trp7

Ok, so I'm pretty pumped about getting a nitro RC car. The only thing I had was 10 years+ ago and they only had electric back then (as far as I know, and yes I"m an adult - according to the US anyway)

I'm wanting something fast and fun and reliable. I'm not looking to beat anyone on a course or have it be the cream of the crop - but just be really good fun to run and jump cut curves etc.

My first intro to some of them was the JATO - but I've seen some on ebay that seemed to be really good looking cars (and they say up to 55mph also but I know you can't trust what you see) and pretty inexpensive ($150 or so) like in the links below

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-SPD-BUGGY-OFF-...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/SUPER-FAST-RC-BU...QQcmdZViewItem

Is there a reason for someone like me (who's not looking for the best) to not get one of these? If so is there an intro priced one that is good??

Thanks for your help,

Manboy

Platinum_Racing

The truth is...

Yes.

Those are the bane of all existance. Parts are impossible to find. On top of that, those cars are nothing more than rip offs of other designs. Buy a name brand car with a bit of quality behind it. A good Traxxas is the perfect thing to get you started in nitro R/C. Stick with the JATO, REVO or the HPI Nitro MT. These are all solid bets, but overall the performance and reliability of these cars will triffle anything from Smartech or Himoto...or whatever the Hell those things are called.

RCSteve93

iTrader: (11)

You should realy go with a tamiya. Cheap and works good. Or an asociated.

trp7

So does that mean that they are not good quality or just that they will not easily be "tweaked out"?

I'm not so worried about souping it up as long as it's pretty quick and good manuevering from the start. As far as the rip off of designs, is that more a moral thing? Becuase for more than 50% less - I'm not so sure I would stand by the idea of supporting an equal product that is 120% more (unless there was quality and stand behind the product issues)

Thanks for the help guys

Platinum_Racing

The tires don't have foam inserts, the radios are cheap AM 27 Mhz pieces, the engine is probably ABN construction, and the servos are most definatly plastic gear type with a torque rating of 50 Oz-In with a .19 second transit time.

It isn't good quality because of the cheap components, cheap radio, cheap engine, poor performing exhaust, pitiful servos, and hard plastic-ish tires. Smartech are also made like balsa wood...poorly designed and poorly assembled. It isn't so much a matter of opinion, but I saw 2 of those vehicles at my LHS just 2 days ago...they were in for repair after about 4 tanks of gas. They looked like crap, and my friend (LHS owner) told me that there was NO way for him to get the parts he needed to fix them. He went on to tell me of the cheap quality of the materials, and the cumbersome design of the chassis.

You will NOT be able to find replacement parts for this engine, much less parts that wear out. I doubt that a piston/sleeve is available for that motor (Which isn't really worth a rebuild anyway...you'd be better off buying an O.S. after that one died), and to put on a new clutch would be more dificult than replacing it with on from HPI (Like I do ).

A 1/10 scale Tamiya would be a great choice!

Look into the MRC stuff while you're at it...MRC and Tamiya used to be one in the same, I don't know if they still rename their stuff though.

trp7

Thanks for the info - I appreciate your thorough answer very much. WHere can I get a Tamiya at? I hear Tower Hobby is good? Any others

Thanks

trp7

Couple other quick questions. Are the Tamiay's all Electric powered? That's all I see on Tower HObbies.

Speaking of electric How fast can they get? Are they pretty fun to run still?

Are the top speeds of these nitros really what they say (55mph for the Jato etc?)

Platinum_Racing

Tamiya produces nitro's...just look at the TNX and the Nitro Bison, the TGR, the TG10R, and the Terra Crusher. MRC makes the Nitro Thunder King, as well as many other 1/10 th scale cars.

The JATO is totally capable of those speeds. The REVO too. Nitro cars have insane top end power, but on a short track a mid-to-low turn electric mod will usually pull ahead. Electric motors have ridiculous low-mid end torque, and will definatly pull around a nitro of similar size.

Electrics are tricky when it comes to speed. It really depends on the motor. A 27T stocker will get you started, while a spec 19T will get you a bit faster. Mild modifieds are generally good for the bashers because they get great speed with better runtime than low turn motors. Low turn motors are best suited for touring cars and lightweight vehicles. Brushless motors are the craziest of them all, with literally no maintnence other than bearing oil and cleaning, they spin faster and last longer than brushed motor equivilents. A brushless RC10 T4 will get off the line faster than a .15 powered RC10 GT, and go about 40-45 MPH depending on the motor. A REEDY Neo motor will push a touring car into the 50's range with good gearing and a good pack. The fastest electric car was clocked at I believe 132 MPH running on 28 cells. It was quite a long time ago and has probably been beaten by now. I know Team Associated had a 2T brushless motor custom wound for the RCCA speed challenge. The 2T car went something like 111 MPH.

trp7

Wow! I had no idea those speeds were that possible.

Well I guess that makes me rethink my original question as it sounds like and electric can be plenty of fun?

I did see one other car on Ebay that was a nitro and is a Futaba which is a name brand, isn't it? Or is it not good either?
http://cgi.ebay.com/RC-Remote-Nitro-...QQcmdZViewItem

Anyway - I'm really just looking for a car that's going to be fast and fun and probably would love to stay anywhere from $100-$200 a little over but want it to be a pretty good quality machine.

I also don't want to have to do much tweaking to it before it can run with decent speeds (30mph+)

Any suggestions (and links to specific possible purchases) would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks again

trp7

Hey Team Platinum (sorry don't know name) -

I saw another post of yours just now and it sounds like electric is maybe the way to go for me (cost and difficulty of repair on nitro). The nitro's really look fun but I maybe am not up to it yet.

Any good suggestions for a fast fun electric (and anyone else who wants to chime in too!)

Thanks guys- Great forum!

Tim

milen

What do you want? I won't be able to help, as I'm the same as you the other way around (had a nitro off-road kyosho sandmaster, stopped the hobby, now 6 or 7 years back with electric on-road). But for the others, if they know what you want will be able to help you better. So, off or on-road?
I have a question too, those cheapi cars say the are compatible with most name-brands. but what about that, true if I have a dremel? are they good if you plan on replacing with name-brands parts when they brake? i am interested for the 2-speed design, as i find most off-roads with single speed.
I am not looking to get a car as i just got the on-road electric, but maybe in the future.

trp7

I think Off road. I'm assuming that that is Just higher off the ground and better suspension?

I want to be able to take it on hills dirt gravel etc and and guessing it will do ok on road too?

Tim

Platinum_Racing

trp7-

A good electric off-road truck would be the Team Losi XXX-T RTR, Duratrax EVADER, Team Associated RC10 T4, or the Traxxas Rustler.

The Losi is a race truck first and foremost, yet it comes complete with everything you need except "AA" batteries, a 6 cell pack (Which you can get from eXpress Motorsports for $50) and a charger (You'll need a peak detection charger that charges at no more than 5A).

The Duratrax is a good basher with a bit more reliability. It isn't up to snuff with race trucks, but it does have some really good features that make it a solid choice for a begginner.

The Traxxas Rustler is a good truck with unequalled reliability. They are very simple to repair, insanely strong, and a great choice for upgrading. The Traxxas Rustler is based on a design concieved in 1994, but it still rolls on despite many changes. It isn't a racer, but it is the strongest truck in the round-up. You will need to buy some bearings with RPM oversized carriers before you can start to have some real fun, but from there you're all set! It comes with crappy bushings in small carriers...definatly not a good idea!

The Team Associated RC10 T4 is another racer designed to be competative with the Losi. The Associated crew generally fights with the Losi guys for first. In the world of 2WD stadium trucks, there realy is only two serious choices for the racer: The Team Losi XXX-T MF2 and the Factory Team RC10 T4. For bashing the RC10 T4 SE or the XXX-T RTRII both make fine choices.

Go to our Rides page located at www.TeamPlatinumRacing.com/Rides.html to check out some cars. Mabey the movies page along with the profiles of our cars will help you along in your decision.

Ebay is your friend here, get on and start searching for some cars! Good used cars can go for real cheap if you look. Make sure the ESC that comes in the car is capable of taking a motor that you want to use. Look for motor limits in terms of "Turns." If you find an ESC with a 15T motor limit, the lowest turn motor that will work on that speed control will be a 15 Turn motor. Keep this in mind while researching. Losi's RTR ESC is based off the Novak XRS, which is probably the worst ESC to grace the planet. I burnt one out, and have heard stories (Including RCCA magazine...who reviewed the ESC) of these things burning up and overheating on 17 and 19T motors...despite it's claimed 15T limit! The Traxxas XL-1 has a 17T motor limit, and depending on the LRP ESC that Team Associated uses in their RTR's, you may be looking at anywhere from a 17 to 10T motor limit.

milen

Those cars are only compatible in terms of engines, wheels, possible tires, and radio systems. Everything else (With the possible exception of shocks) is proprietary. They are refering to the interchangability of EVERY real R/C car...not anything in particular.

1/8 th scale buggies use 2 speed trannsmissions, as well as the Megatech Razor XT, the T-MAXX, the REVO (Which has a computer shifted 2 speed), the JATO, the Savage (Which has an optional 3 speed), the LST, LST II (Which both have a 2 speed tranny plus a hi-low gear selection...for an effective 4 speed tranny), the CEN Genesis, the CEN Nemesis, the Tamiya TNX, the Tamiya Terra Crusher, the XTM X-Factor, the Kyosho Mega Force (Which has a 3 speed), the Traxxas E-MAXX (Electric 2 speed manual), the old Tamiya Bruiser/Blazing Blazer/Hilux/Mountaineer (Electric 3 speed manuals), the Kyosho Twin Force (Electric 2 speed manual), and many others if you would like me to keep going... (Not bad from memory... )

Platinum_Racing

By the way...

My oval track runs off-roaders on-road. My $400 Traxxas Bandit runs 35MPH with a Trinity Monster Stock Tuned motor. It is a complete on-road conversion, made to take over the world of Pro-Stock Stampede! (Bwahahaha)

Our RC18T has foam tires, making it great for on-roading. Our track has the fastest on-road conversions in the world...because it's all we do! When the TC's aren't running their races, there are 40 MPH HPI MT's, 35MPH Traxxas Stampede's (On 27T motors) and 30 MPH Mini-T's, RC18T's, and Mini Quakes. Can't beat 'em so don't even try!

Jarahdai

I bought my Elec. Traxxas Rustler two months ago and I'm having a blast. I keep finding more ways to tweak it to make it go faster. It takes every beating I give it and it keeps going strong (with small repairs.) The best $170 I've ever spent.