Hiaboo

Quick list. Come up with what you think is the most common rookie mistake made with any RC Car/Truck/Buggy I'll start off with two.

1) Overtightened gears (spur, diff, etc)
2) Overtightened or sloppy steering setup

sheograth

1) using crappy batteries
2) not properly breaking in a nitro engine

associatedrules

1- putting in a dead battery for the main event.
2- soldering motor wires on backwards.

Both I still seem to do.

zeen420

1) throttle trim cranked to forward on remote....
2) ya have to say useing crappy batteries too lol

sheograth

Leaving batteries plugged in when not in use is a big one too.

associatedrules

3- not gluing tires (probably not a big problem nowadays with preglued tires)
4- not reading the manual before running their new car.
5- using red loctite

Gereke

-For kits: Not following the assembly instructions to a "T"/taking shortcuts due to impatience and desire to be on the road NOW

-For RTR: Not giving the vehicle a good once over to make sure everything is where it's supposed to be- Making sure things are thread locked and tight.

-To expand on not properly breaking in a nitro engine: Not tuning it properly/over leaning the mixture and running the engine too hot/running sans air filter

sheograth

Not using threadlock is a big one too

Hiaboo

Yea definately forgot the crappy battery bit.. I hate it when hobby shops push those on newbs because it makes the most profit for them and they tell the newb that its "one of the best" so cant really fault 'em.

associatedrules

6- Going to chain hobby shops that truly only go after money.
7- Not doing research before a purchase.

TheTruckingGuru

8- giving up to easily when frustrated
9- not growing with their hobby by using creative tweaks and hop ups that require some work
Who has number 10?

MT

-Buying cheap cars from online vendors.
-Believing that they NEED brushless or lipo

hands without shadows

Overtightening screws and stripping the plastic they screw into.

RCtruckRacer

Here's one for the rookie racers.

I often see (and made the same mistake myself) rookie racers play the hop up game. Everytime they break something it's replaced with a hop up part. They see themselves slower on the track so they buy a super race mill. Everything has to be bigger, stronger and faster. However, all you really need to do is practice. Not crashing will net you far fewer broken parts. Spend your money on fuel and tires. Go through as much of them as you can. Look for setup tips from your local fast guys, rather than upgrading parts right off the bat. Increase your driving skill to the point where you become dangerous with an RTR, and then you will have a chance to podium.

Good luck, and good racing!
Rob

wolfgang123

i feel realy good about this becasue i am a newb and i have not made any of these mistakes with my rtr gt2

zjwhitrock

10. pouring gas into the tank[&:]
11. not going back to the hobby shop after they buy the car
12. useing crapy tools
13. not mantaining the car(rust is bad!!!)

Codeblack

-trying to save money buying cheaper parts that are crutial to a well set up car.

-sometimes trying to go for huge jumps when bashing without much practice. being impatient and never going in rational increments.

-making many changes at a time.. then not being able to figure out which change make the car handle like %^&*$

ProRCRacer88

engine tuning

s7jstep1

buying cheap off brand cars because they are adveritzed that they can go 65 mph


starting with nitro instead of electric. (my friend did this)

zjwhitrock

+1

or geting a traxxas that can go that fast and chrashing it

pguntle

My Feedback: (1)

its a huge mistake when your first car is a nitro kyosho, you bought a kit to build alone when you were age 15, forgot to loctite, superglued some set screws in wrong, had to call kyosho japan to have them ordered, took two weeks to get the parts and when i got them i was sick of building it.

DaveG55

The biggest mistake?

IMHO, it's reading all the internet forums and taking it as gospel.

The net is a great place to start but for goodness sake take everything you read with a grain of salt. Probably over half of what you read is being written by people without much more experience than you. There's good info on the net too but you MUST use your own mind and common sense to make your own decisions.
If you ask why your engine won't start and someone says it's probably a stripped spur gear (yes, I have seen that reply) then use some common sense and analyze it a bit. If someone only owns one vehicle and says that X or Y or Z is crap then ask yourself, "How can they say that" . Are they angry with a company, a friend who beat them, did they own one and have a bad experience or are they just parroting something they read somewhere?
In other words, use the net as a starting place but THINK FOR YOURSELF too.

pede_187

That's awfully specific

Advice: DON'T GET CHEAP BATTERIES!!!

Gex_61

Turning your radio on during my race. Who's on 61?

Anymore, this is what the sign up sheet looks like. I havn't had problems in a long time...lol

Spectrum
Spectrum
Spectrum
Spectrum
61
Spectrum
Spectrum

pguntle

My Feedback: (1)

lol, yea... I will never buy an rc without making sure i have access to parts quickly ever again. I do wish i would have gone electric first.

also, when i finally got my kyosho started, half the bolts rattled off and i wrecked it into a large rock,and i bent the front shock tower on that. had to wait again for the parts for another week.