mattmacf

iTrader: (2)

Hello all, stumbled on this forum looking to pick up an r/c car. I was out today goofing off with a friend and a pair of radio shack type things and I realized I'd love to invest (read: sink money) in a "real" r/c car. Assuming I've got zero experience and zero gear, I'm wondering where I should get started given a number of criteria (in no particular order):

1) It's gotta be a kit. I'd rather avoid the simplicity of a RTR car and build a kit from the ground up. I'd like to know the ins and outs before I start tearing about the neighborhood recklessly.

2) Buggie/truggie type vehicle (ideally). I'm not looking for any serious offroading, but it's gotta be able to handle grass, potholes, cracks in the pavement, etc. I used to have one of these as a kid and recall it was a whole bunch of fun. Unfortunately, it's been long since retired to the scrap heap.

3) Electric. I'd prefer not to fiddle with nitro just yet.

4) Durable. I know no reasonably r/c car is going to survive a headlong drive into the curb, but I'd like to be able to goof off around campus without irreparable harm.

5) Powerful. Duh. It should go fast. It should handle well. It should be fun to drive. This is probably the least important to begin with, however. I'd rather start small than buy a car too powerful for me to handle.

6) Upgradeable. I'm not sure how deep into the hobby I'm going to get, but I'd like to be able to swap parts in and out as necessary and gradually build a formidable machine. It'd also be nice to be able to buy another car and mix and match parts as necessary. I'd love to be able to properly race too once I get some practice in.

7) Affordable. Budget for now is pegged at around $300. Mind you, I'm not looking for anything fancy, just a car to get my feet wet and to kick around from time to time. Once I figure out which parts go where, I'll reassess how much more cash I'm looking to burn.

Any recommendations on what to look for in a beginner kit would be really cool. Not sure if I'm entirely out of line with my expectations, but I'd appreciate any advice you could provide.

RocketRob40

Sorry for laughing, and I'll try to help - but honestly you need to help yourself before any of us can really help you.........


1) It's gotta be a kit. I'd rather avoid the simplicity of a RTR car and build a kit from the ground up. I'd like to know the ins and outs before I start tearing about the neighborhood recklessly.

There are very few so-called "kits" available anymore on the RC market, but since you're already familiar with the term RTR I would think you'd already know that, primarily as a result of people not wanting to do the assembly or initially having to deal with the complexity of it. The upside is that most cars/trucks on the market, at least the more premium/hobby shop brands are highly upgradable - and need to be to survive the daily stresses people put these little toy cars through. And with anything it's highly adviseable to do a complete take-apart and re-assembly to make sure everything's working and not over-tightened or mal-adjusted - so you're going to do some wrenching either way.


2) Buggie/truggie type vehicle (ideally). I'm not looking for any serious offroading, but it's gotta be able to handle grass, potholes, cracks in the pavement, etc. I used to have one of these as a kid and recall it was a whole bunch of fun. Unfortunately, it's been long since retired to the scrap heap.



3) Electric. I'd prefer not to fiddle with nitro just yet.



4) Durable. I know no reasonably r/c car is going to survive a headlong drive into the curb, but I'd like to be able to goof off around campus without irreparable harm.

As you're likley aware, or should be, anything RC is only going to be as durable as you - and your driving/crashing - allow it to be. And vice versa.

5) Powerful. Duh. It should go fast. It should handle well. It should be fun to drive. This is probably the least important to begin with, however. I'd rather start small than buy a car too powerful for me to handle.

Powerfull and/or speed is all a relative to the operator and the surface they're running and the size of the area in which they run it - but you should know that too given your previous experience. Getting in over your head, as you're apparently suggesting, just leads to more early breakage and damage - then again I shouldn't have to be reminding you of that either.

6) Upgradeable. I'm not sure how deep into the hobby I'm going to get, but I'd like to be able to swap parts in and out as necessary and gradually build a formidable machine. It'd also be nice to be able to buy another car and mix and match parts as necessary. I'd love to be able to properly race too once I get some practice in.

My advice would be to go shop around at any of your local or area hobby shops and see what's available and what they carry replacement or upgrade parts for - as they will be your easiest and most available resource. Sans that, expect to have to wait for the mail to get parts. That being said, as I alluded earlier, go with "more premium/hobby shop brands" as they have not only a bevy of upgrades but also are available.

7) Affordable. Budget for now is pegged at around $300. Mind you, I'm not looking for anything fancy, just a car to get my feet wet and to kick around from time to time. Once I figure out which parts go where, I'll reassess how much more cash I'm looking to burn.

Seems as if you haven't thought this through yet!
As your previous expereince should have told you -
- the words powerful and affordable are not often used in the same sentence.


Any recommendations on what to look for in a beginner kit would be really cool. Not sure if I'm entirely out of line with my expectations, but I'd appreciate any advice you could provide.

My advice would be to spend some quality time reading and lurking on this forum, or other similar ones, and spend less time asking questions until you have at least some sort of vague idea of what you want, what's out there, and a better grasp of how much things cost. Otehrwise you'll be overwhelmed with literally dozens, if not hundreds, of suggestions from people that in most cases only have little more expertise than yourself. Educate yourself, and you'll not only be a wiser questioner but also a more savvy buyer when the time comes.

While I'm not bashing you for asking what you have, frankly your questions are rather similar (though greater in length) than what we see here many times each week in which someone is asking "flavor of the week/what should I get" queries that lead no where.


welcome to the forum, just log back in when you have something of substance to ask

chicagokenji

the OP said kit, offroad, and 300 bucks. I'm assuming he means 1/10th scale too. This is the first thing that came to mind:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...1p?&I=LZ1320**

Personally if it were me I wouldn't go with the Tower combo but it does fit his bill.

The kit itself is 150 bucks.

The Futaba radio is OK at 50 bucks.

That leaves about 100 dollars for a charger and batteries to get to 300 bucks.

But I might substitute the crappy Tower charger and batteries in that combo and go with a Dynamite charger and get two Dynamite 4200 or 3800 NiMh packs.

Go to your local hobbyshop and show them all the stuff I just mentioned. They'll walk you through what's best and then they'll be there to support you after your purchases.

If you still wanted the same fun factor but wanted to do it a little cheaper you could go with an RC18T or RC18B. Over the long haul it would be lots cheaper.

mattmacf

iTrader: (2)

RocketRob,

Thanks a bunch for the reply. I realize I'm looking for filet mignon at a Big Mac price (and that it's unlikely to happen), but as I begin lurking through the various r/c fora, I realize I know pretty much NOTHING about the hobby. I also imagine that the "what should I get" question gets asked a number of times.

Perhaps I should've been asking much more general "where do I start?" questions. I admit I'm already overwhelmed with the variety of options available and I couldn't find a "newbies read this" faq of sorts to help explain some of the options available. I also realize that $300 isn't even a drop in the bucket when it comes to the folks who are really serious about this.

Basically what I'm looking for is the best bang-for-the-buck at an admittedly modest price point. I'm also curious if there are any things in particular that I should be looking for (or anything to avoid) when buying a first car.

chicagokenji

Bang for the buck, in a new RC product, at great prices, is in RTR products not kits.

Find something that suits your fancy, run/race it for a while then when you're tired of it, sell it for 40-50 cents on the dollar here on rctech or ebay and move on to another vehicle.

RocketRob40

Well, since you appear to be realistic about things I'll be happy to help as much as I can - yet at the same time, in a way of educating yourself, I'd suggest (as I alluded earlier) to do a lot of reading and studying.

Bang for the buck? Honestly, that's an RTR and not a "kit" - as it comes with a lot of extras (electronics, radio, battery sometimes, motor, electronic speed control) that are all set up and pretty much ready to go - and that's a lot easier for someone new to the hobby to get a handle on and be able to afford within your budget.

Currently in this hobby there are three classifications of RCers: shelf queeners (the guys that build really pretty pieces with all sorts of bling that just sit on the shelf), racers (that all they do is race), and bashers (that just run their cars and trucks for fun and generally abuse them). And you have to figure out which of these categories you think you want to be in, though there is some that mix between them but not usually, which in a lot of way will help you in vehicle choice.

If you have ANY interest in racing in the future I'd suggest going to your local track for a couple of races and see who's running what. If you buy something now on someone's suggestion, or even out of your own interest or curiosity, and then show up at the track and no one is running that particular type car or classification for it - you'll be sh!t out of luck and ultimately unhappy with your purchase. But it you plan on racing you must get something race-worthy, like something from Associated or Losi or one of the premium brands, or you'll spend your races getting passed way more than you do any passing.

If you just plan to thrash and and bash your RC, then it really matters little as you'll be replacing more parts than it's worth worrying about upgrading or improving it - and at that rate there are many bash-worthy vehicles on the market.

But do go down to your local hobby shop, and see what they carry, as well as going by any local tracks or hot spots.

mattmacf

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the advice. I've decided against the kit idea and have been looking seriously at RTRs instead (maybe I'll pull it apart if I feel adventurous). From what I've seen, I think I'll be picking up one of the Traxxas Rustler XL-5's, although I might spring for the VXL, some NiMHs and take advantage of the training mode when I'm just beating around the backyard.

I figure something like that would be sufficient to start out on, yet has some room for serious expansion. With a little luck, I'll be heading to the hobby shop this afternoon

RocketRob40

Nothing against Traxxas stuff, but honestly a Rustler isn't quite a race truck and if you're still considering that route I'd suggest their new Slash as it's a new release that's gaining a foothold. You can read all about it in the thread below, just click on the link. They're a blast.

http://www.rctech.net/forum/showthread.php?t=216695

chicagokenji

The Slash is a great idea. Three things make it so:

the ability with the flick of a switch to slow it down to be able to learn to drive

Ability to get it wet.

Price point.