A quick hello

[Scouser]

Just a quick post to say hi to everyone. Just got an RC10B4 from my wife as an early birthday present!! I am totally new to electrics but have run nitros for a few years now. When I get the buggy up and running and I am relatively competent with controlling a 2wd (another first), I will hopefully be racing at the Southport track. Acting on the advice of the LHS I also purchased a spare set of wheels and a pair of Schumacher mini-pin yellow rears and mini-spike yellow fronts, a set of Sanyo 3600 cells and a Hotbodies 'Escape 2' charger. I realise these are not the best bit I am just looking to get going for now and upgrade later. Anyway, that's it for now, just a hello and an advance apology for the millions of questions I will bombarding the forum with over the coming weeks!
Cheers, Jon

[Stu]

You will be absolutely fine at Southport, it's a really strong club with a broad ability range of members. If you are a proper Scouser you will fit in just great .

If you have not seen it allready have a look at www.southport-rcc.co.uk/

(I'm not too sure who is responsable for the crappy music on there, I think someone from the club should apologise, Paul?)

[Scouser]

I am a real scouser and an Evertonian to boot!! I have had a quick look at the SRCC site, definitely the place I will be displaying my shocking lack of skill.
Just been having a quick nose around the web and there are absolutely TONS of upgrades for this car!! I have always fitted Lunsford Ti turnbuckles and hingepins to my trucks but the RC10 has the option of screw kits, shock mounts and front stub axles! Are these actually worth getting?
Also, and apologies for the total newbie question here, I have a standard wall charger for a rotostart battery pack that charges 9v-140mA but the Sanyo batteries say 7.2v 3600mAh and to charge at 360mAh for 14-16 hours. Am I right in assuming that this will not be suitable for the battery pack I have?
P.S. cheers for the welcome.

[jimmy]

What B4 do you have ? I thought all but the RTR come with Ti turnbuckles now ?
if not, then the Ti turnbuckles and maybe the blue alloy front hinge pin brace if you dont have one.

Ti hingepins ? nah, softer than the steel ones. Ti anything else ? nah. There are some mods that people do, like adding lead to the car. But a bog standard car can win nationals without any fancy stuff.

Have a look for a setup for southport though, you might need to get some springs and shock oil to get things going their best - don't under estimate the power of a good setup!

As for the charger - hmmmm, I've had the same charger for years but I'd have a look round for a decent cheap peak charger that will work with NiMh cells, you want to look after the cells and charge then with a decent charger.

[Scouser]

Thanks mate, I have the 'RS' model. It comes with a Reedy 27t motor and an LRP speed controller. It also has a standard servo and 27mhz tx/rx but I have a Futaba S9402 and a 40mhz set up already to transplant. It appears to have black steel turnbuckles and a plastic front hinge pin brace. I will upgrade the brace first I think. I will definitely pick up a good fast charger as a priority though along with a few extra sets of cells.
I have just had a peek at Pauls' Southport set up and I reckon it looks to be a decent one to copy, thanks for all the tips so far guys, it is much appreciated.

[Northy]

Paul will keep you right, I know he's been doing quite a lot of setup work with his B4 at Southport, and he's a decent chap!

G

[Rob]

I've got a Novak Millenium Pro for sale here if you want it. Good first charger. Definatly ok for nimh. Yours for £30 + postage if you want it. email me at rbecking@yahoo.com

[jimmy]

I think Telboy on here recently started racing off road with the RS B4 so he might have some insights.
I think in that case for the best performance you'd need springs, oil and pistons (since the RS doesn't come with any spare / different ones)

Blue front and silver rear springs, 40wt front and 30wt rear oils and #2 piston front / #1 piston rear. I think

[PaulRotheram]

Hey up mate!

Glad to see a future SRCC member kicking about on here

First things first, Stu i don't run the clubs site, so Eric is responsible for the awful music , although on behalf of the club i appologise for offensive poor xmas music disturbing your airwaves!

We are currently running indoors, are you coming to the GP? I've forgotten if you've booked in or not (reet buseh at the moment) We have the event planned for the 14th of this month at formby high school, full details can be found on the webby.

Your set up seems pretty good for starting out, and it looks like you've got everything to get going.. spares would be a good addition, but people at the club will have spares if push comes to shove if an accident happens.
Try my set up for now, it's a good all rounder, if you find it difficult to use then see me and ill sort you out.

The charger rob is selling for £30 would be a good option, they are still very good chargers, and £30 is a very nice price tag!!

If you need owt else let me know and ill try sort you out.

Paul

Ah, thanks for the kind comment G

[Scouser]

I am definitely going to get myself up to Southport/Formby as soon as I can. I may just be an observer for the first visit though!! I am not sure how well i am going to adjust to two wheel drive electric after years of four wheel drive nitro, at least the club backmarker will have some company . Thanks for all the kind words and tips, looks like I have an awful lot to learn!! Thanks for the offer Rob, I have pm'ed you.

[Rob]

I was similar to your, did rallycross for a few years then decided to try offroad electric last year. The biggest difference is the acceleration really. Handling is a lot better. I'd just say start slow and build up, looks like you are doing with that motor.

[Scouser]

Yeah the LHS has been a great help today aswell, the motor is a 17t not 27 as I posted earlier. I am told that it should be plenty fast enough to start off. It's the batteries I am most concerned with. I have only ever had to charge a couple of sets of Tx and Rx packs in the past. All these charge rates and power levels is like a different language! Makes me feel as clueless as when I first got into r/c!
One thing I did notice today is that the Schumacher tyres do not come with foams. What are the best options for the Southport track?

[jimmy]

"cheap ones" haha, seriously tho, I think a lot of people use what used to be called "snee blue", they were 50p a pair. I think they can be had for around 1 quid a pair now, or 2quid for a full set.
When I buy then, I just buy rears and cut them down for front (2 or 4wd) when needed.

I am not sure who sells these foams at the moment though. I know BRM Motors (glyn ward) sells them at Nationals, but thats all I know


I charge all my NiMhs at 5 amps - I never discharge or do anything fancy. I charge, race and put away. I use packs maybe a couple of times in a race day depending on where I am / how many runs I'm doing. My cells are 2 years old mostly, and not the best, but good enough especially for 2wd.

[Scouser]

I'll have a search on t'internet and see what I can find, thanks guys.

[Rob]

You can buy snee blue foams from microtech racing. About £3 for 4.

The charger you are buying from me you can set the charge rates and peak detection. For those cells I'd probably suggest charging at 5A with a 5mv detection peak per cell which is 30mv per pack.

[PaulRotheram]

Snees work well everywhere, and is what I also use, Mtroniks now own the name/foams, Microtech do sell them, they are worth trying.. also when buying online with them you gain a small discount for that order.

[Scouser]

Just ordered some. Thanks again for all the pointers guys, looking forward to running my new baby for the first time. I will give everyone a damage report afterwards!! Looking forward to meeting all the SRCC crew aswell, hopefully on the 14th.