nick205
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| posted on 14/1/12 at 01:49 PM |
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RC car advice
I know there's a few RC enthusiasts on the forum and hoping to get some advice on what to choose. My only experience was a Tamiya Hornet 20+
yrs ago so consider me new to this.
I favour a buggy type car for off road use, preferably 4WD....
1. Nitro vs. Electric - is the extra hassle of tuning, starting and messing around with fuel worth it over electric cars?
2. Brushed/Brushless - what are the pros and cons of each?
3. Makes - Traxxas and Kyosho seem widely available and well supported?
Talk to me knowledgeable peeps...
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tegwin
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| posted on 14/1/12 at 02:04 PM |
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I have had a few nitro cars over the years and always found them a pain in the arse to get to run right, they are noisy and messy... OK you can keep
using them all day without waiting for batteries to charge... but this can be overcome by simply buying more batteries.
I would seriously consider something electric using brushless motors and Lipo batteries. You will be amazed how much power the car has and for how
long it keeps going!
You dont specify a budget....
I like HPI's stuff... like this: http://www.hpieurope.com/kit-info.php?partNo=107109&lang=en
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Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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atm92484
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| posted on 14/1/12 at 02:37 PM |
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I was never much of a fan of any Traxxas products. They're all kind of crap and once you get beyond the entry level stage you quickly find
their short comings.
Kyosho's high end stuff has always been first rate quality but it isn't cheap. If you don't mind paying for it you won't be
disappointed.
I personally prefer nitro but that is just because I got into it before lipos and brushless. It really depends if you mind tuning a nitro engine (a
little learning curve but once you get the hang of it it isn't bad) and if you want to race.
Either way both will be fun. I would strongly recommend some sort of 1/8 scale buggy. They're durable, handle well, and fast.
-Andrew
Build Log
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bj928
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| posted on 14/1/12 at 02:46 PM |
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i prefer the 1/5th scale bigger stuff, just use normal 2 stroke mixed fuel and the can go all day, none of the running and starting problems of the
nitro, so much fun, if you can, buy or get a friend to buy from america and save £, but still the most expencive of the lot, but also the least
headache.
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zetec
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| posted on 14/1/12 at 03:38 PM |
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It all depends where you intend to use it. Fuel powered are a no no on anything but a proper track or private land. Most of the electric can match
fuel powered in performance and cost coming down for more powerful batteries. Like i say sus out where you will use it and if at local park etc then
electric only way forward.
" I only registered to look at the pictures, now I'm stuck with this username for the rest of my life!"
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MkIndy7
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| posted on 14/1/12 at 03:51 PM |
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I used to have a 1/10 HPI 4wd Nitro touring car, but as its been said there noisy a pain to start and still need as many if not more batteries!.
You also needed a really flat surface to run it on as the ground clearance wasn't much, any little stones on the tarmac would have it jumping
all over the place.
Got fed up of hardly using it and it being a pain to start I never bothered with it for years.
A year or so I treated myself to a Traxxas 1/16VXL E-Revo
It's a mini brushless monster truck that's pretty much as fast as the touring car was with 1 Nimh battery in nevernind when you hook 2
upto it like its designed for or Lipo's. It's really robust and will go pretty much anywhere, the skate park it always quite fun as
it'll jump the half pipe!
Only mods so far have been new wishbones when the old ones snapped £13 for the front and about the same for the rear for uprated RPM ones and stiffer
shock oil that completely transformed the handeling far less rolling over during high speed turns.
It's probably abit slower off road than a proper monster truck in long grass and on sand etc, but as with most things it's a compromise.
It was certainly Cheeper than the larger monster trucks and much more convenient, I keep all mine in a rucksack and just throw it in the car when I
think there'll be a chance to use it.
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nick205
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| posted on 14/1/12 at 04:19 PM |
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All good feedback.
Forgot to mention in OP...
Budget = £300 to be fully kitted out and running.
Usage = local woods, private fields, disused railway line etc.
Will be looking at the HPI product range.
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Werner Van Loock
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| posted on 14/1/12 at 06:19 PM |
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hype of the moment are the SC (short course) trucks.
ranging from 1/10th scale up to 1/5th, electric or nitro or gas (1/5th)
video of the 1/5th electric conversion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2DH0oEb130&hd=1&t=40s
My preference is the 1/8th brushless as it is big enough to tackle any terrain and still have some speed. 1/10th struggles on a non prepared
surface.
nice example again with movie (rtr = ready to run)
http://www.hpieurope.com/kit-info.php?partNo=107105&lang=en
Only go nitro when you have no neighbours and are willing to fiddle with setting up the engine
http://www.clubstylus.be
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nick205
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| posted on 14/1/12 at 07:40 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Werner Van Loock
nice example again with movie (rtr = ready to run)
http://www.hpieurope.com/kit-info.php?partNo=107105&lang=en
Only go nitro when you have no neighbours and are willing to fiddle with setting up the engine
That looks about right!
Electric seems the right way to go too.
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dhutch
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| posted on 15/1/12 at 02:16 AM |
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Ive never owned a brushless or Lipo as I got out of electric before they came around, however having gotin into it as a toy and then raced 2wd elec
buggys (outdoor tarmac, in door on carpet in a sportshall) and also elec 12scale mardaves I then got into a nitro with a cheap duratrax truck, which
turned out not a wise buy, but did me two years as a 16yo and got me hooked. I then got a Hobao/ofna Hyper7tq just as the hyper8 came out which has
been a really really great car.
Its near indestructible, what little parts you need are readily available in the uk and the engine has just run and run.
The power is blisting as is the rate it gets it down onto the ground and the extra little big of size allows properly engineered parts
You have three all metal sealed limited slip viscous diffs, front and rear inboard diskbrakes which stop it very fast, shock boots, 3mm chassis the
list goes on.
Yes it takes a bit to get the hand of the engine, but its not that hard and if you really cock it up on the first one there not actually that
expensive to replace (although having learnt on the 10th truck, no issues at all) and you just top up and go again. Get a rechargeable set of Ni-Mh
batteries for the car and you can charge them in 30mins and they last a full day, or two. Worth upgrading the servos as the stock ones are slow and
underpowered which takes the edge off, but otherwise, very very good fun.
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?product_id=20870
Daniel
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thefreak
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| posted on 15/1/12 at 07:02 PM |
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I've got a nitro one in the garage I bought second hand a few years ago and never got around to playing with it. It's got all the radio
gear and a box of bits if you or anyone else is interested?
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