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custom RC car build?

custom RC car build?

Old 11-21-2009, 12:46 AM
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Not really sure were to post this so I'll post it here.

Anyone build a full custom RC car? i mean chassis and all

cause I've been thinking of doing my first one, but I'm not sure if there's anything i should know before i try.

I'm going as cheap as i possibly can. so hobbycity well be my best friend.
I think i know all the stuff i need to make a 2WD offroad RC car

Transmitter

Receiver

ESC

Brushless Motor

Something for chassis (carbon fiber or w/e)

shock & springs

transmission

wheels & tires

and a few more things

only thing i cant find is a cheap transmitter and receiver if someone can help me with that
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Old 11-21-2009, 07:10 AM
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http://cgi.ebay.com/Traxxas-TQ3-RADI...item255749e3c7

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Traxxas-T-Ma...item3ef99af8e0

Search ebay for good deals, "Traxxas TQ3" or similar.
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Old 11-22-2009, 04:45 AM
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Originally Posted by killercripple
Not really sure were to post this so I'll post it here.

Anyone build a full custom RC car? i mean chassis and all

cause I've been thinking of doing my first one, but I'm not sure if there's anything i should know before i try.

I'm going as cheap as i possibly can. so hobbycity well be my best friend.
I think i know all the stuff i need to make a 2WD offroad RC car

Transmitter

Receiver

ESC

Brushless Motor

Something for chassis (carbon fiber or w/e)

shock & springs

transmission

wheels & tires

and a few more things

only thing i cant find is a cheap transmitter and receiver if someone can help me with that
I am not trying to be mean with the following advice. I presume that you are wanting to build a car to race as this is mostly a racing oriented forum.

There are ALOT of things you are going to need to know if you want to build a "full custom" R/C car. Typically when somebody wants to build a car completely from scratch it is because there is not a car that exist that fits their needs. The first question that you should ask yourself is "What do I want this car to be able to do that no other car currently can?" Alot of people spend ALOT of time and money on building a car from scratch only to find it handles the same or worse than any other vehicle of the same type (2wd buggy, truck, ect) that already exists. Vehicle dynamics are very complex, do you understand what it takes to make a car handle the way you want it to?

The electronics in an R/C car (transmitter, receiver, ESC, motor, and servo) are not really considered "custom" items. For these items you don't want to go cheap because you will just end up buying better stuff later. It's best to buy the best stuff you can afford right from the begining, and save yourself the headache. I would not recomend buying used electronics unless you know the person you are buying the stuff from, and you know that they take good care of their stuff. It would suck to save up a bunch of money to buy something that doesn't work. If you buy something new and screw it up at least you can have it repaired usually at little or no cost, if it is used though sometimes it can cost alot to get something repaired.

The other items you listed (shock & springs, transmission, wheels & tires, ect) are fairly complex items to manufacture. Normally when people scrarch build cars they borrow these items from other cars and mix them with their custom parts to build their vehicle. So unless you have access to a full machine shop, and an injection molding machine, you will need to borrow parts from other cars that already exist. Another thing to think about is with custom vehicles come custom made parts, if you break something you can't just go to your LHS and buy the part, or hop on the ol' internet and order it, you have to make it.

What I recommend you do is to buy a used car. Go to your local track and start talking to people, I almost guarantee you will be able to find someone that has a car for sale. Find out if the on site hobbyshop carries parts for the car, also find out what the good tires are for the track. After you buy a car familiarize yourself with it, read the instruction manual cover to cover. Then take your time to rebuild the car, replacing broken or worn out parts, and put all of the suspension adjustments back to the stock setup. The stock kit setup is usually a really good starting point.

Install your electronics, drive the car around in front of your house to make sure everything is working correctly (steering trim, steering end points, ect). After everything is in good working order get a set of the right tires for the track and glue them up on the right wheels for the car. You dont know how many times I have seen someone new show up with the right tires on the wrong wheels and wonder why their car doesn't work right. Practice as much as you can. Go slow and concentrate on not crashing. Rome was not built in a day and neither will be your ability to drive an R/C car quickly around a track. Stick with it and practice, practice, practice.

Finally, as you build your driving ability, so will you build your car tuning ability. After you have some understanding of what adjustments do what for the handling of your car then can you begin to think about building small custom parts to fix the flaws of the cars that someone else built (this is where I find myself now and I have been racing R/C cars for almost 20 years). After you can fix other peoples mistakes really well it might be time to consider building a car from scratch, diving in head first with trying to build a custom car without having any real knowledge of what your trying to accomplish is going to prove very frusrtating.

Good Luck,
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Old 11-23-2009, 03:45 PM
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I build custom cars. I started when I was in 8th grade. I'm on my 4th year of building custom cars and I love it. It is very challenging and will keep you occupied longer than if you buy a car and run it..then break it..then fix it and run it. Also the looks you will get at the track are priceless.I highly incourage you to try your hand at making a custom car. Their are very few people who do it becuase it does take knowledge,patience,and time. You can do it on a budget though. Here are some pictures of what I have made or am in the process of building..
You can find alot more information ,all of my projects,and pictures at my project website
www.Teamkassanova.webs.com
Let me know if you have any questions.
Ethan






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Old 11-23-2009, 03:50 PM
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wow, all those are amazing, nice work.
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Old 11-23-2009, 06:13 PM
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Wow! What did you use to make those shock towers? And how did you cut them so clean?
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Old 11-24-2009, 08:24 AM
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Beaver720: Thank you

Ace921000: I used a scroll saw to cut out the shock towers. All I did was used a medium tooth blade. I don't think I sanded them or anything.
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Old 11-24-2009, 08:30 AM
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I like the Revo suspension 2WD, it reminds me of a cross between the Schumacher TopCat and the Predator X10\X11 cars
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Old 11-24-2009, 12:36 PM
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I wish there were more custom builds like these. I don't see this as a racing forum as it is called RCTECH. Its a technical RC forum for people with questions like this to get answers not be criticized for having an idea they wish to turn into a reality. Im not bashing on anyone but I have had question like this and no one will would answer them but more so criticize the idea. Its a RC forum therefore we are all here for a common interest and should be able to help each other other wise don't bother commenting. I engcourage you to bulid a custom car. Buy the better parts for the build just do it as the money is there. I know I have a car I would like to continue working on but funds are not happening but it will get done. Good luck and post picutres they really are worth a 1000 words.
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Old 11-24-2009, 07:54 PM
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y2kgtp: Thank you

I agree with mr.bones I too would like to see more custom projects. To me they are the best part of the hobby and it lets people use their imagination and be innovative. It does take alot of time but in the end its very fulfilling driving a car you built. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

Ethan
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Old 11-25-2009, 02:28 AM
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Yeah the forum could do with a custom project section I reckon. You see the occasional thread around in the normal sections but they get lost.
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Old 11-25-2009, 06:02 AM
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You mentioned HobbyCity to buy electronics and such. The bulk of the price of the car will be the electronics - while the chassis isn't much at all. Consider buying a used name-brand 2wd buggy or truck on eBay. I've found so many good deals on eBay when buying racing vehicles for myself and my son - there is no way I could construct the cars for as little money any other way. Example, bought a T4 truck at one time with two spare ESCs, batteries, charger, race-ready truck (brushed motor) - for $150 and the guy paid over $700 retail for all the parts.

Example, this one below - it's seemingly ready to run and should be under $100-120 when the auction ends. Has a brushed motor - but gets you running right away and you can add brushless later from Hobby City.

http://cgi.ebay.com/AE-ASSOCIATED-B4...item25576f3631

If you want to save money, I suggest looking for stuff on eBay. Tons of deals, including awesome deals on used vehicles. Get used, learn the guts of the car, use the deals to build your supply of radios and ESCs and such. I have probably 5 spare transmitters and receives I could let go cheap as well.

Another one, a t4 truck
http://cgi.ebay.com/TEAM-ASSOCIATED-...item25576ebb2f
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Old 11-25-2009, 07:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Bugle
Yeah the forum could do with a custom project section I reckon. You see the occasional thread around in the normal sections but they get lost.
There is the

Oval, Larger Scales and More section
http://www.rctech.net/forum/oval-larger-scales-more-5/
Discussion of other classes such as Oval, 1/8th scale on-road, 1/5th scale on road, and just about anything else with wheels.


But I don't think as many people look in there. Just like electronics\batteries\etc stuff gets posted in Off-Road all the time if it's
related to the topic.
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Old 11-25-2009, 08:43 AM
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http://www.youtube.com/user/academyrulz

As all have said building a custom car is not as easy as it sounds.In addition to having the know-how to use the tools you need to build the car,you also need to be well versed in things like weight distribution, and the basic physics behind the car that make it work the way you want it to. I have built many customs over the years.The first few were not well thought out, or researched.Not failures , but just not what I was looking for when I set out to build them.The last few I have built have turned out spectacular.But it was due to massive amounts of research,design work , and good old fashioned trial and error.In the last year I have had a web article published about 1 of my builds, with another on the way.Both the vehicles in question were very time consuming to design and build.Not so much expensive, but very time consuming.My current project was in the research and design phase for over a year before I began getting the parts list around to build it. I bet I have over a thousand hours into the car before It became a reality.The results have me convinced that all the work involved was well worth it.Others have taken great notice.So I am now getting my ducks in a row to do a trial production run of the buggy. Below are some pics and a link to some video of the car towards the top of the Pg..
Attached Thumbnails custom RC car build?-100_1776.jpg   custom RC car build?-100_1778.jpg  
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Old 11-25-2009, 11:17 AM
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i know killercripple is asking for the advice here but ive also been looking into building a custom car and was just wondering: which parts are good to start off with stock? i have an old evader st and am getting a little bored with it so i was gunna rebuild it. and what are the best materials to build the cassis and the shock towers out of?

also eds24
do you have any close up pics of that revo suspension that you could post? that looks really cool and i might wanna try something like that out
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