RC cars

tse_adam

tse_adam

Micra Attitude
after lengthy talks regarding what RC cars to buy, i bought this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160149167656&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=006

i wanted to ask a few noobie questions and i reckon i get more help from here than anywhere else.

1)Do i have to use the same nitro (16% or 20% etc) as previous owner?
2)I will need 12 batteries to run the car and transmitter, what mAH in batteries should i be looking at so it lasts me a day of fun with my car? 2500 mAH perhaps?
3)Energizer or Uniross for chargers and batteries?
4)what sort of maintenance should i carry out when i get this car? and after i have fun with it?
5)after run oil a good idea?
6)I need a glow starter, a HPI official one good enough?

thanks, i am sure i will have more questions when i think of them.:doh:
 
any glow starter at all... they all do the same thing.

nitro fuel wont matter if its used as one of the reasons people get rid is usualy cos of running problems due to a worn piston and sleave..
although i would use 15% "non caster oil" fuel, like tornado or model technics.

as for maintainance when you get it...

strip and re-build it. clean every little part.
take appart the diffs and re-grease.
take the engine apart or replace alltogether.
replace the ball cups on the ends of the tie rods with GRP items, (or simalar captured versions)
replace all of the bearings and bushings with ball races
re-oil the shock absorbers
clean all the drive line.
check the hinge pins for straightness
check the chassis for tweaking (is it as flat as you think it is)
get a manual and put it back to original setup.. then work from there.

then ask me for assistance if you get stuck.

i am an HPI accredited mechanic and know these cars inside out.
dont listen to a word the book says its garbage!!!
 
I am thinking of getting Tornado as i have seen many use it and report no problem, someone said 16% is recommended for HPI touring cars, is this true?

Am i right thinking 16% nitro means it has more oil than 20% which means better for the engine and the car as a whole?

anyone know about the battery side of things?

for the first time id probably take it to an expert to have it looked it and try to get the guy to teach me a few tricks.
 
Batteries

I usually get cheap Duracell batteries from argos which usually does the trick for the Transmitter & receiver. Before I use my Traxxas Revo I spray WD40 onto the filter, this helps to lubricate the engine, but really you should buy proper stuff.

I'm currently building that BMW M3 GTR from Hachette Partworks, this is the second nitro car I will have I got the Revo in May this year for my Birthday (second hand) but I've got clutch problems I think? Because when I pull the throttle the car revs but not forward action.
 
the seller of this RC car did state i should give it a clean, can you guys recommend what i should use to clean my car? degrease spray, water or whatever?

and please help me with some of the questions above, cheers
 
wynns carb and intake cleaner, or even halfords brake cleaner....

the batteries i use are a set of nimh cells for the car and a load of cheapo wilko special AA's for the tranny.

16% means that 16% of the fuel (nitro methane, methanol and some esther based lubricant, or on older fuels caster oil) that 16% is of nitromethan, the bit that goes bang...
the more nitro the less oil... anything above 20% is only recomended for racing (where the engine is rebuilt regularly) or an airoplane engine..

byron race fuel is also very very good fuel...... never be tempted to use any of the "blue thunder" rubbish or anything with colours in it as it will just Gum up.

also you should use WD40 as its got an ingredient in it that distroys magnesium at high temperatures (which is what the plugs made of) and also can gum up the engine.

if you want to lubricate the engine, make the mixture richer or use a lower % fuel.

after run oil is essential... and try to replace the fuel every time you run it, never leave the fuel in the tank..
good fuel should be almost clear with a slight opaqueness. never thick yellow or gold. if it is, its no good and needs taking to the dump.
 
cool thanks antony, if only you were in brum i would pay you to sort my car out and ask you for advice every single day! lol
as i cant be bothered to shop through ebay, i will buy the following from model sport. shout at me if i am buying the wrong things.

HPI glow starter at 9.99, tornado 2.5L 16% at 15, tornado after run oil, fuel bottle.

reckon i need some kind of tools and other oils etc to keep me going as well?
 
a few allen keys... a good quality flat bladed screw driver, a propper nut driver (for the glow plug) and a used tooth brush..

other than that, the obvious, pliers etc

one of the best things you can do is read the manual, again and again and again.. then take your car appart. so you understand it, put it back together piece by piece cleaning as you go, replacing and upgrading if you want. but make sure you have it set as the manual says

then have some fun.

but never ever leave it on a brick (like the manual says as you will melt the air cooled engine due to lack of air flow) never rev it off the ground (no matter how strong the urge) and allways turn the transmitter on first, then the reciever, then the engine....

if the engine is revving and you want to stop it, plug the exhaust up with your finger. dont pinch the fuel line or adjust the mixture to stop it as you lean the engine..... and the fuel carries the lubricant.

if theres any noises or eratic behaviour, leave the car where it is and walk towards it, dont try and drive it to you as you may run into yourself at 40+mph (and that hurts)

stick the 2 speed in it,
put a novarossi RB12CE competition engine in it
soft racing slicks and an old school E30 BMW M3 bodyshell and off you go.!!


i allready do get payed for this..lol
 
excellent thanks antony, i think i have all my queries answered mate thanks again.

i will be a good boy and try to do everything you have mentioned but since everyone make mistakes, i am sure this first experiment will teach me a valuable lesson so that i am more equipped for any future cars. this sounds a bit sad but i think this car wont last long. i guess everyone must pay a small price for tuition...lol

i wish HPI sell some kind of starter pack which includes everything you have mentioned then i wouldnt have to source it individually, does my head in lol.
 
I don't go near these things anymore, the first time I used one it went outta signal range in like 2 seconds and I almost ran into 3 golfers and I hit a dog, the dog wasn't happy.
 
thats cos you didnt read the manual...... the ariel wasnt up, the batteries werent charged or there was some damage to the reciever...... you should check these before every run..


i havent ever had a problem..
 
right just got my package, generally quite happy with it. firstly its a better model, its a RS4 3 EVO instead of just RS4 3. the item should have been more expensive than the winning bid.
the guy has included some parts, a glow starter, a rotostart with battery (no charger), 4 extra wheels, 8 rechargeable batteries, extra shell but the state of the car itself is very dirty, oil stains everywhere and the bottom of chasis is scratched to bits. another thing is i think the user is not an experienced racer as he left a full tank of nitro in tank, quite dangerous during delivering!!

i dont know where to start...:doh: .....think i will take it for a full service this weekend. how much will this cost?
 
strip it down, and clean everything, put a few tanks of nitro through the engine, running the same % as he was. The chassis will be scratched lol, that's fairly normal, just clean everything with degreaser. Make sure everything goes back as it came off or, or as it should do lol/
 
with what method do you remove existing fuel? turn the car upside down?

regarding the degreaser, is there any area i shouldnt spray anywhere near like engine etc?
 
just uncouple the pipe going to the carb, and blow down the exhaust.

get rid of the roto starter and sell the battery, get yourself a pull start. the number of warrenty repairs i did on broken conrods cos of that damned roto starter..... you need to know whats going on inside the engine and only way to do that is with a pull start.

the evo should have a few more purple bits and a two speed as standard....

yeah, run a few tanks of fuel through it at half throttle, then just make sure the carb is set at factory settings......


good luck
 
cool i was thinking since i will be stripping the car down, i can just turn the fuel tank upside down to get the fuel out cant i? D'oh! haha

as i went through the box of spares etc, there is a non-working pull start thing laying there. i wonder if the ex-owner replaced it with a rotostart thinking its better this way.

everyone seems to say different things about which starting device is better, i guess i will just carry on with this until it breaks, besides i dont know how to install a pull start...yet.

when are you coming to birmingham antony...kekekeke :)
 
What is my problem

I have a Revo 2.5 recently I took it out and for some reason I can rev the engine but there is no power going to the wheels unless I pick it up. Could this be the clutch being too loose?
 
sounds like either the clutch or the slipper..... dont rev it any more.

take the clutch out and check for scoring or scortching on the inside of the bell.

if it is the case, get to www.modelsportuk.com and order some metal shoes and a new clutch bell.



sorry adam, im not gonna come to birmingham......... unless you pay for me..lol
 
I have a Nitro RC car as well.. Its 99% custom built which makes it fun and also very unreliable LOL. but would be fun to run all the cars together, im on a yellow 27mhz crystal. we should make a meeting for this!!
 
right a bit of update and also more problems.

today with a bit of time i got the car out for its first outing. i removed all existing fuel successfully, the way i did it was removing the tank and tip it out as i cannot seem to remove the fuel line from the carb, know if it is screwed in or i could just pull it off?

i stuck in some new tornado 16% fuel along with new fully charged batteries and glow plug, i got it started after only a few attempts. but then it would just stall after 10-15 sec, i tried to put all tuning like RPM back to original settings (tried to) but it just got worse. it would stall even quicker after every attempts until eventually it doesnt even start at all.

i read through the instructions and i believe the engine may be flooded (whatever that means) and i have been asked to remove all fuel from motor. do you think this is the problem? how can i go about in doing this?

despite this ostacle, i am rather pleased with myself for getting it started without reading any info or even come close to one before.

i guess i can post some pics if it helps in anyway as the instructions do not seem to provide original settings for all devices on the car.

pls help!
 
you need a new glow plug.....

what you are experiencing is called "flame out" no ammount of twiddling will get it running as its not gonna..lol

the plug has a small coil of Magnesium inside it that should glow bright red when igniting the fuel. take it out, stick it in the glow starter and see what colour it glows..... and it should do it straight away too...

if its delayed or doesnt glow all the way down the coil, its fried.... £5 should replace it (R4 plug in HPI, meduim in McCoys or no#8 in O.S.)

then make sure the high speed needle is set at three full turns out (anti clockwise) from closed.... this should be running in settings..... it will run but with no power..... then tune from there leaning it out 1/8th turn at a time until there is no power increase......or untill no smoke appears... then richen in back up again by 1/4 turn....

you should see a nice plume of white/blue smoke (almost see through like steam) from the exhaust with excelent performance throughout the rev range, no bogging and also a high screaming top end (about 28,000rpm out of 30krpm.)

if it doesnt have these characteristics.....its not tuned...

peace.
 
i knew you would just come on here and help me out again, i will try this tomorrow and see what happens.

you know what, as far as i can remember there is no smoke for all those times i have started the car, rather worrying actually.

oh and i know what you mean about the damn rotostart now. its at an angle from behind which makes inserting the rotating metal stick very awkward, and because of the constant spinning of the thing it is slowly eating away the bar that holds the back wheels together.

know if i can just pull out the fuel line from the carb (no screwing)?
 
yeah its a friction fit on a barb... just give it a good pull...

thats ok man, thats what im here for.

the roto start was allways a bad idea. infact when we sold them we would sell them at an extra 14.99 and fit the pullstart for the customer before running it in. you can tell so much better whats going on with the engine with a pully.

oh and if you suspect flooding, stop immediately as continuing coul bend the conrod. (i know ive done it before and thrown a conrod through the side of the block at over 42000rpm) tak the glow plug out, tip it upside down and turn the engine over a few times... then it should fire right up.

if in doubt, richen out.. cant go wrong then.
 
:kungfu: i just went out to try it out again, first i took the glow plug out and it seems to heat up without fuss. so i remove the engine, try to tip it over but nothing comes out, cleaned the exhaust as it was spilling fuel and cleaned out the tank again. i must have wasted 1/4 of my 2.5 litre nitro already without the car even started.

got my rotostart out again but it still doesnt fire up, do you think the flooding has caused the exhaust to spill nitro as it doesnt sound normal.
since the fuel lines arent transparent its very difficult to determine whether the fuel has been pumped into the carb so sometimes i guess i might have pumped a few too many times which may have caused this.

i gave the car a good clean but i left the engine out as i am afraid i would mess it up, think i need someone to look at it this weekend. D'OH!!!

antony how much do you guys charge for cleaning the whole car, oil, service and tune the machine and perhaps replace any worn parts as well?
i think i must get this done first before anything, if you give me a rough quote so i know if i am getting robbed out there in local rc shops.
 
we would normaly do a full clean, strip tune and re-build for £39.99 excluding parts.

any more than this and your being robbed rotten..
 
man, i have called up 4 major rc stores within birmingham and all of them have stopped their servicing service.

i cant seem to start my car and i need some help! o_O
 
otly if you can get there, modelsportuk.com in otley west yorkshire.... they can do it for you theyre the best there is.
 

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