Top Document: [rec.models.rc.land] Newbie Guide and FAQ Previous Document: 6. What about batteries? Next Document: 8. What are the different kinds of radios? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge As the hobby increases in popularity, so will the different categories of cars. It is difficult to easily categorize every single car out there. Here are the big three, most agreed upon, categories: Surface: off-road, on-road (also called 'street'). Hopefully this does not need any further explanation. Scale: 1:4, 1:8, 1:10, mini, micro. This refers to the size of the model. The first ones are referred to by their scaling factor; in the 1:8 size, for example, any feature that is 1 inch on the model car would be approximately 8 inches on the real thing. Note that this is VERY approximate (when is the last time you have seen the same length VW Bug and a Dodge truck)! Same thing for the other scales, just a different scaling factor. The minis and micros vary in scale depending on the manufacturer; they range from 1:18 to 1:30. There are other scale models besides the four listed here. The 1:10 scale is probably the most popular today. Note also that the micros use different size motors and batteries. Nitro / Electric: I don't know what to call this category (power, fuel?). This essentially talks about the motor inside the car. Nitro, also called 'gas', cars are powered by a combustion engine and some mixture of a combustible fuel. Electric cars are powered by an electric motor and electrical batteries. Generally the nitro cars require a bit more maintenance compared to the electric cars, and therefore the electric are preferred by first timers in the hobby. Although this is strictly a suggestion as there is absolutely nothing preventing you from buying a nitro car right from the go! After that the categories get little more sub-divided. Here is a sampling of the different categories and classifications that people generally talk about: Drive: 2 wheel (front / rear), 4 wheel. This is pretty much the same thing as on a real car. On-road types: touring, pan. Touring cars are probably the most popular type of car of all the categories. They are optimized for racing on a fairly clean surface. Anything from a clean parking lot, to perfectly swept and sprayed with some sticky substance (cola will do) lot. With a slight modification to the tires, these are also raced on an indoor carpet surface. Pan cars are similar to touring cars, but they are optimized to be raced on an oval shaped track (i.e.: only left turns!). They often have the shell similar to NASCAR type of cars, but this obviously varies with personal preference. Off-road types: buggy, truck, rally. Some people will argue that rally cars also should have a mention in the on-road category, and justifiably so. These are essentially touring cars with modified suspension parts. They have a higher clearance, longer shocks, and often rough thread tires. They are intended to be raced on very rough street conditions, such as a broken up parking lot. Trucks generally resemble ... well, trucks. They are often a little more sturdy and have a narrower wheelbase, as compared to buggies. Buggies resemble the real-life dune buggies. They are often a little more nimble, with a wider stance. In the off-road arena, trucks are probably more popular with first timers and back-yard bashers, as they can 'take a beating and keep on ticking.' Buggies are a little more popular with off-road racers. Some people would argue that monster trucks are a category all of their own. I am not one to make that decision. But basically, just like their real life counterparts, they are generally 4-wheel drive, big, and you can run them over top of stuff! Did I mention big? Specialty vehicles: dragster, tank, semi-truck, motorcycle. Like I said, as the hobby becomes more popular, there will be more ... User Contributions:Top Document: [rec.models.rc.land] Newbie Guide and FAQ Previous Document: 6. What about batteries? Next Document: 8. What are the different kinds of radios? Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: SiKing <siking@myrealbox.com>
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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