aesalazar

LOL, will do my best! I cant post pics apparently since I dont have 10 points yet? Not sure how to even get them...

But, ya the tires are shot. Pretty sure they will disintegrate on the first run. I read that I can replace the 2-hole hubs with the 3-hole ones from the RC12L3 which seem to have more tires available. Have to look into it.

I am sure the batteries are toast and I dont even have a charger for them anymore anyway. Probably have to swap them out as well. What kind are you running? I assume I can switch to NiMH?

I remember this was a fun car so hopefully it will work out. I need to get a new body and do a proper paint job - didnt have a clue how to paint back then!

Ernie

krispy378

Yes there is a 10 post requirement before you can post a photo, also i think there is a 5 post per day limit, lol. Anyhow, the 3 hole sounds like the way to go. I want to stay 2 hole for originality. NiMH batts should work fine. I found individual sub c size cells on ebay. Soldered em up, wrapped in strapping tape and have been very pleased. They were NiCDs too, again a vintage originality thing to me. Keep posting and best regards

aesalazar

Bummer. I was just going to do 8 single word replies!

I would be happy to keep the original wheels if I could find replacement tires. Either foam or even rubber since I will probably run it on the street. Any idea what they might be?

krispy378

I was looking on ebay today, kinda quickly. It looked like some stuff was available...rims / tires..

krispy378

? oops double

aesalazar

I looked too. Pretty slim pickings.

I just ordered a modern day charger. Figure I should start there before investing too much. Maybe I will get lucky and the batteries will come back to life. I also found my old yokomo yz-10 which looks complete and can give that a try at the same time.

Thanks again!
Ernie

krispy378

Oh boy! Start a YZ10 thread! Cool stuff there...A few charge discharge cycles may bring em back.

aesalazar

Got the charger and did a quick tests. Everything seems to work! I still need to do a few charge cycles but it looks pretty promising. As soon as I get enough points, I will post some pictures. Also found my old Turbo Ultima, LOL! But I might just sell that. The Yokomo was the best one. I clocked it on the street I remember with a friends help - it did 37 mph. I image the newer buggies today can do better but for back then it was pretty fast.

Ernie

aesalazar

BTW, do they still do "matching" on battery cells? I remember you had to pay big money back then you had to pay alot for packs where they did that because you got maximum capacity. If I have to replace the cells, I need individual ones so I can solider them together so the slip into the chassis slots.

krispy378

37mph was moving back then, for sure! Thats cool that the charger and battery are working, glad its looking promising for. The Turbo Ultima i would keep imho, especially if its in pretty decent shape, but thats just me. Matched batteries was where it was at back in the day. It wasnt just about having that 6 cell battery, but more of how much voltage per cell, how much discharge time, how much better one cell could be to the next, and get all the best ones you can muster, solder it all together and go racing! Wow man, you bought back some memories. I dont think batts are matched in they way we knew these days...Im sure one LiPO performs better than the another and anybody seriously racing is doing some kind of matching and balancing etc...Im just a pretty novice user when it comes to LiPo, i use mainly NIMH and NiCds..I actually scored a couple matched Sany 2400 sadlle packs from a bud of mine. I desoldered and resoldered put a fresh deans lead on and it was peaking at like 10.22V! 6 cells btw. Cool cars you have there.. Welcome back to the RC gig man...Enjoy yourself

aesalazar

One of the battery packs I found had the matching parameters written on each cell - thats what reminded me of it. I remember people paying big money for them. LOL, I was a kid so I couldnt afford it but I actually found this pack on the floor of the hobby shop race track after everyone had left - score! (as an adult I would turn it in of course)

You mentioned LiPo. I suppose those are not compatible with the older setups like these, right? It would require swapping out all of the electronics?

krispy378

Score for sure! LiPO should be fine for the older stuff, but i would keep to a 2s lipo for the 1/10 buggies. The RC12L i would try a 1s Lipo and see how it goes. The LiPOs put out insane wattage in comparison to the older battery technology. Electrical energy in watts is Volts x Amps. I used to get pretty focused on voltage. I learned that total output wattage is the ticket these days. If you decide to go lipo, dont throw like a 100C rated 2s at the buggies, nor a 100C 1s at the RC12L. Try something in the 20C to 30C range. That shouldnt cause too much trouble. Watch your ball diffs too...The extra power of the Lipo will make em slip alot. You may need to tighten them up. Hope any of this helps...

krispy378

And yes, very important, you need a LiPO voltage low voltage cutoff / warning buzzer. The Lipos cannot be discharged past a set amount. Damage to the battery will occur. So yes, you do need to add something in with your electronics. Sorry i missed that, i just woke up lol!

krispy378

Check these out Ernie...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/274289661235

Front Associated donuts... Maybe?

Freddy

aesalazar

Ya, I figured there had to be something to it. I have worked with lipo with my old job and remember the extra circuitry so it did not blow up!

Thanks for the info.

Ernie

aesalazar

Thanks for spotting it Freddy! What I am struggling with now is where I can actually run the rc12l. There are no tracks by mean and running it on the street like it is now would tear it apart. I am wondering if I could maybe get rubber tires and try to get more clearance. Still looking...

krispy378

i would avoid the street. if you can find very smooth clean asphalt i would run it there. Np on the spot, glad to help!

aesalazar

My 10th Post!!!

aesalazar

NOW...here are my pics. Still trying to figure out exactly the model number. I believe the RC-12L is the one with fiberglass but the RC-12LW was carbon fiber (we called it graphite back then). But cross-brace above the motor does not match any of the manuals I have found. I dont remember buying it aftermarket but I suppose it is possible.

krispy378

Thats a nice ride... Yellow Sanyos with red lettering are an excellent example of vintage RC surely. My front tires were similar to yours before i replaced them, and yes they just shredded themselves. The rear motor brace looks stock to me...I didnt know that the T-Bar plate was the white color fiberglass one, like my car, included with the RC12LW, graphite kit...I thought the whole chassis was graphite? Btw, i am not an expert, just observing🙂 I see that its setup with 4 cells and the Tekin ESC. Both the Tamiya Porsche 956 and my RC12L were assembled with 6 cells, and looking back at that, they almost seemed way too powerful. It was / is very easy to loop out with a careless pull of the throttle trigger. I recently installed a new mechanical ESC resistor on the Porsche 956. Set the height of the contacts etc...The action is very linear to full throttle and the brake works nicely as well. Again i have to be careful with the throttle trigger, too much brake and WAZOO! Full throttle reverse action kicks in and totally upsets the car, haha! That RC12L of yours should become an awesome vintage ride for you. Hope you have a great time doing it....freddy

krispy378

Btw, can you clean up the green corosion on the batteries etc...That will help too.

aesalazar

Ya, I am pretty sure it is all stock. Yep, I always thought it was weird that they did change the T brace to graphite as well. It does match the manual:

https://www.associatedelectrics.com/...anuals_setups/

As for the cells, IIRC back then 4 was a popular option of indoor carpet. Even with only 4 cells it still spins if you hammer the throttle off the line.

Manual ESC? You mean kind with a heat resistor and external heat sink? I remember they were pretty inefficient, no?

krispy378

Yes, the waste heat wound ceramic resistor. Lol.... Anything other than full throttle and its the equivalent of heating your home with all the windows open, very inefficient. I choose to keep it all stock, original and period correct. Too many of these cars were unfortunately turned into a mess of composite splinters, grotesquely held together by what was left of the mangled steering linkage, the motor and battery wires, and the leftovers of the antenna wire wrapped into knot around the differential gear...haha! I have another Novak 410M5 esc i could put in there, but i really dont want to. Its a pretty nice example, with the mechanical esc and all. Different, actually quite different than anything modern, electronics and battery wise if you know what i mean. . . It really was way different back then. How about charging your batteries off of the Sears DieHard automotive battery? Even with just a set of aligator clips and a cable going direct to the battery pack, waiting for the pack to heat up? The hardcore guys, who were all older than me by alot, used to tell me to forget my acdc charger and go direct dc... I can only imagine the kids having a meltdown with that, let alone the risks with LiPOs! Hahaha Btw, keep up posting on your car, cant wait to see any developments Ernie..Take care, freddy