jrstall

hello all fellow people from colorado. Im new to this rc stuff i havent bought a car or anything yet since i am currently in iraq and i plan too when i come home on leave later on this year. i am changing hobbies from a more expensive one to this one. Just wondering if i could get some help on what kinda car i should get or not get, places to stay away from, best places to shop and such. I would like to go electric for the fear of totally messing up a nitro car, was possibly looking for maybe an on road for right now but in about a year and a halfs time ill be gettin gout of the army and moving back to the farm up in north east colorado so offroad is also in the options. Any help i can get would be appreciated i know im pretty bare and left it up to almost all sorts of questions but i know dont what im doing here.

artwork

iTrader: (88)

First let me say Welcome!

A less expensive hobby was the first thing that grabbed my attention. The problem with RC is that once you get started it is hard to stop, sorta like smoking crack, but there is not 12 step program to get you off of R/C.

Before you jump in try to understand what you want R/C to accomplish for you? It is to bash around your house to blow off some steam, or do you want to enter into the fast paced life of R/C racing? They are very different paths and the models for each of these is very different.

Option 1) Becoming a serious on-road racer takes a bunch of good equipment, time and patience.

A good radio that will last a while...
Airtronics M11
Specktrum DXR3
Futaba 3PK/4PK
You can always go cheaper but try and get something that is 2.4Ghz

Good batteries are a topic of debate...
LIPO is a newer technology to R/C cars and is probably the easiest way to go.
Orion 3600/4800 are good packs
SMC 5000 are good packs
Checkpoint 5000/5400 are good
HiMH is an older technology, but still works very well just requires more battery maintainence.
Pro-match or SMC Ener-G 4600's

Brushless systems are a must these days Speedcontrols and motors:
LRP TC Sphere
Novak GTB

Cars, well we can spend a week here but I would suggest the Xray T2008 or the Associated TC5.
These are great cars for racing...

Spend some time talking with other racers when you get back we all have stuff for sale, and can probably steer you in the right direction. This forum has a bunch of information so use the search and start reading.

Option 2)
If you want to bash then just buy a ready to run truck and bash around, sky is the limit here. Most won't admit it but we all started out as bashers, nothing wrong with tearing up your or your neighbors lawn with your new revo (they might not agree).

Post questions if you have them we are all here to help.

Be safe on your return home and good luck!

al dente

well, i should say that pretty much covers it. i am glad i waited to post until after you, cause i just would have said....."x-ray"

jrstall

well my last hobby was working on my mustang but with gas prices and a bunch of the smaller parts i want that cost into the several hundreds i think that this would be a cheaper decision. With the fact that ive always been interested in rc cars and just never have gotten into them. Im not looking to bash because whats the point on buying replacement parts all of the time just because you wanted to be stupid and crash your car into a wall or flipping it endlessly like stupid little kids would do. I would be more into racing it sometimes, or just going to a large empty parking lot and doing some driving to get proficient on how the car handles what it can take and such. That being for on road i think i would only be into for not even a year since i have planned on getting out of the army in sept 09 and i was going to be moving back out to the farm i own in north east colorado out in the sterling akron area. there not being a great deal of open pavement around i think i would be either moving to offroad or just plan on going off road, i know that most of the racers on here from colorado are on road just by reading some of the threads. But i planned on building my own race track at my farm and getting me a stadium truck or a buggy to run. Any suggestions on hobby shops to use? i only know of one in the springs and thats hobby town on academy at the citadel crossing, or do you guys just buy online (heard that amainhobbies was good). I dont even know where i am yet i sorta get lost when i sit down to type a lot but im pretty much trying to stay to the basic id go brushless and such if it came in a kit and didnt cost 250 bucks which is what i could buy a car for. Well ill end it right here for now before i confuse you guys as well thanks for any imput so far

imjonah

The fact that you will have enough land to make your own track is key.
This means you can practice during the week or whenever you choose. Which make off road real attractive.
The big decision is going to be between nitro and electric.
I would recommend you spend a couple Sundays checking them both out.
Drop by Rat Raceways in Denver and watch the 1/8 th scale buggies run.
I think in terms of sheer numbers nationwide that is the single most popular class.
Then read some threads maybe just drop MHOR in Aurora on Wednesday or Saturday night and watch the Electrics run.

See which grabs you.
Also pretty much every Sunday you can see a lot of different vehicle types race and ask a lot of questions at either the Westminster or Fort Collins HobbyTown parking lots.