Starting a new carer in Rc racing... I need help!

[RcNewbie]

:confused: Hello I'm new to this whole Rc car thing. Sure I've bought those Rc cars in the stores and drove 'em but I wanted more. So I come to you for advice on starting a new electric on-road car. Thanks for your help! :)

[JP]

Hehe, a career in R/C. Big hope, stick with it...

BUT, until then; you need a car. You said you want an on-road (and of course, electric). But you missed some details. What kind of car do you want? Touring, dragster, oval or the like? It sounds like you want to go racing too; and if so, most tracks race TC (touring cars). So you've come for advise on what car to get and, assuming you want a TC I can offer a few suggestions.

Do you want a Ready to Run car? These cars are pre-built, and ready to go. But a problem is you cant race with them dead stock. They will require a 'forward only' ESC, instead of the reverse given. Also, you dont get as many choises of cars, because most manufactuers put out kits, but not ready to run models. If so, look into the Associated TC3 RTR, or Traxxas 4-tec.

Do you want a kit? Kits are great because you get to choose everything you want to go in it. You also get the fun out of building it yourself and knowing your way around the car. The only bad part is that it's usually more expensive this way. If you choose this route, I would recommend the Associated TC3, Losi XXX-S, HPI Pro-3, or many other available options.

So your wondering, "Where can I find information on all these cars?" Well, a good place to start is to look at your LHS (Local Hobby Shop). They will give suggestions, and more support for you. But if you want to do it in your own home, look on the web. www.towerhobbies.com (http://www.towerhobbies.com) www.horizonhobby.com (http://www.horizonhobby.com)

Suggestions from other people would be appreciated :p

[b3buggydude05]

cool newbie, r/c is fun.
now for a begginer car you should only look at the towerhobbies site and catalougue.
it has the cheapest prices.
now since your a begginer , dragging and oval cars are out of the picture. so you want a good touring car...
now there are rtr's and kits
rtr's mean that they are ready to run. right out of the box. that would probably be best for you. the real only quality rtr is the team associated rc10 TC3. it would be your best bet. they range uo to 300.00$
now if you are good at builing and have a low temper then you should get a kit.when you have a kit you build every thing , and you pick out your own motor , radio, ect.
the models for kits are
team losi street weapon
team associated rc10 TC3
hpi rs4 sport 2
hpi rs4 pro 3
yokomo mr4tc
team associated rc10 L3
those would be the best;
good luck!!! :D

[tc3guy]

Why are oval and drag cars out of the picture? Those types of cars are probly the simplest to set up. Touring cars are probly the hardest build and set up. Touring is a very precise form of road racing. Also I would suggest building to anyone buying a new car since it will break and you WILL need to fix it. So its just better to know what your doing on the car when you fix or replace parts. I would suggest getting an offroad car bacause youll have more fun with it becuase you wont want to race all the time. If you get an onroad car you wont be able hop curbs, go over jumps, run in dirt, and run in moms flower garden. I hope this helps your decisi

[ATeam]

Whatever you do remember to have fun first.

If electric on-road is what you are looking for then go for it. If this is going to be the first purchase of a hobby quality RC car kit I strongly recomend you going to the Local Hobby Shop. Look around to find a good one, there are plenty in the Houston area. They will be able to answer all of your questions and help you make your decision. They will also be able to help you set up your vehicle and help you fix it WHEN something breaks. They are going to be a little more expensive than buying off of a website or out of a magazine but they will more than make up that cost with personal service. Also alot of LHS's also have race tracks, its a very good idea to support the people who you race with. You don't want them to go out of business!

As far as what car to buy, you must decide that. I would recomend you stick with the quality kits such as Associated, Losi, HPI, Schumaker, and Yokomo. Also make sure that the LHS stocks parts for the vehicle you plan to buy.

I personally prefer Associated kits. They are among the best performing, the best contructed and in my opinion build eaiser and have the best instructions. Building an Associated kit is a joy.

Just remember this is a hobby and hobbies are supposed to be fun.

ATeam

[TC3Racer]

i would say definitely spend the extra cash and buy a TC3. they are the greatest cars out there. all the other TC are belt driven and belts can skip stretch and break. the TC3 on the other hand is shaft driven and has TONS of hop-up parts. they even have a RTR version coming out if thats the way u wanna go. good luck and if u wanna have a good reliable on road go with Team Associated's TC3. check out www.teamassociated.com (http://www.teamassociated.com) for more stuff.

[Rcnewbie]

Thanks for all the help guys! :) The only problem is that there isn't any lhs in my area of H-Town, so I'm inclined to guy the stuff on-line and have 'illegal' street races. :D I'm concidering an off-road, but I'm probably gonna get an on-road and jack it up so I can put off-road wheels on it... Nahh. I'll jus probably get on on-road (cheap) and get my skills up. Then maybe an off-road

[ATeam]

What part of Houston are you in.

ATeam

[b3buggydude05]

yea off roadin is fun but, with off road your parts will break more often. but thats ok its only about 5 big ones to fix it.
i would suggest getting the tower catalogue .
if you are lookin for a good off road car you should look at the tower hobbies page for the team associated rc10 B3 team buggy updated ultimate combo, its the best..
good luck.
but if you are goin into on road , definetly get the tc3.
but im just biast beacaus e i have associated's cars . they are good though!

[ATeam]

Here are a few hobby shops in the Houston area, you probably already know this but I thought I would make sure.

M & M Hobby
6703 Chimney Rock
Houston, TX 77081
(713) 661-7137

K&M Racing, Inc.
45000 Hwy. 59 North
New Caney, TX 77357
(281) 399-9777
fax: (281) 655-0188

ATeam

[ATeam]

Also when you do get ready to make your big purchase. I recomend getting a stock motor. A good one such as a Trinity or Reedy will be fast enough, I am a assuming you are a begginner. I wouldn't worry about getting the absolute best batteries, ESC, Radio, etc.. They will do you NO good if you do not have good driving skills. I started with a bottom of the line Tower Hobbies(no LHS :( )Am Radio, a budget ESC and cheepo batteries. I worked on my driving skills and as things improved I improved my equipment. Save your money for things like replacement parts, motor brushes, tires, and entry fees.

If funds are great then by all means buy the good stuff. Its just that I don't know that many people that can do that. I know I can't. I had to sell all my RC stuff, and am just now getting to where I can start thinking of getting back in. \

Good Luck!

ATeam

[Rcnewbie]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm thinking about getting the digger 2 from that company that is like boykle, or somehting like that. :rolleyes: Heh, is that a good one?

[TA03 Drive Hard]

Bolink is ok... i'm not saying i have one... i think the car kit doesnt have any suspension travel... so there goes some rough ridin... but im sure you can some good kicks out of it :D Here's a car nobody suggested... how bout Tamiya's TL-01... it's a beginners car and it's cheap... very durable... "bomb proof chassis" and i'm sure everyone that has a tl01 has had some good bashing with it, i know i do :cool:

[Rcnewbie]

How much does it cost? I'm not trying to sound cheap or anything, I just am looking for a car that is cheap as my first one. Something around $70. By the way do any of you have a beginner's ar that they want to sell? Or parts maybe? :)

[Rcnewbie]

I just checked out that Tamiya TL-01. That is a pretty cool car, though it cost's $99.99, Maybe I can get my parents and grandparents to split the cost...hmmmmm... :D I'l tell them I'm starting a hobby. :)

[MPTech]

Rcnewbie, I've had almost a dozen cars over the course of 15 years and used to race pretty seriously. I had a Bolink "Invader" that I made major modifications to, to race. (but I cleaned house with it before on-road really took off!) 2 years ago I bought a Digger and it is alot of fun to play with, but I spent over another $100 to get it to run well (ball-bearings, ball diff, Proline wheels&tires, new motor, etc). And that doesn't include electronics. It's still fun, but in retrospect, I should have bought a good Tamiya street kit with tires & diffs already, or a TC3, even better. It's a really fun car to play with, but no suspension kills me for street racing with my friends. My suggestion is save you money and get the AE TC3. You won't regret it. (Oh, I just bought my 13 year old son an RC10T3 for his birthday last week, really cool if you're into trucks!!!! I highly recommend it!)
:) :) ;)

[racin4ever]

yeah like what MPTech said i am 14 and i a T3 and it is awsome really fun for both on and off, but i prefer off-road. if you look into a truck i would get the T3. i dont know much about r/c cars since i just got the car last year so im really new at it. :)