Intro from complete newby and first impressions of Rival MT10

[Wilfy100]

Hi, 

     I am a complete beginner to RC cars. I am also rather late to the party being 64 years old. I have bought a Rival MT10 monster truck as this seemed to get many very positive reviews.

I was unsure about batteries so I bought the kit that comes with a 3300mah battery and charger plus an extra Voltz 4000mah 3S and an Overlander sport track 5300mah 2S ones. I suspect this is plenty but I will find out. I do not know if it is OK to say but I bought from Appliance Electronics in Walsall. They had the best price by far that I could find and service was excellent. I was concerned about not going to a dedicated RC shop, I would like to support these especially the small businesses run by enthusiasts. In the end right or wrong cost saving won out. However Appliance Electrical had a well stocked RC department and I would go there again. I confirm I have no connection to them except as a customer.

I am happy with the MT10 except for two things, the "hair net" dust excluder is a nice idea but it is a right pain to hook it into place. Also out of the box the front suspension seems to be all over the place. The front wheels are noticeably splayed out, enough to scrub the tyres significantly. Also the front left wheel leans out noticeably at the top. I understand I think that the wheels should be parallel with no toe in and should lean inwards by 1 degree. I will adjust these but clearly the factory worker just put it together without any fine tuning.

I will follow an informative Youtube video by Parcflyers RC from America which covers the MT10 setup.

I would like initially to run it in "old Granny" mode at first untill I get some experience and confidence. I think adjusting the throttle trigger travel might give a steadier response possibly.

Next job is to find a RC club/group in my area, I think this will be a good way to learn from people that actually know what they are doing (unlike me) and can show me "hands on".

Any hi to the forum members, Cheers Ian

[James.S]

Hello Ian, welcome to the forum mate  

[Fred barlow]

Welcome to the forum and the mt10 madness 🤣 honestly you'll have more fun with the 2s than the 3s the 3s is wheelie central (avoid soft case lipos they are an accident waiting to happen)

top tips, servo is a weak point (the ds servo ds3225mg is a budget servo), the wheel nuts need changing for nylocks, the hubcaps need taking off as they fall off, you'll need a motor fan, the motor gear mesh needs checking out of the box and the mount screw's tightening as much as possible, the stock radio isn't the best, rpm arms and hinge pins are worth having to hand, soak the whole car with gt85 (multiple soakings then leave 24 hours and wipe clean) it makes it more flexible,

When it comes down to servicing the diffs or changing the spur bronte country RC video breaks down the whole thing

[Stormbringer]

Hi and welcome to the forum 

[Wilfy100]

Thanks for the information. I now have a heatsink and fan on order for the motor. I agree the hand controller radio does seem a bit cheap and plasticky. Would a better quality  controller give me more chance of smooth car control.  I wonder if you know the thread diameter of the nyloc nuts required for the wheels please, I have lots of these but not the flanged type, I will get some flanged ones. I think it is M4, 4mm thread needed.  I will look into the checking the motor gear mesh. I have the front RPM arms but not the rears or the pins, it seemed from reviews/youtube videos that the fronts seem to fail more. Truth is at the moment I drive like an old granny so I am hopping things will last and can be replaced at some point when necessary.

Biggest thing at the moment is the steering seems very twitchy, full lock or nothing. I need to play around with the adjustments on the controller. I will never be a Kevin Talbot but I will still get good enjoyment and fun trundling the car around at moderate pace. Each to there own. There is a RC car club in near where I live so I will go along to that.

Also I have access to a tennis court. It has a very smooth tarmac surface that has been sprayed over with some sort of paint,  I know it would be more suited to a drift/race style car but I will give it a try anyway. At least I can try steering adjustments there. I am sure given some time I will get faster, I believe with practice I will get more co-ordinated with the controller. My Girlfriends house has a large garden lawn with some dips and ridges but I will have to clear up all the dog poo first!

                                                                                                                      Cheers Ian