*UPDATE: Due to a slew of disagreements with our current rules... mostly in part due to the SCX10 or Ascender platform... there are some change we need to make.
Originally my goal was to find a way to allow all scale trucks to have fun in this series but as suspected... that competitive drive of people kicked into gear and complaints came about. The SCX10 and the Ascender out of the box come fairly scale its true but, they really are extremely capable out of the box and this allows these trucks to really kick butt in scale competitions. Our goal however is to bring the "scale" hobby to that next level which means trucks that are like the Defender D90 as an example are what we are after. So... to clarify... this isn't really a "super scale" series but more of an "Ultra scale" or "Uber scale" series as its being referred to by folks these days regarding these types of trucks. For the sake of this competition we will still allow the SCX10 and Ascender trucks but every effort needs to be made on your part to have them resemble a true street legal truck. Here is an example of one to give you an idea what you can accomplish:
For the above truck to be "Uber" or "Ultra" scale... it would need the front 3 windows to be clear and have a full interior and driver inside. That is what we are ideally seeking but realize that this competition being the first of its kind in Calgary we will be making some allowances. What we want you to aspire towards are hard bodied (preferably) trucks with hyper realism. See these examples below:
With all that said... to allow the SCX10 and Ascender type trucks to compete and still have things fair across the board for the other trucks that cannot perform as well, we will be making changes to the rules. If you feel these changes do not fit well with you and you wish to withdraw your entry, please let me know asap and I will refund you fully.
If you have the following, we will be applying a penalty for each so that hopefully by the end of the series the numbers will be more fairly balanced. Consider this like a handicap in golf. The better the player, the bigger the handicap you play with in order to level out the game when you compete against less capable players. Your SCX10 Or Ascender type truck is more capable so requires a handicap(s):
-Lexan body - Because you are now at least approximately 4x lighter up top compared to the Ultra Scale trucks there needs to be a penalty here for sure. This will encourage you to move towards a hard body kit hopefully. We weighed several different hard body trucks and several different lexan bodies and found that the heaviest hard body was 125.3 grams with the heaviest lexan body weighing in at 40 grams. A significant difference of approximately 70 - 80 grams. With each lead square on a strip weighing 7 grams, this means 10 squares will be added to your truck. At the tech check before race time, we will apply 5 weights on each side of your truck (inside).
-Body lift of more than a third your wheels height - It's actually illegal to have a massive lift kit in Alberta but its not overly enforced. Having a massive lift on your truck often means a ton of flex on your suspension system and ideally your truck should fall into the Scale Class 2 SORCCA rules. This is a particularly tough category to govern fairly so its going to be to the judges decision on the tech day. The way the province tries to govern this is with the bumpers height. A bumper cannot be more than 22" above the ground in Alberta. With many bumpers being part of the molded body, we cannot really use that rule. We also realize that link suspension systems exist on the street so we cannot say "no link" and saying that your shocks are too long is also not representative of what goes on in the real world on trucks so to find a way to bring those ride heights down to a "normal" scale type height so that the truck performs much like a real one and similar to the Uber scale RC trucks... we are going to use this lift category to try and reign you in. If your body wheel well is more than a third the wheels height above the tire... its too much. We will let you run of course but you get a 2 gate penalty per race until fixed. -10 points. Take a look at a street legal lifted 4x4 in the image below. This is about a 6" lift kit if I had to guess? The space between the top of the tire and the wheel well is not very much... maybe 8 to 10 inches? What most RC guys need to do is change how their brains are wired and stop thinking "monster truck" and start thinking "actual truck".
On the topic of suspension... people often think that leaf is the only real scale suspension system out there. This is not true. There are link systems and coil spring as well out there on trucks. For example... the Jeep TJ has this set up in the rear right out of the factory:
As you can see... coil springs and short links. No leafs.
On the topic of suspension... people often think that leaf is the only real scale suspension system out there. This is not true. There are link systems and coil spring as well out there on trucks. For example... the Jeep TJ has this set up in the rear right out of the factory:
-Axle mounted servo - All trucks have steering systems that are not visible to the eye nor mounted on the axles. For the sake of realism, we wish all trucks to have chassis mounted servos. If you do not have a chassis mounted servo, we won't let you run. This one we are taking a strong stance on.
-Tire types and sizes-
Our wheel size rule remains constant... 1.9, 1.7 or 1.5 only but the tires must be of a factory street type tread design for the most part. There are so many types of tire on the market now that the list would be huge if we tried to list them all. Spare tires need to be at least close in size and style that it would be used should your truck get a flat in the 1:1 world. If your tires are deemed by the judges to not be fit for this competition you will be allowed to run on them 1x only and with a 2 gate penalty (-10 points). This will be marked on your drivers sheet and you will not get a second allowance. You will get a DNS if you show up with those tires again and not allowed to run until replaced. We apologize for being so strict on this one but its well known that tires and tread can actually be the edge needed to win a competition in the rc world. Some tires that fit into this ruling can be massive. The 1.9 Pitbull Growlers come to mind which are gigantic. If your tires fit properly inside your trucks wheel wells with a minimum of rub then you are good to go. You wouldn't drive your truck with tires that didn't fit your wells... they would blow from rubbing in no time and cost you thousands of dollars. Keep it real gang.
In closing... as mentioned once already, if you don't like these rules and the direction we are headed, we first and foremost apologize. Second however... sorry, not sorry.
You see... we are working hard to move the rc competitions in a certain direction and ideally targeting the hard body market of Uber/Ultra scale realism here in Canada. The Europeans and Asian markets have been at this for years. It's time we got in gear and joined the trend. If you want to run your scale SCX10 or Ascender trucks in competitions, by all means do so. there are plenty of comps out there to do that in. This one however isn't a good fit unless you make some serious changes to your rigs to qualify. The next season for this series will not allow them at all unless they are able to pass 100% and there will be absolutely no Lexan bodies allowed unless weighted and measuring up. Hard bodies only take preference.
Feel free to comment on this post or email me directly at 1tenrc@gmail.com to discuss further.
Scott
Our wheel size rule remains constant... 1.9, 1.7 or 1.5 only but the tires must be of a factory street type tread design for the most part. There are so many types of tire on the market now that the list would be huge if we tried to list them all. Spare tires need to be at least close in size and style that it would be used should your truck get a flat in the 1:1 world. If your tires are deemed by the judges to not be fit for this competition you will be allowed to run on them 1x only and with a 2 gate penalty (-10 points). This will be marked on your drivers sheet and you will not get a second allowance. You will get a DNS if you show up with those tires again and not allowed to run until replaced. We apologize for being so strict on this one but its well known that tires and tread can actually be the edge needed to win a competition in the rc world. Some tires that fit into this ruling can be massive. The 1.9 Pitbull Growlers come to mind which are gigantic. If your tires fit properly inside your trucks wheel wells with a minimum of rub then you are good to go. You wouldn't drive your truck with tires that didn't fit your wells... they would blow from rubbing in no time and cost you thousands of dollars. Keep it real gang.
Acceptable Tire Examples
• Axial Maxxis Trepador Tires
• Axial Ripsaw
• Pit Bull Tires Rock Beast
• Pro-Line Interco TSL Super Swamper
• RC4WD 1.9" Super Swamper TSL/Bogger
These are just a few of the many types out there on the market. If in doubt, ask or bring another brand in case yours do not qualify. *This is highly recommended (or check ahead of the race by sending in some pictures of what you want to run)
Tire Ban List:
• Panther Leopards
• RC4WD Mud Bashers (tractor tires)
• Mud Slingers
• Losi Claws (all sizes, and types)
• Hot Bodies Rovers (all sizes)
• Hot Bodies Sedonas
• HPI Rock Grabbers
• Panther Cougars
• Pro-Line Chisels (all sizes)
• RC4WD Rocklin
• RC4WD X-Locks (all sizes)
• RC4WD Crazy Crawlers
• Imex Skulls and Bones
• Losi Bashers
In closing... as mentioned once already, if you don't like these rules and the direction we are headed, we first and foremost apologize. Second however... sorry, not sorry.
Feel free to comment on this post or email me directly at 1tenrc@gmail.com to discuss further.
Scott
