The M4 AC is a decent budget option

Parts needed to get up and running

Operating instructions

Operation of this charger couldn't be easier - it only has 1 button! After you have plugged the discharge (main) connector in and the balance plug, it'll give you feedback on total battery voltage and the voltage of individual cells. After a brief delay it will automatically perform the function you are currently set to, those being:

1. Regular balance charge to 4.2v per cell (display: "4.20")
2. High volt balance charge to 4.35v per cell (display: "4.35")
3. Lipo storage charge/discharge to 3.85v per cell (display: "3.85v")
4. Li-Fe storage charge/discharge to 3.60v per cell (display: "3.60")

You can easily cycle through the above options by short pressing the single button.

You can also adjust the charge current by long pressing the button. Your options are:

1. 0.5A
2. 1.0A
3. 2.0A
4. 2.5A

In order to maximise battery life I recommend charging at 1c-2c i.e. if your battery is 1000Mah (1.0Ah) then charge at 1.0A - 2.0A.

And that is it, it's really that simple to connect and charge your batteries. You get a surprising amount of useful information from the charger as I'll explain here:

Understanding the display elements

Summary

In summary the Iflight M4 AC is an excellent budget charger for small scale RC cars 1/10 and smaller where batteries are 4s or less and have a capacity of about 3000mah or less. It's fair to say if you had bigger batteries for a bigger you'd be more interested in buying a larger charger like one from the excellent ISDT range. For those of us who enjoy small cars though this is an easy to use low cost model that has the perfect amount of features and does the basics really well. Should you be looking to upgrade your RTR cars USB charger (and you should) then the $20-$30 outlay on this little unit is much more palatable that the $50 plus we needed to spend on something decent in the past like the ISDT 608AC I reviewed here. Even though it is much cheaper it is still accurate and gives you all the features and information you need to keep your LiPo batteries in top condition to maximise your run time and the life of your batteries. For this reason I award this charger 4 stars - driven by the excellent value for money.

MJX have been absolutely hitting it out of the park recently, especially on their range of large 1/14 scale RC cars like the onroad basher 14301 on road basher I reviewed here and 14210 off-road truggy I reviewed here. Both were so good I had to award them with on and offroad cars of the year respectively. The MJX Hyper Go 14209 I'm reviewing here shares the same chassis and parts especially with the 14210 truggy, so where does this leave this car in the hierarchy? Read on to find out more

SG / Pincone Forest is perhaps best known for the budget small scale drift cars that were so popular around 2 years ago, one of which I reviewed here: SG1604 / 1603 These little 1/16 scale brushed drift cars were low cost and a lot of fun but pretty cheap in build quality. The brand SG also appeared on the SG 1601 I reviewed here which was a rebranded HBX 16890 - brother of the HBX 16889a pro I rate so highly. These cars share no similarity other than brand and I can say this is the same with the 1002s SC / trophy truck as reviewed here too - this is a much higher quality build that reflects the much higher price point, a significant departure from the cheaper cars they've dabbled in before. Read on for more

1/10 scale short course trucks are an excellent format for bashing about with. In general they have a good mix of performance on and off-road and the large size means the handling is more life-like. Arrma, Traxxas and many of the racing manufacturers have great offerings here. In general the bashing options have pretty disappointing tyres from stock but none moreso that the SG Pincone 1002s I reviewed recently here. These Streetfighter 1/10 scale Short Course Truck (SCT) wheels I've found recently offer a great alternative and fit practically any car in this scale. Read on for more.

Each MJX RC car I have reviewed is a substantial improvement on the one previous. The Hyper Go H16E (reviewed here) was a 4wd 1/16 scale truck that had built in GPS speed but was overly complex and a little expensive for a brushed car but it performed well and was very durable. The Hyper Go 16208 switched to brushless and took out the expensive GPS and remains an excellent budget option that is fast and durable, better even than the super popular HBX 16889a pro. Their first larger 1/14 released is the on-road Hyper Go 142301 basher and I chose this as my on-road car of the gear - driving (and drift) performance is hard to believe for a relatively low cost RTR car. Now we have the Hyper Go 14210 as reviewed here which uses the same core chassis but wraps it in big suspension, big grippy wheels and a lot of fine touches that make this my favourite offroad RC car of the year. Read on for more

In this article:

• MJX Hyper GO 14210: RTR 1/14 Brushless 4WD truggy
• MJX Hyper GO 14210: A closer look at the equipment
• MJX Hyper GO 14210: After a month's worth of driving
• MJX Hyper GO 14210: Wrap up - It's hard not to be impressed​

I've recently reviewed theWLToys 2428 mini RC crawler here and although it is a very good truck, its not perfect because it is light on power and could have better throttle resolution at low speeds. In my attempt to fix it I wanted to get a larger motor with more winds (less speed and more torque) but since I had the DumboRC BL3FG receiver-ESC combo lying around I thought I'd try that first. It's worked much better than I'd expected but read on to see how I installed, set it up and how it was so improved.

In this article:

• DumboRC BL3FG: All in one receiver-ESC with light controls
• DumboRC BL3FG: Installing on the WLToys 2428
• DumboRC BL3FG: Setup up the receiver to suit your car
• DumboRC BL3FG: What has improved?
• DumboRC BL3FG: This is a must have with small brushed vehicles

If you are a regular to this site you know that WL Toys is a RC Car manufacturer that by and large strikes and excellent value with a good balance between price and performance with reasonable quality thrown in. Some of the models can be hits (like the 144010 and all of the variants that came before it) and some misses (like the 104001 and 104002). The WL Toys 2428 reviewed here is WL Toys' first attempt at a micro crawler and there is a lot to like about it but like pretty much all WL Toys models it's not perfect. Read on to find out more. 

In this article:

• WL Toys 2428: RTR 1/24 4WD RC Rock Crawler
• WL Toys 2428: A closer look at the equipment
• WL Toys 2428: After driving for 2 weeks
• WL Toys 2428: Wrap up - A good little crawler that a tinkerer can turn into a great crawler
• ​Update: Improvement mods have been completed

The WLToys 284161 is a 4WD 1/28 mini scale RC car that comes ready to run out of the box. It is the latest in a long line of cars that use the same chassis from WL Toys and is the most heavily featured of all. They are inexpensive and have many replacement and upgrade parts available which make them a versatile low cost RC car option that is pretty good out of the box with plenty of scope for modification. In this review I'll look at the car as a stand alone and compare it to the direct competition from the very same manufacturer. 

Let's first address the elephant in the room; the the new WLToys 284161 as reviewed here looks to be "heavily inspired" by the MUCH larger ZD racing DBX-07. Obviously this car though is very much at the mini end of the size scale where the DBX-07 is at the maxi so any further comparison can be left there. 

Other than looking like the DBX-07, this car is actually underpinned by the same gear as the other 1/28 scale cars launched by WLToys that have come before this... all 7 or 8 of them. See below for the ones that are still available including the 284131 I reviewed here and the 284010 I reviewed here most recently. 

The ​MJX HYPER GO 14301 (and 14302) are brushless 1/14 scale on road cars that are equipped for grip style bashing and drifting. They are not only well featured but well built making for a solid driving experience with a lot of thought having gone into the build. In this review I'll look at the car in close detail and of course offer a full review of the driving performance.

MJX are a brand that are quietly going about building a solid body of work in the budget RC car scene. I've reviewed the MJX HYPER GO H16E here which is a very durable small scale brushed monster truck that outperformed my expectations. They have also made a brushless version of this truck, the MJX 16208 which I've driven but haven't reviewed. It is my belief that MJX have even been contracted to make the WLToys 124008. It is my appreciation of these cars that piqued my interest for the 14301 as reviewed here and the 14302 by association. These are an onroad version based around the same car but with shorter arms, a discrete gyro and altered bodywork which makes them a solid onroad basher. First, lets look at what is included in the box.

DumboRC make (IMO) the best budget radios you can get with the original X6 series (covered here) and the new X6PM-350 (reviewed here). One weakness however on both models they included a horrible plasticky steering wheel which felt a bit unpleasant in hand. Good thing then that the have released a low cost foam steering wheel upgrade which I have reviewed here and also give feedback on which other models it fits.

As mentioned above the steering wheel on all the DumboRC radios I've reviewed feel cheap because of the plastic grip. It's a shame they didn't use foam from the outset because it's not like this is an expensive upgrade - even stock WLToys remotes use foam and feel better for it. The newly released DumboRC Controller Metal Handwheel directly addresses this however and at a cost of under $10 it won't break the bank. They are available in black or titanium grey and I went with the latter. I'll be really clear that this is not a metal wheel, it is still moulded plastic so will be recommending to Banggood that they change the description. Anyway, included in the pack is the plastic wheel with foam outer, 2 adaptor pieces shaped like vented brake discs, stick on "calipers" if you like that look, a hex screw for fitting and a DumboRC domed decal to cover over the screw after installation: ​