HELP: Decide on this R/C stuf

[ThraxteR]

Hey all

well I want to get into R/C Cars, and have read recent posts about getting into them.

I am thinkin about getting a Tamiya 1/10 Castrol Mugen NSX(TL01).

This is only for the chassis I think, I need to buy the radio gear, battery and motor, is that right? I possiblly have to buy more stuff.

Can someone list all the parts I need to buy? This is the NSX

So its for $209 at Hobbyone in Brisbane.



That is the one. I am possibly going to go into racing. I want to get something good to learn on and this seems to be ok. As Ive asked around, the Tamiya and Kyosho are the ones to go for, if u are wanting to learn.

Can you guys help me decide on what motor ? Brakes, etc etc.

Thanks

Thrax

[Yoda]

Id go for an OS engine.. they are a great engine to start with.. Easy as piss to tune, and easy as piss to fix when they broke...

Get a OS Max 12CV X.. they are a great enigine to start on

Thats just IMO though

[deanx0r]

I'm pretty sure he's after an electric car...I would give you some advice but I can't really say I know that much about electrics RCs...

[QWERTY]

Id say wher u race there would be a "540" class or a "stock" class or "novice" most of the time they use a motor called the "540" motor which is a cheap motor $15 lasts a while (depends on gearing) but it the slowest class (and therefore most close racing).

This is where you would learn the basics, one you want something faster the TLO1 chasis can not run "modified" i "CAN" but it would wear and break in not time, also it would not handle well as suspension slop and untunability of it.

Once you want to race MOD (AKA MODIFYED, the motor that is used) you will need to get a racing chassis such as the ones from losi, AE, schoumacer, and about 30 other manufactures.

Im not sure what is included with the tamiya you are getting but when u buy it ask if it has a mechanical speed controle and a reciver/servos/hand controler. For that price i would say it doesnt include it but not sure.

A mechanical speed controller is only good for a low power 540 motor andd once a mod motor is strapped in an electronic speed control is needed.

[ToyotaMan]

(yes, my first post)

About 3-4 years ago I made the venture into electric R/C cars, ending up blowing about $800 on it and due to lack of time my car's been wasting away in the cupboard for 2 years.

If you want to go racing, you'll need the serious high tech parts for your R/C car. You'll need an electronic speed control which is much more efficient than the mechanical resistor-based speed control which comes stock with tamiya cars. The ESC uses pulses to regulate the power to the engine, so power usage is mostly proportional to throttle. The mechanical speed control will draw the same current regardless of what speed you're going, and has set forward speeds.

Going racing will need at least 3 batteries, good quality ones at that. The stock 1400Mah battery which is usually thrown in with R/C kits usually won't cut it either - you'll need 1700 or 2000MaH batteries, which were about $150 back when I was spending this stuff.

Also: a delta peak charger is a lot better for charging your batteries than the standard timer/thermal chargers which come in those cheap deals. Basically, it will detect when a battery is fully charged as opposed to timer chargers when you are merely guessing how long to charge. These are quite expensive, and are around $200 for a decent one although you may find cheap ones if you're lucky (or if they really are cheap).

The 540 motor (as QWERTY described) is standard with a Tamiya kit, but may be a bit underpowered for your tastes. You might want a kickass modified 13-15 turn motor. I remember that "Trinity" motors were the most popular around, but I'm not sure how much the R/C car world has changed since then. Good Motors are around $140+.

If you do get that modified motor, you might want a better servo for turning those wheels too because the stock servo may get overloaded at fast speeds where the rough ground will buck your car around. But generally, the stock servo should be sufficient when starting out.

When racing, you'll need at least three frequency crystals to ensure that no two racers operate on the same frequency. These are about $20 each, I think. Not sure, really.

Make sure you get a wheel control transmitter, not the dual stick control. Some people find dual sticks fine, but really, you'll have much more fun with a wheel control since it is more like driving a car. These controls come as part of a radio set usually containing transmitter, receiver and a frequency crystal. If you are getting a dual stick control, ask if you can get a wheel transmitter instead.

/end techie part

The fun part for me was ricing up the chassis. If racing, you'll want a carbon fibre chassis which is much lighter and usually stiffer than a plastic bucket chassis (which I think the TL01 chassis is). You can buy different stiffness springs (in different colours!) and change the damper oil viscosity. Almost all parts of the car can be replaced by pretty "anodized aluminum" parts which are lighter and dissipate heat better.

You should also buy ball bearings to replace plastic bearings. These are used in rotating parts, and in high performance cars, plastic bearings will melt. Ball bearings are much more efficient and good at coping under stress. Ball bearings are probably another essential upgrade, but they are INSANELY EXPENSIVE.

To start off with, though, the kit you will buy is fine, since tamiya products are supremely reliable and well made. You can modify it, but there is a limit to the potential you will get since this chassis is designed to be a budget chassis. To race, you'll want something a little more expensive, such as the products from HPI, Kyosho or Yokomo.

Also, there are different chassis types, but the one you'll be getting is called the 1/10 touring car chassis. The companies I described above also make 1/10 touring car chassis (what's the plural of chassis? ), and they are generally more geared towards racing than tamiya. If you want reliability and a learning experience, take the tamiya. If you want potential, and you are courageous and overconfident in your R/C modelling skills, take a more expensive chassis for your first R/C purchase. However, I should warn you that nobody ever constructs the R/C car perfectly on the first go. There's always some problem with it, or something will break pretty soon after completion.

I could tell you about my tamiya ta-03 and its journey, but it's a bit out of place here . Suffice to say that a small hobby gradually sucked more and more money out of it than I was prepared to spend.

Sorry about the long post, but to recap:

If you want to race or if you want a high performance car, you'll eventually need (in no order):

Electronic speed control
-High performance batteries (1700MaH or higher)
-Wheel Transmitter
-High performance motor
-Frequency Crystals
-Carbon fibre chassis (or at least something lighter than that tamiya plastic tub chassis).
-Ball bearings

These are the tuning parts you may want (again, no order):
-Springs of various stiffnesses
-Damper oil
-Tyres of softer tyre compounds
-Heat sink for the engine (optional; depends on what chassis you got)
-Various carbon fibre and "anodized aluminum" parts.
-Perhaps two bodies: a "display" body and a "racing body" which you don't feel bad about smashing up (they WILL get smashed up).

This adds up to a LOT of money. But this is more towards the "hardcore" side of R/C cars. As a beginner, you won't need even half these parts...but as you become used to your car and are more interested in making it go faster, these are just some of the things which you can do. All these modifications cost a lot of money, so if you go racing make sure you are dedicated.

I also highly suggest picking up a copy of "R/C car action", an american magazine which is on sale at most newsagents (for ridiculously high prices, around $16 at my newsagent).

Again, sorry about the long post and my sometimes incoherent writing (5am in the morning, haven't slept yet).

[RSix]

I've already got a eletric r/c offroad rc car for fun.

Looking for something with a lot more power for playing around with at home.

What would you guys recommend in petrol/nitro powered offroad r/c cars secondhand? What sorta money would a be looking at a basic setup for fun @ home.

Cheers

[Jester1]

Originally posted by QWERTY
A mechanical speed controller is only good for a low power 540 motor andd once a mod motor is strapped in an electronic speed control is needed.

ive got a Eletric Yokomoto i think thats the spelling of it and i forget the model but its pretty powerful its a Mod motor i think , forget about this stuff now , its got the replacable Brushes and stuff at the back and all

also would probaly sell this engine

[deanx0r]

Originally posted by RSix

What would you guys recommend in petrol/nitro powered offroad r/c cars secondhand? What sorta money would a be looking at a basic setup for fun @ home.

- HPI Nitro MT
- Traxxas T-Maxx
- Tamiya TXT-1
- Ofna Pirate 10

If you were to get one of these brand new, prices would start at around $700 up to $1100 for a Ready-To-Run kit....

[RSix]

Thanks heaps deanxOr,

They all look awesome.

question dude, How long can these cars go for on fuel?

My electrical car would go for about 7min which was very frustrating.

Wondering how long the fuel lasts per go and do you have to let it cool down after its ran outta fuel?

Thanks

[Yoda]

Depends on the size of your tank, and how much your thrashing the engine...

My tank last for about 7mins of just normall running around

but I was doing 360's and zooming around heaps the other day and only lasted about 3 mins...

No real time needed to cool down, the time that the engine is off and you refuel it is really enough time

[RSix]

Nail-Bomb is selling a RC car in the sale section.

Its got a .11 motor. How good is that in terms of speed/ torque etc?

I'm a newbie to rc so I want to make sure I'm making the right choice.

I've already got a electrical car but I want something a bit faster and more grunt. Will his car do?

Cheers

[c9912033]

Mate, why don't you just give me all your money for the next ten years, so I can save you the hassle. Find something else to do, I spent thousands ($5000+) on electric offroad R/C cars. The cycle never ends, new cars and gadgets are released all the time and you have to buy them, to stay competitive. After ten years I gave it up and I still have nearly brand new stuff laying around which is worthless. It is just a big money pit.

[QWERTY]

i spent an EASY 10K

[RSix]

I dont wanna race em. Just want something to play around with at home