RC Cars

[Psyrax]

Who has some RC cars? The proper stuff. Not the Makro stuff that runs on AA and AAA batteries.

 

Im thinking of getting a nice crawler. 1/10 scale. And yes, I know its another hobby that can get stupid expensive. It will be nice to take it with in the car when hitting the trails with the bike. Then afterwards have a go with the RC car.

 

Anyone else doing this?

[DR ◣◢]

Love it. Absolutely love it.

 

I just can’t afford to get into it even at the entry level because i know my itch will get a major scratch and that’s where things get expensive.

 

Home audio, 4x4, and photography already whacked me hard in the past. ????

[arendoog]

I was heavy into nitro cars 1/10 and  1/8 scale on and off road .Nitro is noisy and dirty .Electric all the way nowadays .One day i just lost interest and started flying RC planes . 

[BarryH]

Do the Tamiya thing, cheap entry type of stuff, +/- R3000 a couple of years ago. Speed shop use to be at Tyger Manor.

 

Upgrade the plastic bearings to proper bearings, go to electronic speed controller, can upgrade the motor/s, and if you want add 2 cells to the existing 6 cells per battery pack, like an extra battery added, you will have to find space to secure it on the car. This will give you plenty to do and lots of suffering to learn to solder on the batteries without killing them.

 

I managed to avoid making parts out of aluminum, it was great fun, but eventually it will become boring again, and then you will be glad that you did not go the big bucks way. 

 

I still take my car out every now and then for some fun, but it is much better if you are a couple of mates doing it together.

[MORNE]

raced 1/8 nitro offroad at national level for a few years circa 2009. Alot of the SA guys including our team went to the Los Vegas Worlds in 2016. I didn't race anymore at that stage.

 

 

zwartkops RCX in Pretoria has arguably the best local 1/8 offroad track in this country at this moment. It's a world class track. Welkom in the freestate a close second imo. The rest of the country has tracks and clubs but not at that level anymore. KZN used to be a huge leg of the nationals...but it died down there a bit. Same in Cape Town. there is a track at Zone 7 which I initially helped design when we moved down here as there was nothing here,  but facility and track surface wise it is not at the same level as the tracks you get up north. Still good fun though. 

 

Be warned. it is a money pit.

To race at the pointy end of the grid you'll gooi R15k on a rolling chassis , R10k on a modded motor and 15k on proper radio gear including servos. This soes not include any special clutches or other nifty performance upgrades which are track specific.  You'll use the best tires available if you want to win because everybody else will too, which are mostly Prolines or AKA's which will set you back about R1200 a set of 4....and you'll gooi a new set for every single qualifier...of which there are usually 3 or 4 on the saturday lol. then you'll start your 45min main with a new set too.

 

these days they run spec tyres at club level which help with the exorbitant costs. But it is a rich mans sport/hobby if done competitively at any level. 

 

PS...national championships currently change hands between the gauteng guys and the CT guys.

Edited November 17, 2020 by morneS555

[MORNE]

https://zwartkopsrcx.co.za

 

http://www.welkomrcarena.co.za

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

I've been having a look at some 1/14 scale jobbies recently, for my son and I to play with. Specifically the WLToys range from AliExpress / banggood etc. Less than 2k, very good spec for the price and loads of spares available. The 144001 and 124019 look like proper little rippers.

 

But thats for when I have more cash. In the meantime my old Tamiya classic mini build (which I got in 1998 or so) will have to do.

Edited November 17, 2020 by Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

[MORNE]

Current World champs car. 

 

 .21 2 stroke engine. 3.5HP 40k RPM

They weigh in at about 3.4kg so thats a power to weight ratio of 1:1 lol

You run 25% nitro fuel at competition level. 

4WD, 3 diffs..all oil filled...that determines where the drive goes....so infinitely adjustable.

3 or 4 shoe clutch. disk brakes front and rear (they sit at mid diff on the driveshaft)

 

everything geometrywise can be changes...from camber,caster toe, antiquate, kickup...to shock angles, sprng rates, piston holes, weight bias, linkage postions etc etc etc. basically everything you can set on a 1:1 kar.

Edited November 17, 2020 by morneS555

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Jeeeeeeepers that's trick. Love it.

[MORNE]

Jeeeeeeepers that's trick. Love it.

ps...those are kashima coated shock bodies btw lol. You get them threr too...and they cost an arm and a leg there too. they look and work similar to a rear shock on a DS bike on the inside. a bit simpler...but you have a piston with customisable holes, some flaps and bladders that determine flow rates on rebound or compression etc

Edited November 17, 2020 by morneS555

[MORNE]

anyway...let me leave this evil thread before I go withdraw R150k to start racing again next year. 

 

EDIT: My wife will leave me. We have had the talk. 

Edited November 17, 2020 by morneS555

[Shebeen]

anyway...let me leave this evil thread before I go withdraw R150k to start racing again next year. 

 

EDIT: My wife will leave me. We have had the talk. 

i have a tamiya grasshopper that i got in the 90s.

 

 

maybe going to get it back running for my youngster this christmas

[Shebeen]

anyway...let me leave this evil thread before I go withdraw R150k to start racing again next year. 

 

EDIT: My wife will leave me. We have had the talk. 

wouldn't it be easier to just take up cocaine?

[Grebel]

I used to have one of these. What a blast! Loads of fun at the local BMX track until you got chased away for making too much noise... Even managed to master the backflip. Ended up with a full stainless steel roll cage (Ali ones used to bend too easily) and some modified bits. Not much beats the smell of nitro.

 

[arendoog]

i have a tamiya grasshopper that i got in the 90s.

 

 

maybe going to get it back running for my youngster this christmas

These old Tamiya cars sell for big bucks on ebay .Collectors love them 

[dirtypot]

I was into RC drifting about 10 years ago.  I went full pimp with headlights and tail lights and everything.  Decided one day that I needed a more powerful motor which also needed a new speed controller, which then required stronger shafts as they were flexing, which meant I needed better joints (CV joints?) and then better hub carriers....  It was a constant 'add money here' project 

But I had so much power!  It was a lot of fun.  With normal rubber tyres on (not the harder drift wheels) it is insanely fast!  

I should actually dig it out of the cupboard and try it out again.  Will probably need new batteries by now though...