General questions

chris_souter · General questions

Hey guys, i am considering a return to the hobby after a gap of about the thick end of 20 years, anyway could someone give me a ballpark figure as an outlay to get racing again, i dont intend to splash out a massive amount and get all brand new top end stuff, mainly because i can more or less guarentee my son will want a car as well, so decent second hand stuff will do fine until i get my eye in again. Would it be possible to be kitted out for a days racing for say £300? My second question is this, in the generation i have been away things have obviously moved on, but in my quick wizz around various forums, web sites the word "brushless" keeps popping up, what is it, will i need it and what does it mean for my initial outlay, cheers for the help, Chris.

Alfonzo II

Welcome back Chris! You might be surprised to find quite a few of the old faces still around..

Plenty of good second hand stuff about. Ebay, or better than that - check oople.com in the for sales bit. I think it should be possible to kit out for a few hundred, maybe a little more.

Things hadn't really changed much at all until the last few years, and even then - it's all recognisable from back in the day. Brushless is a reference to brushless motors. I'll skip the physics chat, but basically they require virtually no maintenance, no upkeep, run a little more efficiently, are very consistent, and the hot ones have way more power than you can use. The other thing is the introduction of LiPo batteries. These are an improvement over the nicad / nimh style batteries in pretty much every way (but need special Lipo chargers). Lipo and Brushless are ace BUT on the track you can still be absolutely competitive with brushed motors and old style cells (and the good thing is you can pick a bargain up with this stuff as a lot of people are sellling to go brushless etc). You can't really go too wrong. Dumping is a thing of the past, all the batteries that have been around the last 10 years or so have plenty of capacity. You do not need the latest brushless stuff, and don't be fooled into the hottest motors - the cars can't handle them on the rough stuff.

The other developoment is 2.4Ghz radio gear. No crystals, much shorter ariels.

Apart from that, you still use your thumbs, and the cars still break when you drive like a t*t. Laughing

Oh - and it's still as much fun as ever.

ben

Hi Chris

Are you the guy that used to run the Traxxas buggy back in the day. I definitely recognise the name from racing at the Environmental Centre.

If you're planning on doing 2wd & don't mind some of your stuff being second hand then about £300 should be OK:

Here's what I'd get:

Good used B4 buggy: £80
Brushless combo (speedo & motor)
New mid range or used top of range: £115
Radio gear & 1 servo
New budget or used mid range: £50
Batteries
2 x new Lipos/Or a pile of used NiHMs: £60/£50
Decent charger: £40

You'll need tyres, odd bits & consumables on top of that but it would be very low maintenance, competitive set up.

Oople.com or eBay are both good sources of used gear.

If you want recommendations or manufacturers of any of the gear I've listed I'm sure that anyone at the club will be happy to guide you.

chris_souter

Cheers for the info guys, Ben, i was the Cherry 7up Traxxas bloke, Very Happy

, you may well get a visit from me at the track in the near future, bit fatter, bit balder but i am sure that goes for most of us. Chris.

BenH

Hi Chris

I have to agree with the ol' wise ones above. From my experience these things are what makes it enjoyable today and stops all the irritating things: -

If your a wheel man - I can not recommend Spektrum DX2 or DX3 highly enough.

The DX2 and DX3 Spektrums were packaged with 2 servos new. Lot's of them kicking around for about £5.00. Look for the high torque, cracking little servo and pretty much worthless - bargain Wink

I would buy this now - bargain. Also, I will buy the micro receiver from you for £30.00 if you didn't want it, meaning a DX2 and SR3000 receiver for £45.00 - Bargain. Shocked

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Spektrum-DX...3%3A1%7C294%3A50#ebayphotohosting

another

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/spektrum-dx...18%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Brushless, a must, even if it means stretching little. The lack of maintenance is perfect.

Losi Xcelorin is a good one new. (£120, second hand £80) Or in my preference, a second hand Novak GTB. I have both of these and one of them maybe for sale after this weekend, when I figure out what's going in what car/ truck etc.

That goes for LiPo too. Trakpower 3600 sticks can be snapped up on oople for as low as £25 second hand. 2 packs will get you through a day.

A brand new charger for LiPo and NiMh is here for <£60 Very Happy

http://www.microtechracing.com//p...Pcat=ACCESSORIES&cat=CHARGERS

If going for the Trakpower LiPo's. The 3200 saddles are not BRCA legal, which means there value has dropped like a stone, but are still great for racing. They'll slot straight in a B4 too.

Once again I have a pack of the 3200 saddles going spare - £15.00

A B4 : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Team-Associ...18%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Thats the
Car - B4 - £80
TX, RX and Servo £45.00 (Minus £30 micro rx)
Charger £60 (Might be worth looking for a second hand Trakpower charger and balancer combo)
Cells £50
ESC and motor £80 - Xcelorin

£315.00 for a very competitive car with all the trimmings.

ben

I remember now Smile

, you were pretty handy with that Traxxas...

Being a baldy's great for RC racing, no hair to get in the eyes & what you save on haircuts you can spend on buggies!

Stick to the familiar names & you (almost) can't go wrong:
LRP, Nosram, Novak, Futaba, Sanwa, KO, Orion & more recently Trakpower & Spektrum.

As far as race worthy buggies are concerned:
Associated are top of the tree (easiest to get parts for), Losi have almost given up on 1/10 off road, Yokomo (good but parts are a rip off), Kyosho (good but kits are a rip off, Traxxas (no longer make competition kits), Schumacher ( the new CAT looks very nice), etc,etc.

Wiggles

Hi Chris, if you want a track day before you get you kit together then just pm me and i will sort you out as i have no time to race at the club at the mo due to work and my stuffs all good and should get you round with no probs.

Wiggles..