Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Hello To all from the uk,

Firstly let me say what a great forum you have here and i have found a wealth of info alread reading through diffrent topics. I have always had off road electric cars and have out grown them. i just ordered and am waiting for delivery of a cen ct4s. My freinds are about to order theirs and having read alot of posts warning of the flimsy nature of these cars i am bothered that i mad a bad choice for me and my pals!

Thats why i have asked CT4S owners to come here. I would like people to post thier honest oppinions on these cars but only if they have direct experiance of them, i am not looking for old wives tales and past model mistakes.

Sorry to be so demanding but i am trying to get to the bottom line on these cars by thier owners. not by story tellers.

Thank you all for your time and happy burning!

Larry

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Hi Larry,

I was an owner of the CT4s and was initially impressed with the car. What sold me was the review in RC Universe. Well, I got it and did a proper break-in. The engine runs great and I never once had a problem starting the car on the second or third pull. BUT.....[:@] it only took a little bump to knock the main drive belt off the front pulley. Now when this happens, because there are such tight areas around the pulley, the drive train locks up and the engine will melt the transmission gears if you don't immediately get off the throttle. Thats what happened to me before I sold it on Ebay. I even modified the belt tension device to prevent any side-to-side slip of the main belt...to no avail [:o]

Worse, the parts are coming from one supplier, as my LHS's didn't want to carry CEN parts....well the gear replacement sets dinn't match the original...in my case the yellow replacement gear would not fit on the original parts. Next, they use a re-usable heavy-duty wire tie to hold receiver and batteries in place. I had a battery come loose in the battery holder and I lost control....[&o] The battery didn't come out, it loosened up just enough that there was no control. Go with HPI and build hop it up or something, or NTC3, maybe even a Mugen. Depends on what you want. The CEN, IN MY OPINION, is cheap in price, but you get what you pay for....

Michael

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Thanks Cappie,

I'll Pay Special attention to the problems you encountered. this is the kind of input i am looking for. I've spent my money so no it's a matter of being informed to potential problems. anyone else for some input? good or bad.

Larry

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Hey Larry,

I have a CEN ct4-s. When I first started the car for break in, it started right up. Broke the engine in. After about five tanks I decided to really gas it. Hmmm..not all that fast off the line. Mid range to high is quite strong. Top speed is great!

My first problem: Fuel tank leaked all over. I called CEN and they sent me two of them for replacement. One salesman sent one and so did another! Kinda funny.

My second problem: Driving at about 60mph, I had to stop quickly, and slammed on the brakes hard. So hard the main drive belt fell off. CEN fixed this for me under warrenty. I found the main drive belt needs to be alot tighter than the others. I tightened the main belt to where there is about 4 to 5 mm of play.
I beleive the brake was too tight and caused the belt to bind up and fall off when breaking hard. I adjusted the brake, and now all is fine. The brakes are way too strong from the factory. Loosen it up a bit.

Third problem: This really isn't a problem. More like wear and tear. My second gear is starting to show some wear. No biggie.

Getting parts is not a problem for me as all my LHS's carry CEN parts. I just purchased a 14/18 tooth clutch bell for better off the line starts. The original has 15/19 tooth. We will see how this works.

I'm really having alot fun with this car. I was actually thinking of buying another one.
Super fast top end. Great brakes, too much in fact. Handling is great as well. The one thing I learned was, you need a REALLY smooth track/parking lot. If not your belt will fall off almost every time. I happen to be blessed with a nice new billard table smooth parking lot that is cleaned every Sunday. So of course, I go on Sunday's.

So if I buy another one this is what I would do before I run it:

1. Break in the engine. (duh!)
2. Tighten up the main belt to about 4 to 5mm.
3. Loosen up that brake a bit.
4. Drive only on clean smooth surfaces.
5. Not nessesary but, I found useful. The under carriage has cut outs exposing the front and rear diff's. I covered these openings after a small pebble found its way in through the opening and got stuck between the pulley and the belt. This could have been avoided by covering these openings. Thankfully, nothing happened to the belt.

Larry,
I think you will be surprised by this car. Not as bad as some would say. Sure it has some problems, but every nitro powered car I have owned has a few bugs at first. After you work out the bugs, it should be smooth as can be. I ran about 8 tanks yesterday and no problems. The only problem is the parking lot is a little too small for my liking. lol

Hope this helps!

Patrick

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Hi Patrick,

Ask em to make the parking lot BIGGER!!

Thanks for the info great stuff!!!!!!! This forum is proving to be so usfull. keep it coming fellow patients.

BTW how long is a flight from miami amc to my door step??????? just tracked my car and it's left US soil!!!!!!!!!

Larry

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Cappie there is no review of the cen ct4 on rcuniverse! [&:]

Ive seen the ct4s at the track they look like good cars.

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

neap38

Check out: http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=231 for the review....it sold me...;)


BUT....I solt mine out of discust....[:'(]

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Hi cappie,

Sorry to be the one to point this out........... that is a review of the cen TR4.
Like you say that is a review to make your mind up and a video to kill but never the less that is not what i am looking for info on.

Thanks for the input but it leads to a question.......were your comments about the ct4 or the tr4?

Larry

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Hey Larry, found this. Not sure if you have seen it already. Good review.

http://www.wildhobbies.com/news/defa...articleid=1184

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

OK, I bought the CT4S, the one they claim will go 73.4mph......the video sold me on CEN, it was a good review. My experience with CEN was, well....not good. see above.... The local hobby stores around here, and there are about 6 within a 10 square mile area, don't carry any CEN parts. They have also indicated they will not sell CEN unless special ordered.

Personally, I have decided to go with HPI. I have an R40 that is great!!!! I also have an RS4 EVO that is ok, it needs hop-ups to have any real performance. BUT....no problems, they simply work and well...I like that. Next I am going the direction of Mugen or Trinity....

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

What on- road nitro car do u think i should get? I will spend up to $400. I've been looking at the CT4S but after hearing some of these peoples stories I'm skeptical. So if anyone can help me out that will be great

-thanks

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Jman3d,

Do you have any RC vehicle experience? Off-Road? Are you plan on street/parking lot driving or racing? There are so many opinions in this hobby. You can't go wrong starting off with a good RTR knowing it will need hop-ups eventually. Trinity, NTC3, HPI, Mugen, Traxxas just depends were you want to start. 4wd vs two, nitro vs electric....jump in....check with several LHS to hear there opinions too.

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Cappie i have 2 T-Maxx's but ive never owned an on- road car. i want it to b a RTR but which 1 is the bes overall (preformance/Durability) that i can get for no more then 400??
thanks again

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Jman3d,

Disclaimer: This is just my opinion!!!! If you like Traxxas, look at the 4-tec nitro, I have a friend that has two, they are durable and easy to operate without all the beginer issues. With the 2.5 engine, they are fast. HPI makes the RS4 EVO, a little more money but durable. I know as I have bashed mine for a year now. The HPI Definetly needs hop-ups right away, better clutch, brakes, sway bars etc....Check out tower for prices....better yet, check out Ebay. Also, associated has the NTC3, a step up and it can make the leap to racing. Check out OFNA, Trininty as they have a good RTR, I don't have any experience with them.

In the end, just check out the 1/10th nitro forums, you'll find everyone has their own opinions. If you don't have a nice streets or parking lots close by, the on-road thing can get frustrating. The T-Maxx will spoil you.....as it will run just about anywhere.[8D]

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

thanks im looking on ebay nd there is a new factory sealed assosiated TC3 for $50!! I think im gonna get that. Thanks for ur help once agian

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Note the TC3 is electric. The NTC3 is Nitro.

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

no its nitro

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Heed Patrick's warning about the rocks, I took mine out today and got a rock lodged inside the main belt........shredded two belts and melted two pulleys.........definitely a good idea to tape off the bottom!!!
-Mike

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Sorry to hear about that. I have not had anymore problems since I have taped up the openings below the front and rear diff's. I have done this on all of my cars. Works great.

Patrick

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

don't listen to ur friends!!!!! i'm sure they will envy u once u get ur ct4s!!! i just got mine last week!!!it's really fasssst!!! make sure u brake iT in FIRST. i sugest 6 tanks of braking in period!don't forget to buy a TEMPERATURE GUN for you to monitor ur engine!once it hits the 2nd gear i'm pretty sure you can't handle it coz it's so fast!!!!u need a big open area to drive it!!!!!!! DON'T USE TRINITY GAS OK!!! I RECOMEND SIDEWINDER 20%

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

Not trying to knock any of the CEN owners, so with that said, a friend of mine owns a CEN CT4s and we went to play. While it appeared to be a solid car and just comparible to others, my nearly bone stock NTC3+ was tearing it apart on the track, and even when on a long strip of road, would leave the line much quicker and by the time the CEN looked like it was approaching top speed, we ran out of room. He had a Venom speed meter on it, and the top speed that we could achieve with it, even running a little too lean was only 58.7 mph, and the NTC3 was hanging with him the whole time at the top speed (achieved by letting him take off first then running him down, and speeds started to equal out then). Now the Car Action review states the NTC3 will only go 47 or 50 something out of the box, and the FT NTC3 does 57, I dunno maybe the venom wasnt calibrated right. Anyways I ordered the FT Gearing and have ported the egine slightly so we will see.

One thing that did happed, while it was a fairly hard crash, he broke his shock tower, bulkhead, and lower A-Arm. Also I think he destroyed a bearing. I launched the NTC3 in something that would make my T-Maxx jealous and only broke the front gear box housing, which all I had to do was run a longer screw, some CA and was able to run again.

Also even with his diffs covered he was still getting rocks stuck in the belt, and this was on a prepared race track.

Just my observations

Looks like a fun car and an easy car to begin with, but I think if you choose to progress beyond parking lot or street bashing, or choose to upgrade the car for racing, you will grow out of it.

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

get belt tensioners for the ct4s and dont forget to put rubber bands around the battery pack to keep the batteries in.

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

DONT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THE CEN, I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT HEADACHES WITH ONE, GO WITH A NTC3, MTX3 OR A G4.

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

i got a cen ct4s nothing has gone wrong so far and it has being throught 2 previous owners and they have had no trouble, cen's r fine its just the owners not knows how to drive and treat the cars right

RE: Cen Ct4s owners please
 

My post has been removed because I wasn't playing well with others..