RC10 B3

[BelstenToo]

Hello, a friend of mine is looking for a cheap car to have a play with after many years out of the sport and has the chance of an apparently good condition RC10 B3 with a selection of spares.

Any idea what this would be worth (no electrics)?

He's not got a very large budget so is tempted as they were pretty good and spares seem to be available still. He has said he might use it at the local club once in a while, but no more than that.
Thanks

[Nick Goodall]

I started racing late last year / early this year with my old B3 and sold that on Ebay for about £50 with a load of wheels and tyres, that was a Factory team car with some nice upgrades on it (just to give you an idea)

[BelstenToo]

Thanks Nick, out of interest was it a good car to start racing with or were there any problems you encountered?

[Elliott Hopkins]

Today, against B4s in Nick's capable hands, the B3 can be as fast as most B4s.

For someone without much competitive 2wd off road experience (like myself) it is a challenge to learn with. The B4 is easier to drive and sadly I think the B3 doesn't help the learner to understand off road racing because it is harder to drive, even though I hoped it would do. But you may actually end up a better driver in the long run, being better at dealing with a less stable, less predictable car.

The bottom line is your learning curve will be slower.

The B3 looks far cooler going round the track and throws far cooler shapes.

Elliott.

p.s. I've just added a big fat wing to my B3 and it feels a lot more stable.

[JCJC]

Be tempted to look out for a B4, get lots of help - everyother racer has one, spares always available, good resale value.

[Elliott Hopkins]

Of course, one of the reasons I switched to a B4 was because certain spares (outdrives) were running out.

Elliott.

[Tom3012]

hi there... my dad sold a b3 earlier this season with loads of bits and pieces for £50, it was a factory team car and had had most of the parts replaced for new ones at the start of the season so it was in mint condition....

hope this helps :)

[Nick Goodall]

Thanks Nick, out of interest was it a good car to start racing with or were there any problems you encountered?

I could remember the good set-up that we used to run everywhere and i knew the car really well so i found it fine and enjoyed running it just to get me back into racing but the B4's far superior, just does everything that bit better really.....

There are some B4's around from £40 upwards so personally i'd just go for a B4, as Elliott said some parts for the B3 are at the moment just about impossible to get anyway as production is on hold for now....... not sure if it will ever return either to be honest.

[Welshy40]

Hello, a friend of mine is looking for a cheap car to have a play with after many years out of the sport and has the chance of an apparently good condition RC10 B3 with a selection of spares.

Any idea what this would be worth (no electrics)?

He's not got a very large budget so is tempted as they were pretty good and spares seem to be available still. He has said he might use it at the local club once in a while, but no more than that.
Thanks

Ive got one and spares are there if you look, but he costs are very low for some reason. I will be up sooner or later with it and your more than welcome to try it out. The B3 has won the worlds so the car is more than capable of winning events and is still very competitive, and if we are talking about Caerwent up the road then that car could win with ease if the set up was correct.

The car needs the shock tower replacing with carbon fibre, but they are available at fibre-lyte so worth buying, as well as titanium tie rods, but the rest is spot on and I never broke anything and never had to replace any worn items either. Its robust and will keep going if you maintanin it well (like you did with your RC10). I would stick with the standard screws as the titanium do snap and its not really worth the agro as the weight saving is minimul.

[Col]

...but the B4's far superior, just does everything that bit better really.....
Very true

The B3 has won the worlds so the car is more than capable of winning events and is still very competitive
The B3 stopped being competitive a long time ago. Every other 2wd on the market is easier to drive faster (I know, cos like Nick Goodall, I've tried both)

[Welshy40]

Very true


The B3 stopped being competitive a long time ago. Every other 2wd on the market is easier to drive faster (I know, cos like Nick Goodall, I've tried both)

Im still out on that one, as i have recently had a blat on a B4 and didnt seem much different than the B2. Ok it maybe felt a bit wider on the front and gave a bit of understeer, but you are missing the point a bit.

Just cause its not as good for you doesnt mean its not competitive, heck I know Paul Gardner was hammering F1 drivers with a Cougar (the one after the top cat) at the indoor champs and various other events when they were using the B2/B3 and traxxas etc so any one can make anything of any age go just as quick as the new toys, so the answer is yes to the original question.

[Nick Goodall]

Im still out on that one, as i have recently had a blat on a B4 and didnt seem much different than the B2. Ok it maybe felt a bit wider on the front and gave a bit of understeer, but you are missing the point a bit.

Just cause its not as good for you doesnt mean its not competitive, heck I know Paul Gardner was hammering F1 drivers with a Cougar (the one after the top cat) at the indoor champs and various other events when they were using the B2/B3 and traxxas etc so any one can make anything of any age go just as quick as the new toys, so the answer is yes to the original question.

The B3's still competitive - as i said earlier i ran my old one at Lee's first couple of Winter series and out qualified some good drivers with B4's, XXX's etc, but honestly the B4 is still a big improvement, indoors i'm sure he'll get it working well enough to still be fun but for the cost you can get B4's for now i think it's worth it as at least then you've got the option to go and race it outdoors without worrying about spares etc.

[BelstenToo]

Sorry forgot to post an update on this!
He's changed his mind after discussing it with his wife, there were worries about lack of time and that it would consume all his money again (something his wife is good at on her own!)

But when I was looking around for him I ended up getting hold of another car for myself!
I am now the proud owner of a Mardave Cobra :o

[Welshy40]

Wicked car, well maybe if you still see Kristian around maybe you could ask him what setup would be good, mind you he fitted a stealth gearbox and associated shocks (thats what was on it when he loaned me it for a race event I had to attend), but still the standard kit was a good drive.

Habe you checked out Dans RC10 car? Bet that bring back memories?

[BelstenToo]

Yep seen Dan's RC10 and that did bring back happy memories. Still keeping an eye out for one on ebay, but don't want to end up with a worn out pile of rubbish

[Welshy40]

Yep seen Dan's RC10 and that did bring back happy memories. Still keeping an eye out for one on ebay, but don't want to end up with a worn out pile of rubbish

Wait till you see my rc10 mip legend belt 4wd using a carbon fibre flat chassis. Its new and nice. almost complete, just waiting on a couple of buts. I may try it when I am next up

[BelstenToo]

Hmm, I never liked them when they were new James, especially not the flat chassis!

[Welshy40]

Hmm, I never liked them when they were new James, especially not the flat chassis!

I like the look and when complete will look very nice, I am changing a few things as it can be upgraded a bit here and there but looks really good at the mo. Still I may not use it, but will bring along with my B3 and ZXS in February for a proper blat on Daves track and if Caerwent is on that weekend I am down then will definately like to have a blat and show how bad I have got through the years.

[BelstenToo]

I guess I'm still thinking about them from when I was racing rather than from an aesthetic point of view :)

[anoolite76]

I've been running a B3 and it's becoming more and more difficult to find parts. I wouldn't buy one because of that reason only. The car is perfectly fine, otherwise.

[HKP]

I've been running a B3 and it's becoming more and more difficult to find parts. I wouldn't buy one because of that reason only. The car is perfectly fine, otherwise.

Buy a Thunder Tiger AT 10 for spares maybe? It's a clone of the B3 made in china. You can buy them new RTR for peanuts on eBay. :)

[purpletimbo]

i've got a NIB one and it came RTR even down to a decent nimh and charger in the box.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l89/purpletimbo/at10.jpg
you can buy a fair amount of alloy hopups etc for the phoenix which will keep your B3 going a while:D
lower arms and a few bits here
http://www.anticsonline.co.uk/x898_1.html

[RogerM]

Interesting!!!!

I always MUCH prefered my B3 to the B4 .... again just a matter of it suiting my style better I guess. Might look into getting a stock of bits and pulling the old girl out of retirement!!!

[Nick Goodall]

Interesting!!!!

I always MUCH prefered my B3 to the B4 .... again just a matter of it suiting my style better I guess. Might look into getting a stock of bits and pulling the old girl out of retirement!!!

Seriously Roger i think it must be down to set-up or something as the B4 is far superior in every way to the B3, i used to race for Associated until packing up in 2002 - The car was great in the day, and still not bad but i don't believe for a minute anyone would get round better or quicker with a B3 compared to a properly set-up B4.

I came back into racing end of 06 with an old B3 and although did ok with it, the car would not live with B4's - the newer car is such an improvement there's no way i can see how the B3's worth sticking with when the B4 just does everything better?

[RogerM]

Nick, I understand where your coming from mate but believe me I went significantly SLOWER with the B4!!!

My car was from the initial batch in the UK and subsequently it was found that the chassis and rear plate weren't as straight as they should be. That aside I went through everything I could think off;

inline and trailing front hubs
25 and 30 deg castor
weight in the front, weight in the rear, weight all over the shop
ALL combinations of standard front link positions
ALL combinations of standdard rear link positions
Custom rear link positions (both longer and shorter)


Everything you could think of. I've been racing since the mid 80s, am an automotive design engineer by trade (specialised in vehicle dynamics .. although I work in fuel systems now) and believe me I really tried.

The problem I had / have with the B4 is that it's just not consistent enough for my liking, it seemed to do something different every lap! I know some of that will be due to me trying to drive around the problem that I had at that point the previous lap but still .... shouldn't have had that sort of problem in the first place though.

The B3 was just so consistent, supper smooth, loads of steering with no sudden loss of rear end only for it to grab like velcro again the moment you started to collect the slide as the B4 always seemed to do. I also liked the fact that the B3 needed so little set-up change ... basically one set-up for high grip, one for slippery .. job done.

The B4 actually put me off 2wd which in turn meant there was no point in going to nationals (too much driving for not enough track time if you just go for one day) and ultimately my defection to 1/8th rallycross. Guess you could say my B4 was bad enough to put me off 1/10th off-road for about 3 years!!

I am more than happy to try another one if I could borrow one of somebody to see if it was just a physical problem with my own car and all the others are awesome, however I doubt it!!!

Part of the problem, I believe, is that the current crop of cars all seem to have been designed with the "point and squirt" driving style in mind and I just can not get my head around that style, always been the part stick, flowing style driver.

[Northy]

Roger, I agree with you. The B4 rear end always seemed a little 'random' to me, would do the same thing on the same corner say 3 laps in a row, then would do something random the next lap. I always felt I really needed to be on top of it waiting for it to bite me.

However, I have tried almost everything this year, plus made my own car, and still don't know what I'll run next year :eh?:

I might just have to get the B3 off the wall and give it a try, or perhaps a black tub team car :)

G

[RogerM]

Glad it isn't just me then!

I'm thinking of one of the mid motor cars or ..... shock horror ... a Kyosho RB5

[Northy]

I've run an S2 and an X-6, and the rear end of those cars IS very consisntant!

I've been tempted with an RB5, but don't want to go it alone.

Still undecided.

G

[RogerM]

Sounds like my thoughts on the B4's issue being one of weight distribution (hence saying it was built for point and squirt) might well be correct. Suspension geometry looks fine TBH .... never did work it out.

My main concern with S2 is that I've not seen one yet ... X6 is the importers not being helpful at all when I tried to get some info off them recently and the RB5 being one of spares availability, although Dom at DC Racing tells me it shouldn't be a problem!

[Northy]

It depends how much of a rush you are in, but the production version of the S2 sounds like it will be very nice indeed! ;)

G

[RogerM]

No rush really .... currently on a new car every two weeks ... LOL .... they have a 13 days on that score ... ;)

I contacted OldTimer and he wasn't letting on so for me at least the S2 is still an invisible car! We'll see

[MK999]

I've always looked at the B4 and it's strange weight distribution and wished I could move it around myself, I saw a quick dremel job that tris did to move the batteries into saddle pack formation in the middle of the car and although it had no rear end grip (as far as i know it was running on standard setup) it looked to me to be very quick and stable changing direction and ever since I keep looking at my b4 and then back to the dremel, then onto the gearbox to see how i can turn it round :p.

I'm sure I used to go much better with my hyper 7 but that was over 2 years ago and an entirely different class, so i'm not sure if it's just inexperience or the car since i always had a very point and stab driving style just like the B4 is supposed to like, but I'd still love to try something like an S2 as the weight distribution to me just looks far more 'right' in terms of where it should be in a car. I'm an undergrad motorsport engineer myself, technically as of next year but I started on homework early, and my housemates are doing the same course almost so theres plenty of discussions/arguments about vehicle dynamics :D

[Welshy40]

Nick, I understand where your coming from mate but believe me I went significantly SLOWER with the B4!!!

My car was from the initial batch in the UK and subsequently it was found that the chassis and rear plate weren't as straight as they should be. That aside I went through everything I could think off;

inline and trailing front hubs
25 and 30 deg castor
weight in the front, weight in the rear, weight all over the shop
ALL combinations of standard front link positions
ALL combinations of standdard rear link positions
Custom rear link positions (both longer and shorter)


Everything you could think of. I've been racing since the mid 80s, am an automotive design engineer by trade (specialised in vehicle dynamics .. although I work in fuel systems now) and believe me I really tried.

The problem I had / have with the B4 is that it's just not consistent enough for my liking, it seemed to do something different every lap! I know some of that will be due to me trying to drive around the problem that I had at that point the previous lap but still .... shouldn't have had that sort of problem in the first place though.

The B3 was just so consistent, supper smooth, loads of steering with no sudden loss of rear end only for it to grab like velcro again the moment you started to collect the slide as the B4 always seemed to do. I also liked the fact that the B3 needed so little set-up change ... basically one set-up for high grip, one for slippery .. job done.

The B4 actually put me off 2wd which in turn meant there was no point in going to nationals (too much driving for not enough track time if you just go for one day) and ultimately my defection to 1/8th rallycross. Guess you could say my B4 was bad enough to put me off 1/10th off-road for about 3 years!!

I am more than happy to try another one if I could borrow one of somebody to see if it was just a physical problem with my own car and all the others are awesome, however I doubt it!!!

Part of the problem, I believe, is that the current crop of cars all seem to have been designed with the "point and squirt" driving style in mind and I just can not get my head around that style, always been the part stick, flowing style driver.

I agree with you 100%. I didnt feel that driving the B4 was as consistent than the B3, hence why i have bought another B3. Like you the car suits my style of driving.