R/C cars: try not to say the words "scale speed"

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > R/C cars: try not to say the words "scale speed"

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

You cant realistically enjoy this hobby if you dont have a heap of spare cash laying around to repair all the poo poo that goes wrong for no reason. I spent thousands on it, however I was driving mine on a weekly basis and driving them to destruction (although not intentionally)

In my experience though, the bigger the vehicle, the more likely it is to break.

My nitros were constantly on the bench waiting for parts to come in or needing work, whereas my 1/18 scale electric (that was actually faster than the nitros) never broke once.

Electric/Brushless kits are, in my opinion, the best option if you want to get into the hobby. sure a small nitro engine is fun, but the finnickyness of them when tuning and the added dirt and cleanup due to the messy fuel just doesnt add up when you can spend the same on some lipo cells, a good charger and a RTR brushless car that is already faster than a well tuned nitro.

Theres a heap of good kits to choose from, it really depends on what type of terrain and style of driving your looking at doing that will choose what you buy.

# ¿ Apr 27, 2009 00:19

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 16:37

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

God drat I want to dump a gigantic gently caress-off brushless setup into a 510/AE86 and just shred tires so so bad right now. and I just sold $400 worth of EP tourers

You Am I posted:

Most clubs aren't bad. There are some stuck up drivers at some clubs, but in most cases everyone is pretty social and easy to get on with*.

*this does not cover NSW racers, who are possibly the worst form of human being most other state racers have come across.

Im from NSW and I agree with you.

I went to an open/practice day at liverpool offroad track and there was a guy there that screamed at my younger brother for close to 5 minutes for nudging his car during a turn. There was no timing, it was his first day, and the guy thought he owned the track for personal testing or some bullshit. I mean, it was an advertised open day for newcomers to try out circuit racing, what did he really expect?

He had a ridiculous mustache and a red sweater so our group nicknamed him the red baron.

Laserface fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Apr 29, 2009

# ¿ Apr 29, 2009 05:33

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

You Am I posted:

Although I do not miss RC racing, I can see how this is going to push electric racing, especially in the US where I have the perceived view that nitro racing is more popular.

Word. Sunk in when I was tuning my ESC throttle curves and timing settings via USB.

between electric and gas powered vehicles I really think nitros days are numbered as RTR/entry level vehicles.

# ¿ Apr 29, 2009 09:46

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Spose Ill list my collection. Happy to provide a more in-depth opinion on any of them if someone is interested in buying one

Owned and sold
HPI savage x 2 (3 speed gearbox, .28s with too much torque, billions of mods)
Losi LST2 (.28, TiNi gears and shocks, reverse lockout, etc etc)
Losi Mini LST2 (single 1/10 servo, hottor motors, center ball diff, CVDs,)
Losi Mini T (horrible car that should never have been produced, despite birthing the most fun scale ever)
Losi Micro truck (awesome indoor fun)
Yokomo MR4TC-SD x 2 (although i wasnt drifting, just had a batshit Hacker brushless kit in it for laughs)
Associated RC18T FT kit (hands down the best kit of all of them, NEVER broke despite crazy brushless power)
a bunch of those aero ace planes in different shapes and sizes (god drat trees)
some MASH style twin rotor heli (god drat anything within 10m of the heli)
Tamiya QD series (first 'real' RC)

Still got
Tomica bit-char-G automodelista edition

Electric micros were probably my favorite, although the abuse the LST2/Savage took was incredible. Ill dig up some photos/videos of my escapades later. As much of a problematic piece of poo poo the savages were, I hold them close to my heart for putting up with most of my stupidity. I suppose if I wasnt running stupid amounts of torque and launching it 2-3 storeys into the air it might have been a little cheaper to play with.

This thread is slowly making me want to buy a Slash and a baja SS kit really badly

# ¿ May 1, 2009 01:30

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Pretty Little Rainbow posted:

Haha you have Bit Char-Gs too? I have a bunch of really rare poo poo, like the full Skyline history set which has the KPGC110 fastback, and R32, and R34, along with a limited edition Dome Zero body. Is it worth anything?

Probably not

I spent a fortune (relative) on mine. $60AUD for the kit, $60 to have FETs on the motherboard, motors, gear sets, extra bodies, higher capacity batteries.... I even pulled apart VHS cassettes and used the tiny springs inside to make suspension for the front wheels.

The automodelista kit came with a Supra, RX7, R32 GTR and an R34 GTR (the JGTC style, not the other style body they made for R34s). Id also bought a Celica body, red R32 GTR, 350Z and a Nissan gloria. Gloria was by far the coolest.

I think the rarer kits might fetch something but most are probably worth nothing. Mine is one of the 'boost' (which is apparently japanese for 'deactivate voltage limiter') PCBs and they were less common - I think the most rare were the Xbox WRX kits? not sure.

I also had 2 chinese knock offs - Honda accord wagon and a S2000, both of which were faster than the genuine out of the box.

EDIT: apparently youre in luck!!
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/TOMY-bit-cha...trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

# ¿ May 1, 2009 17:18

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Oh loving christ Traxxas, WHY do you have to release 1/16 scale Brushless Slash and Revos this month? I just got out of this loving hobby

# ¿ May 2, 2009 06:56

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Brawnwrong posted:

So what's the battery life like these days? I remember friends having battery RC cars 20 years ago and they'd last 15 minutes before you had to charge them again

Lipo packs charge at about 1hr for a full charge and last anywhere up to 30-50min depending on your driving and what type of electronics you run.

# ¿ May 3, 2009 22:19

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

darknrgy posted:

I bought 3 batteries with my RC18T when I bought several years ago. Each one gave me about 20-30 minutes. As soon as one died, I would toss it on the charger and keep running. Owning several batteries is the way to solve the problem.

If you have the time, space, and money though, the HPI Savage SS is the most possible fun you can have. Balls to the wall fast, wheelies, big jumps, and just indestructible. Tons of maintenance though. This thing has been a total pain in the rear end since day one and it has been worth every bit. I've been inspired to hunt a nice bmx track to terrorize now.

To give you an idea of scale, the wheels are over 3" wide.

It is covered in dirt now.

I loved my savages to bits but they are a loving pain to work on if you have hands that resemble even the daintiest-mans and just dont handle that good. The LST2 is a far better truck IMO, comes better equipped out of the box and is 10000x easier to work on.

Nothing beats the savage for durability (I still broke mine every week, but I drive them like I stole them) but the LST2 handles itself much better in the air and on the ground so damage is less likely. the fuel tank is well guarded too, which is a big flaw in the savage.

# ¿ May 4, 2009 15:41

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

All these shortcourse trucks on the market makes it reaaaaaaaaaally hard to avoid getting back into this money pit of a hobby

# ¿ Jul 24, 2009 11:01

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

So whats considered to be the best short course truck on the market at the moment? I guess I'd need RTR since I sold all my gear not long ago, but will definitely be swapping all the parts out so Im really after a good platform that has out of the box advantages, but plenty of room to upgrade into a racer/all out brushless monster.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2009 04:16

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

compressioncut posted:

There are only two on the market now, the Slash and SC10. The Losi Strike will be available in August (17th at the dealer I use). The HPI truck will be available in the fall.

The SC10 and Slash are quite different chassis-wise. The Slash has a much higher center of gravity - which you think would be bad, but the trucks run relatively skinny, "scale tread" tires, so the handling is pretty similar.

The Slash is based on the Traxxas Stampede, whereas the SC10 is a stretched T4, which in turn is basically the same as the B4 buggy - a very successful race car. Lots of hop up parts are available, but they're pretty generic (suspension arms, hubs, etc).

But, the Slash has tons of crap available, too - billet aluminum beadlocks, scale rollcages, lots of cool stuff. Lots of local tracks are running Slash-only classes. Your local hobbyshop probably has a wall of spare parts.

I think they're similar enough in performance out of the box that you can choose based on superficial qualities - I, for instance, think the Slash is ugly as hell, so I got an SC10. You can, however, make the SC10 into a serious high performance machine quite easily, taking advantage of its lower center of gravity and overall race-bred design.

The SC10 has a shortcoming, though, and it's the rear axles. They're a pure dogbone design and plain do not last long. Mine bent and chewed up the rear hub bearings ASAP. If you get one order MIP CVDs along with it (about $20) to nip the problem in the bud.

Thanks. Locally it seems the Slash is the only one available (go go Australia) so Im either getting that or I will wait for the Losi, as the bundled radio is pretty decent (Ive used one before on my Mini-LST2 and it was fine for most stuff) but being a Losi it has some unconventional design traits that Im a little unsure of. the chassis is narrow-as-gently caress too.

I may end up with a HPI cup racer since there doesnt seem to be any competitive clubs for EP offroad near by. that Corolla and Datto 510 are pretty mouth watering.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2009 07:33

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

krushgroove posted:

I just found out about this this minute, but the designer of the Blitz (and Pro 4, Firestorm, Nitro 3 and other stuff) is online with RC Driver talking to them live about the Blitz: http://www.hpiracing.com/home/

Three of our guys stormed the Short Course Nationals and took 2nd, 4th and 6th lost out on the win by 0.4 of a second!

so what came first :v:

# ¿ Jul 28, 2009 03:38

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

krushgroove posted:

don't know, don't care it's a fun class, once these start going 'factory team' and all hypergraphitiumcompositebullshit it'll start to die

Yeah, the "small man syndrome" models (as I call them) usually piss me off. Sometimes they are nice though because they include revised/hop-up parts but usually its just a wank factor.

I was really pumped to buy a HPI cup racer then I realised they are quite a bit smaller than an average EP car and thus wouldnt be able to run anything but cup racer bodies and got a little put off. They are a Mini class, arent they? My local track (which I havent been to or run on yet since I have no car) is perfect for minis right now but its getting expanded to a basketball-court sized area in the coming months so I dont want my class of choice to vanish and be stuck with a car I can only run in my street again.

But I would be pretty happy alternating between that AE86 and the 510 while swapping Lipo packs all day so who knows.

# ¿ Jul 28, 2009 16:15

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

kuffs posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9-jZ_X8euw

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck I wish the rally class would catch on.

I really, really need to stop reading this thread. Ive mentally spent about $2000 already.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2009 05:35

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

You Am I posted:

There are a couple of RC shops locally that I mainly deal with for paints mainly.

For parts and chassis, I deal with online/overseas stores.

In Japan the two best shops are RC Champ and Rainbow Ten. Both of them have barely any online inventory system to speak of, so you deal with them mainly with emails.

In Hong Kong there is RC Mart. Huge place, prices are a little more expensive than the Japanese stores, but has a far larger line of products plus a proper online store.

In the US there is Stormer Hobbies, Tower Hobbies and Speedtech RC.

The only shops Ive had good experiences with in this country is RC Hobbies in Sydney. Anything they have in stock is well priced but as usual, ordering anything results in lengthy delays and eventually just ordering it from online.

Killerhobbies.com was great but they seem to be out of the business now

# ¿ Jul 30, 2009 04:47

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Krushgroove, can you give us any hints as to what bodies we can expect to see coming out for the cup racer? any certain eras/styles being favored?

# ¿ Aug 5, 2009 02:40

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

krushgroove, 180sx/240sx for the cup racer. I will never stop buying them.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2009 00:54

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

I can understand that tourer racing is pretty much F1 and all the cars need to be as close to identical as possible to show who the 'best driver' is, but really all I want to see is like JGTC races and stuff, true small-scale racing kinda thing.

# ¿ Aug 17, 2009 00:57

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

You Am I posted:

Tamiya suffers for really poo poo parts supply in Australia. The wholesaler/distributor in Australia is known for being gigantic cunts, and kept on cutting supply to Hobby Stores who were fed up with their slow service and high prices, and imported parts from Japan.

Soon enough, especially with the Internet, most Tamiya people in Australia were importing their own parts from Japan at half the price that stores in Australia will stock the parts for. So what does the Aussie distributor do? Do they drop their prices and speed up the parts availability time? Do they actually sell off their licence for selling Tamiya in Australia (which has been going on and off for years)? No, they dump their support for the TRF line.

This is what drove me out of the hobby. having no other option to get parts reliably but ordering off the net. it means i have to stock 2-3 of common breaking parts so that i can ensure i didnt have a weekend off.

so laying out $500AUD in parts each month was becoming a pain. if hobby shops were realistic with their time frames when ordering stuff, or, you know, just loving TOLD you when it had actually arrived or kept common break parts in stock, it wouldnt be so bad. but getting burnt time after time waiting for local guys to get their poo poo together is waht does this hobby under in australia.

but yeah in the end i got sick of having sunday arvos at the park ruined because the 3 shops in my area all decided to only order 1 set of A-arms each and oh man they all sold out whoda thunk it?

Laserface fucked around with this message at 10:22 on Aug 20, 2009

# ¿ Aug 20, 2009 10:17

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Pretty Little Rainbow posted:

They look very similar to the "Bit Char-g" cars by Tomy. Those things are awesome, I still have my micro rc Dome Zero and Skyline history set.

Ive got the "Automodelista" Bit-Char-G kit. RX7, R32 GTR, R34 GTR and a Supra, all with some kind of racing stripes, and the "boost" edition of the chassis/PCB/Radio that gives you a NOS button. Hoping one day it becomes a sought after item on ebay or something, but for the time being its fun to look at on my desk. I also have a 350Z, another R32, Celica and Nissan Gloria bodies.

# ¿ Oct 6, 2009 21:31

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

What exactly is the difference between the 1:16 Slash and the 1:16 revo? from what i saw in the store holding the models they are different wheels and bodies (and also chassis) but mechanically/electronics wise, which is better?

# ¿ Jan 18, 2010 10:41

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Somewhat Heroic posted:

The slash also has narrow arms and different pushrods for the rocker arm. The chassis, motor, drivetrain, etc. is identical. Because of the size of them, and how much power is stuffed into them the E-REVO is a better choice. The extra width of the suspension and the bigger tires allow it to handle "real world" surfaces better than the slash. The mini slash just gets thrown around way too much. Were you looking at Brushless or Brushed versions?

Was looking for something that I could play with occasionally in the yard/street, not competitive or anything like that.

i might just get the larger slash + brushless since itd work out about the same price and still look how i want it to look and do the stuff i want it to do.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2010 01:01

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

James Woods posted:

The next item was the Chassis. This mostly included replacing a few parts that had disintegrated from a year of hard abuse as I tore the truck down. This included the Chassis Braces and Castors and were replaced with Aluminum parts from Golden Horizions and STRC. I also wanted to replace a few other parts like the Shock Towers and Body Mounts with aluminum parts from STRC so I could have as many metal on metal surfaces as possible for the RC Screwz Stainless Steel Screw Kit I put in so I could Loctite down as many things as possible without having to worry about stripping heads.

Stainless screws are soft as poo poo and I dont understand your reasoning for it at all?

# ¿ Mar 28, 2010 16:17

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

James Woods posted:

They're actually considerably stronger than the stock screws and have the added bonus of not corroding. RC Screwz will also refund or replace your kit if you ever break a screw or are otherwise unsatisfied.

krushgroove posted:

What screws are you familiar with?

After owning a HPI and a Losi, I would rate the kit screws much higher in terms of strength. I bought a bunch of stainless screws to fight corrosion, and any that required high tension or threadlock left me reaching for my dremel to slot the fucker and get it out. I bought them from a hardware store specialising in boating gear (mostly stainless steel fasteners).

On the other side, I went to a fastener shop and bought the same stuff in their lowest grade regular screws and it cost me half as much and I couldnt strip them if i tried.

# ¿ Mar 29, 2010 13:15

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Haha, oh man savage guys that use LST shocks are the best. Apparently the only thing that makes the LST a better handling truck is the shocks and it has nothing to do with the super LCG or the longer susepension arms.

# ¿ Apr 10, 2010 03:38

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

This looks comically out of proportion, which sucks. but it would be fun I guess

http://traxxas.com/products/models/electric/7309kenblock

# ¿ Dec 2, 2010 14:57

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Does anyone have any experience with the Takara/Tomy Drift cars? There seems to be a few different versions (drift package/drift package light/Initial D) and while the Initial D ones are pretty clear that they come with a better motor, theres no real difference between the light/non-light versions besides a bunch of ebay listing titles, as far as I can tell.

I know everyone will say "just get a Mini-Z" but theres a pretty big gap in price between the two.

# ¿ Jan 5, 2011 23:31

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

its a bit old now but speedhunters did a tour of the HPI office in the US. Some nice pictures in there.

Playing with my Takara/Tomy Drift package cars is a blast. I dropped in some modified Tamiya 4WD motors and now they run a lot better on carpet or smooth concrete.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2011 07:56

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Whats a good 1/10 EP onroad to get into racing with?

I really, really want to buy a HPI cup racer, but after talking to the guys at the local track, given that there is no class they suit to race in I was told to avoid it. They do run a 'run what ya brung' class for beginners, I was thinking of just getting the cup racer and entering that class anyway (its silver can only) and if I like racing, then get another car specifically for the stock brushless class when I want to progress. that way if I dont like it I still have a nice little AE86 cul-de-sac basher.

I guess for racing Id be looking at a belt driven chassis, yeah? Ive only ever had shaft driven stuff, so belts are new and exciting. I am tossing up between the sprint 2 or a Tamiya one (TA05?), but open to suggestions.

Seriously, why cant cup racers be more popular? such a cool idea to have super detailed vintage racers.

furthermore, why cant we all run cool looking bodies instead of stupid mazda 6 blobs?

# ¿ May 3, 2011 04:35

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

TremorX posted:

Does your track do a Vintage Trans-Am class? It's not quite as detailed as cup, but it's a pretty good class for beginners. If so, then the HPI Sprint 2 Sport with the 69 Z28 body is the way to go -- it comes with class spec wheels, tires, and body. You can slap the Novak 25.5 VTA set in it (VERY reasonably priced brushless kit) and you're ready to go! The chassis is mediocre. Mine's held up to a lot of rough parking lot abuse, but it also lacks a lot of adjustability. The nice part is, every 1/10 on-road HPI body fits it, as do the wheels and tires, so you can move into the GT class (similar to VTA, but GT-style bodies) pretty affordably, if your track offers that. If you're going to get into the more competitive stuff, the the Tamiya one may be better for you.

I'm with you on the 'Mazda 6 blobs' entirely. I'd much rather see a lot of different scale cars than the same body painted different ways. I *REALLY* wish there was a 1/10 F1 class going where I am, I'd buy one of those in a heartbeat.

no vintage class. they run Novice (anything with a silver can), stock (21T brushless) modified (17.5T brushless) and mini. any class will run if there is 3 cars or more.

I went to watch the races the other day and while Mini was definitely the most fun to watch, 1/10 stock and modified is the most popular. F1 ran 3 cars but looks mostly boring. 12th scale pan cars ran too, but ehhhh. I dont like poo poo like that. RWD touring would be cool as gently caress though.

One guy was running the HPI racing WRX body, so I guess they arent too strict on the 6 bodies. I guess thats just the guys wanting the most aerodynamic body they can get, for their super serious racing toy cars. I want to bomb around in a AE86 or a Silvia of some description. I will probably suck but eh itd look cool as gently caress.

# ¿ May 3, 2011 05:51

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

me and a work buddy just bought 1/16 Losi SCTs. we have some nice peaky speed humps in the carpark so we should have some fun once they are charged (wall chargers :negative:

).

was looking at the brushless SC18s but the ground clearance just seemed too low for my taste.

# ¿ May 17, 2011 05:47

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Me and my work buddy took out our Losi Mini SCTs today and holy crap were they fun. There is a public RC track 5min from work so we were having a good time zipping around and hitting the rhythm sections. There is a big crossover that the SCTs are just a bit too slow to clear which I think caused a gearbox problem in my buddies car. It now makes a squeaking/ticking noise although theres no loss of power. I had some harder falls and mine is fine, but I am more experienced when it comes to huckin' the poo poo out of offroad RCs off stupid jumps.

Anyway, I cant get over how different it is to drive 2wd compared to 4wd. throttle control is critical, and lower end points for the steering seem to help out. Some better tires and perhaps a ball diff (even maybe slacking off the slipper clutch to reduce fresh-battery-boost) would be great, along with some better tires as the track we are on is hard pack with dust on top.

Either way for the money, a full brushless RTR with 2.4ghz radio and lipo ready, hard to argue for the amount of fun we had in our lunch break.

best part is it uses Mini-T parts so theres plenty around, and cheap too.

# ¿ May 18, 2011 06:47

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

its good to hear about the SC10 4x4. I am considering getting one to start racing with however my nearest offroad course doesnt really run 4x4 SC yet - maybe once more of them trickle out to Australia we will see more races.

I guess the SC10 2x4 could be just as fun, there was one at the track the other day practicing and it seems to drive better than my 1/16 SCT does.

# ¿ May 30, 2011 13:01

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

OK, Im going to start racing Short Course at my offroad track. I am looking at:

Losi XXX-SCT
AE SC10 FT
HPI blitz ESE (pro version now since thats out)

4x4 class hasnt quite taken off here yet so maybe in a few months when i can actually start racing i could look at the losi/SC10 4x4.

anyone have experience to compare some these? I like Losi and AE stuff as ive had good experiences with them in the past - my HPI savage broke poo poo all the time and by the sounds of it they are keeping up the old habit, but I am considering it because its a kit and I love to build these things.

electronics wise, whats good these days? last ESC I had was a mamba max with 5700kv motor, and JR FM synth radio. The Spektrum DX2 looks adequate in terms of model memory and functions, but who makes good ESCs that are race legal? Servos, last one I had was a hitec 645MG and apparently poo poo is way better now but again, a lot of noise on RC forums with little useful info.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2011 07:07

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

needknees posted:

info

Thanks man, exactly the info I was after.

I share your experience with AE - I had an RC18T FT with a stupid fast brushless/lipo set up and the only thing it 'broke' was the steering gear from clipping a gutter at like 50mph. Having said that I also had good luck with my Losi LST2 and Mini LST2 - although I did spend a lot on upgrading them right out of the box. I think AE is the safe bet and they have good customer service too - they sent me some outdrive rings for the RC18 from the US for free.

Its coming up to ski season here in australia so I will be holding off until later in the season to buy since I will be spending most weekends at the snow. maybe 4x4 will have picked up by then at my track - the SC10 4x4 just looks amazing since its something new (what the gently caress is it about RC companys just rehashing the same old poo poo?)

class wise we have pro2 and pro4 - 2wd and 4wd. the 2wd class you can run 10.5 turn brushless with no boost, or 13.5 with boost. only other qualifiers are it has to be a short course truck in 2wd form. I imagine the rules are the same for 4wd but i havent seen anyone running it yet despite a few guys owning Durangos and losis.

Is the Telemetry on the DX2S worth a poo poo or what? having speed/rpm/temp readings would be pretty :smug:

# ¿ Jun 6, 2011 01:10

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

kuffs posted:

Are you really gonna look down at your radio during a race?

It's hella cool, but not very useful. Combined with the extra gear you need to install on the car, it's just not worth it.

Its only a few wire sensors and poo poo from the looks of it, but I see your first point.

Still, it comes with the radio itself, built into the receiver, and saves me buying a IR temp gun.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2011 02:06

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

kuffs posted:

The RPM stuff requires mounting a shaft encoder and an IR emitter/receiver near the clutch bell. I can't imagine that stuff would stay clean and out of the way long enough to be useful.

A timer is a fine feature and does not require looking at the radio.

IR temp guns are like $25 at Home Depot. There are plenty of things you'll want to know the temperature for in RC and you aren't going to want to mount your radio gear to get a reading. But I will admit an on-radio solution could save your rear end in a "oh poo poo I forgot to gear back down after bashing" situation.

Endpoint adjustments are a feature of every radio above the most bare-bones models. I think even the Traxxas 2.4Ghz radios have it.

I think that Spektrum makes some really cool gear at a good price point. I even looked at the telemetry model when I was shopping around. But in the end most of the sensors were too much of a hassle, finicky, or a replacement for pre-existing technology. I suppose if you want to tinker and it's your only ride, then you could probably get some usage out of it. If you're running more than one car; the premium for the telemetry receiver combined with the cost of another sensor pack, you could have just bought a temp gun.

My Mini-SCT losi RTR radio is 2.4ghz with what i THINK is EPA on the steering. its pretty much just a gain control I think - 0 steering does very little, turn it up and it turns further and further.

Im even half debating hanging on to that radio to chuck in my SC10 just because it does everything I want.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2011 02:55

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Eflite/Losi connections are my connector of choice.

deans are too loving hard to unplug.

# ¿ Aug 24, 2011 06:17

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

You Am I posted:

Deans hard to unplug? What, do you have the strength of a newborn baby?

I usually use Deans, however with Lipo battery packs I have been using Corolly Plugs

maybe its just the ones I got but they were ALWAYS too tight. i ended up looping a cable tie on most of them (on the ESC side) between the contacts to use to pull them apart.

that and the soldering issues, i much prefer Eflite connectors now. less of a bitch to solder (still lovely but not as much) and way easier to use.

I use Tamiya plugs for the speakers on my removable parcel shelf in my 180sx. I think thats all they are good for.

# ¿ Aug 26, 2011 04:25

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 16:37

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

Anyone have experience with the HPI RS32? 1/32 scale racer. would be great for my place since we have floorboards and no real yard to run larger stuff, and different to my Tomy Drift RCs I currently use inside.

Bought a HPI slotcar GTR R34 on the weekend thinking it was a die-cast model. going back to get one for the old man as he loved slotcars back in the day, and theres a track/shop nearby too.

# ¿ Sep 5, 2011 02:47

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > R/C cars: try not to say the words "scale speed"

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