Way2Evl

iTrader: (9)

Well without the battery and I haven't finished painting my body I'm about $1300 into it. And no I haven't raced before but I hope to move up through the ranks very quickly.

Way2Evl

iTrader: (9)

I saw this battery for $80. Is this a good battery? Can anyone else chime in on their success with this battery or anyone they've heard of?

Evoracer

iTrader: (24)

HOLY CRAP !! And we wonder why more people don't get involved or those that do drop out to quickly.
Way2Evl....I feel bad for you Man. The rediculous suggestions for all this high end garbage is downright insulting. Its the same sensation I get walking in to our local Hobbytown and watching some poor guy get conned into believing that an Xray is a great first car and if he wants to go 50mph he'll need that 8t motor and that Black Diamond esc.....and the list goes on. A few days later after the esc and motor are fried, the car doesn't go straight and he can't figure out the radio....the stuff goes in a closet or sells for dirt cheap and one more racer never happens.
Forgive the rant...it's not directed at you. You guys leading this guy down the yellow brick road looking at that $1300 dollar figure ?? You should be ashamed of yourselves.
This potential driver should have started out with an inexpensive used package or a simple entry level package that gave him a chance to do the things that really count......learn to drive and learn the basics of repair,maintenence and setup.
Way2Evl, I hope I'm wrong. I hope you have a coach or mentor of some sort who's going to walk you through all the missed steps. I wouldn't be saying this if I didn't see it happen way to often. Good Luck, I hope good things for you in the hobby.

locked

iTrader: (1)

Evoracer, he stated he wanted a top end TC. A car that would not be the limiting factor, just his driving, so people are giving advice based on that. I wish I had bought a race worthy TC right from the beginning. I bought my first mid range hobby grade RC car a few months ago. I always wanted one from when I was a kid, but never got around to buying one until recently. I didn't think I would want to race at the time, just drive it around parking lots and empty streets. I was happy with it for a couple of weeks. It was fun to rip around my neighborhood, but I soon realized after trying many things to make it handle a bit better, it was not really designed for it. I was hooked on RC cars though and decided I did want to get into racing now, but this new car of mine was not a wise choice for that. Maybe I should have bought a mid or lower range Tamiya kit, since people actually race the lower end Tamiya kits, but I didn't know that at the time and I never really liked the name Tamiya (I really don't know why, I just didn't) so I stupidly chose an HPI car instead. Other than giving me a lesson in basic maintenance, rudimentary driving skills and what not to buy, it is pretty useless. Even if I added every hop-up, which would end up costing quite a bit, the car would still not be competitive in the only classes it would qualify for. I felt drawn to 1/10th TC more and more every day, but knew I had to get a new car if I wanted to start racing, so that is exactly what I did. My new car is almost ready for the track(drives fine, just needs a better radio and servo for racing, and also waiting for a transponder). By the time it is all done, I will have spent far more than $1300, It will be much closer to $2000 , maybe over(Extra parts and many tools are a good chunk of this total..taxes and shipping too) , that does not include what I spent on my first car. My only regret is spending so much on my first car that I could have put towards my new one. I think even if I had bought a Tamiya kit first that I could start racing with, I would not be satisfied with it for long. The high end TCs were calling my name, and now that I have one almost complete, I just want to get out and race it. I expect I'll probably break some things, but at least I'll be replacing parts on a car I love and if I do get good, I don't need to buy something better to be competitive, I already have it. If I suck, well I still have a pretty damn cool car to drive and I fully expect to keep driving it regardless of my racing abilities I'm now completely hooked on RC cars and once I'm hooked on something there is no stopping me.

Way2Evl, good luck...to both of us

Sorry for the length of this post

niznai

About servos, enough has been said, and your choice is very good.

Here is why I chose mine.

I have found that you need serious torque and for peace of mind, I decided the JR was the best one can buy for its specs. If you check again you will see it is the only one of the three that has all the bells and whistles, plus is the fastest and has the highest torque.

I have watched cars thousands of times going around corners at high speeds and I have noticed some servos (including the Futaba S9551) simply can't hold against the mighty grip and centrifugal force (wheels hesitate and flutter). And yes, I checked afterwards what saver and if the driver was responsible for the hesitation I noticed. That's why I want the most torque I can get. Again, your choice isn't bad and may very well serve you perfectly. Just a point to remember. There is a KO servo on par with the JR, but more expensive (at least in Oz).

And yes, I have seen plenty of Futabas and KO (as well as other brands) with stripped gears. Slop is also an issue.

As Capt'n put it, you don't want to skimp on the servo.

For Lipo, go with Corally plugs and you can't go wrong. I have a box full of Deans connectors that failed in the most frustrating manner. They develop bad contact over time for a reason I still can't understand. I think the plastic softens around the contact blades due to the high currents drawn and these sink ever so slightly in the plastic and you end up with a dead connection. I gave them all up for good.

About Corally plugs if you decide for them, make sure and buy the real stuff with the twisted slotted spring sheath, the el cheapo copies will flatten and pop out of the battery randomly which is really frustrating.

About buying the best you can afford, I found this is the cheapest option in the long run. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to make do with something of poor quality. The amount you spent is normal. If I look back, in OZ, I had to spend about the same amount if not more to put any of my cars down on the track a competitive car.

The Xray is a weapon (I never said it is the best becasue I consider the best car depends on the driver, not the car) but you need to put it together carefully.

Whatever you do, don't rush.

From experience, I have noticed you need to rebuild the diffs from new. Sometimes they don't have any grease in and you'll destroy them if run like that.

Use loctite on screws rather than tightening them like you are building the Titanic.

Make sure you undertsand how to build and bleed the shocks before starting. These are really trick and wrok brilliantly, but if stuff them up they're expensive.

The balljoint cups are sided. Check carefully which side is which and use a something like a wheelbrace from a Tamiya kit (or anything made of soft metal like brass, aluminium, antimony, etc) to push down on the cups to drive them home over the balls. This will avoid scratching balls.

Personally I don't like the surface finish of the balls and the hard plastic of the cups in Xray kits so I replace them with Yokomo items. These are polished to a mirror finish and have a tighter fit too and because the plastic of the cups is more rubbery, they don't develop slop if need be to pull them out again and again. But I avoid this anyway and actually use the Yokomo drilled through balls so I can disconnect anything by taking out a screw rather than pull a ball out of the socket. When service time is at a premium, it's the fastest option. A bit of dry graphite powder goes a long way towards extending their life and keeping crap out too.

Have fun.

Evoracer

iTrader: (24)

locked, your comments are all good and I won't beat this thing to death but....Your experiences are the perfct example of what I'm saying except from the reverse side. Had you received good advice...you may have made a better choice for that first car. You're right...buying a car like the TT01 or an E10 is not the best choice to enter the hobby. I recommend those cars for only 2 reasons.....the budget is really small and you either dont plan on racing or dont know if you might want to race. Either way, these type of cars do serve a purpose.....they tend to make the extended cost LESS because it : 1. gives you an understanding of what it takes to drive and some time to build driving skill 2. Gives you the time to find out IF and at what level you may want to get more involved 3. gives you time to learn various functions of the car, electronics, radio AND time to research various manufacturers 4. Gives you time to build a budget for the gear you've now researched and have the skill to operate and maintain.
As I said, there are many great cars both used and new that would better suit a person who has no rc history whatsoever. Way2evl is maybe much more fortunate than some. The fact that he has a large budget to work with is both a gift and a curse.
I wish him the best but I truly believe his learning curve will be hindered by the level of the gear he's buying...UNLESS he literally has someone "holding his hand" to guide and teach him. Just look at some of his questions. All good ones but definitely those of a true beginner. The level of the gear he's getting will take him ages (or never) to figure out. We've all seen it....the poor guy who got a top end car and does nothing but get frustrated because there's never enough help for him....especially in a racing environment. We all know how busy that can be.
Anyway, I'm sorry if anyone is offended. As a race director and the originator of our club I've just seen way to many folks get scared off this way and I can never agree with this kind of approach as a proper entrance to the hobby.

Way2Evl

iTrader: (9)

So, I got my car up and running and just wanted to thank everyone who helped me out. It is so much fun to drive. I'm having a really great time.

To those who were worried about the direction I took and my choice of expensive parts. From having many hobbies I have found it is also better to get the best parts (or close to) available to you because it will benefit you in the long run. There's nothing worse than having a part and growing in the sport and having to purchase something to accommodate your skill level when you could have just purchased it in the first place. It is a waste of money! I know whith my choices that unless broken these parts should last me awhile with the growing technology.
One thing is certain is that the level of help required for a newcomer is not always there. Luckily we have the internet/forums and youtube and most questions can be answered through these sources.

I have to say that the hotwire is GREAT! It makes setting the car up really easy. I think I have the right setup and my adjustments have made a world of difference.

Now I plan on learning to rebuild the diff and bleed the shocks. Once I learn how to do these I should have a pretty good start. Also, I need to buy tools and things for setting up the parameters of the car. This hobby is expensive, (like most of my hobbies) but a lot of things are one time buyers. Then you get killed with track practice fees haha. Thank you and God bless.