Another R/C Update:

I called Traxxas today while on my lunch break to check in on my ESC. I was told that they just got a new shipment of replacements in yesterday so I should be getting my new one in the next couple days. That is if they have enough to go around and my name is one this first list to get one from this shipment. Now this tells me that they get these things back all the time. And that there are so many that they cant even keep up with them. This doesn't sound like good news to me. As I've said before these things cost a lot of money and when they stop replacing it free.. I'm going to have problems. However there is a good side to this. I read through my warranty information again and I can send parts like this back under the "Extended warranty Service" part of the agreement and they will repair or replace it for no more than $45. This is even covered if I misuse and abuse the part. That's nice to know. So that's it, I hope to have my part for the 4th of July weekend. As always, I'll keep you posted of any new developments.

R/C Trouble

Well, this is what I've been having ever since I got the new fast battery and gears. Since I got all that stuff to make it do what its advertised to do. I've had nothing but problems. Its now 4 Electronic Speed Controls (ESC) later (these are $220 each) and I finally figured out what the problem has been. My gear ratio was too much for the car. I've been burning them up. Now this is not my fault. I read the owners manual and it said I could run this ratio 76/35. I called the support guys where the car is made and they told me the highest ratio I can run is 76/31. I then suggested that they change the manual to reflect that information so other like myself don't have the same issues I've been having.

So I sent the ESC back again for another one. I'm still waiting for my new one to come back. I've already changed my gearing to the 76/31 so I'll be ready to get back on the road when it gets here. I hope this time it will run fine without any more issues. Its been broken more than its been running at this point. I'll keep you posted if anything more happens with it. Til then, have fun.

Oh and No, I haven't been paying for these new ESCs. They have been warrantied.

R/C Update:

Well, turns out I did break the speed control in the crash. That's the expensive part. It was confirmed when I took it into the hobby shop on Sunday to see if that was the problem. They took the old one out and put a new one in to test it ans it worked like new with the new one. So that's the $220 part. That's the bad news. The good news... so far, is that I might get a new one under warranty. I'll know later this week or early next week if I will be able to get a new one for free. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one. Otherwise this will put a hold on my R/C days.

Speed II

I got my new battery and all the new accessories I needed to go with it. Thats where my part of the stimulus check went. To my new hobby. Now I can reach speeds of 70+ MPH as the box suggested when I bought it. Fun Fun Fun!!

As you can imagine I couldnt wait to get my new gears installed, battery charged and out the door to try it out. Well, I had a problem early on. It was making a weird whining sound. Turns out I didnt tighten my slipper clutch enough. It was, ummm, slipping too much. My car would go but it didnt get up and go as it did before with the little batteries. So after buying new pads for my slipper clutch (I burnt them up having it too loose) I got it figured out and properly adjusted. Sure enough now I can ride wheelies down the street. I still dont know how much run time I have with the new battery since I did a lot of trial and error testing with the clutch.

Once I ran the battery down. I decided to charge it so I could run it the next day for a fully charged run time test. I also wanted to take advantage of the Mostly empty street when I got home. Well, this turned into disaster. I ran a couple mid speed passes up and down the street and then on my speed run... I crashed it into the only parked car on the street. My right rear wheel met up with the inside drivers rear wheel of my neighbors truck and Whamo! That marked the end of my run time test. It was an ugly sight but fortunately the parts for these cars are cheap. I only broke 2 parts. One costs $10 the other costs $3. Unfortunately though, one of the parts is on back order so a few weeks. My neighbor drives by a hobby shop to and from work so he dropped in to get one of the parts for me. (Thanks Man!)

Today, I got a call from the hobby shop and he gave me some good news. He found the part I need. Its not the same brand but its compatible and it will be here Friday. It costs a little more $8 and its more durable. (for the next time I have a accident) So once I have it running again. I plan to get that run time test done.

The long term goal. I'm going to rebuild the entire thing out of upgraded aluminum parts. Starting with the chassis and working my way up. It will be a slow process but it will be fun. I've seen some pictures of what it can look like and its an awesome sight indeed. For now I'm stuck in the short term getting it fixed after the accident.

GoodBye WoW, Hello R/C World!!!


BTW- You didnt think a broken piece was going to stop me from running my car did you? Nope, I re-glued it back together and put a screw through it to get it back on the road til the new part comes in. What do you expect from a creative mind? Sometimes you just have to ask yourself.. "Self what would a RedNeck do?"

"Z"

Speed

Yep, I now have to really save up to get the battery I want for my car. I was slightly wrong about how expensive the battery is. The price in my previous post was around $150 for a 4000mah. I now found the 8000mah which is $230. That of course is the one I want. href="http://www.maxamps.com/Lipo-8000-111-Pack.htm"> The reviews for this battery are great! 70+ MPH and over an hour of run time. The batteries I have now only give me 15 minutes or so each. If I didnt need a shed I think I'd be getting one of these batteries with my stimulus check. Oh well, still have to keep the priorities straight.

Rustler + Update

New Toy!! I have been wanting a really fast gas powered RC car since I was a little kid. Now, I got one.. well kinda. Its not gas powered. The guys at the hobby shop kinda talked me out of it. There are new Electric cars now that are faster and cheaper as far as the up front cost. Also less complicated to run, though reading through the instruction book this thing is pretty complicated too. The thing about these electric ones is that its all about the battery. For now the battery I have will only make my car go about 40mph. The $150.00 battery will take it to 70+ mph. I saw what fast looks like while at the hobby shop. He didnt even go top speed with the expensive battery and it was flippin fast! So I decided I'd better start with the smaller battery for now. It was much cheaper too, (over $100 cheaper) so I got 2. One to charge and one to run. Soon I will be going out for my first run and I'll have to post an update after that. Well, my battery just beeped at me so I'm ready to go play. I'll be back later to update....

Update:
Man this is a ton of fun! I ran it up and down the street and only flipped it once on the grass. Damage done so far: Zero! I did hit a mailbox but thats what this thing is made for.. going fast and built to be abused.. to an extent. Today (after disc golf with my friends) I'll be taking it out to the dirt roads in the neighborhood to race it out there and do some donuts. I'll have both of my batteries charged and ready to go. One of the neighbors has one too so maybe I"ll see if hes home and wants to go with me. Anyway, I'm off to go golfin'.

"Z"