IanWright

iTrader: (1)

Hi, i'm looking for a little advice and hoping a few will know where i am coming from and what i should be looking for.

Basically, i race Nitro 1/8 off road and know Nitro inside and out... worked in a trackside store, raced big events, helped new guys out... yadda yadda yadda.

A while ago my ladies friend and her son came to the track, he is 8 years old and i got him driving my car round the track and gave him the bug. Good news is he is a seriously smart kid and didn't take him long to get round the track without crashing and understood within 20 minutes that it is faster to go slower and not crash than go fast and crash all the time.

Now his mum is asking me to help her choose a car for him so he can learn properly and sooner or later go racing... the kid seriously has the bug.

Thing is, at 8 years old he doesn't have a dad and i am not around all the time to help although guys at the track will... so i am thinking of getting him going with 10th scale electric to learn on - maybe he will want to go 1/8th maybe he will love 1/10th... who knows... but the point is i know nothing about 1/10th apart from back in the day when i learned with a goldpan RC10.

At eight years old i figure he doesn't need the headache of learning to break in and tune engines and his mom doesn't need the experiance of regular pitting duties as well as the inevitable expensive learning curve breakages 8lb of 35mph Nitros tend to hand out.

So... the question is what should i be looking at to get the kid started on a reasonable budget. For example i know the RTR pitfalls in Nitro but i don't know if they really apply to 1/10 electric. Are RTR viable for electric?

Also what cars are good to check out for a begginer kid... bearing in mind he is a fast learner with hand eye co-ordination and a competitive streak. He will want to race sooner rather than later.

If RTR is a bad move, where to look at what to lok at in the way of motors, batteries and ESC? Radio gear i can deal with although servo wise i should imagine 13kg of torque would be overkill.


Any help, advice and pointers would be hugely appreciated. I don't even know what spec motors are considered stock anymore...

I know the mom is looking at a budget of arund $500 but i know she is smart enough to realise when i talk to her that if it's something he is going to run a lot spending a little more once pays off in the long run.


Thanks for taking the time if you have read this far


Ian

cracka

a good brandname rtr electric is fine, as you know rtr nitros can be a problem.
as long as the mom's budget can handle the $500 she should be able to get him into a reasonable rtr and charger and enough batteries to get him started.
just be ready to chip in when he needs help

shurcooL

I think starting off with a 2wd 1/10 buggy/stadium truck is a good idea. They're probably tougher than 4wd buggies and are a better platform to learn the basics of racing, requiring better throttle control.

Associated B4/T4 are great starting points.

I think he can probably get the B4/T4 RTR first to run with. Once he's good enough with that, he can easily upgrade to brushless/lipo like a Mamba Max 4600 or 5700 system and have a very competitive car.

One thing he should get right from the start is a decent charger that'll handle Lipos. As far as batteries go, I think NiMH is probably better to start with cuz he's 8 and Lipos can be dangerous if you don't handle them properly.

I'm sure you'll get much more advice here, but I hope this helps a little.

HEAT

iTrader: (26)

When my son was 8 this is where he started .

http://www.losi.com/Products/Feature...rodId=LOSA0095

hakmazter

It really depends on what the kid wants to do. I would probably ask him what his preference is. It also depends on money of course. I would think that if he wants to race novice or something fun, get a Slash and he can drive it at home for fun also. If he plans on getting more serious, then get him a 1/10 scale Losi or AE, but they break easily and he could drive it at home, but it isn't the same as a slash. Is he mechanically inclined? That will play a big part also.

Otherwise his best option would honestly be a Caster fusion sport. I hate to beat the same drum, but it is electric so he would need extra parts to get it running, but with lipos and a charger, it is a no brainer on the charging, etc... No nitro to tune and mess with, and with 1/8 scale platform, there is a huge durability factor compared to 1/10 scale, so he won't be nickel and diming Mom to death every time at the track....and he can drive it at home as it is 4wd......

IanWright

iTrader: (1)

Thanks guys... really quick responses as well!

Ok... he has already worked out buggies are more competitive than trucks as a class, looks like he is going to be racer!

I would assume then that 1/10th RTR's aren't the same moneypit as Nitro mainly due to the servos and the weight of the car?

... and that there are chargers that will do both LiPo and Nimh? Lipo hasn't gotten anywahere near me yet so i don't fully understand it. I daresay though this will inspire me to ressurect the RC10 of old for some fun, and the GF wants to drive as well... so LiPo will come up for all of us at some point.

I see the sense of a decent charger from the start, i have been through a few cheap ones for RX packs mself.

Of course we will talk it through with him, but the track is right on our doorstep and kn0wing his comments so far and spirit of competition i can't see him being a basher and being at the track on his spare days... i know myself it's only fun for a few seconds with no one to race and nothing to challenge in the way of a track to get faster on We have been talking about a 1/10th track in our yard as well...

He is mechanical minded from what we have seen and super smart... he replaced the other clutch shoes on my car after i showed him the first. He was quicker than my third, fourth and fith time...


Thanks for the tips and links, much appreciated and i have taken note!

EastCoasterVa

Go with a Traxxax Slash (RTR) some 7 cell flat packs and a decent charger like an Onyx 230. The Slash is the most durable RC I own. The only upgrade I would recommend to make it survive a 1/8 scale track is better rear shocks. Once he proves himself with the Slash, he will decide what he wants next. I would wait for a few years to do nitro, if at all. With LiPo and brushless you are better off in the maintenance dept compared to nitro. I have a Mamba Max/4600 arriving next week and the Slash is brushless ready. It is one of the hottest selling RCs so you may have trouble finding one. I also have a 1/18 Mini Lst and that kind of vehicle may be a good start for an 8 year old and has a great price point.

kdeselms

I started with the RTR Associated T4 truck and while I did end up switching out a bunch of stuff, it's a great truck right out of the box and can be upgraded as he learns or breaks parts. I really recommend it for beginning racers, for sure.

IanWright

iTrader: (1)

EastCoasterVa....

Thanks... yeah i know brushless 1/8th is coming and to be honest if there were production ones out there i would be donating a chassis and a servo*.


The mini LST is a god point as well... my GF's daughter wants to drive as well, but she will definately be in the fun zone in the garden for longer.

Good food for though and research, thanks guys.

crazy4wdracer

iTrader: (25)

I would recommend going with the RTR B4 or T4, whichever he likes better.

Other things I would recommend:
Duratrax lipo compatible charger AC/DC: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXTCK1&P=7
It will help cut down the cost since you don't need a power supply.

Yeah Racing lipo: http://www.ultralinehobbies.com/inde...=661&parent=72
Very good lipos for the money, its a hard case too! All of the Yeah racing lipos are on sale right now on ultraline hobies.

I think the stock motor that comes in the B4/T4 RTR'r is a 17T motor. You can't go too much lower than that because the ESC can't handle it. It all depends on the class he will be racing in. Open, stock, mod, 19 turn?

cracka

You're right, electric rtr's aren't nearly the moneypits that nitro rtr's are. As you've noticed nitros need servo upgrades and the motors are junk, while electrics straight out of the box can be pretty decent competitors as long as you go with a namebrand. But if you can shy him away from buggies, IMO, as they tend to be a little more fragile especially bashing around. Like others suggested look into the traxxas slash as they seem to be the hot item this year and are very durable and are race- and bash-worthy.

rc10 ryan

iTrader: (11)

I would have to reccomnd a t4 or truck in general just for toughness but I"m sure he could handle a b4. But I would get him a kit (the instructions are plain and simple) then he would understand the basics of the car and how it goes together in case of breakage. I would reccomend a brushless setup. It may be expensive at first but he will get longer run times and no comms to cut. You don't neccecarily have to get the fastest motor out there I would say 13.5 plenty or 17.5

downtempo

iTrader: (4)

+1

nikkon

iTrader: (251)

What kind of budget are you on for him?So its for sure buggy you want him to start out on?

I would say go with the b4 team kit (so he can put it together and when it breaks know how to take it apart)
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDAX9&P=7 $169.99

then get a novak xbr system ( runs down to 8.5 turn brushless motor, is ready for lipo and easier to maintain)Ive never had a problem with mine like the guy below me posted.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXRST7&P=7 $169.99

or Castle Creations has a sidewinder sports system
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXUTA2&P=ML $144.99

or even losi has a new system that is decently price.
http://www.losi.com/Search/Default.a.../10_Sensorless $174.99-$179.99

Im sure if you dont have an extra radio/receiver and servo laying around you can buy what comes in the rtr kits from the for sale section or ebay for $20-40 bucks.

or if truck is an option I would say go with the t4 team edition
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXFAB6&P=7 $174.99

losi also has a brushless rtr xxxt

http://www.losi.com/Products/Feature...rodId=LOSA0096

When you buy from tower, most of the time they have coupons for $25 off or 10-15% off with a 150+ purchase order.

porkey

iTrader: (1)

u dont want to get the XBR u want the GTB there way better and the XBR ESC system u can't run a sintered rotor u will burn the
speedo