rc cars

[4x4junkie]

I think I was about 10 last time I had a R/C car. Good God a lot has changed in the last 20 years!
As soon as you posted the Summit though, I knew I had to have it.
I'm a total noob, so I'm sure I'll have more questions about it once I get it.

Yeah you ain't kidding lol.

Although I had an E-Maxx just before my Summit (still do actually), the last R/C car I has before that was an AE RC-10 back in 1984. The common electronic speed control of today was like $200 back then if you wanted reverse (something taken for granted now), and the best batteries you could get were 1200mAh NiCds that gave you about 5 minutes run time (10 if you go slow lol).

With LiPo batteries and the brushless motor I can get 1-2 hours of fun on one charge now

 

[scotts90ranger]

Traxxas is a good company to go with for a newbie, their website has all their parts manuals, the manuals that come with them are pretty good, and that thing covers pretty much everything...

Here's my RC cars, one's a T maxx (started out an old style pro .15 version, now is a conglomeration of all types and some custom one off stuff) and a Traxxas Monster Buggy with a 23cc gas engine:

I've got a couple pics of a couple planes I have in my photobucket now...

 

[Jay FX4]

My new Summit.....

 

[daniel3507]

Damn Jay. It looks like you beat the hell out of that thing! How do you like it so far?

 

[4x4junkie]

Sheeesh.... That sure didn't take you long

Now you just need to put some LEDs into those dummy lights up top and make them functional (Traxxas actually makes a replacement LED light bar for it but it seems to be difficult to find for some reason).

Also, why are you missing a steering servo? Is it already time for some Hi-Tec replacements?

 

[Jay FX4]

Damn Jay. It looks like you beat the hell out of that thing! How do you like it so far?

I absolutely love it! Pretty much all my free time has been spent with this thing. Can't put it down!

Sheeesh.... That sure didn't take you long

Now you just need to put some LEDs into those dummy lights up top and make them functional (Traxxas actually makes a replacement LED light bar for it but it seems to be difficult to find for some reason).

Also, why are you missing a steering servo? Is it already time for some Hi-Tec replacements?

LOL I only got it that muddy the one time. It's not something I want to make a habit of. There's an outdoor track near me, and the day I went, the dirt track was pretty wet. But taking things apart to clean it is almost as fun as driving it!

Funny you mention the lights. That's exactly what my first mod is going to be - if I can find them. I'm going to call my local hobby shop tomorrow to see if they have 'em. Looking around online, the few places that carry them are out of stock, although I did find them on Ebay.
Next will be another body that I'm going to custom paint.

Good eye noticing the missing steering servo! Being new to the current state of R/C vehicles, I assumed the Traxxas claim that everything was ready to go right out of the box. The fact that the steering servos would whine at rest and I had to set the steering trim way left of center should have made me realize that I needed to adjust the steering linkage, but I didn't. Within a few days of getting the truck, the driver-side servo was toast. Not totally my fault, but I could have corrected the steering and probably saved the servos premature death. I went and bought another servo, but I'm still going to call Traxxas and see if they'll send me another.
I broke a half-shaft, but that was because of stupidity and totally my fault. The range on these things is incredible - up to a quarter mile. The truck was pretty far away, and I dumped it on it's side while doing donuts in the dirt. Instead of walking out to it and putting her back on all fours, I decided to try hit the juice while turning back and forth to get her back on her feet. I failed. As I gave up and approached the truck, I saw the driver side front wheel spinning freely with no throttle. This truck is full time 4wd, and that is not supposed to happen, so I knew something was broke. Took it home to discover that the pin that goes through the half shaft at the outer end had ripped right through the plastic shaft. Fortunately for me, a set of 2 was only $8 at the hobby shop. Live and learn.
Other than that, this thing has been bulletproof. If I lose another steering servo, I will look into beefier replacements. Also, the guy at the hobby shop said I could run a single steering servo, with more in.-oz. of torque than the 2 Traxxas servos combined. Is this true?

 

[Jay FX4]

Here's the half-shaft I chewed up:

It wasn't until after I bought the new one and peeled up the rubber boot out of curiosity to inspect the two pieces that I realized that all I had to do was drill two new holes and I could have saved the shaft. I'll never do what I did to break it again, and the shafts come in sets of 2 so I have a backup, but if this ever happens again I'll try to salvage it like this:

 

[triumphrider-1]

Where is this outdoor track? I used to go to the hobby shop at 18 and Mound 3 times a week (work was right around the corner, fun lunches!) because they had their indoor track setup up for trucks and buggies a lot of the time

 

[Jay FX4]

Where is this outdoor track? I used to go to the hobby shop at 18 and Mound 3 times a week (work was right around the corner, fun lunches!) because they had their indoor track setup up for trucks and buggies a lot of the time

Not sure exactly what city it's in. Maybe Westland, or it could possibly be Canton. The reason I'm not positive what city it's in is because it's right on Hines Dr., just west of Haggerty.

 

[craveman85]

sweet i like this thread. ive got a tmaxx 3908 extended chassis 3.3 since then has had the picco .26 maxx engine swap, all steel gearing, aluminum skid plates, integy shocks, integy driveshafts... and an f150 body. top speed while playing with gearing was 57mph. total cost is over 800 bucks. more than ive ever spent on any of my own vehicles lol.

 

[craveman85]

urgh how do you guys get your pics to show up

http://s799.photobucket.com/albums/yy278/craveman85/?action=view&current=tmaxx.jpg

 

[triumphrider-1]

Not sure exactly what city it's in. Maybe Westland, or it could possibly be Canton. The reason I'm not positive what city it's in is because it's right on Hines Dr., just west of Haggerty.

Thats a pretty long track, I'd definately have to regear for those straights. Whats costs?

 

[Iron Ranger]

The big one is called a Clod Buster

Ah, the Clodbuster. I remember when this and the USA-1 model were always competing to see which one was the best. The good old days(and I'm only 24).

 

[Jay FX4]

urgh how do you guys get your pics to show up

http://s799.photobucket.com/albums/yy278/craveman85/?action=view&current=tmaxx.jpg

Copy the IMG code from Photobucket. When you are making a post here, click the "Insert Image" button and paste the link you copied.
Tiny pic, but your truck looks sweet!

Thats a pretty long track, I'd definately have to regear for those straights. Whats costs?

No idea what it costs. That pic I posted is from only a few days ago, my first time going to it. I pretended I didn't see the sign that said "Area Closed", and just drove the track by myself. It would be fun to participate in a competitive race, but I'm sure my stock Summit would get slaughtered . I'll try to find out more specifics about it.

 

[triumphrider-1]

No idea what it costs. That pic I posted is from only a few days ago, my first time going to it. I pretended I didn't see the sign that said "Area Closed", and just drove the track by myself. It would be fun to participate in a competitive race, but I'm sure my stock Summit would get slaughtered . I'll try to find out more specifics about it.

LOL.

Bah, you could run the stock class; thats all I run, (well all 3 times) and its quite intersting.