Confused Newbie

[Tom Swift]

Hello I'm new to all this and it seems like it's a minefield. I'm looking for a rc car. I'm just wanting something fun to thrash around local car parks and maybe through the woods. Nothing expensive--£100 ish tops. I like the buggy style models and have been recommended the FTX Vantage because of the quality and availability of potential upgrades. 

Any other models I should be looking out for? I've also seen the BSD Prime Baja V3 which looks similar but again no idea. I think budget wise I'm happy with brushed electric for now but maybe something where I could later convert to  brushless. Ideally a 1:10 scales. 

 

Thank you for your guidance and recommendations 

Tom

[froggy8]

welcome tom  

 

been tempted to get the vantage few time due to its size and speed and the spares are good too.

[fnknan]

For that price range a vantage is about as good as you'll get. Also look into the FTX carnage and bugsta, they're more capable offroad. The vantage will handle better on less rough surfaces tho.

[Tom Swift]

It does seem like the Vantage is the best for this budget with the potential to go brushless. There just seems to be so many options, sizes etc. Is the 1:10 scale the better option/more options? 

[fnknan]

Yeah I'd definitely go 1/10th scale. Small enough to be easy to transport but big enough to be controllable and handle a good amount of terrain.

[RCJC]

What did you go for in the end Tom?

 

I am totally new to this world, was looking for something on and off road, cheap entry model but ability to upgrade later etc.

 

I opted for the FTX Carnage Brushed, only taken it out a handful of times to areas with a mixture of tarmac and grass.

 

I have to say, so far, I am hugely impressed with this car (remember i am new and have nothing to compare against).

 

The stock battery and charger that came with the brushed model are poor, so immediately bought a 7200mah Lipo battery and balance charger, gives it more poke but still controllable.

 

I share mine with my kids, so not interested in crazy fast to start with, and this is fast enough to be fun for me. 

[Tom Swift]

Hey RCJC

Just posted this topic: 

"Still not decided what to get but I have seen a second hand FTX Vantage which was brushes but is now brushless and comes with 2 x 11.1 volt Lipo batteries but NO charger. 

 

What charger should I get?

Should I consider purchasing the FTX? It's listed as RTR, except for the lack of charger. Cheap too. Any thoughts? "

 

The favourites are still the Vantage and Carnage. For now I think it will be brushed and then look to upgrade in the future, but then i stumbled across the above on Gumtree. Has now got me thinking

[RCJC]

Tom

 

So .... remember I am a total newbie with no experience, but I can tell you what I have done!

 

I think FTX is good for a newbie that is ok with a fragile car.  I am enjoying sk much driving around grass and tarmac, and am not that bothered by jumping it and doing crazy stuff.

 

The guy in the model shop I bought mine from said to me, with the FTX, treat it the same way you would treat your car, drive into something solid and it will break, drive it sensibly and it wont.

 

I love amazon prime (no postage) but couldn't find parts there particularly.  So parts are cheap, but you need to pay postage, so I am sure that will add up over time.

 

Mine is brushed, but I find it impressively fast enough, but understand brushless would last longer and be faster.

 

First thing I did was buy a lipo (2s) battery, which made mine run faster and longer.  Of course I had to buy a charger too.  I bought this one from amazon (Haisito LiPo Battery Balance... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07RR8MV32?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) and it seems fine, it is basically a *charge anything* type of charger.  It is a little noisy (cooling fan) but does the job.

 

I saw a vid of a arrma senton blx 4x4 in another thread on here when discussing the carnage alternatives (https://youtu.be/gk-kLFHi3-k) which looks fantastic and bomb proof, perhaps my next car, but right now I dont do that stuff with it, I use my car with care, plus that one is £300 as opposed to the £100 ish I spent.

 

I hope that helps, but if you have any other questions I will answer what I can, but also if anyone more experienced on here disagrees with me, please do contradict me for Tom and my sake :)

 

Jon

[Tom Swift]

Thank you Jon. Yeah exactly the same situation as myself. I'm also new to all this. I'd happily spend £100 ish on something pretty good, knowing that potentially due to work etc I might not either a; get into it or b; not have the time. Wasting £100 I can swallow but not £300,  but yes the others do look solid. 

For me it's similar - grass, car parks, maybe a few small jumps/drops but nothing serious. 

For this budget it seems the FTX have the best feedback.

The brushless one I've seen on Gumtree is £100. Needs new tyres and she'll but that's only about £30 looking on eBay. Tempted 

[RCJC]

Exactly same situation, I have plenty of hobbies and a consuming job, so this worked well for me.

 

Second hand you never know what you are getting, but, with all parts replaceable it is way less of a gamble.

 

Plus, as soon as you start replacing etc you start learning more

[Tom Swift]

If I opt to get a brushless FTX Vantage (I've found another one for sale - secondhand but new) do I need a better battery like I would for the brushed model? 

[nut-nut]

You will probably want to go lipo for batteries pretty quickly, even with brushed they have a much better run time, they are lighter etc, but, they can be volatile if not charged/discharged/stored correctly.  Read up about that in the forum, it's a literal minefield.  As for chargers for this, you will need something that is capable of charging Lipo's as well as NiMH batteries, so, best to buy this to start so you are not replacing a cheap charger after a few months.

 

 

 

 

[fnknan]

That being said, the actual chance of anything ever going wrong is miniscule. Even when i used to short out my lipos constantly many years ago due to bad soldering and no heatshrink, i had no problems. One of those batteries is unsurprisingly dead, but it never caught fire or even smoked. Its just sitting there. 

[RCJC]

Tom

Agree with the last two responses! As soon as I got mine, I bought a high capacity LiPo just to get better run times for the charge time, and makes a hell of a difference, in my brushed Carnage, the LiPo also makes it just that bit punchier and faster, I love it!

I keep me high ish capacity NiMh charged and ready to roll for a surprise outing, and then keep my LiPo in the conditions dictated (you need to store it at a storage charge, and you need to "balance" charge it not too far in advance from using it), and whilst I am new to it, I am being strict on myself about following the rules, that said, I am sure you can get a little more relaxed without major risk as previous poster suggests.

I am pondering a little, whether the better performance afforded by my LiPo will lead to the early demise of any internal component such as spur or hex nuts, but, I am also fairly relaxed about that, as the one thing I am sure about from researching these forums is that many many minor changes can result in damage, but that is all part and parcel of the hobby!

I bought a cheap (ish) brand LiPo at 7200mah, and have probably run the car about 4 times through it with nothing but fun

Jon

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[Tom Swift]

Do I opt for a standard battery spec  ex demo FTX Vantage brushless or a new brushed model with the updated 5000mAh 7.2v NiMH. Seen both online for the same price? 

[RCJC]

Do I opt for a standard battery spec  ex demo FTX Vantage brushless or a new brushed model with the updated 5000mAh 7.2v NiMH. Seen both online for the same price? 

What did you do@Tom Swift ?

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