RC cars

Well i'm into rc cars and helis. In the car sector i've got a HPI Savage 25 SS with many upgrades, a Losi 8.0 EU, and a swift pro 2, my favorite is the savage as it's a laugh when it rolls when cornering too quick. But for speed my losi is king out of my selection, and i've raced it a few times.

I've looked at lipo and brushless and think they are quicker and less annoying for people around, but the noise and smell of nitro wins over for me. Shame the daughter doesn't like the big block savage noise but will happily watch the losi.

The swift was my first 1/8th buggy and was a blast until I broke it and struggled to get parts for it. It was cheap and compared to the losi it was a real chalk and cheese difference, the losi doesn't have much play in the steering, whereas the swift has loads.

I've also had a fully alloyed FG baja 1/5th buggy which was immense fun, but didn't really have anywhere to run it at the time. So ended up part exing it for another heli, hirobo sceadu evo 50, with all the field gear, and full digital hitec aurora 9 setup.
 
I used to be into RC a couple of years ago and spent far too much.

List of cars i've had:

Petrol
HPI Baja 5B SS 26cc
FTX Punisher, 29cc, Custom Pipe

Brushless
HPI Savage Flux
Traxxas Slash 4x4 Ultimate
Traxxas Mini E-Revo VXL
Traxxas Summit 1/16 VXL

Nitro
HoBao Hyper ST Pro x2
HoBao Hyper 8.5
HoBao Hyper 8
HoBao Hyper 7
Team Losi 8ight
Team Losi 8ight T
Losi XXL - Cant remember the full name.

Also had another kit which i can't remember for the life of me what it was called but wasn't a common name.

Jesus reading the above is exactly why i stopped, i spent way too much and after bashing was spending way too much on repair weekly, granted didn't have all those at the same time. Usually had 2/3 at a time.
 
I have a Kyosho Raider from my teens. It was a 2wd beginner version of the 4wd Rocky, and had lots of upgrade potential. Everyone at the time wanted a Schumacher Cat though...
 
hyperseven said:
DONT get a Tamiya if you intend on going off-road, they a fine for concrete, smooth roads and the odd small jump, but unless you want to spend a fortune in parts get a better brand. To sum up they are not all that resilient.
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i cant agree with that, having a few tamiya kits myself, that surely depends on which kit, my dt-03 has been through hell and back, massive jumps, and into a few trees and walls, whilst being powered by a castle creations 5700kv motor on 2s lipo, the only thing that happened is the front c hubs loosened up over time and needed shimmed, nothing ever broke.

same as my tt-02b, with the 5700kv motor in it, i managed to break it by hitting a kerb, split a suspension arm, not exactly a big deal!.

however one of the trf kits i doubt would have survived the same antics!.

however i will agree you probably end up spending as much or more by the time you've beefed up the drivetrain etc as you would on a better kit in the first place.

a wee vid of the tt-02b mashing it up on some dirt, and the driveway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT1K0hslLVE&list=UUuTKOZyljjHqLY3h3F1oPHQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWVKZDrxpUA&list=UUuTKOZyljjHqLY3h3F1oPHQ

and one of the good old mog!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IwD5iZdu_Q&index=7&list=UUuTKOZyljjHqLY3h3F1oPHQ

In the past i've had an hpi rush, traxxas revo, and hong nor crt-x1 but i'm just enjoying having a few 1/10 electric kits at the moment, at some point i would still like to convert the crt-x1 to brushless but might be better off just getting a new 1/8th brushless instead.
 
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mark66 said:
My brother wants to get his 10 year old son his first RC car for Christmas, something to burn around the garden / woods and make jumps for, budget ~£200 all in. He was thinking something along the lines of a Tamiya kit, but looking at Modelsport it does not seem like these have adopted brushless motors yet?

Therefore, seen these two HPI kits, any thoughts on them?

HPI Firstorm 10T

HPI Maverick Strada

Any thoughts or alternatives appreciated!
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Can't really go wrong with the firestorm, its a popular model, pretty tough and spares are easy to get. Its the model I'm looking at getting if my 8 year old keeps the hobby up. The only downside to it is 2 wheel drive but thats reflected in the cost of it really.

You linked the nitro version, presume you actualy meant the brushless version below? If not I would recommend the brushless one, so much easier to keep running and no messing about with tuning. I have nitro and brushless and the brushless buggies are just so much easier to keep running. Plug in and go! I started with nitro and never thought I would convert but they are just so much easier to run. Now I mainly just use those and a petrol Baja.

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/rc-elec...s/9900/990010&ManufacturerID=18&ChassisID=474

The one above is only brushed, brushless version below but thats going to cost nearer £300 once you add batteries and a charger. You could go with the brushed version and just upgrade the motor at a later date. If you do need lipo's and a charger go to hobbyking uk and get the IMAX B6, cheaper than anywhere else I have found.

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/hpi-e-firestorm-flux-rtr-2.4ghz/rc-car-products/387643
 
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Anyone remember that fat kid who used to be the face of Traxxas (?) back in the 90's?

Me and my mates used to think he was the luckiest guy in the world. Bet hes all washed up now, or dead. :D
 
Drukk said:
Can't really go wrong with the firestorm, its a popular model, pretty tough and spares are easy to get. Its the model I'm looking at getting if my 8 year old keeps the hobby up. The only downside to it is 2 wheel drive but thats reflected in the cost of it really.

You linked the nitro version, presume you actualy meant the brushless version below? If not I would recommend the brushless one, so much easier to keep running and no messing about with tuning. I have nitro and brushless and the brushless buggies are just so much easier to keep running. Plug in and go! I started with nitro and never thought I would convert but they are just so much easier to run. Now I mainly just use those and a petrol Baja.

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/rc-elec...s/9900/990010&ManufacturerID=18&ChassisID=474

The one above is only brushed, brushless version below but thats going to cost nearer £300 once you add batteries and a charger. You could go with the brushed version and just upgrade the motor at a later date. If you do need lipo's and a charger go to hobbyking uk and get the IMAX B6, cheaper than anywhere else I have found.

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/hpi-e-firestorm-flux-rtr-2.4ghz/rc-car-products/387643
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Great thanks for that and yes I didn't mean to link to the Nitro version. I have had Savages in the past which were nitro and it ended up being such a pain to find somewhere to run them that didn't cause someone grief, understandably due to the annoying noise. That and I think my engine was only ever tuned spot on a handful of times!

Good call with HobbyKing, I use them already to get bits and pieces for my first RC plane I am putting together.
 
I was having a browse through rcgroups forum and come across this little beauty, Turnigy 1/16 4WD Nitro Racing Buggy.

Ready to run for around £70. Has anyone got one of these? Im interested in getting one for messing about with.

Specs:
Servos: 15g high torque micro
Drive: full time 4WD, twin differential
Width: 187mm
Height: 101mm
Track: 191mm
Length: 280mm
Wheelbase: 177mm
Gear ratio: 11.2:1
Engine: .07 ci
Ground clearance (F/R): 20~30mm
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Converted my Hper 7 TQ sport over xmas with a 2200kv / 150a xerun combo and Absima mount kit. Runs 4s 4500mah Turning hardcase packs but one of my 6s 5000mah packs does fit as well. Upgraded to 2.4ghz from the old 27mhz radio as well.

10714178_10205716079520007_4451040571664911526_o_zps5a318004.jpg


It's an absolute monster - should have done this conversion ages ago.
 
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I have an old (mid 90s) RC10GT team which I would like to convert to brushless and also a tmaxx that I would like to convert. Anyone know of any kits or have experience of either? Both are in great condition and getting no use as they are. I use brushless in planes and helis (not that they are getting much use) and find it so much less of a fag than nitro.
 
hyperseven said:
waaay to low, it will be generating too much heat for the motor on that gearing on 4/6S.

have you measured the temps after good run.
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yea with brushless it's all about the motor temp

I think the rule was if you can't put your finger on the motor for a few seconds before it burns it's to hot.

brushless motors on lipo are insane though
 
Had a few BL cars in my time. Silly speeds but I found they dont handle as well as a nitro. The power delivery is too raw (imo), and converted cars often have balancing issues through the jumps.

I like BL for the convenience and cleanliness but in my opinion I find it a little sterile compared to nitro. Nitro is a big pain in the backside sometimes though, plus it is more gear to haul - fuel, starter box, glow starter, spare plugs etc.

But overall, I think nitro cars are a better drive, even if they are not as fast.
 
BuffetSlayer said:
Had a few BL cars in my time. Silly speeds but I found they dont handle as well as a nitro. The power delivery is too raw (imo), and converted cars often have balancing issues through the jumps.

I like BL for the convenience and cleanliness but in my opinion I find it a little sterile compared to nitro. Nitro is a big pain in the backside sometimes though, plus it is more gear to haul - fuel, starter box, glow starter, spare plugs etc.

But overall, I think nitro cars are a better drive, even if they are not as fast.
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Typical nitro propaganda drivel :D
 
hyperseven said:
waaay to low, it will be generating too much heat for the motor on that gearing on 4/6S.

have you measured the temps after good run.
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Temps are around 70c peak for the motor on the logger, the esc is barely warm.

I was led to believe it was high gearing that resulted in high temps - certainly my friend who did the same conversion with a 19t pinion kept getting over temp cut offs. It was REALLY quick though - too fast to be fun imho.
 
With brushless a decent speed controller will allow some tuning of how the power is delivered, they can be made very smooth, or punchy depending on what you want. I have a castle creations mamba max pro and it go's as far as giving you a throttle curve graph you can shape, so you can have complete control over how power is delivered.

I gave my tamiya m-05 a little love during the holidays. A new shell and some aluminium hop ups to tighten up the steering. This car is great fun, its a different feel to my other cars given its fwd, its quick even on the stock motor and the battery lasts for ages, great fun for thrashing about the driveway on a quiet afternoon!.


http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/zuban88/vlcsnap-2015-01-05-13h23m04s114_zpsbc7c7446.png
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/zuban88/vlcsnap-2015-01-05-13h50m16s50_zpscd09bcff.png
 
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