hello, first off i havent owned any rcs aside from the small 1/64 zipzaps and the crap sold at kmart, lol. i have been doing a lot of research and i decided that i want to buy an rc car. im posting it here because i am leaning towards the nitro side of it. i know its more maintainance, but i can live with that, what i am really after is the S P E E D!!! i was originally thinking of getting a T maxx or S maxx and upgrading it a bit(2 spd and 4wd modules) but now im leaning toward on-road nitro touring cars. they seem to be very popular and competitive. plus i have a friend that has one(it just needs tuned up... quite a bit) so we could possibly race. i dont really have any money now, but since summer is coming around ill be mowing lawns and will look for a job someplace if anyone will hire a 14yr old. i want to TRY and keep EVERYTHING i have to buy (car itself, maybe radio, ESC, servos, etc) under $400. i will mostly be racing up and down my street when i first get it or driving around the newly paved walmart parkinglot. my street isnt really bumpy, but it has its rough spots... i have quite a few rc tracks around me so i was hoping to hop a car up to competition standards whenever i feel ready. here are the things i was looking at, im open to more suggestions if possible. what i dont mind building the car myself, id actually prefer that, but the assembly required kits tend to cost more after a decent radio and stuff...

Yokomo GT4 Nitro 4wd RTR

Team Associated NTC3 4wd RTR

CEN TR4 4wd RTR

i'll appreciate any input possible. the main things i want to know is a) how fast do they go, i know manufacturer's specs are off sometimes, b) what do i have to do to make the race-legal, and c) can it survive riding around on the street, i know it isnt usually "recommended" because of cars, but will small pebbles and stuff mess it up? thanks a bunch.


Tony

[COLOR=crimson]you've nerrowed it down pretty well. might I also suggest adding the nitro 4-tec to ur list. im leening tward the yokomo. I havent heard much negative comments about it. the yoke has championchip geomitry & desighn. on the other hand the traxxas has advanged features like electronic start. if i were to pick one right now i would pick the yokomo. I too am looking to make some money over the summer to buy a gas car. well... I hope this helped.


sincerly.
phatpat(my pen name)

i eliminated the 4tec due to a few complaints ive read about problems with handling. i wont worry about an electronic start, its just another thing that gobbles up batteries i know how to start a lawnmower, ill be fine with a decent pull start lol. electronic is nice, but i hate dealing with batteries. on the subject of batteries... can i use like 12 AA rechargable instead of plain ones? the reason i ask is because rechargables are only 1.2v and regular alkalines are 1.5v. that adds up do a total of 2.4v lost in the controller(considering it is 8 AA) and 1.2v lost in the reciever(if it is 4 AA). and the most important purchase i think i will make will be a failsafe because i dont wanna buy a $350 car and run it into the neighbors cat then watch it bash into a thousand pieces against a curb if it goes out of range

i would elemenate the CEN to be blunt well... there crap i would say the yoko or the TC3 i would go with the TC3 because of all the after market support it has and it also just won the IFMAR world championship but the Yoko is still a proven chassis i would still go with TC3 because its a pure mix of Racer/Basher

about how fast does it go out of the box when tuned properly? and what kind of upgrades can i get to give it more speed? could i fit a TRX 2.5 in it? i know those are some powerful engines so i dunno...

the yokomo i know goes 60 tuned properly without hop-ups. I'm not sure how fast the tc3 goes but I do know it has an advantage
because the shaft driven 4wd system. The yoke uses belts u have to keplace evry so often and they break a lot. I dont know weather u could fit a trx 2.5 in it but i do hear traxxas is selling them seperatly. soapsuds43 is right , cen cars are really crappy!
lol well..... I hope this helped

supposedly CEN cars have improved over the first road car they put out.

they tried to enter the market with a cheap beginner car and it gave them a bad rep off the bat.

I have not had expierience with the new CEN cars out there but there is a CEN rep on RCU. PM 'CEN Racing' and he can help answer questions about them.

I wish we can snag a rep for AE and Losi along with the other big ones, if they read the boards they arent letting it be known.

personally though I would go with the assosiated. I have owned several of there cars and havent been disapointed with any of them.

How much are you looking to spend?!!

You might want to look at .21 powered 1/8 scale onroads like the serpents. With a novarossi in it that thing can do 80 Mph easy!
Of course.. it'll cost ya! lol

Also take a look at the 1/8 scale buggies. they are fast and they do off-road. Very good combination!!

ram

Like Unstable said, our low cost begineer car SP1 give people the wrong impression about our product. But what they does not understand is that they are comparing a $200 begineer car to a $350 car.

For $320+ price tag, check out our lastest RTR.
http://www.cenracing.com/cars/ct4s/ct4s.html

For around $280 price tag
TR-4 is our intermidate model.

What? no HPI? I don't know about racing it but I'm gonna put the HPI RS4 3 SS up against the Associated NTC3 Team version in a week or two and I'll let everyone know what happened.There's parts everywhere for both and I think they are both about $270.I always wanted an RC-10 like 12 years ago and have always thought Associated was a great company, but I didn't want to have to buy an engine seperatly so I got the HPI.I would go with one of those two,both Shaft driven AWD.

who here dosnt like belt drive?

i wouldn't need to get an engine for the ntc3, they sell them ready to run. ive heard they are real quality parts, but they dont give a rat's ass about putting them together some people have had problems with loose things on their rtr cars. i dont mind because i was planning on taking apart the rtr anyways and putting it back together just so i can get familiar with the car and how it works. another thing i was thinking about was the thunder tiger cars. the TS4N. is it any good? the team associated ntc3 looks the most reliable with having such a good history. shaft driven 4wd, etc. plus there are loads of company aftermarket stuff. i want the bodies from the other companies, the team associated ones arent too great looking to me. i love the subaru wrx rally cars i think to start i will be happy with the ntc3. i think if i get really into it, i will start replacing things, first i will get a failsafe because i have heard too many stories about run-away rc cars, then upgrade to a fully synthesized switchable novak radio system with the airtonics 75mhz controller i think. then a 2 or 3 speed if there is one, new tires etc. jeez i need cash

I have the NTC3 RTR - it only comes with a single speed so I installed the 2 speed upgrade. Tech support claims with 2 spd upgrade it gets low to mid 50's. W/ single spd it gets low to mid 30's. I am playing with my gearing on mine. I order new pinion and spur gears for it and should be in next week. This is what I am doing.

For Nitro TC3 RTR from team associates the transmission ratio is 2.5 This is not in documentation. I called and asked tech support.

You want a higher # for final drive ratio for first gear to get more acceloration and more torque. You want a lower # for final drive ratio for second gear for more top end speed.

In general, installing a smaller pinion gear will give you better
acceleration while installing a larger pinion gear will improve your top
speed. The opposite can be said to be true when changing your spur gear. A
smaller spur gear will give you better top speed while a larger spur will
increase your acceleration. When making changes to your model's set-up, it
is best to make one change at a time, testing after each change and
recording your findings.

Stock 2 speed gears:
Spur divided by pinion = gear ratio X transmission ratio = final drive ratio
1st gear
50/22=2.27x2.5=5.68
2nd gear
54/26=2.07x2.5=5.19

Upgraded gearing (pinions only):
1st gear
50/20=2.5x2.5=6.25
2nd gear
54/27=2x2.5=5

Upgraded gearing (pinions & spurs):
1st gear
50/20=2.5x2.5=6.25
2nd gear
48/27=1.77x2.5=4.44

Attached is a pic of my NTC3 - This is not my racing body, just my pimping around my neighborhood body.

i know the basics of gearing and ratios(i play car racing sims ). lol. is there a 3 speed available for the ntc3? also, are you happy with it? any problems?

edit: and how good is the radio?

I love the car. It does what I want. It is not always about being the fastest though. I see some guys that beet the faster cars around the track with NTC3 single speed, because they can drive better. I see a lot of guys out at the track with nicest cars, handle well and fast. But they can not drive as good as some of the slower cars.

The radio - I have a JR XS3. So did not use the factory radio. I bought another receiver and put in my radio after the car was broken in.

I would say - if I had to do it all over again, I would still get the NTC3. It is an over all good car and easy to tune. Very durable as well.

There was one time that it went 50 yards with WOT and smacked into a curb. Cost $130 to fix. But if you are not breaking something, you are not driving right.

what would a decent reciever/transmitter cost? i like the idea of novak's fully synthesised(crystallless) transmitters and stuff. what do the crystals look like exactly? on my micros they have to be soldered in...

The XS3 is synthetic/crystaless.

It comes with radio, receiver, 2 servos. Retails for $239.99

I just keep buying new reveivers for each car I run. The radio has a 6 model memory. The receivers run aprox. $70 each.

I hear u flatliner. i want a nitro starter car as well & also need cash. I'm getting a summer job to earn up the dough. i have heard good things about the yokomo gt-4. The only bad thin about it is that it is belt drive . I dont know wether a 3-speed is available for the ntc3. I do know there is a 3 speed on some other cars though.

There is NOT a 3 speed for NTC3. I wish......

i think in the future(very far future) upgrades to an ntc3 will include the XR3 radio you mentioned, a better engine(depends on class i want to run, i think. i hear the sirio .12 CRV or something like that is really good), a failsafe most definitely, and maybe a few other goodies. i think i have decided on the ntc3. thanks for all the help guys! and also, are there any videos online that i can find of the ntc3 in action?

Fail safes are a must.

My friend just got the NTC3 team kit and it is very nice lookin,that blue drive shaft is sweet.I got the HPI and we're in the same spot as far as assembly goes...8 hours into it and we have rolling chassis'.The driveline on the TC3 looks better than mine but my steering linkage looks better and my wheels turn farther than his.Both very good cars so far,have fun with your choice and let us know when ya get it.

i just read something that made a big difference in my decision. i snagged an rc car magazine yesterday and was reading it earlier. in it was a sportmaxx review. it looks hella fun. i think after reading some of that i will get it instead. start with a sport and upgrade it to 2spd then 4wd if i want it. plus the MTs can go about anywhere, that means i will have a new method of getting weinerdog off the porch to take a p!ss and 40mph with the 2spd for a monster truck is pretty good right? i could probably get different gears also i think... maybe top out at 30 in first and 55 in 2nd.... mmm speed AND offroad eh, i could always run over all of you on road people

get a t-maxx then!!!!!!!

hmmm... the two trucks i love the most are the Tmaxx and the HPI Savage. i know the main points that are good in each, but one that that will help my decision is this: can you fit hpi savage wheels on the tmaxx? its something about the tmaxx as far as position on the chassis and wheels stuff that just doesnt look right. since the savage has a .21 big block engine in it, i could fit a larger, more powerful one in there right? like maybe a novarossi if the hpi one ever gets worn out (or if the little ******* inside of me saying "go faster" tempts me to ). if anyone that has BOTH, could you let me know what you like for
-overall bashing, like in the backyard, etc
-which performs better in sand
-on a track?
-better accelleration?
-i know top speed is the maxx, but by how much?

thanks in advance, and sorry for all the stupid questions