Electric RC in the Rain?
10-22-2001, 07:14 AM
#1
Electric RC in the Rain?
There this guy from local car (real car) forum which I know for the past 10 months but never meet in person...someone asked a question about RC's and heres the replies.
Guy: for someone who has no background in playing with RCs, it would be better to go electric first. Try looking for Tamiya or Kyosho as the brand of choice for your electric RCs. After that, you will have to decide if you want an on-road or off-road RC car. An off-road RC car is more fun because you can driving it nearly anywhere and even in the rain (although not recommended in a lightnight storm... hehehe). An on-road RC is limited to paved roads but can go faster and corner harder/steeper than offroad RC cars. But since on-road RC cars are built lighter than off-road cars, they might not survive high speed impacts well.
Me: You are correct except for this part "An off-road RC car is more fun because you can driving it nearly anywhere and even in the rain"
An electric RC no matter if its on road or off road is a no no in wet conditions unless you want to short circuit your electronics (ESC, Batts, motor, receiver) If its a Nitro then its okay because there no ESC, Motor or big batts to short circuit and you have a room for receiver in a small close box but still you have to play it safe.
Guy: Just pointing out, I often have driven my RC in the rain because I had nothing better to do. I had a Tamiya Porsche 959 (AWD) and a Tamiya Lancia Martini (RWD) with Futaba transmitter/receiver/servos. Both will handle water as long as they don't submerge into it. Actually the Lancia handles water/mud better than the Porsche even if its 4 years older in technology/design. All electronics & batteries have been made water proof by use of Tamiya rubber bags... basically rubber balloons which encase the electronics from water. The Tamiya 7.2volt NiCD racing pack battery is pretty much waterproof by itself.
And that, my friend, is why I can run my RC cars in the rain.
Me: Elecctic RC is a no no in the rain..... well thats what I learned from ppl playing with RC's and from web sites that caters to the hobby...
May I know what Tamiya kit you have? Those you mentioned are only bodies that can be interchanged. Also the rubber bags...how did u put the receiver, ESC (do u have one?) or the MSC to be waterproofed?
Also after running it in the rain...dont you find some water inside the motor which is bad? or was it still dry?
Don't you think the splashes is bad for the metal parts of the RC? Like the bearings, motors and servos, etc?
I'd like to see how you do it...maybe we can copy it so we can still race kahit na umuulan...because theres never been a single race with electrics when it rains...this must be the start of something big...
Now here my question...is this possible? Electric RC in the rain? I mean without doing some obnoxious thing like putting all your electronics in a bag...which I think is possible but a lot..I mean a lot of work...also how but the motor?
Guy: for someone who has no background in playing with RCs, it would be better to go electric first. Try looking for Tamiya or Kyosho as the brand of choice for your electric RCs. After that, you will have to decide if you want an on-road or off-road RC car. An off-road RC car is more fun because you can driving it nearly anywhere and even in the rain (although not recommended in a lightnight storm... hehehe). An on-road RC is limited to paved roads but can go faster and corner harder/steeper than offroad RC cars. But since on-road RC cars are built lighter than off-road cars, they might not survive high speed impacts well.
Me: You are correct except for this part "An off-road RC car is more fun because you can driving it nearly anywhere and even in the rain"
An electric RC no matter if its on road or off road is a no no in wet conditions unless you want to short circuit your electronics (ESC, Batts, motor, receiver) If its a Nitro then its okay because there no ESC, Motor or big batts to short circuit and you have a room for receiver in a small close box but still you have to play it safe.
Guy: Just pointing out, I often have driven my RC in the rain because I had nothing better to do. I had a Tamiya Porsche 959 (AWD) and a Tamiya Lancia Martini (RWD) with Futaba transmitter/receiver/servos. Both will handle water as long as they don't submerge into it. Actually the Lancia handles water/mud better than the Porsche even if its 4 years older in technology/design. All electronics & batteries have been made water proof by use of Tamiya rubber bags... basically rubber balloons which encase the electronics from water. The Tamiya 7.2volt NiCD racing pack battery is pretty much waterproof by itself.
And that, my friend, is why I can run my RC cars in the rain.
Me: Elecctic RC is a no no in the rain..... well thats what I learned from ppl playing with RC's and from web sites that caters to the hobby...
May I know what Tamiya kit you have? Those you mentioned are only bodies that can be interchanged. Also the rubber bags...how did u put the receiver, ESC (do u have one?) or the MSC to be waterproofed?
Also after running it in the rain...dont you find some water inside the motor which is bad? or was it still dry?
Don't you think the splashes is bad for the metal parts of the RC? Like the bearings, motors and servos, etc?
I'd like to see how you do it...maybe we can copy it so we can still race kahit na umuulan...because theres never been a single race with electrics when it rains...this must be the start of something big...
Now here my question...is this possible? Electric RC in the rain? I mean without doing some obnoxious thing like putting all your electronics in a bag...which I think is possible but a lot..I mean a lot of work...also how but the motor?
10-22-2001, 07:48 AM
#2
I have run a rally car in a very light rain before. Mine has a full inner body kit on it and some water did get in, but didn't make it to the electronics. I did go through a puddle, didn't mean to but the inner body kept the water out pretty well. Most of the rally cars have a smooth tub chassis so the motor doesn't get dirt and sand in it. With the inner body make sure you run a heat sink motor plate or use a clip on heat sink to help with the heat that gets trapped inside.
10-22-2001, 08:10 AM
#3
Water is a whole lot less damaging to the motor than dirt, actually water will not damage a motor at all. Across the pond in Eorope they run major events in wet conditions, so to an extent electric can be ran in the wet, and nitros are just as easily damaged by water as electrics....
10-22-2001, 08:29 AM
#4
zxt: what the guy you were talking with said is not that really far fetched as you think. i can imagine those rubber ballons this guy was talkng about. Tamiya had them way, way back and having this on your electronics would really keep the water off... i think this rubber baloon was even made for the electric motor itself to shield it from water.
As to running Electric RC's in the rain... well i do it from time to time... even in the mud! Last time i did was through really heavy downpour. the car i used was an HPI Rally with the inner body protecting my electronics from the water. well my electronics did get slightly wet but i guess that wasn't enough to fry em
but seriously... if you have your electronics sealed really well from water... i guess you would be able to run your RC almost through anything
As to running Electric RC's in the rain... well i do it from time to time... even in the mud! Last time i did was through really heavy downpour. the car i used was an HPI Rally with the inner body protecting my electronics from the water. well my electronics did get slightly wet but i guess that wasn't enough to fry em
but seriously... if you have your electronics sealed really well from water... i guess you would be able to run your RC almost through anything
10-22-2001, 06:38 PM
#5
oh...
then why theres no race when it rains? How bout get those rubber ballons and start wrapping our electonics so we can have wet race....I think that would be really fun....
10-22-2001, 07:43 PM
#6
RC in the rain
A good reason to not race in the rain is it's hard as hell to control, at least with a touring car with slicks! At the last race I was in, in the second qualifier it started to rain, pretty lightly, about a minute into it. No one wanted to stop, so we kept going, it was a good lesson in being smooth, let me tell you. punching the throttle (with my TC3, stock motor, 31t pinion) would almost spin the car, it was tough.
10-22-2001, 10:34 PM
#7
Running in the wet isn't a prob just use the ballon trick as listed above, use tape to seal your servo and put a dab of greese where it opens for you to put on the servo saver so that it is water tight. You could also spray lots of WD40 over the exposed metal parts like the cvd's the axcels the diff outlets the turnbuckles just to make sure they are a little more water resisitant. Don't forget to clean the car after running though. NItro fares better in the wet then ele because most have sealed radio boxes and all you have to do is seal the servo's and your ready. Ele still reigns sepreme though. 
10-23-2001, 05:04 AM
#8
okay...
ncrego: welcome to the rctech forum...
fatdoggystyle: thanks for educating me...tho I dont have any plans on running in the rain...but if I were to choose I like to have a wet race...ala F1 or Touring car...Rain is the great equalizer.
fatdoggystyle: thanks for educating me...tho I dont have any plans on running in the rain...but if I were to choose I like to have a wet race...ala F1 or Touring car...Rain is the great equalizer.
10-25-2001, 03:37 PM
#9
Tech Rookie
R/C for sale!!!
For Sale:
Tamiya TL01
Long Suspension Arm
Lightweight Chassy
Front and Rear Sway Bars
Rally Tires
Extra Chassy, Spare Parts, Box and Manual
3 Bodies included:
F150
Honda Accord
Alfa Romeo
P4,000.00 only!!!
email: [email protected]
or txt roland @: 0919-4637503
landline: 8742585
Tamiya TL01
Long Suspension Arm
Lightweight Chassy
Front and Rear Sway Bars
Rally Tires
Extra Chassy, Spare Parts, Box and Manual
3 Bodies included:
F150
Honda Accord
Alfa Romeo
P4,000.00 only!!!
email: [email protected]
or txt roland @: 0919-4637503
landline: 8742585
10-26-2001, 04:07 PM
#11
Tech Apprentice
if you put all your electronics in those balloons or seal them up wouldn't they get to hot. I mean the heat would have no where to go and just make everything hot, especially the batteries and the esc?
has anyone ever tried to seal the body and chassis into one, kind of like a real car, so water couldn't get up in it. If you could seal the body to the chassis somehow you could cut slits in the body to let air pass through to keep things cool. Just wondering.
has anyone ever tried to seal the body and chassis into one, kind of like a real car, so water couldn't get up in it. If you could seal the body to the chassis somehow you could cut slits in the body to let air pass through to keep things cool. Just wondering.
10-26-2001, 05:04 PM
#12
Tech Initiate
I don't think you'd use slicks somehow, but it does raise an interesting question and idea:What tires would you use? Also, rain tires could be developed.
10-26-2001, 06:20 PM
#13
My guess is that you'd want major tread's so that the wheels actually touch the ground instead of just skimming over the water. You could use Rally tyres(hard compound) or maybe even proline sedan hawg's(soft compound). This is just guessing but if you have more rubber sticking down then it should have more touching the asphult. ^^^100% Guess no idea if they work. 
Last edited by fatdoggy; 10-26-2001 at 06:23 PM.
05-23-2010, 04:02 PM
#14
I know this is an old thread - but I want to encourage everyone to race in the rain!
Why?
Cause it is a lot of fun! Does stuff break while racing in the rain? Yes - you bet, but stuff also breaks on a non-rainy days. I race both my touring car and rally car in the rain. Just make sure to pack your electronics in small ziplock bags, balloons and/or rubber gloves.
You'll have a blast drifting around corners and seeing you car throwing rooster tails of water (depending on body and car type) when running it on wet tarmac or dirt.
We are not in this hobby to save money... but to have fun!
Why?
Cause it is a lot of fun! Does stuff break while racing in the rain? Yes - you bet, but stuff also breaks on a non-rainy days. I race both my touring car and rally car in the rain. Just make sure to pack your electronics in small ziplock bags, balloons and/or rubber gloves.
You'll have a blast drifting around corners and seeing you car throwing rooster tails of water (depending on body and car type) when running it on wet tarmac or dirt.
We are not in this hobby to save money... but to have fun!
05-24-2010, 01:54 AM
#15
It's fun but your bearings will rust...specifically the wheel bearings.