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Good beginner electric R/C hobby car

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mike208

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I am thinking about getting an electric car to start in the hobby. Been browsing the web for a couple days looking at articles, blogs and different cars. Some that I am considering are the Traxxas Rustler(waterproof is nice), Taimya Grasshopper(it was all the rage back in the 80's and it still seems like a good starter today) and the Losi micro series. I really don't want to go overboard on price when I don't know how into the hobby I will get. I'm thinking around a maximum of $250. Any suggestions?
 
Good idea going with electric for a first one. Nitro engines are fickle and can be a pain for beginners, and even pros, to get tuned right. Plus the fuel costs more in the long run. I suggest starting out with a 4x4. The Rustler is only 2WD and is intended for stadium (track) driving. They can be driven anywhere but won't do well on rough terrain. They're best suited for smooth dirt and paved surfaces.

I have a Traxxas Mini E-Revo, aka the MIRV. 1/16 scale all wheel drive short course truck, partially modified into a Summit 1/16. Both are basically the same model with different suspension heights. I recommend the MIRV for beginners as it sits lower. The Summit has a tendency to roll due to its high centre of gravity.

For the brushed motor version, you're looking at $250. Comes with everything you need; radio, battery, charger. Though I highly suggest you also pick up a second battery and a fast charger. Traxxas has a very basic one for $32. It'll charge the batteries in an hour versus overnight. You'll also need 4AA batteries for the transmitter. Get rechargeable ones. More up front, saves time and money in the long run.

One place that's caught my attention recently is NitroRCX.com, who's selling budget vehicles which actually look very solid. I'm really tempted to get one of their crawlers.

One good resource to check out is RC Adventures by DJMedic, on YouTube. The guy is a wealth of information.
 
i have recently re-entered the hobby. electric is still easier, and now exceeds the power and duration of nitro. for your budget, you're looking at a low to mid-grade ready-to-run package. check out these:

http://www.ultimaterc.com/
http://www.rctech.net/forum/

you can't do hardcore racing for that price, but there's some decent backyard bashing to be had. i suggest a 2wd truck - availability, price, popularity, ease of maintenance, and the big plastic body and big tires protect the rest of the car. i guess the traxxas slash family of vehicles would be among the better choices for you.
 
sdifox said:
I hated the tamiya nicad batteries back in the days.
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LOL 5 minutes running, 8 hours charging

if you're taking it easy, you can get about an hour out of a lipo. a pro driver in 4wd maintains a much higher energy level, 15 minutes or less. i'm getting over a half hour, and my cool motor temps show i'm under-using the motor - gear down and stop crashing!
 
sdifox said:
I hated the tamiya nicad batteries back in the days.
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They don't use them for high powered use anymore. Too little capacity plus the whole cadmium being carcinogenic thing. NiMH and LiPo are the most common types. I use NiMH in my cars but I've got a shipment of six high capacity LiPos on its way. Hobby King is a good place to buy batteries. Half price of what the hobby stores want and just as good.
 
Look at arduino and Rasberry pi. Arduino for the basic raw controls of each motor/relay/sensor and rasberry Pi for the actual coding/logic and camera view if you want to add a camera and make it more into a drone type RC.

I want to build a RC/robot at some point and that's probably the route I'd go. Could add small solar panels to help trickle charge the batteries too.
 
I'm wondering if I should get one decent one for now and see how I like it. Then decide if I want to put more money into it. Or if I should just buy a couple losi micro t's for me an my son to play with. Then go from there.
 
mmntech said:
They don't use them for high powered use anymore. Too little capacity plus the whole cadmium being carcinogenic thing. NiMH and LiPo are the most common types. I use NiMH in my cars but I've got a shipment of six high capacity LiPos on its way. Hobby King is a good place to buy batteries. Half price of what the hobby stores want and just as good.
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I know, just the whole charging battery thing doesn't quite work for me for RC. But I guess with LiPo it could be good.

I had like 10 7.2v NiCd batteries.
 
Having owned and raced a variety of electric/nitro including indoor track/outdoor track/4x4 track cars trucks and truggies I can honestly tell you that nitro is overall better. The fuel doesn't cost that much when you consider how many tanks you get out of a 5 or 10 litre tin and as long as you don't feel the need to set the engine up really lean to get more power out of them they last a long time.

I intentionally ran my HPI savage monster truck rich to attempt to prolong the life of the engine and had it out most weekends for over 2 years then sold it with the original engine that still ran as sweet as the day after it came out of the box (the day it comes out of the box they need "running in" and don't idle very well 😀).

I find it a lot more "fun" to be able to know I can stay out 30 minutes or 5 hours and I won't be running out of batteries. The only time I prefer using batteries is when racing cars on a proper track when I know that I have 3 races during the day I can take 3 batteries then pack the car away and go home.
 
thescreensavers said:
OP be ready for a money sink.. yea Im not joking.

Its a fun hobby but be careful.
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Yep, the planes are worse though. When they get damaged, it's never just a matter of swapping out a part. Plus you need a club to fly, and insurance. Ugg.

The Boston Dangler said:
oh yeah, the essential phrases you're looking for are:

brushless motor
lipo batteries
2.4 GHz radio
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Brushed versus brushless, it's debatable. Brushless is the superior technology no doubt. More energy efficient, longer lasting, more powerful. Though a good quality brushed motor is perfectly fine. Especially if you're on a budget. Even a lot of competition rigs still used brushed. Crawlers notably. If you can afford brushless, go for it. Otherwise don't worry about it. Same goes for LiPo vs NiMH. Lithium batteries are lighter, can have higher discharge rates, and higher capacity. However, LiPo needs a little extra care and special charging equipment. Otherwise they go boom. NiMH is good for beginners. Get some Duratrax 1600mAH NiMH packs with the Traxxas plugs if you go with the two I suggested. I get good run times with these and they're inexpensive.

Now 2.4ghz, yes, yes, and yes! They use spread spectrum, which virtually eliminates outside interference and human error. The old 75mhz and 27mhz radios locked into a single frequency and are very prone to interference. IMO, they are unsafe to be using. The governing bodies should really ban the old FM and AM radios from competition use and mandate clubs to do the same. Never buy a model that comes with an old style radio. It should say the radio type on the box. If it doesn't, ask the hobby shop owner. You can also look at the antenna. The old radios use a telescoping antenna while the new ones look like a stubby WiFi antenna.
 
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I had this one growing up. It was so much fun racing around the back yard. My dad and I built it together because it came as a kit. Ahhh good times..good times.
TA_57746_1.jpg
 
A few years ago I had a Losi LST and RC10GT, both nitro. Fun hobby but a huge money sink. If you have reasonable mechanical competency nitro engines aren't that hard to deal with, the main annoyances are fuel costs (it was ~$20 per gallon then, hate to see what it is now) and more work cleaning & maintaining. Unless you plan to race I would get something more along the lines of a monster truck, they're a lot more fun to just drive around IMO.
 
Merad said:
A few years ago I had a Losi LST and RC10GT, both nitro. Fun hobby but a huge money sink. If you have reasonable mechanical competency nitro engines aren't that hard to deal with, the main annoyances are fuel costs (it was ~$20 per gallon then, hate to see what it is now) and more work cleaning & maintaining. Unless you plan to race I would get something more along the lines of a monster truck, they're a lot more fun to just drive around IMO.
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It's about $25/gal for the 20% nitro fuel I use in my Savage. The other downside is noise. If you live in an urban or (especially) a suburban environment, it really limits where you can run them. Even though they're no louder than a lawn mower, people get uppity.

Electric technology has matured in the last decade to the point where it's rivaling nitro in power and running cost. HPI's Savage Flux HP is downright terrifying on 24V of power. That'll turn the wheels fast enough to blow a tire, without even touching the ground! D:
 
The Boston Dangler said:
that could be wicked fun!
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Thats what I was thinking. He has a birthday coming up in a couple weeks. It might make a good birthday present. Plus I figure with their small size they can be used indoors and out. Any idea how they run on carpet? Also how do they compare speed wise to something like the grasshopper or rustler?

I saw a guy on youtube do a speed test with the micro t and it clocked at 17kph, which is like 10-11mph. I believe, but not positive that the rustler is more like 15mph. Not sure how the grasshopper performs.
 
mike208 said:
I saw a guy on youtube do a speed test with the micro t and it clocked at 17kph, which is like 10-11mph. I believe, but not positive that the rustler is more like 15mph. Not sure how the grasshopper performs.
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Assuming this is what you're talking about, try more like 35 mph. Of course I'm sure there's some way you could program it to limit the speed via the radio or ESC.
 
Merad said:
Assuming this is what you're talking about, try more like 35 mph. Of course I'm sure there's some way you could program it to limit the speed via the radio or ESC.
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Yeah thats what I am talking about. I thought I had seen somewhere that it ranged from 15-30mph. I assumed it was probably 15 stock, but could get up to 30 with mods. But i have been looking at lots of cars so maybe I am confusing it with something else. 35mph seems crazy.

Any ideas how fast your average toy RC goes?
 
mike208 said:
Any ideas how fast your average toy RC goes?
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If you mean cars like the Rustler (some people might take offense at calling them toys 😉 ) I think most offroad vehicles can do 30-40 mph. Some of the onroad racers can get really crazy, I dunno, 60-80 mph or maybe faster.
 
Merad said:
If you mean cars like the Rustler (some people might take offense at calling them toys 😉 ) I think most offroad vehicles can do 30-40 mph. Some of the onroad racers can get really crazy, I dunno, 60-80 mph or maybe faster.
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rustler and its brothers are hobby-grade cars, but yeah they're great toys 😀

those speeds are about right. my 2wd buggy is capable of about 45, but that won't happen under normal circumstances. by the way, i recommend against the grasshopper/hornet - a very old, low performance car. if you want to enjoy yourself, get another car and make it look like a grasshopper 🙂
 
Puppies04 said:
Having owned and raced a variety of electric/nitro including indoor track/outdoor track/4x4 track cars trucks and truggies I can honestly tell you that nitro is overall better. The fuel doesn't cost that much when you consider how many tanks you get out of a 5 or 10 litre tin and as long as you don't feel the need to set the engine up really lean to get more power out of them they last a long time.

I intentionally ran my HPI savage monster truck rich to attempt to prolong the life of the engine and had it out most weekends for over 2 years then sold it with the original engine that still ran as sweet as the day after it came out of the box (the day it comes out of the box they need "running in" and don't idle very well 😀).

I find it a lot more "fun" to be able to know I can stay out 30 minutes or 5 hours and I won't be running out of batteries. The only time I prefer using batteries is when racing cars on a proper track when I know that I have 3 races during the day I can take 3 batteries then pack the car away and go home.
Click to expand...

well well well, what do you currently have?
 
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