Garfield81

Hello members,
Been flying RC planes and helis for a little while now and want to try the RC car world. I am not going to be racing but just playing around in the neighborhood. I was initially going to go with a nitro since I like to tinker with stuff and enjoy tuning, etc. but it would be too noisy for the neighborhood so decided to go electric. So 2 questions:

1.) From what I have read electrics are as fast as nitro if not faster. Is that true?
2.) I am looking into Redcat Caldera 10E XB (I know I am going to get flamed for choosing a RedCat). But will that give me the speed on streets for drifting and handle some grass driving as well?

Thanks

EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

Yes indeed, electrics are fast. Thanks to brushless and lipo technology, you can go as fast as you want.

Red Cat has a decent rep, no need for a flame, mate. The ESC in that Caldera is limited to 2S Lipo, and it may only come with a NiMh battery, so you'll want to get a couple Lipo packs. 2S Lipo is can be plenty fast tho if the motor is up to it. Would be nice to have 3S capability if you REALLY get the itch to go fast.

Drifting? On the stock tires with the stock motor system? I wouldn't expect that from that car. If you changed the kind of tires to a drifting tire, then you might get away with it. 3S Lipo would help. But, It's a race buggy, not a drifting machine.

Most 1/10 scale vehicles do not like running on grass. Too much drag heats up the motor in a hurry. (A brushless motor shouldn't be allowed to get over 180F, and preferably kept below 170F) But if the grass is very short, thin, and dry, you'd be ok.

Garfield81

Thank you EXT2Rob. That was a very detailed response and I really appreciate that. So is there any other vehicle that you would recommend that would suit my purposes in the same price range?

EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

There are a number of drifting-spec RC cars out there. HPI makes one, a mustang I believe. Vaterra makes a couple. Just Google "RC drift cars" and see what you get. Most dirfting machines are very much like carpet-racers...belt-drive 4wd chassis with hard rubber tires that spin easily on polished concrete, or other smooth surfaces.

So, you kinda have to narrow in on what you really want, and where you're going to drive. A drifting machine, or something more "general purpose".that can go anywhere. Realize that, if you have a sizeable area of dirt, you can drift just about anything. Including that Redcat Caldera. What kind of area do you have to run in? I say, buy whatever jazzes you the most.

Garfield81

Thanks for your reply. I am mostly going to be running it in the neighborhood streets and grass lawns. No dirt areas close by around here that I can think of. So grass was one of the reasons I choose the buggy but if it can't do grass then I might as well get an on road car. Also are on road cars leads durable than buggies. I would assume so since their bodies cover them entirely and are the first one going to take a hit.

Also was about trucks. Are trucks way more slower than buggies? Ex. Redcat also has a Caldera truck for almost the same price.

EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

Yeah, large grassy areas like school yards or parks are usually too much for anything but a 1/8th scale buggy or monster truck. So if your primary area will be the streets, yeah, an on-road car might be better for you. (I always thought it kind of sketchy that the buggies have their shock towers just sticking right out there prominently in front. OK, I guess, if you're only running it on a track.) (Which is why I got a Truggy, a buggy platform with a truck body, at least it covers the shock towers)

Are trucks slower than buggies? Not necessarily. All depends on the motor KV and battery used. That Caldera SCT would be good. Might be a little tippy if it's set up for off-roading, with grippy tires and a higher CG. Lowering the ride height and changing to a harder compound tire, maybe going to a harder shock spring (or adding anti-roll bars if they have 'em) would make the SCT less likely to traction-roll.

On-road cars usually have pretty good bumpers on the front to absorb head-ons. But hitting anything solid (curbs, trees) at speed, is usually never good, obviously. Look where you want the car to go, not at the stuff you want to avoid. Gotta learn car control. And have good bumpers.

If you're really up in the air (no pun intended) about what to get, go to Tower Hobby's website and request a catalog. Having a catalog to browse thru will give you all kinds of ideas, and a chance to see what all is out there. And an idea of what prices are like. Visit a hobby shop if you can. Talk to people there.

BTW, being into planes and helis, do you already have battery packs and a charger?

Garfield81

Yes I have a lipo balance charger and also have all accessories for nitro as well. Might have to get a 2S lipo.

I feel Tower hobbies is one of the more expensive sites out there. No doubt their quality might be higher too. But I have been scouring the web for all sorts of vehicles and decided on the buggy. Looks like I am back to square one in the search process. Really appreciate your help though. At least now I can make a more informed choice.

EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

LOL. Shucks, sorry if I derailed ya.

I suggested Tower mainly cuz they ARE such a HUGE outfit. And reputable. They carry just about everything, except some of the more obscure brands. I just thought having a catalog in your hands, with hundreds of pictures of RC types and styles, would be a lot easier to peruse than trying to do the same thing on the web. Once you find a vehicle you're interested in, THEN you can shop for price.

For electronics, I have found the "cheap Chinese junk" to be perfectly adequate for someone on a budget. Gens Ace Lipos and HobbyWing motor systems at HobbyPartz.com are a good value. Stay away from EXI servos, tho.

cumquat

i'm going to throw this out there, i have never had much trouble with 10th scales in grass. not freshly mowed and way less than you would think with the grass up to my knee and even reaching my waist! it's not by scale but what you are running. my evader had no problem in our front yard, even if it hadnt been mowed in a week or so. my tamiya df02 (admittedly with larger tires, 2.2" dirt hawgs to be exact) could run through grass and weeds as tall as 30 inches with little issue. were either as fast in grass as they were on gravel or the street? heck no. but the fact is neither one had issues. the motors never even got hot!

EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

Could be exception to the rule? Or the way you had it geared? And what motor were you running? If you had a big fat torque-y motor that didn't mind pulling thru grass, it probably wouldn't get very hot. But most vehicles come geared for street or dirt running. And running something like that thru waist-high grass? Just askin' for a motor to overheat. Unless you have it geared so that it won't. I burned up more than one motor before I learned that.

Garfield81

Thank you EXT2Rob and Cumquat for your replies. I am leaning towards the SC 10e now which I think has the same chassis as the XB but seems to have a bit more ground clearance. Anyone have any experience with the SC 10e?

cumquat

the df02 is effectively a tt01 touring car with longer arms and different shock towers. it had a 70t spur and i was running the stock 18t pinion, diff ratio is 2.57. i was running an ezrun 4000kv full 540 2 pole on 2s. same motor in the evader. i maintain that grass isnt as hard on RCs as many like to make it out to be. now i will make a note that the grass was either well watered or basically dead (that's Michigan weather for you, a week-long thunderstorm followed buy a month-and-a-half drought) so the grass was either lubricated or would snap as the buggy and st drove over. as for the waist high grass, it was so thick that the buggy drove more on top than through. quite entertaining to watch. but still, the motor never got that hot. now take the same buggy and motor with the same gearing, and put on a set of proline mashers (5" tall tires that weigh a about half pound EACH when mounted) then run in snow. i was surprised how fast the motor burnt a coil.

SyCo_VeNoM

cumquat you are crazy

BTW I have run a DF-02 on geolanders which are the same size as mashers(it was my bootlegged DF-02 that came with them) without burning a motor It now has the pro-line 2.2 dirt hawgs on it(well had its missing its knuckles, C-hub, and parts as I needed them in a project I was working on)
As for the TT01e comparison there are a few differences, but yea gearing is pretty similar. The pinions for the DF-02 are different and the spur, but outside that the Diffs are the same size.