Helpful answers before you get started

The best possible advice is to pop down to one of our meetings and have a chat before you go anywhere near a model shop!! See our EVENTS page for what is on.
We are all kids at heart and if you go into a model shop and get talking to that friendly guy behind the counter there is a good chance you’ll walk out with something very nice but totally unsuitable for racing at Cupids.

Come down to see us and let someone in race control (green cabin) know you are there and they will make sure someone can make time to have a chat and answer any questions you may have.

General points to consider on equipment are however:

2WD car are generally cheaper to buy and to run as they have less moving parts and are slightly less hard on tyres. They are also less complicated so probably better suited to beginners.

There are some very inexpensive models out there which sound great on paper to the beginner but turn out to be a false economy when you come to race them as they are either totally uncompetitive (so you either give up or buy another car) or parts are not easily available and no one else has one at the club, so you can’t get any help on set up or repairs. It really is worth buying one of the mainstream models for your first car. Plenty of choices from Schumacher, Yokomo, HB, Kyosho, Associated, Tekno, Losi, Xray to name but a few.
Buying a car which is popular at the club will help a lot when you need some help.

Don’t forget to budget for the extras. It is almost certainly the case that the tyres in the kit (if there are any) will not work at Cupids so you need to budget around £25 for a set of tyres and wheels. You’ll also need 2 batteries (LiPo) so you can be charging one whilst you are using the other. These do not need to be expensive batteries but do need to be hardcase.
Secondhand cars are always available locally and on various forums/ebay but be careful unless you know the seller.

In terms of cars, you need either a 1/10th scale electric off-road vehicle 2WD or 4WD. Our main classes are 2WD and 4WD buggy but if enough Trucks or Stadium Trucks turn up then we will put them into their own head. You will also need suitable tyres, batteries and tools.
You will need some method of charging your batteries – and a suitable LiPo charger capable of fast charging (5A or higher) and Lipo Charging sack.
It is useful to have a table and chair to sit at to work on your car.
Lap counting is performed using MyLaps transponders in the cars. Please speak to race control at a meeting before buying one as not all transponders are compatible with all lap counting equipment.
See race control for membership information regarding club and BRCA.

There are many different brands available but the most popular brands in use are:-
Sanwa – MT-5 or M17 for Steer Wheel or SANWA EXZES ZIII for stick
Futaba – T6PV or T10PXR for Steer wheel or 4GRS or T10XCR for stick
FlySky – Noble NB4+ or NB4 Pro +
It is down to personal preference whether you use a stick style radio or a steering wheel style.

As we race electric based cars there are many different parts of electrics involved which we will break down:-
Servo
The steering servo is very important as it will be under a heavy load and will need to be very resilient especially in the inevitable crash. We recommend that servos should be able to provide at least 10kg or torque, have metal gears and be able to move 60 degrees in around 0.8 seconds or better. Popular servos which fulfil these requirements are the SRT BH9022 HV BL and Power HD S15 Low Pro

Speed controller or ESC
We recommend a speed controller for brushless motors that is rated at being able to cope with 120A or more on 2s Lipo. These controllers are usually rated for the lowest wind motor that they support and usually for offroad allow you to go down to a 5.5T. We would suggest that you make sure that the controller is capable of allowing the driver to adjust the timing via boost and turbo as well as having the ability to set a voltage and temperature cutoff.
Examples of such speed controller are:-
Hobbywing XR10
ELCERAM NITRIDE G2

Motor
There are many brushless motors available and most speed controller manufacturers suggest that you use their brand of motor with their speed controller for the best compatibility. The lower the wind the faster the motor but that also means that it drains the batteries quicker and can end up generating a lot of heat. Motors need to be geared properly and the controller setup so that the motors do not overheat during a race.
As a general rule we use the following winds depending on class:-
2wd – Any motor from 8.5 to 6.5
4wd – Any motor from 6.5 to 5.5
Batteries
Most of the cars that we race these days take shorty style batteries. The are generally 2s Lipo hard cased packs. We would recommend that you buy BRCA Approved batteries.

he outdoor track is available for free practice on Saturday (who have paid the race fee) before most club meetings and summer/winter series meetings (8.00-9.15am) and again in the afternoon after club meetings have finished.
During the summer evening practice session may be held for a small fee – details of these will be announced on our website.