Vintage Racing, what is original and OK upgrade?

[Fred B]

There are onl'y so many period correct batteries, motors, and tires out there. Burning through all of the classic parts for a vintage class seems counterproductive to me. Once the old stuff is gone it's gone for good.

The reproductions are a real help on the car side but there's nothing to replace the old consumables. If a brushless 17.5 and lipo fits in the car without modification it's fine by me (I agree that it should be blinky). This conserves the real vintage parts in working condition.

Tires are the same deal. I can't even buy tires that work on some of the Midwest outdoor tracks as it is. Farm dirt and we can't get step pins or fuzzies. I'm almost out of Losi Step Pins for my modern car let alone running vintage.

[makoman1860]

Last I looked brushed motors were still being made, and the old SCR type Nicad cells are still in production and dirt cheap. One of my 10's is running a $10 new ebay motor and a pack of cells that performs like the old 1200 SCR's. Total cost of motor and building up the battery pack (including wire, connectors etc ) was under $30 and its all new stuff. Seems reasonable to me. Performance is on par with the early 1990's stuff. Top of the line chargers from the 1990's can be bought for pennies on the dollar now. Biggest thing is tires yet though you are right.

[RCveteran]

I was just mounting up some new Jconcept barcode super softs on some old Junior T wheels to take to the track for fun which is of course a modern track. These tires just look so non off road to me and out of place on my JRXT, but oh well. I called track ahead to see what I needed and he said some guys get away with full slicks. Might as well make it carpet at that point to me. Save everyone a lot of money guessing on compounds.

[tamiyadan]

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[AscotConversion]

Maybe there should be a "hardcore" vintage class for those who want to go full boat with the Nicads, brush motors and everything else. Otherwise, it's a giant hassle. I did all that maintenance for years until lipo and brushless came in, and good riddance. Racers now have plenty of time in the pits - More time to relax and have fun racing.

[Chewbacca]

I believe all the replies show lots of interest and even more opinions.

For me it would be like this:

2 classes:

Pre RC10 era

and RC10 and later either with B2 and Losi XX period or without via cutoff year

I mean all modern 1/10 off road cars are some sort of evolution of the stealth RC10, which was the big game changer. Except for the new mid motor trend, but even those are related to some extent.

Pre RC10 could run in later class, but not the other way around

LiPos yes -> lots of people have modern cars as well and it helps to be able to use the same batteries over various platforms.

Brushless blinky only, but could agree on brushed motors and esc but they could be modern.

Modern radios allowed.

Depending on participant numbers, both classes could run in the same race, like in LeMans style 24h races with the GT class etc. I do not have enough track experience to tell if that is too dangerous for the older and perhaps slower class.

If possible bring dirt tracks back. That is something I'd like to see in general.