What stinks about RC: Post what you think!

[Throtl Hapie]

What I think stinks or is just bad about RC:
(mostly about electric, I don't have a nitro car)
1) Chargers, only a few are cheap and good. Unlike the turbo 35 (or what ever it is) that costs 400 friggin dollars!
2) CVD's: Sure, they are great, but do they really have to cost 30+ bucks?
3) Motor heat sinks: They are nice, but they also cost way too much for what they are.
4) Aluminum: Very strong and looks cool, but aluminum isn't a rare metal, so why does it have to cost so much (I kinda know why, but still so expensive).
5) ESC's: You have to pay extra for reverse, and they are already expensive as it is!

many more too.
Your thoughts?

[rcracer_xxxt_futaba]

There so "High-Teck" they break a lot.

[BrahmaBullSQ]

i don't like the price of really computerized radios. all they do for u is save the settings of different cars. they don't make u any faster.

[StephenB]

I'll tell you what stinks...that I have to work, eat, sleep and do other things than R/C when I'm really in the mood to drive!

The worst part about R/C is the second I quit running my car for the day. I have to WAIT at leat a day, sometimes a week, before I can run again...

Why don't you guys try to concentrate about what you like? There's so much cool stuff to talk about, why complain about the few things you don't like?? http://www.rccaraction.com/ubb/smile.gif

[RC X2000]

YES I AGREE 100% WITH STEPHEN B


Originally posted by BrahmaBullSQ:
i don't like the price of really computerized radios. all they do for u is save the settings of different cars. they don't make u any faster.


umm ok that don't make much sense but: you right they don't make you faster, but who wants to spend 500$+ on 3 radios when you can just buy one for all your cars? for electric cars you don't have to have all the goodies to have fun with rc! I just run stock setups most thet ime no esc just msc, stock motor and i'm fine. I also don't think electric brakes easy either it depends on how you handle it, off course if you drive it 20-40mph+ head on into a cement wall your gonna brake something nothins industructable my friends, later RC X


[This message has been edited by RC X2000 (edited 11-07-2000).]

[Barrff]

Admit it! This sport is still relatively new. Anything "new" or "leading edge" will always cost and arm and a leg. Also keep in mind these guys are in business to make money! You make money by selling the Latest, Greatest, Must Have, Need to Have to win technology.

[cde79]

Come on guys! Yea some of this stuff seams expensive but try running real stock cars on saturday nites and spending $10-$15,000 a year versus what we spend on rc. I own a track and don't spend as much as I used to on a ministock dirt car, so count your blessings oh and before you say we won money I usually finished in the top 5 which were the only places that paid and even when I won I didn't get enough to cover entry fee-fuel etc. for the nite!

[bobcedric]

My dislike is kit parts that come with the car, and are stated to be prone to breakage in the instructions or on the website.

Especialy when the replacements are in the instructions as hop ups and they cost the same as the breakable part.

[Barrff]

What I hate about RC.
Quality of products scale: Poor, Fair, Good, and Excellent.

There are very few "good" quality products. It's either crap (poor or fair) or race quality(Excellent)! There is not much in between. How many RC kits are there out there that cost less than $200 and doesn’t require a hop-up of some sort?

This is what I would like to see.

Cost: Less than $200
Full set of sealed ball bearings. No! Not one bushing anywhere!!! Did you hear me, not one bushing for any reason anywhere!
Shaft drive / belt drive your choice
Well engineered pro-ball diff that doesn’t leak and is low maintenance.
Better quality gears. Out of the box.
Centax type “adjustable from the outside” clutch.
Aluminum adjustable shocks
Steering linkage that doesn’t bend, strip or pop apart.
Simpler Modular layout. I want to be able to take out the receiver, tank, front diff, rear diff or the motor and not have to take the whole d*** thing apart!

Basically I want a kit I can take out of the box, assemble it, and run like hell for a year without having to spent $200 for parts or hop-ups. (Excluding tires, gas and batteries).
I particularly hate RTR's for this reason!
Anyone up for the challenge?????
barrff@hotmail.com

[Throtl Hapie]

I agree somewhat. Some cars do cost a lot, and are too over priced. Some others cost like 270, don't come with rims and tires or a body, no electrics (i'm talking about electric cars), and not even bearings sometimes. This is getting to cost too much!

[agalanis]

My biggest beef is still with the mo-mo hobby shop owners.

Attitude, mis information... just general snobbiness of them.

[Throtl Hapie]

Yes! Out of maybe 10 total guys from different hobby shops, only 2 or 3 were nice.

[XXXER]

Mine would have to be that there is so little time to race(hehe) and that they are always outdoing themselves, Another thing is that those kids that get anything they want(usually the best stuff) and they don't know how to use it, tune it, maintain it. Mainly I am just jealous of the above LOL

[Max]

Ooops wrong thing...

[This message has been edited by Max (edited 11-07-2000).]

[elscotto80]

i cann't stand cleanig my nitor truck. this thing gets dirt where you could never imagine. other thing is price, 25 bucks for a gallon of gas????? seems it would be cheaper to just take a weed eater engine and make a custom chassis and run it like that(i plan on doing that in a few years) well thats all i got to say.

[Throtl Hapie]

I agree with rcracer xxxt etc...
Things like a motor heatsink are so simple but expensive. I can understand stuff like graphite and carbon fiber costing a pretty penny, but things like an esc that you have to pay $20 more just to be able to go backwards. That's pretty ludicrous.

[mavrick0611]

what i hate about r/c,,, it has to be the prices. like $9 for a hudy reamer??? and $9 for a z shaped bending tool. and the hobby store NEVER has the part you broke they always sold the last one 2 seconds before you walked in!!! lol
aj

[backyardbasher]

I don't have an R/C yet, gonna order tomorrow, but based on what I heard, experienced over the past 2-3 weeks doing my research, I'll give my 2 cents worth:
1) Deciding between nitro & electric. Hehe
2) Like you said Throtl Hapie, cost of chargers, and batteries as well, IMO, which pretty much made me choose nitro.
3) Obnoxious LHS workers (kids) who think they know everything and who talk mumbo jumbo R/C tech language to me, 'cause I'm a newbie to make me think he knows everything.
4) LHS workers who get distracted helping you when their next buddy comes in the door and then starts chatting with the buddy not you. 5) Likewise, the buddy who rudely interrupts our conversation 'cause he's a regular in the store and therefore he has seniority, this is also annoying.
5) And finally, the LHS guy that helps you less and less the more often you come into his store because you ask too many newbie Q's and he probably thinks you aren't ever gonna buy anything from his store.

However, i must say that on the bright side, I'd rather race around an R/C car, bash it around, bash it around with other peeps. I can't do that with my real car. I need to drive to work. And obviously cheaper than hopping up a real car.

[This message has been edited by backyardbasher (edited 11-08-2000).]

[backyardbasher]

Originally posted by XXXER:
Mine would have to be that there is so little time to race(hehe) and that they are always outdoing themselves, Another thing is that those kids that get anything they want(usually the best stuff) and they don't know how to use it, tune it, maintain it. Mainly I am just jealous of the above LOL

Oh hehe. I can't help but notice a similarity between these kids and kids who get to drive any real car they want (usually mommy's mercedes or BMW will do), of course they don't know how to drive it, tune it, nor maintain it either. http://www.rccaraction.com/ubb/smile.gif I guess these kids are just starting early in R/C first. Heh

[JoeTheShmoe]

Originally posted by Barrff:
What I hate about RC.
Quality of products scale: Poor, Fair, Good, and Excellent.

There are very few "good" quality products. It's either crap (poor or fair) or race quality(Excellent)! There is not much in between. How many RC kits are there out there that cost less than $200 and doesn’t require a hop-up of some sort?

This is what I would like to see.

Cost: Less than $200
Full set of sealed ball bearings. No! Not one bushing anywhere!!! Did you hear me, not one bushing for any reason anywhere!
Shaft drive / belt drive your choice
Well engineered pro-ball diff that doesn’t leak and is low maintenance.
Better quality gears. Out of the box.
Centax type “adjustable from the outside” clutch.
Aluminum adjustable shocks
Steering linkage that doesn’t bend, strip or pop apart.
Simpler Modular layout. I want to be able to take out the receiver, tank, front diff, rear diff or the motor and not have to take the whole d*** thing apart!

Basically I want a kit I can take out of the box, assemble it, and run like hell for a year without having to spent $200 for parts or hop-ups. (Excluding tires, gas and batteries).
I particularly hate RTR's for this reason!
Anyone up for the challenge?????
barrff@hotmail.com
eh.....


[This message has been edited by JoeTheShmoe (edited 11-08-2000).]

[Brent F]

waiting a week for mail order parts and all those little screws http://www.rccaraction.com/ubb/mad.gif

[robert]

the people at the LHS where i live are pretty cool. they have been into r/c a long time, answer any ? you have, order parts that get there on time with no charge for ordering them just for you, and they even race at the local track. only problem is the price if nitro, like 70$ a gallon. also they only have the part you need about half the time.

[greg_in_michigan]

waiting a week for mail order parts?!!!! try 4 months!!!!!!!!!!

i waited for 4 months for tower to get in a diff, (which by the way was for the traxxas sledgehammer, not the traxxas rustler!!!) i orderd it thinking it was a rustler part. and i waited for losi shock oil, front bog bores, and rear big bores. the front big bores are the ones that came 4 months after my order.

[R_C_MAN]

I dislike the high prices. Some touring cars are just a slab of graphite with arms gears and screws but yet they cost hundreds.!?

[Darkside]

I think it stinks when you buy from a place like Sheldon's Hobbies and your told that "it is a problem that you people with your small orders, have to call to get the tracking number" The small order in this case was over $100, and it was three days late getting there!

[Habu118]

Ok, heres the deal on the prices, and being an Engineer, I know:
1. Plastic Injection molding dies can easily cost up to $30,000 for each mold

2. Machined parts (ie. aluminum cvd's, etc.) are very costly to make, and when production runs are small (compared to aerospace industry standards) they cost even more.

3. Most of the cost for plastics and electronics reflect the R&D and tooling that is involved, not the materials and part itself.

4. remember: when you are buying these parts, you are paying for the salaries of technicians and engineers who work for these realativley small companies, and nobody works for free.