New guy trying to learn

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Gundragon

RCTalk Qualifier
Messages
141
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Location
Holton
RC Driving Style
  1. Racing
Ok, here it goes. I am looking to see if anyone can tell me what would be the best for a beginner to start with on a TRUE RC. It can be electrical or gas powered, not erally picky. I am wanting to learn how to maintain one, what tools would I need and anything else I can be told I should purchase to start my downward fall into this addictive process. Any information is helpful!
 
It really depends, on what terain you will be running on, what you want to do with it etc. Explain your situation a little more such as your budget and we will help you out.
 
I do not have much of a budget, maybe at the most $50-$200. (Depends on the wife on that one.) I have a huge ball diamond across the street and have other grassy/dirt areas I can run it on as well. But do not know where the tracks are in the Kansas area (if there is any that is) Probably run mostly on street in front of my house or in the park in Topeka.
 
Being you're going to be running this down the sidewalk, street, maybe in the house, light dirt terrain. I'd recommend something like the Team Losi Mini-LST2 a simple 4WD truck that comes with everything needed in the box. It's small enough to run in the house, simple to work on, and should be plenty powerful enough to run on the baseball field.

Or even a Losi Mini-T - same reasons as above just a little cheaper. Plus if you find a LHS near you that has a track, most places race mini's!



-Michael
 
I do not have much of a budget, maybe at the most $50-$200. (Depends on the wife on that one.) I have a huge ball diamond across the street and have other grassy/dirt areas I can run it on as well. But do not know where the tracks are in the Kansas area (if there is any that is) Probably run mostly on street in front of my house or in the park in Topeka.

Associated GT2 is the rig I have and it's pretty versatile. I have 2 setups that I run, 1 for the street/tarmac and then a setup for dirt/race. The parts are cheap and easy to get and as for changing your setup, I can switch over in about 15-20 mins. It's only a 2WD rig though so you need to get used to how it handles. As for the cost, mine was about $300 but that was with a few extra things. The RTR will cost about $250, fuel about $27, a extra plug $5 plus however much for 12 AA batteries. IMO it's a great beginner/mid level rig and has plenty of upgrades for when you want to do hop it up and get the most out of it. Hope this helped a bit, let us know what you decide on.
 
Or if you want to start out nitro, I would say a rustler. I started out with a tmaxx just this year and it only took about a month to know what I was doing, but I still have problems. I believe a rustler is a good entry level nitro. So i guess its up to you, would you like a nitro or electric?
 
Or if you want to start out nitro, I would say a rustler. I started out with a tmaxx just this year and it only took about a month to know what I was doing, but I still have problems. I believe a rustler is a good entry level nitro. So i guess its up to you, would you like a nitro or electric?

Good question Flandersander. I think to start I may want to try electric for now. Always open to suggestions though. Is it better to run Nitro or electric? I would assume since it is called Nitro they run faster than Electric. Just don’t know if it would be something I could easily get my hands on or not. I mean (like I said I am really new to this.) the nitro you are talking about is NOS right

Being you're going to be running this down the sidewalk, street, maybe in the house, light dirt terrain. I'd recommend something like the Team Losi Mini-LST2 a simple 4WD truck that comes with everything needed in the box. It's small enough to run in the house, simple to work on, and should be plenty powerful enough to run on the baseball field.

Or even a Losi Mini-T - same reasons as above just a little cheaper. Plus if you find a LHS near you that has a track, most places race mini's!



-Michael

Thank's for this one. I like what I see on it. I will put it to the wife to see if either of these I could get away with. Thanks again!

Associated GT2 is the rig I have and it's pretty versatile. I have 2 setups that I run, 1 for the street/tarmac and then a setup for dirt/race. The parts are cheap and easy to get and as for changing your setup, I can switch over in about 15-20 mins. It's only a 2WD rig though so you need to get used to how it handles. As for the cost, mine was about $300 but that was with a few extra things. The RTR will cost about $250, fuel about $27, a extra plug $5 plus however much for 12 AA batteries. IMO it's a great beginner/mid level rig and has plenty of upgrades for when you want to do hop it up and get the most out of it. Hope this helped a bit, let us know what you decide on.

Thank you for this one too Griemar! I will check this one out too!
 
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Good question Flandersander. I think to start I may want to try electric for now. Always open to suggetions though. Is it better to run Nitro or electric? I would assume since it is called Nitro they run faster then Electric. Just dont know if it would be something I could easily get my hands on or not. I mean (like I said I am really new to this.) the nitro you are talking about is NOS right?

Nitro has a bit more involved than electric in the sense of fuels, tuning and IMO more cleanup. As for Elec being slower than nitro, not the case at all. With the new brushless motors for elec, some of the elec cars are just as fast if not faster. Nitro cars run on a mixture of nitro methane, methyl alcohol and oil. Think of it more as a hybrid fuel much like what a funny car would run, but not quite as potent :)
 
with the electric car tech these days i lipo brushless setup can smoke almost any nitro but your going to pay a pretty penny for brushless and such.

I'm a big nitro fan i bought a duratrax raze about 2 years back and its really easy to grasp just make sure you dont buy something like a jato or such that is just to much to handle if you dont know what you are doing nitro runs a little bit more in the long run but you get more run time as with electrics you need bigger batteries and fancy chargers to keep any amount of run time

hope this helps,
nathan
 
No bud, nitro is not nos. it is alcohol and nitromethane mixed. They are compression engines and are not unlike diesel engines. Highreving though. They are very sensative to air fuel mixture. They are a ton of fun but are finiccky to get to work superb. I like nitro but have not tried elec. YET!
 
Hey Man, I highly reccomend electric if you're looking for something to take out and drive. Most people who are into nitro are like me, and we enjoy working on and building our RC's a lot more than driving them. If you're wanting one to drive with lil maintenance, you should consider the electric stuff. I HIGHLY reccomend the slash, and I think it would be perfect for you. Also, when you want to upgrade to more power, contrary to popular belief, brushless is not always expensive, and you could throw a new sidewinder in for around $100.

The Slash is IMO one of the best values available in RC right now, besides the axial, which we will get to in a minute.
http://www.ultimatehobbies.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=TRA5805!1008
http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/5805/trx_5805.htm

Also, I think you should look hard at rock crawling. You could get an Axial AX-10 RTR on your budget, and have A LOT of fun with it, and upgrade it a lil at a time. I didn't think I would like rock crawling, and now it's all I do. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! It's so challenging, yet so relaxing.
 
The Slash is IMO one of the best values available in RC right now, besides the axial, which we will get to in a minute.
http://www.ultimatehobbies.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=TRA5805!1008
http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/5805/trx_5805.htm

+1 to charlie on that slash. If your thinking of going elec then the new slash is a VERY impressive rig. Beautiful design, easy to maintain and beefy right out of the box. I just put one on order for my lady the other day and even though i'm a nitro guy, I can't wait to play with it! That is if she lets me, lol.
 
With electric you can work on them with out needing a well venalated area, and you can run it around in the house, if the wife don't get mad at ya, LOL!!! and they are just generally more user friendly, I have both but started with electric and had I not built up some experiance with electric first I may not have stuck with it for the past 25+ years, don't get me wrong nitro is fun but I would not recomend it for your 1st or even maybe 2nd car, wait tell you have a little experiance both working on and driving rc's then get a nitro...
 
Nitro

Hi mate I started out in nitro RC with a Schumacher Rascal 1/16 rc truck. It would be best to get a larger scale if buying nitro like a 1/10 or 1/8 though it would be harder to store it is much easier to work on and clean. You should also get a statum truck, truggy or buggy of some kind as these are great for running on-road but also capable of grass and dirt tracks. Don't only pay attention to the top speed of a nitro rc as the hadeling and brakes are just as important if not more. Also ensure you don't buy a grey import (made in japan then imported with no real brand) as these are near impossible to find parts for, buy from a well known brand e.g. HPI, Traxxas, Schumacher etc. Before buying any RC ensure that you can get any assistance and parts from a LHS. Sorry for the long post but I hope this information is useful. :yes:
 
Thank you everyone!! I am really getting some great feedback! I keep seeing everyone talk about working on cars/trucks. So this brings me to the next question. Tool...What should I look for in tools to start myself out? Is there special tools that I really need or should I get the generic tools out of my tool box? Is there one tool that I might need more then any other?
On a side note I have an idea of the car/truck I want to start out with. I will probably do a electric mini or just as Charlie suggested a slash(seems the concensious to run electric as the first one then progress up from there)(thanks again Charlie for sending that link to me also!) So, now I have an idea, what about the tools? Oils? Do I even need oils for parts? Like I said before I am a fresh book just starting to write his first page. So any suggestions there would be great too.
 
youll just need basic hand tools hex keys and screwdrivers and always a good set of pliers basic stuff nothing special.
 
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