custommx3

So 10 years ago I purchased a used HPI RS4 Pro 2 on Ebay. It was already built and came with many battery packs, charger, radio and of course the car itself. I had boxed it up and its pretty much sat for about 8 years or so. My son is now old enough so I pulled it out of the closet. Most of my batteries wont hold much of a charge and I may get a min or 2 out of them before they are dead. Needless today its time to upgrade it if possible. Now I understand many of you will say its not worth upgrading, but I don't plan on spending a ton on a newer RC that my 7 year old will demolish. Once he gets the hang of it I will get something newer. I stopped in to a local hobby shop this weekend and had a short brief conversation on what I have (it was impromptu, so I didn't have the car with me) and to ask what I could do. Of course I was told that my stuff is now considered ancient and batteries have come a long way since mine were out. I was told that brushed motors are the old thing and brushless are in. LiPo is the new battery style and seem to last a very long time. Converting will also need a new speed control. The guy said I could swap to a brushless motor, new speed control and can go to a LiPo battery system.. this also means a new charger. He did say I could retain my radio and receiver.

Car Specs:

Hpi RS4 Pro 2
Airtronics XL 2P radio
Futaba FP-R122JE receiver
Novak T-4 speed control
and a handful of batteries ranging up to 2000mah
I am unsure on the motor being used. It's lime green.

My battery charger is a Duratrax Intellipeak.

So this leads me to my questions..

What I'd like to know is how easy would this be to convert to brushless? Are LiPo's so good that I should convert to them, or should I grab some of the higher NiMh batteries? I've seen some 5100mah ones. The guy said the LiPo's I could easily get 40 mins of drive time on those.

I want to do this relatively inexpensive. I suspect as soon as I hand this to my 7 year old, he will break it. I know many of you will point me right to the top brands, but I was scouring Ebay and there are some pretty cheap battery packs, speed controllers, and brushless motors.

All that being said.. can this be done? What would I need? And any suggestions on how to do this on a budget? Keep in mind I plan on getting something down the road that is LiPo and direct drive not belt driven 4WD. I'd also want something thats not going to over stress what I have, as the guys said running something too big will destroy my gears.

I know the car is dirty, but its been sitting on a top shelf in my garage for years, and I haven't had time to clean it up.

Thanks in advance!

Ttowntoolman

I would just buy a couple of nimh battery packs and run it as is. Since it's a first car, it will be plenty fast as is for a beginner. You need not upgrade anything as your intention for use is proper as is in my opinion. Turn down the throttle so it is controllable for a new person and run it. Chasing any upgrade on an older car can lead to an expensive chain of events in my opinion.

SyCo_VeNoM

well there are some issues
once that thing breaks it will be expensive to repair as that vehicle has been discontinued for quite some time so you almost would have to buy another vehicle to use as spares.
Also wouldn't bother putting a brushless motor, and ESC in that as it will tear it up. It would be a waste

Now for lipo's you could probably run 2S lipos in it with the stock electronics. You would just need a lipo LVA (low Voltage Alarm) which are pretty cheap, I've bought them for $3-5 shipped on ebay for use in my brushed electric RC's. Only thing though you will need a new charger.

Now to do this on the lowest budget pick up a few NiMh packs once the car breaks sell it as parts on ebay, and use the money to buy a modern RC that can take a beating
I've done the run an old RC thing before hell 2-3 years ago I got a original nitro RS4 on-road running (cost me like $100 in parts, and a couple months looking for parts) which broke after 1 run... Also had an original RS4 MT(actually had 2) which broke an arm I said screw it and scrapped it.

custommx3

I appreciate the replies!

So it looks like my best bet would be to grab some new batteries. 2 cell Lipos seem to have a lower mah rating. I'm no expert, but I assume that a 5000mah NiMh would be the better choice?

Maybe the wrong section, but since I'm going cheap.. would this be any count?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-pcs-7-2V-5...item2ec8072508


Also I'd like to get an ESC with reverse.
Would something like this work?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-320A-7-2...item27df2a9b5e

I know now that this thing is not worth upgrading, so cheaper the better, as long as it works.

Thanks again for the advice!!!

I knew I should check forums instead of asking a kid behind a counter.

SyCo_VeNoM

umm lipos have way higher Mah's then NiMh and an extreme weight difference(they are way lighter too) lol
well to be exact they can come in anything from 150mah to I've seen over 10,000mah

As for that NiMh I've used that brand in the past they are ok for the cash as anything better will cost you an arm and a leg. Just one thing be prepared to wait 2-4 weeks to get it. When I ordered mine I think it took a whole month to get it to my door.

custommx3

Look's I'll just stick with the 5000mah NiMh so I do not have to worry much about conversion. I'd like to go Lipo, may have to do a bit of research so I know what to get.

What about speed controllers though? I'd really like reverse. My ESC does braking, but not reverse. Any recommendations?


I think I'm going to a new 2.4Ghz radio. My old radio seems to get some interference on occasion and the range could probably be better. Plus this thing looks ancient. I can use it on a newer car too.
This one seems to be popular.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Flysky-FS-GT...item53f897a4a4

custommx3

These should work right?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-2V-6800mAh...item414ef6fbdd

SyCo_VeNoM

http://www.ebay.com/itm/320A-7-2V-16...item4868ec7f73

that should work. Other option would be a traxxas XL-5, or an HPI SC-15


Radios
http://www.hobbypartz.com/rccarradios.html
I own the GT2, GT-3, and GT-3b can't really complain about them.
The GT-3 did have an issue with the trigger where they kinda break, but 15 mins, and 2 cents worth or parts fixed it better then new.
The 3b has a issue with the menus in I think its sub trim doesn't actually do anything at all(IMO not an important setting).
The GT2... no issues, but its as basic as basic can be, but hey it costs under $20 USD