Seriously speaking: How to get into the pit RC-Car Part 1: Racing, simulation or wild running?

This article will be divided into the following chapters:

1. Classification of models and gameplay;

2. Relevant brands;

3. Suggestions and experiences for initial burns.

1. Classification of models and gameplay

With the increasing purchasing power of Chinese people, automobiles have gradually entered the homes of ordinary people in the past 30 years. More and more people are not satisfied with using automobiles as simple means of transportation. Turning and getting off the track, more and more people dream of the passion brought by speed, but the reality is: road racing endangers public safety, track resources are scarce, and modification is still illegal. For ordinary people, to enjoy the thrill of 100 km acceleration within 2 seconds, either in front of the computer or on the road to Huangquan; to experience the extreme off-roading of the Rubicon Trail, either in a dream or falling off a cliff in fear. Do ordinary people have nothing to do with the fun of motor sports? No, RC cars can bring you that kind of speed and passion.

 ▲Drag race, RC-Car beats Lamborghini Gallardo

Remote control cars, hereinafter referred to as RC Cars, have similar structure and handling characteristics to real cars, and some products are even scaled down in proportion to real cars. Not only that, many products even have  mechanical properties that are not as good as real cars. It is not uncommon for a remote control car with a top speed of 300km/h. An On Road car with an acceleration of 100 km/h within 2 seconds is within reach for ordinary players. Obstacles with a slope greater than 1 are easy for a Crawler. RC Car can not only bring the fun of manipulation to players, but also exercise hands-on ability and deepen the understanding of the mechanical operation principle in the process of playing. Having said so much, are you eager to get into the pit? The following will introduce the current mainstream model classifications and gameplays one by one according to the model classification. Everyone must cover your pockets and do not let the wallet be too hurt.

▲1/10 Exquisite Architecture of Oil Powered RV

According to the power source, RC Car can be divided into oil power (Gas Power-GP) and electric power (Electrical Power-EP). Gasoline vehicles (GP) use an internal combustion engine as the driving power source. The fuel generally used is a mixture of nitromethane and methanol, and some use gasoline, but most of them are models with a large proportion, such as 1/5 Baja, 1/5 big truck, etc. . Electric vehicles (EP) are powered by electric motors. At present, the mainstream racing cars have adopted brushless motors, and some entry-level models are also equipped with traditional brushed motors. Brushed motors are more common in cars that focus on low-speed performance. In terms of power batteries, lithium batteries are already the mainstream, both in terms of discharge performance and convenience of purchase, far exceeding those of nickel-metal hydride batteries.

In addition to the classification according to the power source, in fact, the classification method according to the model and proportion is more meaningful for beginners to choose. Because when the remote control car is born, the shape is mostly reduced according to the proportion of the real car, so there is also a proportion (similar to the static car model), the most common ones are 1/10, 1/8, 1/12 and other larger sizes Models, in addition to the small proportion of Tamiya (TAMIYA) 1/14 truck, KYOSHO (KYOSHO) 1/27, 1/28 Mini-Z (including similar proportion of 1/24 Mini car) are also considered mainstream , and large ratios such as 1/5, 1/6 are almost hard to see. After talking about the proportions, let’s talk about the gameplay. I personally think that the traditional flat road, off-road, bigfoot, etc. are really difficult to choose according to the model. I think the following classification can be done according to the gameplay of the model friends:

1.1 Racing class

I believe that most of the friends who want to enter the pit are attracted by the sense of speed of RC Car, and the mainstream competition method of RC Car is racing. The world championships and intercontinental competitions are organized by the Far East Model Federation (FAR EAST MODEL CAR ASSOCIATION-FEMCA), while the domestic counterpart to the first two is the China Vehicle Model Sports Association (CAR MODELLING ASSOCIATION OF CHINA-CMAC) In the organized national championships, the basic mode of racing is to use vehicles of the corresponding level to conduct field races (limited time laps, similar to Le Mans endurance races, but the competition duration is only tens of minutes), generally 10 cars are on the same field. Of course, in addition to the above competitions, manufacturers and enthusiasts will organize various competitions from time to time. In racing competitions, players not only need to grasp the line of their car and try to run the fastest lap, but also face various emergencies on the field, such as overtaking a slow car, yielding a car, having a rollover accident, and avoiding an accident car. etc. From my own experience, a real 10-car race is far more complicated than a single person skating the track. As a rookie, the personal fastest lap (TQ) in the race is basically higher than that of a single person qualifying. More than 50% slower. You can see the car from the video below. The scene of 10 cars competing in the race is really not allowed to make a slight difference, otherwise, it is impossible to distinguish your car on the track where the crowd dances.

▲World Championship Video (2012 Electric Touring Car World Championship, Thailand)

The main racing categories are: On-road and Off-road. Different venues can be divided into oil and electric according to the power. According to the proportion and model, it is divided into 1/8 flat running (Racing car), 1/10 RV (Touring car), 1/12 flat running (Racing car), 1/8 off-road (Buggy), 1/8 off-road truck ( Truck) and so on.

1.2 Simulation class

Apart from the racing gameplay, another mainstream gameplay of RC Car is the simulation class. I classify the 1/14 container trucks, climbing cars, and drift cars mentioned above into this category, because the main consideration of this gameplay is The simulacrum of the vehicle in motion. In simulation competitions (climbing competition, drifting competition), players need to make prescribed actions, and then evaluate the score according to the completion situation. In addition to the competition, the simulation class is more to meet the fans' pursuit of small and exquisite models.

▲Overview of simulation models

▲Video of simulated climbing car

1.3 Wild running

Among the players that I come into contact with on weekdays, many fans are unable to compete or compete on the field due to factors such as venues. Most of them choose to play cars on private roads, parks or in the wild. Running, I myself belong to the wild running game for most of the time. I remember when I first entered the pit, I was still in junior high school. I used up my savings to buy a 1/10 Jingshang RV Kyosho V-One S II. One part, but I don't know how to adjust the inclination angle and toe angle at all), and then fill up the oil, crank the engine, and run wildly in the yard, the playground, and the unfinished road.

▲Kyosho V-one S II deconstruction diagram

Comparing the above three ways of playing, in fact, each has its own attractiveness, but there is no difference between the advantages and disadvantages. I personally think that these three different ways of playing can be summarized by the following phase diagram. For beginners, the competition at the difficulty level is undoubtedly the most difficult, and it is not very interesting; but as time goes on, the level improves, and there will be a new understanding of the competition. At this time, the operation skills required in the competition , the tuning experience has become a great fun in playing the car.

For wild runners, the choice of vehicles is varied, it can be a flat road RV, a drift car, a big foot, or even a Mini-Z. In recent years, with the development of digital imaging technology and the miniaturization of video cameras, wild runners have more fun than silly running: RC Car FPV, through the lens, we seem to have become Ant-Man, as if we were sitting on it. A galloping car, swimming in a microscopic world

2. Related brands

There are so many ways to play that I said before, if you are eager to try it and want to jump into the pit, then don't hesitate to buy it. In this paragraph I will introduce the mainstream brands and their representative products. Generally speaking, RC Car vehicle products are divided into two categories: Chassis Kit and Ready to Run (RTR). The former KIT is a spare part, and it needs to be assembled by yourself after you get it, and it is generally sold separately by the frame factory. The related electronic equipment (remote control system) and power unit need to be purchased by yourself; After buying it, it has been installed, just need to charge the battery and fill up the fuel to speed.

2.1 Vehicle (frame) brand

▲Kyosho, The finest RC models, Jingshang. Just like SONY has a sacred status in the hearts of digital product fans, Jingshang is like SONY in the RC industry to me, with rich product lines, enough black technology, and belief from the end. Whether it's an entry-level RTR model, or a competition-level factory team version of the KIT, you can find it.

Representative products of the oil-powered series: ◆1/12 oil-powered flat running SPADA series, all KIT; ◆1/10 oil-powered RV FW-06 (RTR, entry-level shaft transmission oil room, domestic OEM, and a large number of domestic possessions) Large), V-ONE R series (KIT, belt-driven RV, made in Japan, mid-to-high-end products, equivalent to the factory version), V-ONE S series (KIT, belt-driven RV, made in Japan, mid-end products, equivalent to A simplified version of the V-ONE R series, similar to the GT-2000 in ASICS for Kayano racing, simulation or wild running?, mainly missing some carbon fiber structural parts and lower-end transmission parts); 1/8 oil dynamic leveling Running EVOLVA series (KIT, belt flat road car, due to the small number of 1/8 flat sports car players, it has not been common in recent years); 1/8 oil powered off-road INFERNO MP series (I was still MP7.5 when I entered the pit, I understand My model friends should know how long I have been in the pit, I have experienced MP777, and now it is MP9).

The representative products of the electric series: Mini-Z series (commonly known as "mosquito car", the proportion is mostly 1/27, the size is similar to "Lei Su Deng", regardless of the small car, the pit is not shallow for racing, simulation or wild running?) ; ◆1/10 TF series of electric RVs (KIT, made in Japan, each generation has not many models, it is quite the factory version, and the domestic ownership is not large).

▲ Tamyia, Tamiya, is known by more people than Kyosho. It has a wider product line in the model industry, has been deeply involved in the field of static models for many years, and is unmatched in terms of model copyright ownership, and this advantage has also been brought to the RC-Car field. The strength is not as good as Kyosho, but the diversification of products (especially the diversified racing of car shells, simulation or wild running?) has surpassed other manufacturers. It can be described as Nokia in the RC-Car world. The mainstream products are mainly electric, and oil-powered products are rare even in Japan (it's also possible that I haven't seen racing, simulation or wild running?).

Representative products: ◆1/14 truck series; ◆1/10 electric touring car TT-01/02 series; ◆1/10 electric F1 formula car F104 series; ◆Factory team series Tamiya Racing Factory (TRF), similar to AMG's Yumei seders.

▲HPI Racing, the full name of Hobby Products International, was founded in California in 1986, and its product line is also very wide, ranging from 1/5 gasoline Baja to 1/32 indoor electric short cards. The main products promoted in China are big feet, short cards and some entry-level electric rooms, but in fact, the competitive technical reserves of the products are still very sufficient.

Representative products: ◆1/5 Baja gasoline vehicle series; ◆Savage big bike series; ◆1/8 diesel off-road D815, D812, 1/8 diesel truck D8T, 1/10 electric RV TCX under HB series .



▲Associated Electrics, referred to as AE, remembered that it was called "Assus" a long time ago. At that time, I was impressed by the launch of a 1/10 RTR oil-powered RV with a top speed of over 100km/h. For a long time, AE gave me The impression is that it is not high-end, until I started to contact 1/8 oil-powered off-road vehicles, and knew the existence of the RC8.2 car, AE is no longer an American gimmick car.

Representative products: ◆1/8 oil-powered off-road RC8.2, RC8B3; ◆1/8 electric off-road RC8.2e, RC8B3e; ◆1/10 electric short card SC10, SC10.2;

▲XRAY, from the Czech Republic in Eastern Europe, although it was only established in 2000, but focusing on the development of racing frames, it has achieved good results in recent years and has received continuous attention. Both flat road bikes and off-road bikes have achieved good results. The naming of its products is also very interesting. Each new car is named after the project code. The first 1/10 electric RV product is named T1, and so on. Now it has reached T4, and the oil room is still at NT1.

Representative products: ◆1/10 electric RV series T1, T2, T3, T4; ◆1/10 electric RV series NT1; ◆1/8 oil-powered off-road XB8, XB9.

In addition to the brands introduced above, there are actually many vehicle (frame) brands in the model industry. Well-known ones are ▲Yokomo and ▲Mugen Seiki from Japan, ▲Serpent from the Netherlands, and ▲Traxxas, ▲Losi and ▲Axial from the United States. . There are some more niche, but also launched some competitive racing frames, and the ruthless characters emerging in the competition: ▲Schumacher, ▲Intercept, ▲Shepherd, ▲Team Durango. In addition, in the entire Greater China region, especially in the Pearl River Delta, Taiwan and other places, there are also some local brands with a high market share: ▲HoBao, ▲3Racing, ▲Team Magic, etc. These brands have their own representative products in different categories. Due to space limitations, there is an opportunity to introduce them in subsequent articles.

2.2 Brand of remote control system

Compared with the numerous brands of the whole vehicle, the choice of the remote control system is much simpler. A friend of mine has written a long article about the remote control before, but in the article I only mentioned the car remote control in a single stroke. Now I will introduce the mainstream car remote control brands in more detail.

▲KO PROPO, Kondo Science, its remote control product line is all for vehicles (4 channels). Developed the first assembled remote control EX-1, the various functional modules of the remote control can be separated (Google's modular mobile phone should be a steal here, racing, simulation or wild running?), can be replaced when upgrading or modifying a single module, and EX-1 is the first remote control to introduce colorful decorative lights (the name of the "light factory" in the remote control industry is not KO). The current mainstream product series on sale: EX-1 (flagship), EX-2, EX-6 with Mini-Z launched in conjunction with Kyosho, ESPRIT-IV (board control) launched in conjunction with Schumacher Racing.

▲Futaba, Futaba Electronics, also known as "Fordba". As one of the largest remote control system manufacturers in the model industry, its product line is very complete, and it has been deeply involved in the field of car remote control for many years. Futaba has 4PKS, 4PL, etc. in the many years of car playing career. The impression is two words: reliable, reliable, so you forget its existence. Now that so many years have passed, the product series now sold are: 4PX (flagship), 4GRS (flagship board control), 4PLS, 3PL, of course, there are some previous generation products on the market 4PKSR (previous generation flagship), 4PKS (previous generation flagship) flagship) on sale.

▲Sanwa, Sanwa. I think it is the manufacturer with the most abundant car remote control product line, no one, whether it is board control or gun control, high-end and low-end full coverage. Existing board control EXZES series (flagship), GEMINI series, gun control has M12, M11X, MT, MX and other series. Sanwa's main focus is performance, transmission speed, no delay, etc. I have used M8 and M11 before, and it feels like one word: heavy, real heavyweight flagship, huge information screen, and now I can experience it from the M11X on sale, but The current flagship M12 has been greatly improved in terms of weight, and even the appearance has been miniaturized, not as domineering as the flagship of the year.

▲Spektrum, an American brand. The most innovative manufacturer has launched the first car remote control DX6R with Android system. All car remote controls are gun controls.

In addition to the above brands, there are JR (Japan, its gun control feels like Spektrum's OEM) and domestic FS Fuss, Radiolink Ledi. Domestic brands personally think that the main thing is low prices. At present, the reliability and consistency of the products are still in doubt, and the model friends need to refer to the existing experience stickers to get started.

2.3 Tool brand

As the saying goes: If you want to do good things, you must first sharpen your tools. Whether it is vehicle tuning, modification, or the assembly of KIT kits, even if it is a ready-to-play product like RTR, you will need a series of tools such as Allen screwdrivers, wrenches, sockets and so on. Good tools can make you more effective when you play with cars, and can also make you more handy in the process of contact with machinery, thus stimulating the passion of "tossing".

Tools are worth every penny, and it may cost a lot, but a good investment is really once and for all. Here are some popular brands:

▲Arrowmax, Feima Shi, a "fake foreign brand" whose factory is located in Dongguan, but the quality is actually very good, and it has sponsored many top players, and its products are rich, in addition to general general tools, also launched some popular cars Modified parts.

▲Hudy, a European brand, a professional RC peripheral manufacturer, has a close relationship with Serpent in the Netherlands, and often launches some tool sets. Although the price is not cheap, in terms of exquisite and durable quality, it is definitely worth the money.

3. Advice and experience on initial fever

As for the value friends who want to enter the "magic" circle of RC-Car, are they eager to try? Maybe some value friends will worry about burning money and worry about time, but investing in these will pay off. I want to buy V-ONE S back then After II, I feel that my IQ has become higher. Racing, simulation or wild running? , learning is no longer difficult

Writing here, I feel that some of the text is wrong. It seems that I haven't told you what model to choose? In fact, I think, for those who have no experience with RC-Car, whether they want to run flat, buggy, short card, or just want to play with big feet and relax on the weekend afternoon, any car model is unknown, only after trying it will know What do you like, but there are some things that remain unchanged after the change, such as the remote control system and tools mentioned above, they will accompany you longer than a car, and these are undoubtedly worth investing more.

After more than ten years in the mold, there have been initial joys and expectations, dullness and alienation after enthusiasm faded, and thoughts and epiphanies after returning to dullness. RC-Car is a kind of hobby, a pursuit that can be crazy or boring, but looking back, isn't what I pursue on this road just fun? When I was a child, it was fun to stop and admire the racing cars in the shop window; with a car, it was fun to fight for more than a dozen days and nights to assemble it; when running wild, it was fun to be watched and commented on by others... The fun has been there for so many years, maybe wait I have children and I will play with them.

Finally, this is the beginning. The next article I plan is to talk about the related content of flat road racing cars. If you have any questions or have comments or suggestions on the content of the follow-up articles, you can leave a message in the comments to discuss, I will consider adding it in the next article, thank you for reading this long and dry article.