Hi there,

I have wanted to get into the world of RC for a while now, and at last the better half has said I can go purchase a car.

I am however a complete newbie to the world of RC and would love some advice.

Because I have never built or used anything RC before, I was going to go for the new magazine Nitro Monster Truck, mainly as I thought the weekly magazine would teach me how to build, however I don't really want to wait over a year to be able to complete my car.


So what car would you guys recommend for me, bearing in mind I am a total beginner and would like something that is not to complicated to build/comes with thorough instructions oh how to build.

My requirements are:

It must be off-road, i am not fussy as to whether it is a stadium truck, a monster truck or even a buggy, I want to use it in fields for jumping and 'bashing', so the more durable the better.

I think it should be electic, the reason for this is that, I will not always be able to get out in the fields and my son would want to mess around indoors a bit, so nitro would be impractical, if I do get on with building my first RC, I would then purchase a more advanced nitro model. so for these reason I think electric, unless you guys can me a good reason why I am wrong.

It must be a kit, I want to get into RC for the fun of building as much as the fun of using the car, so I do not want a RTR, however it must have thorough instructions and be suited to a beginner, as this will be my first ever RC build.

Price, is negoitable - I have told the wife it will cost around £200, however if you think I need to spend more, this will not be an issue and if you think I can get something to fit my requirements for less, this will no doubt help me to get a nitro car a little later :D


I think that is all my requirements, however I am new at this, so will watch this thread and try to answer any other questions you will need to know in order to help me find an ideal car.

Apology's for the long post, but I wanted to cover everything.

Many thanks for your help in advance

Lee

I would take a look at Losi's Nitro Monster truck. Comes almost RTR (Ready to Run) all you need is fuel, batteries, etc to get ya goin. Almost no assembly required. If I was you I would look for a RTR vehicle weither it be a Losi, Traxxas or HPI that way once you start bashing with it you may break something someday and then that will help you learn a little more about the car. Just my 2 cents

Good luck

DJ Mansfield

I would suggest a Team Associated T4, it will run better on the grass than a buggy and most monster trucks are RTR.

You are so right on the electric, much better for a beginer. Alot of nitros have been sold that have never been able to run a full tank of fuel before flaming out, some never even get started.

I Would Suggest Whatever Is Good :)

I just got a Team Associated RC18T, and I absolutely love it. Perhaps you should look into it. It's very fast and has a really long battery life, and you can buy a charger that charges it in 30 minutes. It would also be good, because it's so small, your son can drive it indoors like I occasionally do, and not worry about breaking anything. It tackles grass and dirt no problem, and I have found it to be quite durable. It also comes completely RTR, which is nice. :thumbsup:

Well, you said you wanted a kit with great build instructions. You want to stay away from RTR's and pre-builts.

You kind of limited the field there for what you say you intend to do with it. If you want a basher for running around in a field & jumping there are no unassembled kits that would be perfect for that. The vehicles that most fit what you want them to do are the Traxxas Stampede and/or E-Maxx, but they are only available as RTR vehicles.

Most unassembled kits are competition vehicles that aren't necessarily suited for the average "back yard basher". You could look at the Tamiya Twin Detonator or Kyosho Twin Force, but then you'll also need to purchase the necessary electronics to go with them.

I personally would recommend the Traxxas Stampede. Yes it is an assembled RTR kit & you said you didn't want that, BUT... It does come with all the necessary electronics (just add batteries and charger) and you could always take it apart and put it back together again. It is a truck suited to what you plan on doing with it.

I agree with tommckay.....definetly look into a Traxxas Stampede!! For your first vehicle these things will take a beating and come back for more :thumbsup: This was the first truck we got 5 years ago and it has been raced/thrashed/bashed and has been a great truck. If your son is going to be using it also a ready to run turns into a ready for fun him too. Kids usually don't have the patience for us adults to put together a kit :rolleyes:

The electric truck will also keep your neighbors happy and keep the frustration level down if you have never ran nitro before.

Don't get too hung up on it not being a kit...there will be plenty of opportunity take this apart for upgrades and future projects. The most important thing is to get out and enjoy this hobby!! My son and I have raced together for 5 years and I wouldn't trade it for the world :thumbsup:

Also check over for the Stampede forum at rctech.net under the electric off-road section, I post over there also.

[QUOTE=Upya]Hi there,

I have wanted to get into the world of RC for a while now, and at last the better half has said I can go purchase a car.

I am however a complete newbie to the world of RC and would love some advice.



So what car would you guys recommend for me, bearing in mind I am a total

ok. so you are a complete newby to the rc world well first let me say welcome and above all have fun.

As for your picks the guys above are correct. Most kits are for racers they tend to be a bit on the pricey side and may not tend to be your best choice for bashing as they tend to require alot more upkeep then thier RTR cousins. On the plus side though, a new persobn to Rc sahould have no problem taking any of rts's apart and putting them back together again because they come with excellent directions. That being said there are alot of excellent choices fromdifferent manufacturers like the associated B4 orT4 the losi xxx, the traxxas E-max, or rustler, and duratrax evader series. These are all excellent cars for bashing most comke with excellent instructuions for new comers (some the traxxas even come with a dvd to help you get up and running). The one area though Rtr's lag in though is the radio that comes with them.. The radios are ussually manufacturers cheapest model with fewest adjustments (a big dissapointment since the cars themselves are so good.

As for recommendations. I do like the rustler and E-maxx, have had experience driving them. Maintenance it simple just add batteries and a charger and go (remember with the emax you are going to be running 2 baaeries at a time 2 mottors at a time this can get a little expensive). I also have hasd alot of experience with associated products, they are excellent products but I find that the ditrections a bit confusing in that I think they may have gotten a gerade 5 english student to translate them from the original japanese. I have freinds who have losi buggys and they are all happyy also. The above trucks though all excellent quality fall short when it comes to radio equiptment.

My pick for you and your son would be the duratrax evader series more specifically the evader pro series. this thing is an absolute blast. It comes ready to run like the others just add batteries and charger. The vehicles comes in either truck or buggy form and being the pro model it comes with a 15 turn double modified motor a good modified speed control to handle other motors down to 15 turns. It also comes stock with things such as a graphite tub chassis, full bearings more graphite such as arms, braces and more where most of the rest are plastic (not necessarily a bad thing). It also comes with duratraxxas 1 year stresstech gaurentee in that if you break sokmething in tha first year thwey will replace it (I have yet to break anything on my St pro). Lastly it comes what the others can only hope for in thatit comes with the futaba 2pl radio system which is a digital am radio system light years ahead of the others not only does it have a digital screen for monitoring things but it has one button set up for things such as anti lock breaks, end point adjustment and dual rates. this radio is capable of holding setting for up to 10- different model also meaning if you do decide to get another kit you can use the same radio just by getting a new receiver servo for it. (With the money you save you can buy the wife some roses as this will soften the blow when she finds out how much you just spent). Lasly the ride hieght on the evader series is a litle higher then the losi or associated and while this might seem a little old school for racing it is great for bashing and driving through things like grass.

Most importantly though find out what cars and parts you hav eaccest to you in your area. Nothing cAn be more frustrating then wanting to go out drivingh only to be stuck waiting for parts that take 4-6 weeks to arrive.

Hope this helps

SQuish

I woudl aslo reccomend a t3 or t4 kits becuase both of those trucks can take a brutal beating a still go and most hobbyshops in my area carry all the top brands of parts. But i would have to agree get a car that you can get spares for.