Juggular

Welcome to the slippery slope. Might as well have fun sliding down. Q1: (Just what @TurnipJF said) Yes, the two chassis types are in different leagues. If the Rising FIghter/GHII was driven exceptionally well and the DT-02/DT-03 exceptionally badly, they could potentially end on the same lap, but with drivers of comparable skill, the independent suspension chassis will have an overwhelming advantage over the motor pod chassis. Grasshopper was 1984. DT02 came out in 2005. Both are simple chassis the way Tamiya does so well. But 31 year age gap shows. Q2: Many do include an ESC. If it doesn't, no big deal. Hobbywing 1060 is about $20 USD. It can handle a lot faster brushed motors too. Q3: Flysky GT3C is the cheapest radio. Despite the rock-bottom price, it's quite functional and reliable. The build is not high quality for obvious reasons. I put in a 1280 bearing (I think) on the wheel and it's as smooth as any Futaba I had before. But even before, it was okay. Trims and servo reverse is basic. It has a 3rd channel button (which I don't know how to use), End Point Adjustment to limit the throttle and steering, dual rate, exponential, ABS braking. And 10 model memory (one radio to rule 10 cars--but not if you want to run 4 cars at the same time--you need 4 radios for that. Each radio set comes with 1 receiver). Many radios have similar functionalities these days. The most significant difference between a cheap radio and expensive Futaba and Sanwa, etc, is the response time. Expensive radios have less response time, like 8 millisecond or something. Cheap radios may have 20 millisecond response time. Traditionally, scientists thought human eyes can recognize images in about 100 millisecond (1/10th of a second). But MIT discovered in 2014 that some people can do as little as 13 milliseconds. (about 1/90th of a second) So, while 12 millisecond difference doesn't sound much, it does add up in racing. But I doubt that I could tell when I'm bashing in my backyard. Q4: What @Jonathon Gillham said. Batteries - basically the relationship between runtime and MaH is linear, so a 3000mah will give twice the runtime of a 1500mah. The difference between airsoft packs and RC backs is the "C-rating." It's basically how big the floodgate is (Amp). Airsoft uses about 1-2A, I think. Tamiya connectors are designed to handle about 1A of current. 540 motors for RC uses about 1A too. But many RC cars use upgraded motors. Hot brushless motors can consume even more electricity at given time. So RC batteries are designed to discharge like 5-10Amps. Many RC car batteries claim to have "100C" rating. 3000mA battery at 100C rating means 300Amp. That's probably false-advertising. (or at the superconductive state--in space.) Why do I think it's false? I watched a battery test, Japanese and Korean 18650 batteries have over 90% of the capacity they claim. Chinese batteries, however, would say 9800mAh, but it would only have 1200mAh. lol... That's like 88% lie. (Makes you wonder if Covid-19 numbers they release might also be 12% of what they claim) However, when it comes to RC batteries, they don't lie as much. Because your charger will tell you the actual amps. And Samsung, LG and Sony don't make RC car batteries anyway. Anything over 10C should do fine. In case of a 3000mAh battery, that's 30A. Even a 9.5turn brushless motor would use about 5A burst. These 18560 cannot really be used for RC use because their amp draw (C rating) is limited to 2A. Just like many airsoft batteries. Q5: I think the difference is oil shocks? If so, you can check which is cheaper, the shell or the shocks. It might be cheaper to buy Holiday Buggy kit with extra oil shocks, or it might be cheaper to buy Sand Viper and buy an extra Holiday Buggy shell. No matter what you do, I'd order bearings first. (Except for Sand Viper, it comes with cheap metal shield bearings--I've got dozens of those. I replaced them with cheap rubber shielded Chinese bearings) Bearings make the cars go 20% faster. Less drag means batteries last longer too. You are going to need about 14 per car (you can download the manual and count the bearings because every car requires different amount). You may need about 60 bearings if your kit doesn't come with them (it's rare for Tamiya cars to have bearings). Look up "5x11x4mm bearings." Tamiya calls them "1150." If Tamiya says "1150 plastic bearing" that's not a bearing. It's a bushing. If Tamiya says "1150 Ball Bearing" that's an actual metal shielded bearing. I'd say 75% of Tamiya bearings are 1150 in size. 15% is 850 bearings (5x8x2.5mm). The other 10% are weird bearings like 1050 or 1280, 1060, 630, etc. Actual engineering naming convention seems 'inner bore x out diameter x thickness.' Tamiya flips inner and outer, and omits the thickness. You could find 10 bearings for about $4 USD. So $24 should equip 4 buggies. Hobby shops do sell pre-selected bearings for about $15 per set. That'd be $60. The quality difference is marginal.

[Bearings] 5x11x4mm bearings. I think you need 14 bearings for DT02 chassis. You can get 10 bearings for about $3.50. You'd need 30 bearings for 2 buggies. Stuff from RC Mart arrives in about 10 days usually (from Hong Kong to Pennsylvania). Haven't ordered since Covid19 though. Yeah Racing bearings are very well made and a bit more expensive, but it seems to be on sale. https://www.rcmart.com/yeah-racing-rc-ptfe-bearing-5x11x4mm-10pcs-yb6014b-s10-00001611 [Radio] Assuming you are not racing, but bashing, Flysky FS-GT3C is a cheap and reliable option. $45 - $50. If you guys are going to run together, you'd need 2 radios. Each radio comes with 1 receiver each. If you get more RC cars later, just buy 1 extra receiver for about $9. You can use existing radio to "bind" with a new receiver. (that was a brand new technology I learned 3 years ago) Get the "C" version as in GT3C. Older "B" version (GT3B) uses 8 batteries. GT3C uses only 4AA batteries for the transmitter. No difference in performance. Just that the older B model (mine) wastes more juice by using cheaper components. [Charger] SkyRC iMax B6 is a go-to charger that charges pretty much everything. Below has a power supply inside. This one doesn't need a separate 12v power supply like mine does. (I'm using a power supply for a laptop) https://smile.amazon.com/SKYRC-LiIon-Battery-Charger-Discharger/dp/B01MZ1ZZ7Z/ref=sr_1_3?crid=35MTLK0UY0F5U&keywords=skyrc+imax+b6&qid=1585379139&sprefix=sky+RC+%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-3 [Servos] There are so many, it's difficult to recommend. But Hobbyking 9kg servos are cheap, strong, and fast enough. If you are racing on-road cars, I'd recommend JX low profile digital servos. (Digital is good for holding certain angles like airplane control surfaces, but it uses more electricity) But for bashing, analog is fine. 9kg Hobbyking metal gears is cheaply made, but it should do fine. Back in the days, 4kg was the standard, so 9kg is pretty strong. And did I mention it's only $9? https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbykingtm-hk15288a-analog-servo-bb-mg-9kg-0-20sec-51g.html?queryID=13846e6aef0624feb09b87e55fe3bf3d&objectID=38568&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products I liked Turnigy 10kg servo. But it seems like hobbyking is out of them. If you want 13kg, servo, that's still available for whopping $1 more. 13kg is a bit of an overkill but why not? Also 0.14 second is a bit fast. (0.20 second is about the standard) But fast is better than slow. https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigytm-tgy-s901d-ds-mg-robot-servo-13kg-0-14sec-58g.html?queryID=7b139e6ae3457a190ed4505e36614e64&objectID=40566&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products [Batteries] I'd suggest a pair of 7.2v NiMH batteries to start. They are not as powerful as 7.4v LiPo batteries. But safer. (Lipo can ignite) Make sure to get ones with Tamiya connectors. Tamiya connectors are limited to 1-2A, but they do fine for NiMH batteries.

As mentioned, JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) is different from Phillips. But newer Phillips tends to be similar to JIS. Because manufacturers want to make one driver and sell it around the world. If yours is newer, it might work just like JIS. If your driver doesn't bite well and tends to pop out? You might want to get a JIS driver. The blue set is a good starter set. Red set doesn't have hex keys for grub screws. The other specialized RC tool you might want to get is a pair of curved scissors. They are designed to cut around tricky areas. Not a magic solution, but they work better than regular scissors, even on straight lines. While we are on the shell, if you are getting more than RC car, a body reamer makes nice mounting holes. [Bearings] Bearings give you 10% faster acceleration. 20% faster top speed (25km/h to 31km/h in above test). Probably equal improvement in run time also. That's pretty good for $5 -$10 worth of bearings. (you can look for "5x11x4mm bearings," preferably rubber sealed bearings) The plastic bushings Tamiya includes? They attract dirt, and turn into sandpapers, grinding down metal shafts. Clear bodies cannot take regular paint. If you imagine painting plastic water bottles, the paint will chip off. That's because those PET bottles are flexible. Just like the shells of RC cars. Tamiya makes special spray paint for them. They start with "PS." PS-1 for white, PS-2 for red, etc. I'm inclined to think PS stands for "Polycarbonate Spray." Where as TS is, "Tamiya Spray." (TS won't work on clear lexan bodies) https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/list/polycarbonate_spray/kit86001.htm Tamiya hardly asks for any glue. I tend to not glue tires. But I'd say more people glue tires than not. Up to you. Clear calk you use on kitchen sink can be used on tires too. Easier to peel later than superglue. I use plastic-safe Teflon grease designed for model trains. This is how much teflon grease I use. This will probably last 300 packs. Just don't gum up the gears with automotive grease. You can lose all the gains from ball bearings if you plaster this much. You want to use something that's plastic safe and thin enough for fast rotation. Included Tamiya grease isn't bad at all. That's why teflon grease is not on top of the list. But if you have 36 gears like Dynahead, you'd want Teflon grease. If you want, you can put Diff Putty in the differential. Diff-unloading gets reduced. Off road performance goes up 200% (that's an exaggeration, but it does improve quite a bit). And a good charger is always a plus, if you don't have one yet.

M3 threated rods are about $7 for 250mm. https://www.ebay.com/itm/M2-M2-5-M3-M4-250mm-High-Tensile-12-9-All-Thread-Threaded-Rod-Bar-Studs-Black/182178734859?hash=item2a6ab2e30b:m:mfmTTF7ZoIf2j1AMCgtUtoQ Bolt cutters cost $12. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NQ4OYO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 You can cut threaded rods. File the tips and use any 3mm adjusters. It's one of those things that's easy once you get the parts. Before you get the parts? It seemed impossible to me. I thought, "why don't they just make it in such and such mm?" For posterity, I wanted to put this option out there.

I envy that. Because I have so many unfinished shells. I should try to paint first.

Yes, as you say, run time should increase. I was surprised to learn that the RPM doesn't change much, though. But I'm always all for more efficiency. For posterity, the size of a 540 bearing is 1/8 x 3/8 x 5/32. (I thought it would be in metric, but it was imperial) Ebay sells them for about $8 USD for ten pieces.

I got a driver for Dancing Rider. I want to use these girly eyes. (I guess it could also be a guy with really gorgeous lashes...) But the driver's face is a bit square. And the bigger problem is that certain anatomical features are lacking. (Concaved, even) so... where am I going with this? ... .. . I had added shoulder pads to a Tamiya driver before. Why not for other parts too? ... .. I'm not exactly happy with the chin surgery (and lower lip). I'll keep working on them. As for the... er... front bumpers... Mrs. thinks they are too big. I agree with her because I only wanted to say, "it's no boy." (in a family-friendly manner, of course) But it's very hard to take off (no pun intended). So they'll stay. With the putty color so dark, I need to paint a primer. It's going to rain all weekend long. So it may take weeks until I get this painted. I should get a primer in a bottle. That'd be convenient for a small job like this. (no pun intended again)

1) I have a feeling that you'll have to yield G6-01 to your son, and you'll be running GF01. Plastic bushings can really cut down the run time short, so bearings are a must in my opinion. 2) [A] I never paid for light weight gear shafts. I've gotten them in used cars. But they are not particularly useful. It doesn't make the gear run faster, it's weaker, but overall weight of the car is few grams lighter. If you are racing F-1 type of cars, that could be useful. But for bashers where torque is important, stock shafts are 10 times stronger. Servo arms don't flex much, but the pivoting points where arms are attached to tend to be loose with a lot of Tamiya kits. Then again, for bashers it doesn't matter most of the times. [C] Bearings are always good. They improve speed, run time and acceleration 15-20% without any other upgrade. [D] Steel pinion lasts longer, and avoids aluminum paste. [E] Oil Shocks are always nice. My order of upgrade is (1) 100% of my cars have ball bearings. (2) 75% of them have a mildly upgraded motor like Sport Tuned, 19t or 13.5t. (3) 85% have oil shocks because without oil shocks, they run like toys. (4) only few have steel pinion (because I'm a tinkerer, not a runner. If I were running all the time, this should come up before motor upgrade) I never get steering upgrades unless the stock steering kit is particularly wonky. Of course, all this is how I do. You can pick and choose what you'd like to do. Some people get aluminum A-arms for the bling-factor. Aluminum actually breaks easier than softer plastic, but it's a hobby. One should do what makes him feel good.

The sky was absolutely beautiful after a week of "social distancing." Not many people driving is keeping the air clean? We might experience the "spring" that didn't come around past few years. It was winter to summer. I hope this isn't the calm before the storm...

I'm sorry to hear that. Worst timing indeed. We lost our dog almost 4 years ago. But it still feels like it happened 4 months ago. Fearing the impact, we rescued even smaller guy a year prior. (of course, we didn't know the expiration date then) We have 2 neighbors who say they'll never have another pet because losing them was so hard. But we still talk about how much harder it would have been without the extra helping paws. You've got an empty spot in your heart. There might be a cat out there that needs a home. Might as well let in another cat? People with pets tend to live longer and happier too.

My mom had that. She wasn't drinking either. Except, she always had a basket of candies "for grand kids." My brother lives near her, so I'd also bring candies for his kids for holidays and leave them at her place. Unbeknownst to me, she'd kept 80% as tariff. All the sugar made her liver work extra hard, as if she were drinking! In case of her, it was an easy fix. (Or a hard fix to stop her sugar fix, depends on how you look at it) That was just my mom being silly. It sounds like your wife's problem is not as easy to fix. A hurt liver can really drain a person. I hope she gets better. I was once hit by a car when I was 17. I was on a bicycle crossing a street (I know, I should have gotten off the bike and walked across). One way was jammed. The other way was not. So, this guy decided to drive as fast as he could going the wrong way. And I inconvenienced him by crossing the road. One second I was going my merry way, the next I was on the pavement. Yeah, it was weird to open your eyes and wonder why you are looking at tires of cars from the pavement. A taxi driver next to me was yelling at the guy for almost killing me by shooting me up in the air some 10 feet. My bicycle looked like an impressionist sculpture, my left calf had a tight knot for 3 weeks, my shoulder hurt and I had a bump on my head. My guess is that the bicycle took the impact. My left leg reacted by distancing my body from the force. It could have been some somersault, but unfortunately I don't remember. I landed on my left (leg) and shoulder. Lastly, my head bumped the pavement. (I always wear a helmet after that) The driver bought me a new bike the next day, and that was enough then. The way he was driving, he might have killed somebody after that. He said I was second person he hit too. I hope I was the last. I worried about some damage to the gray stuff after rattling my head on the pavement. But I figure I'm alright since I'm fasting several times a year now. Apparently, if you fast for 2 days, the brain clears off bad connections and create more BDNF (Brain derived neurotrophic factor) to make new connections. (Muhammad Ali might have benefited from fasting) https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/19/12/4131 We drive everyday like it's nothing. But we are moving 1 ton of metal, 60-70 miles an hour. As much as we love cars, it's dangerous stuff. At any rate, I'm glad you got out okay. Many of us have been on here for years, it won't be the same without some members. All the more reason why we should be careful about this Covid19 virus, too. Here is to our health!

It seems Re-bugged was on the dot. ESC should be connected to the throttle slot. For posterity, I just made a scan of the manual. Sorry about the quality. You know how Tamiya folds it 20 times to put make it into a 2x2 tile.

You are in an enviable position. Or rather, because of your atypical circumstance, you could be where you are now. (everything comes with a silver lining) I might be fine for 3-4 months, but not for a year. If this happened 5 years ago, I might have gone under. Some hard lessons later, you'd think I'd be good for 8-9 months. But I count myself luckier than some folks who are where I was 5 years ago. Hopefully, this wouldn't last long. I'd take the unpaid leave now. In 2 weeks, we could reach 70% of the maximum infection. Or because of the size of the country, the spread might be slower and steadier. From China and Korea, we can guess that it's going to reach the peak in 4-6 weeks, and calm down in 3 months. (China claims Covid19 is from America. I don't trust their numbers. But Korea seems to be okay after 3 months) With Italy scaring Americans into isolation, it might not be as bad for us. After 2 weeks, we'll know more. You can make the decision then. Hopefully, we won't be welded inside our homes like the Chinese... I'm worried about "after effect." Even after no more new infections, in 2 months or so, people will be weary of restaurants for additional month or two.

"The cake is a lie!" ...oh that was fun.

So true. We've been skipping breakfast for about 2 years now. That reduced quite a bit of groceries, time and few pennies too. That's 700 meals saved a year by 2 of us. But we ended up replacing 7 breakfasts + 1 dinner with 1 restaurant meal a week, so probably it's less of a penny saver. And if we go to IKEA, we always pick up stuff we don't quite need. You bleed money that way. When I'm itching to pick up useless stuff, I tried to think, "if I don't buy a junk like this 15 times, I can buy a Dynahead." Not always successful, but it helps. (my wife would say Dynahead is more of a junk than a desk lamp, but not to me. ...so selfish of me...)