This guide outlines a few of the considerations that need to be taken into account before you set off buying a competitive RC race car.

This guide outlines a few of the considerations that need to be taken into account before you set off buying a competitive RC race car.

Racing at a competitive level costs a lot of money, while I'm a firm believer that skill will always be a bigger factor when it comes to racing the sad truth is that by having an amazing car with an amazing setup, you will need less skill as everything will be easier, from keeping your speed up during cornering to brake points.

Most racing events will have rules and regulations which will restrict your setup, this is to prevent someone from having a RC car that is too competitive, one of the most annoying restriction is on the body shell, it's common to restric the shell to four door sedans, which is understandable as some of the two door racing shells can be incredible low and aerodynamic, byt setting a standard no one has an unfair advantage.

The Main Race Classes

1. Stock
   Stock is the entry level class, Only 27 turn motors, normally the 540 silver can motor.
   
   
2. Super Stock
   This is limited from 23 turn to 27 turn motors.
   
   
3. Modified
   This is 23 Turn motors and lower.
   
   

General Race Restrictions

The following is a guideline to the kind of restrictions that can be placed on race events, obviously if your racing an electric RC car the nitro RC rules don't apply. You need to contact the event organizers to find out what the restrictions are. The best way to do this is to purchase and build your car for an event, rather than try to get an existing car up to spec, especially if you have already spend time and money adding hop-ups, as a lot of these will be illegal

1. Body Restrictions
   Closed-wheel 2 or 4 door 200mm.
   
   
2. Chassis Restrictions
   Maximum width of 200 mm. Must be a production car, something off the shelf.
   
   
3. Engine and Motor Restrictions
   Maximum displacement of 2.11cc.
   
   
4. Exhaust System Restrictions
   Must be a production exhaust system.
   
   
5. Tire Restrictions
   There is no normally no restrictions on tire size or compound.
   
   

Which Chassis To Buy

Well once again this is down to the race you want to compete in, most chassis have an "R" model, which is a standard chassis with several hopups included with the kit, this keep's it legal for the events and saves you a ton of money as the hop-ups will be a lot more expensive if you buy them individually. One thing to take note of is what is the maximum class that your RC car can compete in, A Tamiya TT01 can only be modified for Super Stock, while a Tamiya TA05 can go all the way to Modified. This is because the design of the TT01 doesn't allow you to fit the correct pinion gear ratio for Modified, the spacing is to small. The TA05 can fit almost any pinion gear

The best advice I can give is to go to one of the events and see what everyone is doing, it's not hard to get an RC obsessed person to give you information, we all love to talk about remote control tips and tricks and things we have learnt. Go see what the standard of racing is, what kit people as using and ask them how they get their spares. By spending a couple of hours researching before you commit you can rest assured that you make the right decision first time

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