Getting Started (Again)

[barney81]

Hi,

I've been in and out of the hobby since I was about 13. I now want to come back after a 6 year abscence, the problem is I don't know where to start! I have a budget of around £300 and would like to get a car, ESC, Batteries & Radio gear for that price.

Any advice on what car to get? I'm thinking either a Tamiya TT01 or TA04, I will be racing in the stock class first until I get my feet. Any advice much appreciated!

[Andy M]

Hi Ian,

Welcome to the forum.

Your question is quite an open one and not something I'd feel answering completely myself. It would be worth having a read around the other forums on this site to get some info on the various cars available at the moment.

Ok first up regarding class, from what you have said you are looking at On-Road electric. At Chippenham we only use stock motors so its not going to be an issue. Modified motors have been deemed too quick for circuit we use.

Car wise, I've never been much of a tamiya fan personally but there are a lot of people who swear by them. Depending on which route you want to go down you could look at picking up either a kit and buying the electrics seperate (this would also allow you to look out for secondhand bargins if you wanted) or you could go down the RTR (ready to run) path.

Modern RTR cars are coming out that are competitive out of the box rather than the old "toy" status they used to have. As such they are a good buy for people on a budget or people new to the hobby. More and more RTR versions of top cars are coming out allowing you to get the car and then upgrade it all the way to top level as you go along. The TC4 RTR is a prime example of this.

As I said there are too many cars to specify depending on your desired level of chassis, type (RTR or Kit), secondhand or new, etc... Also you may want to consider going for something that many people have at the club allowing you to get advice and setup help from people. For further reading I would check out these car manufacturers:

Team Associated
Yokomo
Losi
HPI
XRay
Schumacher
Tamiya

My initial gut recommendation would be to consider the TC4 RTR and move up from there but have a look around and see what takes your fancy.

Hope that helps to start with. Fire away with any questions.

Cheers

Andy

[barney81]

Perhaps I should explain a little more. I have raced 4 wheel drive touring cars before, my first was a Tamiya (can't remember the chassis type, but I bought it from Sawyers it's was that old!), I've had a Tamiya TL-01 and a HPI Sprint MK1 RTR (never raced).

I have raced at your club before, mainly at Hardenhuish School and very few times at the outdoor circuit at the Rugby Club. I also did a Eurocup race (at Castle Coombe) along time ago and won a trophy! So I have some experience.

I would prefer to build the car from scratch so I can understand how it's put together, as I felt somewhat removed when I had my RTR Sprint. I was really looking for some advice with regards to which chassis is best these days or pehaps the question is which chassis is most popular?

Also what type of batteries are best? 2000, 2400, 3000?

[Andy M]

The big cars in 1/10th on-raod at the moment are:

Team Associated TC4
Yokomo SD, CGM and BD
HPI Pro 4
Tamiya 415 and Evo IV (i think)
Xray FK05
Losi JRXS
Schumacher Mi2

There are other good chassis' out there but these are probably the top few regular entries.


Cells wise we are now up to 3700mah packs however these are in my opinion heavy and over zealous for stock racing. My old 3300's (which have been the top for a while) provide good punch and duration and weigh a little less. Some people even use good quality 2400's to save even more weight.

[barney81]

TC3 Team Chassis (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2565&item=5987026610&rd=1)

Would this be a good starting point?

[Andy M]

The TC3 was and still is a good car, especially if you want something to get back into racing with as there are a lot of setups around.

I came back to racing in Sept 2003 after a 6-7 year break and I bought a TC3 Team aswell lol

Things to bear in mind...

1) Its the "Team" version, not a problem but just be aware there was a popular "Factory Team" version which was the top level one. The Team was intermediate level.
2) Its not the most modern car, some people like to know they have the latest but if you aren't bothered about the "trend" then its all good
3) You would need to get a new motor and tyres to run at Chippenham now and check it comes with a charger (otherwise you'd need one of these aswell)

[Mostlyharmless]

TC3 Team Chassis (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2565&item=5987026610&rd=1)

Would this be a good starting point?
I havnt raced since the TC3 was a good car untill the last few weeks, but i cant see that on a track as small as we run on club nights it will be a big loss on the TC4.

We've all seen jason run an old hpi(?) with a front arm stuck together with superglue and totally second hand equipment reach the A final in last years oli though, so dont believe the hype about needing all the newest kit!