Newbie Questions

[Keyoke]

I'm new to this whole R/C Car thing.. well, actually back when I was a LOT younger than I am now, my dad had one of the old Tamyia Grasshoppers. Great little car. But I digress. :)

I recently purchased a Triple-XS and after assembling the thing (Very easy kit to assemble. I'm quite impressed!), I'm starting to look at the electronics and motor that I'm going to be needing.

I figure for a radio I'll go with a JR XR2, and for an ESC I'll use a Novak Cyclone TC2. But where I'm stuck at is the motor and battery packs. I'm a little confused actually on the motors. The whole "turn" thing, weather or not it's single, double, triple, quad, hex, etc.. That's all a tad confusing. :confused:

I'm figuring, just by looking at the ads, and talking to people something like a Trinity P94 would be a good choice (tad expensive, but then again, so is everything else when your just starting out!).

Also, I understand that the mAh rating on the cells (1700, 2000, 2400, 3000, etc) will give one an idea about how much time you can expect the packs to provide enough energy to move the car, but I'm still at a loss as to what the difference is between the number of cells used in a pack. i.e. 4, 6, 7, 8 cells etc. From what I've been able to tell, the number of cells one can use is limited by what the ESC can handle, but ESCs usually have a "range" of cells that they'll work with. (same goes for the motor "turn" rating now that I think about it)

I'm sure that the answers to both my questions are gonna be quite long and technical, so if you'd rather just point me in the right direction, heave a sigh of relief and tell me to "have fun" that'll be fine too. ;)

Thanks!

[TSR6]

If you are just starting, i would suggest running a stock motor. A P2k, P2k2 or MVP would be the best choice there. If you must run mod, take a look at the Trinity SpeedGems. For the buck, you can't beat them for a begginner mod ( about $35 ).

Batteries..

It depends what you want to do. If you are going to run stock, 2000, 2400 or 3000 SMH or HV would all be good choices. A pack of 1700's wouldn't be bad for a practice pack.

For racing, 6 cells are the only way to go.

The Novak TC2 is a great selection, but you NEED to be good with a soldering iron.

Have any questions... Just ask!

Troy

[HauntedMyst]

Actually, it's not that confusing. If you are planning on racing, the you should really start out racing stock motors. While they aren't as fast as mods, you will learn to drive a TC better and your lap times might actually be faster. Last year I raced with a 14 turn double, this year I raced with a stock motor and my laps times were significantly better. My favorite Stock motor is the Team Orion Chrome Stock RS

A 14 turn double (wind), for example, has 2 wires wrapped around the armature 14 times. A 19 turn Hex will have 6 wires wrapped around the arm 19 times. In general, the lower the number of turns, the faster the motor. A 10 turn will be faster then a 19 turn.

Winds relate to torque/rpm. A Single turn will have lots of torque, and the power band is almost like an on/off switch. A quint or hex motor will have a very smooth power band and slightly higher RPM then say a double.

Touring Cars love torque and you typically see the pros running 8 to 12 turn singles. If you are running on a tight twisty course, go with a single or a double, if you are running on an open course with sweeping turns, experiment with a triple or quint. I personally don't know anyone who runs these.

As for the batteries, if your racing, matched packs are the way to go if you can afford them. Touring cars run 6 cell packs and unless I am mistaken, all speed controls support 6 cells. Almost everyone at our track races the 3000 cell packs. I run 2000 cell packs and have never had a problem finishing a race. If you are bashing, then matched packs are a waste of money and just buy some stick packs and enjoy.

I'm sure someone will come along and correct me if i got any of this wrong. I hope it helps

[Mongoose420]

Stocks motors for sure. p2k2 ive heard alot about and they seem like a good bet. As for a ESC for stock class racing a TC2 its a little overkill but you will not have to buy a better one for quite some time. For the budget mind'd a LRP IPC sport or a Novak Fusion will be more than good enough for stock class racing and there price lets you buy some more battery packs now and they only cost around 70 bucks so it will not break the bank to buy a cyclone tc2 or a atom or other super high performance speedo's a season or 2 down the road. The only thing else i would add is to get a high speed servo to cut your steering reaction time down.

[Keyoke]

Thanks for the help guys.

I have made a few changes in my setup. Instead of a TC2, I managed to pickup a regular Cyclone from a co-worker for a little under $70. Not a bad deal, and since I'm his boss I know it'll work! :D

Radio wise, I picked up a Futaba 2PC for $60 new in the box (ebay rocks).

Since I'm not racing (yet) I figure i'll just pickup a few sport packs and tool around with those. 1500 mAh stickpacks are dirt cheap and I'll get 2 or 3 of those for the same price of a good 2000 or 3000 mAh matched set and i'll get more run-time to boot, provided I don't mind swappin packs.

I will race. But I figure I'd better get comfortable w/ the car and setup before I go out and start banging up other people's cars on a track. ;)

I'm still lookin for a motor. P2K ought to work and that's probably what I'll end up goin with. I'm thinkin a 10 or 11 turn double should work out nicely.

Thanks again guys. Kudos to H.Myst for that nice easy explanation of the motors. :) Way better'n that FAQ I found on team-orion's website on the things (couldn't keep my eyes open to make it past the first page!)

-K

[Mongoose420]

Sounds like a winner man. The original cyclone should do you for a while thats 4 sure. The only thing is when you do start racing your TC the futaba 2pc i dont think has throttle and epa trims so its not as adjustable as you will want when you go racing but should see you through a good season of novice or maby stock class. Your still going to need a charger. THe MRC superbrain 959 will do you nicely for a while even when you get up into the hardcore racing 3000 nimh packs and only cost 55 bones. I own the SB959 and its a good little charger, i hear the intellipeak chargers from duratrax are also good for the $$.

GL and have fun