Best place to buy ESC, LiPo, 2.4 radio, and brushless setup?

[RC104ever]

As title says, would like to buy all of this but it doesn't have to be in one place. Ideally I would like to have stuff that is generally accepted as 'better than average' and I am willing to pay a premium to get it.

[fredswain]

I wanted to upgrade to modern electronics but didn't want to break the bank. At the same time I didn't just wanted the cheapest piece of Chinese junk that I could find. It's not to say you can't get some good things for fairly cheap though.

A great charger for the money is the Thunder AC6. $45 from Hobbypartz.
http://www.hobbypartz.com/thac6smbachw.html

The battery I went with I also got from Hobbypartz. It is a Gens Ace 5000 mAh 40C 2s. $34.70
http://www.hobbypartz.com/gensace2s40c.html

A very good battery for even cheaper is the Turnigy 4000 mAh from Hobbyking. It is a mere $18.43. While it isn't as good as the Gens Ace battery, for less than $19 it is by far the best bang for the buck and still better than many others out there that cost far more.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=11598

For a brushless motor setup I knew I wanted to go sensored since it is far smoother. However they typically cost more. You could of course get a Reedy sensorless system out of a B4 RTR car that someone has put on ebay for less than $100. However if fine tuning your ESC on a laptop or with chips isn't important to you, then there is a great sensored option out there with the Speed Passion Cirtix line. You can get a motor/ESC combo for $100 with a 10.5T, 11.5T, 13.5T or a 17.5T motor and it is sensored. As a person who never had all of this anyways with old electronics, I don't care. These are far smoother than the sensorless motors. You can get them from A Main Hobbies. Here's a link to the 13.5T system.

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/cPath/1_221_911/products_id/195687/n/Speed-Passion-Cirtix-Series-Stock-Club-Race-ESC-and-Motor-Combo-135T

In terms of a radio I ended up going with the Airtronics MX Sport system for less than $100. I'm happy with it. If budget is really a problem then look at the Flysky options. Here's a link to a few different options over at Hobbypartz. The GTB3 is the one I'd use if I were going to purchase an FS system.

http://www.hobbypartz.com/flyskytxrx.html

[Bimdapogs]

Do you want branded stuff or can do with affordable chinese will-work-just-as-well stuff? Me and my office mates recently did an order thru Hobbyking for some chargers and lipos. They have some good stuff for very good prices.

Batteries, you can go with the Turnigy 4000mah at Hobbyking. All you need to do on an RC10 is shave the end portion of the battery cup. Fits perfect, works just as good as the branded stuff.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=11598

Charger, I just bought 2 of these. These chargers are being re-branded and sold for about $60-$80. These work just fine for lipos. All 4-button chargers work similar. I don't see anything wrong with these.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=14857

You can get a radio and esc/motor setup from hobbyking too. I'd personally go for sensored esc/motor setup. I've heard some good feedback on Hobbywing systems as well as Hobbyking radios.

[RC104ever]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. Ummm...for stuff like this, I tend to be a bit of a brand snob so unless you can convince me otherwise, I was kind of thinking of a Mamba Max Pro ESC, with some type of brushless motor (need help here for what kv ratings / T ratings mean) and a Spektrum DXC radio and receiver. For the battery, that part I could go without a name brand I guess.

But, I am open to options so I will explore the links above. If you have other suggestions, I would appreciate it!

thanks

[Toasted Coastie]

Mamba has a new one out, the Sidewinder Sv2. Under $100 for the ESC and Motor, your choice of Kv:

http://www.hobbyetc.com/item.cgi?part_id=65794 for the 7700

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=sidewinder+sv2&_sacat=See-All-Categories

I bought one for my daughter's Rustler....

[fredswain]

I understand the pull of a big name brand. You want to make sure you aren't getting some cheap Chinese piece of junk. If you are like me and most others here and were around when the big names in radios were Futaba, Airtronics, and KO, speed controls were pretty much either Tekin or Novak, batteries were all Sanyo, and motors were from Trinity, Reedy, Revolution, Race Prep, Twister, etc, the current brands out there all seem foreign. I still can't get myself to buy a Novak or Tekin motor!

As far as batteries go, don't be scared of the Turnigy or Gens Ace batteries listed already. They are great and they are cheap. I see no need whatsoever to spend big money on Orion batteries or others that cost much more. Many of the racers where I live use the Gens Ace.

I know the Mamba Max Pro or just Castle products in general are very popular. They are pretty good. The Speed Passion motor/esc combo that I listed is pretty tough to beat without spending FAR more money. It is a sensored system for $100. Speed Passion makes some pretty nice stuff. I can't get myself to purchase many of the cheap Hobby Wing motor/esc's but then again they aren't really any cheaper. I'll stand by my opinion that the Speed Passion Cirtix series is the single best option under $200. If money were not an issue, I'd be running a Trinity Duo with a nice Tekin speed control. That's over $300 though. Whatever you do, strongly consider going with a sensored system. I wasn't necessarily going to go that route until I drove both types.

As far as radios go, for me it came down as a choice between the Airtronics MX Sport and the Spektrum DX2S. I see no reason to go with the DX3S unless you plan to run more than 5 cars with it. Spektrum is new to me but has a good following and is known to make a good system. Airtronics has been around forever and I knew they'd have a good system. In the end I went with the Airtronics and love it. I'd probably be happy with the Spektrum too but the Airtronics won out due to price. Great system.

I've heard good things about the Flysky GT3B and a friend of mine even has it. His system looks more technologically advanced than mine but they both seem to work equally as well. His cost a third of what mine did. I have a hard time buying something with a name like that as it really does sound like a cheap generic Chinese pos. They are made in China. However, sadly, my Airtronics is also made in China so there is almost no way around it.

You're going to have to get used to the new names out there and pretty much relearn what is good and what isn't. There are far more options out there today. Some of them are good and some of them are bad. Nothing listed in this thread should be anything to be scared about.

[lpddpd]

Your Local hobby shop would love to have your business! Really. They get people in all the time that want the cheapest they can find. I would hope they'd enjoy the opportunity to sell good product to someone who knows what they want.

[fredswain]

I bought my Airtronics locally. Not my battery or charger though. I buy plenty of parts, wheels and tires from them too.

[RC104ever]

Hey guys, I really do appreciate and value your honest opinions here! I took one more step towards getting a newer system by purchasing a new charger / balancer that can handle all types of batteries. I really wish that the guys at my local store would have shown me the different options and explained the differences but as it was, I kind of felt like I was bothering them, which irritated me. I'm the type of guy that likes a good sales pitch - show me the features and benefits of a product and if it makes sense, I'll buy it. But last time I was there and asked them for a 'bigger battery that would last longer' I ended up with an 1800 mAh ni-Mh battery with a cheap charger. THIS time I had more knowledge so I could ask the appropriate questions. But I digress...

@fredswain, yes - although when I bought my RC10 I was really in it just because it was fun, and didn't read any magazines or anything like that, I had a friend who was really into the hobby and told me that the RC10 couldn't be beaten by anything out there and I should get that along with the Futaba Magnum Jr. and I'd be all set. So for me, learning about the different manufacturers that make products has been somewhat overwhelming! But I am a quick study

Haven't yet had a chance to really read up on everything yet but I will and I'll post more questions and comments later.

[RC104ever]

For a brushless motor setup I knew I wanted to go sensored since it is far smoother. However they typically cost more. You could of course get a Reedy sensorless system out of a B4 RTR car that someone has put on ebay for less than $100. However if fine tuning your ESC on a laptop or with chips isn't important to you, then there is a great sensored option out there with the Speed Passion Cirtix line. You can get a motor/ESC combo for $100 with a 10.5T, 11.5T, 13.5T or a 17.5T motor and it is sensored. As a person who never had all of this anyways with old electronics, I don't care. These are far smoother than the sensorless motors. You can get them from A Main Hobbies. Here's a link to the 13.5T system.

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/cPath/1_221_911/products_id/195687/n/Speed-Passion-Cirtix-Series-Stock-Club-Race-ESC-and-Motor-Combo-135T

Okay so I looked at this and you refer to the smoothness of the sensored motors. The Castle website says that sensorless is more efficient and powerful, but you guys say sensored is smoother.

So what about this combo for the same price:

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/cPath/1_221_911/products_id/203798/n/Castle-Creations-Sidewinder-Sv2-1-10-12V-Sport-ESC-Motor-Combo-w-Neu-Castle-1406-4600kV

[Toasted Coastie]

Grab it. Great set up....

[RC104ever]

Oh and what about Viper stuff? Any good? Is it overpriced hype?

http://www.amainhobbies.com/index.php/source/google_kwlb/gclid/CM3U5r-Tm6kCFRFoKgodxRksxg/manufacturers_id/766/page/1

[Toasted Coastie]

What is your goal here? There are tons of inexpensive quality items mentioned in this thread so far. Are you building an RC10 or an Audi? LOL.

[RC104ever]

Funny you should mention Audi...since I work for VW / Audi Finance! I modded my VW years ago and took a similar approach. I tend to overanalyze stuff (as you can see) and look at all the pros and cons of something. So its not just about price but features, upgradeability, reliability, product reputation etc.

[Coelacanth]

EZRun brushless setups have turned out to be excellent packages that include the motor, ESC and programming card. When I first heard about them, I was skeptical as they're Chinese-made. A lot of crappy products are manufactured there, but not EVERYTHING is crap. I think there's a topic on RCTech.net about the EZRuns and there must be 100 pages, and I read through it all. There was hardly any issues at all, which I found quite amazing. You rarely read a bad word about EZRun.

Here's a combo package for a 13.5T motor, I think that would be plenty of punch for a vintage buggy--for around $75:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/EZRun-Combo-60A-V2-ESC-13-5T-2500Kv-brushless-motor-RC-/170619400261?pt=Radio_Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27b9b57045