Any RC Car Racers?

[Xingu]

I have been thinking about getting back into racing RC cars. Looks like the 1/8 scale on-Road nitro racing that I used to do is all but dead, as does most On-Road racing in this area. Never raced Off-Road, but there are some tracks in the area, indoor and outdoor dirt. Looking for advice on what to get, starting over from scratch and will be running electric. What kit, radio, motor, etc would you recommended. Not a beginner, so willing to get decent gear. I know I will get a variety of answers, but will also be doing some research based on those answers. Thanks.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Looks to me like a whole lotta fun, but I know zero about it. Glad you brought this up.  

[Joe Handley]

I’m not really into racing, mostly just bashing and crawling, plus I’m out of the loop as to what’s really the hot thing right now for racing in general.

[SSNJim]

There is a HobbyTown USA in Frederick, MD at US 340 and US 15 in the Festival shopping center. They used to be off of Motter Avenue where they had an indoor carpet 1/10 track, but not in the new location. They may be able to point you in the right direction. The other hobby shops in the area that I knew had indoor/outdoor races are long gone, and the current local ones don't seem to have any interest in racing, yet they have cars and parts. 

[Mike C]

Back in the 80's I used to race 1/8 on road nitro cars. I started with an Associated 500 and moved to a Serpent Excel. Those were fun days and expensive. You can see that is a well raced body.

About 20 years ago I raced a 1/10 Losi XXX-NT:

About 13 years ago I bashed a 1/5 HPI Baja 5B:

Edited January 9 by Mike C

[Xingu]

I also ran Serpents, I have some (actual) photos somewhere.

[MeatMan]

On 1/7/2025 at 2:32 PM, Xingu said:

I have been thinking about getting back into racing RC cars. Looks like the 1/8 scale on-Road nitro racing that I used to do is all but dead, as does most On-Road racing in this area. Never raced Off-Road, but there are some tracks in the area, indoor and outdoor dirt. Looking for advice on what to get, starting over from scratch and will be running electric. What kit, radio, motor, etc would you recommended. Not a beginner, so willing to get decent gear. I know I will get a variety of answers, but will also be doing some research based on those answers. Thanks.

I don't, but my brother is mad into off roading. I painted this a while back for him. For those that don't know, they're clear and you paint them from the inside. There is a clear film on the outside that needed to be removed.

Edited January 10 by MeatMan

[Xingu]

When I get some free time, I am going to go to one of the local tracks and see what everyone is running. Maybe see if the track has a rental vehicle so I can try it out.

[Brian Austin]

A year or two I was looking into smaller-scale R/C off-road trucks and found several video reviews and people out enjoying them, around the world.

[Brian Austin]