On road rc for newbie to electric

[Dino451]

Haven't been here in a while. Iam looking for a Electric Rc thats more for play. Iam looking for quality but at a cheap price. My LHS support mostly associated, and hpi. But i can order from the internet if needed. Kits or RTR I have a slight prefrence for RTR because Iam a little busy but only slightly more for RTR. Throw out a few suggestions and I will look into them. Thanks for any help I can get. If there is anything else you need to help me just ask.

[nomad1]

Any of the Tamiya XB, the Traxxas 4-tec(get the one with the ESC), HPI sprint, Associated rc10TC4 RTR. These are all good RTR, but for durability(and bashing/playing) I would stay with the Tamiya or Traxxas. They can take a harder hit, and resist breaking a little more.

[RC10racer89]

Tamiya TA-05, TB-02, are good cars as well, even if they aren't ready to run. I'd also suggest the RTR TC4, especially since your LHS will have parts for it. You have no idea how big a help that can be.

[Dino451]

Iam already looking into the TC4. Looks nice. I have two NTC3's already and have had great results with them. It's a little out of my budget but looks to be the best so far. Any quick reviews?

[iblumberg]

Iam already looking into the TC4. Looks nice. I have two NTC3's already and have had great results with them. It's a little out of my budget but looks to be the best so far. Any quick reviews?

I just got into RC and also just got a TC4 after getting my son an HPI Sprint. The TC4 is much better. Associated cheaped out a bit by using some cheaper parts on the RTR (the most costly difference is the cheaper shocks on the RTR). However, you can add parts later to turn the RTR into the regular Team TC4 or even the Factory Team TC4.

Out of the box, the TC4 RTR runs well. The included radio is quite basic, but works well enough for a beginner. The TC4 itself runs quite fast for an RTR. It is reviewed briefly in the current Touring Car special issue of Car Action. It is rated to run almost 25 MPH out of the box and with about $150 in upgrades (new motor, new ESC, big battery) it hit almost 45 MPH.

There is a bit of torque steer when you give it full throttle suddenly. Also, I am still playing with the suspension set up as it is a bit tail happy (i.e., the rear end slides out) when turning with either moderate acceleration or braking.

I have had a blast bashing around parking lots with it so far. Note however, that because of the design of the drive train, it is easy for small pebbles to get caught between the spur and pinion gears. You will know when this happens as it makes a nasty noise and it tears up the plastic spur gear pretty badly. after about 5 hours of operation over 5 days, I am already in the market for a new spur.

For comparison, the HPI Sprint, while a decent car for bashing just does not compare to the TC4 RTR. The TC4 is much faster out of the box, has better components (e.g., the Sprint has no adjustable links or turnbuckles). Also, the Sprint cannot easily be coverted to a top level racer the way the TC4 can. They also come with the same radios. Given that the Sprint and TC4 RTR are priced within $30 of each other, the TC4 is a no brainer.

Ira

[Dino451]

Thanks for the review. Its at the top of my list and will most likely be the one I choose.

[Dino451]

Is there a weak link in the TC4, like a certain part tends to break easier than the rest. Granted its good to have a weak zone to prevent damage to other areas but is there anything that just bugs the owners of the TC4 that should be replaced as soon as I get it. Just trying to get convinced here, sorry for the trouble.

[iblumberg]

Is there a weak link in the TC4, like a certain part tends to break easier than the rest. Granted its good to have a weak zone to prevent damage to other areas but is there anything that just bugs the owners of the TC4 that should be replaced as soon as I get it. Just trying to get convinced here, sorry for the trouble.

There may be others, but from what I have read, the key weak point is the outdrives (the shafts that come out of the diffs and interface with the CVDs). There have been many reports that the stock plastic outdrives split and/or melt under hard use. I plan to replace mine with the steel version that should be bullet proof.

Other issues are:

* The RTR version comes with plastic CVDs rather than alu. This may actually take some stress off the outdrives, but may also be another weak point.

* The RTR comes with lower quality shocks (no threaded adjusters and I think no oil fill). These can be replaced, but the threaded and oil damped shocks are quite expensive.

* I'm not satisfied with the stock tires as they don't seem to stick well on the paved surfaces where I have been driving. The may be better for cleaner surfaces with higher traction. I have been running in dusty, pebble-filled parking lots and definitely need a stickier tire.

* I've already mentioned the pebbles in the spur gear problem.

* When driving full speed, I hear the motor hesitate on occasion. I think this is glitching as it seems to happen mostly when the car is 30 feet or more away from me.

All of the above are fairly minor problems and all can be solved through the application of $$. As long as you don't plan immediately to replace the motor, servo, radio, speed controller and body shell, then the RTR version is still a good deal. For a price difference of about $50 between the kit and the RTR, you get the mentioned parts which while not the best, still add up to far more than $50.

On the other hand, if you think you will immediately want a better radio and the better shocks and a few other hop ups, then you might do better with the kit and components of your choice.

One important point. Don't get the RTR just because you think building the kit will be too difficult initially. Maintaining the car and/or replacing most of the questionable parts will require disassembling the car to the point of building it from scratch or nearly so.

Good luck deciding.

Ira