In the previous post, I talked about competitive 12th scale racing, but there’s another class that could be quite interesting, depending on the tracks in your area, 10th scale pan cars (GT10).

What is a GT10?

Essentially, these cars are simply scaled up versions of 12th scale LMP12 cars, to the point that the 12th and 10th scale versions of a given car (say, the Xray X12 and X10) share a great number of parts. They cost approximately the same, only a little more expensive (£15 more for the Xray X10 over the X12).

They weight about the same as a GT12, but with wide tyres similar to those run on LMP12 cars, but even bigger, to suit the bigger cars. Having much wider tyres and wider chassis (causing less weight transfer in corners) for the same weight as GT12, the GT10 cars are much faster, while still being fairly easy to drive.

Tyre Costs

The cars weighting the same as a GT12, but spreading the weight over a much bigger contact surface, and having slightly more efficient suspensions (centre of mass is usually lower), gives GT10 a lower tyre wear than GT12, for the same shore rating.

Additionally, the GT10 class uses control tyres of a same shore, which means using tyres of different shores is not an option. This may sound restrictive, but this means you do not have to buy and carry a lot of tyres of different shores, in case track condition changes. This, of course, reduces costs further.

I also noticed that GT10 tyres seem to be less sensitive to chunking, compared to GT12. There is less chunking, and when it happens, there is still enough remaining tyre that it still provides plenty of grip (where a GT12 would be more severely affected).

Thus, in terms of ongoing running costs, GT10 consumes tyres at a lower rate than GT12, and does not require carrying a variety of tyres. The tyres themselves are slightly more expensive, but not by a large amount, and I believe GT10 could very well be cheaper to run than GT12.

Speed and Agility

Due to their bigger size, they are not as nimble as GT12 or LMP12, but their speeds can be quite high, as they are using 10.5T motors, and allow ESCs with boosted timing.

On tracks designed for 12th scale cars, this can make them a bit tricky. Not that difficult, mind you, but their bigger size can force them to be driven slightly slower on tighter tracks.

On the other hand, on the more flowing tracks well suited for 10th scale touring cars, they can run extremely well.

Compared to Touring Cars

Let’s look at two top shelf kits from the same manufacturer, both front runners in their own classes:

The GT10 kit is almost half the price of the touring car kit! And the 1S batteries used by GT10 are also almost half the price of the 2S batteries used by touring cars… For GT10, an ESC that runs on 1S batteries (which can be slightly more expensive) or the use a voltage booster is needed, but the added cost is easily offset by savings on the first battery pack.

The GT10 being cheaper is also reflected in the cost of spare parts, of course, so repairs tend to be cheaper. The cars being about 400g lighter also means they break less.

In terms of lap times, GT10 cars are usually similar to 13.5T boosted, but their ease of driving is more comparable to the slower 17.5T blinky touring cars. The added speed can make it more difficult, but the higher grip can compensate (and a learning driver can choose to limit the speed of their car).

The GT10 cars are also much simpler to set up than touring cars, both thanks to having fewer moving parts, and to having bigger set-up windows.

To be fair to the touring cars, one aspect which some racers like is their rubber tyres (rather than the foam tyres of GT10, GT12, and LMP12), which do not require as much adjusting the gearing and riding height as they wear down, since they hardly change diameter. Foam tyres also benefit greatly from truing, which is an additional equipment (although some clubs have a truer available to their members) and preparation work. Some racers, though, prefer foam tyres despite these advantages, as running a foam tyre on a truer returns it to “good as new” condition, rather than some rubber tyres which have great grip for a number of runs, then lose some of that grip for the rest of their remaining usable life.

Conclusion

In the UK southeast, there are few tracks designed for 12th scale cars, as touring cars are much more popular. On those tracks, I feel that GT10 is a natural class to run, giving a lot of speed and excitement for the money, and an experience I found less frustrating than a touring car.

If there were more tracks designed for 12th scale cars, though, I might have chosen to run LMP12, but given the predominance of touring cars in the southeast, I’m finding a GT10 to be quite good value!