Day at the Track - RC NorCal Hobbies

[RunN1st]

Racing has always interested me and my youngest son is just like his dad... loves cars and anything that has to do with racing.

Awhile back my neighbor suggested I take a drive down to Union City, CA (30mins from my house) to see some RC (Radio Control) races for myself. I had turned him down numerous times but this past weekend I decided to take him up on it.

We spent the entire Sunday at NorCal Hobbies, a little well known shop with indoor/outdoor RC tracks. The place is somewhat run down but man does it serve it's unique purpose. From the moment we got there you can smell, sense, feel and breathe racing. It was a very weird feeling since the cars competing were little electronic/gas operated 1/10 scale and not a 400-500hp monsters we are used to seeing at Infineon Raceway every June.

My son was in his own little heaven... he didn't know where to look and what to look at. He was overwhelmed by the coolness of the place and quite frankly so was I. As soon as you walk in via the side gate you see all the guys and gals working on their little masterpieces. It was like NASCAR race weekend had come to CA in early January.

I had admittedly always shied away from RCs since up until now, I always considered them a little kid toy. Seeing these races for myself was a very cool experience. (I guess you can call me a self deprived +30r old man.) The time, money and knowledge that goes into building one of these little monsters cannot be overstated. They are 100% cool and then some.

I took some footage to share with you all because I know that some of you may find it remotely interesting. I'm even considering taking RunN1st Racing to the RC track.


<iframe width="400" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eB4Tt9eWBFw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

NorCal Hobbies official site: http://www.norcal-hobbies.com/

[Kruza]

Re: Day at the Track - RC NorCal Hobbies

Cool stuff, RunN1st. Thanks for sharing.

That does look like a very nice track for RC cars. The latter two brands of RC cars got some serious air over the bumpy sections.

Kruza

[RunN1st]

Re: Day at the Track - RC NorCal Hobbies

So as I venture into the world of RC here are a couple of videos that have really helped put it in perspective. I'm resigning to the fact that participating in competitive racing will probably have to be determined at a later date but for now I'm looking at about spending about $300 on a decent entry level buggie.

Advise for entry level RC enthusiast.
<iframe width="400" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wy2bo4ogfnI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Here is the entry level buggie I'm seriously considering.
<iframe width="400" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9Bis_7qnqtM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Here it is in action!
<iframe width="400" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/H_lBAVgRKPM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

In parallel I'm also inquiring with the folks over at VRC Pro for an evaluation setup of their PC based RC sim!

<iframe width="400" height="301" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zLrwhJku6_Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[oldphart667]

Re: Day at the Track - RC NorCal Hobbies

In the early 90's I got into RC Racing, 1 think it was 1/10th scale nascar bodies. Talk about expensive to race! It was about as bad as real racing. Went to whipperwill in New Jersey....and I was way out of my league. I bet I spent 5 to 8,000 on electric racing! Boy did I have fun tho!

[RunN1st]

Re: Day at the Track - RC NorCal Hobbies

In the early 90's I got into RC Racing, 1 think it was 1/10th scale nascar bodies. Talk about expensive to race! It was about as bad as real racing. Went to whipperwill in New Jersey....and I was way out of my league. I bet I spent 5 to 8,000 on electric racing! Boy did I have fun tho!

Man, that's what I'm afraid of. The financial and time investment required to be competitive in track races is insane. I'm already stretched thin with work, sim racing and basketball coaching.

I'm pretty set on buying a nice Losi mini (as seen above) and I'll eventually build one at some point but for now I'm undecided as to when.

[bluengold34_OS]

Pretty cool video Manny. I can't believe the precise controls some of those guys possess....very impressive.

Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express

[sikolec]

Re: Day at the Track - RC NorCal Hobbies

RC Cars are a ton of fun! As a kid/early teenager I would race touring cars 1/10th scale at a local hobby shop in northern California. It was a ton of fun, plus it gave me the hands on experience of working with tools on my own little RC Car. I had a TC3 and still have it to this day.

The hobby is time consuming and a little pricey. I went on a small hiatus through high school and college, mostly due to price and time. I recently have graduated college and gotten a job, so have recently repaired and upgrading my TC3 as well as purchased an off-road Short Course truck. I ended up with the Team Associated SC10 4x4. It was a blast to build. My only downfall is the lack of time I have to enjoy my RC cars. I have rarely gotten a chance to take it to a local track and run them. (I'm in SoCal now). RC Cars are a great hobby and I highly recommend it if you love racing, having some spending cash, and some free time.

This would be a great hobby for you and your son to get into. My advice would be to get a kit and build it with your son (as opposed to a RTR, ready-to-run). The kits tend to be a little more work, but you get to build it and as a result know how it is all put together. This comes into play later when parts may break or need replaced. You will have a better knowledge of where that part is and what/how to replace it.

If you have any more specific questions, let me know. I'll either be able to answer or can point you in the right direction.

[RunN1st]

Re: Day at the Track - RC NorCal Hobbies

RC Cars are a ton of fun! As a kid/early teenager I would race touring cars 1/10th scale at a local hobby shop in northern California. It was a ton of fun, plus it gave me the hands on experience of working with tools on my own little RC Car. I had a TC3 and still have it to this day.

The hobby is time consuming and a little pricey. I went on a small hiatus through high school and college, mostly due to price and time. I recently have graduated college and gotten a job, so have recently repaired and upgrading my TC3 as well as purchased an off-road Short Course truck. I ended up with the Team Associated SC10 4x4. It was a blast to build. My only downfall is the lack of time I have to enjoy my RC cars. I have rarely gotten a chance to take it to a local track and run them. (I'm in SoCal now). RC Cars are a great hobby and I highly recommend it if you love racing, having some spending cash, and some free time.

This would be a great hobby for you and your son to get into. My advice would be to get a kit and build it with your son (as opposed to a RTR, ready-to-run). The kits tend to be a little more work, but you get to build it and as a result know how it is all put together. This comes into play later when parts may break or need replaced. You will have a better knowledge of where that part is and what/how to replace it.

If you have any more specific questions, let me know. I'll either be able to answer or can point you in the right direction.

Thanks a ton for the guidance! We have narrowed it down to a Traxxas 4x4 Slash Platinum truck RTR, Losi 1/14 Mini 8IGHT RTR and/or a Team Associated B4.1 Factory Team Kit. To be honest, I'm a little intimidated by the kits since I've never put one together but we'll see.

I've watched some YouTube videos from URC (UltimateRC), DJMedic2008 and squirrelOD which have helped me tremendously to come up to speed on all this RC lingo.

I'm hoping to have something by end of Feb. just in time for a new race season.

[jct32]

Re: Day at the Track - RC NorCal Hobbies

I'm almost doing this exact same thing, but with submarines instead of RC cars. I looked online and found some stuff about them and I'm hooked now. Got my first kit coming on the way should be here in a day or two.