Help me get back into the game after 10 years.

[MOD]

It's been close to 10 years since I was into RC cars. Back then the newest cars coming out were the RC10T2 , XXX and the RC10B2. I can't believe how long it has been, I picked up a RC Car action mag at the store the other day and its funny to see how many incarnations there has already been of all these cars.

My question is this, how improved are these newer model cars over the ones that were around 9-10 years ago? Visually they 'look' the same, was there any significant technological advances that were made that I'm not aware of, specifically in electric stadium trucks?

I ask because I have an old XXTCR graphite truck which was pretty good back in the day, and I want to get back into racing (small local races). Does my truck stand a chance against the newer ones, or is it obsolete and it would be a joke if I raced it?

Thanks for any replies.

[z-man280]

first and foremost- WELCOME!!!!

always great to see new faces.

That ole XXT should fair well on the track. A compentant driver can take a mediocre truck/car and do quite well with it. You are correct, there has been alot of revisions, and minor tweeks, but the basic platform has remained basically unchanged for a long time.

Good batteries, charger, motor, and tires,...that should get you back in the game quite nicely at your local track. Battery tech has grown leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. Brushless systems are now quite common, but check your local track for ruling. Remember when the brushless systems were only for the elite and so $$$$$$?

Also, batteries now are much better than what you and most of us ran back then,...3300 Mah are now "sport packs"..

feel free to ask any questions, and welcome back to the hobby!

Ron

[MOD]

Honestly, I've never heard of brushless systems until the other day when I was looking for trucks on ebay. And I heard that with some of the new batteries you can get 40min run times, that blew my mind since I can remember anything over 5-6min was great.

I've read that brushless set ups are much more efficient and powerful. Would I be up against these in a normal race or is there a separate class for brushless? I gotta find a local hobby store in town and find out more about the rules these days.

Also when I read about some ESC's being able to hook up via USB to a computer to be tweaked, that kinda blew my mind too.

[hijacker]

In my opinion you should contact the track you are gonna race at and find out what kind of rules they have regarding classes that they run and brushed vs brushless rules.

You would do fine with that truck just getting back in, so what I would do is to put the money I have to spend into buying new electronics (esc, battery, charger, transmitter), as, like Ron said, that is where the biggest advances have been made in the last decade.

After awhile you can purchase a new truck. This way you would have a chance to see what is out there, what the guys at your local track are running etc. before you make a truck purchase.

Welcome to the RCZone forum.

Chad

[MOD]

I found my old RC Car Action Mags. I'm looking through the December 1996 issue and the XXTCR is reviewed... has it honestly been that long? Looking all the stuff in my mags if feels like yesterday, and as I look through all the "latest" technology in them, it still seems new to me.

I'll have to pick up a new issue and actually have a read through. Right now I have a stack of old ones to get reacquainted with. :)

[Bigedmond]

Well come back. No matter how long one leaves, we always come back. I was in your boat last year. I left in 94, and came back last year. Back then i was mediocore, because i was 11, no job and parents couldnt afford a whole lot. Now college grad, good job, and i can buy alot of new stuff.

The XXTCR will do fine against other drivers. Only problem you will run into is parts. With a car that old, the parts may be a little more brittle then 10 years ago. Electronics have changed so much, that it took me 3 months to decided what ESC/motor combos, and what radio. If you have any questions, be sure to pm me, and i will answer everything i can.

[MOD]

Thanks for the reply.

I agree, I just purchased the latest RC Car Action Mag and the Buyers Guide as well. MONSTER TRUCKS MONSTER TRUCKS MONSTER TRUCKS seems to be the theme these days, it really blew me away. I can see that electronics changed big time too, which is expected.

I think I'll stick with my XXT for now, I have quite a few spare parts and there are still some available on ebay. I'm not sure at the competition level in my city, but its a small track and I don't think it will be out of this world (although no doubt there will be the guy who spend his life savings on his stuff). If I find I like racing and I'm good enough, then I'll invest into a better truck and equipment.

What car/truck and equipment did you buy? How are you liking it?

[Bigedmond]

well i picked up a xxxt used, but i have since moved to a AE T4. With my local track, the T4 provided more steering which i felt the xxxt lacked.