First R/C purchase

BowHunt3r

BowHunt3r

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Hello, I am purchasing a 1/10th ECX Torment Short Course Truck for my son. We do not have a hobby shop within 60 miles so I want to get everything I need to get him started. I want add a second battery and a faster charger. Also what tools will he need to work on it? and what extra parts should he have on hand?
Any tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You!
 
Charger: I'd recommend the Kinexis KX 80 or the HiTec X1 Mini. I have the HiTEc model (I actually have three HiTec chargers- the older X1 AC Plus and newer RDX-1). Both chargers offer a similar feature set at the same price. While you don't need LiPo (or other chemistries) at this point, I'll wager that you'll move to improved power systems soon enough and having that capability will be good- you won't have to buy another charger. Kinexis is a Horizon Hobby brand and they offer famously good customer support. Hitec service is also very good.

Battery: I recommend getting another Dynamite Speedpack. The "mAh" (mili-Amp/hour) refers to the capacity or run time of the battery. The larger the number, the greater the capacity and thus longer the run time. 1800 mAh that came with the car is pretty wimpy. The 4500mAh pack will give you 2-3 times the runtime of the stock battery.

Tools: Most of the fasteners on the stock ECX cars are Philips. I'll bet you have one of those laying around. There are a few screws that are hex so I'd suggest you get 1.5mm, 2mm, 2.5mm hex drivers. You can find Dynamite and Kinexis "starter sets" that look attractive but I've found that the bits are too soft and round easily. This set (DYN2904), with the three sizes I mentioned above, is nice and not terribly expensive. I've been using my set for over a year now with no complaints. There is also this set (DYN2030) that includes a 3mm driver (but I rarely use 3mm fasteners on ANY of my five cars!). All the bits are replaceable in these tools.

As for extra parts? Hard to say. ECX cars are generally very tough. The front end on any car tends to take the brunt of crashes so I'd recommend that you install a T-Bone bumper. I put one on my AMP/Circuit truck and have crashed the heck out of it, both in the back yard and on the race track (crashing into walls, wooden jumps, etc), and have not yet broken any front end component.

The below is assuming that you have a 2WD Torment:
Front swing arms: ECX1018
Suspension mount set: ECX2006

I would say that would really be the only parts that you might want to keep on-hand as it's the front end that usually takes a beating. You can stock more but it's always a bit of a gamble. I have parts that I've stocked up on that I have not yet had a need for a year and a half later! So that's money tied up in parts. :( Ordering stuff directly from Horizon Hobby usually ships out pretty quickly and with standard shipping you can get orders in about a week.

Welcome to the hobby!
 
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i_r_beej said:
Battery: I recommend getting another Dynamite Speedpack. The "mAh" (mili-Amp/hour) refers to the capacity or run time of the battery. The larger the number, the greater the capacity and thus longer the run time. 1800 mAh that came with the car is pretty wimpy. The 4500mAh pack will give you 2-3 times the runtime of the stock battery
Click to expand...

Why on earth would you recommend an overpriced nimh with the wrong connector???
 
Tamyosho said:
Why on earth would you recommend an overpriced nimh with the wrong connector???
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Whoops. The link was wrong. That battery featured a Tamiya connector. Make sure, whatever battery you get, it has an EC3 connector.

@Tamyosho I recommended that @BowHunt3r buy from Horizon Hobby because they have excellent customer support. The same can't be said for Hobbyking. When your products are dirt cheap, something has to be cut. To be fair, Hobbyking isn't terrible but I've read far more negative reviews of HK products and support and HH. I also have several Hobbyking "house brand" batteries and servos and they've worked well. But shopping at Hobbyking is like shopping at Fry's: Know what you want, get in and get out, and don't ask for any customer service. Since BowHunt3r is new to this hobby, steering them to a company with a proven track record of good customer service is NOT a bad idea.

As for the choice of NiMh vs LiPo batteries... NiMh are FAR more forgiving of abuse and mishandling. No so for LiPos. If someone is just starting out with RC, NiMh packs are a better way to go. Get in to the hobby, learn about it's various aspects and THEN start upgrading.
 
True but his car comes with a lipo apparently, I don't see him reprogramming the ESC all the time, and if you forget once before using hte lipo, you're toast.
 
I missed that post. Thanks for pointing it out. Stick with whatever type of battery comes with the car.

However, I want to point out that if you don't have the ESC set to enable low-voltage cutoff (or alarm), the LiPo isn't toast. The danger comes from discharging the battery to a low voltage. In my experience LiPos lose their "punch" at about 7.4-7.5 volts, well above the generally accepted 3.2V per cell. At 7.3V-7.4V the fall off is noticeable and the car becomes pretty sluggish.
 
i_r_beej said:
I missed that post. Thanks for pointing it out. Stick with whatever type of battery comes with the car.

However, I want to point out that if you don't have the ESC set to enable low-voltage cutoff (or alarm), the LiPo isn't toast. The danger comes from discharging the battery to a low voltage. In my experience LiPos lose their "punch" at about 7.4-7.5 volts, well above the generally accepted 3.2V per cell. At 7.3V-7.4V the fall off is noticeable and the car becomes pretty sluggish.
Click to expand...

The "Toast" part comes when the 9 year old is driving the car and the LVC is not on... At that age, they won't stop driving till the car stops... and the lipo will be well under 3.0v at that point. Sometimes, you can recover them, but you need to mostly know what you are doing. And the lipo may never be the same again regardless.


As for batteries,
SMC offers great quality batteries at decent prices.
http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?route=product/product&path=67_97&product_id=480
They offer several different plugs, but not the EC3. I have heard that you can add a note in checkout (or e-mail them) and request pretty much whatever plug you want, and they will install it before mailing the battery.

I also buy Hobbyking batteries. Most of them are OK in the lower amp-hungry cars like our ECX's. And they are dirt cheap.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/zippy-4000mah-2s1p-25c-car-lipoly-roar-approved-de-warehouse.html

You will need to solder your own EC3 plug. Even if you don't solder, you can probably handle the EC3, they are the easiest plug to solder, period. I have a video showing how to solder them, if you are interested.
 
Jerry-Rigged said:
The "Toast" part comes when the 9 year old is driving the car and the LVC is not on... At that age, they won't stop driving till the car stops... and the lipo will be well under 3.0v at that point. Sometimes, you can recover them, but you need to mostly know what you are doing. And the lipo may never be the same again regardless.
Click to expand...

That's what I meant, disabled for NiMH, then not enabled again before using a lipo. High risk, bad results.

You will need to solder your own EC3 plug. Even if you don't solder, you can probably handle the EC3, they are the easiest plug to solder, period. I have a video showing how to solder them, if you are interested.
Click to expand...

I just use an adapter, they sell them too, it's 2$ a piece or something.
 
BowHunt3r said:
Hello, I am purchasing a 1/10th ECX Torment Short Course Truck for my son. We do not have a hobby shop within 60 miles so I want to get everything I need to get him started. I want add a second battery and a faster charger. Also what tools will he need to work on it? and what extra parts should he have on hand?
Any tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You!
Click to expand...
For batteries, I recommend SMC. They make great performing LiPo batteries at a very reasonable price. While they don't offer EC plugs on their website - I would recommend contacting them as I'm willing to bet they would still add them for you!

As for tools, check out our Tools to get started in R/C thread for everything that will pretty much cover all bases. Finally for a charger I've been very pleased with the Prophet Sport Duo. It's a great little charger that will charge just about anything and will charge two batteries at the same time.
 
Jerry-Rigged said:
The "Toast" part comes when the 9 year old is driving the car and the LVC is not on... At that age, they won't stop driving till the car stops... and the lipo will be well under 3.0v at that point. Sometimes, you can recover them, but you need to mostly know what you are doing. And the lipo may never be the same again regardless.
Click to expand...

And this is why I recommend NiMh batteries for people just getting in to the hobby. As I mentioned earlier they are much more forgiving than LiPos when charging, you can run them flat, store them full (both unlike LiPos). Yeah, they're heavier, have less "punch" (greater internal resistance). But in the balance they're better to start with.
 
So it sounds like a truck with NiMh batteries would be a better place to start. Would the AMP be a better starting truck?
What do you recommend. I need to make this purchase this weekend.
 
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This Torment model (ECX03015 1/10 Torment 2WD SCT Brushless RTR with AVC, Blue) would be my pick for a good, solid starter RC truck for a first timer. It comes with a brushless motor system and a Spektrum DX2E DSMR radio-- two components which I think make the 03015 truck a better starting package than the ECX03333T1 (Torment with LiPo, RTR). Another advantage is that the DX2E is an AVC ("Active Vehicle Control") radio that helps stabilize the truck's handling and acceleration and ultimately provides increased control over the truck's handling-- another good novice-friendly feature. The Torment with brushed motor and LiPo (ECX03333T1) ships with a brushed motor (less powerful) and a cheaper radio system (not compatible with Spektrum's broader range of DSMR radio technology). The LiPo battery provided is also a really low-capacity battery (1800mAh). I have a couple of 4000mAh LiPo batteries that give me about 45 minutes of usable run time... I imagine that the 1800 mAh batteries would provide about half that... 20-ish minutes?

So while the ECX03015 is US$289, you get a much better foundation to build from. Once you've gained some experience with RC power systems and you're ready for a little extra punch you can easily switch to a LiPo battery with a decent capacity.

When you purchase a second battery, you can get the 4500mAh NiMh (DYN1082EC) for US$37 linked to by Tamyosho. There is also the 3300mAh Nimh (DYN1072EC) for US$23.

To expand on my endorsement of buying from Horizon Hobby-- The ECX cars (and I think most other brands) come with a "DOA" warranty. That is, the car is warranted to operate when you first take it out of the box. However, they will provide support for pretty much any issue you encounter, at any time. (There will be exceptions, but they seem to be pretty generous.) That kind of support after the sale is invaluable.

Of course, this forum is also an great resource and you get the benefit of opinions and information from different perspectives.
 
i_r_beej said:
And this is why I recommend NiMh batteries for people just getting in to the hobby.
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In this case you giving this advice is the reason he would have problems in the first place. His truck comes with a lipo, he gets a second lipo, done.
If he buys mixed types, he opens himself to forggetting to switch the ESC to the right battery.
Jeez.
 
BowHunt3r said:
So it sounds like a truck with NiMh batteries would be a better place to start. Would the AMP be a better starting truck?
What do you recommend. I need to make this purchase this weekend.
Click to expand...

Lipos don't really have issues unless you really treat them bad, which won't really be possible with a Torment and the charger it comes with, this should not be a reason o stay away from them.
The Amp is not bad, but no reason to get it if you don't care about the small price difference and kit imho.
 
i_r_beej said:
So while the ECX03015 is US$289, you get a much better foundation to build from. Once you've gained some experience with RC power systems and you're ready for a little extra punch you can easily switch to a LiPo battery with a decent capacity.
Click to expand...

I kind of agree, but it's much more money, and you'll need more spare parts (more speed=more fun=more broken things) and a 50$ upgrade out of the box(driveshafts) to make it reliable.
If OP can swing it, sure, otherwise the Torment with lipo is a great car.
 

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