PDA

View Full Version : Hey... new here


SubaruSTi
10-18-2005, 08:18 PM
Hey, trying to move on to my next r/c and this site seems to be a good resource with a pretty friendly community. I have a pretty standard question but first i'll show you a little of what I've had so far in r/c's. I haven't been in the hobby for very long, it mostly started with an xmod (yes.. i know.. at least its a start) which was entertaining for about a week. Then came the revo. This thing was a complete money pit.. I had put probably 800 into it before i decided it was time to sell. I did keep the reciever (spektrum) and transmitter (m8) as well as the beastly titanium steering servo and throttle servo.

revo pic 2 (http://sio.midco.net/dkroon/traxxas/revo2.jpg) revo pic 1 (http://sio.midco.net/dkroon/traxxas/revo1.jpg)

Now I had these expensive electronics laying around and decided I'd have less of a loss by putting them into a recently announced jato than to sell them. I put some money into this one but nowhere near as much as the revo. The electronics really transformed this thing from stock. I stiffened and beefed up the suspension and inevitably made the truggy less forgiving. I'm in the process of selling it now.. just not sure if i should sell with or without the servos. Going to keep the spektrum/m8.
In the end, the jato was definatly faster than the revo, but as top speed it was nowhere near as impressive as the 10 lbs offroading beast from hell was. Not to mention the jato , being rwd, and having the brake on the driveline... had only rear wheel braking... an e-brake if you want to think of it that way. Basically unstoppable from topspeed unless something stopped it for you.

jato pic (http://sio.midco.net/dkroon/traxxas/jato/filter.jpg)
edit: maybe i can get a better pic of the jato for you guys after i tear and clean it again for the sale



Now, here's where you guys (hopefully) come in. I definatly want to get something in kit form (ive completely torn down my last two rtr's at least a combined 10 times)
I'm starting with only a reciever/transmitter.
Car will probably see outdoors on the street as well as indoors on carpet. I'd like to build something kind of impressive... something moderatly fast but its not worth it if it can only run 15 minutes. This may not be the best idea considering i have NO experience with electric r/c cars (although i do have basic knowledge of electronics from moddings pc's and xbox's the last few years)
I don't want to blow an insane ammount of money on this one, but i should have some cash laying around from selling the jato. I was teetering between the xray m18 and the Micro rs4... but seeing this community devoted to the rs4 tipped the scales. I'm posting this without reading most of the forums first, so i may be able to answer some of my own questions... but here it goes:

1. Wheres the cheapest place to get a micro rs4 kit online?

From what ive read so far... i do know that i want to go BL

2. Whats the most popular BL motor out there?
3. Whats the most popular ESC out there?
4. What battery type should i be looking for Nimh.. li-po.. pro's and cons? Ammount of cells?
5. I'm probably going to swap the deck for a cf one... which one is the best?
6. Steering servo?

I'm sure price is a big factor in most of these answers, and the range im going to be in is probably moderate to high. I'm so used to $80 titanium rods on the mt's that the prices ive seen so far on rs4's seem like bargains.

Anyways, I hope you guys can help me, and make sure to straighten me out whenever you guys get a chance.
Thanks, Ben

HPIsuperfan
10-18-2005, 08:47 PM
I know all of these, and I can answer them.

1. www.ultimatehobbies.com all the way. Go to the electric on-road section and scroll until you see a large margin. It will probably be the Micro Rs4. There are a lot of cheap items in that catergory. 50 bucks bones for a Porsche 140mm wb kit. If you don't know what that means, it is the shorter version. You might want to change bodies and then get a longer belt, they are far more stable.

2. The best motor out there is the Castle Creations Mamba 25 Brushless Motor. They are awesome and they look nice too with the Green Anodized aluminum can. You can get them cheaper at www.b-p-p.com look in motor systems, and 1/18 scale brushless systems. The 8000 is overkill, and you can't handle it and it is also broken parts galore, so get the 6800, which is cheaper, controllable, and is best for everything but absolute speed.

3. The ESC comes in a package with the motor, so you don't have to worry about that. That is, unless you choose a different motor system.

4. Generally the first pack you should get is just a sport 6-cell pack. I reccommend the URC Sport 42. Just go to www.unitedrc.com products page, click the little scroller, and look in battery cells, and accesories. Then 6-cell packs, and look at the Sport line. Oddly enough, even though these are only 11 bucks, they can still handle the high amp draws of the Mamba system. Go ahead, use it. Thanks, URC!

5. The best CF deck for the Micro I think (that is still in production) is the P3500LM. Just look on the trusted www.ultimatehobbies.com , and look into the same place where the Micro Rs4 was bought. Just scroll down more, and soon you will find Penguin LeMans chassis. 50 bucks...again. Normally they sell for 65.

6. Steering servo is also a different and hard to explain matter. There are 2 different sizes you can use for the Micro. Micro, and Standard. That's right, you can use standard servos. For a starter in Micros, you might just want to stick with the stock cheapo standard servos that come with the budget radio packs, like the Futaba S3003. They aren't overkill, and for the size and wieght, they are the most durable for the price in the class. Later on, you will want to switch to a Micro servo, but that is something you may want to do later as you get more into micros. Although I do hope so, you're probably not sure that you will still stay with a Micro Rs4.

If you need any more help, e-mail me at HPIsuperfan@aol.com or talk to other experienced members on the forum like Alfred or Homer. I am solely devoted to Micros, so I'll try to answer any question.

SubaruSTi
10-18-2005, 09:37 PM
Thanks for the great reply hpisuperfan,
Just so im not mistaken, the difference between the $11 packs is just a different cell configuration correct?


I forgot one last question, what kind of a charger should i get? I guess for now i'll just be charging 6 cell 7.2v packs, but if possible i'd like to retain the ability to charge li-po's in the future. What kind of little extras do i need, i heard something about deans connectors... do i need to upgrade the drivetrain at all if im going to put a lot more power than origionally intended through it? Pinions...gear..belt... diffs? The suspension geometry looks a little cheesy on the rs4... any hope? Should i just get an m18 which has a bit more solid looking setup?


So far.. correct me if im missing anything

rs4 kit $50
bl motor/esc ($99)
cf deck ($45)
6 cell sports pack ($11)
unkown mini servo ($???)
unkown charger ($???)
Longer belt (??)

aside from the paint, tire glue, reciever/trans, and tools that i already have, do i need anything else to get this thing moving?

SubaruSTi
10-18-2005, 11:08 PM
ah what the hell... i ordered a 140mm (going to grab a 150 belt) and a penguin 3500lm chassis.. 99.90. The lhs wanted 99 for a 150mm rtr skyline so splurging for a belt seems like a pretty good deal to me. Was shipping free?

HPIsuperfan
10-19-2005, 02:22 PM
good price huh? Yeah, the shipping is free with a purchase of 50 bucks or more.

HPIsuperfan
10-19-2005, 02:38 PM
oh, well about the other questions, there are places to buy those, just let me list them. www.ultimatehobbies.com was only for the CF chassis, and the kit itself. I'll show a link for the belt:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAYS3&P=7

There are lots of chargers, but if you want li-poly, then the price goes up. Here's the best of the best:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCJG7&P=ML

You have to get a power supply for it which is this:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUF47&P=7

If you just want a good all around charger without the need for Li--poly, then get this:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCLD5&P=ML

The MRS4 suspension design is very odd, but it works great, so I really don't see the need to switch over to an M18. Well, the M18 handles better, but with the Penguin Chassis, it's okay.

You really need to beef up your drivetrain with the Mamba motor's torque and power. I suggest you get dogbones, and that will actually last for a while. Try a new front and rear diff later on though. Here's a link for dogbones:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAYR6&P=7

Front Diff:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXGAC1&P=7

Rear Diff:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAYV7&P=7

The servo you were talking about needs two things. The servo, of course:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXN685&P=7

and the mount plus servo saver set:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCYT1&P=7

all this and your car is ready to go fast. If you do consider how much your Revo cost, then this is a really good deal.

HPIsuperfan
10-19-2005, 02:39 PM
oh, by the way, the body has to be different with a different belt, so you will have to buy a 150 mm body like the Skyline, Corvette, or Lamborghini Mercielago to get it moving, or just cut the Porsche funny, but otherwise, you could get the car running.

HPIsuperfan
10-19-2005, 02:43 PM
Here's a link:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0093p?&C=CHD&P=7

just look for a body you like. I can't decide everything, but make sure it is 150mm.

SubaruSTi
10-19-2005, 08:26 PM
Thanks man, you have no idea how much help you've been... hopefully will have this thing running in a few weeks.

microRS4guy
10-19-2005, 09:15 PM
if i were you, i would throw a mazda 6 on the the micro. its a very nice body, and handels well for racing.

SubaruSTi
10-19-2005, 10:46 PM
What kind of motor mount would i need for the mamba 6800 (or 8000)? Do i need some kind of heatsink?

microRS4guy
10-19-2005, 11:03 PM
the stock motor mount should be fine as the mamba has different options for mounting locations. 180 280 300

HPIsuperfan
10-20-2005, 02:35 PM
I myself use a Porshe 917k body, but it is tricky to mount since it is so low, and that it is a very hard to trim body.