New To RC, Help Needed

[Mekong]

I am new to RC and know relatively nothing about it. I am interested in getting a monster truck or buggy that I can use for bashing around, no racing. What would be an affordable yet well made car?

I am leaning towards nitro because of the short battery life and charge times. Is this recommendable for a beginner?

I have been recommend the sport-maxx by a few, is this any good?

[TexasPete]

I was a newbie to Nitro, but I picked up a Savage SS! It has been a bit of a struggle, but when that thing is runnig right, it is a pretty great feeling! I would reccomend anything by HPI especially if you are going to be bashing. The savage is one tough cookie. Keep in mind that I don't have anything to compare that too. But even with the problems I have had with getting the Savage going, I wouldnt trade it for the world.

[-=ADA$=-]

nitro is great now for begginers, so many RTR's and here you can find alot of helpful informations, i think savage, MGT or other monster would suit your needs, theres alot of affordable trucks on the market

[sippinXnitro]

i have a tmaxx, and the new trx is pretty hard to tune, not very beginner friendly but it is a durable truck at least. my 2c

[highroller]

Nitro has been made easier than it was, electric is also fun. Post your questions here or check the Vehicle forum section to get more information. Most of the forum in vehicle section is listed by manufacturers then vehicle type.

My decision in buying any vehicle is based on past experiences with a particular manufacturer, price, what parts are available locally or thru mail order and sometimes feedback from others.

[Mekong]

Can you get anything good in the 200-250$ range? I am not interested in racing just bashing around...

[dasmoose]

If you're just intrestred in bashing I would advise going with one of the 4WD monster trucks, buggies are more suited to racing, and the extra travel of the monsters are great for bashing.

All of my R/C's have been nitro, but I recently bought my son a e rustler, and I've got to admit it, that little electric truck is nice. It's easier to deal with than my nitro trucks, it's plug and play, no carb tuning, or the extra support equipment nitro needs. And he hasn't broken anything yet, neither have I. Most of this is due to the fact the the electric stadium truck is lighter and a lot slower than my MT, and landings are more gentle on the e truck than on my 14 lb nitro monster.

If you're looking in the 200-250 range I would suggest looking for something on ebay, or some other used truck. Just be careful, read up on the kind of truck that tickles your fancy, get a good idea of what you want on the truck, and don't get suckered in on something that's not worth the money.

Good luck, and have fun tearing it up!

[astainback]

I agree with dasmoose. I would try to go the used route if you only want to spend that much.

There are some very experienced drivers on this board that sell trucks all the time. I would look into buddying up with one of them in the buy/sell/trade forum and they can tell you what they have and what they will send you. Also, you can make sure that you get what you need to run it right away.

Have you been to you local hobby shop?? You might be able to get one from there. I know that my LHS sells used cars that aren't picked up from repairs. People drop them off and forget about them becuase of price. Their loss can be your gain.

If you see someone on the buy/sell/trade forum, you can check up on their backgound (there is a forum for it) and make sure that they haven't done someone wrong.

Good luck!!

ask away if you need to.. i will give you my advice... and someone else may have better!!

adrian

[KartMan]

DO NOT START OUT IN NITRO. Anyone who tells you that it is a good idea, is not a friend. I don't know you, but I would tell you that EVERYONE needs to start with an electric RC. Nitro has to many things going on for a NEWBIE to keep track of. Maintenance is 100% more, and you must keep up on the engine tuining daily. FORGET about all of that, buy an electric, a few battery packs, and bash while another one is charging. You should only be down for about 5 minutes between every pack.

BASH AWAY!

[astainback]

Kartman has a point. Electric is easier. But I don't think Nitro is that hard. (this is only my opinion kartman) I don't know your age. I don't know your technical knowledge. I don't know if you have ready and available help. Well, ok.. you do. The forum. But it is nice to have someone available in person to assist you if you need it.
Like your hobby store, your dad or brother (or son... :) ), neighbor....

Weigh these things out. If you are flying solo, I might consider electric if I was you.

that's my honest opinion...

adrian

[broncobill]

I started out with nitro. It has not been that hard for me. Although, I am very mechanicly inclined. My first was the RC10GT. It cost $280, fuel about $25 @ gallon, and batteries, 12 AA in all. for the truck, and 8 in the transmitter. I would recommend this truck to newbie. Monster trucks are nice(I have the Monster GT), but the parts cost more. One thing you should do before you buy anything, is check with your local hobby shop and see what parts they stock. Nothing worse than breaking something (and you will) and not being able to get parts for it fast. I think most, if not all hobby shops carry parts for the GT. The RC10GT RTR comes with every thing you need to run except the fuel and AA batteries. No matter what you buy, you will have fun.

[Losi Stealth]

I have four cars, all electric. There isn't much of a hastle to it. I started with an old rustler, nice little truck to start with. (I run a XX4 and have a mini T for fun) For 200 to 250 you can get alot more out of an electric car than you can with nitro. (my experience anyway)

If you get something like a traxxas stampede, thats the truck for 150 and 100 in basher batteries goes pretty far at 15 to 20 bucks a pack and 30 to 50 dollars for a peak charger.

If you are going to go electric, you must buy a peak charger, you can get a decent one at a good price now. The Duratrax chargers are good for beginners.

Usually guys at a lhs are pretty helpful. They want you to come back happy and buy something else, so they are usually very happy to talk and help.

Can't offer my opinion on if nitro is good or bad, but I know electric works for me.

[born2rc]

I just started out nitro, but I have been in electric for 3 years. Electric is so much less of a hastle, and your complaint was run time and charge time. If you get some gp 3300s bashing you can run for like 15 minutes! And if you have more than one battery you can start charging it right after you head out to bash. Then when you get back you will have a short wait till its charged and out you go again.

[astainback]

Another suggestion... try to get to a race. Watch all the different heats and decide which looks more exciting to you. The first time i went to a race, the 1/8 scale onroad cars were the best (in my opinion... plus, it was only an onroad track).

Then i researched and found out how expensive an 1/8 scale serpent was... (that was the choice car of course) and decided to hold off on onroad.

Personally, i thought the nitro was a lot more exciting. Its loud... its fast... and the smell.... (no i don't sniff fumes... but you nitro guys know what i am talking about.)
When you are whipping down the street at 40 mph leaving a stream of smoke... you will know what rc fun is.

again, this is my opinion... not yours.... GO TO A RACE!!! (they are fun to watch)

[Cain]

Nitro is more exciting if the sounds and the size ( 1/8 scale ) are you thing. I did some nitro running, but as it was stated above by others, tuning can be a hassle.

Personally, If I did nitro again, I would go with what looks like the simplest design like a losi XXX-NT or a RC10GT.

If you think you may want to race, I would also stop at the track and see what they run and what you feel you an be competitive in. Right now there is a contraversy in Nitro monster trucks as you have a lot of truggies going up against regular monsters like the savage and the truggies just flat out whip them.

[Mekong]

I was considering getting an electric traxxas stampede because of price, but I have a few questions:

1. How fast can they go?

2. How long will the battery really last before the car starts to slow?

[Cain]

I am currently getting an Electric stampede together for my newphew as an early christmas / birthday present. The Stampede is a pretty tough vehicle, not much options to tune it as it comes but as a newbie you really don't need them. Only thing to remember is that there really isn't a class to race it in, alot of times they chuck you with the 2wd stadium trucks and with its high CG it can't compete. If you however use it for what it was intended for you should be quite happy with it.

one of the first things I would do when I got it would be put full ball bearings in the kit and also use the RPM carriers instead of the stock ones as the RPM ones hold up ALOT better. You can really go crazy with this truck if you want to really upgrade it heavily. There are even 4wd conversions out there for it.

The stampede comes with a stinger motor if I remember correctly and depending on how you gear it, it should go a bit slower than a well tuned stock motor which is still plenty fast if you are new.

For battery last time, it depends on the packs you get. Since the motor isn't too wild, you should last a while, especially with the 3300s.

If you want something that you can race in the future and a truck, look into a XXX-T or a T4. I personally like AE better, but you can get a XXX-T Spec from ultimate hobbies for only $99 shipped.