Opinions wanted for racing truck

[alien]

Hello. I have a Tmaxx I have been toying around with and having a blast. I have decided I would like to try my hand at racing this summer and need some input on a 2wd stadium truck. I dont want to spend a TON of money on one and dont need the best of the best. I do want to be fairly competitive and there are several classes at the track where I will be racing. It seems to be pretty hard packed "blue" dirt most of the time. Lots of corners and 2 to 4 foot high jumps or so. Here is a link to the track if you want to check it out for yourself http://www.real-rc.com/.
I'm looking at a traxxas nitro Sport, A Traxxas nitro rustler, and a RC 10 GT2 at the moment as the three choices. I like the Traxxas models for thier suport and after market ability as well as The only two hobby shops within 100 miles seem to specialize in them. The shops do have a few RC10 gt parts as well but not nearly as many and I will be ordering parts and waiting alot if I go that route. I hear lots of good things about the rc10gt2 though and thats why I am insterested in it as well. Any other suggestions would be great as well. I'm probably going to pick up a used version of whatever I go with and pimp it out for racing from there, no sense buying a new truck and riping half the parts off it to replace them with racing versions imo. Any other trucks I should look at that I could pick up used for under 250? that would make a good beginer racer?

I plan on spending a few hundred also to get it race ready, and I work at a metal shop with acess to cnc mills, piunches ect so I can make my own chassis, shock towers ect, if need be so keep that in mind as well.

 

[swarmjt]

i race a ruster.. fun and easy to fix if u crash hard..

 

[rckid91]

rc10gts are nice

 

[ImBroken]

The Losi XXXNT can hold its own also... One issue with the Losi, is the battery box. There are a few aftermarket companies that make the Al. brace for it... Otherwise, it's an animal...

 

[markallen]

I vote for the RC10GT2.

 

[alien]

Thanks for the help everyone. I managed to find a RC10 GT2 for 100$ used. Now time for the hop ups!!!

 

[markallen]

If you lucked up and got the FT version it will not need any hopups.

 

[alien]

Na it was the RTR version but it was only 125$ and its all in good shape and even has a brand new piston and sleeve, so I can deff afford to get some Ft parts now. What FT stuff is recomended for a first time racer?

 

[psunitro]

Good deal.
This may sound basic but.....
There are a lot of things you can do to it, 1st is cover the basics for racing. Have different tires for the track. That will be the BEST investment you can make. Then maybe remove the pull start and get a starter box. I think you will need a different mount for it. Personally I would want to make the truck bulletproof 1st.You can't win a race if you can't finish! RMP arms and such would be good.

 

[savagefan04]

i agree with psu...u need to finish in order to win but first u need to make sure you maintain control of the nitro truck. get yourself a good failsafe so if u lose radio connection it doesn't run off on you. aside that definitely go with RPM since they offer a breakage guarentee. depending on your funds get some spare tires and maybe better servos.

 

[Monzaman78]

I have good luck with an old RC10GT

 

[alien]

I have been watching ebay and scooping up bargains left and right to fill my RCgt2 garage with. I managed to pick up 7 sets of tires now in step pins and bow tie type treads to try out to find my favorite from soft to med densities and havent paid over 5$ per set with shipping in factory packages. You would be amazed the deals you can get on ebay if you search often. I also picked up a novarosi .12 motor and new piston and sleeve for it for 65$ for all of it. I got a brand new in box associated starter box for 60$ shipped a few days ago also. Now I just want to replace the RTR radio. I'm looking at the 3 channel Spektrum radio so I can use it with my Tmaxx and sportwerks chaos as well. anyone have anything good or bad to say about the spectrum radios?

 

[psunitro]

Sounds like you are doing this right.
Ask around at the track to see what the fast guys are running for tires.
No problems w/ the Spec brand. I dont know about using it w/ the Chaos. You need a micro rx right? Will a standard one fit? The older radio is in a JR XR2i case, and can only have 3-4 profiles saved on it. You may want to have more than that for racing. But thats up to you. BUT the prices of these radios have come WAY down, so keep looking, you will find a deal.
A good high capacity RX hump pack should be high on your list as well, it is necessary if you run long mains.
The failsafe is a MUST as was said. Venom is the one I go with.
A personal transponder will pay for itself over time if you race a lot and your track charger for a house transponder.

This post is interesting b/c I will be racing a GT whenever I race this year, since I wont get out much.

OH and........
a orginized tool box! A good set of tools is REALLY nice to have.Along with some spares of what breaks....What those are? I'm not sure, I would say a arms if you dont use RPM.

A good hauler bag is nice to have as well. Along with a good pit mat...towles are nice, but the Ultimate Mat is nice.....spare bearings....assortment of shock oils......

 

[alien]

Yeah I plan to pickup some rpm arms soon. I already bought a spare set of stock arms for front and back last time I went up north to hobby town, they were out of the rpms when I was there =(

As far as the hump pack goes I have been using energizer 2700mah rechargable AA's for my receivers. Is there a benefit to using a hump pack over these batteries? They seem to have a good output and I havent had them go dead on me yet and have run them all day a few times for 10 or so tanks.

I'm a tool-a-holic so I have that covered already! I have a nice tackle box that was just too big and sat in my boat full of my excess lures I have emptied. It has room for my transmitter in top as well as a charger and plenty of room for some other stuff and it holds three 10x14 divider trays, you know the kind with the top and the customizable dividers, its working great for organizing my parts and tools. I have lots of extra trays so I have a set for each of my cars i can put in or take out depending on what car i'm running for the day.

 

[psunitro]

The AA's are ok, but are 1.2v per cell. So that equals 4.8v, a hump pack is 6V. These will last longer per charge, and servos will perform better on 6V. You may not notice as much on a 1/10 ST, but you will on a MT or 1.8 buggy.

For example....
Fasteddy has a Hitec 5645 on sale, the specs read....

SPECS: Speed: 0.23 sec/60 degrees at 4.8V
Speed: 0.18 sec/60 degrees at 6.0V
Torque: 143.03 oz-in at 4.8V
Torque: 164.2 oz-in at 6V

See how it is rated for 4.8 and 6v?

 

[alien]

Yeah I also read somewhere that AA rechargeables (good ones) like the 2700mah ones will actually put out more aperage for a longer time than the hump packs do therefore overiding the less voltage, I dont know just something I remember reading, wish I could remember exactly why they said they prefered them over hump packs, also I think its slightly less weight. Ill just have to try it, I have a hump pack for my tmaxx Ill see if I can notice a difference when the weather breaks using it in my rc10 vs the AA's

 

[psunitro]

After looking at some, the one Spectrum has only a 2 model memory.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

I run spectrum. Love it. It has 4 model memory, so i run it with my t-maxx 3.3, Losi Aftershock, Duratrax Evador, and mini-t. Never had a problem, and can run anywhere without having to worry about crossing channel's. Spectrum also has a deal going if you buy a radio and reciever, you get a free reciever for another model, if you buy a radio and 2 recievers, you get 2 free.