Set ups, tips, tricks, whatever you got...... Please!

[Skye]

Hi All,

As a newbie I think its polite to tell you who I am first of all..... I am Richard, Im in my late 20's with a long standing interest in RC Cars and racing. I used to race (if you can call it that) when I was about 10 years old but became disgruntled and then discovered girls and booze a few years later so took my eye off the ball for a while but am looking to get back into the scene now in a big way.

When I raced before it was only on a schoolboys pocket money budget so I was pretty hopeless. I could drive, but I was driving my Tamiya Madcap with stock everything against men and other kids who were bankrolled by the dads so it was my Madcap against modified Losi XX's and such like. After a year or two of this and trailing home near the rear week in week out I drfited away from the game.

Recently I have rediscovered my love for the game and have been investing in getting back into the scene. During this time I have spent hours, days, maybe even weeks on the net trying to pick up views and tips. That is how I discovered this forum, and what a forum. It is by far and away the best forum I have discovered for all things RC Car related! A big pat on the back to all involved!!

So what I have spent my money on so far....

Well I went to my nearest serious RC shop which is not that near at 33 miles away (many seem to have disappeared since I was first involved sadly ) I must have been a sales guys dream. I basically walked in with a blank page and an open mind looking for guidance.

As the guys there were all big on Kyosho that is the way they steered me and I chose 2wd electric as my weapon of choice.

So I purchased (forgive me forgetting the exact model numbers in some cases but I dont have them to hand to list just now) :

Kyosho Rb5 Sp2
Spektrum DX3E handset
Orca 7.5t brushless motor
Fusion Exceed ESC
Savox steering servo
Bionic 5000 40c LiPo batteries

What do you think to this set up? As I said, it was largely purchased on the advice of the guy in the shop who led me through the purchase.

I took it back to the same shop yesterday to get some assistance with the soldering and I saw a different guy who advised me to turn it down as it would likely be too fast and end up planted through a wall....

So what I am looking for is advice and tips with things such as set ups and tuning / modifications. When I raced before as a 10 year old I just turned up and raced, there was no consideration given to set ups and such like so this aspect is all new to me. It is something I want to learn and fully understand though to give myself the best chance of succeeding so anything you can tell me will be gratefully received!

I apologise if you have seen threads like this millions of times before but I just thought it would be easier for me to find everything if it is on one new thread.

Many Thanks in advance!!!

Richard

[mattybucks]

Hi,

I'm at work so I can't really spend to much time on the thread but my advice would be for you to bring all your gear to the moto arena on a Tuesday night and speak to people down there.

You can also race, people arrive at about 6-6.30 ish.

I don't know alot about the ESC but the rest of the stuff you've bought seems good.

[RudeTony]

Hi yah Richard
Firstly if you are a total novice you may need to tone that power down some what! The equipemnt you have is close to winning a world championship in the right hands - LOL.
You need to decide where you are going to race the car and then we can give you some advice in setting it up right so it's giving you the most enjoyment.
The car you have is a great car and many will tell you this and that and the other but my plain advice for now is very simple.
When you can achieve a whole races, round different circuits, and you make no errors, then you can think about power and so on.
Till then you have nice equipment so go out there and enjoy.

[Ritchie T]

Run yellow wheels

[Skye]

Thanks for the replies all. You know what, that is good advice. Out if being eager I just want to get out there and be winning races. But it makes sense what you say, I need to just get out there and get used to the car first, drive in a few races with standard set ups and just get a feel for it.

Matt, from your post I'm guessing you work at Moto arena? If so then we have already met! I was in yesterday and you helped with soldering in the ESC and are spraying my shell for me.... I am planning on getting down there on a tuesday but was just looking on getting some set up advice beforehand as I didnt want to be bothering people there that I had only just met. Seeing as Moto Arena is going to be my main track for racing on then if you have any specific set up advice then it would be gratefully received!

One other thing, when I finished the build last night I went to charge the batteries and noticed that the charging adapter that plugs into the batteries doesn't fit the charger so I am going to need another adaptor. Is this something you will have in stock? If so then I will pick one up on Sunday when I collect the shell.

[mattybucks]

Originally Posted by Skye

Thanks for the replies all. You know what, that is good advice. Out if being eager I just want to get out there and be winning races. But it makes sense what you say, I need to just get out there and get used to the car first, drive in a few races with standard set ups and just get a feel for it.

Matt, from your post I'm guessing you work at Moto arena? If so then we have already met! I was in yesterday and you helped with soldering in the ESC and are spraying my shell for me.... I am planning on getting down there on a tuesday but was just looking on getting some set up advice beforehand as I didnt want to be bothering people there that I had only just met. Seeing as Moto Arena is going to be my main track for racing on then if you have any specific set up advice then it would be gratefully received!

One other thing, when I finished the build last night I went to charge the batteries and noticed that the charging adapter that plugs into the batteries doesn't fit the charger so I am going to need another adaptor. Is this something you will have in stock? If so then I will pick one up on Sunday when I collect the shell.

That's a different Matt, I know the Matt you mean. You also have the club down by the rugby club in Silverstone which is also run by the same people who run the tuesday meetings.

I think the cells have a deans connector (a red one) whilst charger may have a tamiya connector. I sure it's an easy fix, I would just solder the correct one on.

[Chalkie]

For now leave the kit set up on the car and just put the correct tyres on, schumacher yellow minipins on the rear with stagger ribs on the front are a good starting point and will get better after a few runs.
But the best thing to do is have a word with the regular racers and get one of us to slow your car down a bit for your first few runs, it's easier and cheaper to speed it back up than fix it after you've made a mistake, and if you hit something at full speed with 7.5 motor the chances are it will need fixing.

[mattybucks]

Originally Posted by Chalkie

For now leave the kit set up on the car and just put the correct tyres on, schumacher yellow minipins on the rear with stagger ribs on the front are a good starting point and will get better after a few runs.
But the best thing to do is have a word with the regular racers and get one of us to slow your car down a bit for your first few runs, it's easier and cheaper to speed it back up than fix it after you've made a mistake, and if you hit something at full speed with 7.5 motor the chances are it will need fixing.

I'd put yellow minispike on if your planning on running at the motor arena. It's more consistent on the tarmac.

[Skye]

Matty, the charger has sockets for what they call banana plugs, the battery has a red plug with one vertical and one horizontal slot. So I need a lead with the red plug on one end and these banana plugs on the other...

Chalkie, thanks for the tyre tips. Do you race at Moto Arena? I have bought the little programmer which hooks up to the Esc and have already taken all the advance timing off to slow things down a bit.

[Chalkie]

Originally Posted by mattybucks

I'd put yellow minispike on if your planning on running at the motor arena. It's more consistent on the tarmac.

Spikes work fine also, but I seem to get on better with pins on 2wd. TBH a pair of each to try wouldn't hurt.

[Chalkie]

Originally Posted by Skye

Matty, the charger has sockets for what they call banana plugs, the battery has a red plug with one vertical and one horizontal slot. So I need a lead with the red plug on one end and these banana plugs on the other...

Chalkie, thanks for the tyre tips. Do you race at Moto Arena? I have bought the little programmer which hooks up to the Esc and have already taken all the advance timing off to slow things down a bit.

Yeah i race there most weeks, more than happy to give you a hand if you get stuck.
Having only restarted racing 8 months ago myself i can assure you that even with no timing a 7.5 can be a handfull until you get to grips with it, I'd make sure you turn all the power settings down to start with.

[markwilliamson2001]

I found this site excellent for setups:

http://www.petitrc.com/setup/kyosho/...UltimaRB5.html

There ae quite a few, and you can even see what tyres, and different surfaces people are running on, and get a feel for what things remain the same on the car, and what changes thr top boys make to tune the car in.

If you racing inside, the some yellow minipins all round, or some yellow stagger ribs for the front might be advisable as they keep the car nice and safe. See what indoor setups say on the petit site.

Hope this helps
Mark

[Skye]

Thanks Chalkie, if you see a strange character there in a week or two with a white RB5 looking lost feel free to pop over and point me in the right direction!! Do you advise getting my own transponder, if so how much are they?

Thanks very much for that link Mark, there looks some very useful bits of info on there! If you have any links to a tarmac set up please let me know as I believe thats what the surface is at what will become my local... Will definately have a read through what is on that link though, I need all the help I can get!

[Gonky]

Tuesdays at the Moto Arena (buggy night), the track gets covered with an assortment of carpet, jumps and bumps with the occasional section left as tarmac. Best idea may be to use the kit set-up and have a chat to a few people once there, all friendly and approachable so no need to worry about taking up peoples time as we're all there to help each other!

[Skye]

I think thats what I will do to begin with, its just a case of deciding which tyres to go for to be honest. Seems that everyone has a different opinion though... lol

[Gonky]

I've only run 4WD there and for that i use yellow minispike front and rear. I think you'll be fine on either pins or spikes as i've seen people run either (personal preference i guess) but as it's your first time there the main aim of the night will be just to get around the track!

[Skye]

John in the shop there suggested Dboots to me, has anyone used these with any success? If not I will go with Schuacher yellows as that seems to be the common choice..

What format does the evening take, in terms of heats and finals etc. Will I need to a transponder?

[Chalkie]

Yeah the dboots terrabytes work fine on the back as well, they work just as well as spikes or pins but with a slightly different feel, and you will be able to borrow a transponder off the club.

[nightjar]

skye
im in the same sort of boat but at the begining im the school boy ive got a bosscat but idont know wether to use it or save up for somthing els

[mattybucks]

Originally Posted by nightjar

skye
im in the same sort of boat but at the begining im the school boy ive got a bosscat but idont know wether to use it or save up for somthing els

You could use your bosscat, but due to the age spares may be a problem, however Bosscat's make good money on a auction sites, or on here.

If you want to run 4wd my advise would be tosell the boss cat and pick up a second hand b44. Awesome car, very competative, and spares easy to get hold off.