LainfordExpress wrote:
So, it appears I'm most likely to get a 1/10 4WD on-road electric touring car. I like the idea of adjustability, so I think I want a little more advanced one that I can fiddle with. Can you start with a bruch motor while you learn how to drive them, then upgrade to brushless later? What brands/models should I look at for 1/10 4WD on-road? I've built a PC before and fiddle with cars, so I'm not intimidated by a kit. Is it better to get a complete one or piece one together, choose your own battery, radio, etc?
The RTR stuff you're getting these days is nearly as good as the kit stuff. For an entry-level tarmac car, I'd go with the Exceed Driftstar from NitroRCX. My friend has one, and you don't need to do much to it to make it a jack of all trades. Bolt in an HPI Firebolt and your choice of drift or grip tires, throw in a 2S LiPO and it will be a reliable, controllable rocket.
I challenge you to find a kit these days.
Appleseed wrote:
I challenge you to find a kit these days.
Tamiya makes kits, and so do some of the other specialized RC companies.
Appleseed wrote:
I challenge you to find a kit these days.
Team Associated
Losi
Tamiya USA
Schumacher RC
Yeah they are still out there, and fast as a bat out of hell too.
Let me lay this out for you...
I raced off road back in the day (like went to nationals and made the "A" main type off road). That was EXPENSIVE racing! I raced on road until about 3 years ago (also at a semi - national level).
Racing got much cheaper about 5 years ago due to motor and battery technology. You no longer need to rebuild your motor every run. You no longer need to cycle your batterys and rematch them and everything else.
However, if you want to bash in the yard, this hobby can be pretty cheap.
If you want to race it gets more costly (time and money wise).
If you want to race and be competitive locally, it is twice as expensive as just "fun" racing.
If you want to race at a high level competitively, it is 4 times as expensive.
For example... At a major on road race I would rebuild the entire drivetrain of my 4wd sedan after every run (the diffs basically get ruined after 1 run with a GOOD motor). I would also rebuild the ENTIRE 1/12 scale car to make sure nothing was bent or tweaked.
Sometimes you would take the car off the track after a successful race and need to replace about $50.00 in parts.
I have spreadsheets that show I can do a lemons or chumpcar race for less money per weekend.
Even at a major race where I would race 3 classes, I would only get about 1.5 hours of TOTAL track time. I woudl also drop about 1.5K on batteries / motors / bodies / spares / hotel / TIRES!!!! / etc...
This past weekend I did a chump race and it cost me about $600.00 total.
In reply to G_Body_Man:
And it's funny how much more you pay to get to build it and add your own electronics!
Back in the day, the only ready-to-run cars had TYCO stickers on them. There is a certain zen to spending a day or two completing a kit.
I looked at buying a off road truck from my kid for Christmas and the guys at the hobby store talked me out of it. they said that running on taller grass (ie - not a putting green) would put so much stress on the $300 RTR truck that it would burn it up in no time.
We don't have anywhere to play with one other then lawn, so it was a no sale. hard to not trust a small shop owner when he isn't trying to up sell anything, just not sell me something that wouldn't meet my expectations.
But he did have some awesome stadium truck with a speaker system that made is sound like a v8 - and not only did it sound awesome, it was LOUD! And was over $1000 and not for sale.
Get you a Monster Truck if you are going to go back yard hopping through grass.
Even my Stadium Truck is fine on grass. Just remember to service your brushed motor every so often, and you'll have reliable running on almost all terrain.
I just got new wheels and tires for my 12 year old or so brushless converterd (and rally car converted!) team associated tc3. 
