TC3 Question

[galliao]

I'm thinking about buying a TC3 and need advice.

What motors, ESC, radios, servos, gearing would you guys recommend? I'd like something between bashing and racing on the motor... a compromise between speed and battery life. Any idea how fast a TC3 would go with such a setup?

[TC3andPEDE]

hi galliao,
I put Reedy Ti 11T, LRP 7.1, JRX3 radio with servo, and kimbrough gearing.
I ran it side by side with my wife accord (real size car) just to check how fast it goes, well, with integy 3000 match battery it goes about 50 mph.
Running time, with full speed running oval, about 7 minutes!
I guess this running time can be achieved after I ran the battery several time.
I use Duratrax intellipeak charger.
Also, I copied Craig Drescher tc3 setup, you can look at it here: http://www.rc10.com/racerhub/races/racereport30.htm

I use my tc3 for racing purposes only.

P.S. one more thing,
very important is the tire!
I use HPI slick and Yokomo firm/hard insert.

cheers.

[ 06-04-2001: Message edited by: TC3andPEDE ]

[BrahmaBullSQ]

Galliao ~ I'm about to buy a TC3 too... bashing and racing???

ummm... i'd say get a cheap machine wound modified motor... peak performance stratos or thunderbolt, reedy pusle R... they are both around $30.

ESC? depends what you wanna do. racing doesn't allow reverse... if you want reverse and are gonna race go with a novak super rooster or rooster... i think both can have their reverse disabled. i THINK.

for battery... go with about a 2000 mah pack... matched packs last longer but cost MUCH MUCH MUCH more.

later.

[galliao]

Thanks for all your help guys!

Man this hobby is expensive. Looks like $1000+ for a decent race setup =/.

I'm a little confused with all the battery terminology. Could someone explain what "matched" and all those terms mean? Is there any good reason to get the bare cells and build the pack yourself? Why not just buy assembled packs? I see the Sanyo 3000 comes in a pack with a "standard" connector on towerhobbies.com. (I assume "standard" means tamaya?) Perhaps building the pack yourself makes it easier to charge with the chargers that just have alligator clips? I suppose with nimh packs I would probably want to use a charger like a novak millennium and assembled packs with tamaya connectors wouldn't work anyway... er I guess one could just buy a tamaya connector and connect the novak to the wires? Also, could anyone recommend a decent but budget priced radio system? Thanks!

[ammoace]

The first thinf that comes to mind when you asked why buy bare cells is the price. It should be cheaper for you to build your own battery then to buy it preassembled.
Matched cells are cells that are grouped together because they have the same performance abilities. Trinity sells matched packs of a lot of different mAhs. I believe they even have 3000s matched and built.
Standard plug does mean "Tamiya" style plugs. But from everything I've read the Deans plugs are a lot better then the Tamiya plug in terms of performance. Of course you could always hard wire the batteries to the esc and the motor. Or just the ESC to the motor with a connector to the batteries (this is how my RC10L3O is wired). In theory the more connectors you use the less efficient the system will be.
Hope this helps,
Jerry

[Jason C]

For playing around, I bought the TC3 Racer kit, used a standard steering servo that came with my radio (JR Racing XR2), a Futaba MC330CR ESC (Pete V gave it a pretty good review a few issues back), and Trinity Maxx Paxx.

The whole thing would cost less than $500, but it isn't for racing, just playing around on a parking lot. I do plan to race for fun so I'll buy a better servo and batteries (maybe ESC).

Also, Yes, the Novak Super Rooster, Rooster, and Reactor have reverse disable.

For Ni-MH cells, you don't absolutely need a great charger like the Millenium, the Duratrax Intellipeak series are Ni-MH compatible and range from about $50-$100 depending on the model you buy. Also, the Millenium is DC only, so you'll have to spend extra to get a converter if you charge from an AC source. The Intellipeaks are AC/DC.

[ 06-07-2001: Message edited by: Jason C ]