Hi everyone (a newcomer needing advice!)

[chris_exeter]

Hi guys, first off, nice forum.. great website - I'm absolutely loving the reviews section, thanks for the info!

As my name suggests, I'm Chris from Exeter. I used to race 1:10 electric offroad about 15 years ago.. I think I quit when I was 14 yet still managed to get in about 9 years rc race experience!

Over the years I have always thought about getting back into racing and now I've decided I'm definitely going to. I found a few websites and You Tubes showing a local Tiverton race track which looks fantastic! Great news considering I presumed things would have died out with the birth of the games consoles.

I've been reading through your great reviews and am so far opting for the BJ4 World Edition (with full 4wd) - my favourite ever car (exceeding my Dogfighter, Lazer ZX, Pro Cat to name a few) was a shaft driven Tamiya Manta Ray with a ridiculous amount of modifications. I loved how it was such an aggressive drive - very loud and very powerful!

The BJ4 looks like an amazing piece of design and engineering.. it just looks so right. I'm sure it's the car for me. I checked out their website, Am I right in assuming I have to order direct from US? What's the total price including shipping/tax etc and how long is the wait?

I'm not really sure what sort of motor, speed controller etc to get... I used to run with 1700 SCRs and now I see you can get 4200!! Wow! Do races last longer than 5 minutes these days?

I used to prefer Novak controllers and Trinity motors has anything changed or are these still safe bets? Any recommendations?

No way will I ever switch to a wheel transmitter, sticks all the way for me! I saw a Gemini for about £99 with digital trims etc.. I dont want anything particularly fancy here.. again, any recommendations?

Finally, I can't spray shells to save my life.. are there any pros out there who can help me out for a few quid?

Ooops, that reminds me another question! Where's the best place to shop for low prices and good service? I guess I'm expecting to rinse out at least a thousand notes here so am hoping for so some reasonable discount!

Sorry to trouble you with so many questions, I'm just so far out of the loop these days and this site looks like a great place to get re-started.

Thanks in advance!

[stefke]

Can't answer everything, but i'll give it a shot.

Novak is still a save bet for an ESC. My 2 Cyclones are serving me for almost 8 years now. You can still get Trinity motors, but Motors with a V2 endbell seem to be more interesting for off road (Orion, Peak Performance, ...). Or you can do like me and go Brushless and never look back. IMHO, I would be crazy to buy a whole new brushed system these days when you can get an almost maintenance free, powerful BL system for a few quid more.

Indeed, cells go to 4200-4300 mA these days and runtime is still 5 minutes (sounds crazy coming from 1700 SCRC's I guess ). The IB cells seem to be the most powerfull, although I have the impression that the GP cells are more durable. I'm using GP 3700's. They give me all the power I'll ever need for Off-road and they can be bought cheap these days. Runtime is no problem at all. I finish in 4WD with 30% left in my 3700's.

As for the car : It's personal preference. The BJ4 WE certainly is a very good car, but I never liked modern shaft driven 4WD offroad cars. Didn't like my Predator in the 90'ies and didn't like my ZX5 last year, so I went back to the good old belter.

I also liked my Manta Ray a lot back then, so if you're a Tamiya fan, you can buy two good tamiya 4WD cars these days : If you want a full option, competition ready belt car, they have the TRF501X, or if you want a cheap shaft car with loads of hop-up potential, the DF03 (Dark impact, Keen Hawk) looks promesing. Look at them in the Tamiya section of this forum

[jimmy]

the BJ4we is an excellent car, I have raced it quite a lot this year getting my best ever 4wd national result and also making the A final at the F345's with it.
Shaft drive is good for me as it doesn't need as much cleaning and looking after generally, and I like to spent most of my time taking photos.
If you like it then you can get it either from JConcepts direct - they are great to deal with and I got my original BJ4 from them before there was an importer here.
The importer is Wings and Wheels who also coincidentally are in Tiverton I think - or at least they are at the club.

[Richard Lowe]

Welcome back Chris

You can either order a BJ4 directly through Jason or from either Wings and Wheels or DC Racing in the UK. It's slightly cheaper going direct but sometimes customs can sting you and you end up paying more, so for the lack of hassle it's usually easier to go for one of the shops mentioned.

The car is very easy to drive with full time 4wd but you might find it a bit understeery on corner entry, in which case I'd look to get a front one-way. I've used the centre one-way every time I've been to Tiverton (indoor dirt) recently as it's a lot more forgiving when the track breaks up than the one-way diff.

For the motor and speedo I'd be looking into brushless if I were you, they're legal for BRCA events now and you won't need a lathe either. Have a look at the LRP Shere competition and something like a 3* (5.5 turn I think) motor, which shouldn't be too silly

The cells I'd buy at the moment are the GP4300's, for this year I bought GP4300's for my 2wd and IB4200's for my 4wd. Initially the IB's had a bit more punch than the GP's but their performance has dropped right off now and my GP's almost feel like new still.

Lee Martin was doing shells for people at one time (not sure if he still does), I think Chris Rowcliffe (Wings and Wheels) has done a shell or too in the past too. Both of them are fairly local to you and regulars at Tiverton

[BenG]

I'd also go with a brushless.

Purely because of the value.

Just think, you buy a mod motor (£60) spare brushes (about £4) Thats £64. You give you're motor a good caning. Its been trashed, and needs a skim. You wither buy a lathe. Thats £150. Or you get someone else to do it at £3-6 a go.

So get as brushless, and you get a better motor, which is more efficeinet

[tc2k]

Bit pessimistic there TYRC

You can buy a 12x1 V2 like me for £32 new. Then buy a second hand lathe for about £40 (I paid £35)

So £70 for motor maintenance and good motor. Two sides of the coin

[Stu]

Chris,
you will get alot of conflicting advice from here on, the best advice I think anyone can give you is to get yourself on www.trccc.co.uk and go along to a meeting. Talk to the racers & go to the club shop.

Jimmy's reviews are VERY well balanced, the BJ4 is a great car, but have a look at some others 'in the flesh', then go back to the reviews before buying.

In terms of the electrics, there are absolutely loads of ways to go, again have a nosey around the club & talk to the shop.

You should get some good stuff for 1k which should last you a fair while.

[LiamD]

It's the 'fit and forget' side of brushless that is best though. It's one less thing to bother about while racing.

For someone starting from scratch again, I think it's by far the best way to go. Mine has been great, the only fault is the sheer size of the Novak GTB, it's a bit of a job to get it in the X-6.

[neiloliver]

Hi there! no-one has touched on the subject of the radio gear.. The Sanwa is a great set and the £99 price tag is very good. The 800mAh NiCd battery pack is not too brilliant, i can help you out with a 1650mAh NiMH one of you PM me some time. Many people are going to Spektrum sets now which work in the GHz band and dont require crystals - these are meant to be totally interference free but i cant comment as i still use my Ko Propo 40meg set. I agree with you on the steering wheel thing.. using one of those things is like trying to rub your tummy and pat your head at the same time!

I agree on the brushless stuff, if your starting from scratch then go for one of these. I dont believe they are totally hassle free though, people are having issues with overheating and with water ingress. these things happen in brushed too, just down think that going brushless is 100% perfect yet!

you will find things have not changed that much, people still swear at marshals that dont have the reflex's of a spider, 18 year old top drivers still think they walk on water, and the parts cost more in £ than they do in $... but it is still the best hobby on the planet!

Neil

[chris_exeter]

Wow! Thanks for the great information guys, nice one

To be honest, I was a bit worried I had asked too much and my thread would get ignored! So I'm well chuffed with such a response!

First off, the car.. for me the car is definately the first choice before anything else. I read all Jimmys excellent reviews twice over and the BJ4 just seems the one for me by a long shot. The new Yokomo also looks like a sweet belt alternative however I had loads of Dogfighters before and they always reminded me a bit of Emile Heskey! as in, could be great but somehow, somewhere it just isn't happening hehe..

I totally agree with the guy who said not to prejudge and go to a few meetings and see how I feel about the cars then.. great call! I'm definitley going to do that and saw Tiverton has a meet early January so I will be there for sure.

Since I posted my first message I have now read pretty much every thread on this website lol.. two 3am ers! (my girlfriend is already seeing RC as a threat!)..

..and certainly brushless sounds like the way forward - I didn't even realise these setups were available.. low maintenence sounds good however I don't really see it as a saving! Surely there is still the guy at the local meet who will use his lathe to sort your motor for a fiver every now and then? Surely you can't bring the cost of a lathe into the balance!

Having said that, I love my gadgets regardless, and if Brushless is latest technology then Brushless it is! I'm definitely looking forward to hooking the speedo up to my PC for extra fiddling!! Great stuff!

However, I'm a little concerned about the fact its really new techology - from what I understand its less than a year mainstream and only just been accetped in the Nationals recently. Is there an element of all the current Brushless systems being Beta versions? I.E very inconsistent and unreliable..

I'm all up for spending some money to get started but don't really fancy the idea of blowing a £200 speedo in Week One - that would be somewhat demoralising!

Regarding batteries, I've seen quite a few commments on here bigging up Team Almighty batteries.. I checked out their website and saw they currently have a sale on their batteries.. £30 a pop seems a very good price assuming they are of the quality the messages on this board suggests..

My concern is, are all batteries coming down in price now due to the introduction of this next gen Lipo battery? Will I get a good deal regardless or is the Team Almighty deal genuinely a great offer?

Also, I haven't seen much in the way of information on chargers.. any help would be most welcome!

Oops! Just realised how long this message is already, so better stop for now!


Thanks again guys, great welcome. Cheers

[chris_exeter]

Just checked the Wings and Wheels website.. it's down due to technical issues..

If the owners frequent this board then send me a message as I have a web design business and could definitely get a developer to fix whatever the problem is..

(especially as I'm soon to be needing some hardcore discount! lol)

[tc2k]

For Brushless or not, i chose to go brushed because short term, I couldnt afford brushless although it probably would have been a better long term investment. Im sure whatever you choose will be fine, I run brushed but Id say to go brushless, the future as everyone says, the new mamba max looks very promising.

As for batteries, I still think Lipos have a way to go before they become even as mainstream as brushless. A decent set of batts should be good for at least a race season so you should be fine buying nimhs. Those £30 IBs are an excellent deal, pre assembled, cant go wrong for the price.

As for a charger, Id go for the Orion Advantage Lipo. You have the assurance that if Lipo does become mainstream, you can easily charge them and not have to buy another charger.

[chris_exeter]

Thanks for the info, I think I may treat myself to those Team Almigty ones as a little Christmas present for myself

How many packs would I need? Back in my day the SCE batts ideally could only be charged once per day.. is that the same today or can they be discharged and charged again for the same meet?

I.E Do I need 2 or 4...?

Does anyone know how many races I would get in one meeting at Tiverton?

Thanks again!

[tc2k]

At our club its usually 4 races a night including the final. Ive just got 4 packs of batteries and if need be, ill charge one twice. Id say 4 is a decent ammount

[chris_exeter]

Whoops! I just got home from Wings and Wheels in Tiverton.. went for a chat and came home with some kit

Apparently the Tivvy meetings only really cater for 2wd so I opted for a RC10 B4 with an LRP Brusless System... I am creaming myself to see how the equivilent of an 8 double (or whatever) goes like in a 2wd.. I rememeber my old Ultima couldnt stay on 4 wheels in a straight line with a 16 quad so this should be lots of fun.

I tried to consider a budget so didnt elaborate in every department. Bought a few packs of 3600 batts and a servo for £33 (Hi Tec HS625-MG) - apparently its a pretty decent one with metal gears.. and I guess I dont need it quite as quick as 2wd is a different driving style. Bought a Gemini II transmitter and a Pro Peak 2500vp charger (which i have no idea if is any good or not!) . A few tools etc and I've just managed to blow £550 right before Christmas.. oops!

Looking forward to building it over Christmas and hopefully will be set up in time for the Tivvy meet on 7th Jan... great stuff!

[tc2k]

Not bad, buggy, brushless and radio sound great.
As for batteries are they the intellect sticks? As for charger, the varipulse is a decent charger I used to have but I have a feeling youll soon outgrow it. Sounds great, better starter kit than I had
Should be fast

[chris_exeter]

Yeah the batts are Intellect, good call! How are they? I only bought two packs for now just for testing purposes, I'll see how they go. I think you're right on the charger, I'm not really liking the idea of no digital readings to see what charges the batteries can take, likewise what they have left at the end of the race, however just before Christmas and with a 2 week Jamaica holiday and annual car insurance to pay for I really had to consider my budget!

Has anyone used this servo before? I would have preferred a top of the range servo, but again, saving £60 on this one while still having one that is apparently 'plenty good enough' was the main reason.

Yeah I'm expecting it to be lightening fast compared to what I used to run.. really looking forward to it. Now I just need to learn how to drive again!

Any links for B4 build tips would be great, obviously I'll be reading Jimmys!

[chris_exeter]

Oh dear.. I just read something in the B4 section saying the 4* Vector motor is way too fast for a 2WD.. I actually had this concern at the shop but was told I can turn it down somewhat.. lol.. I'm looking forward to this!

[tc2k]

Everyone knows its more fun when its not recommended!

Yes, the Intellect 3600s are pretty good batteries. As for a charger, you can pick up a decent second hand nimh charger for about £60 so when you can scrape enough together, get something like a second hand pulsar, I have one and its ace.

That servo will be fine, I run a pretty average 0.16s, 90oz analog servo and Im keeping up just fine.

[super__dan]

Mate an 8 turn equivilent in a 2wd car at Tivvy will be undrivable, you don't have the grip, commonly 12 turns are used!