Ready to Run vs. Building

This is probably one of the most important things to think about when you first purchase your RC car or truck. The upside to purchasing a ready-to-run vehicle is that you can race it right then and there. The only downfall is you aren't familiar with how things work underneath the hood. So if something is broke or goes wrong, fixing it might become an issue over the course of your ownership.

Building it from scratch though gives you an inside look at everything. It doesn't matter if you're putting in the bearings, replacing brushes like we talked about earlier, or even choosing the right tires for your next run. Adding and subtracting pieces is the name of the game, including proper upgrades to make your car run as fast as that vehicle you drove to the store. If you do things right, you can have a car that normally runs 17-25mph going anywhere from 40-70mph.

So take a few minutes and think about what it is that you want out of an electric powered RC car or truck.

I think that if you are just getting into the hobby you might want to get an rtr to see if you will stick with it. The good thing about a kit like you said is you get to see how it works. But if you know nothing about cars you might not understand the instructions.

Build one myself no question. Building these yourself makes it easier in the long run than going the rtr route. I've done both and can tell you that if you end up being in this hobby for a while than you have to tear down your rig at some juncture anyway. Although the RTR segment has really helped keep the hobby going and gets people started I would always recommend someone build one before buying a RTR.

Plus, if you go the RTR route a few too many times you end up with a bunch of crappy 27mhz controllers that you have trouble giving away.

I agree with building them yourself. It will help a lot in the long run. Also with RTR many people have problems and blame it on the Company. As when you build yourself you can blame it on yourself and go back and see where you went wrong.

I totally agree with you guys. I preferred also to build them myself. From a kit or buy your own parts and plans, building your own RC car or truck can be the ultimate thrill for the RC modeler.

I would say for your first RC get the RTR. That way you don't spend hours and hours and hours building it only to find out you aren't really that interested.

Now after having a couple RTR's I can't wait to start building my own cars.

I wish they still offered Build it yourself kits. There aren't many left now, as most are completely RTR.

They should offer both, IMO, RTR AND Built it yourself kits. Don't think this is too much to ask for?

And are there even any DIY kits still out there? I believe Tamiya has some still, but who else?

I say build it yourself.

Every RTR I have bought required a tear down and rebuild. I'm not knocking the quality of every manufacturer but there seems to be a huge difference in build quality. You think you save time but in reality it more than doubles the kit build time. Finally, you end up replacing the motor, tires, electronics and body once you get serious and race often.

I made a mistake of not tearing one down all the way since the diffs felt fine only to DNF due to one shim missing to set the mesh. Sure the part was cheap but the drive to the track, entry fee and the other costs would have been worth the time to take it down to the bare chassis.

Even my Kyosho Ultima SC RTR bombed out the first time out due to the gear slipping on the top shaft (manufacturing oops) and the shock caps blowing off. This is with a highly regarded company too.

It is getting harder to find good entry level kits anymore but that's how the market is and we need to adapt.

Bottom line is that for bashing the RTRs are great, for racing they're not so good out of the box. However, the manufacturers know that 95% of their business are the bashers so that's what we get.

Well RTR is good for a beginner to learn how to drive right out of the box. The downside is you can't build it. Now on the other hand if you buy a kit version were you hae to build it I think that is more essential, because it teaches the beginner how to build it. That way when they do drive it and it breaks they are a little familiar on how to repair it.

I bought mt T4.1 RTR. It came with some subpar parts (tires and servo for sure), but I had zero experience and the best parts in the world wouldn't have helped. RTR is a less expensive way to start and you can upgrade as you go. As far as learning/knowing your rig, as you break and fix things you figure it all out quite easily.
My next rig will be a kit for sure, but I'm glad I went RTR my first time.

Getting back into this hobby after years away I was very pleased to see the availability of Ready-To-Run kits. From a pure business perspective it makes all the sense in the world, because the fact of the matter is that there are many people out there who can now enter this hobby without the commitment of having to build the car from the ground up. Let's face it, there are many fathers out there who don't have the time/energy to build a car for their son or daughter, and the RTR cars are a great solution for that.

However, in terms of driving these cars competitively I think that it behooves you to build the car so that you are intimately familiar with it. Personally RTR kits aren't for me (and probably the majority of guys on this board) but they do offer a great solution for many.

i'm a firm believer that building kits at first is a good way to get to know what rc is all about, especially for kids. back when i got into rc there was no such thing as a ready to run hobby grade rc. we started with tamiya kits and learned as we went. it wasn't that hard and we had no internet. building kits helped me learn alot, alot more then just rc too. i have excellent mechanical skills because i built kits when i was a kid.

i still love building kits, i've never owned an rtr and don't ever plan on it.
everything that has interested me is available in kit form, i guess i'm lucky.

buying a used roller is different then a rtr IMHO.

LOL, tons of kits out there. any rc worth a damn is a kit.

kyosho, tamiya, losi, associated, schumacher all make excellent kits.

A complete newbie should by RTR. First, most people are impatient and want to get right out and drive. Second, you will quickly find out if you even like the hobby and working on the car. Everyone knows RC is 75% wrenching and 25% driving. LOL.

Once they get tired of the RTR they will automatically want a kit. The other thing to keep in mind is that most newbs don't have the proper tools to effectively build a kit without having to constantly make trips to the LHS.

Once you have been in it a while, building a kit becomes second nature and you wouldn't want it any other way. However, starting off, building a kit and not knowing all the things you realyl need to get the car out and drive just serves to frustrate potential hobbyist.

Given the choice between a race roller or kit, I'll take the kit everytime. I would rather build it myself, rather than some kid in china making $5 a day.