MadForceDude

every day i read post about new-to-RC guys that complain about they're new truck that run 10 min and break, duratrax, traxxas, hpi name it, i seen it all. then they post here and say that its crap, and they gonna sell it, and blablalba...

well...here's a little anecdote for you. yesterday, i was bashing my hpi mt2 for the first time ( i just done the break in, about 10 tank on pavement) and after like 5 min of bashing, my friend savage hit my front left wheel, at very low speed. we are use to hit like that, happen all the time, so no big deal i hit full throttle again. but then i notice something wrong.

so i get it back and check it out. the hub was busted....wow, i never see a break at such low speed (even on my mini)

so....what do i do? post a tread and complain? set it aside and buy a nintendo? course not!! i just gonna fix it and bash it some more[>:], and if hub break too often, i'll just buy some extra one or look for aluminum.

what i say is: its is normal for RC car to break, a little jump for a rc car is like dropping your family car from the 6th floor. and there is so much tread about truck on this site then you can fix and tune about anything. and the good side is; if you got trouble at the start, you will learn how to fix and tune fast.

and as and experienced rc guy, i can tell you one thing: there is nothing more satisfying then gaining a couple MpH because you tune your car right (finally!!) then paying the big price to having it fix.

think about it....

now, i want you experienced RC to post on this tread story about your first ( and often miserable!!) days of RC, and tell new incomer how much fun you have now.

have fun everyone, bash hard

Fred.

thestratcat

My Feedback: (12)

very good thread man!!

my first nitro car was a total pain in my rear side, it haunted me with diff problems for the first month or so. I was so frustrated with it, eventually I got with the guys here and got some experience under my belt and I have no more problems. But, along with the frustration of the first car, I discovered something else. I like to tinker with these things, it's fun!!! I now would prefer to buy something in a kit or used and tear it completely apart and rebuild it before even running it... for the winter (yuk!!) I have plans to build at least 2 cars (one EDM and one sprint) and do them right..

breakage no longer bothers me, it's a challenge if you don't want to do any maintenance, this probably isn't for you.. but then again, it's a hobby, it's supposed to occupy some of your time, and besides that, you may just learn something!!

and what's this that I can't drop my family car from the 6th floor? [sm=confused.gif]

smokingcrater

** deleted **

InfinitySpeed04

My first rc car was also a pain in the ***** becasue it would rarely want tom start and the spur gear would always melt for not reason at all.

But after I got past all of the bad times the car has given me some very nice bashing moments. I have been bashing it for almost a year now and have only broken some minor parts. The only time I have ever really done some damage was when I was going around 25-30mph and I slammed into a cement block in a parking lot. The front shock tower was the first thing to give and the suspension arms gave out too. That was really just my worst crash and in a few days the parts came into my LHS and the car was up and running in less than a few days. As long as you fix your and dont complain you can fix it much faster.

Really just complaining about something only makes your r/c car sit around longer. Just get out there and find some parts and make that car run better than ever. When I break things it is kinda of a good thing becasue it allows me to get even better parts than there were before. So I see breaking parts as an area for improvement.

Rob

PillowPants

Well, After the 1,346,463 Tyco's i went through, i finally decided to get a nitro car. I chose the Traxxas T-maxx. I didn't have any big problems with it, but i was such and idiot! Every single time something went wrong, I loaded it up and took it to my LHS. I ended up losing a ton of money for things that i should have just looked up in the instruction manual. Things like tuning the highspeed, etc. So my problem wasn't the truck itslf, it was My own personal lack of experience that kicked my ass. I Definately see where madforcedude is coming from. These "my truck is a pile of crap" threads are getting a little old... especially when their only probems are things like dead servo batteries...

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

this needs to be a sticky. at least the OP does.
vote! sticky or not?

Nitro_Evader_Basher

I vote for sticky

Im not that experienced, I've had my (first) nitro for about a year now, and i've been on rcu for longer than that, and you can see that I have not once called the evader anything but I great truck. I didn't know anybody else that did rc when I first got it so the manual was my best friend. On the the tird day I had it, it was in parts on the floor and my mom said to me that I wasted all that money cause now it's broken, later that day I was jumping it in the park. When I broke the rear shock tower I was pissed cause I was having alot of fun, but I went back into my house put the Shock tower in an envelvope and mailed to duratrax and a few days later I was bashing again, not posting here about how the evader is crap because it can't take a landing on the shock tower from 15 feet up.

Anyways sorry for ranting but I totaly agree with you.

nitroman111

sticky!!!!!

brownstone101

yup i spent 100$ in replacement parts the 1st 5-6 months and trust me i was frustrated because i was like ok im goign to half do it so i can run my truck then end up braking it more then fix it with a paper clip and glue and then that fails and brakes another thing and it just went on and on then i started to get some experience under my belt and now i know how and why it brakes and i know were to look if its acting wired and i know if its acting wired so i stop it say ahh man put up my truck and when im out get a part then just put it back together and correct my mistake and keep on a bashing i dont come here going i have XXXX and XXXX sux and never buy XXXX i just go with the flow and when some ones got a prob i can trouble shoot it for them and i want to help all the noobes out there that are getting into the fun and EXPENSIVE hobby

thats my 2 cents

supersly_jones

My Feedback: (-1)

yeah my t-maxx got more money thrown at it then jenna jameson on a street corner the first year i had it...it was my first high end rc and to boot nitro...hm....now running a jato and everything normally runs smooth

GTdirtracer

i love it when noobs are frustrated with there trucks, you can get a brand new truck for half price and just trow a new motor in it cause they probly fried it

J_D

Well I am on my first RC car, my nitro truck I've broken a few things... I remember when i first stripped a spur gear.. I was afriad to pull apart the gearbox, cos i thought i wouldn;t be able to put it back together...

but i pulled everything apart... and it was easy! not only that, it was fun! and I now know a lot more of whats going on in there

MadForceDude

tanks for all the reply, if any new incomer read this, i want you to know that its OK to ask question, after all, shearing experience and getting help is what this site is all about. but don't trow you car away, cauz' there is so much fun behind the first days of pain ( like everybody say). so be patient, get some extra part, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

after all, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask.......

mydartswinger

I agree. When I first bought my XXX-T, and began racing it, I ended up breaking the chassis in half about an hour before the race started. I got lucky that there were some experienced builders/racers at the track that helped me install the new chassis, and I was ready to race when it started. I've had a lot of other broken parts on it and on my RC10GT. Broken parts are part of the hobby, that's why they make replacement parts and include a parts list and exploded parts diagram with them. These are not like Tycos where once it's broken that it's trash. With ours, if you break something or fry the electrics in them, you can replace the bad parts and drive on. Speaking of posting threads for help, it's time for me to go do just that.

Nitro_Evader_Basher

I like this saying better

There are no stupid questions, just stupid people.

thestratcat

My Feedback: (12)

believe it or not, the only thing I've replaced on my T-maxx is the front arm and a skid plate, that was just due to a high speed incident with the barn (barn won).. I've done absolutely nothing else to the truck and it runs great!!

supersly_jones

My Feedback: (-1)

sorry i don't believe you..lol..i'd barely hit something and it was fall apart haha...they truck was to stiff...mmy jato has play in the arms and stuff that takes impacts...its great

Bruno

Well Since MadforceDude(Fred) is my little brother, and since I got him in this beatiful hobby of ours, (in nitro anyways) I'll throw one in there. When I bought my first RC I didn't know very much about RC or nitro or what I was getting myself into! The only thing I knew was what I had read on the company site. I was driving my truck around and hit a fairly big size rock. I didn't notice anyhting at first untill I took a small jump and the front wheel fell off. So I'm thinking damn I just bought this thing, It's so fragile I got back home and looked to see if I had the part (a Hub) in the box. Well I did! So I start wrenching and notice that I am missing the dog bone... So I drove back to where I was bashing and took a flashlight along, I found it! I was back at it the next day and never looked back. Obviously I know now that RC Trucks are not Bomb proof, they have their limitations, it's a VERY EXPENSIVE HOBBY, and it's addictive like a drug. A lot of the threads that MadForceDude is refering to are young kids or teenagers that lack maturity and experience. It's made of plastic for the most part, it's fast so it will break eventually no matter what company it is. Fix it, and get on with it!


Cheers,
Bruno

epicrc10

They day after i bought my GT i was breaking it in on a Sunday and getting used to it. (never owned a nitro before). I was in a parking lot running through some tanks. I hit a speed bump, flipped the truck over and busted the top off the shock tower. instead of setting it aside and waiting for my LHS to open on Tuesday, I simply modified the broken shock tower to hold the shocks at a much lower level. Finished breaking it in and bought a new tower on that following Tuesday. my first breakage story.

econ909

i got a rc10gt in 99, i just upgraded it a few weeks still runs great same rear A-arms as the ones i baught and same rear hubs,same inline-steering arms,same front shock tower and same tranny gears, i think i got a diff gear once... great truck once you get used to driving. never breaks on me now that i can drive ... kinda wierd huh? dont give up, everything is hard at first. did you fall when you first road a bike or skate board?.. my point..no OUR point has been made.. same front rims too. lol.. for good luck and all

Wide Open

anyone ever notice that everything little seems to break right when you start out. then you spend hours working and repairing. But then after you figure out how to do everything, parts break less frequently. i guess the trucks are just out to get us until we learn the ropes. lol. although it is a lot of fun now! no one should give up at it!

blaznfst

funny story:
i used to run electric carpet track cars like 10-12 years ago so i had some experience with r/c. a buddy of mine inherited a couple of old nitro s/t's from his grandfather who had passed away and niether of them were in working order. my friend enlisted my help with getting them put together and we took a couple of old tx/rx from my electrics to finish them up. the first one running was a losi GTX. having never had run or even really seen a nitro truck, i started out tentatively running up and down the street at only like 1/4 throttle. i noticed right away that these trucks have WAY more power and speed then any elec. i ever seen. well, after a few easy runs i hand the controller over to my pal since it was his. having only ever ran one of my old elec. he does what any good timer would do and mashes the throttle. i have never seen anyone smile so big as the GTX wound up fast, burned 3 donuts in the street, pulled a wheelie, and ran sideways into the curb at full speed. broken: a-arm, bulkhead, shock tower, shock, and rim. must have been a little brittle from sitting around for 8+ years. HAHAHA. one down.

up next was the traxxas NITRO HAWK. it took much more tuning and jerryrigging to get it up and running, but once the wheels were spinning and i had again raced up and down the street a few times it was time for his try. this time he did much better, running almost a full tank of fuel before thinking that he was a master driver. what do master drivers do with a stadium truck? jump it. so after deciding what he is going jump (curb approach) and how fast he will hit it (full speed) the master driver hits the jump, sails through the air, and smashes the HAWK through his living room window. broke: shock tower and a-arm. two up and two down in about two hours. i never laughed so hard in my life.

i completely agree with the view in this thread as after breaking his two trucks my friend did nothing but complain of how cheap/worthless/no-good/junk they were until i told him about the scale differences and how he couldn't expect a full-size vehicle to hit a 4 foot ramp at approx 300 mph and suvive either. since then both trucks have been fixed, the GTX was rebuilt with replacement parts whereas the HAWK has been scabbed and glued, but still holds together. this all happened last spring and now my buddy enjoys nothing more than bashing hard and fixing what breaks. this is an expensive hobby, but it one that gets into your blood and you can't let go.


HAPPY BASHING

by the way, if anyone knows where i can get replacement suspension parts for the Traxxas Nitro Hawk plz let me know. Thank You!

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

call Traxxas, I think they still have parts for the hawk, sledge, and other old-school stuff.

happyhobo69

My Feedback: (6)

I just got my first nitro about a month ago and I had trouble with the diff drom day one. It was only my fault because I over tightened the diff screw and it snapped. then the next time it was the diff being to loose and it stripped the gear. All I gained from that was experience and knowledge. Now there is somthing wrong with the engine. I hope its under warranty cause I didnt do any thing wrong to it. Maybe u can help. First it had a really rough idle. So i gouht a new plug and the rough idle is gone but now when I let off the throttle it dies. Also at full throttle it goes 5 mph. Another thing is it normal for the rotostart to snap back hard after you start it or it dies. I dont think so. Does this sound like somthing that is a big problem or a small problem. Any help is appreciated.