Guide me into the world of RC

[85_Ranger4x4]

This is just what I understand from talking to my SIL and her husband.

First you have to empty your life savings. Then you have to get a second job.

Next you start calling in sick to both jobs to get more time.

Then you loose all interest in sex, or almost any other activity, because you need to work on your car.

But I haven't actually gotten into it first hand, that's just what I have heard.

Same goes for any other "hobby" if you can't control yourself.

I like the concept of electric, it either works or it don't. Fighting with small gas engines can be irritating.

 

[cammeddrz]

Will probably go with nitro though

I know it was said that electric is "as fast" as nitro now.

they were wrong, a good lipo/brushless is faster

you will regret getting nitro, there is literally no benefit to nitro over lipo/brushless

that's why NTB conversions are so popular. (Nitro-to-Brushless),
its for all of the other guys stuck in the '90s who thought "this ee-lek-tur-city thing that ben franklin discovered with a kite, can't be better than good ol' internal combustion" who then found out that they were wrong, and lo-and-behold brushless is where it's at.....PERIOD

I actually have an RC racetrack by my house, and when i'm bored, I go hang out there with my son. nobody even runs nitro anymore, on that note nobody runs crystal radios either. my friend who had been out of it for a while wanted to start up again. he showed up, with a limited number of crystals, and asked "hey is anyone running a #5 crystal? I don't want interference", the response was "wait, you're still using a crystal radio?.....it'll be ok, we are all using 2.4"

 

[Lil-Pony]

Damn ive been out of the rc to long, shoulda keep my revo and done a ntb on it.

 

[JoshT]

I know it was said that electric is "as fast" as nitro now.

they were wrong, a good lipo/brushless is faster

you will regret getting nitro, there is literally no benefit to nitro over lipo/brushless

I don't care what was said about electric being "as fast" or "faster" than nitro. I will not regret buying nitro, or any other fuel, over electric. That has nothing to do with benefit, it has to do with what I want. I know I threw electric out there as an option, but on thinking it over more and looking as different options out there I've realized I really prefer to have some form of gas engine. Does that mean that I am absolutely ruling out electric? No, but it does mean I'm leaning heavily towards fuel. Ultimately it'll depend on what I find for the right price at the right time. FWIW the times I've been to that track there were no electric cars being run, only fuel. Smaller ones on nitro, larger ones on gas/oil mix.

Just out of curiosity what is the avg. run time for those electric rigs? How about the recharge time on the batteries? That may be a deciding factor since power is not available at the track I have access to.

I like the concept of electric, it either works or it don't. Fighting with small gas engines can be irritating.

I think that's one of the issues I have with electric. Ether it works or it doesn't, no in between. If you have the same car with the same mods, and it does happen, it's purely a race between driver skills. With gas it's not just on the driving, but also on the tuning. Even if you aren't the best driver you still have a shot at winning if your tuning is better. Just seems to me that half the fun in the hobby is getting your vehicle running its best and keeping it there, with electric once you get the suspension dialed its charge it and forget it.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

Before it ran me broke, and I took the cheap route and went full-size... I had a 1/10 HPI Rush. It was a 2wd nitro stadium truck, handled great, plenty of power, great for learning. The RC10gt is another great 2wd stadium truck. There is a 4wd version of the Rush called the Nitro MT, that truck is awesome.

On the other hand... That was 9-10 yrs ago, they probably have better stuff out now.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I think that's one of the issues I have with electric. Ether it works or it doesn't, no in between. If you have the same car with the same mods, and it does happen, it's purely a race between driver skills. With gas it's not just on the driving, but also on the tuning. Even if you aren't the best driver you still have a shot at winning if your tuning is better. Just seems to me that half the fun in the hobby is getting your vehicle running its best and keeping it there, with electric once you get the suspension dialed its charge it and forget it.

As long as you don't run against an electric with a dialed in suspension... since they are faster than a nitro you will have a big handicap to overcome with second rate skills.

 

[JoshT]

Guys, thanks for all the input, but I'm afraid I was wasting your time. The guys I work with have given me a little more guidance than I though they would. After talking to them more and finding out about a planned addition to the R/C field, I've decided on what I'm going to start with. Now it's just a matter of which one and when I'm going to get it.

When I've gone out to the track watched them run I've been more interested in the 1/5 scale rigs. The biggest thing I didn't like was that they were too big for the track. Looking at some track design stuff, it appears to be a 1/10 scale track they were running on. This week they started building a new dirt track designed for 1/5 scale. From what I've been told it should be completed in a few weeks to a month. The field owner is also interested in hosting some events if there is a big enough 1/5 scale showing. Sounds pretty interesting to me, I think I'm going to get in on this.

As for the chosen vehicle... It's going to be a clone, not one of the "name brands". The guys I work with have steered me towards a King Motor RC (from kingmotorrc.com). They are a Chinese knockoff of HPI, and they are compatible with HPI parts. It'll be 1/5 scale (if I haven't said that enough), 2wd, and powered by a 30.5cc "fuelie" motor (fuel/oil like a weed-eater or chainsaw). I haven't really decided between a buggy or SC truck, but I'm leaning heavily towards the buggy. I've shown the one I'm thinking about to a few of the coworkers and they seem to think it is a good starting point and has a lot of the earlier upgrades that would be needed (mostly stronger suspension components). Best part is that the price is coming in at just under $700. Only a couple hundred more than I'd get into a good 1/10 scale nitro for and the fuel costs a lot less. Right now I'm just waiting on a little info and making sure of which one I want.

As for expense, honestly I could go buy a reman 4.0L for my Ranger tomorrow. Then I could turn right around and drop the $1600 of a 1/5 scale, fully built, RTR, 4wd Short Course truck, and it wouldn't hurt the pocket that much to do it. I don't want to do that, it ain't as much fun to me. I enjoy working on stuff when I can and have the place. I enjoy building things, breaking them, and rebuilding them. I enjoy buying something new, tearing it apart to see how it works, and putting it back together. I'm just stupid like that. So forgive me for wanting a gas engine that needs to be worked on and adjusted, forgive me for preferring to start with a $700 2wd clone that's going to need working on. It's just how I do things.

 

[JoshT]

cammeddrz I didn't see your post, but I'm going to assume that it was something along the lines of your previous post. I have nothing against electric. Electricity is great. It's great for people who want to run it. I love having it to run nearly everything in my house. I understand that the near instant, full power of an electric motor is great in an RC racing application. I don't want it. I want the gas motor. Maybe I'm wrong but when it comes down to a hobby it's all about having fun, no matter how you go about it. Take your BII with an Explorer clip as an example. In nearly every way a BII clip or glass conversion clip would have been the "better way", but that wasn't what you wanted to do was it? Not attacking you or your BII (dam good job on it BTW), just saying...

Gas may not win me any races, but I'll still have fun competing my way.