Radio Control - au electronics

Everybody has driven a remote control car before, right? The first one you drove was probably something you can buy in the toy store for a few dollars. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but there's nothing to them. Load them up with landscape depleting batteries that will end up costing more than the car itself and drive. Done. Nothing to it is there?

This article aims to provide information and inspiration to those who prefer to drive "real r/c cars" per say. In all good honesty, I usually drive electronic cars. Nitro and gasoline are hardly my forte, and I don't pretend that they are.

While I have driven several nitro fueled cars, electricity is what I'm good at. So rather than the nitro cars every kid thinks is great until he drives a proper electronic car- this article will focus on what you need to know about choosing, driving, maintaining and racing hobby to competition grade r/c electric cars.

Step 1 Choose it- choose it good.

Before we get to far along in this, I would like to state that this is about what will help you. I would love to explain how potentiometers and the like work, but that's no good to you, is it?

So, assuming you don't currently own a car and would like to buy one; here's what you need to know.

-Cars are built of varying qualities. Generally, what you pay for is what you get. You pay for the size of the model and the materials used to build it- these range from molded plastic, to graphite, carbon fiber and anodized aluminum. Also remember that a more expensive part MAY not always be stronger. A graphite arm could be stronger than a carbon fiber arm, but the CF arm could be lighter. It can vary greatly.

-Cars can be bought in various states. The two most common are "RTR" (ready-to-run) or a kit. Ready to run does not always mean you have everything in the box you need- granted, some cars may have everything in the box, but fairly often "ready to run" kits will not supply batteries for the remote or a pack for the car and a charger. "Kit" usually implies that the car is assembled and comes without radio gear.

-Personally, I'd only ever buy a car that has a line of aftermarket upgrades or replacement parts. If you drive it with any kind of gusto- there will be breakages. It could be anything from stripping the spur to breaking an A-arm. It will happen, so check that parts are available!

-Cars come in different forms and sizes. The next page will demonstrate the pros and cons of each method.

Comments

[The nerdling]

try rchobbyestor.com it has good prices for cars trucks buggies and truggies

[knexrock44]

Go traxxas.com I have their summit it's great it has differential locks two speeds and lights great for rock crawling

[I luv Duct Tape]

what about duratrax.com?

[Mr.NHRA]

rccrawler.com is pretty good too

[jzapnabetsenauj]

(removed by author or community request)

[chubby8]

it awsome, ive got quite a few old tamiya rc models like bush devil, big wig and the Tyrell 6-wheeler.

[Legofanatic]

While Tamiya is a great manufacturer, you have to give other great manufacturers like Traxxas, Losi, and Team Associated some credit for making some durable rc cars.

[pyroten]

That main pics a TA-05 isn't it?

[prology]

haha... it is TA-05 with a hopup hex screw...

[pyroten]

ayyye i win : D lol, okay suppose u get a mention as well ;)

[freestriker]

it is not a tamiya ta 05 because tamiya doesnt use hex screws

[pyroten]

wow. ur rite. but like the layout is exactly the same. like i got one and it matches up \:

[prology]

TT01 tamiya is a good one.. got another it`is call KYOSHO TF5 (ready to run) 1:10 scale rc semi pro-kit

[chloride]

I agree the Tt01 is a great entry level but it has massive steering slop.

[BEAST14]

has anyone ever I had any experience with ESKY? I bought a 1:18 scale electric buggy from them one time, it ran great for twenty minutes, then 4 things broke on it. I returned it and got another one, the front shocks cracked in half on the first small jump. nothing like the stupid video.....

[adave123xx]

sell it i buy it 5000$

[FinD10]

Nice tut that helps the newbies to RC get started in the right direction, I personally own a Tamiya TA04 that I drift with, 2x TT01's and a DF03 buggy

[looking4ideas]

I run a Savage XL . I have crashed that thing so many times and the only thing i broke was the fuel tank. I bash with a friend of mine that has a E-savage he runs LiPo he is always jealous because it takes him so long to re charge the battery's when it takes me 2 seconds to re fill my tank=)

[Furball_Fidelis]

very nice...I"m a Traxxas Man myself..I own a Traxxas Slash and a converted E-Revo to an E-Slayer..still needs radio gear to run..but it's on the way!! and I've got a Brushless system in my Slash.and it's great..now I need LiPo batteries! :D

[Pazzerz]

I want 1/4 scale racing using 2 cycle engines and video transmission from the cockpit. Kinda like the tank I'm building...

[TheScientist]

for your faq: Club racing of RC cars is common in a lot of reasonable sized towns and cities. a typical setup cost to be competitive is about $AU1000 for EVERYTHING you'd need. although you can get into it for less than that if you go along to the club and find out if someone's selling an old car second hand. This way it's likely to come with spares, and still be perfectly competitive in the slower classes of racing (e.g. i bought a tamiya TA05 for $AU200, with pretty much a full complement of spares and hop-ups (upgrades) which i went on to win the novice class championship with. Brand new the car without upgrades is $AU200, although i did already have some radio gear)