I need Help getting updated! Been out for 15+ years
07-21-2018, 12:18 PM
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I need Help getting updated! Been out for 15+ years
Hello everyone, I used to own R/C cars back in the day when I was young. I had things like an Associated RC10 Nitro, HPI AWD on-road with O.S. .12 engine, a Serpent 710 with a mugen seiki engine, etc. Ive been completely disconnected from the hobby for about 15 years, I have an 11 year old son now and he wants to get into the hobby, so im jumping back in with him and went online looking for options. There were many options back in the day, but I've noticed a lot of companies are non existent now, it seems the hobby downsized quite a bit, I cant seem to find a lot of models I used to own. Team Associated only has one 1/18 option to choose from, RC10 don't come in RTR formats anymore, Team Losi doesn't have 1/18 anymore, etc. I was thinking on getting an Associated ProSC 4x4 RTR for myself and getting an Associated Reflex AWD 1/18 for my son. Associated and HPI used to be very big back in the day and you seemed to find parts in every local hobby shop you visited.
What do you guys recommend buying and what place online? Also, what happened to the hobby, is it me or Millennials don't have fun anymore?
What do you guys recommend buying and what place online? Also, what happened to the hobby, is it me or Millennials don't have fun anymore?
07-21-2018, 05:06 PM
#2
Welcome!😁 Still a lot to choose from. I'm a bit confused though. Do you really mean 1/18 scale, or do you mean 1/8 scale? Eighteenth scale is pretty small. Certainly not nitro. Electric most likely. Eighth scale is typically nitro, or 4-6S LiPo.
Associated is still around. Losi and TLR, Arrma is a new brand that has a whole stable of 8th scale stuff. Brushless motors and LiPo batteries are the best things in electric RC. WAY more powerful than any electric powered RC you may remember. And very neighborhood friendly. Stamina is still around if you're looking to build a kit. Most vehicles are RTR these days unless you're talking about racing rigs.
What are you looking at?
Associated is still around. Losi and TLR, Arrma is a new brand that has a whole stable of 8th scale stuff. Brushless motors and LiPo batteries are the best things in electric RC. WAY more powerful than any electric powered RC you may remember. And very neighborhood friendly. Stamina is still around if you're looking to build a kit. Most vehicles are RTR these days unless you're talking about racing rigs.
What are you looking at?
07-21-2018, 05:33 PM
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Im looking into 1/18 electric for my son and 1/10 electric for myself. I dont want to deal with nitro cars, fuel is expensive. I prefer one of the top brands like Associated, Losi, HPI or Traxxas. I know back in the day Duratrax was very affordable but the quality was bad and broke easily. 1/8 is too expensive for me right now, I just want something to race with my son that will last a long time and that it can be upgraded in the future if my son decides he likes it. What are some recommendations and places to buy?
07-22-2018, 07:59 AM
#4
Ah, cool! Yep, I have a Duratrax Evader I bought as my first RC. Not the most robust design. Probably why even when they finally came out with a brushless version, the thing that sold the best was the new all metal diff that came with it. The model itself didn't sell that well, and eventually, Duratrax went belly up.
First question: Do you have a hobby store near you? Hmmm...based on what you've written, I'm gonna guess not.
For your son, I'd recommend one of Dromida's cars. Dromida is the RC brand of the plastic model company Revell. I've bought a couple of their 18th scale cars for the neighbor kids, and they hold up very well and are fast for their size. And they can be had for a cool $100. Everything included. The plastics are soft, so they stand up to abuse, and replacement parts are cheap. Like, $4 for a pair of suspension arms! And, they offer aluminum upgrade parts. The standard models are brushed motor systems to keep the price down. IIRC, the brushless models are $40 more. But for a youngster, the brushed model will be plenty entertaining. I'd suggest picking up the clip on motor heat sink, that little brushed motor gets pretty hot. For that car, and to maybe get some other ideas, go to Tower Hobbies on the web.
For you, I'd recommend something brushless. Lemme tell you about my favorite car...
I got a HoBao Hyper 10TT "roller" from Nitrohouse RC for (at the time) $180. The roller comes assembled but minus electronics, you paint the body. It sells for $210 now I think. I installed a Castle Creations Sidewinder motor system ($120) and a FlySky radio system ($20). I also installed T-Bone Racing front and rear bumpers for protection. Stock bumpers, if any, do little to protect the car. Integy and HoBao make aluminum upgrade parts for it. The motor is 5700kv so it's fast. GPS tested at 40 mph. The car is nimble and fun to drive.
You may be familiar with Turns to describe a brushed motor. With brushless we use kv, which stands for RPM per Volt. For point of reference, a 4600kv motor is roughly equivalent to a 9T brushed motor.
I love the Hyper TT. It is a truggy, so it has three diffs and a cab forward truck body, and a rear wing. All metal drive train, aluminum chassis. Liked it so much, I bought her sister: the Hyper 10 SCT short course truck. It is a standard size for a short course truck at about 20in long, but the smaller TT and the SCT share 90% of their parts! So part stock and maintenance cost is reduced to minimum. I like that. And even though the two cars are nearly identical, the longer chassis and wheel base of the SCT make it a completely different driving experience. Very cool.
You're going to need a battery charger and some batteries. I'd suggest the Ultra Power UP120AC Dual Charger on Amazon for about $130. I love this charger. Charges all battery types and can blast each channel with up to 12 Amps. I've been using Gens Ace LiPo batteries for years and have found them to be the best value on the market. Fair price, and quality, well balanced cells. Last for years.
How you doing for tools? How comfortable are you with soldering? You'll probably need to solder new battery connectors . The Dromida cars use "Losi miniature" connectors, but the charger doesn't come with one. Order a male Losi mini connector and solder it onto one of the connectors supplied with the charger. For the 10th scale car, it depends on what you get. Most high power electric RCs come with high current connectors like Deans or EC3. I chose Traxxas connectors because they were what was available. Just don't use the white Molex "Tamiya" connectors.
Does this give you enough to chew on awhile?
First question: Do you have a hobby store near you? Hmmm...based on what you've written, I'm gonna guess not.
For your son, I'd recommend one of Dromida's cars. Dromida is the RC brand of the plastic model company Revell. I've bought a couple of their 18th scale cars for the neighbor kids, and they hold up very well and are fast for their size. And they can be had for a cool $100. Everything included. The plastics are soft, so they stand up to abuse, and replacement parts are cheap. Like, $4 for a pair of suspension arms! And, they offer aluminum upgrade parts. The standard models are brushed motor systems to keep the price down. IIRC, the brushless models are $40 more. But for a youngster, the brushed model will be plenty entertaining. I'd suggest picking up the clip on motor heat sink, that little brushed motor gets pretty hot. For that car, and to maybe get some other ideas, go to Tower Hobbies on the web.
For you, I'd recommend something brushless. Lemme tell you about my favorite car...
I got a HoBao Hyper 10TT "roller" from Nitrohouse RC for (at the time) $180. The roller comes assembled but minus electronics, you paint the body. It sells for $210 now I think. I installed a Castle Creations Sidewinder motor system ($120) and a FlySky radio system ($20). I also installed T-Bone Racing front and rear bumpers for protection. Stock bumpers, if any, do little to protect the car. Integy and HoBao make aluminum upgrade parts for it. The motor is 5700kv so it's fast. GPS tested at 40 mph. The car is nimble and fun to drive.
You may be familiar with Turns to describe a brushed motor. With brushless we use kv, which stands for RPM per Volt. For point of reference, a 4600kv motor is roughly equivalent to a 9T brushed motor.
I love the Hyper TT. It is a truggy, so it has three diffs and a cab forward truck body, and a rear wing. All metal drive train, aluminum chassis. Liked it so much, I bought her sister: the Hyper 10 SCT short course truck. It is a standard size for a short course truck at about 20in long, but the smaller TT and the SCT share 90% of their parts! So part stock and maintenance cost is reduced to minimum. I like that. And even though the two cars are nearly identical, the longer chassis and wheel base of the SCT make it a completely different driving experience. Very cool.
You're going to need a battery charger and some batteries. I'd suggest the Ultra Power UP120AC Dual Charger on Amazon for about $130. I love this charger. Charges all battery types and can blast each channel with up to 12 Amps. I've been using Gens Ace LiPo batteries for years and have found them to be the best value on the market. Fair price, and quality, well balanced cells. Last for years.
How you doing for tools? How comfortable are you with soldering? You'll probably need to solder new battery connectors . The Dromida cars use "Losi miniature" connectors, but the charger doesn't come with one. Order a male Losi mini connector and solder it onto one of the connectors supplied with the charger. For the 10th scale car, it depends on what you get. Most high power electric RCs come with high current connectors like Deans or EC3. I chose Traxxas connectors because they were what was available. Just don't use the white Molex "Tamiya" connectors.
Does this give you enough to chew on awhile?
