wanting to get into 1/10 RC, help me out

[twizm]

ok, so ive had a tamiya QD series for about 2 years now, and it bores the pants off me. i want a new kit, preferably one i build myself. im thinking of a tamiya kit, as my LHS has em and lots of different chassis/shells. the part i need a hand with is electric over nitro, off road over on road.

i love being able to thrash around in the street with my QD, but at the same time i would like a stadium blitzer or something for running around my back yard or down the local sand dunes/4wd track.

i want A LOT more speed. i cant decide on nitro or electric. i know nitro is way faster, but they need more maintainance and parts are more expensive, plus, fuel costs money, they are noisy, messy and alot easier to destroy in my narrow street. electric is clean, not quite as noisy and lower maintainance, but less speed and short run times, although electricity is free sort of.

so, for a beginner with some skills in 2WD electric rc, a basic knowledge of the things, and all that jazz, tell me some good kits to look out for, what to avoid, how much each costs to run, etc etc etc

basically, i wanna know if nitro is a good option or not, because thats the way im heading, most likely on road. but im afraid of shelling out cash constantly to repair it and keep it up to date, because i dont know how much its gonna cost, so fill me in.

cheers

[PandaBear]

It all really boils down to what you want to do.

Nitro:-
-noisy, neighbours might hate it
-dirty smelly, don’t store in your bedroom
-goes fast but more problems
-nitro fuel @ $12-15/L
-if you run out of fuel, play stops
-danger eg runaway car, hitting things hard
-engine hassles eg tuning, maintenance, starting

Electric:-
-need to charge up, but its “free” :smiley2:
-can be modified to go just as quick
-less noise, can play till later in the night

Tamiya don’t make many “good” nitro cars, probably its best ones are the monster trucks like the Terra Crusher and the newest TNX-1.

Kyosho is probably better for all other variants of nitro – touring, casual offroad, larger monster trucks.

If you’re interested in racing, best to check what your local club/s run first.

[PandaBear]

It all really boils down to what you want to do.

Nitro:-
-noisy, neighbours might hate it
-dirty smelly, don’t store in your bedroom
-goes fast but more problems
-nitro fuel @ $12-15/L
-if you run out of fuel, play stops
-danger eg runaway car, hitting things hard
-engine hassles eg tuning, maintenance, starting

Electric:-
-need to charge up, but its “free” :smiley2:
-can be modified to go just as quick
-less noise, can play till later in the night

Tamiya don’t make many “good” nitro cars, probably its best ones are the monster trucks like the Terra Crusher and the newest TNX-1.

Kyosho is probably better for all other variants of nitro – touring, casual offroad, larger monster trucks.

If you’re interested in racing, best to check what your local club/s run first.

[jamiekulhanek]

I am already having a few problems with nitro cars….NEVER EVER buy a nitro RTR set…….you virtually have to re-assemble it!

Once it is all fixed up it should be fine like the day i got it, goes all day no problems.
For off road I think nitro is better, but on the track I prefer electric.

[jamiekulhanek]

I am already having a few problems with nitro cars….NEVER EVER buy a nitro RTR set…….you virtually have to re-assemble it!

Once it is all fixed up it should be fine like the day i got it, goes all day no problems.
For off road I think nitro is better, but on the track I prefer electric.

[twizm]

ok, say i bought a TB02, how much would i need to spend to make it go as fast as a nitro car?

also, how much do i have to spend on radio gear, servos, etc.

[twizm]

ok, say i bought a TB02, how much would i need to spend to make it go as fast as a nitro car?

also, how much do i have to spend on radio gear, servos, etc.

[peedee]

just put a novak brushless system if u have the money that should do u

[PandaBear]

Nitro cars don’t really go that quick… its just the noise that
makes it seem quicker than it is. They are quicker out-of-box
than a stock electric running a Mabuchi 540, but even a mild
modified motor will have more torque from standstill.

Quote:

also, how much do i have to spend on radio gear, servos, etc.

Radio sets start from about A$90 for a 2ch stick, $150 for a wheel.
These are basic good-brand AM radios that do the job fine. There are
fancier FM or PCM units, with computer digital settings etc and
the sky’s the limit on these.

You get 2 servos with the radio set, they are functionally usable.
Again there are heaps-dearer servos with more torque & speed, but the
base units are more than enough for an electric car.

Need a battery too, racing packs start from say $30.
And a suitable charger to juice it up, anywhere from $30 up.

Tamiya kits usually come with a Mechanical Speed Controller controlled
by the 2nd servo. Although this setup works, you’ll get more control
with an electronic spd ctrl (ESC). Factor in $100-150 for something
decent that will handle reasonably hot motors, better to avoid the
<$100 ESCs that can only work stock motors.

Kit comes with 540 motor, you can good speed out of these by gearing
them high and making use of the high torque they offer. Next step
on the horsepower ladder are the “stock” 27-turn motors, then come
modified (ie ‘not stock’) motors from mild (mid-teens turns) to
wild (single-digits). Motors usually about $60-150.

[twizm]

ok, thanks alot. i will probably end up getting an electric car for the street and a nitro stadium truck or something for when i go to the national park camping (beach, grass, gravel roads)and backyard bashing. theres no electricity available so nitro is the way to go for that. i have a higher paying job now so ill probably spend alot more than i bargained for!

[PandaBear]

Usually I wouldn’t consider any form of camping
unless I get to drive there… = no hiking.

Which also means there’ll be a 12V battery right
under the bonnet, handy for charging hehe.
(careful to leave enuff juice to churn your car but)

Trouble with nitro cars is, when you run out of
fuel you’ll have to stock up at a hobby store.
There’s more things to go wrong, more tools to
pack and more hassles with starting gear etc.

When I pack an RC on holiday, its invariably
an electric together with 240AC/12DC fast charger.
Sometimes I don’t even bring a toolbox.

[merc-blue]

yeh i would just pack a second battery for the car and a 12DC charger

Edited by – merc-blue on 16 April 2004 09:22:06

[twizm]

i drive there with the family, but the car battery idea doesnt work as we run a TV at night and charge mobile phones if needed. the battery cant really handle 2hrs of tv and a phone being charged without a jump start, so charging an RC just wouldnt make it onto the list of priorities. we only go away for 2-3 days at a time, so a litre or nitro would be more than enough (i think?).

i dont mind if theres more troubles with nitro, because i enjoy fixing and tinkering with stuff. if it were to break on a camp, id just pack it up and leave it til i got home.

[PandaBear]

Quote:

i drive there with the family, but the car battery idea doesnt work as we run a TV at night and charge mobile phones if needed. the battery cant really handle 2hrs of tv and a phone being charged without a jump start, so charging an RC just wouldnt make it onto the list of priorities. we only go away for 2-3 days at a time, so a litre or nitro would be more than enough (i think?).

1L lasts about a hour of play, $15-20 ($25 in TAS :dead:).

Charge your batteries WHILE you’re driving!! 🙂 I always have a old-school clockwork charger with a ciggy plug on it, that can charge my packs while the engine is running.

Once you’re parked… I keep a voltmeter across the battery. When it reaches 11.5V I start the car up and run a fast idle for 10 mins.

(ok ok, every so often I forget… so its Hello Mr RACV. “You again? Which track today then?!” :p)

Quote:

i dont mind if theres more troubles with nitro, because i enjoy fixing and tinkering with stuff. if it were to break on a camp, id just pack it up and leave it til i got home.

Easy said than done, but gosh you’ll be disappointed.
Nitro cars used infrequently can be very hard to start, with
no obvious reasons. Last thing I’d enjoy doing is trying
to troubleshoot something without the full phalange of
good tools and workbench with proper lighting.

[merc-blue]

just pack one of them new honda generators …a mate has one for when we go camping its real quite and pretty efficenct

[Aaron]

I charged 7 battery packs in a row while away using an old peak detection charger off the car… it still cranked and fired fine the next morning.

Pity about drowing the RC though 🙁

A.

--
Site Owner Guy.

[betty.k]

i reckon that buggy would be fun! for $30 you can buy 2 and bash the crap outta one while you get used to the size and handling.:8ball:

[twizm]

our scooby libertys battery isnt the best, it needs 12 volts to kick over, .1 less and it wont ever bother. i could get an elec truck, are they much better than nitros?

[jamiekulhanek]

Quote:

1L lasts about a hour of play, $15-20 ($25 in TAS :dead:).

coolpower 20% is around $25/litre.

5% pro glow is around 12.50/litre.

Not all of it is mega expensive.

[jamiekulhanek]

Quote:

1L lasts about a hour of play, $15-20 ($25 in TAS :dead:).

coolpower 20% is around $25/litre.

5% pro glow is around 12.50/litre.

Not all of it is mega expensive.

Though I try to settle somewhere in the middle (16% pro glow $16/litre) to get the best balance between performance and $$.

[Author]

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