Another which R/C car? :)
Discussion
So, finally posting a "what car" but not in the section I might have been expecting! 
I started with a Tamiya Grasshopper (long gone... snapped the chassis IIRC) then moved up to my Manta Ray.
(These photos haven't come out too well. I think there's been sticky fingers on the lens....)
I think this was quite a new kit when I got it.... well over 20 years old now!
IIRC, I upgraded to oil shocks, added a bearing kit and changed the motor (540??). Then started upgrading to gaffer tape body work as time and crashes took their toll
It mostly lives in the loft these days; I get it out from time to time but I'm never impressed with the run time (despite buying a couple of new battery packs a few years back).
Now I've got a dog to walk, a country park to walk him in, and a daughter who's now old enough not to crash the thing the second she touches the controls...... so I'm thinking about replacing the Manta with a more up-to-date bit of kit.
The wish list is:
a) Must be a kit - building it is half the fun
b) Must be upgradable, or come with decent quality bits in the first place (like proper bearings)
c) I've had a bit of a read-up, and I'm pretty set on electric again (having started out thinking nitro sounded fun....)
d) Must be off-road capable... the park is on an old coal spoil heap - it has some tarmac, lots of chipping/grit/rock paths, some mud/rock paths and lots of moor-land with quite long grass etc. I'm not expecting much to run on the long stuff, but all the rest should be fairly easy to sort.
e) I'm open to 2wd or 4wd, but leaning towards 4wd.
f) Not a Vanessa's Lunchbox. Just don't like them, sorry!
g) I use lithium for torches sometimes, but they still make me a bit nervous... would probably prefer not to, on grounds of cost as much as safety.
h) Electronic speed control would be nice, as the speed selector seems to be the bit I'm always having to fettle.
i) Budget.... hmmmm.... I like nice stuff, but this will be an occasional toy, so no going silly. Much over £300 all-in would be hard to justify to myself so go with that for now
I know I could buy more batteries and add more upgrades to the Manta... but I want a new toy Would the Manta be worth anything sodl on these days?
Thanks in advance for the help, folks!
I started with a Tamiya Grasshopper (long gone... snapped the chassis IIRC) then moved up to my Manta Ray.
(These photos haven't come out too well. I think there's been sticky fingers on the lens....)
I think this was quite a new kit when I got it.... well over 20 years old now!
IIRC, I upgraded to oil shocks, added a bearing kit and changed the motor (540??). Then started upgrading to gaffer tape body work as time and crashes took their toll
It mostly lives in the loft these days; I get it out from time to time but I'm never impressed with the run time (despite buying a couple of new battery packs a few years back).
Now I've got a dog to walk, a country park to walk him in, and a daughter who's now old enough not to crash the thing the second she touches the controls...... so I'm thinking about replacing the Manta with a more up-to-date bit of kit.
The wish list is:
a) Must be a kit - building it is half the fun
b) Must be upgradable, or come with decent quality bits in the first place (like proper bearings)
c) I've had a bit of a read-up, and I'm pretty set on electric again (having started out thinking nitro sounded fun....)
d) Must be off-road capable... the park is on an old coal spoil heap - it has some tarmac, lots of chipping/grit/rock paths, some mud/rock paths and lots of moor-land with quite long grass etc. I'm not expecting much to run on the long stuff, but all the rest should be fairly easy to sort.
e) I'm open to 2wd or 4wd, but leaning towards 4wd.
f) Not a Vanessa's Lunchbox. Just don't like them, sorry!
g) I use lithium for torches sometimes, but they still make me a bit nervous... would probably prefer not to, on grounds of cost as much as safety.
h) Electronic speed control would be nice, as the speed selector seems to be the bit I'm always having to fettle.
i) Budget.... hmmmm.... I like nice stuff, but this will be an occasional toy, so no going silly. Much over £300 all-in would be hard to justify to myself so go with that for now
I know I could buy more batteries and add more upgrades to the Manta... but I want a new toy
Would the Manta be worth anything sodl on these days?Thanks in advance for the help, folks!
If you definately want a kit then personally I think you cant be a Tamiya - although most come with an esc and motor you will need to buy - paint,bearings,radio gear, battery and charger.
Just changing to an esc fromn your old manual speed controller will increase run times.
Buggies are the best alround car - but having no body over the wheels can make the suspension arms more prone to damage.
My choice of Buggy would be the df-o3 (keen hawk, dark impact etc) - if you can get a df-03ms (I think its called) then you get some nice alloy extras.
For a shelled buggy Tamiya do a df-o3ra - basically a buggy chassis with car bodies - they do a nice celica, imprezza,evo!
However for the money and the fun factor you cant beat a traxxas slash 4x4 - you dont get to build it, but they come ready to run with a battery and charger and all radio gear. Also they are fully waterproof!
Just changing to an esc fromn your old manual speed controller will increase run times.
Buggies are the best alround car - but having no body over the wheels can make the suspension arms more prone to damage.
My choice of Buggy would be the df-o3 (keen hawk, dark impact etc) - if you can get a df-03ms (I think its called) then you get some nice alloy extras.
For a shelled buggy Tamiya do a df-o3ra - basically a buggy chassis with car bodies - they do a nice celica, imprezza,evo!
However for the money and the fun factor you cant beat a traxxas slash 4x4 - you dont get to build it, but they come ready to run with a battery and charger and all radio gear. Also they are fully waterproof!
New please, or at least new in box (no point having a kit someone else built!)
I saw the Traxxas slash on some other threads.... looks about perfect.... but I'd like a kit. There seems to be loads of different versions of the slash, and someone mentioned additional/tune-up parts - it could be buying a pile of those alogn with would help my "build it" bug Any good places to compare the different versions/ accessories?
Took the manta out this afternoon. My "new" batteries obviously aren't that new, as they're both holding about 3 seconds of charge now (despite showing 7.6/7.8v on my multimeter)
I saw the Traxxas slash on some other threads.... looks about perfect.... but I'd like a kit. There seems to be loads of different versions of the slash, and someone mentioned additional/tune-up parts - it could be buying a pile of those alogn with would help my "build it" bug
Any good places to compare the different versions/ accessories?Took the manta out this afternoon. My "new" batteries obviously aren't that new, as they're both holding about 3 seconds of charge now (despite showing 7.6/7.8v on my multimeter)
Remember that bit where I said it must be a kit.....
....those Traxxas toys are looking better all the time
I'm drawn more to the 1/16th ones if I'm honest - seem like they'd be fast enough for now, and upgradable later; easier to carry around, store, less likely to cause injury etc when little'un goes out of control
Slash, E-revo and Summit all look like they'd fit the bill.... any comments on these? (And on 1/16th in general?)
....those Traxxas toys are looking better all the time
I'm drawn more to the 1/16th ones if I'm honest - seem like they'd be fast enough for now, and upgradable later; easier to carry around, store, less likely to cause injury etc when little'un goes out of control
Slash, E-revo and Summit all look like they'd fit the bill.... any comments on these? (And on 1/16th in general?)
I would stick with Tamiya, there's plenty of choice of models. Have a look at www.modelsport.co.uk
Don't be scared of Lipo batteries, they are just as safe as NIMH. As long as you charge them at 1c (at 4000mah pack at 4 amps, 3600mah at 3.6amps etc) and do not discharge them below 6 volts you are fine. However I would steer clear of softcase lipos as if the cell gets punctured it won't be pretty but the hardcase ones are very robust.
Lithium batteries are in just about every mobile phone nowadays and no one seems worried about them.
A lipo battery will give you massive runtimes, you can charge them over and over in the same day plus they have no memory effect.
Don't be scared of Lipo batteries, they are just as safe as NIMH. As long as you charge them at 1c (at 4000mah pack at 4 amps, 3600mah at 3.6amps etc) and do not discharge them below 6 volts you are fine. However I would steer clear of softcase lipos as if the cell gets punctured it won't be pretty but the hardcase ones are very robust.
Lithium batteries are in just about every mobile phone nowadays and no one seems worried about them.
A lipo battery will give you massive runtimes, you can charge them over and over in the same day plus they have no memory effect.
defblade said:
Remember that bit where I said it must be a kit.....
ansman is a kit mate.Lipos can be dangerous. Yes if you charge them at the right ampage they should be ok however I know a few people who have done this and they still go boom (search YouTube for lipo fire to see how ferocious a lipo fire is).
At brca sanctioned events lipos must be charged in a lipo sack to contain the fire if theydo decide to explode.
I don't want to scare you awayfrom them as they are brilliant for run times, however I'd rather highlight the risks, especially when kids are involved.
Also, you mention you are considering 1/16th rather than 1/10th, if you are going robe blasting it near smallish rocks/stones etc, a 1/16th car will struggle to negotiate them due to how small they are. Just something to bare in mind
I've always been a Tamiya sort of guy, mainly because I like nice scale (or semi-scale) bodies and like yourself I've always enjoyed the initial build.
Recently though my head was turned by the Slash and short-course trucks in general. I had a good look at the original 2wd 1/10 Slash and was really impressed by the way they were put together and handled, then the Slash 4x4 appeared and I just had to have one. The 4wd just puts it head and shoulders above the other trucks. There are plenty of videos on you-tube where you'll see stock slash 4x4's just driving away from heavily modified and well set up 2wd trucks.
While I agree that if you want a kit, Tamiya is still a great way to go, you would soon be messing with a Slash when it comes to suspension setup and maybe changing the slipper clutch for a diff etc so you'll have it down to component level in no time anyway. You have to remember that just because these things come already built that they're not the ready to run RC toys of yesteryear. They are proper hobby grade models and are built to be torn down, built back up, modified and set-up by the enthusiast. As for value for money, just look at what a Tamiya DF03 would cost you once you've added a brushless motor and ESC, 2.4GHz radio gear, a battery, a charger etc etc, and then put the price up against the Slash 4x4 with everything in the box (£345 at modelrcshop).
I seriously wouldn't consider anything 1/16 scale off-road. Whilst making all the stressed components smaller the stress is then increased by making the wheels significantly smaller too meaning they don't ride the terrain as easily. Although I'd agree they're probably easier to carry around at this size, I'm sure you'd have lots more fun with something 1/10 scale.
No problems with my Slash 4x4 yet... until today we went for a bash in the skate park. I have now found the limit for the front A-arms is about an eight and a half foot drop missing the landing ramp and straight down to the concrete nose first! New arms ordered and a couple of spares in case I decide to play silly devils on the 1/4 pipe again
Recently though my head was turned by the Slash and short-course trucks in general. I had a good look at the original 2wd 1/10 Slash and was really impressed by the way they were put together and handled, then the Slash 4x4 appeared and I just had to have one. The 4wd just puts it head and shoulders above the other trucks. There are plenty of videos on you-tube where you'll see stock slash 4x4's just driving away from heavily modified and well set up 2wd trucks.
While I agree that if you want a kit, Tamiya is still a great way to go, you would soon be messing with a Slash when it comes to suspension setup and maybe changing the slipper clutch for a diff etc so you'll have it down to component level in no time anyway. You have to remember that just because these things come already built that they're not the ready to run RC toys of yesteryear. They are proper hobby grade models and are built to be torn down, built back up, modified and set-up by the enthusiast. As for value for money, just look at what a Tamiya DF03 would cost you once you've added a brushless motor and ESC, 2.4GHz radio gear, a battery, a charger etc etc, and then put the price up against the Slash 4x4 with everything in the box (£345 at modelrcshop).
I seriously wouldn't consider anything 1/16 scale off-road. Whilst making all the stressed components smaller the stress is then increased by making the wheels significantly smaller too meaning they don't ride the terrain as easily. Although I'd agree they're probably easier to carry around at this size, I'm sure you'd have lots more fun with something 1/10 scale.
No problems with my Slash 4x4 yet... until today we went for a bash in the skate park. I have now found the limit for the front A-arms is about an eight and a half foot drop missing the landing ramp and straight down to the concrete nose first! New arms ordered and a couple of spares in case I decide to play silly devils on the 1/4 pipe again
Well i restored a Manta Ray for my son to practice on whilst we built his new Rising Storm.
I did replace quite a few bits n pieces as it was a wreck when i bought it, but given what you have currently, then..
1. check you are fully ball raced - if not then 850 and 1150 bearings can be bought cheaply at rcbearings.co.uk or their ebay site (£8 for a full manta ray set)
2. i bought a cheap ansmann clash 21T motor (£9) and a mtroniks sport auto 20 electronic speed controller (£17). This is more than fast enough for me, even on the empty local school car park (good fun on the speed humps !), and faster than the Rising Storm with its Tamiya stock 540 motor.
3. when combined with a vapextech 5000mAh NiMH battery i can run for 35 minutes or more on tarmac and a good 25 minutes on a soggy football pitch, even with 4wd. If i disconnected the front drive i could possibly add 5-10 minutes to those run times. Vapextech 3700Mah battery is about £23 from recollection, a 5000mAh £32
4. My dampers were dry, but the seals still good so £3 on some Schumacher 600 silicon oil sorted those and gives good performance on bumpy surfaces and the bigger jumps.
Ansmann kits are cheap for a reason - they aren't the best quality, but if all you want is something to bash about every now and then they may be OK. Mad Rat is certainly a cheap way in, altough sounds like you will need new battery (and possibly a charger to cope with the higher mAh) which will add cost.
Tamiya prices have risen sharply at New Year, so i'd suggest you move quickly to buy up any existing stock at old prices. The Rising storm kit i bought my son (kit + Acomms controller) was £129 before Xmas, and £149 this morning (both Wonderland Models).
Wonderland still show old prices for the midnight pumpkin (£90) and lunchbox (80), holiday buggy (£93) kits, so some good deals are still out there.
The Rising Storm is about the nearest equivalent to the Manta Ray now, but..
1. uses a central plastic driveshaft (metal wire rod on the Manta Ray)
2. the ground clearance on the Rising Storm DF-02 chassis isn't great, not dissimilar to Manta Ray in fairness
3. the Rising Storm uses plastic cups on the driveshafts (MR are all metal)
4. you'll also need 8 metal bearings for the wheels as the kit comes with metal for the gearboxes but plastic for the wheel axles.
5. the chassis of the Rising Storm is more open than the Manta Ray, so after 30 miuntes on a soggy football pitch you'll need over an hour to clean the battery, servo, ESC and motor area, chassis tray etc etc. In comparison the Manta Ray took about 15 minutes.
6. The dampers on the Risign Storm are push fit onto the brass ball headed screws, whereas Manta Ray uses through threaded rods.
Another option is the XSTR cars on ebay - they look to have good design and spec, spares seem to be available, and you can get a brushless kit for around £150, or brushed motored kits for £100 or £120 for the pro version with uprated parts. As an example http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-1-10-RC-XSTR-PRO-BRUSHLE...
Spend £50 on the Manta Ray (ESC, motor and battery) and you'll end up with something better engineered and faster than any current 540 motored Tamiya kit, and save yourself £90 or more in the process. You can always buy a new body (£17) at a later date if you want to smarten it up further.
I did replace quite a few bits n pieces as it was a wreck when i bought it, but given what you have currently, then..
1. check you are fully ball raced - if not then 850 and 1150 bearings can be bought cheaply at rcbearings.co.uk or their ebay site (£8 for a full manta ray set)
2. i bought a cheap ansmann clash 21T motor (£9) and a mtroniks sport auto 20 electronic speed controller (£17). This is more than fast enough for me, even on the empty local school car park (good fun on the speed humps !), and faster than the Rising Storm with its Tamiya stock 540 motor.
3. when combined with a vapextech 5000mAh NiMH battery i can run for 35 minutes or more on tarmac and a good 25 minutes on a soggy football pitch, even with 4wd. If i disconnected the front drive i could possibly add 5-10 minutes to those run times. Vapextech 3700Mah battery is about £23 from recollection, a 5000mAh £32
4. My dampers were dry, but the seals still good so £3 on some Schumacher 600 silicon oil sorted those and gives good performance on bumpy surfaces and the bigger jumps.
Ansmann kits are cheap for a reason - they aren't the best quality, but if all you want is something to bash about every now and then they may be OK. Mad Rat is certainly a cheap way in, altough sounds like you will need new battery (and possibly a charger to cope with the higher mAh) which will add cost.
Tamiya prices have risen sharply at New Year, so i'd suggest you move quickly to buy up any existing stock at old prices. The Rising storm kit i bought my son (kit + Acomms controller) was £129 before Xmas, and £149 this morning (both Wonderland Models).
Wonderland still show old prices for the midnight pumpkin (£90) and lunchbox (80), holiday buggy (£93) kits, so some good deals are still out there.
The Rising Storm is about the nearest equivalent to the Manta Ray now, but..
1. uses a central plastic driveshaft (metal wire rod on the Manta Ray)
2. the ground clearance on the Rising Storm DF-02 chassis isn't great, not dissimilar to Manta Ray in fairness
3. the Rising Storm uses plastic cups on the driveshafts (MR are all metal)
4. you'll also need 8 metal bearings for the wheels as the kit comes with metal for the gearboxes but plastic for the wheel axles.
5. the chassis of the Rising Storm is more open than the Manta Ray, so after 30 miuntes on a soggy football pitch you'll need over an hour to clean the battery, servo, ESC and motor area, chassis tray etc etc. In comparison the Manta Ray took about 15 minutes.
6. The dampers on the Risign Storm are push fit onto the brass ball headed screws, whereas Manta Ray uses through threaded rods.
Another option is the XSTR cars on ebay - they look to have good design and spec, spares seem to be available, and you can get a brushless kit for around £150, or brushed motored kits for £100 or £120 for the pro version with uprated parts. As an example http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-1-10-RC-XSTR-PRO-BRUSHLE...
Spend £50 on the Manta Ray (ESC, motor and battery) and you'll end up with something better engineered and faster than any current 540 motored Tamiya kit, and save yourself £90 or more in the process. You can always buy a new body (£17) at a later date if you want to smarten it up further.
Edited by percymon on Tuesday 4th January 10:07
Edited by percymon on Tuesday 4th January 10:22
Edited by percymon on Tuesday 4th January 10:25
percymon said:
Spend £50 on the Manta Ray (ESC, motor and battery) and you'll end up with something better engineered and faster than any current 540 motored Tamiya kit, and save yourself £90 or more in the process. You can always buy a new body (£17) at a later date if you want to smarten it up further.
Thanks Percymon, that's a great write up. I'm seriously tempted to go this route rather than a new kit; I do still love my Manta quite a bit. I've got a charger for NiMh battery packs already (for playing with torches. I'm quite happy building my own battery packs, too - end to end soldering's easy with the right iron tip
).But those Traxxas toys are calling to me....
Choices, choices.... it's a hard life
To update:
I've ordered ESC, new motor and batteries for the Manta Ray. Slightly worried I may break it properly (and there's few parts around now)
3 reasons:
1) I do still like my old Manta
2) I think I'd rather spend a few quid on it than throw it on scrap heap. Then, when it breaks, I can worry about #3
3) Budget creep with the Traxxas. I keep starting with the plain e-revo 1/16 and ending up thinking "actually, that slash 4x4 ultimate is pretty good value at £389"
So thanks for the help folks!
I've ordered ESC, new motor and batteries for the Manta Ray. Slightly worried I may break it properly (and there's few parts around now)
3 reasons:
1) I do still like my old Manta
2) I think I'd rather spend a few quid on it than throw it on scrap heap. Then, when it breaks, I can worry about #3
3) Budget creep with the Traxxas. I keep starting with the plain e-revo 1/16 and ending up thinking "actually, that slash 4x4 ultimate is pretty good value at £389"
So thanks for the help folks!
defblade said:
To update:
I've ordered ESC, new motor and batteries for the Manta Ray. Slightly worried I may break it properly (and there's few parts around now)
3 reasons:
1) I do still like my old Manta
2) I think I'd rather spend a few quid on it than throw it on scrap heap. Then, when it breaks, I can worry about #3
3) Budget creep with the Traxxas. I keep starting with the plain e-revo 1/16 and ending up thinking "actually, that slash 4x4 ultimate is pretty good value at £389"
So thanks for the help folks!
good choiceI've ordered ESC, new motor and batteries for the Manta Ray. Slightly worried I may break it properly (and there's few parts around now)
3 reasons:
1) I do still like my old Manta
2) I think I'd rather spend a few quid on it than throw it on scrap heap. Then, when it breaks, I can worry about #3
3) Budget creep with the Traxxas. I keep starting with the plain e-revo 1/16 and ending up thinking "actually, that slash 4x4 ultimate is pretty good value at £389"
So thanks for the help folks!
The traxxas 1/16 Electric are all ready to run and come as a complete kit. The only thing you need to buy is 8 AA batteries for the controller.
This is mine which i am open t offers on http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2360501.htm
This is mine which i am open t offers on http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2360501.htm
[quote=defblade]"actually, that slash 4x4 ultimate is pretty good value at £389"
[quote]
Even better value at £345 http://www.modelrcshop.co.uk/products/1616.htm
[quote]
Even better value at £345 http://www.modelrcshop.co.uk/products/1616.htm
TheMighty said:
defblade said:
"actually, that slash 4x4 ultimate is pretty good value at £389"
Even better value at £345 http://www.modelrcshop.co.uk/products/1616.htmGassing Station | Scale Models | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff