Electrics and other stuff…………….

So I had my chassis, after looking around, and now I needed the stuff to make it go, go go!!! This can at first seem pretty daunting, especially if you’re not up to speed with the latest technology or don’t possess an Electrical Engineering Degree, but it is in fact easier than finding the right car.

The same helpful pointers for choosing the right car can be used, with a couple of slight differences:

1^st – When starting out, try to budget your electrics to match the cost of your chassis, if going all new.

This should get you a pretty good set-up of Speedo (the control unit), Motor and Lipo Battery too. There is no need to get the highest end racing gear, but at the same time you don’t want to get super budget equipment that you will need to replace within 6 months once you’ve got the hang of driving the car and everyone else is whizzing past you, leaving you frustrated and a little more out of pocket.

 

You can also apply the same amount again, as your limit, for getting a transmitter (the thing that you hold to control the car), a receiver, charger and tools etc. that you’ll need to get it built and running. Again there is no need to go crazy on price as most of the stuff is really good at the lower middle range of the market and it should last you for a few years with no problems, plus there are now some good combo deals out there for Speedos & Motors which are great when starting out.

2^nd – DO use forums for information about what to get, but like choosing a car, don’t put up a general post asking what is best (for the same reasons as not doing this for what car to choose).

Instead use it to see what equipment has a lot of threads or posts stating what ones are having trouble, or are breaking, or are having un-diagnosable issues. Much like modern new cars (I used to be a car salesman) there aren’t really any awful ones anymore, just some that have niggles or glitches. Most of the time they will ultimately be repaired or resolved in later batches, but you don’t want to be caught with one of the early/problematic ones.

Ultimately, though, most of the mid-range Speedo/Motor/Battery combinations are ok and if used correctly will not be any bother for you.

 

 

This is all of course if you are not buying an RTR (Ready to Run) package and wanting to build your car from scratch. This way you will get the car, tyres, speedo, motor, transmitter and receiver all in one. I built mine all from the chassis up, installed the electrics, wired it all in and glued the tyres to the rims, but this isn’t the only or best way. RTRs are a great place to start if you have no prior experience in putting RC Cars (or models, real cars, IKEA furniture etc.) together. You will have a car that you can, in most cases, charge and run right out of the box as most will give you a battery and charger too and there are more and more competitive RTR deals available now from the top end racing manufacturers to cater for new starters and racers of all types. Just because you didn’t build your car from scratch doesn’t make you any less of an enthusiast or racer, it just means you either didn’t have the interest or experience to. They are all adjustable and able to be modified as you progress with hop-ups and options, so most of them are not limited in later use either.

Finally this is what I went for in terms of electronics and additional equipment:

DualSky 550TF-MJ Speedo

Speed Passion MMv3 8.5T Motor
Voltz 30C Stick Lipo
Spektrum Transmitter/Receiver Combo DX3C
Savox Servo SC1258
Core RC Charger
Schumacher Tools (with an RPM Camber tool though)
 
A little side note about my speedo choice.
I did originally go for the Speed Passion Reventon R (so keeping my motor and speedo the same manufacturer) but there were some issues with delivery from the shop I ordered it from. It was getting onto 3 weeks after ordering when I decided to try the Dualsky unit (which was my 2^nd choice) instead as this would be delivered within a few days and I was eager to get on the track with the car. Also I had seen on oOple that a lot of people who had got the early delivery of Speed Passion Reventon R speedos had had trouble galore and needed to return them so I managed to dodge a bullet luckily as it turned out. The Dualsky unit has been bullet proof and never had an issue with it (other than user error) so have been very glad of the change and even switched my motor to Dualsky when I had some spare cash.