Any Tips for an RC noob?

Biggest thing I've found when starting out is parts. You will break something. What your local hobby shop carries might be what you should run. Waiting a week to replace a broken A-arm sucks.

The_Jed wrote:

Klayfish wrote: I'm just starting to learn these things. My 10 year old recently bought this. It's the very basic model...we're running with what came in the box. 2WD. At first, I had it on 50% throttle and top speed was 15mph or so. Now he's able to control it at full speed, which is 30mph I think. He loves it, but wishes it could do better donuts. They definitely are like legos, which is great for someone not super mechanically inclined like me. He took it up a dirt hill, which had a grid of string just under the surface...who knew?? The string got hopelessly entangled in the wheels. I had to take the suspension apart to get it all out, and it was surprisingly easy. Of course now his 7 year old brother is dying for one too.

That is what I would like to get for my kids. What is the model name?

Yeah, that's just a slash, with a Robby Gordon Dakar body on it. Traxxas slash with an xl-5 is what you're looking for.

Wally wrote:

JamesMcD wrote:

Curmudgeon wrote: if you wanted good you bought an Associated RC10.

What about the JRX2 or Ultima?

I got my RC10 before the Ultima or JRX2 were even thought of. I bought it in the 7 grade after my friends bought Tamiyas because I had to have a race car. It took me about three months to getting working right. It was pretty much a collection of roughly shaped parts that were waiting to replaced with better bits. Once it was finally together and sorted it did make a damn nice piece though.

This. I hung around the tracks and the hobby shop for a few weeks before settling on a car; I saw way more Associated stuff winning and parts were readily available, along with a ton of aftermarket. My then GF's son bought a Kyosho Ultima; we had a helluva time figuring out why it would 'hook' hard to the right. It turned out the wheelbase was 1/4" shorter on the right side, the front suspension mount had the holes drilled wrong. Even after fixing that it just wasn't as good handling as the Associated stuff. At the time, Tamiya stuff was pretty much still toy grade although there was a heap of aftermarket available for them. Yokomo was the premier Japanese brand but they were not common. The JRX2 suspension and steering was nowhere near as adjustable as the RC10, plus the transmission had a good bit of drag in it. I used an MIP trans which was a PITA to adjust but was lightweight and low drag.

I gotta say, developing my R/C car suspension taught me a LOT about setup. Don't laugh, but the lessons apply to full size cars.

In reply to Curmudgeon:

Troof. I've learned scads about suspension from my drifter trying to make it do things I like.

Wow, things have changed alot since I was into RC in the 80s! My dad and I started out with 1/10 dirt stuff, and he, being an engineer/GRM'er, actually designed and built a 1/10 dirt car for me with carbon honeycomb chassis, using a Tamiya Frog gearbox that he created a homebrewed LSD for. I was able to do fairly well with it against the Associated RC10s of the day.
In reply to Curmudgeon, the entire design was based off of several books discussing suspension design for full size cars.

In reply to mndsm:

Man I love the trans am rc car.

Cotton wrote: In reply to mndsm: Man I love the trans am rc car.

I actually have a set of meshies that I special.ordered that look pretty close to the honeycombs. I havemt mounted tires to them yet, but they're badass. It's funny, because Burt's car was a 77, this body (from hpi) is listed as a 78, and the ban-one Georgia plate decal it came with (like there was another option) says 1976. Its my favorite body by far, and I have a lot. I've got.... 2 e30 m3s, an e92 DTM, a 9c1 caprice, a millennia touring car, an acura nsx gt500, a Toyota crown sedan, I had a honda odyssey aero, but that's all cut up.for my truck now.... A widebody Levin ae86....

Stupid rabbit hole.

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions. I was leaning towards a Traxxas something since that's what the local hobby shop carries.

Son of a bitch. You guys are going to get me to dust off the Wheelie King and (HPI something I forget), and start spending $$ on that again. ...thanks!

PS- started with a Ruckus and that was the biggest piece of E36 M3 I've ever bought. Except my old S10 Blazer.

Back from the dead!

I've had good fun the few times I've played around so far, still waiting for spring so I can really have at it.

In the meantime, what fun can be had with something small that I can fool around with indoors? I'm thinking in the $60-$100 range.

I had one of these a while back and it was good fun:

http://www.amazon.com/Losi-B0241T4-4WD-Rally-Car/dp/B008EJNBJG/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1425332440&sr=8-8&keywords=4wd+rc+car+indoor

Is that the way to go again for the money?

I've also been eying this one up for a while, thoughts?:

http://www.amazon.com/Team-Losi-Micro-T-Stadium-Truck/dp/B000JL729W/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1425332594&sr=1-1&keywords=1%2F24+rc+truck+losi

Any RWD recommendations? We have hardwood floors FWIW.

Maybe you can find a well used 1/16 scale Traxxas, they sell for $200 new so maybe you can get one for close to $100 used?

Good timing to bring this thread up. My son's Robby Gordon Dakar Slash just E36 M3 it's motor. I didn't realize that the brush motors are "wear items", that's what Traxxas said when I called them. Good thing is they're only $20...unless I want to upgrade of course, which is $125. We also found it had broken one of the mounts for the front A arm. My son got quite upset about it because it would cost money, I just smiled and said "Welcome to race car ownership, son."

Owners experience on the micro T, don't do it if you have pets, or a SWMBO with long hair. The axles work far more effectively than any model Dyson... They are flimsy, but loads of fun, especially when you go LiPo. You can't keep the front wheels on the ground.

I'll share my experience with the RC hobby. I bought an HPI RTR nitro truck. I broke the suspension on it every single time I took it out. Eventually, everything underneath became billet aluminum. The first time I took it out and nothing on the truck chassis broke the engine seized. I sold it cheap at a yard sale.

I'm still living in the past, tinkering with 30 year old cars like this kyosho optima.

I just got this off the 'bay.

Anything I own that's small enough to run indoors will still outrun my ms3 to 60 if I can keep it off its lid. I tend to get a little nuts with my engine combos.

PubBurgers wrote: Back from the dead! I've had good fun the few times I've played around so far, still waiting for spring so I can really have at it. In the meantime, what fun can be had with something small that I can fool around with indoors? I'm thinking in the $60-$100 range. I had one of these a while back and it was good fun: http://www.amazon.com/Losi-B0241T4-4WD-Rally-Car/dp/B008EJNBJG/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1425332440&sr=8-8&keywords=4wd+rc+car+indoor Is that the way to go again for the money? I've also been eying this one up for a while, thoughts?: http://www.amazon.com/Team-Losi-Micro-T-Stadium-Truck/dp/B000JL729W/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1425332594&sr=1-1&keywords=1%2F24+rc+truck+losi Any RWD recommendations? We have hardwood floors FWIW.

No. I had this truck with hardwood floors. Too much power for the tiny amount of traction meant you were always tiptoeing on ice. It wasn't fun.

I'd suggest Kyosho Mini-Z if you can still find them.

The kyosho mini z is not in the $60 to $100 range.

Jerry wrote: Son of a bitch. You guys are going to get me to dust off the Wheelie King and (HPI something I forget), and start spending $$ on that again. ...thanks! PS- started with a Ruckus and that was the biggest piece of E36 M3 I've ever bought. Except my old S10 Blazer.

I just got a second battery for my Wheely King (3300 mAh). I'm looking at a 21 turn motor next and probably some homemade sway bars. I paid $200 for it shipped and it has been a perfect back yard basher.

I am afraid to get back into buggies because money disappears fast down that hole.

Wow, this thread brings back lots of memories of middle school and early HS (moved to Germany halfway through and couldn't really get parts or race there...). Started out with a Tamiya Grasshopper kit, eventually upgrading it to the point that it was essentially a Hornet before eventually getting a belt-drive 4WD (forget which model), a Maxxam (SP?) FF FWD car, and a 1/12 scale road racer. Had most of it until the early 2000s when I sold all of the cars, radios, and parts for a decent price. Now kind of wish I'd kept them, though it seems the new stuff blows the old (especially the motors) away.

A few years back I looked into getting back into it and was sorely disappointed at the lack of kits- I really enjoyed building them back in the day, and was disappointed there were very few still around that weren't RTR...

You guys are terrible. I have a 1/8th serpent in the garage somewhere that is a rocket that I am going to have to dig out and rebuild soon.

Also look at the bodies they make now. Its a 1/10th 917. I think I am in love.

I remember Serpent. Kind of an elite kit. Had to be a "big dog" to buy one.

You clowns are not helping me. It's bad enough that there is a sizeable R/C hobby shop near me which has both an indoor carpet and an outdoor off road course. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bush-River-Raceway/160124267482238

Dammit. No I will NOT stop in... ain't gonna happen. Nope. No way.

Appleseed wrote: I remember Serpent. Kind of an elite kit. Had to be a "big dog" to buy one.

I used to race a lot, like more then was healthy. I could build darn/tune near anything into a winner, just not with me behind the stick which was the issue. Serpents I had a ton of fun fixing for people as man they are ballistic fast even by today's standards. At the time they were the fasting thing at the track that was race legal and yeah deep pockets only.

I think I got it in trade for rebuilding two crashed concept 30 nitro choppers in one working one for someone.

I think a standard serpent is almost 7-800$ still for just the chassis. With the mill going in I can make some cool stuff for it.

It finally warmed up so I can play outside. I took my Ruckus out today and promptly broke it. It intermittently steers and clicks while it does so. I dismantled the steering servo and all of the tiny plastic gears appear to be OK and nothing appears to be binding anywhere. It steers better but still clicks without a load on the tires. Thoughts? I'm assuming the steering servo is toast.

I assume this will end in me buying a new steering servo so here are some n00b questions: Are they universal at least as far as 1/10th scale stuff goes? I've looked online and can't find many listings for ECX specific stuff. Where's the best place to buy? I'm assuming I should upgrade to one with metal gears so this doesn't happen again.

In olden times there were different connectors for different brands, but these days everyone has pretty much adopted the Futaba connector shape and there are standardized servo sizes and mounting bosses as well.