Hey all, new to R/C
 

Newbie to the game. 22 years old, always wanted a real nasty car, recently fell into some pretty $eriou$ cake and it's time for a new toy!

I'm looking for something that is above all, fast. Not neccesarily insane, but enough to make people so "holy crap that's fast!!!" But also, I'm getting into airbrushing/paint etc., and I want a really stylized/customizable ride. I'm torn between nitro and electric. I'm leaning towards electric because a buddy of mine has an HPI Sprint, and it hauls. Being new and all, I think gas might be a bit ahead of my game. Plus, they're kinda loud, and I just want to cart it around town and whip it out in parking lots with friends - not have to carry a jug, etc, yknow? If you guys could suggest some great models, brands, companies - whatever - it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys, looking forward to being part of the community.

PS - Don't go TOTALLY newb on me, I can handle the things...don't suggest something small time and silly, yknow?

Everybody has their own favorite this or that. Just read these boards and buy what your local hobby shop sells. If you want to go fast, buy top of the line everything, meaning if you see one speed control for $59.00 and one for $159.00 buy the expensive one. ;)

if your just parking lot bashing and want speed go with a nitro touring car, charging battery packs in the middle of the lot for 5-9min run time doesn't make sense. if you want to get into the sport then people can help you with certain serious questions.

well, if you want a toy, i'd get a MT or a Stadium truck. My RC18T is a wicked fun little thing, and with the mamba can get right up to 50mph. It really depends what ur looking for, car, truck, what you want to spend, if you want to worry about buying fuel all the time, and those of the sorts.

MT's and Stadium Trucks aren't toys. Not by a long shot!

I disagree with giving a newbie nitro...nothing against you, but many people have been scared out of the hobby by the threat of never ending maintenence. It's just too much for a begginner to enjoy. When he gets better at wrenching and more profficent with the sport, then I would reccomend nitro. Nitro is just too much stress to put on someone without any experience. Leaving the piston at BDC, tedious break-in, mixture needles, air filter cleaning, engine degumming (Which is the reason most inexperienced nitro owners ditch their nitro cars...they think the motor is toast and sell it to someone who can repair it....like me! :D). Clutch bearings, clutch springs, after run care, costly fuel, and the disappointment you get when your engine downs it's third of fourth gallon jug of nitro and looses pinch. Electric is a lot better to a newbie.

The PRO 4 Hara is good, but for begginners you can't go wrong with a TC3 or a TC4. The Tamiya TA05 is also a nice ride, and you still get Tamiya reliability with all that belt driven performance.

i say get a electric buggy, so you can use it anywhere plus its more rugged

throw in a brushless system, no maintennance

get some lipos and go nuts with huge run time and speed

they can be either, they're more toys to me, the only one i race is the 18T

I agree, A 4wd buggy with a brushless/Lipo would be wicked fun for bashing if you have the money.
The New Kyosho, Losi or Yokomo 4wd buggies are all good.
Not only can you get it off road, but you can easily lower the suspension, throw on some Proline street tires and your good for street.
If your dead set on a TC, I would get the HB Cyclone, T1FK05, Yokomo BD, basically any belt. You wouldn't want shaft, because if your just bashing, you don't want to have to tear apart the car to replace bevel gears that strip.

Excellent, keep it coming guys. Thanks Platinum, especially. The TC's were on my list and after doing more research I'm seeing that they really seem to be where it's at. My only question would be, do they still produce TC3s? Or did that get replaced by the TC4?

Yep, you can still buy FT TC3's on TowerHobbies.com. I know you're leaning towards electric, and as a word of advice, stay there. I started with an HPI RS4 3, and engine maintenence was a nightmare. Sure, reading it doesn't seem that hard. But when you actually have to tear the engine down and reassemble it every now and then, it really gets to be a pain. Engine tuning is horrendous, and is not a bit of fun. It's very frustrating, which is why I'm now on the electric board, not nitro. I have no regrets about switching to electric, and the things you learn about chassis dynamics will be with you for the rest of your life, including if you ever expand into nitro. There's much less maintenence, and it's always gratifying to laugh at the nitro guys who can't get their car started. :lol: All you have to do is plug and play! :nod:
-Josh

If you don't want to have to spend money on a motor lathe just yet, brushless might be the way to go for you. I've never seen a brushless system in action, but the LRP/Reedy system is supposed to be pretty damn fast. Not only that, but there are no brushes to replace or commutators to true. A brushless motor should also be more efficient giving you more runtime.

Now I'm the last person to ask for specifics regarding brushless motors, so run a search and dig up some information to see if brushless might be something you want to consider. The initial cost is probably very similar to a brushed system if you include the cost of a lathe with the brushed system.

Good luck and have fun. :)

The LRP/Sphere system is flat out sick! A guy runs it at our track here, and it is stupid fast, and maintenence free. Space can be a bit of an issue, as the Sphere system (and all brushless systems) are a touch larger than their brushed counterparts. I know our track has legalized the lower powered Novak system (4300 I believe), and the LRP Sphere system. I'm thinking about asking for a brushless system for Christmas, because they are super tight, and well worth the investment, especially with the growing popularity of brushless. Maybe in the near future, we can separate the classes into their own groups, brushed and brushless.
-Josh

umm how long will the lrp/sphere brushless saposed to last

thanks

oh ya same ? for all brushless systems