Si Coe

I think it's also got something to do with AP Racing who make clutches and brakes for full size race cars. Certainly the original AE logo looks very similar to the logo AP were using at the time, a logo seen on lots of race cars.

The price sounds good, features look decent but its going to be tiny. Won't be able to use it for digging the flowerbeds, just the odd plant pot.....

You do appear to be building my Manta Ray - all the upgrades are the same as mine, in fact the only difference is mines on brushless. Even the same radio and servo...... However mine has been altered to run on a 'brick pack'. I'm using a low profile shorty lipo like this which fits inside the centre part of the chassis and is held in by the top deck. It required cutting a few small holes for the leads but otherwise is much neater and clearer than even the stock battery layout.

IR beams rather than LED's would work better. However as you've noted the range is quite short and you'll want plenty of width for the track. If you want to use a loop system it doesn't need embedding in the ground. Whilst my old clubs outdoor loop is buried under the astroturf the indoor version is simply taped to the underside of a heavy rubber mat. Totally portable and very robust. Another idea we've also used is to make a gantry for the loop out of PVC pipe and run it over the track rather than under it. There is an IR based timing system which uses an overhead gantry and IR transponders in the cars. I've seen plans online to DIY such a system but it was a while back so can't recall the specifics.

Outdoors: Bury Metro 1/10th buggys. race every other Sunday (check calendar). Northwest Nitro 1/8 nitros Indoors: Ribble Valley 1/10 buggys and 1/12 GT Friday evening (books up fast)

I wouldn't put a 6.5t in a 210 regardless of the esc - its too much of a handful anywhere except super grippy astroturf with fresh (no more than 2-3 runs) race spec tyres. I started with a 7.5t in mine and moved down to an 8.5t. If you aren't racing even that might be a bit much - the 210 (and most other modern racing 2wds) are designed to get the majority of their rear end grip from the tyres meaning they wear fast and need a constant supply.

They aren't cross compatible if thats what you are asking. HPI didn't simply 'clone' the T4, they made their own model but clearly whoever designed it had a T4 sat on the desk at the time! Anyway the best indicator of the difference if philosophy between the two trucks is to look at which bits are metal. The HPI has an all metal drivetrain, the T4 has a metal layshaft gear but the idler and diff case are plastic. Metal gears are stronger, which is good for hard landings under power - both trucks feature a slipper clutch that should protect the gears but only if set correctly. HPI expects their users to be too busy having fun and doing wheelies to tinker with slipper settings. In contrast the plastic T4 gearbox has a much lower rotating mass, so it will accelerate better which is useful on a race track. Racers fiddle with slipper settings anyway so slightly weaker gears isn't a problem there. The shocks are the opposite - plastic bodied on the HPI, alloy on the T4. The T4's shocks are much more precise, smoother and more adjustable. However a bad crash will at worse rip the caps off the HPI shocks, whereas the T4 you risk bending a shock shaft. The HPI comes with a slightly faster motor out of the box (4000kv vs 3300kv) and includes much higher gearing for top speed runs, whereas the T4 is geared quite low as stock for acceleration. There isn't much between the two motors though and with some gearing adjustment they can perform the same. The result is that the T4 is a good truck if want finesse and you try to take care of stuff. Its not weak by any means and will survive the odd bad landing just fine but not outright abuse. The Firestorm meanwhile is ideal if you want to sling it over jumps without worrying where or how it lands, hack about having a laugh until the battery runs flat and then put it away 'til next time. Very different approaches.

Comparing the Firestorm to the RC10T4.3 is interesting, because the Firestorm started life based on the original T4. The two models have developed in very different directions though with the HPI becoming tougher but more bashing orientated, the Associated more focused on racing. Stadium truck technology (at least the non-racing side of it) hasn't improved much at all in years. Thats because the basic rear motor, central lengthways battery layout offers the best platform for a rear wheel drive vehicle designed for running on loose surfaces and jumping a lot. My original 1992 RC10T is quite capable of hanging with the modern T4's, Firestorms and Rustlers. On a track its blown away by the newer mid motor designs but these only work well in high traction, which isn't the case dirt jumping. I keep hearing rumors that Associated are planning the re-release the RC10T, like they have other versions of the alloy tub RC10. If they do, that would actually be my truck of choice. Yes its a really old design, but tough as nails all the same.

Lots of Vauxhall Zafiras in that price range. Small for an MPV but fold the seats out the way and you've got van levels of storage. Wouldn't bother with the Focus estate myself. My father in law has one, whilst I have the C-Max. There is more space in the C-Max and its no more expensive. Its taller but the same chassis so handles just as well.

I use mine on the beach otherwise I'd never get to run it.....

My Blizzard came to work with me today in the hope of a quick bash at the end of the day but the snow had all gone More forecast for later so putting a few extra packs on charge.

I have a Wheelie King and its a lot more capable as a monster truck than the original 'HPI Lunchbox clone' idea might suggest. Remember HPI make a crawler based on the same chassis. The trick is to use a shorty lipo instead of a full size NiMH pack. This brings the CoG down and forward making it a lot more stable. They are also really tough - the only damage mine has taken apart from a wrecked shell as all down to salt corrosion from running at the beach. Turns out they float and paddle well but then all the gears and bearings rust up

Yes, they aren't the best motors I'm general but cheap and lots of torque. They don't last that long.

Titans would better as they are longer 550 cans and have more torque. I used HPI's simply because l had a pair of identical motors sitting around.

It's not the motor you need to worry about, its the gears. I did the same to my boys ride on, it became a lot quicker. I used a pair of HPI 15t motors I'd lifted for rtrs - Titans would be good too. But the cheap plastic gears blew and genuine parts are hard to find. I got some claimed to fit but don't.

I think you're just spoiled by having Wheelspin close by. I spent 8 years racing virtually without setting foot in a model shop. Almost everything was ordered over the web, and if you pick the right people a car bust on Sunday will be back in action the next weekend. The most amazing was getting micro parts from Liquid RC in the states, who charged only a dollar and got parts to me inside a week. I'd also keep a stock of commonly broken parts so I didn't have to wait. Now for a complete noob I can get the appeal of walk into the store for parts but an experienced RC'er shouldn't need this. However to reality is as more stores go its not an option for many people at all. I never used the local store when it existed because they most dealt in planes and nitros not the electric 10th I run, but now its not there anyway.

Can't blame Traxxas for that one though. I sold my old RC18 twice because I replaced so many parts I only needed some gearbox cases and a few suspension pins to make two cars. Likewise the Durango 210 my eldest has is maybe 20% original parts. Of course in both cases the upgrades weren't really necessary, just for bling.

Its worth pointing out that sticking with a company with dubious ethics intent on crushing the opposition and maximising profits because they have 'good customer service' is decidedly shortsighted. History has shown time and time again that once they achieve dominance that service goes straight out the window. In 2023 when Traxxas is the only RC company left in the game you can expect the release of the E-Revo 3.0. It will be basically unchanged from the E-Revo 2.0 except the all the parts are slightly changed in size so they aren't cross compatible. Spares for earlier versions will be discontinued and Traxxas will try to sue people splitting broken and irreparable E-Revos to sell the parts on ebay. Sounds a bit 1984 styles distopia? True, but its also the logical conclusion if you follow Gun's argument to its ultimate end....... Oh and yes I ran an RC10 for 20 odd years before they re-re'd it never struggling to get parts. Of course the fact it rarely needed parts had something to do with that. People keep rare vintage models running, I know people 3d printing bits for 30 year old cars. Parts exist if you want to find them, its just you can't walk into the local model shop and expect them to be there.

Supply is a matter of shops, distributors etc. Any brand could have that level of support - but only the major ones get it because its simply not economically viable any other way. Losi have tried to take all that in house, though in practice thats actually made things worse. Now, the question of 'Would another company do the same in Traxxas' position?' - well that depends on the company. Ones in the hobby for the love of it might patent, and even 'enforce' with cease and desist letters to blatant infringers but they wouldn't pursue multiple court case for large sums - that is the action of a company solely out for profit and nothing else. Yes both types do exist, though admittedly the former type tend to stay small. They also tend to be where the true innovation comes from. But most troubling part is the reason. Traxxas aren't being school yard bullys - this is the result of panic. The whole hobby market is changing, Hobbyking is now a major competitor, local stores don't exist and the Traxxas gravy train could start to derail soon. Their actions may speed the decline of the hobby but if the owners of Traxxas come out with a few extra zeros at the end of their bank balance it will be 'worthwhile' for them. Just not for the rest of us.

The interesting bit here is that Traxxas are being really smart about this. Forget who they are sueing, look at who they aren't! Companies that were already using ideas Traxxas patented before they took out the patent aren't being chased - because they know they'd lose the case. Notably they have challenged other companies over the sliding driveshafts, but the re-re Schumacher CAT has them and it wasn't contested. What would be interesting is if Schumacher released a brand new model with that sort of driveshaft - would they chase them then?

Patents wouldn't have stopped the Baja clones - they can prevent direct sales over the counter in countries that respect US Patent law but thats it. China in particular pays little heed to foreign patents when it applies to items made for internal Chinese markets. Ali-express, TaoBao etc means that those 'China only' items are available worldwide if you want, just not in shops. Some of the items listed do show how insane US patent law is. There is one there for what looks to be their sliding plastic driveshafts. These appeared on the original Schumacher CAT a year before Traxxas even formed, and Schumacher were unable to patent them in the UK as they were basically just a scaled down version of a full scale design ie not a new invention in the first place! The same goes for that onboard suspension they've sued over before (seen on a Schumacher the year Traxxas started making cars, and copied from F1 and other full scale motorsports. This is nothing new and nothing unique to Traxxas. I've seen this in other interests of mine - notably mountain bikes where early pioneering companies more in it for the hobby invent something but don't want the time or hassle to patent it. Then along comes the big name brand who 'buy' the rights to the idea off the original inventor for a modest sum, then patent it and screw over the rest.

Basically KO FET servos used to get a bit of extra power by running a 7.2V feed from the battery and using whats basically a mini esc to run the servo. It was too much to fit in a standard servo case so there was a separate booster box. Performance wise they still have impressive specs, but plastic gears and no spares means they are more for shelves now.

The power draw for the lrp you listed is 414w so even on 3s the trackstar should be ok. The ESC is admittedly another issue. There are few 1/10th ESCs I'd actually want to use with 3s. Many say they can handle it but prove unreliable in practice.

Yes but you are comparing a 5200kv motor with a 3040kv one. In theory the 3040 on 3s will only be spending spinning at the same RPMS as the 5200 on 2s. There are 3 things that kill motors if you push them too hard: heat, the bearings going and the rotor delaminating. If the rotor and bearings in the 13.5t are the same spec as those fitted to higher kv models in the same range they can take the rpms just fine because they reach them on 2s with those motors. It's really just heat you need to worry about, which is mostly a function of gearing. The manufacturer gives a 2s rating for the entire range because anything less than 10.5t can't do 3s

It's not that they are comp spec, it's more a max rpm thing. Racing is 2s based anyway. In theory a 13.5t on 3s should be ok, it won't rev more than a 6.5t on 2s. It won't be warranted for 3s use though. Hot wind motors like a 6.5 shouldn't be used on 3s as it will kill them.