Going to buy a Durango but need some advice first please

[colt_seavers]

Hi,

I am new to the forum, and interested in the DEX 410. I have been away from R/C for a long time - I had a Hotshot and a Tamiya Porsche 959 as a kid!

Anyway, it has moved on a lot from then with Lipo and brushless etc. I would like to get into racing and have been doing some research on which car to go for. I was originally thinking of the Durga, and then gave the DB01R a little thought. However, the Durga appears to require quite a few hop ups and the DB01R doesn't seem like great value once you've added the cost of the wheels and body shell.

I know I am going in at the top with this car, but I also take pleasure in owning good quality stuff.

I have decided to go for the following equipment. Please could you advise if you think they're good choices:-

ESC Tekin RS Pro
Motor Tekin Redline 6.5
Transmitter Spektrum DX 2.0
Receiver Spektrum 3500
Servo Not sure, maybe Ace?
Battery Not sure, maybe Trakpower Dark Series
Charger Not sure

Any thoughts on the servo, battery, and charger? I was thinking about the Bantam chargers. Do I need to look for anything specific when it comes to the charger regarding charging saddle packs?

What tools will I require? Do I need to buy wires separately for batteries and ESCs etc?

Finally, is it silly to be going for this car in the first place? Should I just buy a Durga with basic 'combo pack' to get started?

Sorry for all the questions, but I appreciate your help. Thanks!

[jimmy]

The durga is a good car to start racing but if you want to compete then it does need a couple of things and the costs will go up a bit - though you don't need all the stuff people will tell you to buy, I never did and the car was great. I think the DB01R isn't worth the money and you're better off with the basic car with some option bits (steel diff's - 501X dampers - slipper) and building it properly with properly shimmed suspension.

The Durango with the setup you're talking about will be great - but it's on the opposite scale in terms of cash. Will you benefit from the added performance over a mildly hopped up Durga right away? probably not to be honest - but its an awesome thing to look at and hold even before you get racing with it.
You picked up on probably the two favorite cars of mine with the DB01 and DEX410.

The stuff you mention is all good and you shouldn't really have any problems there. I did run an ACE servo in my DEX but have since swapped it out for a low profile KO for no other reason than I thought it looked cool. I've also started running the Trakpower Dark packs recently.

The Tekin comes with wire - you won't need any extra and I 'think' the dark series packs come with wires and connectors (from memory) also. The DEX is a bit of work to wire up but time spent doing a neat job is well worth it.

[colt_seavers]

Thanks for the reply.

My thinking was that although the Durango is about £200 more than the Durga (after hop-ups the Durga would be around £250), in the whole scheme of things that is not a huge difference as the total will be either approx £900 with the Durga or £1100 with the Durango, assuming I use the same electrics for both cars.

[one]

If you are cashed up, the DEX is a great car to return to the hobby with. It is really durable so you wont break that much compared to other cars when you have your L-plates back on.

It would be good to consider if you really want to race, whether you have been to a few events to have a look what the scene is like, and if you want to get into it. If you don't want to race then the DEX may be overkill, although a thing of beauty to own

Having a nice set of tools can make working on the car pleasure. Not essential, but my DEX didn't come with anything. The biggest help I found is a is a ball hex driver for use installing and adjusting the motor.

I am running Futaba brushless servo in my DEX, it works great. As Jimmy has mentioned, if you pick up a low-profile servo you may need to find a solution for the wires fouling the steering post.

You are going to have fun getting back into the hobby. It's worth buying a new car for the love of the build experience.

[colt_seavers]

I am definitely leaning towards the DEX - I think I always was really.

Starting to settle on the gear I am going to use too, although I think I might go for the KO Propo radio system now instead of the Spektrum. It comes with a micro receiver in the set.

What should I look for in a charger for saddle pack Lipos?

[one]

Personally I look for a charger that's small, with a built in balencer. I have been pretty happy with a cheap one I bought a while back, it does a great job and the Lipos are strong each run, with good life after using with this charger for a year. I think the make is GT, I will have a look later.

You might want to look for one that can out-put 10 amps or more, as the new lipos seem to have a better charge rate.