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krushgroove posted:There are (or were) a few Xmods-related forums out there, with people repainting them and doing DIY hop-ups for them. I don't know if they are still going or if the brand has dried up but if Radio Shack is still selling them there must still be some interest in them. As a first-time RC car they're alright though, you certainly can't beat the price!
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Jan 9, 2010 01:10
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double post
James Woods fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Jan 9, 2010 |
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Jan 9, 2010 05:12
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Xmods were my segue back into R/C about a year ago. I now have several Xmods, an SC-10, Cup Racer, and a DF-03ra if that tells you a little about what you've gotten yourself into. Xmods are a ton of fun and just as fast as the Mini Zs with a little modification and they have the advantage of coming standard in 4wd. I managed a bar last year and I bought a bunch of these for me and a few of my employees and we would stack up all the tables and chairs and would drink beer and race a track we built after hours. Any indoor area with relatively even floors will make a great track, outdoor tennis courts also work very well. I immediately got into modifying them and found that there are a ton of companies out there making parts for these things in China. These things along with Mini Zs are sold under a different name over there and have a huge racing community due to larger scales of RC being impossible in most cities with the population density what it is. Your first stop should be here: http://www.atomicmods.com/ And read this: http://www.atomicmods.com/Categories/QandA-1-28-XMODS-Evolution.aspx And this: http://www.atomicmods.com/Categories/Tutorial-Central.aspx#XMOD_Evo I'm actually looking to sell some of my Xmods stuff to fund parts for one of my other cars plus I don't work at that bar anymore. I have a couple cars and and every hop up part you'd ever want from GPM alloy parts to motors to stacked boards as well as a Lipo system with charger that will not only eliminate the need for batteries but it will get a 100% increase in speed and about four times the runtime. Let me know if you're interested or have any questions about these cars. Swordfish posted:the aftermarket for these cheap little bastards is mindmelting, and the various forums for them seem to be pretty hopping. im trying to decide right now whether to get the bog standard radioshack AWD upgrade or spring an extra $20 and get a billet aluminum awd upgrade. Go carbon fiber. Same price and a huge weight save.
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Jan 9, 2010 05:14
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I need a short course truck but they all seem to be pretty similar. What do you recommend? My 4yr old will be piloting it regularly so durability is kind of important. I'm leaning toward the Associated SC10 just because i can get it Carl Renezeder style.
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Jan 9, 2010 06:31
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Toucan Sam posted:I need a short course truck but they all seem to be pretty similar. What do you recommend? My 4yr old will be piloting it regularly so durability is kind of important. I'm leaning toward the Associated SC10 just because i can get it Carl Renezeder style. If it's for a four year old I would suggest the Slash Over the SC-10. I had to stop letting one of my bartenders use my SC-10 because he couldn't go bashing without breaking something. After he fried my Castle Mamba rig by hooking it up cross polarity I told him rather than pay me back that he should buy himself a Slash because it will be cheaper for me in the long run. He's had it for a few months and no breakage and bartenders are pretty much four year olds so the slash should work for you.
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Jan 9, 2010 13:02
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Agreeing with Slash over SC-10 for durability. Loses out in coolness, but those things can truly be beaten all day with no ill effects.
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Jan 9, 2010 18:15
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James Woods posted:
yeah, a CF driveshaft is on deck for once i get the awd system done. I went ahead and bought the standard radioshack awd upgrade, if I remain interested in tinkering with this thing long-term I will probably start buying all the real aftermarket stuff. Though I think the very next thing I do will be putting a Lipo system in, and I guess stacking some FETs. I kinda wish someone would have written a very basic tutorial about the average or recommended upgrade path, sort of an overview of building up a good xmod. I also really wish there was more info about tuning and tinkering that can be done without buying parts, just little things I can do with tools and time.
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Jan 9, 2010 19:44
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Been looking at getting back into r/c cars and in particular the Traxxas e-revo brushless. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good charger? I've spent some time off and on browsing the forums but not coming up with good info. Towerhobbies suggest a small duratrax charger - Would this suffice or would I be better off getting something different? http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&P=8&I=LXTCJ8
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Jan 9, 2010 20:57
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Hypnolobster posted:Agreeing with Slash over SC-10 for durability. Loses out in coolness, but those things can truly be beaten all day with no ill effects. I should have added the qualifier that she handles my hopped up T-Maxx without a problem but she really likes to jump it and full speed jumps in a T-Maxx get expensive quick. EDIT - Looked around at the Slash and it looks pretty good. Should i wait for the 4wd or just jump on the 2wd at tower hobbies along with the Velineon brushless motor and speed controller? gently caress it, i ordered it so it should be here in a couple days. 
Toucan Sam fucked around with this message at 06:19 on Jan 10, 2010 |
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Jan 10, 2010 05:10
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Swordfish posted:yeah, a CF driveshaft is on deck for once i get the awd system done. I went ahead and bought the standard radioshack awd upgrade, if I remain interested in tinkering with this thing long-term I will probably start buying all the real aftermarket stuff. Though I think the very next thing I do will be putting a Lipo system in, and I guess stacking some FETs. I kinda wish someone would have written a very basic tutorial about the average or recommended upgrade path, sort of an overview of building up a good xmod. I also really wish there was more info about tuning and tinkering that can be done without buying parts, just little things I can do with tools and time. The basic Radio Shack upgrades are all good for basic functionality but some pieces like the hubs and dogbones will break so often you'll wish you'd bought alloy in the first place. Like I said, if you're interested in a LiPo system and a board with stacked FETs I have both along with the chassis you'd need to mount it. I'm parting out one of my Xmods to fund my new Rally obsession. In addition to the sites I mentioned above, these two forums have a ton of $0.00 mods you can do with simple tools along with customer reviews of just about every hop up part out there; http://xmodsource.com/forum/ http://www.xmodworld.com/forum Weissbier posted:Been looking at getting back into r/c cars and in particular the Traxxas e-revo brushless. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good charger? I've spent some time off and on browsing the forums but not coming up with good info. To be honest I wouldn't buy either. If you're going to be getting at all serious into electric these days you need to be thinking not only in terms of LiPo but the future generations of batteries that will soon permeate the market like LiFe. Especially with a out of the box 65+ mph shitkicking beast like the E-Revo. Do do anything less than a 7.4v LiPo would be like putting leaded gasoline in a Lamborghini. If you start buying NiCad batteries and chargers now when they're cheap you'll regret it later and it'll be one of the first things you'll replace. I've also always stuck to the philosophy of buy once save later. My suggestion would be either this; http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXHDJ1&P=7 Or this; http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUAB8&P=7 Both of these chargers will be able to charge any battery you'll be buying in the next ten years. Both are also capable of balancing your cells, a must for long term care and safety with newer batteries. Both also have a rapid charge function that roughly quarters charge time for a sacrifice in capacity. Both have a rugged anodized aluminum case and feel in your hand like a piece of professional audio equipment, obviously built to perform and not for planned obsolescence. The reason these two units share so much in common is that, like many things you'll find in the R/C world, their basic components come from the same factory in China, which is leading the way with this technology. As for their differences, I'll warn you that the interface on the Venom unit is frustrating at first and the instructions are laughably Engrish. I ended up using the instructions for the DuraTrax unit and the similarities in the basic interface made it so that I was able to program it just fine. The Venom unit listed also comes with a dazzling array of esoteric adapters and connectors from foreign lands and empires lost and should interface with any battery made in the last decade out of the box. Checking the DuraTrax's listing on Tower and scrolling down to the "What customers also bought" area tells us most of them spent a pretty penny on adapters as well. Remember this trick kiddies, it's like a crystal ball into your R/C future. I do this with any model or piece of expensive equipment I buy. One thing you may find interesting if you're an electrical engineering nerd, which is likely if you're into R/C. You can use the Venom charger as a variable A/C inverter. It's come in handy a bunch of times on non-R/C related electronics projects. Well, I hope that was helpful. Toucan Sam posted:I should have added the qualifier that she handles my hopped up T-Maxx without a problem but she really likes to jump it and full speed jumps in a T-Maxx get expensive quick. I think you made a good call sticking with that 2WD plus Venellion. As much as the Slash 4x4 makes me giggle like a little girl for what it means for the industry, the fact that it has more moving parts dictates that it will be less durable than it's 2WD counterpart, that's just basic engineering. I think everyone climbing all over each other to get the Slash 4x4 needs to stop and take a deep breath and take a good look at the industry and what's happened in the last few years. Within a year of the Slash coming out, Associated had the SC-10 and was cleaning their clock at the track. A year after that Losi, Traxxas, Associated, and HPI all have trucks fighting for the SCT Nationals (Kyosho's Ultima was released too late to compete) and Traxxas doesn't even finish on the podium and Associated and HPI steal the show. The pattern that is about to be repeated is that Trazzas sets the bar and everyone else comes by and pushes the performance limit a little further. I personally can't wait to see what everyone else has in store because if they treat this like they did their 2WD SCTs, they'll be based off their 1:10 4wd electric buggies. This will marry years of race engineering into a scale class that anyone can get into for a couple hundred bucks. Just like buggy racing, the 2Wds are here to stay so a Slash is always a sound investment in this hobby and is the perfect tool for educating someone on the hobby without getting so nerdy and technical that it scares people off. Traxxas' business plan is basically to make R/C approachable and to provide simple modifications that prepare you for going full spazz later on once the hobby has infected your central nervous system. Xmods use this same concept and all together I think it's a good kick in the rear end for a hobby industry in a recession. James Woods fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Jan 10, 2010 |
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Jan 10, 2010 19:54
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Somehow I wound up with 3 Xmodz cars... I initially bought the Nissan Titan and have been trying to make a decent off-roader out of it. The stock 4WD truck kit blows, though. Totally fucks up the steering and binds up at the tiniest obstacle. I also have the Bumblebee Camaro and the Barricade Saleen Mustang from Transformers. I have some nicer bearings and tires, the stage 2 motor, and higher gears in the Camaro, and OMFG does that little bastard scream. I haven't even turned the Saleen on yet, and I've had it a year or two. They're great if space and budget is an issue. A buddy of mine has the Scion TC kit, and has taken it to where he works, where there's a big, open warehouse and raced it a few times. They're definitely a lot of fun with a lot of varying mods for whatever you want to do with them.
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Jan 10, 2010 22:19
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Thanks for the info James Woods. I've seen a few people talk about the Venom with a couple saying not to buy it (without a reason). I'm wondering now if it's the documentation. You're right - upgrading batteries seems to be inevitable and for me, sifting through the right charger is boggling.
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Jan 10, 2010 22:33
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James Woods posted:I think you made a good call sticking with that 2WD plus Venellion. As much as the Slash 4x4 makes me giggle like a little girl for what it means for the industry, the fact that it has more moving parts dictates that it will be less durable than it's 2WD counterpart, that's just basic engineering. I've had traxxas products since the Blue Eagle and they have all been durable and fun to race. I kind of miss all the build them yourself kits but rtr gets more people into the hobby. I always built my own cars and trucks, it was great when you broke something and knew exactly what it was and how to fix it. I've still got an hpi rs4 mt for 4wd but 2wd always seemed more fun with less to break.
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Jan 11, 2010 01:57
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Weissbier posted:Thanks for the info James Woods. I've seen a few people talk about the Venom with a couple saying not to buy it (without a reason). I'm wondering now if it's the documentation. Well, my buddy's venom just failed on him the other night, without reason. I was considering buying one myself a while ago. But I read a lot of complaints about shoddy QC and other failures. I have a Duratrax ICE right now and it's really quite nice. I'm going to sell it, though. I don't like the slow balancer I have and I want to be rid of the external power supply. I've been looking at a Hyperion EOS606i. All the features I need with a built-in balancer and AC/DC. It lacks a battery memory feature, but I can deal with that. They sell for about $130 on eBay, which is about the same price point as the Venom.
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Jan 11, 2010 02:31
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Weissbier posted:You're right - upgrading batteries seems to be inevitable and for me, sifting through the right charger is boggling. Just get something that can do: - LiPo, LiIon, LiFe (for the future) and NiMH (just in case) - banana plug outputs (so you can modify/make your own plugs for different battery types) - AC/DC if you can (more expensive but saves on getting a separate power supply) - a brand with decent return/repair policy Less than $100 is a bonus.
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Jan 11, 2010 13:34
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Here's the charger several of my friends have and the one i ordered. http://www.hobbypartz.com/thac6smbachw.html And here are the batteries i purchased due to price, specs, and good overall reviews. http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9172
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Jan 11, 2010 20:25
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Toucan Sam posted:Here's the charger several of my friends have and the one i ordered. Bookmarking these for next summers boat races.
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Jan 11, 2010 22:53
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Hypnolobster posted:This, for example I mentioned earlier that I was looking for a Hyperion charger, but this is a close competitor. I don't like how they don't use banana plugs for output leads. I understand the focus on balance charging for lipos, but why even include non-lipo charging modes if you're not going to have banana plugs? I really like the 25 battery profiles, but it seems like you need a PC to take full advantage of it.
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Jan 11, 2010 23:06
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kuffs posted:I mentioned earlier that I was looking for a Hyperion charger, but this is a close competitor. I have one now, actually. I only use it for charging lipos, and I use my middle of the range Onyx 220 for my NiMH batteries (it plays SONGS!). It does need a $20 wall wart for AC power, and the $20 computer interface cable is pretty much required for any meaningful programming, but once you get it all figured out, it's completely incredible for charging. Really truly awesome. I click through the settings for every battery I own, and it does it's thing and tells me every stat I could ever desire about the battery while it's charging. It's also a lot smaller than it looks.
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Jan 12, 2010 02:42
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Does it have any discharge modes at all? The press release seems to indicate that it doesn't. If I were fully switched over to lipo this wouldn't be a big deal.
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Jan 12, 2010 16:29
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It doesn't, which is a huge bummer. If you're going to be charging NiMH's on a regular basis, stick with a Hyperion or the like. Despite them advertising that it charges pretty much everything (and it does), it sucks for everything except lipo. The only reason people love it is because it just does lipos that well.
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Jan 12, 2010 16:57
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Oh god help me I'm looking at more cheap chinese lipos for my starter box 
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Jan 12, 2010 16:59
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Every time I use one of my $20 chinese lipos that performs perfectly, I feel a twang of pain in my soul for the $200 I've spent on 3 thunderpower lipos 
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Jan 12, 2010 17:04
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I think about the $25ea I paid for Radio Shack 3300 NiMhs 
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Jan 12, 2010 17:09
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Cheap Chinese LiPos are like a Ball Park frank - they plump when you charge em. I kid though, they are good performance for the price. I will stick to my name brands* I've been saying I need to get some work done on my Baja 5T, so I did some things this weekend. Lots of inspecting, replacing, tightening, etc was done. All of the smaller side chassis braces were replaced with Team PhatDad braces, anodized black. These are billet aluminum and at least twice as thick. I also installed the fan cover/pull start brace. DarkSoul racing Meaty Bones also went on the truck today, with his silicone dogbone boots. I replaced the axle bearings with Team FastEddy ABEC5 Pro Series bearings since the stockers were getting gross. I had to replace/install new upper turnbuckles out back. I went with PhatDad 17-4 Stainless adjustable turnbuckles. To keep everything nice and clean I went with the Outerwears Baja 5T Shroud. It makes it a total pain in the rear end to get to the charging plug for the receiver pack though. My eventual plan with my 5T is to have it be Red, Gun Metal, and Black colors. The Orange stuff is next on the list to go. I will buy all of the Baja 5B 2.0 aluminum bits. My next big project is the shocks. I have PhatDad shocks w/ machined shock ends to go on it, replace the rubber shock boots, and install bad horsie shock covers. I also need to finish painting the Pro-Line VW Baja bug body. Lots of work to do! Other stuff - need to paint a new body for the Blitz, and also install my ST Racing Concepts upgrade parts that I got for it. So many toys. So little time  Note: I got my eyes checked which means they were dialated and I didn't have many lights on. My phone takes terrible pictures without AMAZING light, so I apologize for being a crappy photographer.I thumbnailed the crappier of the pictures out of shame   Click here for the full 600x800 image.  Click here for the full 600x800 image.  Click here for the full 600x800 image.  Click here for the full 600x800 image.     *granted I can get the name brands cheaper.
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Jan 12, 2010 20:49
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Hypnolobster posted:It doesn't, which is a huge bummer. If you're going to be charging NiMH's on a regular basis, stick with a Hyperion or the like. Well, I thought about all the batteries I'm using right now. It turns out, I've pretty much switched over to lipo already. The only remnants are a pair of NiMhs on starter box duty, my glow ignitors, and the receiver pack in my RS4. The starter box can be remedied with a $30 4s LiPo and I can go back to wall warts for my other stuff. I was pricing out a Multi4 with power supply, data cable, and the correct balancer board and it comes to about $135 after shipping. Problem is, Hyperion 606i's go for about $140 shipped on eBay right now. Have you used the Hyperions? If so, what do you think of them compared to the Multi4? Is the software for the Cellpro stuff really that awesome? Am I going to want to put a Windows VM on my laptop and start profiling my batteries? Here's what I'm thinking so far: Hyperion Pros: - All in one unit (excluding balance board) - Actually a fully-featured multi-chemistry charger - Could probably find one used for $85 Cons: - No battery profiles - Aligator clips still hanging off the side even on AC Cellpro Pros: - Tiny - What seems to be faster charge rates - Can supposedly recover near-dead lipos - Firmware updates! Man I love upgrades! Cons: - Gotta either keep my current power supply or buy the goofy laptop-style brick - Need to at least set things up on a computer to take full advantage of it - Nobody has one, so I can't expect to get it used. edit: made my post more worthwhile kuffs fucked around with this message at 21:03 on Jan 12, 2010 |
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Jan 12, 2010 20:52
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kuffs posted:I think about the $25ea I paid for Radio Shack 3300 NiMhs I'm pretty sure that back in the day, my dad dropped the better part of a Benjamin apiece on six-cell Panasonic 1700 NiCd packs. The ones that were worthless after about 10 cycles. He then turned around and did the same on Sanyo SCRC1700s, which were the absolute poo poo at the time, and at least those cells lasted a long rear end time. I'm guessing cheap LiPos have just about taken battery performance out of the equation? What the hell is Trinity going to overprice and make money on these days?
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Jan 12, 2010 21:04
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kuffs posted:I was pricing out a Multi4 with power supply, data cable, and the correct balancer board and it comes to about $135 after shipping. Problem is, Hyperion 606i's go for about $140 shipped on eBay right now. Have you used the Hyperions? Is the software really that awesome? Am I going to want to put a Windows VM on my laptop and start profiling my batteries? I've used a friends Hyperion (I can't remember what the hell model it was, but I know it had a dataport option just like my Multi4) and it looked really nice. I got the Multi4 because it's hilariously adjustable. You can tell it when in the charging process to start balancing, cold weather mode, various temperature settings, it's wonderful. I love just selecting the battery I'm charging from the profiles and it's all I have to do. Note that part of the reason I got it was that I got the data cable for free, and I had an appropriate power supply lying around, so it cost me a hell of a lot less than the whole package does. Honestly, it's really a toss up, though if the Hyperion's on eBay don't include the data cable, I'd consider getting one. When you get into these fancier chargers, the profiling and adjustability is really the big change.
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Jan 12, 2010 21:06
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IOwnCalculus posted:I'm guessing cheap LiPos have just about taken battery performance out of the equation? What the hell is Trinity going to overprice and make money on these days? Well, my racing buddies still buy $100 Thunder Power packs. So I think there is still plenty of profit margin to be had. I'm just not convinced that there are actually that many manufacturers producing cells. So most of the packs should be the same under the label. Even if there were a difference, I don't think I'm good enough to tell. Not that it would matter much in our small racing circle.
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Jan 12, 2010 21:13
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Somewhat Heroic - That's a sweet 5T! I like the massive Outerwears thing that covers half the chassis, I love the mega-overbuilt attitude of all the aftermarket parts companies.
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Jan 12, 2010 21:14
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Hypnolobster posted:I've used a friends Hyperion (I can't remember what the hell model it was, but I know it had a dataport option just like my Multi4) and it looked really nice. I've edited my post to be a little clearer. And, the dataport Hyperions are about $80 more. That bumps the price way above what I'm willing to pay.
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Jan 12, 2010 21:15
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Oh drat, I thought that was one of the data port models. In that case, it looks pretty promising for the Multi4. Just for reference, this is the only reason I never bother to use my Multi4 for anything but balance charging lipos.  That's what you're given for the rest of the battery types. I just don't trust it. I haven't even bothered soldering a deans connector onto it yet.
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Jan 12, 2010 23:06
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That's just a standard charging/balancing plug that most LiPo batteries come with. It's fine for charging, but I wouldn't think it's good for using to plug your speedo wires into, you'd need thicker wires to handle the power.
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Jan 12, 2010 23:12
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Given that the whole thing is built into a radio shack project box of sorts, I considered adding banana plugs to it. But then there was the whole realization that I don't really *do* anything but LiPo now. Also holy gently caress that thing is small.
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Jan 12, 2010 23:31
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Welp, order for a Multi4, PC cable, and balance adapter placed. Time to take pictures of my ICE.
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Jan 13, 2010 00:27
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Well, looks like I'm going to sell my SC10 now http://www.jamminproducts.com/SCRT10.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jTM3JYAUaE I've been trying to keep myself from buying a 4wd buggy. All of the nice buggies are race-built with carbon fiber chassis and whatnot. You can't bash with a carbon fiber chassis. This is a 4wd race truck that I can be comfortable bashing with.
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Jan 13, 2010 03:57
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This is the RC equivalent of souping up your Civic http://www.rctech.net/forum/r-c-items-sale-trade/357256-brand-new-tamiya-durga-db-01-a.html
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Jan 13, 2010 08:52
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kuffs posted:This is the RC equivalent of souping up your Civic
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Jan 13, 2010 09:15
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I guess I'm also forgetting about the classic monster truck crew. The ones that dump huge amounts of money for all-aluminum machined parts for their T-Maxx. I had a dude come up to me during one of our parking lot bashes here. He started talking about how he had an RC car as well, one that he had put about $2k into. I started rolling my eyes right away. Anyone who defines their accomplishment by the excess of spending has really missed the point. He, amusingly, couldn't remember what model he had, but I'm pretty sure he told me it was a monster truck. I suspect that, if he was telling the truth, he probably had one of those ridiculous T-Maxxes. Soldiers 
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Jan 13, 2010 09:27
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One of my friends works at a large hobby store, and loves morons like the E-Maxx or TT-01 drifter guys. They'd blow up speedies and brushless motors, and come back the next week and buy more. Some of the drifters would have the cheek to ask for sponsorship
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Jan 13, 2010 12:00
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