manfx

lol so in 1995 i bought a few of these new (Tamiya Ta-02 AWD). They were great and even with the 10 batteries i had to enjoy my RCs about an hour i lost interest when the real work took over.

The other day a friend of mine got a car rc (used) so i kinda decided to get back into it and spank him running electric.

Now i got a new Futura radio and Tamiya Sport Tuned (black), new wheels and tires. Ive set it back up to where it can run but only forwards(or reverse depending on polarity of the motor)
Im thinking the Speed Controller is so old it doesnt understand more than 1 function... well besides the perfectly working steering control.
If im going fwd and hit reverse, it stops the rc immediately like brakes but refuses to actually reverse.

So im here to get some help on this... i bet there is a simple solution - i just dont know it.

Also, i wanted to get your suggestions as to how i can be competitive with this gas Traxxas he's got.
I never had or really heard about brushless motors till recently... thoughts?
Incase you're wondering he basically wants to drag race maybe a block or two..
Can you please give me suggestions regarding batteries... motors... and anything else im probably not thinking about (or know)

Take inmind that im trying to do this on a budget, im not trying to do this for couple hundred bucks lol

I have GREEN MACHINE but its probably obsolete next to the Sport Tuned?
And i do think i want to try doubling up batteries but can the speed sensor and everything else handle the juice?

Thanks for the help in advanced!

dragnse7en

I put together a TA-02 for my brother a long while ago, That was a nice chassis, but I don't think that you'll be able to take something that old and make it go fast enough to beat a nitro powered Traxxas, especially if it's a newer model.

I would get a new kit IMHO, if you want to be competive. Simply throwing a BL motor combo and using a lipo pack won't help; it may actually hurt the car. The TA02's handling isn't as good as the newer cars. The drivetrain is too sloppy with too much play and some of the plastic gears could get ruined by the higher torque of a BL drag motor. The TA02 chassis is also too skinny and it would be easier to flip and crash at high speeds.

My best advice is to get a new kit, a shaft or belt-driven 4WD sedan. Beef up the drivetrain with universal swing shafts and high-end diff balls, and get a 2S lipo, 5000mAh capacity or higher, and a BL motor and esc combo that has a rating of 7700Kv or higher. Get some belted radial pro compound tires or foams to put all that power to the ground.

Then you'll have to set up you suspension system for drag racing; it's about a 5-6mm ride height (lower in the front) with heavy rear springs and medium fronts. The chassis will also need to be balanced out with lead counter-weights to keep it from constantly spinning out.

It's alot of cash though. You can go ahead and risk your existing TA02, but if I were you, I'd search really hard for any and all hop-ups to beef up the drivetrain on that car.

Also, IIRC, the motor mount is a round plastic plate with alignment holes for the pinion gear. I would find that aluminum one b/c you could also risk melting that and ruining your gears when the motor moves out of alignment.

Drag racing with a BL setup is fun, but gets old after a while b/c you can only go in a straight line, and the motor and esc need around 2-3 minutes to cool down in between runs.

There's way too many other things I could mention about insane speed runs, but I don't want to repeat older posts me and my friends made.

Well, either way - welcome back to the hobby! Keep doing your own research, and good luck!