The last year has been a very exciting one for manufacturers and for RC enthusiast. New products have hit the market and became extremely popular. This is the case with all the new short course trucks. What next for 2010? This is a tough question, we don’t have a crystal ball but if we take a look to the tendencies, 2010 is extremely promising.
What’s fun with predictions is that they don’t have to be taken too seriously, they are more like a game. We have divided our predictions in different categories. Are we right? Only time will tell. One thing is sure, we have had fun to “predict” the future 
The tires
The war for the podiums between AKA, JConcepts and Pro-Line will continue. All the manufacturers will offer more tires and new treads but manufacturers will mainly focus their work on lighter tires and wheels, longer lifespan for tires with softer compound.
Nitro engines
In the last year, the “hottest” engines manufacturers have worked hard to offer engines with the best fuel mileage. This tendency continues for 2010 and engines will be more fuel economic without scarifying the performances. Today’s buggy engines can run 12 minutes with a 125cc fuel tank before filling up. Will we see 15 minutes by the end of 2010? Our predictions are yes!
Brushless vs. Nitro
Brushless powered vehicles will be more popular than never before in 2010 but this doesn’t mean people will quit nitro for LiPo/BL. Don’t be surprised that many 1/8 buggy racers will add a brushless buggy to their collection. They will keep on racing nitro but they will also race their brushless/LiPo buggy. Nitro vehicles will continue to be popular in 2010, especially in categories like 1/8 buggy and truggy but the popularity of others classes will slowly fade.
Ready-To-Run vehicles equipped with brushless motors and LiPo battery packs are just next door. So far companies like Traxxas, HPI and Losi offer brushless RTRs. They don’t include any LiPo packs but we think it is just a matter of time to see RTR vehicles completely ready to run with LiPo pack and charger right out of the box. The Caster 748 buggy was promising but it is not out yet and we didn’t hear of it since the press release. Hope to see it next year!
1/10 electric off-road
The brushless motors and LiPo batteries are the major reason why electric off-road will gain in popularity. The forgotten electric stadium trucks and 2wd buggies will be back for 2010. Don’t be surprised of the announcement of new Team Associated RC10T5 or RC10B5 during the next year. The short course trucks will continue on their pace. 4×4 SC trucks, like the Traxxas Slash 4×4, will become one of the hottest segments of the industry for 2010. So far, Traxxas and Jammin’ have jumped into the 4×4 SC trucks class but we want more!
The racers
What do we see in our crystal ball about our pro racers? Ryan Cavalieri and Ryan Maifield will continue to be on the podiums while new kids like Ty Tessman will make the podium on a more frequently basis. The 2010 year is definitively the year of the young guns. It is really hard to predict what will happen with racers. We don’t think there will be major changes. Maybe few racers will move from one tires manufacturer to another but nothing more.
And what about you?
For the rest of the predictions, we are 100% sure that you’ll continue having fun driving your vehicles around the track or in your backyard. If you have predictions concerning next year, please share them with us in the comments section.
We hope you liked our “non scientific” predictions and you’ll keep on reading MyRCBox.com.
Airtronics
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related posts:
- Article – The Best of ’08
- Article – Give your old truck a second chance
- Article – Ten things to do during winter
- Article – HPI Blitz Project
- News – FRANK HÄTTICH 2010 VRC WORLD CHAMPION 1:10
- News – Trey Canard wins the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 250 Championship!
- News – 2010 European Championships 1/10 200mm
- Article – Convert your 1/8 nitro buggy to electric
- News – LiveRC.com – Finals are Now! – 2010 IIC in Las Vegas!
- My Words – Our twenty most popular pages for 2010
Makes me wonder what to get as im ready to by a new rig but not sure what to get. Im eyeing an AE SC8 or an AE SC10. I would like to race but finding a good 1/8th track is hard to come by. The speed and scale of the 1/8 looks like it would be a bit easier to drive. Thoughts?
You’re right, 1/8 scale SC trucks are easier to drive because they are bigger and 4wd. They are also more durable because they are based on a truggy chassis. It doesn’t mean the SC10 is not fun or durable.
I have a blast running my SC10, I really like how it handles. Maybe because I have always prefered 1/10 2wd vehicles over 1/8.
I picked up a SC10 and LOVE it. Sooo much fun! After only 4 runs at the track i’m thinking about ways to attack corners, exit them and my lines. That says lot about the truck and it’s handling.
hey hey ! I’m glad you like your SC10!