Electric vs. Nitro

Are you still struggling on whether to buy an electric vehicle or a nitro powered one? Well there are several things that you must look at before you decide. Both nitro and electric vehicles have pretty much the same components, but assembling a nitro vehicle takes a lot more care. Because of the vibrations of the nitro engine, some screws and/or bolts can come loose so thread locking fluid and more maintenance are required. Speaking of maintenance, the nitro vehicles require a lot of tuning and they can't be used in many of the weather conditions that electric vehicles can run in. When a nitro vehicle runs out of gas, the only thing you have to do is open the tank and put more in. However, when your electric vehicle runs out of charge, you have to recharge the battery which can be very time consuming. If you are looking for a vehicle with more speed, then electric is what you should go with. Though nitro vehicles are faster right out of the box, you can buy a fast electric motor, change up the gears a little and get a more powerful battery and then your electric vehicle will fly right past that nitro. If you are looking for a vehicle with better performance, then it can be either electric or nitro because neither one performs better than the other on a track. Electric and nitro vehicles have to be cleaned, but because of the fuel and oil that the nitro engine puts out, a lot of dirt is attracted to the vehicle so more cleaning is required for nitro vehicles. As you can see, there are several factors that you need to look at before buying your r/c vehicle. So which one will you choose?

Team Losi Micro Desert Truck

With the holidays coming up soon, what better gift to buy than Micro Desert Truck. At a reasonable price of just $89.99, this 1:36 scale 2WD ready to run r/c truck has all the features and components of a racing truck. With a chassis under 6 inches, an ESC/receiver, a powerful brushed motor, a transmitter and an NiMH battery, this thing comes with everything. Its chassis is longer than the Micro-T which gives it more stability for better traction. The Desert Truck's micro ESC goes both forward and reverse and connects to the motor which helps propell it at an amazing fifteen to twenty miles per hour right out of the box. Large shock absorbers and shock shafts can handle pretty much anything that is thrown at them with ease. The included battery, an NiMH battery, can easily be switched out with a Team Losi LiPo battery that is specifically made for the Desert Truck for $44.99. This will make your vehicle go about an additional five miles per hour. To make your Desert Truck even faster, you can purchase the 1/36 Xcelorin 8750 Kv Brushless Combo for $49.99 and now your truck will go an additional five miles per hour on top of that. Even though you have spent as much in accessories as you did for the car itself, it now goes an amazing thirty miles per hour.

Making Your R/C Vehicle the Fastest

When using your remote control vehicle, there are a few tips on making it run smoother and faster. One obvious tip is picking out the right motor. If your ESC will allow it, try to get a motor with the lowest amount of turns as possible for a better speed. Also, you can get a LiPo battery which carries 30% more energy than other batteries and is 30% less weight too. Next, you can purchase an odd number and an even number pinion gear set and a spur gear set for you vehicle. Test out which combinations of gears will work best together for the fastest speed with the best acceleration. The faster top speed you have, the slower acceleration you will get, but on the other hand, the slower top speed you have the faster acceleration you will get. Another thing you can do to make your vehicle go even faster is to buy a shim, which is a thin metal ring. This inexpensive component can be placed in between the rear hub and the axle pin. Make sure that when you are picking out a shim that it has the same dimensions as the bearing in your vehicle. If you put in to many shims then the tires of your vehicle will bind so be careful and just put in enough shims to make the gap between the rear hub and the axle pin smaller.

Futaba Magnum 3PM 2.4G Fasst Transmitter/Reciever

When your ready to drive your r/c vehicle, you probably would like to just pick it up and go, no glitches, no worries right? Well that is exactly what the Magnum does for you with their new Futaba Advanced Spread Spectum Technology, or FASST. This new feature sends information twice as fast and at 8 times better resolution than other transmitters. Also, 2.4GHz are wired straight into the transmitter so it doesn't require any additional plug-ins and is crystal-free and channel-free. The fasst system also uses Frequency Hopping to hop to an unused frequency every 2 milliseconds or 500 times per second so that you have no interferences. The fasst receiver which accompanies the transmitter has an auto detect feature that tells the vehicle if your transmitter is on HRS (High Response System) mode or PPM (Pulse Position Modulation) mode. Lastly, the transmitter has a 10 model memory, is easily programmable to fit you and your r/c vehicle's needs, it is fail safe while in HRS mode and it has a button on the back of the transmitter for a direct link to the receiver. This setup is affordable and definitely one of the most reliable as well.

The Traxxas E-Maxx RTR

Are you the kind of person that is not so great with your hands, yet you still like the idea of having a remote control vehicle? Whether you are good with your hands or not, the all new Traxxas E-Maxx is the vehicle to go with! This 4WD monster truck is ready to run right out of the box because it comes with all the interior components and is pre-assembled by Traxxas themselves. It is powered by dual motors, propelling it at an amazing 30 mph and has a dual servo system for a precise turn everytime. The E-Maxx's transmission has extra wide, steel gears to give you even more torque and power. The vehicle's ESC, the EVX-2, brings out over 16 volts from the two 7 cell batteries required for the E-Maxx. The EVX-2 also has a built in fan so the motors will not overheat and it has a training mode for people just learning to use an r/c vehicle. In addition to all of this, Traxxas has weather sealed all the electronic components so you can use your truck whenever you want and wherever you want. Also included are pre-glued monster truck tires for every wheel so you don't need to do any work except drive. Is 30 mph just not fast enough for you? Well then you are going to want to know that early in 2008, Castle Creations is coming out with a new ESC and motor for the E-Maxx called Monster Maxx. This setup can make your E-Maxx go about 60 mph or double what it was originally. Now your truck is equally as fast or faster than nitro cars and/or buggies with a lot less maintenance!

Electronic Speed Controls

The Electronic Speed Control, or ESC is probably the most important driving component to your vehicle. This component can make it so that your vehicle can change direction, speed and brake as well. There are competition speed controls that go forward and brake, but they don't go backwards. These ESCs go faster than a reverable speed control because they require less power to power the motor. Reversable speed controls allow for more fun, but go slower because they require a motor with a high turn limit which takes more power to run. One speed control that I would recommend would be the A.I. Brushless Pro Reverse Speed Control. This ESC requires a brushless motor with 8.5 turns or above and can go forwards, backwards and brake. The Pro Reverse also is 100% waterproof so you can drive wherever you want and it is fail safe too. Another great speed control would be the LRP Sphere Competition ESC. This speed control has no-solder leads that are pre-connected so you won't need to waste time. Also, it accepts NiCd, NiMH, and LiPo batteries and requires a motor with at least 3.5 turns which promises for some very fast driving. However, with this speed control, you can't go in reverse. The last speed control is the Castle Creations Mamba Max ESC. This component is best compatible with Castle Creations 540 7700kV motor and it accepts NiCd, NiMH and LiPo batteries. It is also programmable through the computer via usb and can go in reverse as well. Make sure to check out my post on "Motors" for more info on the compatible motors for these ESCs.

Motors

Picking the right motor for you all depends on preference. There there are two different types of motors which are brushless motors and brushed motors. Brushed motors are a lot of maintenance and they tend to overheat your vehicle in a quicker amount of time compared to brushless motors. One motor that I recommend would be the Vector 5.5T brushless motor. This motor a standard 540 size motor that is run by neodymium magnets and oversized, low friction ball bearings. The Vector has a 91% efficiency rate, has an RPM of 58,320 U/min and is compatible with the Team Associated LRP Sphere Competition ESC as well. Another motor that I recommend is the Novak Velociti 5.5T Racing Brushless motor. This motor is a standard 540 size motor that is run by a neodymium cylindrical magnet and ball bearings. It has superior torque and is also sensor based, so it has amazing drivability. The Novak Velociti 5.5T motor is best compatible with the Novak GTB Electronic speed control. My last and most favorite motor is the Castle Creations 540 7700kV motor. This standard 540 size motor accepts NiMH, NiCd and LiPo batteries giving you your choice on how you want to power your vehicle. It's top speed is equal to a 5-7 turn brushed motor, which is very quick. The Mamba Max electronic speed control is compatible with this motor and can be costom designed by plugging it into the computer via usb and by using the pc software included.

E-mail me with questions at: pspfreak12@gmail.com