car for 8-year old girl

[94eg!]

If you were that age (4 & 6), you wouldn't know the difference.

[kyosho1]

Apart from the buggy & motor, does the size of the transmitter matter?

Do you think the Tamtech pistol grip transmitter is small enough to be used by the little hands of a 5-6yr old?

[beefmuffin]

Apart from the buggy & motor, does the size of the transmitter matter?

Do you think the Tamtech pistol grip transmitter is small enough to be used by the little hands of a 5-6yr old?

well, there's always the Quick Drives. those were intended for younger kids and have smaller transmitters, in addition to using standard AA batteries that don't require a kid to manage recharging.

here's a decently price NIB i've been stalking. seller only ships to US but i'd be willing to relay it to the UK for a fellow TCer.

http://www.ebay.com/...w-/190827505943

[Daves956]

If you were that age (4 & 6), you wouldn't know the difference.

At nine when my daughter started driving her first RC she noticed the difference and wanted it to drive for her like it did for me.

[GregM]

Even some of my grown-up friends can't manage to safely drive with a simple RS-540 silvercan and would accidentally smash my R/C cars with full speed into walls and bypassing people, if I wouldn't turn the throttle EPA down. And we were driving on the wide lanes of a former airport. I've learned this the hard way.

[Daves956]

I was just sharing some of the issues I've run into with my daughter and this hobby. Now she drives much better than she did then and has steadily gotten better cars and bodies for them. She'll tell me if a car is too fast for her and really tries hard to keep her favorites pretty. It took some crashes to get to this point and keeping her interested has been fun.

[94eg!]

At nine when my daughter started driving her first RC she noticed the difference and wanted it to drive for her like it did for me.

So you're saying when I hand the controller of my 8.5T powered 201 to my kids, I should leave throttle EPA at 100%? My point was that it didn't matter what car or setup you run, as long as you can dial in appropriate power.

[Zac_F83]

I say choose a few (like 4) budget minded models in kit form (be it the EB RTR if she likes the box art or you buy the electronics/paint separate and let her help assemble and paint it) and let her choose which one and the paint to color it.. Grass Hopper is probably the cheapest by far ($98US w/ a ESC)

[BigSteve]

Hi my daughter is 9 years old and we refurbed a grasshopper. It's easy to maintain and run and she has a lot of fun with it on and off road.

Steve.

[mr crispy]

I've just put a 50T motor in my Lunchbox so my 5yo daughter can start learning to drive. I was surprised how fast the LB still is with this motor fitted. Has anyone tried using the Grasshopper 380 motor & adaptor on a LB? Just wondered how it performs with the larger wheels?

[Sayer]

So you're saying when I hand the controller of my 8.5T powered 201 to my kids, I should leave throttle EPA at 100%? My point was that it didn't matter what car or setup you run, as long as you can dial in appropriate power.

He's saying maybe don't run the 8.5T powered 201 against your kids' Lunchbox unless you are prepared to deal with "Daddy, how come mine's so slow?" questions. Children aren't stupid, and being able to notice your car running rooster-tailed rings around theirs, when they've got the trigger buried isn't likely to be beyond all but the least attentive.

[wolfdogstinkus]

Quick drive monster beetle, when she gets good, go brushless, indestructable, and you have low and high speed gears to choose from. :D

[XV Pilot]

It is true that many kids will notice the speed difference with a detuned car. My nephews did. My advice is to be honest with them, and explain that the car is slower so that it is easier for them to learn to drive, and that you'll make it faster when you think their skills are up to it.

This worked very well in the case of my nephews, who then asked how they could show me that they had the skills. I marked out a gymkhana course in the garden, and told them that I would put in a faster motor if they could get around it without hitting anything. It took a couple of days practice after school, but they got the hang of proper car control quite quickly.

When they thought they could do it, I played the part of driving tester, wearing a traffic cop's hat and dark glasses while observing their performance and pretending to write in a notebook as they drove the course. At the end, once they had satisfied me that they could do it, I gave them each a little certificate and laminated "RC Drivers License" that I had knocked together on my printer. Only then did I return their cars to normal power.

Turning the whole thing into a game worked really well as a motivator, and giving them a course to practice on seemed to accelerate the learning curve. They alsobthought the "licenses" were fun. Something you may wish to try perhaps?

[94eg!]

He's saying maybe don't run the 8.5T powered 201 against your kids' Lunchbox unless you are prepared to deal with "Daddy, how come mine's so slow?" questions. Children aren't stupid, and being able to notice your car running rooster-tailed rings around theirs, when they've got the trigger buried isn't likely to be beyond all but the least attentive.

You misunderstand me. I'm saying my kids are driving my 201. Thus far, all 6 kids I've had drive any of my cars don't care how fast and make no mention of fast I set them. They ONLY care that they get a turn running them, and feel included.

[GregM]

Turning the whole thing into a game worked really well as a motivator, and giving them a course to practice on seemed to accelerate the learning curve. They alsobthought the "licenses" were fun

Sounds great!

[mongoose1983]

Anything with the Grasshopper drivetrain will do for any 8-year old girl. Grasshopper, Hornet, Lunchbox, or Midnight Pumpkin. One funny thing about the Lunchbox is the fact that you can cut out Vanessa's name off of the stock decal and replace it for the girls' name. Anyway, because of its size I'd say the 1984 Pajero might be a better choice, but that's sadly out of production. Or if you know she's into driving much faster perhaps some Blitzer model?

[GregM]

The Pajero shell was re-released on the Lunchbox chassis in 2011 as #58499 Mitsubishi Montero Wheelie.

[TGX Fan]

Well, I decided to let my friend's eight year old girl try my Hummer. She was not out of control with it so I decided to build her an OOB MiniCooper with the standard 540 motor. She loved it, especially the color. The color may not come across well but it's Tamiya's fluorescent pink. Personally, I find fluorescent colors very hard to paint evenly. I put in three coats and then backed it with white. Some spots especially the window frames did not get even coverage. Thanks to all for your inputs.

[Grumpy pants]

My 6 year old has just upgraded to. L.B which is a bit of a handful, but very funny to watch!

My 7 year old has a Hot Blackfoot which is strong and good on grass and in car parks, it's only when she finds a wall we have any trouble.

My 10 year loves our WW2, she thinks his head bobbing about is a hoot and the whole wheelie thing is cool as well.

The Grass Hopper does sound like a good choice, but maybe it is just a touch too 1 dimensional for a girl, unless of course you go pink!