Anyone into RC stuff?
 

My buddy asked me to come out with him last week to the local indoor RC track and it was a lot of fun! He races Stock class and modified 1/10 scale short course trucks. The track is an indoor dirt setup.

I'm really thinking about getting into it too. It really is a lot of fun and not too expensive. The most expensive part of it is really just starting out getting the truck, batteries, charger and the other little stuff.

So, anyone mess around with any RC stuff?

Hell yes, I've been flying full scale rc planes since I was like 10. I started getting into rc cars 5 or so years ago and bought a 1/10 scale stadium truck. It was about $300 for the whole setup and ready to run, even then you have to buy batteries, and nitro fuel if you are wanting to race those.

You're right, it's not too expensive to get started but it does add up quick once you really start getting into it. I recommend you search on eBay and buy a ready to race car or truck used and have everything you need.

i want one but dang my stang is already my hobbie and it cost alot, lol

I'm planning on getting a Traxxas with the new 2.4 radio setup with 5200 lipo batteries. Since it's indoors they don't run nitro trucks, plus the electrics especially running brushless are already insanely fast.

Everything combined with the truck, batteries, lipo charger and balancer its going to be about $350-375-ish..

I made the mistake of calling a r/c helo a 'toy' and the dude got pissed at me and said it's not a toy it's a hobby. then I told him I flew actual helicopters..shut him up real quick lol. I still want one..they look super fun. the price for these things blows me away though..200+ dollars? wtf

i have two. i have a cen Genisis and a HPI firestorm. Love them both all though my Cen is under repairs at the moment. Nitro on both.

My friend has a Savage and that thing is just wicked. He also just got a Heli but has not played with it yet he still has to charge the battery.

I think the thing i like most is you can upgrade the RC cars as well and it really is not to expensive to upgrade. i have new tires and rims for my Firestorm and will upgrade the suspension next.

The gentleman that lives across the street from me has a helicopter. I have'nt seen him fly it yet but it looks cool as shit. Hes in his late 60's and he said he learned to fly it with software on his computer. High tech toys.

When the monster trucks come to town the local club brings thier stuff out play during rounds and intermission. Those things jump and haul ass!

Welp, I broke down and got one.. lol I'm not a very patient person. :cool:

1/10 Scale Traxxas Slash Short course truck!

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Ive got an MP7.5 Kanai editionII 1/8 scale nitro buggy

Savage SS 1/8 scale monster truck with the 4.6 'big block' in it

lastly a brushless 1/18 scale RC18T

Its a pretty expensive hobby... I have well over a grand in the buggy, another 800 in the monster truck and about 500 for the little 18th scale..

Its fun as hell though. I dont race, I just play with them now and then. tear up a snoozeball field or something.

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Nitro has become obsolete with Lipo/Brushless setups.

I'm not a big Traxxas fan at all. Associated, Losi, and HPI are all I've ever cared for.

Been into RC cars for years, every aspect. Rebuilding the motors, painting the bodies, setting up the cars, shit gets serious real fast. Be prepared to spend a shit ton of money on a-arms and shocks when you go to the track. Those small "bumps" destroy cars real quick. Especially when you start running brushless.

I'm going to start out running stock class SCT. After a while I'll probably end up upgrading to a new remote/servo setup + brushless and then run mod class.

I raced slot cars for several years and they were a ton of fun, this is just the next logical step. I looked into the Associated stuff, but they have a lot more complaints of breakage than any of the Traxxas lineup and pretty much everyone agrees that the Traxxas is a much more durable platform even if it isn't the "fastest." Traxxas parts are also more readily availble at local hobby shops and IMHO the best RC to start out with. Our local track is also a lot more about low-end torque and is quite a bit more technical than just about any track setup that I've seen online so I'm really not worried about the truck being fast because form what I've seen the consistancy really is what pays off in the end.

Truthfully I'm getting into it more to design the bodies and have a little bit of fun. Had a lot of success with the slot cars back in the day, but I always enjoyed creating new paint schemes and what-not more than anything else.

My Brother in law is into the RC planes. He has about 5 or 6. Some of them are vintage wood, and some are expensive carbon fiber stuff. They meet in a big field a few times a year and try not to make Lawn darts out them.. Here's a vid of supposedly the biggest RC plane yet.. Good stuff. Looks like fun..:smokin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmKdA6L_MWk

that plane is ridiculous.

Nitro is by no means obsolete. Brushless motors and Li-po batteries are just new in the RC world to an extent.

^ Agreed! i like nitro. but to be honest i havent tried brushless yet. the only two cars i have are nitro.

^^ Agreed x2

That's a pretty sweet setup you've got Evan. Be prepared to stock up on extra parts because shit breaks fast when you're racing them.

Okay, well you stick to your glo-plugs and mixing fuel while I stick to my little charger and then drive it like no tomorrow.

Nitro is obsolete. It can't be used indoors unless there is some serious ventilation, you have to rebuild the motors (with brushless they can go virtually forever), I can flip my car over without it flooding and locking up, and I don't have to buy stock in fuel over and over again. My one battery can last forever as long as it is charged properly.

Not trying to be a dick, but I've gone from brush-electric to nitro and then back to brushless, and I will never go back to nitro or brush motors.


WN, I'm pretty sure your local track is the track we use to go to when we lived in Tennessee. I can't remember the name of it, but I know it was as technical as could be. Does the place have an indoor dirt and a carpet track?

Anyways, I have a TON of stuff left over from our RC days and since dad passed away I've kind of lost my interest in it. So just let me know if you're wanting anything and I'll see what I can find. We literally have three craftsman portable tool chests full of radios, servos, batteries, chargers, etc.

EDIT: Thunder Raceway is where we use to go.

Just ordered two 5200 Lipos (They'll run for 25-30 min each) a charger and battery balancer. Gonna take the truck over to my buddies house tonight and get the shocks set up and also get it ready to accept the lipos.

I prefer Nitro because of the sound/smell...realism of an internal combustion engine.

Its pretty narrow minded to say nitro RC is obsolete just because you prefer electric.

The Slash looks sweet Evan. How fast is it suppose to get up too?


I personally like nitro cause of the sound and i also like fine tuning the engine and trying to get everylittle bit out of it i can. Here in New mexico we have a few out door tracks so its really not a big deal

My friend is building a brushless rock crawler and it is coming along good so far. He has made everythign himself so far. he is done with the steering and he finally got all the electronics except the two brushless motors he is going to run.

Its not narrow-minded and its not because I prefer it. All of the things I stated are facts, not opinions. Brushless has come a long way.

Yes the fact of having a miniature combustion motor to work on and build is sweet as hell, but the fumes and fuel and the fact that they are so finicky is what makes brushless an easier option.

I still have my Nitro buggy, but I hate having to buy fuel over and over again for it versus just charging a battery. And it does't help that my Associated brushless buggy will outrun it all day long.

This plane here is just plain Badass, Holy Shit.. :eek:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUyR0eezwns

wow. that is incredible. seriously though, at that point, why not just get your pilots license lol? I promise it's more fun

I'd be the one standing on the ground and watching, LoL...:p

I have a traxxas sportmaxx 2.5 nitro truck, and i have a traxxas E-maxx with two electric motors. I havent fooled with em in awhile tho.

Finished my new body tonight! It's a proline Raptor.

It's not perfect, but I'm pretty damn proud of it for being the first one I've ever done!

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thats damn good Evan. I just paint 'em all one color with maybe a stripe or two. How'd u do the flames?

I used to be into r/c back in the day and i'm thinking about getting back into it. I had a hpi nitro rs4 2 and rs4 3, 1.5 tmaxx w/3.3 swap, and a associated tc3 fully hopped up. I also bought a jr racing xs3 the day it was released back in the day. I sold it all off a few years ago all i have left is the jr radio a uber old 9 turn double speed gem motor and novac speed controller. When i was into eletric brushless was the tech of the future. I'm thinking about getting back into it and getting eletric stadium truck.

Thanks bro. I used one of the xxx-main vinyl stencil kits and as much patience at I could muster.. lol It was a bit of a process, but I painted the white first, then the black then pulled the center stencil and painted the fluorescent orange then back-masked it with white to make the orange pop. The top stripe is just a piece of fluorescent vinyl that I cut out and shaped to be a windshield strip.

On a side note I ran my first race Saturday and managed to make the A-Main with all of the guys who had been there for years. Ran pretty well until one of the idiot track mashals left my truck upside down for almost a full lap... :mad: Still managed to finish 5th and was running average lap times good enough for 3rd overall. I'm pretty damn pumped about that. Just finished building a full set of aluminum big bore shocks with lighter springs in the rear and slightly lighter in the front. Upgraded the front carriers as well and also upgraded the steering bushings to bearings for smoother steering. Should be a whole new animal for next week! :cool:

I do planes... when I was a kid I'd build the really hard ones that you had to build the wings from balsa rib by rib but now I'm lazy and just use 40 dollar styrofoam planes. I never finish them though... no sense putting servos and batteries in them if the first person I let fly it is just gunna lawn dart it anyway. I used to have some really nice planes, a-10's with ducted fan engines and bi-planes and even a glider that I set up to take small rocket engines to get up in the air. I got in to mini rotary engines for a while too but those were expensive. Now I just play with off the shelf 12v electric motors.