Frank88888888

who needs a smooth paved surface thats the bottom of my chassis and my pipe all bent out of shape i wish i had a video camera with me i hit a rock and my car did a full spin in the air and landed perfectly it looked like a movie but i guess thats what i get for runing in front of my house [8D]

ProRCRacer88

Take a dremal and polish her up or somethin[8D]

Frank88888888

lol what for il just drop the front of my car and the asphault will do all the work

ProRCRacer88

LOL your right, I should have thought of that

MiamizFinest

Holy crap frank that thing is BANGED UP!!!!!!!!! what kidna car is that??

Frank88888888

lol its a cen tr4 i bash the liveing hell out of it almost everyday im amazed how well it handles the punishment i give it[>:]

Nate_Stockey

Hey everyone, just thought I would give you a little update on my progress...

I finally found a nice big semi smooth parking lot in my area that is deserted at night and on the weekends. It has made all the difference in the world and its 100% more fun to drive when you can actually drive without your car constantly losing contact with the pavement, flipping over, and having your gears filled with sand and rocks.

For some reasons I couldn't bear to destroy the Trans Am body ( a full sized Trans Am was my first real car) so I decided to get a "basher" body and make big cutouts for the wheels, holes for the glow igniter, high speed needle, engine cooling, etc. I picked the HPI '65 Shelby Mustang body for basher duty. Unfortunately it did not fit the NTC3 very well in the wheel well area. The wells were placed too close together and the body was also too narrow in these areas hence the large, squarish cutouts. Though I must admit I didnt try to make it look too pretty so I could bring myself to destroy it.

The Factory Team NTC3 and O.S. 18TZ combo is a beast. With the standard Team Associated wheels and premounted tires it was like driving on ice. Anything over 1/3 throttle resulted in all 4 wheels spinning. With a full throttle grab the tires would spin for at least 20 yards and then spin for 10 more when 2nd gear kicked in. So I had some fun drifting around and sliding through turns but ultimately I wanted some tires that would allow for more traction. Also these tires would be completely shredded after only three tanks of fuel.

So on all of your advice I got some Jaco foam wheels and tires, 40 shore front and rear. These tires are awesome, now the car is an absolute rocket, not just a drift machine. Only a full throttle grab will break the wheels loose and even then not for long. The car now corners well and I can turn much harder without the car sliding out. Its a night and day difference. Even in hard cornering, sometimes under a lot of gas, I have yet to flip the car over. For icing on the cake I have put about 7 tanks of gas through it and the tires still have plenty of life left. I would recommend these to any onroad car owner. To sweeten the pot I have found these tires for $7 a pair at www.rcmart.com. It takes a little longer to get them since its overseas but its well worth it. Much cheaper and much better than any rubber tire / wheel combination I have found. Thanks for the great advice guys.


After the "rough parking lot" espisodes I installed a fresh set of gears and to this date I have yet to break anything on the car. With all the stress the O.S. 18TZ put on the drivetrain I am very impressed with the NTC3. I have had the throttle linkage pop off twice resulting in a high speed run into the grass and some insane RPMs while I rushed to kill the engine. The engine seems to have survived both runaways unscathed which is pretty impressive considering how high it revved under little load in the grass. I just ordered an Associated throttle return kit and think that this should be a stock accessory on the Factory Team NTC3. Hopefully Ill get to install it this week before I run it again and prevent these types of runaways in the future.

I have worn almost all the way through the brake pads in the 15-20 tanks of fuel ive put through it. I think some of this wear might have been caused by braking during the runaways at full throttle for about 30-60 seconds while I ran to try to shut the engine off. The engine easily overpowered the brakes but they caused enough drag to prevent the engine from tearing itself apart.

How long do the rest of you guys go between changing brake pads? Is 15-20 tanks about what I should expect the life of the pads to be? Are there any upgrades or high quality brake pads I can buy from another source?

Overall im extremely happy with the NTC3 and look forward to improving my driving skills with it. Hopefully sometime I will be able to travel to an onroad track somewhere and test it out in a more competitive environment.

Here are some pics of the new body before and after a bash session, and some pics of the car with various tires. The Associated pre-mounted tires in the pics have three tanks of fuel on them, while the Jacos have 7 tanks of fuel on them, and finally the HPI belted X-Pattern tires that ill be testing out this weekend while I wait on the 6 sets of Jacos to be delieved from Hong Kong. Thanks again guys for all the support.

jandb917

well i think you said it when you said that the engine overpowered your brakes, casue ive had my car about 2 yrs now and i use it mainly on the weekends ( when my local track is set up) and i have yet to change my pads, but i dont use alot of braking either , i have them set to stop the car but not so tight that it will lock up the wheels soooo lol

but hey im glad to hear the good luck your having and i hope you enjoy it, casue RC is truley addictive and fun, it also sounds like you are learning alot not only from others but from experience which is the most important and best way to learn in my opinion

have fun !!!!! i know i do

MiamizFinest

Sounds good i wuz waiting on this update this forum got my back to onroading after 2 years (i have 2 onroad car with no engines that have bein sitting for 2 years) i got all the kinks out of the car (it wuz sitting for 2 years) and i drives great only issue im haveing is that the belts are about to bust ill get new ones soon ima get the OS .18 TZ my self also ill let u know how it flys in my car

ProRCRacer88

Great to see you guys having a good time with your cars.
Nate, you get tires from hongkong[sm=eek.gif], how much is shipping, I bet its nothin cheap.

Nate_Stockey

Thanks for the encouragement guys it has been a lot of fun so far. I even had my parents mail me my old Losi GTX that I built in highschool and have been working on getting that running again too. Hopefully once I get a bigger place ill be able to revive all my RC airplanes as well.

This weekend ill be installing that throttle return spring to try and solve my runaway problem and hopefully ill see a lot longer life out of the brake pads. I think the brake pads are probably the most time consuming thing on the entire vehicle to replace, except for possibly the steering mechanism, so I don't want to have to replace them too often. Two years between replacements sounds good to me jandb917.

Miamizfinest- Glad to hear it got you started again too! Ive never had a belt driven car myself though I hear they have less resistance than a shaft driven vehicle. Youll have to let me know when you get that TZ how it works for you, I really like mine. Maybe take some action shots or videos once you get it going. Ive been trying to get my girlfriend to take some action shots for me since I havent learned how to drive and take photos at the same time yet. Maybe ill get her out this weekend.

ProRCRacer88- The shipping cost for those Jaco foams from Hong Kong is a little higher than it is here in the states. I think the cost is proportional to the wieght of the package after some sort of standard charge. I ordered two sets of two tires originally and paid $8 dollars in shipping. Two days ago I ordered 6 sets of two and paid $18 in shipping, which seemed high at first. However I got 6 sets of tires for $42 dollars, add in the $18 for shipping and I paid $60 total for the 6 sets of tires. If I had ordered the same 6 sets of tires from Tower Hobbies, or most other US retailers, at $20 a piece it would have cost me $120 plus $4 shipping (Tower Hobbies parts express) or $124 total. So I saved $64 dollars by ordering the from Hong Kong. I think it takes about 10 days for the tires to get here through standard shipping however than can be reduced to 3-4 days for an additional few dollars in shippping cost. Either way you save a lot of money.

ProRCRacer88

That is a very great deal on tires Nate, I payed $20 dollars for a pair of foams in the past in the hobbyshop, but if I order some more, I will be able to get them from a place that sells them $10. Save alot more than what I been spending. Do they sell 1/5th tires for a low price?

Nate_Stockey

ProRCRacer88- No they don't sell any 1/5 scale tires from what I have seen. They have a very odd assortment of tires for sale, a lot of micro stuff and electric 24mm sized tires. The largest size they carry is 1/10 and only their selection of foams is worth mentioning.

Nate_Stockey

Here are some pics of the HPI Viper body I painted just for fun. The pics don't do the silver-backed Candy Blue justice.

Protoform Stratus body for racing coming up next.

IAMKAOS

NICE!!!......DON'T BUST IT UP THE THE FIRST TIME OUT..............YOU KNOW ...THAT'S WHAT I SHOULD DO.....QUIT MESSING AROUND WITH THESE RTR'S AND BUILD ONE FROM A KIT LIKE THAT!!!!

Nate_Stockey

Thanks Russel the 1st! Ill probably leave the Viper body on the shelf for a bit. Ive got a Mustang body ive been doing a pretty good job of detroying when I take her out.

I agree you should give kit building a shot. I definetely get at least half of my enjoyment out of building the kit, painting the bodies, maintaining the car, and other technical aspect of the hobby. Plus if I build myself it I know its done right. No parts coming off because they didnt lock tight it right at the factory. No hassels with incorrect setups, etc. And the best part is you get to chose your own components.

MiamizFinest

Looks great man u can really paint!!!!! on this i noticed this time that i didnt notice in your last pic post is that you got some foam tires what shore did you get??? also did u notice alot more control?????let me know!!!!! i think u have the same ones i have that looks just about the same!!!!!

Nate_Stockey

Thanks MiamizFinest! I have a lot of fun painting bodies. Id like to get into airbrushing eventually.

As far as the tires go they are Jaco 40 shore front and rear. I think they are last years model though as I believe Jaco and Serpent have teamed up and the newer Jaco tires come with yellow wheels. The tires give me tons more traction and life than I ever got from rubber tires and the car is much more fun to drive now as its no longer like driving on ice. I wouldnt ever go back to rubber tires unless I wanted to do some drifting.

baker0408

Man, that is a great looking car! It is nice to see this thread, because I am seriously thinking about getting the same NTC3 Factory Team kit. Any words of adivce before I purchase? Any hangups in putting it building it? I am not going to be putting such a big motor and radio, because the money is not there right now, but I think the kit is really a good start. Let me know if you have any tips for this kits. Also, where did you purchase yours? The cheapest I have seen it is at Amainhobbies.com for $319. Thanks!

MiamizFinest

that car is a really run to drive car i drove a friends of mines that he has one (slideyourride) he has it set for drifting and that thing drifts nice!!!!! he had it doin circles around him LOL id get one but honestly i have to many cars and trucks as it is so honestly i dont see my self geting anything else for now the only thing i really have my eyes set on it that REVO that truck is so pimpish ima get it in about a month

Nate_Stockey

Baker0408- After building it and driving it for a while I can wholeheartedly recommend purchasing the factory team NTC3. It was very very easy to build and all the pieces fit great with no modification whatesoever. I didnt so much as strip a screw during assembly. Even with the oversized motor and all of the driver error Ive put it threw while learning to drive (aka numberous full speed tumbles, flips, etc.) I have yet to break a thing on the car. The only problems I had at all with the kit were one missing shim, which was quickly corrected with a call to Associated, and I had trouble getting the SG style crank shaft version of the O.S. 18TZ to work with the clutch bell. For some reason the shaft seemed about 1mm too short to work with the Associated setup. I think it was probably builder error though as I have heard of people using that setup in the past with success. Im still not sure what the problem was there, but I fixed the problem by switching to the short shaft version of the O.S. 18TZ.

As far as the motor goes while the O.S. 18TZ is a blast to drive its probably a bit overpowered. Im actually thinking of buying a ROAR legal .12 at some point so I can race it. Most outlaw classes only go up to .15 sized motors.

As long as you arent racing or need super fast servos you can probably get away with cheaper servos and radio as well though Ive had trouble with AM radios in the past and now use at least an FM setup. Ive used Futaba S3010 servos in the past with good success.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?&I=LXDTB3

With a 6V receiver pack they will give you are 90 oz-in of torque and reasonable speed while only costing around $23 from Tower Hobbies.

Speaking of cost I paid $341 for my kit from Tower Hobbies a few months ago so $319 from AMainHobbies sounds great. I havent seen it for less than that anywhere.

I did add some hopups to it right out of the box but they are purely for saving weight and probably aren't necessary. The kit is great bone stock. The hopups I added are the Associated lightweight two-speed one way hub, Associated titanium pivot balls, Lunsford titatium hinge pins (it comes with Associated titatium tie rods), Associated blue aluminum servo mounts and a couple other small blue-aluminum Factory Team parts, and my personal favorite- RD Logics blue alluminum transmission cases. All of those are just to save weight or look cool, the parts that come with the kit are very high quality. There is almost no plastic in the kit, it is mostly blue aluminum and carbon fiber. It also includes a very nice blue tuned pipe, full ball bearings, front and rear sway bars, a variety of very nice blue aluminum and carbon fiber parts, and a one way front diff. The kit is very adjustable and the setup instructions are good. I ordered the Associated NTC3 setup video but havent received it yet though I have heard it is helpful.

With the kit youll need to purchase a body, wheels and tires, rear exhaust engine, radio, two servos, a battery, fuel filter, air filter, and id recommend some sort of throttle return spring as I did have the throttle linkage pop of a couple of times resulting in a runaway. With the exception of the throttle return spring I was glad that the kit didnt include any of those items as I generally enjoy selecting them myself.

All in all its been a great experience and I really like the kit. Let me know if I left anything that you were wondering about out.

baker0408

Man thats great! Are you sure you don't work for A.E., b/c you just sold me. LOL. You really answered all my questions and then some! I am going with a .12 engine for the exact reason you mentioned...ROAR legal. I will also go with foam tires right away and a ROAR approved body too.

PS. Awesome body work!

Nate_Stockey

baker0408- Thanks! Im glad I could help you out. I only wish I worked for A.E. as Im pretty bored at work right now. You'll have to post some pics when you get it assembled and let us know how it turns out. Hopefully your experience with the NTC3 will be just as enjoyable as mine has been. I think you'll be really happy with the foams and ROAR legal equipment. I had just planned on bashing when I purchased the kit but after driving it for a while I really have an itch for some competition. Itll be nice to have a car you can both bash and race.

ProRCRacer88

What a nice paintjob on that viper Nate.
You guys, getting cheap servos an controller is never the way to go no matter what you use the car for. I could name more reasons than i can fit in this post, but mainly, cheap controllers and electronics will malfunction quicker than the high dollar stuff. If you buy cheap servos, at least get a nice controller, like the spectrum or somthing like that. Nothing is worser than a runaway rc.

baker0408

Nate_Stockey - This is kind of a random question, but does the NCT3 kit use hex or philips head screws? I know its random, but philips head jusy strip sooooo bad. Thanks!