RC Drift Cars, Tips for Building Your Own

Written by admin on February 28, 2010 – 8:41 pm -

 

Especially since the release of “The Fast and the Furious, Tokyo Drift,” we all know that car drifting is very popular in Japan. However, the popularity of the sport is spilling over into the United States rc car market. Did you know there is such a thing as rc drift cars? There is, in fact rc drifting has become a highly recognized sport. Once you see it, you will be hooked. Here are some things you should know when building an rc drift car.

First of all, electric rc cars are far better than nitro models when it comes to drifting. That is because it’s easier to control the throttle of an electric car, especially during a drift. Attempting to drift with a Nitro rc cars leads to a burnt out clutch and an overheated engine most of the time. It is highly recommended to use a shaft drive rc car as opposed to a belt driven transmission for your drifter. This allows for the best throttle response and avoids the backlash which often occurs due to the belt design. If you are building from scratch, shaft drive cars will make for the best drifters.

When it comes to the motor, you need high torque. It is very common to use 19 turn motors. The standard Mabuchi 540 works fine as well. Be sure to gear your car for acceleration and not for top speed. Also be sure to use a four wheel drive machine. 4×4 is much easier to control when drifting. If you already have a functional touring car, than turning your car into a drifter simply requires a tire change. RC drifters usually use tires made up of PVC pipes. Although you can also use ABS pipes, which are slightly softer than PVC material, or rubber tires that would be wrapped in electrical tape.

If you want to make your own PVC tires you need to buy a ten feet long, two inch diameter PVC pipe from your local hardware store. Get them as round as possible and avoid shops that sell deformed, or oval-shaped pipes. Another alternative is to buy specially made drift tires that are manufactured by Yokomo. These are rubber tires that have grooves in which you mount the Yokomo made drift ring onto. Another inexpensive way of building your own drift tires is to use a plastic cap that can be found on a spray paint can. These typically fit onto a regular touring car rubber tire and it would be much easier than cutting your own PVC tires.

When building your rc drift car just remember to get the accessories that are sized just right. A lot of times PVC pipes are slightly larger in diameter and a drifter is meant to be composed exactly to perfection. Other than that, stay away from nitro rc cars and form your new rc drift car out of any electric rc car out there. RC drifting has never been so easy.

Technorati Tags: Building, Cars, Drift, Tips

Tags: Building, Cars, Drift, Tips
Posted in RC Car Nitro | No Comments »

How to Decide Which Rc Car to Buy

Written by admin on February 28, 2010 – 8:39 pm -

 

When it comes to deciding which RC car you’re going to spend your hard earned money on it’s a tough call, this is a short guide to first time buys, who I’m sure are overwhelmed by not only the choice but also the types of RC cars available.

In a nut shell there are two basic categories:

Off-Road
This is generally considered to be the most popular, off road have several different sub classes like Monster Trucks, Rally Cars, Bashers and Truggies, with the latter being a kind of on/off-road

On-Road
This is my personal area of expertise, these are pure bred race machines built to eat tarmac, but it has to be good tarmac, even slightly ages parking lots will hurt these baby, the have the setup options that you’d expect to see on Nascar or F1 car, everything from camber to dampening can be adjusted.

There are also two main sub categories.

Electric.
This is the starting point for most people, I would suggest that you give this a try before you dive into anything that has a internal combustion engine. They are easy to maintain, relatively cheap, don’t break half as much and are much, much cleaner. What these lack in power they make up for in precision, clip ever apex like a pro.

Nitro (a.k.a. Gas or Petrol RC)
The grand daddy of RC racing, these babies have incredible power, the Nitro engines also take a little getting used, unlike electric racers there is a slight delay in the throttle and breaking that you need to get used to, but if noise, smoke and power is your thing look no further. Nitro cars tend to not survive crashed as well as electrics due to the weight and speed at which the crash.

The basic rule of thumb is to stick to Electric until you are ready to race the Nitro’s they are insanely fast and a lot can go wrong, run out of batteries for example and the throttle might stick open. While on an electric the car won’t have the change to run away, with internal combustion it’s a different story…

So you’ve decided which main class you want, now you need to decide what the car will be used for, there is a huge difference between the weekend warrior who tears up his local parking lot and anyone who wants to take racing seriously.

A few tips on picking a good starter car:

2nd hand RC equipment has no resale value, which is good for you, look in forums and auction sites and you will save about 75% of the original cost, not to mention that most owners have several hops=ups and extra which they normally throw into the deal.

you need three things to get into RC, A Kit, The electronics for the kit (Speed controller, Receiver, Sero’s, battery packs) and a Remote

Building the car yourself is easy and can be done in about 8 hours, but for the birthday boy it’s best to get a RTR (Ready to race) as these most often come with all of the above, check the box before you buy it they will tell you what extra’s you need. A TT01 generally comes with everything you need apart from the remote, it’s worth spending a bit more on the remote as this is something you will use over and over again.

Make sure that you will be able to find spares and hop-ups for the kit. (Important)

The best place to buy is the internet, this is true without a doubt, you get the best variety and prices from online stores.

Stay away from Nitro (Gas) powered RC cars until you can drive an electric one, electric RC cars are easy and cheap to maintain and give a lot less problems overall.

Which car to buy?
Personally I’d recommend a TT01 from Tamiya, they have amazing support world wide, while the car doesn’t have the finesse of a carbon fibre racing beast it can still compete, winning RC events is about consistency, not tire warmers (yes you get RC tire warmers, blew me away the first time, but I still ended up beating most of the “Tire-Warming-Pro’s”

The next step up from there is a Tamiya TA05, this is a belt driven RC car, while the TT01 is a shaft driven, there are some differences, but I’ll leave that for a different article. The TA05 can also take any motor, so you can race in all three classes (Stock, Super Stock and Mod)

Using one of the above cars is cost effective and a good way to see if RC Racing is something you might like to take to the next level. Once you have selected your car it’s time to get involved, the best way is to join a local racing club…

Please stop by my website and browse my growing collection of RC articles, everything, including advise is free

Technorati Tags: Decide

Tags: Decide
Posted in RC Truggy Electric | No Comments »

Rc nitro buggy kits?

Written by admin on February 28, 2010 – 8:36 pm -

I want to build a nitro buggy from scratch. i think i want to get a kit or something. What is a good one to get, and could i have some links for them. I dont want anything too expensive, although i know they arent cheap. I have built electric cars and trucks before and i want to start building nitro buggies. aslo, any tips for building it would be great!
-Thanks!

Technorati Tags: buggy, kits, nitro

Tags: buggy, kits, nitro
Posted in RC Buggy Nitro | 1 Comment »

3 Tips on Choosing Remote Control Boats, Airplanes, Cars and Trucks

Written by admin on February 28, 2010 – 8:31 pm -

 

Remote control boats, airplanes, cars and trucks are some of the most popular items of interest for hobbyists. In this day and age, RC vehicles are more than just toys. They are actually collectible items and serious enthusiasts spend a significant amount of money buying and accessorizing such playthings. Over the years, hobby shops from all over the world have experienced a tremendous increase in sales as a result of the growing popularity of RC vehicles. If you are planning to join other hobbyists in this fun and exciting form of recreation, you first need to learn how to choose the right remote controlled vehicle for you. Here are some important tips. 

 First off, you need to know the size or scale of the remote control boats, airplanes, cars and trucks that you want to focus on. The scale actually represents the size or proportion of the RC vehicle in relation to real life boat, airplanes, cars, or trucks. For instance a 1:24 scale model of an RC fighter plane would mean that it is 24 times smaller than the actual plane that it represents. The size or scale of your RC vehicle is important because it can affect fuel consumption or battery life. The bigger scale models would naturally consume more fuel or have a shorter battery life than smaller ones.

Next, you need to determine the type of fuel or power source for your remote control boats, airplanes, cars and trucks. Many RC vehicles use ordinary AA batteries, but these models are usually the ones that are given to kids as toys. Meanwhile, enthusiasts or hobbyists typically go for models that run on rechargeable Ni-Cad batteries. This type of batteries can supply anywhere from 4.8 to 9.6 volts of electrical power. Still, there are RC vehicles that use petrol much like their real life counterparts. Make sure to check out the box or label to see what type of power source is needed for your RC vehicle.

 Finally, remote control boats, airplanes, cars and trucks run on different types of engines. Much like the variable types of fuel or power source, there are also different types of propulsion for each RC model.  There are RC vehicles that are powered by electrical engines, while there are those that use motors that consume petroleum-based fuel. But more and more hobbyists now choose remote control models that are powered by nitro engines. The type of engine that your RC model uses can directly affect its speed and overall power.

Technorati Tags: Airplanes, Boats, Cars, Choosing, Control, Remote, Tips, Trucks

Tags: Airplanes, Boats, Cars, Choosing, Control, Remote, Tips, Trucks
Posted in RC Airplane Nitro | No Comments »