First Build need advice!

[Rossy1]

Hi guys,

im new to the club and looking for advice please.

After owning a grasshopper 2 as a young boy in the 80s I’ve decided to do my first build with my young lad.

im completely new to it and have absolutely nothing so please be gentle.

The DT03 Neo Fighter has took my fancy. I’m going to buy the kit and I think it comes with a ESC that can take brushless motors to.

I’m looking for advice on what hop ups are a must from the build go. Things like bearing kit, shocks etc and possibly diff gear changes.

what is good affordable radio gear these days and servos etc I don’t even know makes and models.

what would be a good affordable fast brushless motor and would I need anything else. I see people have fans on the ESC !

batteries and charger to

i need everything basically and would like to source items separately to get the best for my money rather than buying a package.

hope people can help

thanks Ross 

location: England

[Backlash]

Hi Ross, welcome to TamiyaClub..

Can you please give us your location, as it will make it easier to recommend stores near you..

Ball bearings are a good upgrade.. A steel pinion gear is also a good upgrade..

As for brushless motor.. I am assuming that you got a Tamiya TBLE02S ESC with your Kit?

The Tamiya TBLE02s ESC will only run Sensored Brushless motors down to 10.5 turns, and Tamiya recommends that you use a fan on the ESC if you are running a 10.5 T Brushless motor.. If yo plan to use the TBLE02S ESC, then a 10.5 T brushless motor is as fast as you can go with that ESC.. Personally I think that a 13.5T will give a good compromise between speed and drivability in a 2wd buggy..

HobbyKing sells Trackstar brushless motors, and they are quite good value.. SpeedPassion also makes a god quality inexpensive brushless motor as well..

LiPo batteries are what a lot of people are using these days, but they do have some special handling requirements, so NiMh may be a better option if you are not confident using LiPo batteries...

The Imax B6AC is a popular charger, and it can charge LiPo and NiMh batteries if you choose to upgrade to LiPo at a later date.. Just make sure that you get a genuine IMAX charger, and not a cheap IMAX fake/copy..

Radio Gear... Do you prefer a stick or wheel radio..?

[InsaneJim69]

First thing Imo is buy a Tamiya screwdriver !! The screws are not Philips they are JIS(Japanese industry standard) and a Philips screwdriver will slip and just tire your arm/hand out. Honestly its the best £5 I have ever spent !!

Also yes add bearings far easier adding them during first build than tearing it all apart later on. Also a RW steel opinion gear. That's my top 3 first ads before anything powerwise etc. 

James.

 

 

[Percymon]

Firstly think about whether your son will want to drive it, no good have a fast motor if its in inexperienced hands.  Dependent upon his age you might want to think about the DT-01 Mad Bull buggy, its a great starter buggy for young drivers, tough and the chunky tyres give better ground clearance for running on lawn, dirt areas.  The chassis is a bit crude in comparison to the DT-03 but its good fun.

Irrespective of model...

> for motors you might want to start with a 35T brushed motor to slow it down a little, and slowly upgrade the motor as your son gains experience/skill.

> start with ball bearings in the gearbox but leave the plastic ones in the wheels/axles - less maintenance (esp if you go to the beach or wet areas) and again it will slow the buggy slightly compared to ball bearings

> alternatively buy a radio that has end point adjustment on the throttle (whether trigger or stick, younger hands prefer a trigger and wheel transmitter) so you can dial the maximum speed back accordingly

 

If none of the above is of any concern / relevance then look for a bundle deal from a retailer so you get the radio gear/servo at a discount - sometimes the weekly offers from the likes of Tamico.de are too good to miss, mainly on kits rather than bundles but they are competitive with their Carson radio sets too.

[ThunderDragonCy]

Welcome. I built a DT03 as my first build for years earlier this year. It's a fun buggy and I've learnt loads from hopping it up. It is for me though, so I haven't had any compromises to make in terms of making it kid friendly. I bought a Rising Fighter for my girls to bash up! 

To start with, just build the kit with bearings and see how you get on. I run NiMH batteries for exactly the reasons you suggest and they're just super cheap these days. 

The buggy won't have loads of performance with the stock motor so just try that. I have a 13.5T brushless in mine on the Tamiya ESC and it's mint, but it's quick! 

I found the buggy as stock really, really soft and very understeery. Get on ebay and buy a strip of wheel balance weights for a regular car (just google ebay wheel balance weights). A single strip of adhesive 5 and 10 grm weights will cost you about £3. Stick as many as you can around the front of the buggy (I got 45 grms on mine) and it really helps with the handling. 

There's tonnes of stuff you can do after that, but just ask on here if you have any specific questions. I have a massive build thread on The Builds about mine and all the tinkering I did. Just search "Adventures DT(0)3" and you'll find it. Happy building!

[Prescient]

12 hours ago, Rossy1 said:

Hi guys,

im new to the club and looking for advice please......

hope people can help

thanks Ross 

Hey, welcome to Tamiya Club. What country are you in as that has a massive bearing on availability, product support and costs?

Firstly, I would always recommend sticking with bricks and mortar hobby shop supported kit initially to get you up and running. This doesn't mean it will cost you any more than online deals either. It does mean you can guarantee to get set up and running with minimal agro, notably if anything isn't working quite as expected and forum members / YouTube guides can't assist.

I would avoid importing electronics from the Chinese suppliers initially including off eBay and definately avoid the cheap brushless combos off eBay. Inevitably something usually goes wrong. This isn't so much agro once you have baseline kit up and running so can troubleshoot and faff about. Good international suppliers like RCMart do support their products but again hassle on warranty issues given return shipping & timescales etc.

If in the UK; Modelsport, Timetunnelmodels or Wheelspinmodels are my preference for UK based. Tamico.de, Modellbau Seidel, Modellbau Berlinkski & Staufenbiel for EU based and Hobbyking EU/UK only warehouses for loads of general parts. RC Mart & RCJaz for full international. 

You can't go wrong with a good NiMH/Lipo compatible charger like:

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/core-rc-uac50-charger-12v-110-240v-6a/rc-car-products/365880

Modelsport also do the speed passion 10.5T & 13.5T brushless motor which are pure win for cheap but not budget brushless. 

It's worth bearing shipping costs in mind if buying from split sources including on things like batteries and paint which require courier delivery. 

DT03 + controller bundles are considerably cheaper from the German sellers on eBay at the moment so are worth considering as they are usually DE based hobby shops with eBay outlets.

[berman]

My first build advice is don't, as one rc is not enough and there is no way out of the rabbit hole, the addiction is too strong!

Also to make matters worse, did you know that Tamiya recently re-released the Grasshopper 2? So you will have to get one of those just for the trip down memory lane...

And then there is all the ones you wanted when you were little that you couldn't afford...

Welcome to the club 😊

[markbt73]

Honestly, I would build it box-stock, exactly as the instructions say, plastic bushings and all. Why? Because it's a good learning opportunity. The two of you can build it together, following each step, seeing the relation between the line drawings in the manual and the plastic and metal shapes in front of you.

Then, after you have run it that way for a while, the two of you can make each improvement one at a time, and see what it does. Bearings make the wheels less wobbly, and here's why; the front suspension bottoms out, so we stiffen it up, that sort of thing. RC kits are a fantastic teaching tool for basic mechanics and spatial relations, and it all starts with those black and blue line drawings in the manual.

[Rossy1]

Hi Guys,

thanks for the replies 

sorry my location is England.

Ive not actually brought the kit yet but here it is on eBay. Comes from Germany and is delivered to my door all in for £85. Seems to be the best price I can find.

this is it here: https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tamiya-58587-Neo-Fighter-DT-03-2WD-Buggy-Kit-1-10-New-Sealed/311520962496?epid=1036828432&hash=item488818a7c0:g:QoUAAOxy039TMzc4

As for radio gear I use to have the stick type but think I’d to go for the wheel type this time as my young lad will get on better with it.

The buggy is mainly for me but also to enjoy with my lad. Personally I can see myself getting a lunchbox for the lad after this which I assume would be a lot tamer for him. Plus I love the iconic look.

So as I’ve expalined I know nothing such as makes and models of hop ups and kit hopefully someone would be kind enough to do me a little list with what I would need etc

us let me know your thoughts on the kit I’m looking at on eBay.

cheers for the replies chaps I’m really looking forward to learning everything and to be honest what a nice hobby to get in to. 👍👍

[Peter_B]

For your lad I'd second the earlier suggestion of a Mad Bull. I have twin boys who are almost 4. One has a Mad Bull, the other a Lunchbox. Both cars have 60T crawler motors to make them manageable.

The Mad Bull crashes into all sorts and just keeps truckin'. I am so impressed with how it holds up.

[TurnipJF]

Okay, here goes:

 

Bearing kit, to reduce friction, improve performance and lengthen runtimes:

http://www.rcbearings.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1508&search=Dt03

 

19t steel pinion, to improve durability and top end:

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/tamiya-08-module-steel-pinion-19t/rc-car-products/390719

 

13.5t Speed Passion brushless motor, for a good performance increase without over-stressing the stock ESC:

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/speed-passion-v3-0-competition-bl-13-5t/rc-car-products/36279

 

A longer sensor wire for the above motor - you need a longer-than-stock one since the motor and ESC mount are some distance apart on the DT-03:

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/core-rc-150mm-flat-bonded-flex-sensor-wire/rc-car-products/388555

 

A good basic waterproof servo - you don't need anything fancy for a DT-03 basher:

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/alturn-usa-standard-deluxe-ball-bearing-waterproof-servo/rc-car-products/371888

 

A basic but well-made 2.4GHz radio set:

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/absima-cr2s-v2-2-channel-2-4ghz-radio-control-system/rc-car-products/376271

 

A versatile and reliable fast charger that can work off 12V or mains, and charge NiMH or LiPo batteries:

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/overlander-rc6-vsr-80watt-7a-output-ac-dc-charger/rc-car-products/408440

 

A 5000 mAh NiMH battery (safer than LiPo):

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/enrich-power-5000mah-7-2v-nimh-stick-tamiya/rc-car-products/396624

 

A 5000 mAh LiPo battery (better performance than NiMH):

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/peak-power-plant-lipo-2s-7-4v-5000mah-45c-deans/rc-car-products/405504

 

A low-voltage alarm for the LiPo - essential if using the stock ESC which has a low-voltage cutoff configured for NiMH and LiFe batteries:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lipo-Battery-Low-Voltage-Alarm-Buzzer-2s-3s-7-4v-11-1v/221630832388

 

A Deans connector for the ESC so that it will connect to the LiPo:

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/overlander-deans-style-connector-1pr-/rc-car-products/386168

 

That covers the basics. No need to upgrade the shocks - the kit comes with oil shocks included.

[Rossy1]

TurnipJF thank you 👍👍👍

just a thought would I not need a fan for the ESC just to be on the safe side ?

Or is that only for a faster motor or using lipo 3s?

ive basically priced everything up through modelsport including the Neo Fighter Kit. The Neo Fighter is a bit more than I can actually get it for but basically I may as well get it all from the same place.

now obviously I have no experience dealing with model suppliers etc

but placing an order like this would they be willing to do a package deal does anyone know or had experience with? Obviously I see they make up deal packages but this is all chosen items.

Cheers guys Ross

[TurnipJF]

You need a fan if running a 10.5t motor, but a 13.5t gives enough "headroom" not to need one. However if you are concerned, adding one won't do any harm.

3s isn't an option with the stock ESC - you need to stick to 2s or get another ESC if you want to run 3s.

No Modelsport package deals that I know of, but if you spend enough you'll qualify for free postage I believe. And you could always ask them for a discount - the worst they can say is "No"...

[Nobbi1977]

Have a look online as some ship with a Carson radio set that is not bad as a package deal

I would build it with just bearings and a little putty in the diff and leave everything else stock, including the motor for now. 

Depending how much space you have to run it the stock silvercans are quite fast accelerating even if they have limited top end. 

I have 3/4 DT03 now (not sure, need to check, that is the problem with this hobby) and they are great cars stock and great to modify. 

[TurnipJF]

Hmm. Carsons are cheap yes, but they feel it. I bought one as part of a package deal with my Mad Bull, and I really wish I hadn't - it works okay I suppose, but feels really tacky and the sticks are hardly what you'd call smooth in their action. I wish I'd spent a few quid more on something with a more solid feel.

[Prescient]

11 hours ago, Rossy1 said:

TurnipJF thank you 👍👍👍

just a thought would I not need a fan for the ESC just to be on the safe side ?

Or is that only for a faster motor or using lipo 3s?

ive basically priced everything up through modelsport including the Neo Fighter Kit. The Neo Fighter is a bit more than I can actually get it for but basically I may as well get it all from the same place.

now obviously I have no experience dealing with model suppliers etc

but placing an order like this would they be willing to do a package deal does anyone know or had experience with? Obviously I see they make up deal packages but this is all chosen items.

Cheers guys Ross

Possibly, how much is your total order?

You can currently use discount5 for £5 of £50 valid for today only. 

[Rossy1]

Order is roughly £260

[Percymon]

Yikes - £260 for a kit thats £75 from Germany.

Whats the other £185 going on?

[Prescient]

1 hour ago, Percymon said:

Yikes - £260 for a kit thats £75 from Germany.

Whats the other £185 going on?

Don't forget, it's hard work starting out with batteries, charger, radio, brushless motor etc but I agree that does seem a lot of money for that car. 

 

[Rossy1]

2 hours ago, Percymon said:

Yikes - £260 for a kit thats £75 from Germany.

Whats the other £185 going on?

Basically everything !!

everything turnipJF quoted apart from Lipo battery, Lipo alarm and connector

[Rossy1]

I have absolutely nothing after selling all my gear as a kid back in the mid 90s.

looking to get back in to but want to do my own build with some minor hop ups from the build go.

brushless is optional I guess. But thinking put the stock in it and then change to the brushless to notice the difference. Also thinking may as well order it now to get free postage and so on 👍👍

[Prescient]

10 minutes ago, Rossy1 said:

I have absolutely nothing after selling all my gear as a kid back in the mid 90s.

looking to get back in to but want to do my own build with some minor hop ups from the build go.

brushless is optional I guess. But thinking put the stock in it and then change to the brushless to notice the difference. Also thinking may as well order it now to get free postage and so on 👍👍

Don't forget the discount code above + paint. In theory, you can split into 2 x £100+ orders to get double discount code + free delivery. You would prob find they ship as one.

You will also need a Tamiya connector for the charger as it doesn't come with one.

www.modelsport.co.uk/etronix-tamiya-charging-cable/rc-car-products/375996

It's a good setup overall. Once you have it, you can switch to lipo for the price of a 2s lipo and charging bag. 

The steel pinion is not essential. They do help but with your set up, I would be surprised if you wore the included alu one out. 

You won't gain much if anything by going lipo with the Tamiya TBLE-02 ESC. The punch settings are really really dialed back etc. At that stage a good move is to invest in a Hobbywing Quicrun 10BL60 or 10BL120 for £30-£40 but you don't have to.

It's always worth having a NiMH / Tamiya ESC set up anyway for bench testing, setting up and agro free charging / storage etc.

[Rossy1]

Ok Excellent thanks. I guess more to think about then.

it is what I’m going to buy I think ! Well definitely but knowing myself I like to think for a few days and make sure it’s the right purchase.

watched a YouTube vid the other day of I think a German chap doing a upgrade to a leopard brushless combo including ESC. The test was in a Neo Fighter the same as I’m looking at. It was on gravel and my god it looked a massive difference and made a completely different noise if I heard the vid right. I think it was an upgrade from the stock can to the leopard combo with ESC.

not 100% sure if it was 13t or 10t if I’m right quoting those numbers please excuse my lack of knowledge.

anyone had experience with the leopard motors ?

thanks 👍👍

[Wooders28]

Welcome back!

Alot has changed whilst you've been away lol

The DT03 is a good choice, will take some abuse, plus has a mountain of upgrades available.

Initial set up cost will be quite a bit, so unless it's ,money no object, or you're getting a good deal, I'd get the basics nailed before upgrading (get bearings though, if not included in the kit, saves building it twice).

Controller, the new 2.4ghz systems mean no crystal changes or frequency clashes, a bit like a Wi-Fi router, once you've set it up, there could be 100's of Wi-Fi routers and your device would only talk to the one you've set up.

The main difference between then and now is the functions. The more advanced ones (the core cr151 is only £60, but stick) give you things like EPA (End Point Adjustment) which alter the servo or esc end point, e.g. if you've a car that does 100mph, you could then alter the epa down to 10% and give it your lad , and the car will only do 10mph flat out. 

So if your planning on letting other people drive, or think you will maybe upgrade car / start racing etc later on, I'd maybe think about spending a little more on the rc gear now.

Sorry to throw a spanner in the works!! 🙄

(Ps, a cheap way to go fast is to buy a hobbywing 1060 esc and a 3s lipo 🙊) 

 

 

 

[TurnipJF]

2 hours ago, Prescient said:

You won't gain much if anything by going lipo with the Tamiya TBLE-02 ESC. The punch settings are really really dialed back etc. At that stage a good move is to invest in a Hobbywing Quicrun 10BL60 or 10BL120 for £30-£40 but you don't have to.

Not sure I agree there. I used to run my F103 on NiMH when I started racing, then switched to LiPo after a few meets. The difference was quite significant - my average lap time went from around 13 seconds to under 12 straight away. And I am running the TBLE-02 ESC.

 

A LiPo has 4 advantages over an equivalent NiMH. It has a slightly higher voltage, it can handle a higher current draw, it has a flatter discharge profile and it is lighter. Thus a car running LiPo will run faster, accelerate quicker and handle better than the same car running NiMH, even with a relatively humble ESC such as the TBLE-02, even if only because it weighs less.