WTF!? Greg Degani's Comments on Electric 1/8th scale Racing....

[Marvin]

Originally Posted by slimthelineman

being the dumbest thing hes seen? more power, longer runs, cleaner, quieter, more consistant yeah thats ALL BAD!

Being in Britain (where new stuff in 8th tends to take about 3 years to catch on ), most people seem to prefer nitro (I certainly run nitro ... though am working on an 8ight for brushless as a project), and I think that it really is racers who take the longest to shift their opinions.

I agree with you on all those points apart from longer run times - the one thing so far that has stopped me from going brushless is the fact that I won't be able to get enough run time out of one battery (without a massive battery pack anyway), to finish a final (at least 20 minutes where I race).
I originally thought of some custom job to cut the chassis to make some kind of quick release mechanism (similar to the Tamiya DF-03) for the battery so I could put a new battery in, in about the same time as it takes to refuel.
Then I realised how complex that would be (cut a hole in the chassis, get a custom made battery box done - I contacted some machining companies - and they wanted to charge me about £300 (or about $500) for the work). This is the main disadvantage that I can see with brushless - the time taken to "refuel" for a new battery is just too long to be competitive - if, in 20minutes you have to stop to put in a new battery where in takes about a minute to do so, you have lost 1.5 to 2 laps on the competition - even though they have to refuel (20 seconds at most - even if they have to go twice).

Though I have to say, my opinion of Greg Degani has somewhat plummeted after reading that, I mean, at first I wasn't convinced, but now I can't see how he can try and deny that Brushless is the future - especially seeing as clubs in many parts of the world are being closed down all the time due to noise complaints. And considering that he lives in America - where the 'brushless revolution' is foremost, I think he has been a touch on the blind side.

Phew - that was long...

[Takedown]

Dont let this get to your head guys. Even though it is completely false in many ways the people who drive nitros will learn that electrics are better in more ways than nitro are.

[SunnyHouTX]

The only nitro I've ever owned was a T-Maxx last year... for all of two weeks I was tired of having to tune it every time the weather changed, and the noise. It was promptly traded for an E-Maxx When 8S plus capable controllers for car/truck applications start coming to market from the likes of Castle, the run time issues that Marvin talks about above will be non-issues. We are in the early stages of the maturing phase of the brushless revolution y'all, and I'm enjoying it to the max. Bring it on

I think most everyone has hit the nail on the head, but I felt compelled to add my 2 cents.

First off I get a little tired of "pro" RC racers. i have had my friends that race talk about how they act out at the track. I promise you the nitro guys don't want electrics, because there are loads of people, probably several on this board that could kick there A$$E$ in a race based on talent, the ability to drive the car. Electrics level the field, makes all things equal, past that it is all about who can drive. Electrics are not the future huh, check out the 1/18th electric race in Slovenia that was a 90 minute race. The winner ran brushless with lipo and got over an hour on his first battery, that type of tech is coming to 1/8th, then electrics wouldn't even need a battery change in a 60 minute main.

Second: I totally agree with Plattenburgs, nitros mean more crap sold, those things shake them selves apart, I don't really think the manufacturers are to happy about the new technology.

Third: I have been reading RCCA for a long time, I started back when a modified Clod was the rage with a fancy ESC and chassis brace from ESP. I recently read an article by Kevin Hetmanski about his project speed Savage. They are totally in the bag for these companies IMHO. (Maxamps.com anyone) I am really questioning if they are needed any more. For example Hetmanski's speed Savage project, the guy even acknowledges that brushless is faster , but he wanted to do something different so he went nitro. (Makes no sense if you are trying to build a speed project. If Pimp told me that rubbing chocolate pudding on my truck would make it faster, I would try it.) It was funny to me too that his top speed was 55 mph and later that same month HPI releases the Flux that hits 62mph out of the box....all day long! My point here is take a grain of salt with these magazines, they have out lived there usefulness to me and they are all about selling what ever the ad department tells them to push. When was the last time they admitted a major short coming in a new truck or buggy? How bout the page and half in the back of the magazine they donated to Castle Monster combo for a review.... Some are better than others, but I think ad revenue drives them more than anything anymore.