How long are you getting out of your electronics
 

How long are you guys getting out of your electronics. I've been replacing all my "cheap electronics" in the hope that they will last long so in the long run, I can spend more money trying out different chassis

My new 1/10 touring car electronics setup is:
Radio System: Futaba 3PL Radio + R2004GF Receiver (New)
Servo: Savox 1251MG (5 months old, still going strong)
ESC: Hobbywing Justock 45A (5 months old, still going strong)
Motor: Undecided
Battery: Undecided

The motor I'm looking at is the Hobbywing V10 17.5t, cause I like hobbywing and it looks promising. Battery probably be some species of nanotechs

I usually buy new electronics because I just want something new. Batteries are the only things because they wear.
Motors lose a bit of magnet after time, but you can always replace the rotor.
I have a speedo's laying around and they all still work. My HW V2.1 is 3 years old and still working as good as on day 1.
If you race with a servo saver, then a servo can last easily 2-3 years.

Radio KO heaps of use 2003
Servo KO heaps of use 2003
ESC LRP heaps of use 2007
Motor Novak used on and off 2007 sensor died earlier this week still going great
The Novak motor was an exception as most motors I have replaced after 6 months of use.

A radio is something which should last you years. They do slowly go out of calibration, but the higher end radios allow you to recalibrate the end points of the radio itself.
On a cheaper radio which will not allow you to do this it's a good idea to get it serviced every couple of years to make sure the pots are OK, particularly if you race in a dusty enviroment.
My current radio is a 2year old Sanwa, previous radio was a Futaba I got in 2007, it was second hand then.

Receivers should be almost bullet proof.

Decent servo's should last a long time as well, provided you use a servo saver etc on the car to help protect it.
I've had mixed experiences with lower end servo's, some good, some bad. Thing like the Savox's seem to have less throw than the higher end servo's so some people have ended up with issues where they couldn't achieve full lock.

Batteries are an interesting one. I have packs that are several years old that still have a very low internal resistance, yet I have friends who change theirs every year no matter what.
There are also situations where some packs may be a lot cheaper and have good performance, but won't last in the long run.

I've been running Advanced Electronics Black Diamond ESC's for over 3years and after trying a few different motors I've now had the same Thunder Power 13.5 in my car for 2 years (I have changed the rotor once).
In the time I've had that combo a few friends have regularly changed motors and ESC's to try and gain that edge.
They've had LRP SXX's, LRP Flow's, Hobbywing's and currently ORCA's and that's just the ESC's

Skiddins

Interesting question! I'm sure a 99% of it is how you treat your equipment. Personally I have never had an item of RC electronics fail in all the years I have been racing. Sure I've had the odd stripped servo gear but I wouldn't class it as an equipment failure.

Most of the time I'll replace stuff with new just because I wanted something new! I've got several ESC's, motors, servos etc that are up to 10 yrs old that still work fine. That's the beauty of modern day electronics they are just so reliable if used and maintained correctly.

Lipos are the only thing that I usually replace due to 'failure' and personally I class any form of puffing or cell imbalance that can't be rectified as a 'failure'. I keep packs for racing and packs for practice. I have new ones each year for racing and the last years race packs become this years practice packs and so on. Once the practice packs start misbehaving they are discarded as I don't like pushing lipos too far!! As a general rule I don't move them onto anyone else either just in case.

Just my 02c...

yea other than batteries and motors the actual electronics are good to go for years. My stuff from the 80's still works perfectly. With that said I would invest in a good radio and swervos. Esc technology will change more rapidly so maybe replace those as needed.

I'd say it depends.

Decent quality can hold up for quite some time.

If you buy (too) cheap though, you'll probably end up buying new pretty soon. Been there, done that. When I (re-)entered the hobby for the first time, a good ten years ago (after just bashing a little at the age of 14 or so), I bought quite some crappy stuff, to save money (and I didn't really listen much to advice, unfortunately). Of course it didn't work out that way, and I ended up buying not only twice, but 3 or more times. I just was way too impatient - and of course , since of course, once the decision for this hobby is made, you want to get started. Right now! ...even when your budget is a little short. So you cheap out on some parts. Usually electronics, when all the money goes into the car (and the shiny anodized hop-ups).

For the money I blew on crap, then low end, then mid-ground stuff, I could have just bought top-equipment, and saved myself from quite some disappointments and regrets. But it was a lesson I've learned. Nowadays, I'll rather wait for another month's paycheck, to make sure I can afford good quality, rather than to ever cheap out on anything again. Quite likely, I even over-compensate a little by now, but if I err, than today it's on the quality (and yes, unfortunately also the pricey) side of things.

Not saying that top-of-the-line equipment ist really needed, though. Decent stuff will work well - and for quite some time, too. Especially since most of us are likely to lose more time in a single crash (and being marshalled) than we could ever hope from gaining by buying top-notch equipment over simply decent stuff. Personally, I just like the peace of mind, that now, it's 99,9% me, and not my equipment, being the problem. Some people however, seem to be stuck in the eternal chase for the latest and greatest equipment. Even seen people here on the forum, praising "best I've ever driven/seen/felt by far in all the years!" ... only to sell this "best-ever" item just 2 months later, buying the next car/ESC/motor/whatever. Almost seems like an addiction of sorts to me...

Sorry, if I got a little a little too philosophical... back to topic for you guys. ;)