Buying Advice

[entroxx]

I got an RC Track near my house. I will go there of course. Usually, I will drive around in the city. In this case, I will need to buy 2 batteries. What do you think between this and this? I would get a 5000mAh though. I don't know if the engine would support it...I need to do my researches.

 

[DavidB1126]

The regular slash and the F150 raptor is basically the same car. Both on the slash and TRX 2wd platform. The only difference is that the F150 is an actual licenced body so it will be a bit more pricey than the normal Slash. (Other minor differences include different front bumper and died Black chassis instead of the regular Grey chassis, ect)

Hold on, the regular Slash you linked is the XL5 brushed combo which comes with a nimh pack. The F150 comes with the new BL2s which will be slightly more faster and maintenance free for the motor part. I don't think the F150 comes with a combo battery/charger.

 

[entroxx]

The regular slash and the F150 raptor is basically the same car. Both on the slash and TRX 2wd platform. The only difference is that the F150 is an actual licenced body so it will be a bit more pricey than the normal Slash. (Other minor differences include different front bumper and died Black chassis instead of the regular Grey chassis, ect)

Hold on, the regular Slash you linked is the XL5 brushed combo which comes with a nimh pack. The F150 comes with the new BL2s which will be slightly more faster and maintenance free for the motor part. I don't think the F150 comes with a combo battery/charger.

Yeah it doesn't. I need to buy the charger. Also, can I get a 5000mAh battery for it? Or, it will destroy the engine being too powerful.

 

[DavidB1126]

Yeah it doesn't. I need to buy the charger. Also, can I get a 5000mAh battery for it? Or, it will destroy the engine being too powerful.

If the 5000mah is a 2s (7.4v) lipo or a 8.4v 7 cell nimh, it can work. Like said, lipo would last more longer than Nimh, and have more power/punch, but you need to take extra safety when using a lipo.

 

[entroxx]

It can catch on fire right? So, the safest choice is the battery the car comes with?

 

[DavidB1126]

The Slash has been around forever

Meh. Since 2008 technically. Oh my I am the same age as the Slash!
The Slash made the Short Course platform and racing huge. And then it suddenly came to a stop. And then now it's rising a bit again, in the racing world. Classes have their ups and downs. Just like everything else.

. It can be converted from SCT to buggy to a functioning on-road and then back again with all the parts and support thats around for

The amount of times I converted my Slash and even rustler from Monster truck to street hoon-er to track/race car and maybe even a drag car next year. Yes. Tons of things you can do to these.

Since the Arrma 2wd platform is still new, don't think there is a lot of aftermarket parts right now. But out of the box, the fury or the Arrma 2wd platform would be more durable than the Traxxas 2wd platform. Well I take that back. With the new Traxxas HD parts going on the new kits, might be even performance and durability now. (Speaking from older Traxxas lol. Since back then they had some weaknesses but with the HD parts, it should be all fixed now)

 

[DavidB1126]

It can catch on fire right? So, the safest choice is the battery the car comes with?

Lipos can yes, but that only happens if you don't take care of them. If you take easy safety procedures and take care of them you are golden.

 

[Finesavageboy2]

I don’t know. One of my friends has an old Taxxas Slash RTR XL5 and his battery lasts about 1 hour and 30 minutes or something. It got a 5000mAh battery.

I don't think I've heard an rc car battery last for an hour and a half. By any chance could you find out what rc battery he is using or a picture of said battery would be appreciated.

 

[nino]

Please watch some YT videos and spend some time on the forums before you buy. There is a lot to learn.

Traxxas is king when it comes to spare parts. Any RC shop will have them.

A battery lasting 1.5 hours? Maybe if the car is stopped more than driving. Anyway, get 2 batteries and problem solved. 5000 is the capacity, so it will last longer but won't be more powerful than a 3000. Lipos are safe if you know what you're doing (and you will learn). They are much, much, much better than NiMH. I got my first RTR with a NiMH and it was terrible.

Can you solder? I suggest buying a separate charger (50 EUR+) and batteries (20-30 eur for a 5000-6000 2s) and putting your own connectors (XT90 for example) on your car.

Is there a used market? RC stuff is usually about 50% cheaper used, in decent condition.

Here's a list of EU shops (mainly Germany, Austria) that I use, with shipping to Croatia but should be similar for Romania. Monsterhopups usually has the best prices (but check them all before you buy!).
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1c6xivRjcZNfxz8uoWudIHd3l7smkzh2qO9RIZofJvBg/edit?usp=sharing

You will also need some tools etc...

 

[nino]

And here's a suggestion if you want to keep it simple:
https://www.monsterhopups.de/Traxxa...-Truck-RTR-Clippless-Traxxas-2S-Combo-3000mAh
this and an extra battery.

 

[CertifiedMike]

@entroxx I know its fun to shop but before you buy a battery, you need to figure out which truck you will buy, then, which batteries fit THAT truck.
Shop while trying to educate yourself right now.
Ask us whatever...
READ THIS... https://www.rctalk.com/forum/threads/with-an-800-budget-what-would-you-get.143480/
Its a HUGE (still active) thread.
This guy started with questions and now owns 4 trucks!!! Its got a LOT of "noob" q & a in it. GOOD INFO!!!
If you need 1.5 hours of run time. Plan on prob 3 larger battery packs and prob a fair amount of cool down time between packs.
These are still electro/mechanical machines. They develop heat that DOES damage them.
1.5 hour runs at a time is a lot to ask of an R/C imo.
Finding a 1.5 hour r/c on a budget???
I'm gonna grab some popcorn and sit and watch!
I'm not doubting it can be done but I think its going to take some luck and VERY savy ahopping!

 

[WickedFog]

I haven't read the whole thread, but to clarify a couple things I did read:

mAh is the battery capacity. Think of it like your fuel tank in your car. The bigger it is, the farther your car can go on a tank of gas. But it needs to fit in the car. Typically, the more mAh a battery has, the bigger the battery will be.

Voltage (1s, 2s, 3s, etc) is like the fuel octane. The higher it is, the faster your car will go. 'S' represents the number of LiPo cells the battery has. A single normal LiPo cell has a nominal voltage of 3.7V. When charged it will have 4.2V. So a 2S battery has 2 LiPo cells in it and has a nominal voltage of 7.4V (2 x 3.7V), and a charged voltage of 8.4V (2 x 4.2V). A 3S will have 3 cells and have a nominal voltage of 11.1V (3 x 3.7) and a charged voltage of 16.8V (3 x 4.2V).

When first getting into RC, it will be pretty expensive no matter what you buy because you will also need a charger. And buying a cheap charger is not only a bit risky, but you're just throwing your money away when later on you realize you need a better charger. You can buy LiPo chargers for less than $100, but there isn't a single one out there I would recommend because they are all the same cheap crap. The only entry level charger I would recommend is the Hota D6 Pro, which runs around $120 or so.

But even before that, as recommended, you need to educate yourself on LiPo charging, care, and safety. LiPo's are completely safe, but if not cared for and charged properly, they can be very, very dangerous. You could stick with brushed motor RC's and just stick to NiMh batteries, but NiMh batteries aren't that good compared to LiPo batteries as far as run time and performance are concerned.

The two trucks you listed: one has a brushed motor /ESC (electronic speed control) in it, and will do fine on NiMh battery packs. The Raptor is brushless, and will have to be ran on a LiPo battery, because brushless motors will draw a lot more amperage from the battery, and a NiMh battery cannot deliver that amount of amperage.

You did the right thing by joining here and asking questions before jumping into this great hobby. Keep asking questions. The more you learn before you buy, the better your entry into the RC hobby will be

 

[entroxx]

I would buy this. Is it okay? Do I need a charger too? I saw this thing:

S100 1x100W USB-C Smart Charger​

Is it mandatory to buy? I will still need a charging brick.

Also, this battery (driving on asphalt at a constant speed) should get me to almost 1 hour right?

 

[Doom!]

The only RC I've ever seen that can go for an hour is a rock crawler. Typically you would have to run one battery, then change it out with a fresh one to get that much time.

 

[entroxx]

So...do I still need to buy that smart charger or should I only get an USB-C Cable and a Brick?

 

[Finesavageboy2]

if you get this, also get the smart charger because they are sold separately from the battery

 

[entroxx]

Will the smart charger help me with anything? Can't I just go with a normal brick and cable or does the battery have a special cable that needs an adaptor?

 

[WickedFog]

I would suggest you stay clear of the smart LiPo batteries, and learn how to care for LiPo's properly, yourself. The smart batteries and chargers are pretty crappy. But to each their own.

 

[entroxx]

Ohh...that's a smart battery. So there is a normal one too..

 

[Finesavageboy2]

I would get these. you can get two 3s batteries for less than one of those smart batteries and I have this charger and its pretty good
- 3s batteries
- Charger