feel like these cars could play a big part in getting new folks into RC. They’ don’t need a lot of space, they’re super fun, drive well and I can get them on a track RTR with multiple batteries and a transponder for $200. A few weeks ago I found Ryan Harris’ channel and I love what he’s bringing to the sport. The content that’s available today is amazing compared to “when I was a kid” - all I had was RC car action and that was it!
Great video. I just got into it and love just practicing on the tracks. Racing was fun but I spend 8 hours of my day to run for 20 minutes. I don’t bother anymore.
I change to Rc flying than car racing so many classes
I guess this is why most people run multiple classes.
20 year RC race veteran and this is the first RC Channel I have subscribed to. Sad to say after racing mainly onroad at an ultra competitive level and racing a few years in offroad as well when onroad in Orange County died I bought my first Arrma. I wheeled my new Typhon 3s around my neighborhood and within 2 weeks 8 neighbors had Arrma Typhons and Sentons. We need fun tracks and maybe a Traxxas/Arrma RTR class. When I show them my Xray Touring Car and B6.1 and tell them they cost 1500 each they laugh and lose interest. No Qualifiers,
Three 8 minute mains. Full 10 car heats. No separate class for Senton, Granite, Typhon, Slash. Full heats and racing. Some will stay and play in the class and bring new friends and some will want higher quality racing and step up their game and buy an AE or Losi Buggy. The track will no longer be filled with just lifers who look like they live at the track and will never get out of sportsman and intimidate new people who want to come into the hobby even though I could put my typhon on 2S and beat them in a race with their 1500 dollar 4wd buggy. JQ, I was typing this while I was listening and you kept saying what I was typing. I look like I was summarizing what you said but these were my thoughts I was typing and then you would say what I just typed. Keep up this logic and maybe RC has a chance.
Traxxas/Arrma class is a good idea. Close it off to the race chassis, and just let it exist. I dont see those brands (certainly Traxxas) going anywhere, but we all know they dont reeaallyy belong on the track. But what does belong on the track? People enjoying the hobby....and whatever it takes to spark a renaissance is what we need to do.
I'd say open that class up to the bashing-focused RTRs from Losi and Associated as well as the Redcat stuff and you'd got yourself a winner.
Also, you _should_ break out your Typhon and whoop those assholes' asses with it. It'll teach them a lesson.
The racing community needs to go big! 1/5th scale. Bigger trucks, and buggies. Bring in basher and racers together. Bigger is always better. 10th scale and 1/8th almost only. Maybe a freestyle monster truck series. Check out dupperbash. Maybe in-between races? My Dad bought me a grasshopper back in the mid 80s I was hooked. Took a 30 year break until I seen Arrma and Traxxas.
Terrible audio 😢
Maybe teckno and other top notch racing cars need to do rtr's so more people buy them. Then upgrade to kits for racing.
I just got back in this hobby this past May in 2020 during lockdown and I love it. I am racing mini zs at the moment and Its really fun. Also cant wait to get into off road or indoor 10th scale.
I hope your videos Will change people mentalities in this hobby. Whatever one thinks of another. We are a community and have to stand tall together
This is what JQ is sayin. Amen. A few more thinking like you and it makes things better.
So glad I found your page. Extremely informative so thank you. I am gonna be petitioning my city to try to get a track or two built here. Gonna be looking for sponsors soon so I can make a presentation with some funding already in place. If more people had more access to tracks and just information in general it would get popular again.
Hey man, first time viewer of your channel here. Excellent video mate. There's a lot of food for thought and also a lot to unpack here, so let's just dive in. First off a little of my own background and where I'm coming from: I'm a gen-Xer who got into RC cars in the mid 80's, kind of a hay day of RC in its own right that sprung an entire cavalcade of cars and chassis, some of which (much to my amazement) have survived all the way to the present. A lot of what Lefty talked about really hit home and reflected much of my own experience back in the day. RC Car Action was my bible for a number of years and I would read each one cover to cover over and over and over again.
I've also been a guitarist since about age 11 so a lot of your analogies just really worked for me. You were speaking my language so to say. The analogy does break down though at a point because what you're trying to equate are the champion drivers of a fringe nerd niche industry who no one knows with people who are in the business of being performance artists who are looked up to (in many cases) by millions of people around the world, be it that they decide to follow in their footsteps and pick up an instrument or not. While I agree with the basic notion of making the hobby/sport/profession of RC more appealing by creating stars and heroes one might look to emulate, it does pose significant challenges when attempting to make "cool" something that is almost universally perceived as "way too old boys playing with their small expensive toys" if you take my meaning. But I hear what you're saying. What the sport needs is a Ken Block of sorts and the team he surrounds himself with. It need not just be one person, but someone/anyone who can advance the image of RC racing in the public's eye to a point where it stops just being a toy but rather a technical endeavor/adventure that is both exciting and fun (except that unlike the Gymkhana/Hoonigan creations this is actually approachable and affordable to essentially anyone at some level or another).
So I don't want to get too far into the weeds with this post but you said some things that raised an eyebrow or two and also a little bemusement because I couldn't help but think that you're not seeing the forest for all the trees. In the video you kind slagged off the advent of the non-racing bashers and the flood of Traxxas and ARRMA vehicles now out there. But did you ever consider instead of trying to draw those folks into what have become the kind of traditional vehicle classifications of 1/12 onroad, 1/10 on and offroad both 2x4 and 4x4 (include sub-genres such as truggies), and 1/8 onroad (I may be out of the loop on this, but most of my own viewing experience with 1/8th scale were nitro powered flat track racers), to expand the horizons of RC racing and just create a few new classes? I think a stock Infraction league where everyone is just running bone stock vehicles would be an absolute riot and great fun. Infractions are both fast and exciting yet retain a somewhat docile nature which make them a great platform for intermediate racing but keeping them stock would avoid the pitfalls of the "arms race" that has many a victim to claim (slot car racing immediately jumps to mind as that was what did that form of racing in). I'm fairly confident that any 1/8th scale road course would provide sufficient room for the slightly larger 1/7th scale vehicles. You could do the same for Traxxas X-01s or Kratons or, hell, even X-Maxxs. I would LOVE to see a race consisting of nothing but stock X-Maxx trucks where the winner will come down to driver skill in both the actual driving of the car and vehicle setup. Anyways, you get the idea. I just get the feeling there's an already existing customer/enthusiast/driver base you haven't taken into serious consideration. To be fair though, I HAVE been out of the sport for a LONG time however, so there may be problems with my idea that I'm not seeing that you might be able to elucidate for me.
So there's my first initial thought spill upon watching this video which brings me to a final question I'd like to wrap this somewhat verbose post off with...what the F is that cool ass accent you have? I'm pretty international and can place most accents with a high degree of accuracy, but yours has stumped me. What's the nature of its origin?
Thanks for a great video. This is a topic that, really, should interest anyone with even a cursory interest in the hobby/sport and should make for interesting discussion and debate. I very much look forward to parts 2 & 3.
Godspeed,
Diem
I’ve been doing some interviews and filming some mains etc on east coast USA mainly north east. Plan to do a lot more videos this year, all my stuff is of everyone and no particular team etc. my goal is to show more people Rc racing and racers to share the videos of there racing with there friends to get more people to the track etc. I always help the new guys out and every year my goal is to get a couple new people to the track. Keep up the videos.
Are you located in New Jersey? I assume so by the username, what are some good tracks/shops to check out? I'm in central Jersey and most hobby shops within 30 miles from me closed. I have never raced any of my RC's but I've always wanted to watch a day of racing.
@@Grifter371 yup I’m in jersey, yea in 2019 my local track wall Rc wall nj closed jt was 35 min drive for me. I used to be there 5-7 days a week working and driving on track but it got shut down by town. It was 1/8 off-road. You can find videos of it on my channel. Then earlier in 2019 family hobbies track that hosted the first roar nationals closed as well. So right now there is no 1/8 off-road tracks in jersey. I mainly race at barnstormers in Chester ny and trains and lanes in Easton pa but trains didn’t race in 2020 due to covoid but trains has a really big hobby shop wjth everything good people there to support. In central jersey the hobby shop in Aberdeen has some Rc stuff race mini z and so does hobbytown in Toms River, hobbytown also does some mini b and mini z and euro trucks etc. 2 tracks further away but not that far are r2hq shippensburg pa good 1/8 track and Lcrc in Oakland mills pa. Huge 1/8 track and hobby shop. If you wanna know anymore info etc subscribe to my UA-cam I have a lot local Rc videos etc and you can always message me for more info etc. I’ll be happy to give info help for racing etc. I started out just watching races and actually started filming races before racing. They race onroad at Jackson Rc to and there’s another onroad in south jersey. They race 1/10 off-road clay at critters Rc in Fairfield nj north jersey they have hobbyshop and another hobby shop in north jersey is cruizin with Rc they also do 1/10 Astro off-road mini z. Feel free to message me on my account if you need help
@@rcjerz Great, thanks for all the info! I've heard of almost all those shops, hard to keep track of which ones are still open and which ones have races. I'd love to check out a 1/8 off road race one of these days.
@@Grifter371 no problem, 1/8 off-road in north east is from like April to October. Come watch one day or if you have any Rc car basher etc bring it out race in novice class and you’ll have a good time plenty of people willing to help out if I’m there I’ll help you out etc.
@@rcjerz Awesome, thanks again!
JQ I like what you and Ryan talked about helping the new racer. This is how my company got started back in 2009 and what we still do to this day. #trackstarrc
These videos are on point every time and Ryan Harris really does make rc look cool 😂 I knew I wasn’t the only one that thought that lol
yeah he does he just need to lose the mustache and beard but he is a cool dude I watch him a lot and and very informative .
Good stuff JQ. Very helpful information on building our hobby/sport. Good work man!
I'm glad you made the difference of Bashing, Hobby and Professional. If Tamiya can't keep their track going, I don't know who can. I've been on and off in the hobby since the 90s due to tracks opening and closing. Tracks seem to be moving further and further away from city centers. I think small scale will keep the LHS going for a while. Ultimatley the future will be clubs that will set up in parking lots, or some other rented space, and all purchases will be online.
Hey! haha I race Traxxas... geez lol. I'm new to the hobby (just a few months now) but having a lot of fun. Just found your channel, been very helpful in getting my cars set up right.
Great video, you use another angle to see RC hobby. Great work !
I'm involved in a 10th electric buggy club in SW Scotland, we've had potential new members rock up with Grasshopper cars and have driven well, and been encouraged and made to feel welcome, but we're put off at the thought of competition. It's just fun but I think there was some parent influence involved...maybe there were other factors but it's difficult to tell in some cases.
We invested in a number of gazebos so new racers can pit with the rest of us and we're one big group...pre social distancing...and we generally advise that you can start racing for around or less than the cost of an Xbox.
Pitting as one big group meant we could just help the newbie without them needing to ask, or feeling apprehensive about asking.
Practice weekends where it's just a laugh and track time work well to build confidence.
Lots of good points in the video, and it's a good subject to tackle. Gone are the days circling your fav car in car action or radio race car international...it's all online nowadays, and likely changes that anticipation as people can watch a lot of UA-cam...some channels more influential than others and some not containing good content...it might spark and interest but then people don't know where to go to explore the hobby further...🤷♂️
Anything we can do to keep RC alive is all good. All us our RC guys need to stick together. RC is great in all its forms :)
RC Racing is cooooool
The main issue for most people is lack of clubs or areas where people can gather to play
You nailed it right on the head towards the end of your video when I’ve gone to my local tracks and wanted to get into the racing because I’ve got a ton of Bashers and a couple older race buggies I have a B 44 and a B3 8E the people are not very nice they want to turn you away, what you have is not good enough to be on their track and they’re in their own click do not make you feel welcome at all. at least that’s my experience here in the north Florida area
This is really a great idea and well designed trilogy. I'm in the second category and I'll forward your message as much as possible.
I learned a lot of these things young in motocross. Didn't matter what you showed up with for a bike, how fast or skilled you were, as long as you were riding. The more people the better and encouraging participation was the most important thing. Hell half of the time the dudes that showed up on clapped out old bikes would end up winning their classes just a couple of years down the road.
I'll never forget getting laughed at by a couple [young] pros while training with them because I didn't have a shoe sponsor, such a stupid thing to even think about now that I'm grown. Made me feel like crap at the time, embarrassed, because the group of people I was with had sponsorships for literally everything, including stuff to ride and their day to day casual wear. That stuck with me and forever changed the way I approached new riders and continues in to the way I approach this hobby
Thanks for raising this topic. No one else is taking about except Ryan. My experiences:
1/8 nitro buggy. Very strong cars that are loud and exciting. They sell themselves. However for me it’s a 2 hours drive to get to an off-road 1/8 track with drivers stand.
1/10th touring car. As a beginner I assumed Tamiya touring cars would be fine because that what people raced 20 years ago. Thank god no one told me it’s a piece of crap, and you are correct, I figured it out on my own. Only then do I realise how much I enjoy owning an X-ray. However if there are guys with $1000 cars and $200 motors and $200 batteries racing in the sportsman class and lapping you, it’s quite hard to say to yourself, “wow I’m progressing well, perhaps I should move up a class”. We should be welcoming beginners by pulling out our crappy plastic cars (even driving field) and giving them a handicap (golf) and maybe even assigning them a mentor/coach (every other sport ever). In my opinion this is the reason people come and don’t come back. There was no battle going on. They came last too many times. They didn’t feel like they fit in. Give that guy someone with a similar car and driving ability and he now has a reason to come back.
Finally the 1/10 off-road track. They all tell you to start in 2WD buggy. Wwhhhyyy are we making it harder for newcomers? 4WD is easier to drive. The novice category never has enough numbers so why are we banning newcomers from running 4WD in the 2WD class. They aren’t going to win. Let them play in a popular category where they might find someone of similar pace.
And my final point. Mix it up a bit. Why race cars by chassis similarity? It’s infinite and infinitely boring. Group people by lap times instead of grouping cars. That will make for more interesting racing
I literally just bought a buggy to start racing at my local tracks. Been gone maybe 3 years. Getting into off road. I hope it's a good experience
I live in an area where there are only about 3 tracks within an hour one-way drive of my apartment, and they're all 10th scale tracks. I have 1/8 scale rcs and I would love to go to a great track setup for larger RCs. Hopefully since so many people got into RC because of COVID we will see renewed interest in RC racing.
Starting 51st minutes, what Ryan said is so truth. I see that a lot at the tracks, by racers as well as track owners.
While your video was a little long, I was happy watching it. Great that you included Ryan into your video.
Ryan is correct in the way people treat new people and people getting back into this hobby.
What you both did not include is the delays caused by equipment suppliers when there are faults with there equipment and trying to get it replaced so you can race. If you are a factory sponsored driver you have the parts in no time.
Can you also talk about the rules?
Awesome vid! You have turned a new leaf and it’s well appreciated! Thank you for your enthusiasm towards the game sir!
Great video, I’m new to this hobby and I just starting to race, but just at a club level. I have a Spec Slash for now, but I’m looking at a buggy at some point. Great stuff, keep up the great work!
RC CAR ACTION was Awesome !!!
Man the 90’s were good at the grocery store reading those and bugging my Mom to get me those magazines.
Great content, thank you. I’ve been victimized by a club track shutting down because the city pulled their permit. The land for the track was under a bridge and hasn’t been used for anything else since. Also not for profit clubs rely heavily on volunteers and burnout is inevitable and the club suffers and eventually fails. When the track fails the local hobby store that everyone relied on for kits, parts expertise, and fuel goes bankrupt.
To lefty’s point, I freaking loved rc car magazines. I remember looking at rc plane magazines just for the car ads. Then when rc car action came out I was in heaven. Still have my first copy.
PS, while Ryan Styles Harris was talking I couldn’t help staring at his gold pan rc10 on the shelf wishing I still had mine.
I'm sorry - I tried to, but I just couldn't get through Leftys RC media bit 😂 Great content, I'm looking forward to seeing how you'd get new people into racing. The issue is that different people want different things: some are here for the racing, some for the amazing machines and the technical side. Some dont want to work on maintenance,
And I agree about the last bit - my dad and I didn't feel very welcome when we started. Most of the guys were super serious and made fun of our pit setup. It took us a long time to actually develop RC friendships. Luckily we really wanted to do this, so we didn't care - but its much nicer to have a beer with some great friends after the race.
Great video with valid points. This is a needed discussion and am happy you are making a video on it. In my opinion, 702 RC Raceway in Las Vegas is a pinnacle example of what a RC racing facility should be. I think every person who walks in their doors comes away with a desire the race RC. Other track owners should take note on their efforts.
I agree 100% about the cost of RC. There is no other form of motorsports racing that is more affordable. Being hands on with your vehicles tuning set up and overall build/repair is half the fun. Next to RC, the most affordable motorsport racing would be karts. This is comparing basically apples to oranges but if you have a desire to be hands on and have the racing itch, RC is much more attainable.
American here, I watch all of your content. I love your brutal honesty, and your willingness to question or slam the status quo. The biggest issue im running into in the Hobby/Sport is the fact that people cling to what they have been told, and what they "know". I am brand new into the hobby as of June, and I came in and progressed very rapidly, and people A. began to alienate me because I haven't "put my time in", or because I was now faster, and therefore now i'm the asshole. There are some great people in the hobby, but there are some absolute turds also, and the problem is those turds tend to alienate the new blood. I speculate that this is what drives people away from the sport, sadly those turds seem to be the "chassis sponsor" guys. Coming from racing motocross my entire young life, the community in RC is extremely toxic, and the sponsored drivers are unapproachable, and seemingly unwilling to accept new blood.
Europe here 😉🙂 Yes, there are a lot of people who talk crap... It seems they forget it's a hobby... ... and a hobby has to be fun (far away from all the stress, negativity,... that surrounds us every day), wright? They just don't get it and probably never will... Keep enough distance from those people and focus on the great ones (there are a lot of them). Have LOTS of FUN with the hobby, Matthew! 👊🏻😉
It’s as simple as this: the fact that JQ racing has 8k subs and Kevin Talbot has 800k subs tells you where the enthusiasm is in this hobby. Bashing is more fun, cheaper and easier to get into. And racers who prefer to spend hours and hours at the track tinkering and tuning in hopes of winning a cheap plastic trophy continue to look down their noses at bashers who account for 90% of the revenue at most local hobby shops. We’re all just playing with toy cars gentlemen. It’s supposed to be fun. And racing sucks the fun right out of RCing for most of us.
Well I disagree with you. 1. Fun is subjective, I think racing is a lot more fun. 2. Playing with toys....I think it's as much playing with toys as football is playing with a ball.
We can respectfully disagree, although many of your points are valid. Chief among them are cost and time considerations. Racing is expensive and takes a considerable amount of one’s time. Bashing is cheaper and takes less time. True, “fun” is subjective, but I seldom have fun when I’m wasting my time and blowing all my money.
Great food for thought JQ, keep up the good work!
Thank you, thank you, thank you both for doing this series!
You are absolutely right about the tracks, it is important to keep them alive. Otherwise, no track = no driving = no racing. And for me it is vital to think about how young people can be invited to this hobby/sport. When I started some 13 years ago with 1/10 touring cars I went together with my dad to the local track here in south bavaria (germany) as we were told there was held something called "youth day" or "kids day". Every child and teenager could come and race with whatever they have, it didnt matter. There were only two classes: nitro and electric. I started in the electric class with my Tamiya TT-01 and drove pretty decent which brought me the second place. My parents and I were hooked and got into it more and more. Three years later I was driving my first german nationals in 1/8th nitro onroad. But nowadays these kind of events for young people are not there anymore. And it is really hard to get people into nitro onroad, it is a hell lot of fun. But stuff is complicated and rather expensive. And what you said about the local people from the clubs is unfortunately true in some clubs. I was lucky, people were very helpful and kind when my dad and I started, so we also always try to help and be welcoming to new people.
Great video, not done yet JQ, app half..as a former racer and always combined bashing with racing. The attitude among people needs to change, not saying 1 group, but all of them.
the racers at my local Oz track are spending thousands on setup. and paying at least $150 of tires a session. It's out of reach for most newbs. They need more beginner racing and less restrictions on vehicles. They need budget racing competitions.
THIS
You are right. We need to be more welcoming with newcomers.
When I go to the track I try to bring a old ep buggy to give a try to kids stopping by.
JQ with another one 💥 Boom. Great vid bro, I think that person people want to be like are bashers. UA-cam bashers have large followings because the industry is pushing many cool bashers. How many cool racing kits or race series have you seen being promoted properly.
Up here in Washington State South of Seattle we have no off road tracks that allow 1/8 Nitro Buggy, the closest one is 1.5 hours away and with the price of gas I cannot afford to put there every weekend, at best I can get up there 1x a month. I have asked local Hobby shops why they don't invest in a track, and the common answer is, the only sets that sell are Arrma and Traxxas and most of the buyers arent interested in competing
well said Ryan, totally agree welcome and support the new comer. Another well considered video thanks JQ.
All good points... seen RC come and go and come back again, only to leave again from my area over 4 decades. There are some problems that just can't be overcome: The buy-in cost is very high. A stock class 2wd buggy or sct built with descent equipment is easily $800. Then you need a couple batteries, a charger, a lot of tools, fluids and wheels & tires. All in it's hard to get started for less than $1200 and you haven't even worn out a set of tires, transportation to the track, paid track fees & transponder rental or paid your yearly membership in ROAR, or bought a couple sodas at the track. I do a good bit of onroad racing with a local club. We are fortunate to have a guy who owns and maintains a trailer and all the equipment needed to set up a track in any parking lot that will give us weekend access. When he gets to old to continue doing this, there may not be anyone to pick up the mantle and continue the club. These are some of the complicated details you referred to. One of the most popular classes we race is Euro Truck based on stock Tamiya euro trucks. With no mods allowed, it it the least expensive way to get into road racing. We need more classes like this. I get more views on my channel for the WLToys 124019 than almost any other category... why? Because it's an inexpensive RTR buggy. It's the kind of car a kid can convince his parents to buy for Christmas or as a birthday gift. But, no none of the tracks I know of offer a class for this vehicle. Why not? People have to start somewhere and if they can't race what they have, they bash till it breaks or they get bored not having anybody to race with. That would be a great buggy for beginners to run in a no-mods class. Stock motor, batteries and radio... maybe a few tire options.
Anyway, just my opinion... I am glad you're trying to start the discussion. I've seen a lot of people try a lot of things to generate interest... one of the best ideas was one shop with an off road track was holding a summer camp style activity for kids. The kids would get a basic package of tools, a sct kit, and electronics... all the same. They would all learn to build their trucks and learn to drive in a day camp atmosphere. A couple years later the shop and track were gone. Go figure.
"...stock class..."
There's your problem, at least in part. Stock Class is Pay-To-Win class - the highly restrictive motor limit has resulted in people paying hundreds for weight and rolling resistance reduction parts just to be competitive in that class, not to mention a decent competitive stock-class motor tends to cost around $150-$200 unless you want to run an EcoPower. Schumacher's helped a bit with this by releasing a version of the Cougar Laydown that comes with all of the factory options for stock class but you still need to splurge on oil-lubricated ceramic bearings and a high-end motor. And the result is a "stock in name only" class where the cars are practically as fast as mod in terms of lap times. Heck, I remember seeing a video where someone ran a stock-class buggy in mod and won.
Meanwhile, Mod class tends to self-regulate to an optimal amount of power, and that power can be reached with a cheap hobbywing sensorless system. And because you have more power at the motor you don't need to go crazy with the weight and resistance reduction.
So, why not completely ditch stock class?
I’m enjoying your videos, thank you. One wish I have is when big races only follow the pros on camera, they need to follow the lower classes too, we,re the ones paying the bills for live Rc.
You have some very valid points I also do see at the tracks. Yes, some top drivers are rude and only thinking to themselves making newcomers not well invited. On the other hand many newcomers are also shy, do not dare to mingle among the rest and dare to ask for help/tips. Also when they are a bit known into this sport their direct goal is to be sponsored and so they run like flies around the people who are sponsored or the people who can give a deal forgetting all friendships with drivers who like to do it on their own, you can see this on personal racereports where all the brands are tagged. On tracks you see brand related groups have no eye for other brand drivers because their brand is perfect and te whole paddock should know they are a tight group with loud music and other kind of expressions.
Then there are wars between several shop owners and distributors. any penny is one so they have an aggressive way to get customers but also speak out the hate to people who do it more on their own and/or try to teach different because that can cost more penny's to them.....
I am a guy who is more into the "do it yourself". I buy cheaper model engines and modify them to better performance, I can make stuff so I do try stuff from outside the box, I even have seen a manufacturer and other people copying my experiments and still be hated because I do it all on my own in a cheap way. With no sponsoring you do get the feeling you do not belong in a world where most drivers are or do want to be sponsored.
Then about the amount of track visitors..... Having some contacts with bashing groups I know there are a lot of RC drivers out there who do not want to go to tracks. They do not want to face track rules and they also have the fear to suck in performance while on Facebook they all can brag about their modified engines and all kind of option parts on their car. They also think going to a track means racing while for sure it doesn't. But these guys are also the ones who like to drive at late nights or early mornings with an as loud possible exhaust in their streets annoying others. Those guys are actually giving a bad name to the hobby, sports and tracks and they do not mind at all because they drive where ever they want. Tracks should look up these local basher communities and get them somehow to the track.
Last thing is indeed a lack of promotion. As mentioned before I see many toplevel drivers only taking care of themselves so are always busy with preparing and racing bigger races, clubraces have no meaning for them and if they participate they can not ease down with like a cheap RTR engine to give themselve a handicap to give others a chance to win. These guys do not promote the hobby and sport but when their sponsor ask to make nice brand promotional movie clips (see the whole Infinity team...) then they do it. Promoting the sports on a motorsports event they sadly will not. And that is where we must be, show our self as a serious form of motorsports for all ages and even the poor and disabled persons.Over here in Holland we have had a missed chance. When Max Verstappen did enter the F1 many kartclubs saw many kids entering kartracing in the hope going to be the next Max, sad enough no RC club/organisation here in Holland used the popularity of Max to get the group that could not afford kartracing.
Hey JQ love this video can relate big time with it. Keep up the good work🤙 cant wait for next the next one.
I’m just trying to get people to start racing nitro monster trucks again..
I felt that man.
Yes!! Miss nitro trucks a lot.
It'll never happen. The performance and ease of brushless systems is putting nitro out of business.
Also, even if you managed to get it going, it would be about a month before somebody shows up with a monster truck with a lower stance, longer chassis, and longer arms. Then you have the rebirth of the truggies which killed the MT class the first time around.
I'll be honest. I ran nitro MTs for 15 years and I kinda hated every minute of it. Nitro engines are just too finicky. Requiring a retune every time the temperature changes 1.5 degrees, or because the humidity dropped slightly, or because that dog barked. Not to mention the fuel is so damn expensive. They are just a huge pain in the ass.
If somebody made a working computer controlled fuel injection system that automatically tuned the engines on the fly, I would think about getting back into nitro. but I don't see that happening so I'm sticking to brushless motors and 1:5 scale gassers.
@@KurNorock Nitro RC's are an enthusiast thing, everyone knows this. With that attitude we might as well not even have RC's and do all VR racing. Nobody runs nitro engines for ease and simplicity. Its out of passion. I will admit nitro is severely lacking innovation while maintaining high prices, driving many away. I don't expect nitro MT to be big again. Some local clubs are attempting to put races for nitro MT's With guidelines to stop MT/Truggy hybrids from ruining the fun. Electric RCs are hands down friendlier/better, but cannot replace that feeling nitro gives.
@@HKvsGlock For f sake man. Way to take things way out of proportion.
Yes, I know it is an enthusiast thing and at no point did I ever argue that nitro RCs should completely die off. All I did was explain why a nitro MT class is VERY unlikely to ever be a thing in the RC hobby again. There is just too much going against it.
Now, sure, maybe you can get 5 or 8 of your buddies together, and hold your own unofficial race by renting out a track for a few hours, but its never going to become part of the official racing schedule.
By the way, that "feeling" that nitro gives is just the noise. It sounds cool. but once you've driven the same truck with a nitro and one with a brushless set up, the difference becomes immediately apparent. The power difference is insane. The control is better, the handling is better, everything is better. Yes, hearing an actual engine revving sounds cool, but so does hearing the tires on a 4s or 6s brushless kit tear across the ground while watching the truck pull wheelies on demand and give you full control in air off of jumps.
Then you go back to driving the nitro and it just seems slow and clumsy. Makes a lot of noise with no sense of power to match.
Again, I'm not saying it is wrong to be a fan of nitro. I get it. I'm just saying that for most people, the choice has been made. Brushless systems have taken over the market in the same way that RTR kits have. It is easier and more accessible to more people while providing better performance to boot.
Just watching this late but here I my 2cents as when I went to the track to learn and run my rc car I was met with a lot of upset ppl competing and any questions I asked I was met with I’m asking stupid questions and was told to watch and that it 🤷🏻♂️ I feel tracks should have sponsored drivers teaching day bring an rc and teach the new ppl with out the pros having to race that day or have a day where new ppl can come learn something but for me I won’t go back at this point with a 100 rc cars I own I just bash and play having fun where I can rather then race and not have fun competing like a job idk love your videos I learn a lot thanks 🙏 my 2 cents from my experience 😂
For one, I always wondered how you win in a race. I dont know what proper terms to use to explain this but I don't see anything in the internet a very brief and short explaination how race "cup/series" is won. Like how do you get to the championships? How to get points? How is the starting grid positions are determined? Is it a one day race? I know races are different in each countries but explaining how races are done in your country could serve a good template for this beginner to understand races.
courses.invisiblespeed.net
I have always wanted to be like Adam Drake. Losi, back in the day, had some catchy photos when my web was run by AOL.
I agree I have raced off and on for 30 years This sport can be hard to ever get up to speed of the FAST group.
I like how this jq guy has matured
I like how this notchism guy makes useless semioffensive postes.
@@daveshank1921 He is the Howard Stern of R/C.... real and no filter
Hit that nail on the head! Excellent video. 👌🏻
Great job JQ, keep it coming.
I started racing in September 2020. I had a slash and immediately fell in love with it. Now I have an e-buggy, nitro truggy, and mini truggy. Im racing my first big series race (Tekno winter series) and I stand out as a super novice driver there. My first round wasnt a great experience, I had people yelling at me because i would crash and end up in their way, I could tell marshals were making fun of my lack skill when I would crash by them alot. Bad experience, almost didnt want to go back. The next round I went it was my first time racing a nitro car I had no idea what i was doing, built my clutch wrong, but I ended up getting some great help there from Chris Nunez (Tekno driver) and round two was a completely different story as far as my enjoyment goes. But I think Jq and Ryan are spot on when they talk about "be nice to the new guy" because it can be discouraging when people act in a way that doesnt give the beginner a good experience.
RC Car Action pit tips and the dream of coming up with a solution to a problem and your genius idea being drawn into a picture and being in Pit Tips!!!
I think this is a great perspective. I used to love going to the store and picking up the most recent Dirt Rider and Ride BMX magazines. I'd tear out pages (after purchase) of the new quad or dirt bike I wanted and put them on my wall. I finally got jobs and purchased them for myself. I think a professional roaming "reporter" of sorts would be a good thing. An unbiased, passionate person that accurately accounts for all the racing action would be really cool to see. People can tune in to Live RC for the racing, but they are tuning into the (Insert name) show to see what happened in the pits, on the stand, and how it really went down.
Lefty did a great thing with the Rivkin/Phend incident. He brought it out and got people talking about it. It would have been cool to see that roaming reporter walk right up and get some interviews with Rivkin and Phend after the race. We could have seen the heat in their eyes and how they felt about it. You want a rivalry, you have to catch Mayfield on camera talking about throat punching Marco. You need someone on the ground with responsibility is to get that action. I really like this idea and would love to see it made into reality. It's time to get passionate out here.
Have never lived near any track. Would love to have a nice paved track for bashing or racing. And would love to have a nice outdoor and indoor track for offroad racing. Im in eastern NC and unless you live in a bigger city tracks dont exist.
If the city could simply build a park that isnt fenced off, create some tracks so that people with rcs can casually go eventually it'll lead to more demand. No one wants to keep driving in flat circles in the grass or parking lot.
I really like this as I just bought me a dinky little HSP nitro car and am thinking of getting one for my nephew so we can toot around the block.
My club does "Race Qualifiers" for my class. So fun. This way I get at least three races a night.
im from the uk, i love bashing as its easy for me. im 17 and dont have a car yet, my closest track is open once or twice a year and thats 20 miles away, the next closest track is 60 miles away. I have a nitro 1/8 buggy and have no where to race, so i bash. If i could race id love to, its just difficult for me.
great video, i agree we need to get rc out there per say.
P.s Ryan has kinda always been that guy that I've been looking up to. No offense but I just found you today and randomly saw him in your video as well. So that's cool
Ha, brilliant incorporation into the JQ channel of Ryan Harris! He’s perhaps one of the most influential folks in teaching and encouraging new racers today. And not surprisingly Ryan was spot on. I am a relatively new RC racer but have really been hooked by it and enjoy it a great deal. My skill level can be described as “average” at best, but I have a lot of fun and the folks I race with do too. When I attended my first “big race”, which for me was simply a regional stock race, I personally experienced the derision and aloofness of the sponsored “fast guys”. It was such a downer and highly discouraging. It’s also strange sine there are not that many hobbies where this would happen to you as an enthusiast. I bike and play tennis casually as well, the exact opposite occurs, in these activities folks encourage you and are ready to offer support. RC is odd in this regard. Great piece JQ, keep em coming
Great video series! Similar challenges in tether car racing...
there is to many classes. i love showing up to the track and hearing how half the guys there run 4 classes just because they want more track time.
Exactly
Just focus on what you want to drive and learn that kit first.
And everyone gets a trophy. 7 classes at a club race is a joke
@@LJoel
We could easily get that down to 3-4 if people were willing to stop being shits about motor classes. But no, we HAVE to separate Stock and Mod even though there's practically no difference in lap times these days, because the stock guys want to pay to win.
I built a local track years ago. The track was built on the hill, cause my friend own the land and he lended it to me freely. From day one the local RC car player knews about the track location, they complained it was far from city, which it was only 10 miles away from downtown. when the track is built up, in order to attract more players to join RC racing, I let everyone used the track freely for two years. I also stored some spare parts for sell (same price as online), no one is buying. I mean seriously, two gallons of fuel is the only thing that I sold. Then I decided to charge the entry fee, they started to call me selfy and stopped coming to the track. Half year later, I quit. I lost over 10 thousand dollars for building and keeping the track ruuning, all I left is 'selfish'. In my country, there is an old saying called you can only make dumplings and feed them to pigs once (what a waste). that's what I feel to build a track for local players.
American here. You are likable. I have would love to visit Finland and race with you some day.
Yes lots of nerds in my local track also not very friendly. I also support my local hobby shop but when i need support they will say call the manufacturer. That’s why i sold all my racing buggys
Def a great video with great content...such a great vid to grow the hobby and racing jq