Any RC advice???

[XD-9Guy]

I have a cousin wantin a "fast" RC car/truck, his sister wants to get it for him and asked if I knew anything about them... I don't. I tried to read some forums and quickly found it's like every other hobby in the regard that there are lots Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge type arguments and little to no consensus. I know I have seen some RC discussion on here so I figured I'd see what OSA had to say.

Where is a good place to start? He'll need everything so a bundle would be nice and budget is a concern since he doesn't know if the hobby will stick. Is there such a thing as a sub-$100 setup that would make a decent place to start? A vehicle that he could modify/upgrade later would be cool if he wants to speed it up.

If $100 is unrealistic where is the entry point dollar wise?

And then just for my own curiousity... I see these Traxxas rigs that are crazy fast that say they are "Nitro"; are those tiny gas motors that are really running on nitroglycerin???

 

[Jon3830]

I bought my son a traxxas that is electric and it was around 500.00 but I caught it on an amazon lighting deal for 231.00 nitro is fun but it can be a real PITA too so I would just look into a mid level electric and just like a real car 2wd is cheaper than 4wd. here is one it is still pricey but this is for the most part what some would call mid entry level.
http://www.amazon.com/Traxxas-Slash...&qid=1418314664&sr=8-8&keywords=traxxas+truck

 

[mksmth]

I prefer Nitro. Love the smells and sounds. Brushless ones are crazy fast but I like being able to just refill the tank with fuel vs waiting for a battery to charge. Like Jon said Nitro can be a pain in the butt. Mines been sitting on the shelf with a messed up pull starter and a couple broken suspension parts. Nitrorcx.com has some good packages and deals but they always seem to be out of stock on most cars.

 

[Jeff405]

If it doesn't have to be new, my brother in law got one from craigslist for a couple hundred dollars. It was gas powered, pretty big and fast. He has since modded the crap out of it, but it was a good starter.

 

[Fyrtwuck]

For my 2 cents, I prefer the fast brushless. I took a brief look at the nitro and thought the fuel was way too expensive.

 

[Ace_on_the_Turn]

As has been said, go electric. Nitro is only for people that have a proven interest. What you want it a unit that is RTR (ready to run) which will include the truck, battery, radio (remote) and controllers. As for price, you can find lots of cheap RC's for $30-50-75. Don't do it. They are cheap POS's that will break first time out. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of RTR units in the $100-300 range. In 1/18 size here's about what you would expect for about $150, 1/18 Ruckus 4WD Monster Truck RTR. If you want the bigger ones, like 1/10 size (take it from me, you want the bigger one), get something like this, 1/10 Ruckus 2WD Monster Truck RTR, Green/Black
Go with a truck. Cars are pretty limited to roads, a truck will go anywhere, and I mean anywhere.

Good luck.

 

[aviator41]

Whatever you decide/she decides to do, research what parts commonly break and go ahead and order a full set.

Had the Traxxis Tmaxx and spent a lot of time replacing broken suspension parts and stripped servo savers. get lots of extra pins to hold the body on as they get lost easily.

Extra Glow plugs are almost a requirement if you get a nitro. The Traxxas trucks come with a built-in starter that runs on a hand held battery, made getting it started easy as long as you followed the priming directions. To me, the nitro's are more fun just cause it's a "real" nitro burning engine. sure, they're greasy and stinky and noisy - but that's all a part of the fun.

 

[Ace_on_the_Turn]

Whatever you decide/she decides to do, research what parts commonly break and go ahead and order a full set.

Had the Traxxis Tmaxx and spent a lot of time replacing broken suspension parts and stripped servo savers. get lots of extra pins to hold the body on as they get lost easily.

Extra Glow plugs are almost a requirement if you get a nitro. The Traxxas trucks come with a built-in starter that runs on a hand held battery, made getting it started easy as long as you followed the priming directions. To me, the nitro's are more fun just cause it's a "real" nitro burning engine. sure, they're greasy and stinky and noisy - but that's all a part of the fun.

And to add to this, when your battery charge runs out, you have to swap batteries, if you have extra ($$), or wait for a charge. With gas, just fuel up and go. For a novice, I would still recommend battery. But, if you get serious about RC's, gas is the way to go.

 

[Droberts]

make sure you get carbon fiber base board, plastic ones last about 5 minutes.

you can charge a battery in 15mins. if you have 3 of 4 batteries and 2 chargers you never stop racing.

 

[Ace_on_the_Turn]

make sure you get carbon fiber base board, plastic ones last about 5 minutes.

you can charge a battery in 15mins. if you have 3 of 4 batteries and 2 chargers you never stop racing.

And a power source. If you're running off-road you may be away from an outlet. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.