VoodooRufus
RC Newbie
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 34
- Points
- 18
Hi!
I built an HPI RS4 MT back in the late 90's as a teenager. I still have it, and it still runs. Specs below:
Chassis: RS4MT with carbon top brace - was innovative for it's time, but fragile. Likes to shred belts from debris off road, and if you look at it funny it will break something in the suspension. Spare parts are getting difficult to acquire, but I stocked up on belts a few years ago. Added front universal joints which helped the steering axles quite a bit.
Motor: Started with a 19T Trinity mod motor, now has a Traxxas Titan 12T 550.
ESC: Mtroniks Pro-digi forward only ESC. No motor limit. - Wish it had reverse. That was a mistake in hindsight.
Radio: Futaba AM 2PCKA. S3003 servo - servo is very weak with the stadium truck front tires to turn.
Battery: 3000mAH NiMH. - Lots of run time on the motors I have.
I know my car classifies as vintage/retro now for quite a while, and with its overall fragility it's never been a great off road fun truck. I'd like to tinker in this hobby again to scratch the itch, and I'm trying to decide whether I should improve some of the shortcomings on my current car (new radio, beefier servo, reversible ESC, maybe a light brushless 3200-4000kv setup), or keep it as is and try a more modern machine.
I've educated myself on modern electronics, and it's pretty obvious that propulsion has changed hugely, and cars are more robust and faster than mine is. Brushless, LiPos, and 2.4GHz radios with no stupid crystals sounds really nice.
If I do try a new machine, it would mainly before road/grass/dirt fun running. There's three tracks in my town if I wanted to try that. I was thinking along the lines 1/10th or 1/8th scale 4wd buggies or truggies, maybe a 1/8th rally car. Buggies have always had that cool factor look and lighter, and the trucks seem a little more capable when the grass gets thicker.
I started looking around and some things caught my eye:
HPI Bullet ST Flux - modern beefier version of my truck, but HPI has fallen out of favor it seems?
Kyosho Optima Mid 60th anniversary - gorgeous re-release buggy with a lot of cool factor. Looks like people build them for so-called shelf queens, but still looks like a lot of fun to drive. And cool to display when not running. I would definitely enjoy building it up. That's a significant part of the enjoyment to me.
Arrma Typhon 1/8th - Looks like a serious machine with some bash factor.
Well, there it is. Look forward to reading the replies and getting more learned up.
I built an HPI RS4 MT back in the late 90's as a teenager. I still have it, and it still runs. Specs below:
Chassis: RS4MT with carbon top brace - was innovative for it's time, but fragile. Likes to shred belts from debris off road, and if you look at it funny it will break something in the suspension. Spare parts are getting difficult to acquire, but I stocked up on belts a few years ago. Added front universal joints which helped the steering axles quite a bit.
Motor: Started with a 19T Trinity mod motor, now has a Traxxas Titan 12T 550.
ESC: Mtroniks Pro-digi forward only ESC. No motor limit. - Wish it had reverse. That was a mistake in hindsight.
Radio: Futaba AM 2PCKA. S3003 servo - servo is very weak with the stadium truck front tires to turn.
Battery: 3000mAH NiMH. - Lots of run time on the motors I have.
I know my car classifies as vintage/retro now for quite a while, and with its overall fragility it's never been a great off road fun truck. I'd like to tinker in this hobby again to scratch the itch, and I'm trying to decide whether I should improve some of the shortcomings on my current car (new radio, beefier servo, reversible ESC, maybe a light brushless 3200-4000kv setup), or keep it as is and try a more modern machine.
I've educated myself on modern electronics, and it's pretty obvious that propulsion has changed hugely, and cars are more robust and faster than mine is. Brushless, LiPos, and 2.4GHz radios with no stupid crystals sounds really nice.
If I do try a new machine, it would mainly before road/grass/dirt fun running. There's three tracks in my town if I wanted to try that. I was thinking along the lines 1/10th or 1/8th scale 4wd buggies or truggies, maybe a 1/8th rally car. Buggies have always had that cool factor look and lighter, and the trucks seem a little more capable when the grass gets thicker.
I started looking around and some things caught my eye:
HPI Bullet ST Flux - modern beefier version of my truck, but HPI has fallen out of favor it seems?
Kyosho Optima Mid 60th anniversary - gorgeous re-release buggy with a lot of cool factor. Looks like people build them for so-called shelf queens, but still looks like a lot of fun to drive. And cool to display when not running. I would definitely enjoy building it up. That's a significant part of the enjoyment to me.
Arrma Typhon 1/8th - Looks like a serious machine with some bash factor.
Well, there it is. Look forward to reading the replies and getting more learned up.
The 6s Arrma Typhon is a great rig. With a quick tire change it is a great parking lot basher.
