Newbie Advise!

[badgio]

Evening guys,

I seem to have been bitten by the RC car bug! I have never actually owned an RC car, I've been into RC heli for years but always been jealous of mates who had RC cars and loved going down to watch 'em race but couldn't afford both hobbies.

So I've done a bit of research and I think I have a rough idea of what I'm gonna need if I want to race but any advise from you knowledgeable chaps would be great!

So to start off I think it'll probably be a 1:10 scale as that seems to be the most common class and I want electric as I really don't want the hassle of nitro. I found a few cars that look good but wanted to see what you guys thought, at first I thought the Thunder Tiger Phoenix BX 2 as from what I can tell it is actually a old Team associated B3 so must be a decent car and they are cheap so might be a good starter, but then I found the Associated RC10B4.2 RS!

A little bit more expensive than Thunder tiger but a more up to date version of the same car and I think I could probably upgrade it as my skills progress (if they do! ) and I've always liked Team Associated!

Then I saw the SC10B RS really cool looking buggy but I know nothing of the different race classes so didn't know if it could run in a normal 1:10 buggy class or even if it could run in a short course class (if clubs run them!) Also if it could run in these classes would it be competitive as I think it has a slightly narrower wheel base, wheels and generally the scale modelness will detract from it being an all out racer?...

So what would you guys suggest any of the above or something completely different?...

[RobW]

Hi

The very best advice I can give is to pop down and see the cars in action and have a chat with a few drivers as you’ll get an idea of what is popular at the club and therefore be easiest to run in terms of borrowing bits when you break something and getting set up advice.

Having said that of the cars you have mentioned the Associated B4.2 would make an excellent first car. They are strong, easy to set up and loads of people have run a B4 of some type at the club at some time. Spares are relatively cheap and easy to get hold of as well.

Only downside is that they are rear motor cars. This will have no impact on you for the first few months while you are learning to drive but once you have got the hang of it (which might not take very long if you can fly a heli – this will be easy for you!!) you will find a mid motor car will generally be quicker on our high grip astro track. It all depends on how competitive you want to be and how important budget is to you. There are several conversion kits available to convert the B4 to mid motor but they start around the £170-£200 mark so are not cheap.

There are alternatives to the B4 such as the Losi 22 and Durango 210 which are also available in RTR format that can be converted to mid motor with the purchase of a few cheap parts (£20-£30). The Losi 22 is an excellent car which is also very strong but I think a little more expensive. I have never run a Durnago 210 so cannot really comment but they are currently available from some of the sponsors of this site (MB Models for example – I have no connection to them!!) at very competitive prices - £155ish for a RTR car, you would just need a couple of batteries, a charger and some suitable tyres.

We unfortunately struggle to get enough Trucks of any description to run a regular heat of them so I could not really recommend you get one to race at the moment. Most of our members who have trucks also have buggies so they are guaranteed a race.

We have an all day meeting this Sunday – if you do come down (we race almost every Sunday weather permitting), please pop into race control and let us know you are there so we can have a chat and answer any questions you might have.

Cheers

Rob

[Briangb]

Hi Badgio. Welcome to our world.
You are quite right. This hobby is very adictive.
My best advise for what it may be worth, would be to come along to one of our race meetings and see what is popular at TORCH. That way you may then make a decision on set up help, spares, reliability, availability.
There is a great number of very helpful and knowledgeable people at TORCH, who would be only too pleased to offer some help. Ask at race control, and any of the committee or members will help you out, I am sure.
We will be racing all day on Sunday and there is a practise evening next Wednesday, 10th July.

[Briangb]

Rob. You obviously have more time on your hands than I do. I agree with what you have said, just didn't think I had the time to go into manufacturer details at any length. We must have been on our keyboards at the same time.
I have to admit it can and still is a bit of a minefield. When you first start out there is so much choice. It is easy to be lead by marketing and the Americans. Also there is always some reasonably priced second hand kit available, which can be very economical for a new comer.
See you Sunday.

[badgio]

Thanks for the replies guys,

After writing the post the other night I came across the DEX210, which seems to be getting pretty good reviews and as you say it can be converted to mid motor, it's very well spec'ed and there are a few guys on the main forum that have one so when I saw the price at the moment I initially thought there must be some sort of problem with it but after staying up til 1am scouring the internet for some sort of bad review and failing, plus realizing they had sold out on the site sponsored link I made a bit of an impulse purchase!

So I now have a DEX210 winging it's way to me in the post. I bought it though PBM racing on eBay, hopefully it'll turn out to be a good buggy with a few modifications but if not I'll put it back on eBay and maybe wait for some advise from you guys down at the track before deciding on the my next car!

I'll definitely be down on sunday to have a chat and get some advice on whether my impulse purchase was a a reasonable one!

Cheers
Dean

[badgio]

Wish I'd been patient enough to wait for you guys to reply rather than jumping in with both feet!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB_k...e_gdata_player

I assume this has all the same electrics as the DEX, if so I may need some help from you guys finding replacement electrics, a reasonable transmitter, some decent tyres, (which I think we knew anyway!) finding the right shock oil and tuning the shocks and finding a decent servo! Durango's strap line in their promo video for this thing is ' the only RTR to be truly race ready out of the box!'

But on the plus side, I did get the rtr for the price of the kit so I can make use of the shitty electrics to progress my skills and swap them out as I get a bit competent!

[hotrodchris]

The DEX210 is a good 2wd especially in the dry!
As for tyres our Chairman Steve Brown has a regular supply trackside at a very good price!
servo personally i use savox either a 1258 or a 1251, transmitter sticks or wheel?

[badgio]

Hi Chris

As I've always flown heli's I'm used to using sticks and as this will be first car I have never actually use a wheeled transmitter but I'm am told by a friend that driving a car you are quicker with a wheel so I would like to give it a go and if I don't get on with it I'll swap back to sticks.

The 210 is quick in the dry?... It's not often quick here then, probably why the our friends over the pond seem to love it!