Explain "on road" to me

[Saito2 6686]

I've never had an on-roader before. Can someone explain their allure? I've been eyeing a couple for months now (Willy's Wheeler and TT02 Porsche 911), but just can't pull the trigger yet. I have no one to race with, so that aspect is out. How does one have fun with an on-roader? I'm honestly interested as I'd like to give it a go. Thanks.

[Darat76 265]

to me, on road is all about speed, handling, and response, just like a 1:1 car, but unlike a 1:1 car you won't get the flashing lights in the mirror, or the ticket in the mail, for going to fast, or for sliding around that corner. tho it is possible that your rc car could get chased by an rc cop car, but the worst that will happen is the cop car will hit your car and break something, if it was 1:1 cars, the cops would disable your car, or try to, and arrest you, or again try to.

so for me, I'd get to drive a car at speed for the fun and thrills of it and go home, rather than drive a car at speed for the fun and thrills of it into a jail cell

[TurnipJF 9192]

To me the allure if an on-roader is the realistic racing aspect. That is why I bought my F103.

 

True, you can race offroaders too, but unless you are going for an SCT or a really old-school buggy, none of them really look all that realistic. A RC F1 on the other hand, or a Mini, or a GT12, or pretty much any on-roader (other than a jelly mould TC) looks much like the real thing, and is therefore more of a spectacle to behold.

 

 

[GooneyBird 938]

Even a jelly-mould TC has its appeal. I see them more like NASCAR-esque silhoutte racers, whereas the more realistic bodies for me look more like modified production cars.

I am a carpet racer, with a TRF419 and a TRF102, and for me, the appeal is both the speed and the technical aspects of setupping a car to perfection, making it do exactly what you want it to do with a twist of a turnbuckle and different oils in the shocks.

Related, I don't 'get' offroad. Your car's in the air half the time, and winning or losing a race seems to be less skill and more 'he who flips his car the least wins'. Don't get me wrong, I have immense respect for the people who do, and for bashing around an offroad car is more versatily, but I don't think offroad racing is for me.

With that said, I have a DT03 as basher, and would love a Sand Scorcher for the engineering and scale appeal.

[GregM 1109]

To me, the fun in onroad driving is in racing head-to-head on an improvised track (car park, etc.), using cones or other track markers.

[Theibault 1535]

On road can be many things. It can be highly technical cars racing on carpet, it can be running a car up and down your street, an impromptu race with friends in a parking lot, drifting and so on. I have a mix of on and off road cars and the difference in driving style between the two is the real appeal for me. I enjoy getting an on road car set up right that I can have it carve the pavement exactly where I want it and get crazy speed runs and I enjoy off road for the dirt flinging, tail sliding, air catching fun. I would say get an on road car that looks good to you and run it. If you don't like it, well, it'll still look good on the shelf lol.

[Mad Ax 9329]

I love Tamiya touring cars for their detailed shells and good looks.  I love to buy them, paint them, put them on the shelf and look at them.

I have a selection of on-road runners (TT02D, FF01, M03, and a Team Magic race car) but I'd rather play off road where there's so much more to do.

A well set-up touring car handles so well and goes so fast that it's hard to drive quickly, it's just too responsive for me.  My reactions simply aren't fast enough.  And, for me at least, bashing alone with a road car gets boring real quick, whereas bashing with a buggy or a monster truck is fun for ages.

I haven't raced my touring car in a very long time, I keep meaning to paint up a shelf shell and put it on display but I never seem to get around to it.

[Driveforfun 69]

I just got my first on road car, after always having buggies or trucks. I was intrigued by the speed and handling characteristics. I picked up the TT-02 BRZ, and it's been alot of fun and new. I have never raced, just bashing, but considering heading up to the track soon. In the meantime, just having alot of fun doing speed runs (a discipline in itself with brushless), makeshift tracks (A few solid objects to designate "corners"), working on the turns, braking, and playing with drifting and such. 

All that said i'm definitely glad to have a couple of offroad cars for my son and I to play with, but taking out the on road for some speed and lighting up the tires in turns is quite satisfying!

[firefoxussr 482]

1 hour ago, Mad Ax said:

A well set-up touring car handles so well and goes so fast that it's hard to drive quickly, it's just too responsive for me.  My reactions simply aren't fast enough.  And, for me at least, bashing alone with a road car gets boring real quick, whereas bashing with a buggy or a monster truck is fun for ages.

A fast touring car is great for me to play with, but never with a typical touring sedan body.   I love building high-spec cars with some sort of historic/exotic car shell on top.   There's nothing like trashing a model of one of your favorite cars.   That said my favorite type of car is a mid-engine GT car, so I have a lot of bias.   I also thoroughly enjoy WRC cars from yesteryear.   

I'm also an advocate of super-scale realism, but only to the point that performance isn't compromised.   All of my cars run a very detailed shell that is kept as light as possible.  I carefully cut important ducting/grilles which will actually aide in motor/esc cooling.   I regularly mask off headlamp/taillamp areas to give myself the option to light the model, whether I do that or not depends on my usage of that particular chassis.

Last thought, if your touring car performs too well.... consider putting longer lasting, less grippy tires on it.  Make it a 8/10ths grip car, keep the track cars as 10/10.

[Fuijo 880]

I could have asked exactly your question Saito2 as little as 2 months ago. I believe you identified the crux of it in your opening post. -

7 hours ago, Saito2 said:

.... I have no one to race with........

It really does (for me) make all the difference. Are there any tracks in your area? Did you ask on this site if any Tamiyaclub members live near you?

That's what I did, and I'm now considering spending large sums of cash on things I would never have considered previously. Whether that's a good thing or not is up for debate of course. But it is fun!

 

[Saito2 6686]

Thanks for all the replies. I can see how having others to run with would certainly add to the excitement. Unfortunately, tracks in my area are all long closed and the nearest TC member is about 1.5 hours from me. It's simply not a possibility for me as a father of a 3.5 year old. If I got a car, I'd be solo. 

[Driveforfun 69]

^^^ I say go for it man even solo. You don't have to invest too much and it's worth the experience. I'd say it would get boring if you only have a road car, but having an off roader as well just makes the road car a fun change up. 

As others have mentioned, the realism aspect is quite satisfying as well.

[94eg! 834]

Without a track, on-road cars are boring.  If you don't have a track nearby, then I recommend investing in a case of sidewalk chalk.  You can find an nice smooth parking lot and draw yourself a track.  Turning laps is lots of fun.  You will learn tons of stuff.

BTW: The smaller the car, the smoother the surface you will want for driving.

[Illogical 141]

I have a Schumacher K1 Aero and two sets of wheels - one set are fitted with road tires and it is great fun running on the streets outside the house, the other set are mini pins which are good on short grass and loose dirt. It's easy to change the wheels as well as toe and camber angles using the turnbuckles and ride height using the dampers - the handling is sublime. You can do big jumps and drift around corners or drive fast lines - mine has a 6.5T brushless setup and it flies - I'd estimate over 80kmh and it gets there in the blink of an eye.

The only negative is it isn't based on anything "real". It's surprisingly tough but if you clip a curb or hit anything hard at speed you will be spending your cash fixing it as many parts are quite exposed - for example today I boke a damper rod and a front wishbone. Tires are not cheap either but that goes for the road cars too.

You could also look at the rally cars from Tamiya - they will go places the road cars won't but obviously a buggy or truggy will go just about anywhere...

 

[Illogical 141]

Also one of the most fun things having a buggy is driving mixed surfaces like asphalt with grass sections and dirt sections - nothing beats flying from a high grip section at speed onto a hard dirt bend and having to control the car in a massive drift leaving a plume of dust behind you.

[speedy_w_beans 4272]

On 9/27/2016 at 5:33 AM, Saito2 said:

I've never had an on-roader before. Can someone explain their allure? I've been eyeing a couple for months now (Willy's Wheeler and TT02 Porsche 911), but just can't pull the trigger yet. I have no one to race with, so that aspect is out. How does one have fun with an on-roader? I'm honestly interested as I'd like to give it a go. Thanks.

I've been debating how to respond to this question, as over half my fleet is on-road.  For me it comes down to:

• Scale:  I built a few dozen static models as a teenager, mostly cars, so scale appearance is appealing to me.
• Background:  I went to an engineering university associated with the automotive industry.
• Interest:  I still have interest in certain custom car cultures, and some segments of automobile racing.
• Mindset:  Paying attention to numerous small details, playing with all the adjustments, and experimenting is mentally stimulating for me; I can't just put together a kit and drive it.
• Practical:  I can walk down my driveway, run an on-road car on relatively fresh and clean asphalt, experiment with settings and driving, and then put it away with almost no cleaning required.  This makes it convenient to play when the impulse strikes me, and there's not a lot work required afterwards.  I generally don't want to travel far to play, nor do I like being around large crowds, and I don't want a ton of cleaning and repair work to do when I'm done.  My current situation is perfect for on-road "models suitable for radio control."

[firefoxussr 482]

1 hour ago, speedy_w_beans said:

Practical:  I can walk down my driveway, run an on-road car on relatively fresh and clean asphalt, experiment with settings and driving, and then put it away with almost no cleaning required.  This makes it convenient to play when the impulse strikes me, and there's not a lot work required afterwards.  I generally don't want to travel far to play, nor do I like being around large crowds, and I don't want a ton of cleaning and repair work to do when I'm done.  My current situation is perfect for on-road "models suitable for radio control."

I live in SW Florida, it's very much a snowbird area.   This means a lot of parking lots, many of which are totally abandoned during at least half of the year.  Also pavement doesn't die here as quick because it never snows (i.e. cracking/potholes/etc).  So there are many places to bash with little chance of collisions.  I usually find the most open, curb-free zone I can and use corner markers (the 5mm tall ones about the diameter of a CD).

On the other hand there's only one option for on-road racing within a few hundred miles.  And its outdoor during Sunday afternoons, so get out your sunscreen and find a tent.   Off road racing exists too but I don't like the constant breakage and the fact that it is trucks with the occasional buggy.  I did it for a few months but adulting gets in the way of doing that.