Correct me if this idea sux, but all of us spend so much time and money on this hobby. we all basically run brushless with 4200 or 4600 mah batteries. why don't we extend the race times? I know that the way things are now we could run at least 5 min races. I guess what i'm saying is we put in a lot of time, effort and money to go and run 3 heats and a main (16 min. of racing) wouldn't we all get a lot more out of it if we extendedour race times? when i first got into racing r.c.this realy wouldn't have been posible in 10th scale oval because technology wouldn't allow it but times have changed and i think 4 min. is too short! bring on the ideaS!!!!!!!!!:rolleyes:

I get home at 2 am as it is. No thanks.

If the races were longer the only the only difference is most of the time instead of losing by 2 laps I'd lose by 4. I just don't see the fun in that at all. It would just frustrate people.

There's a lot more to the hobby than the 16 minutes of racing.

A mod car can easily dump 4600 batteries in 4 minutes.

don't forget tire prices.

If the races were longer the only the only difference is most of the time instead of losing by 2 laps I'd lose by 4. I just don't see the fun in that at all. It would just frustrate people.
There's a lot more to the hobby than the 16 minutes of racing.


I agree with Tommy on this one.
It would do nothing to make the racing any better,
make it more appealing to new racers, or to make
my day any more enjoyable..

I was trying as many of the 2 billion setups out there yeserday
as possible, I never stopped all day.... went through 8 packs.
4 for the four minute races, and the other four, I ran them till dead....
So I got a LOT of time on the track, had a ball...
Still don't go for crap... but had a ball! :drunk:

There IS a lot more to the hobby than the 16 minutes...:thumbsup:

Being that I'm an ex 12th scale road racer, I miss the 8 min races, but I just got my first taste of 4 min oval and I did not like that. I felt ripped off. At my home track we run 5min, and that is a nice time, but I would like to be able to do a couple of 8min to 10min monster heats, or at least a monster main, also a 60 min indurance would be neat.

Just a thought..

5 Min. heats & mains is the way to go.
Peter

YES it is superjet 701 we'v been runing 5 min for a couple of years now and just for fun we will run a 300 400 500 lap race- your looking at 30 min or so on the same battery. IF your dumping in any clase your gearing wrong and or charging batterys to high its that simple.

I was just at a dirt oval event, 63 heats. if you added another 1 miute per race, you would have added another hour to the round. I know this is an extreme example, but big races follow what the majority of small tracks do. So if all the tracks ran 5 minutes the bigger events would also.

I like the way we do it at Pitroad.... 4 min qualifiers (averaging 60-70 laps depending on class) in brushless classes, then a 75-80 LAP main event.

..we switched ALL of our classes to 5 minutes several years ago..and rarely will I run a race any shorter. (EVEN MODIFIED)

Yes, you CAN dump a MOD car in 4 minutes, but you can ALSO make them go over 6 minutes w/o any problems.... It's called GEARING and EFFICIENCY.

I do sometimes run SHORTER qualifiers though...just because they are like little SPRINTS, but if I do that I usually run extended mains. (This is NOT for series racing..those are ALL 5 min. qual and mains)

The extra minute per heat was insignificant to our program. Normally we have 8-10 heats per round so it added less than an HOUR per program...actually usually less, we just take shorter breaks between rounds now.

I could see on a program that has 15-18 heats though, it would add closer to an hour and a half...and if the program is dragging on - it would kill the finish time.

....if guys are worried about the change because of HOW MANY LAPS they LOSE by...I think that's the wrong reason to be concerned...

......you want to have some ReAL FUN - take your smallest tracks (88 - 100 ft.) and run 16 car mains - 30 minutes long....with NO corner marshals....

I don't have a problem with 5 minute mains, or 100+ lap mains.
I just don't see any advantage to the extra minute in qualifying.
Especially if you run something other than stock.
You're just eating up equipment for no practical purpose.
Chances are pretty good that your TQ guys will still be TQ guys,
be they 2 minute heats, 4 minute, or 5 minute heats.
Especially with IFMAR qualifiers.

I feel the battery war would be worse with longer races runtime would be more of an issue and you would need new batteries more often. All of the NIMH cells since the IB4200's, 4600's etc lose tons of runtime with normal use. Right now 4 minutes keeps the lower runtime batteries close with the newer packs. Newer pack will almost always perform better than older packs. Tire wear and longer nights racing. I am already tired when I get there and don't want to race until 1 or 2 am and drive an hour to get home.

I only got about 4 weeks on a pack for 4 cell mod pan car or 6 cell mod sprint. The packs would come off the track at over 180. We have moved back to slower motors due to the battery losing so much runtime. Mod isn't for everybody I know but with a good group it's fun.

...in order to change race lengths, you have to change minds...in oval racing that is almost impossible.

Longer racing (5 minutes) with batteries that discharge for over 7 minutes at 35 amps...is NOT a battery war.

Maybe you can't run a 6x1 motor for 5 minutes..ok fine - if the guys who are running 6x1's don't want to go to 5 or 6 mintues...keep them at what ever length they are running...BUT Don't let THEM keep you from running longer in other certain classes.

Plus, there is nothing to say you can't have ONE or TWO longer classes for those who LIKE longer racing..and KEEP short racing for those who don't. (Heck - if 4 minutes makes good MOD racing - why not CUT THEM to only 2 min's ....they could REALLY FLY.)

Everything is do-able... (Even classes with multiple B/L motors...) ;)

The over 7 minutes of run time is only for the first 2 or 3 cycles. I have 4600's that are around 2800 to 3000 mah and some 4200 that around 2600 to 2800. We were dumping new 4200 with a 5.5 brushless at 4 min 15 sec. We are now running 10.5 in that class. The 3.5 4 cell were running about 3.5 minutes and we moved to 8.5. The battery runtime has always dropped on NIMH cells after each charge.

Most racers can't focus for 240 seconds let alone 300 seconds. I have seen it with the late race "brain fart" too many times.

I run 17.5 at a flat track and i only have one 4600 pack the rest of my packs are 4200'S. some are at least 2 years old and my car would run a six min main, no problem! i run a 19t truck that we run 5 min mains and those packs would go at least another min with some drop off but not enough to make the cars un raceable. I think the people that would enjoy lengthening mains would be the guys that enjoy racing with each other rather than the guys that sit in there pit doing everything they can to try to get another 0.00001 sec. so they can feel better on the way home.

We use to race 5 min and now race 4 min to follow the BRL rules I like it better at 4 min.


5 or more is for sure a rollout game 10.5 up.

Jake

4 min is the standard, and most are fine with that. we are changing enough right now, lets tackle one thing at a time:rolleyes:

the guys that sit in there pit doing everything they can to try to get another 0.00001 sec.

I've seen those JERKS! :freak:

I've seen those JERKS! :freak:

WE MUST ALL BE JERKS!!!!! :confused:
Everybody is always looking for a tenth/1/2 a tenth or something that makes us go faster.....I found a tenth last week now Im being a jerk lookin for another one.

check your
http://www.retro.com/employees/lee/Ani/SarcasmMeter2.gif

sweet, finally a meter better than Zubie's. Mail me one Tommy.

:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

I think longer races would be better, and I would definitely give up a few tenths of a second per lap to run a few more minutes each race if I had too. When I first started racing about 12 years ago they would do a 10 minute race on our carpet oval to finish the night off. It was a lot of fun to watch because the strategy of that race was opposite of the 4 minute sprint/bash. I think you would see the skill level of the average driver be a little more refined with the slightly slower speeds and I think there would be a lot more give and take. Does anyone remember the quick change enduro cars back in the day?? That would be fun to bring back..... pit stops in electric racing.

WE MUST ALL BE JERKS!!!!! :confused:
Everybody is always looking for a tenth/1/2 a tenth or something that makes us go faster.....I found a tenth last week now Im being a jerk lookin for another one.

your just a jerk no matter what, HI darrel

I have an answer for you.

Run NITRO!!

We run 50 lap qualifiers and anywhere from 200-500 lap main events with pit stops. No dumping to worry about, unless you forget to charge your reciever pack. Then it is all over but the sweeping up. :D

Tommy, you could get home at least 2 to 3 hours earlier if you ran at the track that is just 5-10 minutes from you house. Instead of driving an extra 1.5 hrs. to Plattsburgh. Just a thought. :thumbsup::rolleyes:

P.S. Before I get flamed, I know that you have run there a few times this year which is great. Plus think of all of the $3.30 per gallon gas you could save.

John :thumbsup:

I'd much rather perfer to have additional shorter qualifying heats by time and longer mains by time or lap count. Also I'd prefer to have as much good practice time per race event. How about 4 rounds of 2 minute qualifying with a 100+ laps main.

Why is 3 rounds of 4 minute qualifying the standard in oval? Why do the qualifying rounds even have to be the same length as the main? Is it because it has always been done that way? There is a certain logic to "if it ain't broke don't fix it", but it doesn't hurt to examine why we do things every now and again.

Why couldn't we go to 6 rounds of 2 minute qualifying? It would be the same amount of track time as 3 rounds of 4 minutes. More rounds means more opportunities to get a good qualifying attempt in. Factor in a re-sort or 2 and you could overcome being in a "slow" heat with "bad" drivers. Since it is the same amount of track time, tires shouldn't be an issue.

Why not go the opposite direction and do 2 rounds of 6 minute qualifying and a 6 minute main. We all know half the problem is getting drivers to the line in the first place or turn marshalls in the corners. Fewer heats means less down time between actual racing and I bet we'd all get home earlier. Actually you would get more track time than 3 rounds of 4 and a 4 minute main (16 mins.) compared to (2*6) + 6 = (18 mins.).

Status quo is great if it makes sense. But I've never claimed to be able to make sense out of everything that happens in r/c oval racing. :)

I have for many years thought that shorter qualifiers & longer lap mains would be the hot ticket, but as you said the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" philosophy has a greater hold on this hobby than Trinity & Novak. :freak:

John :thumbsup:

I am in favor of less qualifying and longer mains, that's why the nitro pan cars and GASCAR interest me so much.

About how much runtime could we get with a lipo pack and 21.5 brushless on a medium size oval? I agree with Echeconnee about the longer mains.

I ran a 3200 lipo and a 13.5 motor for almost 15 minutes before the fail safe for the lipo kicked in and it was quick all the way through. The track was 305' concrete slight banking on radial tires. Lap times were in the low 6's

Im in favor of 3 minute races. By the 3 minute mark my knees are knockin pretty bad, when your in the lead!!