What is it all about? 

Here at Norfolk Buggy Club we race 2 Wheel Drive (2WD) and 4Wheel Drive (4WD) buggies which are designed for many surfaces. Tracks throughout the country are built on grass, dirt or clay, astro-turf, tarmac or mixes of surfaces. Included in their design are features that are placed to test the driver’s skill and ability to the full.  Humps, hollows, camber changes, jumps a mixture of bends and a fast straight make for a perfect day’s racing. Drivers race for four five minute qualifying periods and one five minute final to achieve their best possible result using both their driving skills and set-up abilities.

 The cars all include fully independent suspension that can be tuned with a range of springs and oils, adjustable camber links, slipper clutches and other features enable the driver to fine tune a cars handling as your driving ability improves. Six sub C size Nickel Metal Hydride (Nimh) rechargeable batteries or one Lithium Polymer (LIPO) cell pack are used to power a noise-free electric motor to speeds in excess of 40 miles per hour.

 A list of recommended motors and batteries can be obtained from the Electric Board on the BRCA website – www.brca.org or visit your local model shop or take a trip out to a club day to see what equipment is used at the club where you might end up racing.

 Buggies can be purchased in either kit or ready to run (RTR) form from specialist model shops and can be built in a matter of hours from kit form. No mechanical knowledge or specialist tools are needed to get you running. Tools are included in the kit and a text and picture instruction manual are included to direct you through the build process and help you with setting up the cars handling.  

What Do I Need and Which Car? 

The basic list of items that you will need for racing are as follows:

Car

Transmitter and Receiver

Battery Pack (two packs are recommended)

Charger

Motor

Electronic Speed Controller (ESC)

12 volt leisure battery 

The following should be taken as a guide only, it is recommended that you visit your local club and speak to the racers and organisers about what is commonly used. As with all electrical items the technology is continuously changing.

Other places to get up to date information would be:

www.brca.org who are the Governing Body for the Hobby

www.oople.com a well known forum supported by the countries top racers

RC Racer and Radio Race Car International are both magazines that are available from your local news agents and have race and product reviews. 

 Car

The first choice to make is whether you want to race 2 Wheel Drive (2wd) or 4 Wheel Drive (4wd) Both classes have advantages and disadvantages, a 2wd is easier to maintain and build as there are fewer moving and mechanical parts. Although initially a 2wd will be harder to drive it will teach you driving techniques that you will not learn through starting with a 4wd. Possibly the other main reason to look at starting down the 2wd route is that a car will cost you around half the price of a similarly specified 4wd.  

At Norfolk Buggy Club the most popular 2wd cars are the Team Associated RC10 B4 and the Kyosho RB5, you could also choose an equally competitive car like the Losi XXXcr or the X-Factory X6 with the later being quite a technical build. The advantage of choosing a car that is popular at a club is that fellow club members easily be able to help you out with advice and spares.

 Probably one of the best cars to get you into the fabulous hobby or RC Racing the Team Associated B4 RS "Race-Spec" RTR 1/10th Racing Buggy, which is available for

around £210 from most good model shops.

Distributor Website

http://www.cmldistribution.co.uk/cml_product.php?range=RACING&productId=0000001362

The advantage of this car over most of the competition is that everything with the exception of a charger and a battery are included in the kit and the car is fully upgradeable to a world championship winning car as and when your driving ability and money allow. 

Transmitter and Receiver

Unless this is included in the kit you will need a transmitter and receiver in either 27mhz, 40mhz or 2.4ghz frequency. The first two have the option of interchangeable frequencies so that more than one car can be used at a time, with 2.4ghz making use of the latest in fixed channel technology. There are two basic types available

Sticks Transmitter                                  Wheel Transmitter

 There is no advantage to be had by using either design although the stick transmitters are more commonly used in the UK.

  Battery Pack and Charger

There are at present two types of battery pack available for racing, either 6 Sub C size Nickel Metal Hydride (Nimh) cells which can be built in various formats and are available in capacities from 1400mah to 5600mah or Lithium Polymer (LIPO) battery pack. The LIPO pack is relatively new to the Model Car Racing scene, and although more expensive than a Nimh pack they are proving to be more powerful, lighter and give longer run times. With  batteries the higher the capacity (mah) the longer the run times and generally the more expensive they are. For starting to race a 3000mah pack of batteries is ideal and could give up to 15 minutes of run time.

You will also need an appropriate charger the majority of chargers run from a 12 volt leisure battery as very few race tracks have mains power available. Again your local model shop will be able to help you out with one that is appropriate.

 Motors and Speed Controllers

Everybody likes to go fast, but for starting off it is recommended that you go a stock motor which are generally 19 turn. These generate plenty of power for a beginner making the car easy to drive while still give enough power for a seasoned racer to enjoy a day of club racing. You may have noticed looking at motors that there are two types available, a brushed motor and a brushless motor, although you will need the appropriate speed controller for your chosen motor. Unlike with car engines where a high capacity will make your car go fast in electric motor terms the lower the fist number the faster your motor will go. So a 19 turn is the equivalent to your hot hatch and a 10 turn is like a formula 1 engine. Your local model shop will be able to help you out with a combination package that includes a motor and speed controller that are suitable for your use.

 Leisure Battery

When out racing very few tracks offer mains power to charge batteries so you will need a 12 Volt Leisure Battery to power your charger. These are available from all caravan centres and stores such as Halfords and Wilco. A Leisure battery with a capacity of 75amp hour will enable you to charge around 8 – 10 Nimh or LIPO packs during the day.