Pena3569

New to RC, would like to build a 1/10 short course truck from scratch. 2 part question. What would be a good chassis to start off with and are parts interchangable regardless of manufacturer?

murcielago

Personally, nowadays, it doesnt make sense to build from scratch. Unless, you really have to for bragging rights. You can pick them up for cheap either on ebay or nitrorcx for a very reasonable cost. They come with brushless setups and spare and spare parts are readily available.

bill_delong

Currently there are only 2 solid choices for 4WD kits.. Tekno or Losi... both are equally durable and equally competitive, however Tekno will be a little less expensive to maintain as Losi parts tend to wear more quickly and generate more slop. Tekno also offers a lifetime 50% off parts if you send in any broken parts no questions asked.

If you're looking at 2WD kits, then the market opens up to Losi, Associated, Serpent or an XRay conversion where I would pick an XRay XT2 and then do a conversion.

Generally most kits are gonna be more expensive, but they are significantly more durable than most RTR's on the market... if you're looking to save some money, then I would encourage you to buy a used kit from a racer off RCTech, most folks tend to take pretty decent care of fheir equipment on that forum and you can find some good deals... a used race grade will typically stand the test of time, especially if you go with Tekno, Losi or XRay.

Best of luck in your search!

Pena3569

I ended up buying an Associated SC10.3 2WD SCT Brushless RTR. From the little research I did, I figured it is a good enough entry level car. Instead of starting from scratch I figured I would upgrade from here.Im sure I will be surfing the forums more and more as soon as it arrives. Thanks for the help....

RustyUs

+1 for bill delong's post above.

My thoughts... every model of RC car should be offered as a kit first and then a RTR version should be the option. Enough said. Sorry, I had to get that outta the way. A person with get more out of the hobby by building a kit. I really do think a person will be saving money as well. It makes a lot of sense putting quality lower budget components, that you know are great, into your RC.

The RTR market is flooded with great RC models that I would like to have, but only come offered in RTR form. I get excited for a platform that looks to be very promising, and then think about going through the whole process of tearing out what gear I will not need/want in the RTR package. Most times it will be the servo, and radio gear that I don't not wish to have/use.

A lot of times RTR does not really mean ready to run. Some say "RTR" stands for Ready-To-Rebuild, Ready-To-Replace, or Ready-To-Rebuy. Most of the time, mediocre RTR components are put in the package to keep the price point to a minimum...lure you in to the addiction. That's not a bad thing at all. It gets a person to test the waters, so to speak. If you just want one RC, and if you don't anticipate buying other vehicles, then maybe the RTR route is a good deal..."getting your feet wet". If you already have a good radio, and/or other electronics to install, then buying a kit should be a better choice, but in this day and age, kits are not the norm....so sad.

I know the lure of low budget price tags. You have to take into consideration what comes in a RTR package deal. Some are great, and some are just poo. Companies pick, and choose what they think will fill the average hobbyist's needs while trying to keep the price point attractive. Battery, charger, and radio in RTR bundles are there to get you up and running quickly. Keep in mind the electronics are generally mediocre. Sometimes you won't even get a battery, or charger with a RTR. Just watch out for this.

RustyUs

And on that note, the SC10.3 leans towards the better RTR electronics package side of things. I'm glad to see Associated's transmitter now includes throttle rate control, and the servo is updated from it's predecessor with more torque/speed.

bill_delong

+1 to Rusty's notes

That SC10 is a great entry level RTR, however it's running very outdated designs on it. Pretty much all current designs that are being introduced to market are going with mid-motor layout. I used to own an SC10 about 5 years ago and the only problem I had was the plastic chassis was brittle and it broke on me... most quality designs today will use aluminum chassis to prevent this problem. I would encourage you to keep the SC10 as is, and not spend any money on upgrades, then slowly save up for a current design (like the SC5M) which includes all the latest and greatest features. Another concern is that the SC10 uses SAE hardware so don't go too crazy spending top dollar on your tools for it... all modern designs (regardless of brand) have all switched to metric hardware and that's finally become the industry standard.

best of luck with your RTR and welcome to the hobby

Pena3569

I there an aftermarket aluminum chassis option you would recommend? I get the reason not to upgrade, but I will most likely be running this car for a long while before moving up, and thats if I ever do. Budget reasons.

bill_delong

Not worth it to spend a dime on upgrades, the design is so far out of date, there are very few (if any) aftermarket dealers offering many upgrades for the SC10 anymore, if they do have anything in stock, they're more than likely on clearance pricing. If you want to save money, then go with a current design such as the SC5M which will cost a little more up front, but will include most of the upgrades you'd be interested in having anyway, it will be more durable and save you more money in the long run.

If budget is tight (I know sounding like a broken record) then buy a used SC5M off RCTech... or Losi 22SCT or a Serpent... you can't go wrong with a used race grade any of these recent release brands (you want to stay within 2 versions of a release to ensure decent parts support) they are solid and will stand the test of time.