R/C Car for teenager - Nitro, Petrol or Battery?

[dealmaker]

So Dealmaker junior wants an R/C car for Xmas - he has some skills - he can fly a counter-rotating heli very well - and has good eye/hand coordination.

So we want something that he can hoon around our largish garden with........albeit we do have a lot of tress!...........mainly covered in mowed grass (albeit not that short at this time of year) and gravel paths etc

I remember being very frustrated as a kid with having to wait for my cars to charge - or running out of power at a crucial moment.......I also remember them being quite fragile and me having to spend ages rebuilding them!

So was thinking that Nitro buggy might be the way forward - but I assume these also take some looking after? Have heard people say to avoid Nitro - as they can be temperamental?....don't fancy spending hours trying to get an R/C engine to start on Xmas day!

Dealmaker junior has also found a PETROL 1/5 scale buggy for sale that looks good - but again have no experience of how temperamental a small petrol engine can be - or indeed the quality of such models - also I wonder if at 1/5th scale it's a little too large?

http://www.rcmodelhub.com/product_info.php?product...

Anyone have any views on these various types and what the informed best choice might be?

[PeetBee]

Depending on the size of the garden I would have thought 5th scale was too big.
I would vote for 10th scale electric with a couple of spare batteries, won't annoy the neighbours like a nitro would.
With lipo batteries 15 minutes upwards for runtimes are the norm these days.

Something to consider is whether there is a local club should junior get bored of running around the garden/or the lawn gets worn out! If there is a local club see what they run as it would also be a great source of advice (my local club runs electric indoors on a Friday night which is nice in winter!)

[Moreymach]

Id go electric, a nice little brushless Traxxas Revo 1/16 would be near the top of my list at the price your elooking at.

Nitro can temperamental constant fiddling will become tedious.

Petrol is great but 1/5 does need a lot of space and is just as noisy as nitro.

You mention trees ? Hit somthing hard ( which he will ) with any kind of speedy RC car it will break and it will be expensive. I bumped my 1/5 scale HPI Baja into a rock, not overly fast but had to spend near £200 on bits to repair it.

[Stig]

Electric. The days of waiting 8 hours for 5 mins of runtime are long gone. I get an hour's worth of driving flat out with my Vanessa's Lunchbox running 4300mAh NiMh batteries.

You're bored way before the batteries give up

[Emsman]

Vannessa's lunchbox and a few nice bits on it.

Its really the only sensible way to go.

[mattmoxon]

I'd go electric, I have two nitro cars and as much as I love them (HPI Savage (soon to be sold) and a GV Rambo 1/6 packing a big block .46cu/in motor) I'll never buy another nitro car now, My next car that will replace the savage will be electric (Traxxas Slash 4x4).

Electric models have come along such a long way with modern batteries, brushless motors and electronic speed controllers that nitro motors are just noisy, smelly things that can be a total pain to get going (the Rambo's motor is a pig to get started even with an electric starter) electric is the way forward.
Also you really don’t want to be messing around with Nitro on Christmas day. They aren’t plug and play. You have to run the engine in properly. Most recommend two tank full’s of fuel at a fast idle on a bench with the wheels elevated and then three to five tank full’s of very gently driving before you can start tuning the motor to its maximum potential you are looking at a full day before you are even ready to give it some beans.

You can buy racing machines that eat a set of 4600mAh batteries in 10 minutes or as Stig said put a pack like that in something like a Vanessa's Lunch box etc with an electronic speed controller and you can have huge run times and lots of fun. I will say this though get a 2.4GHz radio system (doesn't have to be a computer one with all the bells and whistles) they are superior in every way to the 27MHz and 40Mhz systems. With electrics you also get the bonus of being able to reverse them, most nitro cars do not have a reverse gear.

1/5th scale petrol’s will take allot of room to run and are expensive to fix if they are damaged. They are also heavy and will plough through things like a tank, and will break legs!! They are much easier to get going than a Nitro and generally quite rugged and reliable for a "gas model" Appart from the XRC Bugger, please don't buy that XRC buggy I emplore you. I know someone who did, he hit a low curb at relatively low speed and smashed one of the rear wheel hub carriers. I hit the same curb (more than once) with the savage at twice the speed and it just bounced off and continued. The supplied Radio was rubbish (kept cutting out and the car went into failsafe mode (failsafe not supplied)) the cluch setup was attrocious, though on a positive note the drive train was all metal gears and the engine started first time.
The 100m grit sand oval we were using was just too small for a 1/5 car, if I’m honest apart from great four wheel power-slides the 1/8th monster truck (Savage) was too big for it.

Depending on what (if any) local clubs you have it may be sensible to go with an off road style vehicle, either a Stadium Truck, Monster Truck, a Buggy or a Truggy. Touring cars need really smooth surfaces to run on most car parks aren't suitable for them.

I’d recommend: -
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...
I could go on all day but I would recommend things similar to that.

Edited by mattmoxon on Tuesday 2nd November 19:01

[Simond S]

dealmaker said:

Dealmaker junior has also found a PETROL 1/5 scale buggy for sale that looks good - but again have no experience of how temperamental a small petrol engine can be - or indeed the quality of such models - also I wonder if at 1/5th scale it's a little too large?

http://www.rcmodelhub.com/product_info.php?product...

With the greatest respect to China's industrial might, that is out dated tat. The radio is 27mhz which is nothing less than dangerous with a 5th scale petrol model. I would avoid at all costs.

Depending on your budgets I'd be looking at 1/10 buggy or 1/16 truggy.

A couple of batteries, charger, 2.4ghz radio and brushless esc / motor combo.

You have the option of ready to run or a kit. At his age i'd look at a kit as he will get a great grasp of mechanics, understanding suspension and steering.

[Hedders]

Moreymach said:

Id go electric, a nice little brushless Traxxas Revo 1/16 would be near the top of my list at the price your elooking at.

I have one of these, it is stupid fast out of the box, and then you can add another battery and change a cog and HOLY MOLY!

it is quicker than any of my larger Nitro's and so far nothing has broken, it is a tough little bugger..Oh and it is waterproof.. you can actually submerge it completely and drive it around in a swimming pool if you like!

Edited by Hedders on Tuesday 2nd November 23:20

[russy01]

Some good advice here, something traxxas is a good bet. Well built quick and parts are easy to get hold of, trust me this last point is very important. Rc cars nowadays crash fast and hard.

However I wouldn't rule out a nitro 1/10 model. Something like a traxxas jato or revo, will go like the clappers and having a proper little engine is what being a pistonhead is all about.

However they are messy, smelly and do require more maintenance, (tuning etc).

Stay away from that 1/5 buggy, there is a reason it's that cheap.

Good Luck, let us know what you get.

[dealmaker]

Thanks guys.

Taking on board all of the feedback I am leaning towards an Electric truck or buggy - in either 1/10 or 1/16 scale for him - just need to make sure it can handle the twigs, branches, leaves and 1.5"-2" long grass in the garden! I assume in this regard a larger RC car would be better as it has greater ground clearance (albeit with the downside of increased weight and therefore not as much endurance).

I dont want to get him anything that is TOO fast or challenging to control - with a decent turn of speed, good ground clearance, low maintenance, - and a virtual go-anywhere ability.

What about one of these?:

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...

Cheers

Edited by dealmaker on Thursday 4th November 11:36

[Hedders]

It is best to avoid the 1/16th models if you want to use them on longish grass.

[Emsman]

Already said it, but honestly, my lad adores the vannessas lunchbox.
Easy running over grass, quick- but not too quick, great fun, good run time, and easy to repair or upgrade.

Great bits of kit

[Simond S]

dealmaker said:

Thanks guys.

What about one of these?:

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...

Cheers

Edited by dealmaker on Thursday 4th November 11:36

Not sure how big your garden is but that is a big bit of kit, and very very fast.

Electric power is delivered in one big lump, there is no slow build up like a petrol engine. That will go from standstill to flat out in a second or two.

Looks like a good deal though. If you are using two lipo's you really want two chargers, otherwise you could be waiting 2 hours between runs.

ALSO>> The charger in the bundle will not charge lipo batteries. A potential fuire hazard if anyone buys that bundle and the recommended cells from the options list!!

Edited by Simond S on Friday 5th November 15:06

[mattmoxon]

dealmaker said:

Thanks guys.

Taking on board all of the feedback I am leaning towards an Electric truck or buggy - in either 1/10 or 1/16 scale for him - just need to make sure it can handle the twigs, branches, leaves and 1.5"-2" long grass in the garden! I assume in this regard a larger RC car would be better as it has greater ground clearance (albeit with the downside of increased weight and therefore not as much endurance).

I dont want to get him anything that is TOO fast or challenging to control - with a decent turn of speed, good ground clearance, low maintenance, - and a virtual go-anywhere ability.

What about one of these?:

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...

Cheers

Edited by dealmaker on Thursday 4th November 11:36

That's a monstrous piece of kit, do you really have the room in your garden to deal with a model that will hit over 40mph in around 2 seconds? and the potential damage that will be created in the event of a crash. It’s a fab truck it really is, but for back gardens it is a bit much.
This is my soon to be sold savage: -


It is a HPI Savage 25 (with a few mods) a 1/8th scale truck so around the same size as that Traxxas truck you linked to, it is a nitro fuel burning thing that does 40+mph. I would want at least half a football pitch to run it on for safety!! I'm not trying to put you off RC cars but the big racing trucks are evil things in the wrong hands, the electrics more so as they are now more powerful than nitro cars. I know you might want him to have the coolest RC on the block but these cars need space.

I filmed this videoof it last time it snowed, sorry for the pap driving but handing one of these things with a camera in one hand and a controller in the other isn't easy especially on ice and snow. That is the minimum space I would want for a straight line blast. It normally accelerates faster than that but the engine overcomes the wheels very easily in those kinds of conditions.

Consider something smaller if you are back garden running unless you have really large garden.

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...

Will be your best bet, hours of fun, pops wheelies like a good 'un and is pretty quick too. If it ends up being a tad slow after a while you can always upgrade the motor and speed controller.

[PeetBee]

If you're concerned about the top speed being too high for junior to start with, then look for something where the transmitter has End Point Adjustment (EPA).
In simple terms it lets you set the amount of travel the throttle can have (electronic block of wood under the accelerator pedal!) As confidence/skill improves you can up the speed without having to fiddle with the car itself.

Something like this maybe?
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...

[dealmaker]

PeetBee said:

If you're concerned about the top speed being too high for junior to start with, then look for something where the transmitter has End Point Adjustment (EPA).
In simple terms it lets you set the amount of travel the throttle can have (electronic block of wood under the accelerator pedal!) As confidence/skill improves you can up the speed without having to fiddle with the car itself.

Something like this maybe?
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...

Thanks - is End Point Adjustment not available in all of these 1/10 buggies?? Seems like a good idea!

[PeetBee]

not on all of them sadly.

[dealmaker]

Guys,

Thanks for all the input thus far. Now the concept of continually waiting for bateries to charge still concerns me??

Would one of these be a beeter bet - built by a company called MAverick ? any good? I like the idea of just keeping it topped up with petrol> :

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...


or would one of these bad boys be a better bet - upgrading the battery pack as his skill improves:

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...

Edited by dealmaker on Monday 15th November 14:01

[Shuvi Tupya]

dealmaker said:

Guys,

Thanks for all the input thus far. Now the concept of continually waiting for bateries to charge still concerns me??

Would one of these be a beeter bet - built by a company called MAverick ? any good? I like the idea of just keeping it topped up with petrol> :

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...

That is a bloody monster of a vehicle !

[mattmoxon]

dealmaker said:

Guys,

Thanks for all the input thus far. Now the concept of continually waiting for bateries to charge still concerns me??

Would one of these be a beeter bet - built by a company called MAverick ? any good? I like the idea of just keeping it topped up with petrol> :

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...


or would one of these bad boys be a better bet - upgrading the battery pack as his skill improves:

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...

Edited by dealmaker on Monday 15th November 14:01

The Maverick is built by HPI so it should be a good truck but it is 1/5th scale way to big for a garden, unless you have half a football pitch.

The second one would be the better bet of the two I would say.