Sup guys? I've been away from the RC car scene for quite sometime now (got tired of a hand me down truck running for 2 minutes then going round and round in circles) and would like to get back into it. I've been doing the RC plane scene for the past 2 years now, but would like to extend that onto the car scene (more specifically drifting). I've been looking at the HPI sprint 911 Turbo, but I've read that it doesn't offer quite as extensive as a list of hop-ups like the Pro4 does. I'm also looking for faster speed, but nothing insane. Maybe 40-50 MPH.

The Pro 4, you basically have to buy parts and put them in the car. What would be the best route as for a motor to achieve the speed that I'm looking to be running?

Would a 12 turn motor be too much?

Also, what are other semi-cheap parts that I would need to throw in it?

And last but not least, what size of body do I need to purchase? I really like the yellow Porsche body up at the top in the banner, but can't seem to find it anywhere. Your guys' input would greatly be appreciated!!!

By the way, I've searched all night, so don't give me the "use the search" excuse. I'm just looking for some quick feedback on how to set this to be a fast carpet car/fun drifter on the side.

For those that help me out, the internet beer is on me!

Sup guys? - Not much, how about yourself?

What would be the best route as for a motor to achieve the speed that I'm looking to be running? - You'll never reach that speed while drifting, 5-10MPH tops.

Would a 12 turn motor be too much? - Anything over a spec 19T is too much for drifting.

Also, what are other semi-cheap parts that I would need to throw in it? - Nothing, the car is already overkill x 100 for drifting purposes.

And last but not least, what size of body do I need to purchase? - Any 190mm touring car body. The yellow Porsche is the HPI body, Part: #7335 Link to more information: [link=http://hpiracing.com/bodies/bodyfocus.php?item=partnumber&value=7335]190mm 911 Turbo[/link]

For carpet, this car will be killer, no questions asked. For drifting, it will be a disaster unless you have a 100% pebble/debris free driving surface. I would hate to see someone buy a Pro4 just for drifting purposes, it's truly overkill. I have driven this car at my local carpet track, and it was on par with the best of the shaft drives that I have driven. The only option parts on the car were a front one-way and a suspension stabilizer set. The set-up consisted of a Atsushi 2 ESC (ko propo clone), Atsushi orion motor, Ko propo MARS-EX1 radio system w/ hi-torque steering servo, matched 3300 cells topped off with deans plugs and wet noodle wire. It was the best set-up car I have driven of recent, and if I HAD to get back into electric it would be the first car of choice. I hope that's some food for thought.

Thanks very much for your response! I appreciate it. How would this sound...doing everything like you have listed except for the motor. For drifting I could possibly switch out the motors, and then for carpet racing, I could put the 12t motor back in...just a thought.

I also thought I read somewhere that a car had the capabilities of limiting itself to a certain speed (like a governor). Can this feature be added to the higher powered motor, and then all I'd have to do is switch the setting to a higher race speed for carpet? What's your thoughts...

On another quick note, my father owns a mortuary and we have 2 parking lots. One is approximately 30 x 50 ft and the other is approx 100 x 120 (pretty huge) and they are both butt smooth!!

Thanks!

Edit!! What about the HPI Sprint 911 Turbo? RTR, out of the box 32 mph, and painted body... would it be a better choice than the pro4?

Thanks very much for your response! I appreciate it. - You're welcome, glad I could be of help.

For drifting I could possibly switch out the motors, and then for carpet racing, I could put the 12t motor back in. - Most certainly.

I also thought I read somewhere that a car had the capabilities of limiting itself to a certain speed (like a governor). - High end radio systems feature throttle limit %, I have not seen a switch/capacitor/resistor or any other means of doing this.

On another quick note, my father owns a mortuary and we have 2 parking lots. - The Pro4 is an extremely low chassis, any debris could prove bad on the lovely carbon fiber.

What about the HPI Sprint 911 Turbo? RTR, out of the box 32 mph, and painted body... would it be a better choice than the pro4? - Better choice for drifting? Yes. Better choice for a carpet racer? No. Also, speed is truly limited to your motor and ESC to a point. I myself am not one of those guys who wants to have a super fast 'VSM says TEH 99MPH OMFG it IS!!111!one!' guys. I enjoy a well handling car that provides a high FUN factor, that is after all the reason for the hobby, no? So it boils down to what you really are going to be doing with the car and how serious you want to get.

See, that's my issue I'm facing. I live in a small town in Indiana, and our local hobby store basically does indoor carpet racing. I brought up the whole drift racing and he was like "what's that?" I'd be the only one drifting, and it would probably be just me doing it in my spare time, but for the most part, the car would be ran on the carpet. Now, just curious, is it safe to say that I'd be spending about $700 to get the Pro4 running?

Another thing, it is possible to make the Sprint faster right? I think HPI mentioned that you could get the Sprint up to like 40 mph with the hop-ups.

I've also been reading on the TC4. Looks ok, and has a 15t motor (?). Price is pretty similar, but I'm not a big fan of the body.

Based upon your opinion, which would you pick based upon my ordeal? Also, I could buy any 190mm body and put over the TC4, correct? Thanks again!

My best suggestion right now is to slow down and take a few deep breaths, seriously. You need to spend more time researching the hobby and potential cars before you make any decision. I am worried because you mention, !QUOT! ...not a big fan of the body. !QUOT! this tells me that you're after a good looking car, like most people are. This is not the thing to base your decision on. Any 190mm body will fit any electric touring car, with maybe one or two rare chassis being an exception. Once again, electric cars are limited by the motor and ESC to a point, meaning you can put a dual BL system on the dash and have it go 70+MPH if your heart desires (which I hope it doesn't for any small children in the remote 10 mile radius' sake. ).

If I were to give any suggestion as to what you should buy based on the information given, it would be the latest issues of all the R/C magazines your local book stand may carry and giving them a thorough reading, twice for good measure. I am being honest and trying to help, not trying to sway you away from the shelf goddess at the LHS or insult you in any way. If you just spend some more time reading about the potential cars and familiarize yourself with all that's available you will come out a winner, I promise.

I agree with you in the aspect of me taking more time to make my decision, but I was hoping to pick up a car this weekend. I'm going to stop by a couple of hs's and see what they have to offer. According to HPI, there are 3 stores in Ft.Wayne.

I also agree with you that the body should be the least important part, and it's what's under the skin that counts, but I don't know if painting a body and having it come out good is something I'm capable of doing. From what I've read, and seen, I like the HPI Sprint. Unfortunately, there's always a few posts that say "well, this car is better than this car," and it's throwing me off-balance. It seems the TC4 would be the faster of the two, but in terms of reliability, availability of parts, and options for aftermarket parts, I'm once again clueless.

Thanks for your help up to this point. If you could shed some experience based upon these 2 cars, or from what you've heard and seen, I'd appreciate it. I'm going to go see if I can compre these 2 cars side-by-side at the store. Take it easy, and I look forward to your response!

OK, I have owned the TC3 and the TC4. The TC4 is a great improvement on the TC3, which was a national/world champion for many years, which speaks for the car. The TC4 is a lower riding chassis and will be a very stable carpet racer, and works awesome for drifting on a clean surface. The TC3/4 have upgrades galore and very long 'life-spans' at hobby shops due to their popularity. The HPI line of cars doesn't get anywhere in comparison until you get into the RS4 3, Pro3, Pro4 range. Comparing a Pro4 next to a TC4 is tough because the TC4 comes in several flavors ( sport, team, rtr, factory team ) and greatly differs in parts quality and ability. The factory team TC4, not yet released, will be comparable with the Pro4. In that comparison the Pro4 is my best bet for the winner.

Going along with your short time-span before you potentially buy a car it's safe to recommend a TC4 team kit, Pro4, or a Losi XXX-S Graphite+. Those 3 cars are great racers/drifters, and you won't be disappointed. Once you pick out a chassis you can build it and decide what are the best components to add to it and get a good idea of the total price you will potentially spend. I recommend buying the rest of the stuff from tower hobbies to save you up wards of 100-200 compared to your LHS. I hope this gives you a little to chew on, and good luck. [8D]

Thanks, I truly appreciate it. Just to fill you in, the HS only had a TC4 in stock, and not the HPI Sprint. But I guess it doesn't matter if the TC4 would be a better pick by you. So, I bought the car, a saleen body (200 mm). I know the TC4 is 190, but I plan on putting spacers on the wheels to make them stick out a little further. I also picked up some slotted 6 spoke chrome rims, and head & tail lights. I can't wait to get this thing together and see how it does. Now, the car came with rims on normal tires, but I'm wanting to do the PVS drifting tire. Do I just buy 2" PVC cut it to fit, and glue it on the rim? Any help would be appreciated, and I'm glad the TC4 was one of the cars you would have picked. I'll put up pics once I get a chance! Thanks!

Good choice! Saleen mustang, or the Saleen S7R? Wheel spacers should work fine, I have only had one problem with them not working due to the CVD threads not being long enough to have the wheel nuts thread on. Check out my company's products for drift tires and accessories: [link=http://www.driftspecialties.com]http://www.driftspecialties.com[/link]

Thanks! It's the Saleen S7R.

Ok, I just took it out and had a BLAST! For being stock, it's pretty quick. My only complaint is that my wires that go into the motor melted and the solder came undone...uh oh... Do you think I should take it back to the HS? I got to run on 3 batteries before it happened. Would the battery size have caused that? It's a 3300... hmmm.... Other than that, I put on some PVC tires, and I have absolutely no traction on the black top. I tried it on carpet, but it wouldn't drift very well. What kind of tires are the guys in the SG 3 video running? What kind of cars are the drifting period! They're amazing. That's what I would like my car to look like and perform.

Geeze, if you spent 3 x 3300 without a break in between you can be damaging your ESC and motor. You have to give the stuff a break in between runs! I still don't comprehend what's so great about the SG Drift videos, is it the JPoP music that gets everyone pumped up? They're all on ABS tires, which I linked to in my previous post. You'll get a little more traction than PVC with them, but don't expect to be flying around at any high speeds. The cars they're using are Tamiyas. They prove you don't have to have an expensive car to have fun drifting, which is what drifting is about, no?

The LHS may laugh at you if you stumble in there telling them you used it and the solder joint came undone. Can't you soldier it on yourself?

BTW, it sounds like you got a RTR TC4, is this true?

Yeah, I picked up the RTR TC4. About the 3 runs. I ran the first battery (not all the way down), 5 minutes later, put the second battery in. Then aftre that was completely gone, I waited approximately 30 minutes (put the PVC on the new rims), and then ran the 3rd battery. So I don't think I could've hurt the ESC.

I've been thinking about purchasing your ABS tires. Seems like a good deal to me, and if they'll help, it'd definately be worth it.

On to the video, I think it's awesome how they can just whip the car around without any problems. I'm getting there, but the PVC, made the car seem like it was on ice. Still some things to think about.

Now the reason for going back to the HS is that it melted my 2 wires. I didn't know if they would replace them or not. I do know how to solder and just thought about do it myself, but the melted wires is what I'm questioning....