n00b alert! want to get started but what to get??

[JBarton]

hi guys ive always wanted to race 10th scale touring cars but have never taken the plunge so to speak.
im on a bit of a budget so im looking through the used cars on ebay at the moment.
can anyone recommend a car to me?
i have radio gear and thats about it.
im also going to need a charger any recommendations?

i intend to go down to my local track soon and have a chat with a few drivers but thought i would ask on here first as i have some friends i visit regularly who have a couple of tracks near by so i have the chance to race at more than one club as a guest.
so i'd like a general car .
any help would be appreciated.
thanks

[Skiddins]

Your best bet will be to visit those clubs and see what cars people are running.
You can then make a better decision as to what car to get, if there is make of car that is more popular at those clubs, getting one would mean you have help to hand from the people around you (VERY usefull as a beginner).

They will be able to advise you on setups as well as maintainance etc.

What charger to get will depend on what class you are going to run in.
I would advise starting with the Stock class, as anything faster combined with no experience will result in expensive and frustrating crashes.

Skiddins

[JBarton]

what do you guys think of the cyclone? im guessing the kit is better that the rtr.

[shawn]

The Cyclone is good and are popular around the clubs. If you break something you shouldn't have too much bother finding a replacement part.

There is also the Serpent S400 to consider. Has seen reasonable success with what appears to be the kit setup. Strangly enough there is one of them on Ebay at the moment ;)

If you are beginning though any car will do you as the first few months will be spent refining your driving skills so perhaps look at spares availability.
As time goes by the car setup will begin to play it's part.

[rcmadd]

jeez a lot of the cars out there at the moment are very good

i have always liked the schumachers mainly the mi2 and mi2ec, recently i have been using an xray t2 007 and finding that very good although it is taking a little time to get it to run the way i want it to
cyclone is another very good chassis and a lot are running at my club.

[part-time racer]

James, your best to stick to makes that your local shop can support you with. Living where you live means the Southend club is most local to you and the best shop for our class (touring cars) local to you is Colin Bliss Models in Maldon. He always attends our club nights in Benfleet on a Tuesday night and he will tell you everything you need to get going in the sport.

I would personally run an Xray as you will find the most number of your local club racers using this make.

Regards
Richard.

[tc3team]

I've always found Tamiya cars very durable, especially the ta05 and it's sensibly priced :) The downside is it's a little heavy, although starting out this may not be too much of an issue. Lap consistancy is the first thing to work on, as is setting the car up to work as best as it can around a given track, this includes gearing the motor properly, so it doesn't overheat and loose power.

However, I would say the first thing to do is what you've already mentioned, get to a local club and see what's raced and how it's done :)

See how well the clubs members interact with each other to see how well you would fit in - do the same people speak with each other, or does everyone and anyone talk away to each other?

Speak to the race director also if you have any questions about how a meeting is run.

Don't rush your decisions on what to buy as although a recommendation might sound good, it's you who will be using it, not the person suggesting it!

All the best :)

[JBarton]

thanks for all the help and advice guys ive been to a couple of clubs recently but didn't like the welcome i received a bit like the pub scene from American werewolf in London if you've ever seen that (we dont like strangers here)lol.
i hope to check out the southend club soon im just without a real car at the moment and i'd have to jump on a bus and get a taxi back so may be a while.

[tc3team]

thanks for all the help and advice guys ive been to a couple of clubs recently but didn't like the welcome i received a bit like the pub scene from American werewolf in London if you've ever seen that (we dont like strangers here)lol.
i hope to check out the southend club soon im just without a real car at the moment and i'd have to jump on a bus and get a taxi back so may be a while.

Trust me, not all clubs are like that, doesn't sound like you are put off finding one though. I'm sure you'll find a good one soon :)

[Nes]

thanks for all the help and advice guys ive been to a couple of clubs recently but didn't like the welcome i received a bit like the pub scene from American werewolf in London if you've ever seen that (we dont like strangers here)lol.
i hope to check out the southend club soon im just without a real car at the moment and i'd have to jump on a bus and get a taxi back so may be a while.

Free free to come to HRCC up in Ware (herts) sometime if you want a warm welcome. If you go to southend you'll recognise alot of their members up at hrcc :)

[Skiddins]

If you have transport there are quite a few clubs that have plenty of helpfull members.
If you put on here where your thinking of going I'm sure someone can name the best people to speak to at that club.

I have never found any driver at any club over the last 4 years who wasn't willing to help or willing to answer questions.

Sometimes the people at clubs seem a bit 'off'ish' but once you've spoken to them you'll be pleasantly surprised :)

Skiddins

[JBarton]

hi it's not that i didn't try.
i try'd to have a chat with a few people and got nowhere .
but the clubs were more like a father son thing i guess i got the wrong night.
i get strange looks from people most days due to my "job" im a tattooist and we have a kinda "look" but after a few mins of chatting i get along with most anyone.
perhaps i roll my sleeves down and button my collar and try a few more clubs.
you all seem like real nice guys on here so i guess wrong people wrong time wrong clubs.

[JBarton]

well ive ended up with a tc3.
i was told it would be worth my while to get a older car so i could get a feel for the sport before going head first.
just need to get it setup any recommendations for a servo and esc?

[tc3team]

The tc3 is a good car for club level racing, it might not be the newest car out there, but it can still perform quite well :)

Servo, the Futaba 3003 might be ok, or if you really want to spend the money, go for a Futaba 9551. Anything else for club level and starting off racing is just overkill.

Make sure you have the servo saver adjusted correctly, or you may break the steering arm, or even worse damage the servo when you hit something :(

As for ESC's, if you are looking for one with reverse, look at the Tekin Rebel 2 series (very easy to programme with a 1 touch setup), or ask around here, or at your local hobby/model shop for an unbiased opinion :)

[reuben_manning]

when it comes to electrics, I started this hobby up last June and Already been through 3 servos and 3 ESC's... slowly improving them at a time.... But a VERY costly way of doing so.

I would recommend with servos and ESC's to get the best servo you can afford. and definitly buy a brushless ESC (brushed compatible if your running brushed for the meantime) purely because you will save alot of money in the long run.

Agree with tc3team about the 9551, BRILLIANT servo and will last you a long long time.

alternatively with the ESC's you can get some really decent brushed ESC's for almost nothing due to their replacement to brushless esc's

HTH

[JBarton]

i have a couple of mtroniks esc's around here eco 20 i thinkany good? i got them with a mardave.
im only going to be running 27t and if i can take the cheap option all the better.
dont want to spend a lot at first.

[tc3team]

They will get you going for sure, but once you are very consistant with your lap times they might hold you back a bit.

[JBarton]

great stuff i intend to upgrade at some point in the future.
just need a motor and servo now.

[mad-wolfie]

The ECO20 should be ideal for running what you have in mind. I've recently bought an Etronix probe 12 which is a 12t ESC, but low priced, so that is an idea should you consider an upgrade.

I've run an Mtroniks Big-Lix 27 motor for some club racing, this tends to be a little slow but won't give you any problems, but you can also go for something a bit more potent such as the Reedy Stockstar or Reedy MVP which are a bit more difficullt to live with so you may need to pull it apart after a few weeks to clean it up to keep it at 100%.

Servo's well, in my book they are consumables - a quick prang with a barrier at the wrong angle will damage a £4 acoms servo in much the same way it will damage a top of the range, high priced servo.

So your basic choice is do you buy an expensive servo & hope it won't break, or buy a few budget servo's (possibly from that famous auction site) for the same cost? I only tend to run Acoms, mainly for the reasons i've stated, plus i'm not exactly the richest person on the face of the earth, so every spare penny counts, some would say this is cutting corners, but what would a £30+ servo do that a £4 servo can't, i just have to adapt my driving style a little to suit it's little niggles?

[JBarton]

thanks for that info good idea regarding the servos i think i have a couple of acoms around here...
i'll take a look on fragbay and see what i can pick up.
just a battery charger and cells now.
i only paid £27 for the tc3 so this is not hitting my poor wallet hard .

[Stox216]

try getting a futaba s3001 there better then the stock s3003 and the like's but not bank busting price's