RC cars?

[nahtnoj]

I'm remembering a lot of stuff - I actually built a track in the field next to my house.

[Nierman]

I have fond childhood memories of selling my holstein steer and using a portion of the proceeds to buy a Tamiya Hornet. By societal standards, we was poor, but my Father gave the hesitant nod after me promising to be responsible with such a large purchase. The build and tune process was what helped me appreciate the quality and further justify (to me) the cost. Opened the box to a Revell kit on steroids... Assembling tiny shock absorbers and filling them with tiny drops of oil. Tiny O rings that I had to keep away from my little siblings and the shag carpet. The parts catalog quickly surpassed the JC Penny Christmas catalog as my go-to bathroom reads. Shortly after getting it running I was ready to mod. Got a '36 Ford shell for it at a local hobby store clearance sale that I finished in gray primer. I think I painted "Unfinished Business" on the side like some rat rod gasser. Mounts didn't exactly line up with the original lexan buggy shell and the front tires kept bottoming under the front fenders, so I recut some longer mounts w/the front end jacked up. Fun stuff.

[false_aesthetic]

Will someone call up Ms. MicroWatt and tell her to read this thread?

XMass is almost here and, while I really want a new frame, a RC car is so much more affordable.

[Badonkadonk]

Will someone call up Ms. MicroWatt and tell her to read this thread?

XMass is almost here and, while I really want a new frame, a RC car is so much more affordable.

somewhere there's probably an r/c nerd on a forum somewhere asking advice about a basic cheap road bike, because that'll be "so much more affordable" than the four new turbines and upgraded front gear door servos he wants for his completely insane home made 1:12 scale convair hustler, capable of sustained to-scale mach 2 flight, as long as the tower operator at santa monica airport will allow it. five years from now, that guy will probably be here debating the fork rake on a pegoretti. or maybe he's already here and it's lionel ;-). i say go down this rabbit hole, baby, and take some pics of the sled for the rest of us who also want to geek out!

[NYCfixie]

Anyone fiddle around with em?

Thoughts for someone who has only played with Toys R Us versions?

I used to build them. Very cool and lots of fun.

If I were going to re-live my youth I would go for something like this:
Traxxas - Ford F-150 SVT Raptor (#58064) - Overview | traxxas.com

Stay with electric - gas is not worth the time/effort.

[NYCfixie]

Anyone fiddle around with em?

Thoughts for someone who has only played with Toys R Us versions?

I remember these:

Tamiya America - First in Quality Around the World
(think trek)

Team Associated - Champions By Design - Nitro and Electric RC Cars
(think trek madone project one)

[Jason Musgrave]

I have fond childhood memories of selling my holstein steer and using a portion of the proceeds to buy a Tamiya Hornet. By societal standards, we was poor, but my Father gave the hesitant nod after me promising to be responsible with such a large purchase. The build and tune process was what helped me appreciate the quality and further justify (to me) the cost. Opened the box to a Revell kit on steroids... Assembling tiny shock absorbers and filling them with tiny drops of oil. Tiny O rings that I had to keep away from my little siblings and the shag carpet. The parts catalog quickly surpassed the JC Penny Christmas catalog as my go-to bathroom reads. Shortly after getting it running I was ready to mod. Got a '36 Ford shell for it at a local hobby store clearance sale that I finished in gray primer. I think I painted "Unfinished Business" on the side like some rat rod gasser. Mounts didn't exactly line up with the original lexan buggy shell and the front tires kept bottoming under the front fenders, so I recut some longer mounts w/the front end jacked up. Fun stuff.

^^ This is EXACTLY why imho it SUX that most of the new stuff is ready to go out of the box. Nowadays kids don't know what their missing out on, nor do they gain an appreciation (read that respect) for the machine cause they didn't spend 2 weeks worth of evenings building it. Back in the day we knew how to work on/repair them because we build the damn things to start with. Tonight some kid pulled a brand new car out of the box, screwed the wheels on, plugged in a batt and said "I wonder how fast this thing will go?!" 5 minutes later he was asking his Dad how to fix a broken steering arm...

**is it Thursday yet?! ;-)

[Jason Musgrave]

p.s. this is kinda cool, ring a bell for anybody!!

RC10 Classic - Limited Release: Team Associated - Champions By Design - Nitro and Electric RC Cars

[nahtnoj]

I just realized the super gluing tires on the rims was tubular training!

[bcm119]

I've owned two Kyosho Ultimas, an Associated RC12i (1/12 scale carpet racer) and a HPI Nitro RS4. The latter was a gas powered touring car, and it was a hell of a lot of fun. Fast, and handled like a little go kart. I have not kept up with the latest RC stuff for the last 13 years or so, and I've heard the new electric stuff is great. And the gas powered cars are a hassle... they are very dirty/grimy, and require a lot of cleaning and maintenance. But I I liked the gas powered car the best, it was just a blast to drive and I liked the additional working parts necessary for gas power like the fuel filter, centrifugal clutch, 2-speed tranny and brake. Keep in mind this is not a cheap hobby and requires some space in your house for your work area. And, it is fully within the realm of possibility to crash an RC car at high speed and severely damage the car and radio equipment... so it's sort of a 'play at your own risk' hobby.

I agree with the above comments about pre-built cars, where is the fun in that? At least half the fun of RC was building, tweaking, modifying (and repairing). I actually learned a lot about how cars work building my RC cars as a kid-- what 11 year old knows how a differential works and why it's needed?

[Zimmermanbicycle]

The only RC cars Ive been around where full size

[bcm119]

On a more helpful note, to the OP I'd suggest buying something cheap to bang around a small parking lot until you get the hang of driving it. Then upgrade to something more advanced. Unless you have access to a dirt RC track, I would not get an off road car because there are few places to drive them and they are dogs on the road. Large parking lots are the easiest venue to practice driving, and a "touring" car is best for that. Whether you go electric or nitro, go for a mid-engine, shaft driven 4wd car, in my opinion these handle the best and are the most fun to drive. If you're familiar with the old 2wd rear engine style buggies you will be blown away by the speed and handling of 4wd touring cars.

[false_aesthetic]

The only RC cars Ive been around where full size

This either means that I finally found something you don't know about OR you know about something far cooler than a mini RC car.


OR you've been in the biz so long that you shot that commercial.

[Zimmermanbicycle]

All of he above! I've worked with RC full size cars (including the cheesy Tempo add) RC full size sharks and one RC full size free swimming Tuna and opperated cameras in plenty of RC helicopters but I have never ever played with an RC car on the small scale.
Can't wait for you to get yours!
-EZ

This either means that I finally found something you don't know about OR you know about something far cooler than a mini RC car.


OR you've been in the biz so long that you shot that commercial.

[sine]

I purchased a 4wd Losi a few months ago.....a bit above basic but far from the more sophisticated kits I saw at the hobby store.

I'm a klutz when it comes to "driving" rc cars but my driveway is big enough for me to goof up without causing any damage to anything.

But the RC car gets boring after a short period of time.....no youngsters in our neighborhood (my peers in the neighborhood live like old people) to race with and I'm not driving to some rc race. I would rather take that time to ride. Soooo, now I just drive the Losi inside the house to entertain our cats.

[NFazzio]

I have a team ae rc10gt nitro stadium truck. It's fun to tear around the local open lots. Has a os .18 on It. Way to much power but that's what makes it fun. Also have a hpi rs4-2 nitro car. All It does is break. Fast as Hell though. Expensive hobby.

[Lazer]

p.s. this is kinda cool, ring a bell for anybody!!

RC10 Classic - Limited Release: Team Associated - Champions By Design - Nitro and Electric RC Cars

I currently race an OG Associated RC10 Worlds Car (2WD buggy) with current brushless/LiPo setup. 95% of todays cars. I run a modern RC10T4.1 (2WD stadium truck) as well. R/C is a ton of fun for me. I would suggest you stay electric, as they are less maintainence and more driving. The good ones are way faster too! If you want to bash (driving around yard, driveway, skate parks) get a Short Course truck. If you want to drive on the race track, go check out the scene and see what classes other people run. I started as a basher, and quickly realized the track was the place for me.

[Turner]

Not trying to bump a week-old thread or anything, but after I quit racing bikes this has pretty much become my "one and only" hobby that cures my competitive itch and keeps me from going crazy. I race on-road here at a track in Colorado called 5280 Raceway: 5280 Raceway but off-road is huge here as well. I actually recently spent a week in Las Vegas racing these things inside a casino ballroom.

I can't really answer questions about specific off-road vehicles, but if you have questions about batteries or other electronics I can certainly help out. Most people are pretty astounded by how fast these suckers can go.

My favourite class (modified 12th) uses foam tires and on a 90 ft straight can get close to 55 mph...you have to make sure you pee before you get on the drivers stand with that car.

[sk_tle]

I owned a 1/8th rc car. Those things are really fast and hard to drive, especially in 2wd form. But they are too expensive to run. I can't imagine racing with them. And they require perfects tracks.

[Jason Musgrave]

I've no interest in RC drifting, but those cats are building some fantastically accurately detailed bodies for their cars.

:-)

Miniature Wonders @ The Rc Drift Body Comp | Speedhunters