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I was wondering what were the weak points on the RC10 or 10T?

I think that arms and arm mounts probably are likely on the list somewhere.

Really, I am wondering more specifically, are the aluminum screws meant to shear off when under extreme torque or pressure?

This happened to me today I was making a sharp turn and gave it some throttle coming out of the turn and the next thing I know the foam is flying across the driveway and one of the rear arm mount screws is sheared in two. Maybe the tire ripped off and the foam flew out first creating it to be thrown off balance and then it torqued off

Well, it's better that the screw/bolt sheared off rather than the mount or arm breaking. You can get the rest of the screw out of the arm mount and off you go!
Something to keep in mind is the insane amount of grip that modern tires can obtain. The RC10 was not designed with the forces of Holeshots or Double Dees (I just like typing that) in mind. The simple fact that so many of us are running them at all with modern tires, motors & batteries is a testament to how tough these things really are.

so is it Holeshots or Double Dees that you like saying better

Yup the screw came right out, and I was back at it. Gotta like RC10 technology, simple, yet well designed. It definitely gets you back on the track quick if something breaks.

in 20 years, i've only ever broke 2 associated parts. a front arm on an rc10gt (when my kid drove it full throttle into a telephone pole), and a rear arm on my old tc3.

i'd bet if you wouldn't have those aluminum arm mounts on it, that screw wouldn't have broke.

scr8p wrote:i'd bet if you wouldn't have those aluminum arm mounts on it, that screw wouldn't have broke.

Such wise words. Some day, people will realize that aluminum parts might look great, but they make the next weakest part next to them break REALLY quickly. Good luck if you manage to bend that aluminum part, too. Pulling bent hinge pins out of aluminum bulkheads is always an entertaining chore.


I had my first RC10 in 1985. I am straining to think of ANYTHING I ever broke on any RC10 I had. They were seriously as tough as nails. Maybe some bent hinge pins or lost E-clips. Maybe a broken shock tower, but I don't think I ever cracked one. Now, the B4 is another story...

When my brother and I used to race carpet oval with our RC10's, we broke countless stock front arms, shock towers, turnbuckles, steering arms and hinge pins.

yeah, I'm sure it wouldn't have sheared off either.

People think those aluminum parts make things stronger, whereas it just makes something else on the car more susceptible to breaking as mentioned above.

That's why I thought I would start the thread, to bring out some of parts that are supposed to giveaway when hitting something to save the more vital parts. Like the arms, if they didn't break, then you would end up tweaking the chassis of something else. Arms back then were readily available and quick to change.

I'm guessing by the first couple of replies, that we wont here much more than the arms breaking. This is also what I have experienced too with all my older stuff that has proper periods electronics and after market parts. Oh and I too had a cracked front shock tower after the RC10 hit a brick wall at full tilt

And yes B4, were to begin

LTO_Dave wrote:When my brother and I used to race carpet oval

See, then you start the whole arguement is just turning left really racing?

JUST KIDDING!!!

When I raced indoors at the rollerskating rinks, hitting the boards would definitely break some parts. But I would say running into a solid object wide open shouldn't be the litmus test of durability.

civilguy wrote:

LTO_Dave wrote:When my brother and I used to race carpet oval

See, then you start the whole arguement is just turning left really racing?

JUST KIDDING!!!

When I raced indoors at the rollerskating rinks, hitting the boards would definitely break some parts. But I would say running into a solid object wide open shouldn't be the litmus test of durability.

the #1 thing people that never raced oval say...

is just turning left really racing?

you raced in roller rinks??? that sounds cool ..
oh and weak parts on rc10s??? id say, rear arm mounts,rear arm mounts,and rear arm mounts..

Roller skating rinks lend themselves to oval racing, so I have done some... I just like going right sometimes.
The only problem with the rink was tires had to be FRESH pin spikes to get any grip, especially in the front. I had 2 boxes full of 85% tread spike front tires (mostly CRP and Tamiya) when I packed everything away in 1987. We finished most of them off a couple years ago when I got back into rc with the kids. I still have about 1/2 box of them.

i've raced at quite few roller rinks back in the day. the majority of them were on spiked tires (crp's or skinny schumachers on all for corners). but the one, they rolled out carpet so we could run pan cars.

I currently ran an oval race with my old/new RC10 and B4 in a basement of a Legend running a front spike tire on the outside and road tires (trucks in the rear) on the rest. Quite fun, with just 8 guys playing around. Spikes on a 4 corners with oval would be cool to watch

schumacher cat spikes on all 4 corners. the hot setup around here to run on hardwood back in the day.

I've only bent turnbuckles and hinge pins. My nephew on the other hand has broke two front arms, a caster block , and a lower shock mount. He is 9 and likes the throttle. My brothers and I built him his own RC10 for Christmas.

yeah, i would have to say after bashing quite a few different cars, the most common item to break is the shock towers, and the occasional front arms/mounts if you take a hard whack.

for shelfers, I'll put carbon/graphite towers on a car, but for running, I'll use fiberglass. more flexible- not stronger, but tougher for the application.

otherwise, simply wearing out parts, hinge pin holes and shock shafts, and the occasional shredded gear.