DIY {Do It Yourself** TIPS

[Drive4fun]

List your do it yourself strategies for anything that has to do with R.C. Even good websites with some tips or instructions.
Pit tips, DIY, Tool Reccomendations, Reviews, just about anything that you can think of that has helped you or made things easier in this great hobby of R.C.
Don't Be Selfish and Grimmy Share your experiences/ideas/thoughts etc.
Help out other newcommers to this great hobby!

[Drive4fun]

I'll start with this one.
http://rcvehicles.about.com/od/rcen...rcnitroaf04.htm
Keep all unwanted particles from comming into your car by a simple step of securing your airfilter!

[microrcdude]

-Buy du-bro body clip retainers and never loose body clips again!

[sitin on 1s]

i'm confused...sorry about posting this here but i don't know how to start my own...my car steers to the right on its own...when i turn it on and it automaticaly straightens the wheels it makes them go a little to the right...i think it may be the alignment but i have no i dea of how to fix it...please help...

[jeepinator2]

Does your radio have a "steering trim" knob/wheel/button/option?
What brand/model is your radio?

[jeepinator2]

BTW, to start your very own thread, click on the button that looks like this:

http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/images/buttons/newthread.gif

[stangeroo]

i'm confused...sorry about posting this here but i don't know how to start my own...my car steers to the right on its own...when i turn it on and it automaticaly straightens the wheels it makes them go a little to the right...i think it may be the alignment but i have no i dea of how to fix it...please help...should be trim knobs on your radio, if not, or if its very bad you will need to adjust the steeringing servo armature length

[Grant Tokumi]

To clean screw heads under a chassis from packed dirt, spray denatured alcohal on the screw head and then use the end of a paper clip to pick out the dirt. Its an effective way to clean the heads that are packed with dirt enough so that your hex driver can have enough meat to grab onto. Denatured alcohal seems to work better than simple green or motor cleaner.

[Krasi_5000]

Cleaning Tips 101:
Compressed air works really well for dusting my NTC3 after a good day bashing. Blows all the dirt right off just make sure you dont blow the stuff onto other things like tv, r/c table, controller, your moms dishes lol.
Q-Tips also work for cleaning stuff, i like to put mine in nitro then i clean the engine with em.
A old sock (washed ofcourse) will go a long way in cleaning your car, engine, accesories very effectivly.
If i dont feel like using my compressed air for cleaning i use a 2" painters brush to just dust my car and its as good as the air but a bit slower.
Make sure there is no sand, dust or other debris around the glowplug when removing it, same applies for the air filter. If something does go in make sure you get it out!

The importance of good tools:
I think its very important you get a good set of allen drivers and probably getting a r/c screwz kit or some other after market screw kit. With the stock L-handle allens you cant get leverage, they are NOT precise and you end up rounding screw heads. Also the stock screws are sometimes a weakness and are not really precise. A while ago i got a set of Losi Allen Drivers and the stock screws were awsome and had NO stripping. Then i got a R/C screwz kit and things got even better cause now my car looks better with shiney screws, i got quite a few spare screws with the kit and i keep the old stock ones...with the new screws the heads are much deeper and reduce chances of rounding.

Also dont forget to charge your tx, rx, glow start and starter batteries before you go out or if they have been used for a while.

Krasi_5000

[quicklimegirl]

List your do it yourself strategies for anything that has to do with R.C. Even good websites with some tips or instructions.
Pit tips, DIY, Tool Reccomendations, Reviews, just about anything that you can think of that has helped you or made things easier in this great hobby of R.C.
Don't Be Selfish and Grimmy Share your experiences/ideas/thoughts etc.
Help out other newcommers to this great hobby!
This is perhaps the best thread-start yet. But the reality is most everyone has a cost or availability issue but only want to buy "already made for yourself" stuff. Thinking most are young and not very mechanicaly inclined. DIYers unite!

[Fluke]

use a pencil to plug the exhaust to shut down the engine.fast,cheap and you won't have to buy the dubro exhaust plug crap

We all know the cable tie trick to fasten the bec plugs together so that they don't disconnect by accident.This is a nice tip but not very practical as you will have to cut the tie and use a new one each tome you recharge the cells.
The trick: remember the twist tie that held your rx antena when you bought it?Replace the cable ties with it,they are reusable and does the job perfectly

[ducati777]

Drill your tires!!!

By drilling your tires on the outside edge in the middle, instead of the rim, you'll keep crap out of your tires. They'll stay in balance a lot longer as crud gets thrown out as you drive. If you drill the rims, then every bit o crap will stay in your wheel.

Make your own chasis! Go buy a plate of aluminum or whatever you want to use. Blank circuit board material from radioshack works really well too. Anyway, use vise grips to clamp the original chasis to the blank material and drill all your holes by drilling straight through the existing holes on the original chasis. You'll get everything to mount up nice that way!

[henry_huckem]

^Circuit board material as an RC chassis? How well does it hold up? Is it strong, It seems like it would be pretty light...

[ducati777]

^Circuit board material as an RC chassis? How well does it hold up? Is it strong, It seems like it would be pretty light...

I made a 12th scale pan car with the stuff and it worked great. Also works well as top plates on bigger cars.

Its a lot like a fiberglass board, so its pretty good stuff.

[henry_huckem]

cool idea

[MT2 owns you]

This is perhaps the best thread-start yet. But the reality is most everyone has a cost or availability issue but only want to buy "already made for yourself" stuff. Thinking most are young and not very mechanicaly inclined. DIYers unite!
i think this is thread is a good idea too. you may be right that most of the people here are young and not mechanically inclined, but not for all of the younger ones. im 14, my dads an engineer, a good one too, as well as my grandfather, and my great grandfather. and from what other people are saying i seem to be pretty mechanically inclined, especially compared to the rest of my class, not everyone, but most. i dont know if this counts for much, but i can somewhat weld, ive only done it once or twice. i know a bit more than the basics of using a lathe..you get the idea..just thought you might be somewhat interested...i guess my mechanical ability balances out with my computer..anything..anyway i guess the point is-just because your young, doesnt mean you arent mechanically inclined.

[Maxxcrazy]

What kind of tips are you looking for?

I consider myself technical. 70% of the parts on my 3 RC's are hand made with basic tools and a band saw. 20% are machined using my mill and lathe. I also design all my own parts.

[ducati777]

Yall are talkin bout yourselves too much, post tips!

Like don't buy multiple radios, just multiple crystals. You can run all your cars off 1 radio.

Put velcro on the bottom of your radio, and the top of your toolbox, that way you can stick the radio and walk off.

Use 5 to 10 ohm cermamic resistors in your starter box to make your own glow plug driver. I started at 10 ohms but over time I think they degraded so I added another in paralelle.

Put tape inside your body where things might rub to save your paint.

Spool planetary diffs by just flipping 2 opposing planet gears.

Make a pigtail for your charger with all the different connectors you use. For me that the TX, Rx, deans, power pole, and alligator clips all in 1 off the charger.

[MT2 owns you]

these arent mcuh good, and some if not all of them are no longer a tip, but common sense..but..here they are..
1) for body clips, or clips in general, and your fuel tank, put a ziptie on, and if you want out some fuel tubing on too.
2) if you have more than one car, that uses a removable radio tray like hpi, instead of buying 2 sets of electronics, just stitch the radio tray in and out. it takes a little more time, but saves money. ducati-couldnt you just use one crystal and just not run more than one at once? would that work?
3) i dunno if this would work. i only attempted it..and just left it to sit int he old parts drawer. when you buy a new chassis and the old on is not badly damaged if at all, make something out of it, like a radio tray. it might work...
4) im pretty sure this will work. i've only seen in once, but when you have a 2 spd, but dont want he one way bearing damaged by dirt (or risk it anyway), just put in a 1 spd spur, dont nneda change clutch bell. i dont know if you can choose which of the 2 gears on the clutch bell you can use, but it seems like you should be able to. ( does anybody know if this is true?)

thats my 1.123541 cents

[quicklimegirl]

Cant wait or aint got the buck-two-fifty DIYers make it happen!

[quicklimegirl]

i think this is thread is a good idea too. you may be right that most of the people here are young and not mechanically inclined, but not for all of the younger ones. im 14, my dads an engineer, a good one too, as well as my grandfather, and my great grandfather. and from what other people are saying i seem to be pretty mechanically inclined, especially compared to the rest of my class, not everyone, but most. i dont know if this counts for much, but i can somewhat weld, ive only done it once or twice. i know a bit more than the basics of using a lathe..you get the idea..just thought you might be somewhat interested...i guess my mechanical ability balances out with my computer..anything..anyway i guess the point is-just because your young, doesnt mean you arent mechanically inclined.
I typed "MOST" not "ALL". You got great talent (weldind/lathe etc. for your age. 90% of adults cant replace spark-plugs in their own car. I work in the old mans shop too.

[cool head]

i found silly putty is a must in my tool box.

uses:

1, seals your reciever from dirt, dust and moisture
2, insolates and holds your wiring in place
3, works great as a diff lock
4, helps make custom chassis. to add a part, you lay down a thin layer of putty, press your piece onto the putty, the when you lift the piece off it will leave an impression of your part and its bolt patten, center punch and drill. your part will fit perfect every time.


putting a small piece of zip tie down the hole of a stripped plastic part will hold the screw in place till you can get a new one.

[kitty]

-Buy du-bro body clip retainers and never loose body clips again!
They might work okay for TCs but they break off within the first three rollovers on a MT. :(

[Giant655]

if you ever have a talk show, dont set it on fire!!!

[Drive4fun]

Keep it comming guys..
Body clips with fuel tube and zip ties...
Never loose body clips again!

[ducati777]

ducati-couldnt you just use one crystal and just not run more than one at once? would that work?

Yep. I actually have 3 cars, 2 rx's and 1 crystal... makes for a lot of switching around if I want to run more than 1 car in a day. For now the gas buggy gets my love, but I have a mamba coming for the rc18T.

Ummm need some new tips...
Wherever possible don't screw into plastic, but use a screw long enough to go all the way through the part, then use a nut on the other side. It'll never strip.

Computer cases are excellent sources of metal for parts, they often have just the right angle or section in them if you look hard enough.

Mark your flywheel so you know where BDC is, and then leave the motor at BDC whenever its not running.

Extra fuel line will keep the car running upside down for longer.

Airplane ESC's are cheaper and lighter, but don't have brakes or reverse.

[Combatcm]

If a plastic hole strips, use CA to fill it up, then thread it in and take it out in a minute or two. Sometime I put CA in and just thread the screw in and leave it. Think of it as threadlock for plastic.

My tamiya RC's all get this treatment, the shoulder screws love coming out.

[TBone77]

If a plastic hole strips, use CA to fill it up, then thread it in and take it out in a minute or two. Sometime I put CA in and just thread the screw in and leave it. Think of it as threadlock for plastic.

My tamiya RC's all get this treatment, the shoulder screws love coming out.

:eek:

[ducati777]

Yup CA is threadlocker for plastic. Just put it in snug, not tight and let the glue do the work.

Got another, hold your car upside down whenever removing or putting in the glow plug to help prevent crap from falling in.

[rcdude2711]

I dont know about you guys but the aerial on my maxx is constantly popping out pretty much everytime it rolls over and it gets real annoying having to jam it back in everytime. I'm sure most every off roader has had this problem at least once or twice so i thought up these ideas which help to keep everything in its place:

1) Drill a small hole in the antenna mount that exits from the reciever box and then find a grub screw small enough to screw in (I found a grub screw from any pinion for an electric motor works fine). Then screw it in just enough so it bites the antenna tube, I found this out the hard way and screwed it in too far and ruined my antenna wire :(

2) Take the antenna tube off the car and cut it about a third of the way up from the reciever box itself (not from the top of the antenna tube!). Put the wire back through the tube and then take a piece of relatively firm (fuel) tubing and slide it down over the antenna tubing to where you just cut it. Put the fuel tubing over this gap where you cut it and as long as you allow some space, the tubing will allow the antenna tube to flex under the impact of a rollover but still helps to keep it standing relatively straight. :)

[DJ1978]

Pre tap when building a new kit.
It is well worth it to buy a tap that is the proper size depending on the kit you are building and tapping all holes that screws go in. The screw they give you does not work very well. Also blow out all the debris before inserting the screws.

Eat More Broccoli. The rubber bands they use on Broccoli is perfect to glueing tires. Just the right size. Nice and wide.

Another use for Rubber bands.... Batteries. If you have multiple batteries at the track, It is easy to loose track of what ones are charged. When I hook a battery to the charger, I lay a rubber band on top, when it comes off the charger the rubber band goes on the battery securing the wires, When it goes in a car, the rubber band comes off.

[ElectricThunder]

To lower your ST or MT, simply use zip ties. Zip tie the arm up onto the shock tower. It acts as a limiter so the arm can only travel so far. Not the greatest tip, but alas, a tip. And another tip for ya'll. If you have street tires that fit snugly on their rims so as not to move when you hit WOT, you don't exactly have to glue them. I do this with my rustler and some HPI V groove tires on normal rusty wheels. They're not glued, but they fit snugly enough so that the wheel won't break loose inside of the tire. By doing this, I can rotate fronts to the backs so I can get more tire usage!:D

Just thought of another tip: If you run electric motors, you can extend their life by, after each run, cleaning the comm with a rubber eraser and making sure the brushes don't have any rough edges. If you need to cut the comm and don't race, just bash, you could even do the whole "chuck it in a dremel and use fine grit sand paper" deal. There's a very good chance the arm will be outta round after a few times, but it'll keep the performance somewhat decent, and keep you from spending another 30-40 on a new motor.

Another tip for electric guys: If you want freaky torque out of a 540 size motor and have an old traxxas stinger laying around, put that baby in a good can (p-94 cans work pretty well, so do speed gems cans) and shim it properly. The stinger arm is slightly longer than a standard arm, so it will give you more torque. Great for bashing in an electric MT or ST with bigger tires.

[rocknbil]

Use 5 to 10 ohm cermamic resistors in your starter box to make your own glow plug driver. I started at 10 ohms but over time I think they degraded so I added another in paralelle.

Do you mean glow starter here? Good idea . . . got a place for you to post a pictoral article. PM if interested.

This one's been beat to death but Co-Flex Horse Wrap (http://www.rc-resources.com/guides/shock-wrap.shtml) has many uses in the hobby.

Keep self-adhesive velcro handy, it has thousands of uses, from attaching radios to chassis to holding driver figures inside a lexan body.

[bullethead]

Hi, I got one for you.

I use old diff rings from my GT for electric motor shims on my stampede.

I was using stacked washers "2" because the grub screw was hitting the spur, but that left my motor kinda wobbly and ate up more spurs.

Using my dremel I ground a little off each side of the diff rings to clear the mounting holes and this gives me a nice solid mount.

BULLETHEAD

p.s. hold the rings with pliers,...they get hot.

[Stadium]

Clutch Springs slip under your finger nail when pulling them around! Ouchies :eek: ! Just use an old (or new) clutch spring(s) to grab onto the new ones. Makes them easier to hold onto and you won't score the spring and weaken it with the needlenose plyers. :cool:

[Silent Night]

use pliers and squezz q-tips to get in between the head fins

[MT2 owns you]

use scrap lexan to make a slim(onthe the mt2 slim-ER) spur guard to protect y7our spur form stuff. aluminum works too. i think i used 1/32 inch think aluminum to make mine. works dandy too.

[brushlesstunnel]

i got a tip use common sense when driving he he he for cheap preloads use zip ties around the shock bodies and for easy after run oil use an old plug and drill it out and put it in and pour through there
and ps after fun oil is reallly........................ marvals mystery oil.............you get a quart for teh same price as a small bottol of it at the lhs

[twood]

1) use small velcro squares (with sticky back) for securing speed controls,batteries, and/or receivers.
2) empty pringles cans make good tire holders (clean them first)
3)slide a small piece of fuel tubing over your antenna wire and tube to keep the wire from flopping in the air.
4)to avoid flat spots on tires, use wall hooks (there are many sizes and shapes) to hang your r/c's when not in use or use a stand