lowcel

iTrader: (80)

I am wanting to pick up an affordable road car to help me re-learn how to drive so I don't have to wear out tires and wait for lipo batteries to charge on my 8eight-e. I have plenty of pavement around my house to play but my area is dirt challenged so to speak. I am planning on ordering from amain hobbies today.

The two cars that caught my eye were the Kyosho TF-5 and the Team Associated TC4. Is either car "better" than the other? They are both about the same price. Is there another car that you would recommend over those?

Thanks in advance for the help.

MikeXray

iTrader: (73)

Getting parts for the kyosho might be difficult, the tc4 is an excellent car. HPI also makes some good rtr's, there is the sprint 2 and cyclone S, both solid cars.

lowcel

iTrader: (80)

Thank you. Would the TC4 be a decent entry level car to race if I would decide to try it out later?

Foxxrocket

First thing, Associated and kyosho make vary good products. With that said, you should make your chose on part availability, and price. From my experience, associated has a much wider product support than Kyosho. Out of the three hobby shops I frequnt most, they all carry Associated parts. Only one carries Kyosho parts. Things may be different there, but it's a good idea to ask if they carry parts for either car.

Will you be racing, or bashing?

lowcel

iTrader: (80)

Thank you. I'll just be bashing for a while but may try out a race or two later on. My local tracks are all off road.

Foxxrocket

You might want to go with the TC4. If you brake something, you won't spend an arm and a leg on parts. And most places carry them. Also, if all you have are dirt tracks, then you might want to convert the car into a rally car.

lowcel

iTrader: (80)

Thanks. I already have a Losi 8ight-E 2.0 for the off road track. I'm mainly going to be using the road car on the school parking lot beside my house. I might play with it on my basketball court from time to time as well.

Kind of on aside note, will a Trinity Reference 6 Cell Performance Pack w/Tamiya Connector (7.2V/3600mAh) battery be alright for my intended use? If so about how much time will I get out of a charge?

Foxxrocket

roughly about 10 to 15 minutes. But the car comes with a 15t motor, so it may be less.

MikeXray

iTrader: (73)

You might as well just get a lipo from the start, better performance and life.

lowcel

iTrader: (80)

According to the team losi website says that lipo batteries will not work on the car and that they don't recommend lipo's on their RTR cars.

TomTomTuning

iTrader: (19)

You can run a Lipo in just about anything.

The main things to consider is the physical size of the lipo, make sure it fits in your vehicle and other important thing is the voltage. Then you can get into MAH and C rating.

For your RTR TC4, you can run a 2s lipo (7.4v)
Id go for something about 4000mah to 5000mah...
The more MAH the longer it will run, but also the heavier the battery will be.

lowcel

iTrader: (80)

How do you keep it from discharging too much and damaging the battery pack?

Cpt.America

iTrader: (52)

Somebody correct me if im wrong, but that is because the RTR car's won't come with an ESC that has a low voltage cuttoff for lipos. Drive the car too long, and you risk catastrophic lipo damange.

Foxxrocket

LiPos supply constant power to the car. Once you see the performance of the car drop off, stop driving it. check the voltage, then recharge it again. A good LiPo will have a 20 to 30 minute runtime.

lowcel

iTrader: (80)

Hmmmm, maybe I would be better off just building a car. I could go with a Hot Bodies Cyclone S and a Losi brushless ESC/motor for about $300. Then I am thinking I would just need a servo and a pinion gear. Is that correct?

I already have an extra receiver.