KevanB

Id just like to thank MARCCA Raceways in madison for providing the r/c community with a great track. Im just getting into sedan racing, and it seemed really hard at first. Now racing seems much more friendly with the nice guys at marcca.

thanks a bunch
and keep up the good work!

KevanB

btw just to let you know futreal: Its me the kid that came sunday with the red shirt, and just practiced (gave you 5 bucks before i left on sunday).

Also, futreal, I am thinking of purchasing a new car within the next 6 months or year. Will an associated tc3 racer, or Team Losi XXX-S regular be the best for me? Ive checked out both cars and i love the fact of no maintanence belt in the TC3, but will the tc3 or xxx-s be the fastest (fastest lap times)?

futureal

The XXX-S and TC3 are right about on the same level. For some guys it comes down to whether they like the shaft drive or the belt drive more, or possibly company loyalty.

If you recall the A Main that we had today, there were 2 TC3s and 3 XXX-S's. Myles (the green/white car that won) was a Losi, John (the black/yellow in second) was a TC3.

I would not recommend buying a new kit, though. It is SO much more cost effective to buy a used car. You can get a carbon copy of the car that Myles and I drive for $175-200 used, with a bunch of spare parts and extras. Check out the For Sale forum on here, or ask one of us at the track, and we will find one for you. I know a lot of people who are constantly selling cars.

The HPI cars are great to start with, and should be OK in the Sportsman (novice) class we run on Fridays, but sooner or later you will want to step up to a more competitive car. The Losi and Associated cars are definitely a good choice. Parts are readily available for both, and people at the track know how to tune them well.

KevanB

cool, so a used car will be much more worth it? I really enjoyed building my cars. So i will have to "refurbish" the car i buy used, such as clean everything, rebuild shocks and diffs, and fix up other things? I was offered a Factory Team tc3 chassis for ONLY 100 dollars! Would this be a smart buy?

Do you advise purchasing a high speed servo (Hitec 625mg?)? I have a regular standard servo and it seems OK, but just doesnt turn fast enough. Will it be an advisable upgrade?

I was thinking of upgrading, for now, only the things that can be transported to a new/used car (servo, motor, battery, etc.) As my car isnt worth spending the dough on to upgrade.

Thanks for all the help, again, i cant wait to actually race!

SteveA

iTrader: (2)

i'd stay away from hitec on carpet, i'v seen some blow up (at least in truck) i run the airtronics 357.

futureal

Kevan: I definitely recommend rebuilding a car when you get it. Look for one that includes the instructions, along with everything that came in the original kit, and hopefully some spare parts as well.

There is no better way to learn how a car works than building it yourself. Still, used stuff is such a good deal these days that in most cases I strongly recommend it.

As for what you can buy now, you're right about staying away from hop-ups for the HPI and sticking to stuff that can move from one car to another. As far as getting more speed out of your car:

Motor: Trinity Revenge of the Monster Stock. $30-35 new. Get whatever pinion gears your need to gear it in the 8.5:1 to 9.5:1 area. If you don't know what that means, I can explain later.

Batteries: Get NiMH. You don't need matched packs yet, so if you buy batteries new, look for either higher-end stick packs, OR lower-end matched packs -- this will give you a chance to learn how to assemble packs, which is valuable experience. Better to learn on a $40 matched pack than an $85 matched pack.

Speed Control: Get a Cyclone (any one) or a GT7 from Novak. You can get a used Cyclone pretty cheap, and that will provide a speed boost over the lower end ESCs, especially when tuned correctly.

Servos: Hitec stuff is a great deal for the price, but not as good as the stuff from Futaba or Airtronics. If you can afford it, hold off and get a decent high-speed ball bearing servo from one of them. If not, the Hitecs will do OK as well.

Radio: If you haven't already, look to FM. There are plenty of decent budget-conscious FM radio systems out there, but once again it sometimes pays to find a used one. With the new 3PK on the market, there are great deals to be had on the older Futaba and Airtronics computer radios.

Hope that helps a bit.

KevanB

there is a guy on this forum selling a bone stock xxx-s for 100 dollars. Is this a good buy? Im on a budget so the car alone has to be under 180 dollars. Are the high end models (factory team, or graphite plus) worth the extra dough?

futureal

I bet you could find a fully loaded XXX-S for 150-180, complete with parts and everything. You may not need the newer car (Graphite Plus) but it would be good to get a XXX-S with the graphite upgrades. Should be no problem to find one like that in that price range...

KevanB

Is it really that much worth it to buy a high quality futaba servo? I mean if you pay 100 bucks for a servo, and you spend 170 for a car, another 70 you can buy a new car!

And will a XXX-s Graphite, or TC3 Team be ok for racing? Im not ready to spend a lot of cash on the Factory Teams and the Graphite Plus's.

futureal

An XXX-S Graphite will be fine -- that's what Myles and I run and we are doing fine. For the TC3, I can't speak to the differences between the two, but it should be similar.

You probably don't need one of those super high quality servos right away, but you do want something that has metal gears. What I was just saying was, if you are going to pay $40 for one of the Hitecs, you might as well save up another $40 and get a really nice one and never have to worry about it again.

futureal

Kevan, for example, check out this sale:
http://www.rctech.net/forum/showthre...threadid=12980

That is a fully hopped up & ready to go XXX-S for $160. With all the graphite, threaded shocks, and everything else you'd need. Just add indoor tires and you're ready to go.

And you can always upgrade it to the Graphite Plus parts (new bumper, new belt, new offset rear arms/carriers, etc.) at your convenience, should you want to.

KevanB

hmmmm i might actaully get that car! That is a really good deal! Do you think such a high end car will be good for a noob such as me? BTW to let you know i was the guy driving the Blue Subaru in between rounds, to let you know how experienced i am (not much ).

Thanks for the tip, and great find on the car!

futureal

Yea, the XXX-S is actually (in my opinion) the perfect car for somebody new to the hobby. It's cheap, it's easy to work on, it's durable, and the parts are sold just about everywhere. Plus there are a lot of guys at the track running them so you have someone to ask if you are having problems.

If you are planning on coming tomorrow, ask me to take a look at one of my Losi cars and I will let you check it out. The one I normally run is almost identical to the one being sold in that thread.

KevanB

yes im coming to the race on friday. When should i come to the track? Im guessing around 5-5:30. Should i buy the car now, while i still get a deal? Or save up and buy one next season?
Keep in mind i only have one 2500 battery and 2 1500's.

By this weekend i will have about 190 dollars...

futureal

Just buy that one now, if you'd like to get one. It will still be just as capable next year as it is this year; I doubt Losi will be releasing a new sedan any time soon. Any of the major cars, meaning XXX-S, TC3, MR4-TC, and so on, they will be competitive for some time to come. The TC3, for example, has been around for at least 5 years and is still in top form. Same with the MR4-TC.