Hey guys... I'm looking at a few different cars and this one has caught my eye. I'm new to SCT's and racing in general, but I have a track opening up literally right beside my house, and some friends will be there racing, so I've gotten the "bug" and want to join in the fun.

Since I'm new, I'd like some input on a setup I was looking at. Obviously, learning to drive well will be something that only comes with time and experience, and practice. However, I want to have a good car platform from the beginning. Do I need all of the top mods? No. Do I want a solid car that in the right hands will be competitive? Most definitely.

I've been looking at the SC10 5M with the following setup.

Motor and esc- Reedy Blackbox 1000Z+ ESC / Sonic 540-M3 8.5T OR Castle Creations Mamba X SCT 1/10 Brushless Combo w/1410 Sensored Motor

Servo - Savox SC-1258TG

Pinion gear - I'm not sure... should I start with a 16-18 maybe?

Wheels/Tires - Not sure. The track is indoors, short, tight, and has carpet and some old wood.

TX/RX - I have always used Spektrum from my plains and heli's so unless there is a better, more affordable/comfortable option that someone suggests, I'll likely go with Spektrum.

I know there are a lot of RTR cars out there, but I know how I am, and I like to be able to grow and modify things as I learn. I don't want to sink money into an RTR to find out in 3 months I want something more and end up buying something better. Experience has shown me it's better to just get something good up front. I wanted to stay under or as close to $500 as possible, but that may not be realistic.

Any thoughts, suggestions, advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, if I'm missing or overlooking anything...? I have some good lipo chargers already (from years of flying) and I'll likely try a few different lipos to see what I like best. I'm guessing saddle packs or shorties. I've read through almost all of the pages here and know there is a ton of tuning information. I apologize for the beginner questions.

Best aftermarket bearings for the SC5M? Been running RC10's since 1986 and in 3 race days my SC5M has bad bearings. From my gold tub RC10, 10T, B2, 2 B3/T3 (stock/Mod), and 2 B4/T4 I never had an AE bearing fail on me. Lost both left front wheel bearings to where the wheel flopped back and forth like the nut was loose, and I believe the left rear bearings are gone also as my truck spins out to the right constantly. Very disappointed. So do not want to go with stock again. Is Acer ceramic bearing any good?

Or would these Trinity bearing kit work for the B5M? TowerHobbies.com | Trinity Cert. Plus Ceramic Ball Bearing Set B6/B5M (14)

Avid bearings, $1 each

I was looking at Avid's ceramic bearings. Avid's $1 bearings are the ticket then? Went with the Avid set.

In my opinion, I would build the truck according to the box setup and adjust from there to your style of driving and track. You can get the preferred tires others recommend for your track, but other than that box setup is a very good stating point. I have tried building new vehicles to others setup sheets and not liked it. as far as upgrades I would only say the brass C block is a need IMO everything else is only bling and not required. I have been racing Associated cars for years and even Custom Works cars which use Associated bearings and have never had trouble with new bearings, in the trans. or wheels. Not saying it does not happen just I have never had issues.

Hey guys, Im' sorry if my questions are very newb. My wife got my son a RTR sc10 rockstar for his birthday last month and she bought me a sc5m kit for my birthday this month. I have ZERO knowledge of anything RC and i'm just trying to wrap my head around everything. I built up my SC5m and we hit the track for the first time and had a blast!!! The bug has hit me though and I'm looking to start upgrading some parts. The parts I was going to upgrade from just reading through the forum posts were: Front springs, C block, 3 gear tranny, and the wheel hexes.

I had a couple of questions if you guys can steer me in the right direction. For the wheel hexes, i'm really confused. I'm seeing that it should be a 8.5 mm in the back and 6.0 mm in the front? However, what are they used for and how do I install them? I see some posts saying that the plastic hexes come off sometimes when taking off the wheel but I'm not sure I'm understanding what that means. It seems it's all just one piece connected to the front axle part # 71033. Am i totally looking at the wrong piece?

Is there anything else I need to complete or is it just the 8.5 mm and 6.00 mm clamping wheel hexes? Any part #'s you can provide for me to purchase would be amazing. EDIT: on looking through more of this thread I see someone mentioned I need the front clamping axles #71013. Do I just need the fronts or is there a rear clamping axle that I need as well?

ALso, my wife bought me the gray front springs already but I'm unsure on how to install it. The guy at the hobby store told us to use the smallest 0 mm offset shock spring cup but the manual states to use the 5mm offset. Do I use the 0 mm or the 5 mm? If I use the 0 mm do I also change out the rear spring cups to the 0 mm?

Lastly, do I need to "program" the ESC? I have a 3300 KV motor and a reedy sc800BL ESC.

I'm so sorry for these newb questions but i'm just trying to get my head around all this. Thank you guys so much in advance for your help.

Damn you lucky. My wife does not oppose me being involved in the hobby, but then again she has no knowledge of the actual cost. And I would like to keep that way.

SC5M Wheel Question and Front Axle Question
 

As I have been building the SC5M, I have noticed that I do not like the idea of a single screw holding together the whole front axle. So I started searching and I found some axles for j concepts that also state they require an extra hex part. The parts in question are listed below.

Titanium Knurl Tip Front Axle - T5M | SC5M | JConcepts

FT Clamping Wheel Hexes, 8.5mm

Last I was into RC was back with the T3, and it used bearings in the front wheels and a notched back wheel that fit over a pin. The whole hex thing is new to me, and I am finding it hard to find good information that would answer my questions.

So here are my questions and concerns.

What is the measurement of the hex? The axles I am looking at above state that they require the 8.5 mm hex adapter. Is that the measure of the diameter of the center hole, or the measure of the hex diameter? Something else?

As far as wheels are concerned, do I purchase the same wheels front and back? Or are the hexes different sizes? Whenever I search for wheels for the SC5M I keep seeing 12mm Hex wheels, this in conjunction with the 8.5mm hex is confusing.

Further insight and clarification would be greatly appreciated. Just a rundown of wheels, tires, and the whole hex and adapter issues would be great.

8.5mm refers to the depth of the hex adapter. the width of the hex is 12mm. The jc axle does not have the hex incorporated into its design, so you have to buy the hex separately. Honestly, you do not need an aftermarket axle/hex. As long as you use threadlock on the screw (and clean the threads properly, you shouldn't have any issues.

Front and rear wheels are the same. However, make sure that you buy wheels that are intended for the sc5m/sc10 series.

As stated the number is the depth of th hex. With those axles you want the 6mm AE hex! The 8.5mm is for the rear of sc5m and front/rear of the t5m.

Yes you want to run the same wheels front and rear. Just get the +3 wheels from Jconcepts etc. they are the standard for this truck.

Dude, you rock! I have been searching high and low for some basic information with respect to that measurement. The labeling of those Hex adapters with 6mm, 8.5mm, etc was confusing me. Because everything I was finding with respect to wheels on the SC5M were that they should be 12mm. But those are two different measurements.

For whatever it is worth, I bought some 6mm hexes for the front and ended up taking them off. they are a bit too wide and dont allow the nut to fully compress and it causes the wheel to have some play / sloop. I know others have found the same. This is with the 3mm offset Jconcepts Hazard wheels.

Is that play from the Hex to the axle, or the wheel to the Hex? Meaning where exactly is it loose, I guess it could be both.

because the hex pushes the wheel out further you can't tighten the wheel all the way so it has some play.