My very first hobby RC

[RC104ever]

Not to worry - I was there not too long ago and going crosseyed with all the new technology. Here's a few tips:

1. If you want to modernize the buggy, you need to go with a brushless motor and a lipo battery combo. Doing so will give you more speed and fun than you can imagine BUT this comes at a price. You will need a different ESC and a different charger to do this correctly and safely.

2. If you want to keep it more 'vintage' then any brushed motor and ESC will do the trick, you just won't get the speed and run times that you will with modern tech.

3. Kv is essentially the speed of the motor (sort of). So very basically, all else being equal, a 4000 kv motor will be slower than a 6000kv. But, the 4000 kv will have more torque. There is more to it than that but its a good starting point. Turns is a similar idea, but opposite in numbers - a 17.5T motor will be slower than an equivalent 12.5T motor. But again, a 17.5T will have more torque.

4. Brushed vs. Brushless - exactly as the name implies, a brushless has nothing that contacts the motor whereas a brushed motor has a couple of metal 'brushes' (actually they are kind of rectangular hunks of metal) that lightly contact the motor and help it spin. (At least that's my crude understanding of it). Brushless are the newest and fastest way to go and they are much lower maintenance (if any) and far more efficient too. Kind of like an old big block 427 is cool but a new supercharged V6 can be much faster AND more efficient.

5. Lipos vs NiCad vs NimH - so originally we all ran NiCad (nickel cadmium) batteries but they had a host of issues from lack of capacity and memory etc, same with Nickel Metal Hydride which resolved some of the capacity issues and you could get more juice with hump back packs but they were still affected by memory issues with charge / discharge and a voltage curve that dropped off fairly rapidly. However, they were (and NimH are still available) fairly inexpensive and widely available. Lipos (lithium polymer) batteries have taken it to a whole new level. Not only are they now smaller and more powerful, they have a very stable and consistent voltage curve and are capable of large bursts of power (which is related to the 'C' rating). They also can have enormous capacity versus the same size NimH batteries. The 'C' rating refers to the charge and discharge rate of a battery. Batteries with a higher 'C' rating can allow your car to potentially be faster because it can give a quick burst of power to your motor. The drawbacks here are that lipos are very finicky and MUST be used with a proper lipo batter charger / balancer and you have to always be careful in handling them as they can be very dangerous when not handled / charged correctly. You also MUST use a proper ESC with a voltage cutoff because below a certain voltage the lipo will not be able to be charged up again - so unlike the old days when your car would get slower and slower, now it will be going full speed and then just stop.

Hope this helps - make sure you read a lot here, there is a TON of knowledge and try the search, as most of what you may ask will likely have been asked already.

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Tex you may want to check this out.
http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=28700&p=295446#p295446

[TexinMaine]

Thanks for the info gentlemen. RC10 if you could elaborate on the lipo's a bit more I would appreciate it. I have seen the "C" ratings you described which run from 10 to 60 or so, should I just go about mid range at 30? I also noted they are available in 2s, 3s, etc I assume this is similar to "cells" on the Nihm batteries? And my final question I see they also sell them in different Volts(?) like 7.4, 11.1, etc how does this relate when I am looking for a battery. Thanks.

Tex

[naushad]

How about calling it a "VT"10?!

Here are some of the parts and body I ordered. They arrived before I got around to posting about my project but I didnt want to load a bunch of pics on one page. Not sure if that makes a difference or not. I plan a red, white and blue color scheme so after I get the black paint off the frame I will paint it and the nose bars red, dye all the white parts blue and the body will be mostly white with some decals, I plan to call it Tachycardia and that will be on the wing with a tachycardic rhythm on each side of the body.

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Thanks for the info gentlemen. RC10 if you could elaborate on the lipo's a bit more I would appreciate it. I have seen the "C" ratings you described which run from 10 to 60 or so, should I just go about mid range at 30? I also noted they are available in 2s, 3s, etc I assume this is similar to "cells" on the Nihm batteries? And my final question I see they also sell them in different Volts(?) like 7.4, 11.1, etc how does this relate when I am looking for a battery. Thanks.

Tex

Lipos come in groups of cells that are 3.7 volts each. Basically the "s" stands for the number of cells. You'll want a 2s. 3s is way too much power for almost any 10th scale and is only good for tearing up gears and breaking parts. It's fun every once in a while though. As for C rating anything 25 or over will be fine. There's no real industry standard on that end of it so it really isn't that trustworthy. Go with a 2s 7.4v 30c or so and you'll be very happy.

[TexinMaine]

Thank you Thumb. Now from what I gather Mah relates to how much energy can be stored? so would a 5500 mAh be a good choice? Thanks.

Tex

[klavy69]

. Now from what I gather Mah relates to how much energy can be stored? so would a 5500 mAh be a good choice? Thanks.

Tex

Yes, the more Mah the longer run times. A 5500 would be good all around battery for about anything . now if you are worried about weight in a racing scene you don't need that many Mah. The more storage the heavier the battery so a smaller Mah would work fine.

Todd

[TexinMaine]

Finally got a few minutes to work on my RC. I removed the old black paint. That Airplane finish remover stuff works great. Hosed the parts down and 10 mins later was able to take a plastic putty knife and scrape about 95% of the old paint off. Hosed it once more and after 10 mins took paper towels and wiped off the rest, had to use q-tips to clean out the holes. So about 40 mins and had it back to the original gold pan. It is pretty rough under the paint so I don't feel too bad about painting it again. Hoping the weather cooperates tomorrow and I can get it painted, going with a cherry red.

[sick70malibu]

Nice build you have going! I'm digging the EMS Theme. I'm glad I noticed this thread because I'm in the same boat right now trying to decide what Motor/ESC/Battery combo for my buggy. Keep up the good work. I cant wait to see the paint scheme.

[TexinMaine]

Got the painting. Hoping to get the dyeing done Monday and then start reassembling.

[Russ Winn]

Nice job, so far. You might want to spray the chassis with a clear coat, if you used paint, instead of powder coat. It'll help protect it longer. I had to do the same thing to a DS chassis.