My local club is on road..

[Zoea]

My local club (WLRC) races 1/10 saloon cars. Now I've never been there but the track sure looks good and it looks like a blast. I have no experience with on road cars though, having only 2wd buggies. I have a chance to get a cheap brushless motor so I'm thinking I might keep my eyes open for a 1/10 saloon and run something around 5000kv in it. That should be competitive for racing I hope.

I don't want to spend the earth (read new TC6 factory team kit ... ouch!), but I can spend a medium amount. What's my best option? Best bang for the buck I mean.

Thanks for your help all input welcome

[digitrc]

You'll get good advice trackside I am sure.

I'm assuming the motor you have your eye on is sensorless in which case it probably won't fit in to any of the classes they race at the club.

If I was buying a first car for on-road on a moderate budget, first choice would be a Tamiya. Either a TT-01 (which is easy to build and drives well but will struggle with big power) or TA-05 (which is a bit more complex but much better suited to faster motors), perhaps an XB (RTR) version if the price is right (at UK prices, they are often the same price as a kit!).

The other car worth considering right now is the Schumacher Mi1. A slightly dated overall design that they have brought back into production, but it is pretty solid and a UK product.

[Zoea]

Yes I was looking at a sensorless motor. In BRCA rules brushless motors have to be sensored? They dont mention anything (that I could see) about sensored or sensorless on their web site.

Thanks for the other input. What do you think of a TC3 or maybe tc4? I see they still sell the tc4. I would be buying second hand.

[digitrc]

Sensorless running is not banned, however sensorless motors are not made to the same specifications as sensored motors. Most clubs will run a "turns" class (eg 13.5) which is not equivalent to the way the sensorless motors are made. Sensorless motors don't drive as nicely either so fundamentally I would avoid them. There are good sensored systems available for very little money now, it simply isn't worth buying a sensorless system for racing.

TC3/TC4 are fine. Many preferred the TC3. Bear in mind that a second hand car may have wear and tear and/or "mystery" faults that you will never get to the bottom of. For that reason, I always recommend buying new unless you have plenty of experience of how the cars "should" work.

[Swalls]

I think a quality used car would be a good option. A friend of mine picked up a used Xray T3 for £100. A quality used race chassis is going to be much much better than a TT-01, I would specifically avoid this chassis, a TA-05 is a better option though, although I would still say pick up a used T3 or similar. Go to a club meeting and see what is for sale, then at least you get to see the thing in the flesh before you buy to avoid the previously mentioned possible gremlins.

Over the weekend I actually picked up an LRP SXX v1 for only 65 quid and an X12 motor for 20 quid. Both look little used, I feel like I robbed the guy a bit really.

There are deals to be had with new electrics as well. I see Team Powers are selling their older model 13.5 motors for around 35 quid, a hobbywing Xtremestock speedo can be had for 75 quid or less.

[Zoea]

Thanks. Is an RS4 a good option and if so which version(s)?

I might be able to pick up a cheap TC3 or TC4 while im here in the states so that could work well. The next meeting at the club is months away (best i can tell) so that is a bit too long to wait to buy I think.

I was going to say before, I dont want a tamiya, I have bad memories of tamiya lol

[Swalls]

As long as you have enough parts to keep it going for a while then a TC3 is still a good car. They are still pretty widely used in the US so getting one with spares shouldn't be too hard. I wouldn't run much more than a 13.5 in it though, gotta look after the gears and torque steer could rear its ugly head, after all, we have so much more power these days compared to when the TC3 was designed.

If you mean an HPI RS4 pro/pro2 then I wouldn't get one of those. Get the TC3 if you can.

But like I said, here in the UK a nice used old Xray 007 or 008 would probably serve you better. You can most likely pick one up at a good price and spares will be easy to come by as well. I'm generally not an Xray fan cos I like to use a chassis others don't. But I can see they are a good option for someone in your position.

[colmo]

Originally Posted by Zoea

Thanks. Is an RS4 a good option and if so which version(s)?

I might be able to pick up a cheap TC3 or TC4 while im here in the states so that could work well. The next meeting at the club is months away (best i can tell) so that is a bit too long to wait to buy I think.

I was going to say before, I dont want a tamiya, I have bad memories of tamiya lol

The RS4 is obsolete so spares may be an issue.

As someone who tried to do touring cars on the cheap, I'd say either look at a current used car (Mi4 LP and CX are very popular in my onroad club, and very quick, any variant of the Tamiya 416 is also a good choice), and wouldn't bother with anything older than 2-3 years e.g. the TC5 (TCs improve and develop at a far quicker rate than buggies),

Alternatively, get one of the budget racers - Mi1, Tamiya TA05 (I did run this, and to balance it means running it rather heavy), Xray T3R and Team Magic E4JS (my current car actually - oodles of grip, more so than the TA05). I'd class the TC3/4 alongside these as Associated have such excellent support for their old cars. Best bargain of the lot is the Sakura Zero S - a modern chassis, built along the lines of their full fat Zero, and under £100 new. The dual gear diff setup also keeps maintenance to a minimum.

Agreed on the Xtreme Stock (£60 from Giantcod), excellent with the current software, and motor depends on the class you run - slower motor classes tend to give more room for error on setup and driving skill. I believe 13.5 is the most popular class in the UK, my own club runs 10.5 (which is now mod motor quick, insane for the school gym we run in) and 17.5 (more like it for indoors).

Originally Posted by Swalls

As long as you have enough parts to keep it going for a while then a TC3 is still a good car. They are still pretty widely used in the US so getting one with spares shouldn't be too hard. I wouldn't run much more than a 13.5 in it though, gotta look after the gears and torque steer could rear its ugly head, after all, we have so much more power these days compared to when the TC3 was designed.

Bear in mind brushless motors have a fraction of the rotating mass brushed motors had, so torque steer is much less of an issue than it was.

[Swalls]

True dat. I should have known really, I dragged out my old SD the other weak and it was fine with a 5.5 in it.

I forgot about the T3R, good option if you want a good new car. I'd be surprised if there was much perceptible difference between it and the full fat version. Used TC5 also a great option, good stable platform.

Good used cars are there for the plucking, as well as a mate that picked up that T3 2010 for £100, another friend recently sold his Mi4LP for only £130 with spares etc. So get scouring around the for sale sections of forums and on ebay, brilliant deals are out there waiting for you. Just shop around and make sure (as much as you can) that you are buying from a reliable person.

Any of the recent crop of TC's is gonna serve you well.

[Zoea]

Thanks for the help folks. I'll look into the new options Get some sleep its late across the pond!

[grimidol]

Look on eBay I have got corally phi for £35 second on there in the past good car

[Zoea]

On that subject, can anyone suggest the best places to find second hand stuff both in the USA and the UK? I am checking ebay already. Thanks.

PS really like the 3 RACING Sakura Zero S but I dont know where to get it over here. And parts might be tricky...?

[Robbiejuk]

Originally Posted by grimidol

Look on eBay I have got corally phi for £35 second on there in the past good car

Blimey I bet they cried all the way to the post office when they sent you that Those Phi's were really expensive when they came out.

Xrays are always a good buy, t2008 upwards can be used with most of the parts from the new cars so spares are not a problem. Not that they break very often.

[dodgydiy]

get a tc3 as a first on roader, easy to drive, setup and maintain, very strong and quick, i still get beaten by tc3's at club, athough my xray isnt a new model. if you want more advanced have a look at the xray t2r or t3r, i will say though you will need to do more maintainance work on the xray as its not a sealed drive system. only thing i found on tc3 is that if you are going to use a hotter brushless motor you will need to use metal diff outputs, although only on the rear as the plastic ones start to melt if you are using anything hotter than a 10.5

[colmo]

Originally Posted by Zoea

On that subject, can anyone suggest the best places to find second hand stuff both in the USA and the UK? I am checking ebay already. Thanks.

PS really like the 3 RACING Sakura Zero S but I dont know where to get it over here. And parts might be tricky...?

Muchmore bring in 3Racing stuff, but never took to the Zero as they already had the TOP Photon on their books. The easiest place is to import directly from HK - RC Mushroom, RC Mart, RC Market HK, the usual culprits. Parts are super cheap for the Zero. The cost of 2 Zero S kits would be roughly the same as one used Mi4 LP, if you miss customs!

Keep an eye out for used TCs - touring cars go out of date faster than yoghurt (though I think it's driven as much by fashion as actual speed improvements!), so someone else's last-season cast off is potentially your new starter car.

I'm having to sell my Team Magic E4RS because it'll not get a decent run till next winter season (and there's a chance I may not be able to do that either), so it has to go while it's worth something, and I'll stick with my E4JS, the one I got for £55 on ebay, as it's devalued as much as it ever will!

[qatmix]

At our club ta05's have taken over, they regulary win The A final against competion spec chassis. (we run on a tight technical circuit with 10.5t brushless). That's why I would recommend checking at your local club before buying a car. If a lot of guys have the same cars then it's good for trackside support/spares.

Without doubt the best budget buy tc is the sakura zero S. It's a very competitive chassis, cheap parts and easy to upgrade. Personally I would avoid schumachers as they are not very strong, at our club the tamiyas and xrays are bulletproof but schumachers seem to eat diffs and drivecups etc.

[paul508]

Hi Zoea, if you are around this sunday 20th feb me and some other members will be at the track from about 9am till 2pm, at the moment the track is closed as it has been resurfaced and we will down there painting.
most of the cars that run at the club are either Schumacher or Xray, both are very good cars.
if you are around come down for a chat.
Paul.