RC Cars

Anybody have any experience? I'm just looking for something not too expensive that my 3 year old daughter and I can do together. I know they have "kiddy" ones but I was thinking about actually getting a better one we can do out in the street together. Don't want to go overboard here though.

Any thoughts?

Who are you kidding!!!! Its going to be all about you with the RC Car.

The 3 yr old will lose interest real fast, esp. after you get mad at her when she runs into the curb with your new RC Car.

Actually they are super fun to play around with but it will probably be a bit much for a 3 yr old. You can go buy a little cheap $49 RC car from Radio Shack and that will probably be good for her but not for you.
You will want at a minimum an older electric RC Car. RTR's are good street , losi and associated are good for dirt. The newer stuff all have brushless motors but can run you well into $500+ for the car, controller, batteries, charger and extras.

Look on Craigslist locally, there are tons of RC cars on there and they will usually be selling all of the stuff as a package with extra batteries and a charger and parts. They are fun to work on and the parts are pretty cheap for the older stuff.

examples:

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/tag/2113282856.html
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/for/2111438544.html

Haha! Yeah, you're right. It will take me back to my childhood too. I was just hoping for something that wasn't too expensive that would be durable. And yes, just like everything else, she will lose interest in 30 seconds...but those are fun memory-creating times!

Thanks 360.

Oh, c'mon. It's really for you, so you need something like this:



1/5 scale gas trophy truck!

Just don't go pulling stunts like this......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWhoXljVjBY

Now I'm just showin' off.

Do you want to run indoor, or outdoor?

For indoors, the Tamiya Mini is fun: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXTRN3&P=FR

That's just the car. If you don't have a transmitter, you'll need some more stuff.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...1p?&I=L7TRN3**

Sorry, you said "street." So many options!

Do you have an idea of what style of driving/body type you want? You can do F1, Rally, 2wd, 4wd, drifting......

Maybe Andy Z will chime in. He knows electric much better than I do.

Don't do it, just another hobby that will cost you thousands.

The Losi brand "mini" series desert truck is perfect.
Just fast enough, super easy ro drive and priced right for a top quality product. Very durable and cheap to fix when they (or you) wad it up.
Comes complete with everything you need to get started. Make sure to get different frequency trucks
Then when you want one for yourself , get the Baja 5t like Chris. That thing is beyond a kick in the ass.
If you want electric in the adult size and speed , go with the HPI blitz or the traxxis slash with 4wd.
Those 2 are the best in my opinion. I have the blitz and have it all hopped up. Scary fast on the street and just a blast on the dirt.
It's a hobby that will drain your wallet with upgrades and extra cars, but it's a buttload of fun.

Thanks guys. I hope not Cade! I'll keep looking around. Maybe I need to chill and start a bit smaller first. hahaha

Get a Traxxas Slash 4x4. They come ready to race and are totally ready for the track or backyard bombing. You can also get the 2wd version also but the 4x4 comes with a much better brushless engine kit. Get that an extra battery and a quick charger (charges in 40 mins or so) and you will be stoked! I have 2 of them and they are amazing. They are literally almost indestructible. I launch 30 foot jumps to pavement over and over and over and nothing ever breaks. It goes skipping, flipping and sliding down the road and I have never had a problem.

I believe they have some kind of kids mode on them too. You turn it on and it slows it down greatly for your daughter. I run my slash with my 5 year old. She steers and I work the throttle. It's super fun.

I got into just a few months back because I discovered this track only a few miles from my house. http://www.ocrcraceway.com/

It's so fun! (when you have twisted ankles and broken ribs from Wake lol) Pretty easy to start tech geeking out on the whole scene though. I found myself going....I need Lipo batteries and this radio and new tires, etc etc etc.

Good luck!

Hijack
Hey Chris - Would you suggest the Summit or Slash by Traxxas? I use to have a Team Associate GT until some clown stole if from my garage. Would love to get another!

Between the two, I'd go with the Slash. They're pretty bullet-proof.

Check out the traxxas website they have alot of good cars at a decent price. User friendly most of all.

Anyone have any experience with the losi micro cars. They seem like they would be a good time in the house. Every Christmas needs an r/c car running around.

I have the Losi Micro Desert Truck.. Thing is a blast. Me and the other dads in the neighborhood race them around iin the cul de sac. Pretty darn durable and very cheap to fix when stuff breaks. The thing that you will bust a LOT of is the front steering control arms. Simple to make your own out of a zip tie, or plastic from a 2 liter pop bottle.

+1 on the Slash. Those things are bulletproof.My son has a 2wd version that they race on a local indoor offroad track and they will take a beating. Not familiar with the speed control/motor on the 4wd, but on the 2wd you can set the speed control for novices so it is slower and the battery drain is less. The minis are fun, but personally I think its a little easier for kids to manuver a bigger vehicle if they have the room. I got my son's Slash for $200 new but I think they've gone up a bit since then.

We got my 6yr old an electric Traxxas waterproof engine buggy. Ready out of the box. Obviously I'm not really into RC, but he drives it through puddles, snow, mud, and all good. It's going on it's 3rd Christmas so I guess it's pretty indestructible. The traxxas was about $150 plus a charger.

My 3yr old has some cheap cars from Target that comes in a 2-pack so they can race eachother. It's fun for him but they are cars and not offroad so they get stuck if not on the street. About 6 months till one broke.

Santa got a Traxxas Slash 2WD for my son for Christmas. Super fun, but not indestructible. We broke two control arms yesterday alone. I'm hoping that was just a coincidence. I've already dipped into my pocket for RPM control arms for the front and back, an upgraded extra battery and a quick charger. And tomorrow I have to go find a set of very tiny torx drivers to replace the latest control arm break. Luckily, a very nice guy at the track in Havasu replaced the first one that I broke. I see another very expensive hobby in my future!

Ah yes....and so it begins. lol

Great purchase dave!!! Now ditch the regular batteries and get the lipo batteries and a lipo charger!! More then 2ce the run times and your speed will be much better !
Email me with any shopping questions. I'm a bargain shopper and found some great deals on mine.

It's my understanding that the lipos do not work with this brushed motor. I do not have the brushless version.

Gotcha. Some brushed motor esc units can go lipo. The extra run time and performance of a lipo/brushless set up is INSANE compared to the nimh brushed setup.
Have fun ! I'm looking to get the Baja 5t like Chris has. Stupid fun hobby

Okay, great, now you guys got me looking at these traxxas slash things. So what's the best prices you guys have seen? So far it seems $350 for the 5807 brushless with transmitter, batteries, etc or $472 for the 6807 ultimate edition, which I'm not sure what the difference is or if it's worth it.

It seems like the best way to go would be to get it without batteries so you don't waste money on a Nimh battery that you'd just want to upgrade to lipo anyway.

A few years ago I bought a RTR Losi MT. That thing would fall apart everytime I took it to the track. Went to a 1/8 scale Truggy next, then a buggie, then back to truggy (all nitro's). Many cars and thousands of dollar later I was burnt and done with the sport. Sold all my stuff to get back into paintball.

If you don't get too serious you should be able to play for a small amount of cash.......start racing and it's all over..........

Knee, funny you posted that. I sold all my paintball stuff to spend money on dirtbikes and RC stuff. Had a LOT of $ in paintball stuff.

Brett, You are correct that buying NIMH batteries is a waste of money for the nice brushless Slash. They are expensive and dont last long at all. Prob 15 min run time.
I shop at Hobbypartz.com for my lipo batteries and my chargers. A fantastic charger for you would be the Thunder A-6 from them. It charges everything. Lipo, NIMH, Nicad, your car, truck, suv, boat, you name it . It does everything. And cheap. Works flawlessly. I use that charger and I have some 5800MAH lipos I charge.. I get about 45 min run time on those suckers.!!!!!! Worth every penny. MAH is basically how much storage the battery has, the higher the number, the more storage and run time... The C rating is how much the burst rate of the battery. How much power it slams into your truck at once. The Voltage is pretty explanitory. The number of cells is,,,,, the more the more power to the truck, BUT, there is a limit to how many cells your lipo battery can have before it blows up your truck. Your owners manual will tell you the max # of cells in the lipo battery that your truck can handle. .
For lipo batteries, go with what they suggest for your truck as far as the "C" rating and how many cells your car can handle. Lipo batteries are a strange thing, and you have to read up on them to learn about them. Amazing performance, however NOT like any other battery out there. Just get some info on some of the RC message boards and you will be set. They info on them is always stickied at the top of the forums.
Good luck and have fun. !

Sorry to get off topic here....

Andy, the rumor mill says that the 5T will be discontinued upon release of the SC (Short Course) truck. It was supposed to be out before Christmas.

It looks like the two share about 99% of the same parts, but if you want a new T, you might want to start looking soon before they're gone (assuming the rumor is true). Yesterday, Tower Hobbies had the T listed as "discontinued."

Thanks Chris. I have my eyeballs on a 1/5 truggy 4wd!!!! 30.5cc. Gotta get more details on it, but the price is absurd so I have to entertain the idea.

LMAO! I thought I clicked on the "what's Miley smoking thread" but clicked this by accident....and then I read the first post...lol


"Anybody have any experience? I'm just looking for something not too expensive that my 3 year old daughter and I can do together. I know they have "kiddy" ones but I was thinking about actually getting a better one we can do out in the street together. Don't want to go overboard here though.

Any thoughts?"

Finally finished.

I may have to seek professional help for my addiction.