Radio Control Cars

[kurdt_the_goat]

Does anyone have any RC car knowledge?

Over christmas my little nephew got this RC toy and i was unashamedly having a blast smashing his "Smokescreen" WRX into the walls etc! When i was a kid all my RC cars took D batteries and died in 10 minutes, so i always wanted one of those expensive ones in the hope that they'd last longer (and go about 10 times faster!). But, looking around now, there are so many options, i don't know where to start...

[MV75]

Well to start with, I got one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HBX-1-10-Mitsubishi-Lancer-EVO-GTR-RC-CAR-RTR_W0QQitemZ170406031495QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Toy s_Hobbies_Radio_Controlled_Vehicles?hash=item27acf db087

Is really is parts replaceable with the tamiya and is pretty high quality for the price. But it doesn't really seem as "fast" as advertised, but everything else listed including the pictures of the running gear are 100% accurate. But then again it only comes with an 1800mah nicad pack. It is fun though, and the controller is freaking sweet. My next upgrade that I really should get around to is to get a 3000/3600 nimh battery pack.

This car really is a great "starters" car. It's got the full tamiya hop-up options available to be put in, and starts off with the esc and full metal drive shafts, etc. And for $100 you really can't go wrong.

But you do have to ask yourself how fast you do want. You could go with either something similar to what I have, or an electric off-roader (buggy), or a nitro car. For nitro, look at a traxxas stadium buggy. But if you really want balls tearing speeds, go brushless electric with li-po packs.

But you do want it to be controllable too. Speed can work against you.

[kurdt_the_goat]

That is damn cheap compared to the ones i've been looking at (Perth Hobby Centre (http://www.perthhobbycentre.com.au/), Stanbridges (http://www.stanbridges.com.au/shop.RC-ELECTRIC-CARS-TRUCKS-BIKES-BUGGIES-TANKS)).

Since i've never controlled an even remotely fast RC car before, i'm thinking 40-50kph is more than enough for me, but was looking at buggy-style (mostly cause i had an infatuation with "Fast Traxx (http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/3135/Original1.jpg)" when i was younger). That Lancer is appealing though! (perhaps because i drive the watered down Lancer in real life :P) How long does a fully charged battery last?

From what i've read (and thus limited knowledge), i can't discern much difference between a Traxxas or Duratrax low-end model and the one you pointed me to (at least not enough to justify 3 times the price!). Is it durability/off road cabability or brand name?

[TheFallen]

I got this one (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-4WD-ESC-RADIO-REMOTE-CONTROL-CAR-RC-OFF-ROAD-MOVIE_W0QQitemZ370140311575QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_T oys_Hobbies_Radio_Controlled_Vehicles?hash=item562 e14f017) for my Son for Christmas

Don't let the price fool you, I only paid $140 including shipping. Just wait until the seller puts them up for bidding

[MV75]

That is damn cheap compared to the ones i've been looking at (Perth Hobby Centre (http://www.perthhobbycentre.com.au/), Stanbridges (http://www.stanbridges.com.au/shop.RC-ELECTRIC-CARS-TRUCKS-BIKES-BUGGIES-TANKS)).

Since i've never controlled an even remotely fast RC car before, i'm thinking 40-50kph is more than enough for me, but was looking at buggy-style (mostly cause i had an infatuation with "Fast Traxx (http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/3135/Original1.jpg)" when i was younger). That Lancer is appealing though! (perhaps because i drive the watered down Lancer in real life :P) How long does a fully charged battery last?

From what i've read (and thus limited knowledge), i can't discern much difference between a Traxxas or Duratrax low-end model and the one you pointed me to (at least not enough to justify 3 times the price!). Is it durability/off road cabability or brand name?

The battery on mine lasts probably 10mins if I'm lucky. But I have mentioned it's only a very low end battery.

As for the "lancer", it's only the outer shell. Walk into any hobby store for a direct replacement to whatever you want. HBX is a big chinese brand, 100% parts swap with tamiyas. :)

I have no idea on what a Duratrax brand is. But if you want nitro done properly, expect to pay in the region of a grand. And tamiya/traxxas are pretty big brands supported by just about every hobby store out there.


I got this one (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-4WD-ESC-RADIO-REMOTE-CONTROL-CAR-RC-OFF-ROAD-MOVIE_W0QQitemZ370140311575QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_T oys_Hobbies_Radio_Controlled_Vehicles?hash=item562 e14f017) for my Son for Christmas

Don't let the price fool you, I only paid $140 including shipping. Just wait until the seller puts them up for bidding

Looks cool for a stadium buggy, but what brand is it and how's it for parts?

[Vector Sigma 13]

Ive got a Hobao 1/10 scale petrol buggy which is a lot of fun and very fast. These cars are solid and very well built. You need a bit of technical knowledge to run these but they are great fun! Plenty of hop ups are available too! These are probably better suited for adults too due to starting/ tuning procedures and what not.

I paid about $500.00 for mine but if you spend another $100 or so you can pic up a 1/8 scale buggy. They are freakin awesome!

[TheFallen]

Looks cool for a stadium buggy, but what brand is it and how's it for parts?

I can't seem to find the brand on the instruction manual. It does have a full list of parts and extra parts in the manual

I has about 30-40mins runtime before needing to be recharged. The battery pack can be upgraded to something that lasts longer

[darockk]

whatever you buy, make sure you buy something that you know you can get parts readily and quickly.

you will always break something sooner or later.


when i was into these things i had 2 hobao hyper 7's. having 2 of the same car meant that i could interchange the parts if needed and it meant at least one car was always on the road should anything break.

if you're going electric, one tip is that there is no such thing as having too many battery packs.

[Vector Sigma 13]

when i was into these things i had 2 hobao hyper 7's..

Thats the one i should have bought:(- have you seen how high you can jump those suckers?:D

[darockk]

Thats the one i should have bought:(- have you seen how high you can jump those suckers?:D

i only had the entry level TQ sport model but they are seriously good value buggys: low cost, cheap readily available parts and upgradable with the parts from the more expensive hyper 7 models.

i took mine to a BMX track once and got some serious air time!

good times


p.s i heard they made a version with a .28 size monster engine...crazy!

[jacksplatt11]

I got a TT-01 a couple of years back, not the fastest thing going round but it's easy enough to play around with and is fun once you put some hop-ups in it