What should I do?

[WickedFog]

You guys all make really good points! I actually have been upgrading my cart as I see something els I would want, you guys have talked me into the tekno, but now I’m really leaning away from hobbywing, I know tekno has the best out there I just can’t see myself paying for for the esc/motor combo then I do the car lol. I live in Indiana so a lot of my parts come from Hobbytown and occasionally Amazon but they are oem. I live close to 2 hours south of Indianapolis Hobbytown, but a town north of me has a small hobby shop that I don’t believe sells tekno parts. I’ve always like more technical driving than anything, but I always wanted a Erevo so I got the 2.0, and gave my wife my 2wd slash. I’m not a big fan of the 2wd cars or trucks they bore me . The only good thing about it is it’s stupid fast and always rips the tires right in half. Any of you guys have any good recommendations for good batteries that are cheaper than traxxas? I’m tired of paying $100+ for one battery. Another question is what castle esc and motor combo is a good fit, I wanna make it race ready but I don’t wanna just throw anything in it like my other vehicles, I’ve heard sidewinder sometimes can melt down.
Sorry meant to say for the Tekin motor not tekno motor.

I've been to that Hobbytown in Indy when I lived in Brownsburg. Didn't it close down? Maybe I am mistaken. Unless there was another I didn't know about on south side?

@Iowa crawler has the Tekno SCT I think? If so, what are you running for electronics? Tekno actually recommends one of the Tekin Pro4 motors I believe. Being a 4wd, I would probably look in the 3800kv range or lower, but I am not sure what the gearing is in the Tekno, so will look at it more tomorrow.

 

[Iowa crawler]

Tekin pro4 4300 with a monster x

 

[corya]

If your using traxxas batteries then yea they not the best batteries and they are way over priced for what they are. I recommend looking at CHNL, SMC, Lipherior. I think gensacearespammers is another good brand. Castle combos, not sure about castle but the SW4, copperhead 10, Mamba X are all good combos. If you want to go with Hobbywing for the slash then the max10 sct (120a sensorless) or the max10 G2 (140a sensored) are good combos. I have the max10 sct 120a 4000kv combo in my slash. its a good system. ESC and motor stays cool even with using the included 20t pinion.
For batteries go to @Greywolf74 he does all of our battery testing

Yeah they aren’t that great at all, I have a couple other batteries that I got when I bought vehicles off of someone, the cheap vant batteries that came with the Erevo seem like they have way more punch to them. They are actually 2s and they make my car run better than the 2 traxxas 3s batteries. I really just want a motor and esc that I can really push and not have to worry about heat, my Erevo 6s sounds like a jet when you turn it on from all the fans and it still gets up in the 170s with a gear ratio of 5.69 18/46. I feel like maxing out your high speed gearing isn’t a good idea with rtr cars even if they recommend it. I’m just asking a lot of questions really just because I’ve just a year or so ago started getting bigger trucks and cars, I used to run the losi mini t and mini b, and nitro, not very fond of the nitro anymore.

I've been to that Hobbytown in Indy when I lived in Brownsburg. Didn't it close down? Maybe I am mistaken. Unless there was another I didn't know about on south side?

@Iowa crawler has the Tekno SCT I think? If so, what are you running for electronics? Tekno actually recommends one of the Tekin Pro4 motors I believe. Being a 4wd, I would probably look in the 3800kv range or lower, but I am not sure what the gearing is in the Tekno, so will look at it more tomorrow.

They did close the one down the other one is in castleton off 82nd. The other one closer to me is singer hobbies but they are pretty expensive. I like to order my stuff since I live so far away and if I go in Hobbytown with money I’ll walk out broke unless I have a specific item to buy and I need it that day like suspension arms lol. They had a top fuel drag car roller in there for $250 and I almost bought it and I’m not even into drag racing .

 

[WickedFog]

Yeah they aren’t that great at all, I have a couple other batteries that I got when I bought vehicles off of someone, the cheap vant batteries that came with the Erevo seem like they have way more punch to them. They are actually 2s and they make my car run better than the 2 traxxas 3s batteries. I really just want a motor and esc that I can really push and not have to worry about heat, my Erevo 6s sounds like a jet when you turn it on from all the fans and it still gets up in the 170s with a gear ratio of 5.69 18/46. I feel like maxing out your high speed gearing isn’t a good idea with rtr cars even if they recommend it. I’m just asking a lot of questions really just because I’ve just a year or so ago started getting bigger trucks and cars, I used to run the losi mini t and mini b, and nitro, not very fond of the nitro anymore.

They did close the one down the other one is in castleton off 82nd. The other one closer to me is singer hobbies but they are pretty expensive. I like to order my stuff since I live so far away and if I go in Hobbytown with money I’ll walk out broke unless I have a specific item to buy and I need it that day like suspension arms lol. They had a top fuel drag car roller in there for $250 and I almost bought it and I’m not even into drag racing .

Yeah, have been to Singer Hobbies. Not a bad shop, but was way out of my way to get there.

If your electronics are in the 170's, I would probably drop down to a 17t pinion, just to get back in the safe zone. You gotta figure, by the time you stop your vehicle and check it, it has already cooled some.

What kind of charger do you have? Getting away from Traxxas proprietary batteries and chargers is a smart move.

Oh, I live in Terre Haute now. Have you seen the tracks we have here? Check out VCRC Raceway on Facebook.

 

[corya]

The one thing I do like about traxxas is the fact that I can monitor everything from my phone, I used to use the finger test but I would rather be able to monitor it digitally instead of having to stop the car take the body off then checking. Is there any systems out there like that I can use for castle, hobbywing, or Tekin to read my voltage, battery level, heat, and rpm?

 

[DavidB1126]

Ohh I see. Your using the TQi system with the link. For hobbywing, they have an app but I think it is only for programming. Castle and Tekin I have no idea about. I think viewing all of the voltage, battery and everything else is the actual radio system I don't believe it's the esc/motor. Might be wrong. But traxxas products go with traxxas products so using a different esc/motor system might affect viewing those settings through the app.

 

[corya]

Yeah, have been to Singer Hobbies. Not a bad shop, but was way out of my way to get there.

If your electronics are in the 170's, I would probably drop down to a 17t pinion, just to get back in the safe zone. You gotta figure, by the time you stop your vehicle and check it, it has already cooled some.

What kind of charger do you have? Getting away from Traxxas proprietary batteries and chargers is a smart move.

Oh, I live in Terre Haute now. Have you seen the tracks we have here? Check out VCRC Raceway on Facebook.

I stop it anytime it gets to 170 and normally that’s after running 4 packs through it. Normally 140 to 150 is what it runs on my track and that’s really pushing it hard.
I have a traxxas Id charger for the traxxas batteries, but that’s new to me, I have a superbrain charger that I’ve had since the early 2000s
I have looked at the track in terra haute I just recently learned about it when I bought the Erevo 2.0 off a guy from terra haute. I live between spencer and ellitsville off 46 on a private lane so we aren’t very far from each other. The guy I bought the Erevo from was talking about the track and said he took the car there but just didn’t like the way it handles on the track.

Ohh I see. You’re using the TQi system with the link. For hobbywing, they have an app but I think it is only for programming. Castle and Tekin I have no idea about. I think viewing all of the voltage, battery and everything else is the actual radio system I don't believe it's the esc/motor. Might be wrong. But traxxas products go with traxxas products so using a different esc/motor system might affect viewing those settings through the app.

That’s one thing I was wondering, if the receiver could communicate with the esc. I have tried finding someone that has done it but so far I’ve had no luck. It is a great idea if every company could do it but I do not like tsm I just want the tqi. I dislike tsm it’s harder to drive on a track because it likes to go wide, with it shut off you can take any line you want. Yes it’s great for straight line racing I will give it that or too speed runs.

 

[WickedFog]

Tekin and Castle have dataloggers, and bluetooth capable programmers. Here is a screen of a short run on our Ryft with a Tekin RX4 ESC and Hotwire module.

 

[Greywolf74]

you guys have talked me into the Tekin, but now I’m really leaning away from hobbywing, I know Tekin has the best out there I just can’t see myself paying for for the esc/motor combo then I do the car lol.

Think of it this way, The electronics are the heart and soul of a kit. The better electronics you use the better the kit will be. If you're just bashing then its not critical but, if you ever want to race with it then go with quality electronics.

Any of you guys have any good recommendations for good batteries that are cheaper than traxxas?

Liperior (yellow packs), Liperior Pro, (not Liperior Endurance),
CNHL (G+ series or parallel series not the "racing" series),
Zippy Compact
These are my top pics for best bang for you buck batteries.

LiPo Comaprison Thread

Another question is what castle esc and motor combo is a good fit, I wanna make it race ready but I don’t wanna just throw anything in it like my other vehicles, I’ve heard sidewinder sometimes can melt down.

If you're wanting to race with it then Id ask around you local track and see what other people are running. Personally If I was going to Race it Id probably go with something like a Tekin RX8 and a Pro4 or Pro4HD motor if those were within the scope of your club racing rules.

For Castle Id probably use the Copperhead/3800kV 5mm rotor combo again if it falls in line with your club racing rules.

For Bashing Id probably go with the Castle Mamba X/1415 2400kV combo.

 

[corya]

Tekin and Castle have dataloggers, and bluetooth capable programmers. Here is a screen of a short run on our Ryft with a Tekin RX4 ESC and Hotwire module.
View attachment 157842

Awesome! I fill like that would be a better system all together. I’m sure it’s probably a lot more accurate also.

 

[WickedFog]

The setup I have in our Ryft is all Tekin, except the mini servo for shifting gears, which is a Hitec. It is above and beyond anything else I have electronic-wise in any other kit. It cost me over $600 for the electronics, and the Ryft kit cost me around $260 on sale. So yeah, typically it's common for electronics to be more expensive than the kit, unless you just buy cheap electronics. If I were to build the Ryft again... I'd do the exact same thing. When you see Tekin's stuff in person, it's hard not to smile and feel all warm and fuzzy

 

[corya]

Think of it this way, The electronics are the heart and soul of a kit. The better electronics you use the better the kit will be. If you're just bashing then its not critical but, if you ever want to race with it then go with quality electronics.


Liperior (yellow packs), Liperior Pro, (not Liperior Endurance),
CNHL (G+ series or parallel series not the "racing" series),
Zippy Compact
These are my top pics for best bang for you buck batteries.

LiPo Comaprison Thread


If you're wanting to race with it then Id ask around you local track and see what other people are running. Personally If I was going to Race it Id probably go with something like a Tekin RX8 and a Pro4 or Pro4HD motor if those were within the scope of your club racing rules.

For Castle Id probably use the Copperhead/3800kV 5mm rotor combo again if it falls in line with your club racing rules.

For Bashing Id probably go with the Castle Mamba X/1415 2400kV combo.

Thanks buddy! I think for right now I may just throw a castle motor in there or a hw just to get the feel for the truck and practice with it. If I decide to race I’ll just have to get whatever is the best at that time and can be ran at the local track. @WickedFog do you know the rules for terra haute what you can and can’t use? Also the truck I will be building will strictly be dirt track ran and occasionally on steet but not very often, mostly on a dirt track. I do not like running my cars in gravel, or grass, I’ve had a lot of issues with rocks breaking things of rubbing and chewing up driveshafts.

The setup I have in our Ryft is all Tekin, except the mini servo for shifting gears, which is a Hitec. It is above and beyond anything else I have electronic-wise in any other kit. It cost me over $600 for the electronics, and the Ryft kit cost me around $260 on sale. So yeah, typically it's common for electronics to be more expensive than the kit, unless you just buy cheap electronics. If I were to build the Ryft again... I'd do the exact same thing. When you see Tekin's stuff in person, it's hard not to smile and feel all warm and fuzzy

I think I get all warm and fuzzy anytime I see a rc car . My wife gets mad at me because I’ll duck tape a flashlight to a car and run it on the track in the dark . I work in martinsville and by the time I get home it’s almost dark so if I’m gonna drive one of the cars I have to wait till the weekend or drive it in the dark. I don’t charge my batteries unless I’m going to use them right after they are charged. I do have a plug in in my truck I coils charge them on the way home

 

[WickedFog]

Thanks buddy! I think for right now I may just throw a castle motor in there or a hw just to get the feel for the truck and practice with it. If I decide to race I’ll just have to get whatever is the best at that time and can be ran at the local track. @WickedFog do you know the rules for terra haute what you can and can’t use? Also the truck I will be building will strictly be dirt track ran and occasionally on steet but not very often, mostly on a dirt track. I do not like running my cars in gravel, or grass, I’ve had a lot of issues with rocks breaking things of rubbing and chewing up driveshafts.

I think I get all warm and fuzzy anytime I see a rc car . My wife gets mad at me because I’ll duck tape a flashlight to a car and run it on the track in the dark . I work in martinsville and by the time I get home it’s almost dark so if I’m gonna drive one of the cars I have to wait till the weekend or drive it in the dark. I don’t charge my batteries unless I’m going to use them right after they are charged. I do have a plug in in my truck I coils charge them on the way home

I am not sure what their rules are. I am disabled and can't go there to play myself, but I do know they have a 1/10 and 1/8 track, with the driver's stand in between them. Last I heard they were working on a crawler course as well. Message them on FB. Someone should get back with you. They also mention Scott's Hobby Shack, which is a bit northwest of Terre Haute. His FB page is his store front, so maybe he can answer your questions as well here..
https://www.facebook.com/Scottshobbyshack

Here is the track's page...
https://www.facebook.com/VCRCRaceway

The track looks better every year...

https://www.facebook.com/100063700684674/posts/551519803648038

 

[corya]

I am not sure what their rules are. I am disabled and can't go there to play myself, but I do know they have a 1/10 and 1/8 track, with the driver's stand in between them. Last I heard they were working on a crawler course as well. Message them on FB. Someone should get back with you. They also mention Scott's Hobby Shack, which is a bit northwest of Terre Haute. His FB page is his store front, so maybe he can answer your questions as well here..
https://www.facebook.com/Scottshobbyshack

Here is the track's page...
https://www.facebook.com/VCRCRaceway

The track looks better every year...

https://www.facebook.com/100063700684674/posts/551519803648038

That is a really good size track! The one in Franklyn is not even close to that size. I will definitely be going there in the future, and hopefully get some racing in. I’ll have to see if the wife and kids can join in if they can learn to keep it in a straight line lol. I appreciate it buddy!

 

[WickedFog]

That is a really good size track! The one in Franklyn is not even close to that size. I will definitely be going there in the future, and hopefully get some racing in. I’ll have to see if the wife and kids can join in if they can learn to keep it in a straight line lol. I appreciate it buddy!

That vid is just one of the tracks. They have two there.

 

[corya]

That vid is just one of the tracks. They have two there.

I seen that, I also seen that they were planning on building a crawler course. I actually would like to buy one but I think I would get so bored so fast, I like speed more then going slow. I have a summit that caught on fire because I was really pushing it with a 18t pinion lol. I’ve actually decided to go with the losi 3.0, I am really familiar with losi and I just think it would be more realistic for me to just buy that kit. I would like to get the tekno but I feel as if I got it all out together and something about it like I got the wrong servo or I didn’t like the tq or speed of the motor, with losi I know the 3.0 is fast and they are durable and race ready out of the box.

 

[bill_delong]

dated threads but here's my thoughts on the 4WD SCT's just before COVID:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/sho...dated-16-OCT-2019***&perpage=100#post40456798

Here's my review thread on the SCT410.3:
https://www.teknoforums.com/threads/build-review-sct410-3.1389/

It takes a squeaky clean driver to wheel a Slash without breaking on a race track... I've lost count of how man times I've seen a Slash go home early with broken parts after the on site hobby shop ran out of parts for them to make necessary repairs, they are THAT fragile. I have also seen a pro level driver win our ROAR Region with a Slash which can be tuned to be extremely competitive, but one bad wall tap and you'll DNF.

TEKNO and TLR are about the only 2 options worth considering today, and my pick is TEKNO because it has a few more tuning options and is a pinch more durable than TLR.

I have no affiliation with TEKNO, in fact I'm a team driver with HB Racing, just sharing my personal observations and experience with what I've seen first hand.

Good Luck!

 

[JCsRCcar]

Get the Ultimate RC car . Seriously it sounds like the Slash Ultimate is the best fit for what you stated in post #1. If you don’t have time and want to get right into running it then the Slash Ultimate RTR is hard to beat. A few upgrades like Tekno metal axles, RPM bumper, and maybe a Castle 3200 with Mamba or Hobbywing setup and you could be very competitive on a track especially with the Slash low center of gravity chassis, which is one of Traxxas best designs. Parts are also readily available and cheap to buy. Of course the Tekno is a more race oriented chassis however from what you said about time constraints it may not be the best for for your needs.

My son has a Traxxas Ultimate with Hobbywing ESC/motor combo and its a solid SCT that can take a beating and keep going.

 

[corya]

dated threads but here's my thoughts on the 4WD SCT's just before COVID:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/sho...dated-16-OCT-2019***&perpage=100#post40456798

Here's my review thread on the SCT410.3:
https://www.teknoforums.com/threads/build-review-sct410-3.1389/

It takes a squeaky clean driver to wheel a Slash without breaking on a race track... I've lost count of how man times I've seen a Slash go home early with broken parts after the on site hobby shop ran out of parts for them to make necessary repairs, they are THAT fragile. I have also seen a pro level driver win our ROAR Region with a Slash which can be tuned to be extremely competitive, but one bad wall tap and you'll DNF.

TEKNO and TLR are about the only 2 options worth considering today, and my pick is TEKNO because it has a few more tuning options and is a pinch more durable than TLR.

I have no affiliation with TEKNO, in fact I'm a team driver with HB Racing, just sharing my personal observations and experience with what I've seen first hand.

Good Luck!

I actually ended up buying the tekno! I ended up putting the diffs in backwards so I had to take it all back apart and once I got done I had some issues with my receiver. I went ahead and ordered a new transmitter and receiver. By the time it was all said and done it rained for 3 days and I’ve only been able to run it for a short period. I am going to say WOW I am so glad I just went ahead and listened to everyone. These trucks are amazing in every aspect! I went with the protek 140t servo that’s enough for me personally, it’s plenty fast enough for me, then I went with the castle copperhead 10 since it was the only combo the hobby shop had at that time. I am going to see what I can do with the copperhead before I go bigger, I can always switch if I need to depending on how slow it is compared to the other trucks at the track. In the small amount of time I was able to run it, it was doing pretty good on my personal track. The local race track has a 1/10 track and 1/8th and 2s is the limit on battery but that is the only rules. They do not go by ROAR rules.

Get the Ultimate RC car . Seriously it sounds like the Slash Ultimate is the best fit for what you stated in post #1. If you don’t have time and want to get right into running it then the Slash Ultimate RTR is hard to beat. A few upgrades like Tekno metal axles, RPM bumper, and maybe a Castle 3200 with Mamba or Hobbywing setup and you could be very competitive on a track especially with the Slash low center of gravity chassis, which is one of Traxxas best designs. Parts are also readily available and cheap to buy. Of course the Tekno is a more race oriented chassis however from what you said about time constraints it may not be the best for for your needs.

My son has a Traxxas Ultimate with Hobbywing ESC/motor combo and its a solid SCT that can take a beating and keep going.

I have a slash, but only 2wd, I pretty much handed it over to my wife. I am going to be going to the track just not every race, I work 6 days a week most of the time and my wife is a RN so we only have a little bit of time home. I just wanted something that would be competitive at the races that I would be able to go to. I may buy an ultimate also because I have heard a lot of good things about them and it would also give my wife a 4x4 to drive.

 

[WickedFog]

I actually ended up buying the tekno! I ended up putting the diffs in backwards so I had to take it all back apart and once I got done I had some issues with my receiver. I went ahead and ordered a new transmitter and receiver. By the time it was all said and done it rained for 3 days and I’ve only been able to run it for a short period. I am going to say WOW I am so glad I just went ahead and listened to everyone. These trucks are amazing in every aspect! I went with the protek 140t servo that’s enough for me personally, it’s plenty fast enough for me, then I went with the castle copperhead 10 since it was the only combo the hobby shop had at that time. I am going to see what I can do with the copperhead before I go bigger, I can always switch if I need to depending on how slow it is compared to the other trucks at the track. In the small amount of time I was able to run it, it was doing pretty good on my personal track. The local race track has a 1/10 track and 1/8th and 2s is the limit on battery but that is the only rules. They do not go by ROAR rules.

I have a slash, but only 2wd, I pretty much handed it over to my wife. I am going to be going to the track just not every race, I work 6 days a week most of the time and my wife is a RN so we only have a little bit of time home. I just wanted something that would be competitive at the races that I would be able to go to. I may buy an ultimate also because I have heard a lot of good things about them and it would also give my wife a 4x4 to drive.

Awesome man. Do you have any pics of the build? It is completely against the rules here to build an RC and not share tons and tons of pics and details

And the Copperhead is a very popular setup. Castle stuff is no joke, and I've seen that ESC used in everything from crawlers to monster trucks.