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RC Car Reviews

Bang for buck RC Car reviews and budget upgrades can be found here. The focus is on maximising fun and minimising cost

WL TOys 144001 / 124018 / 124019 Upgrade Wheels: best for Bashing?

6/8/2020

36 Comments

 
I've now completed a number of articles that have improved the handling, power and efficiency of the WL Toys 144001 and 124018 and 124019 which can be found here: All my WL Toys 144001 /124018 / 124019 upgrade articles. ​The next item I am addressing is the tyres. The stock wheels and tyres (like the rest of the car) are modelled closely on the LR Racing EMB-1h micro pins which are designed for carpet and hard packed dirt racing. Outside of these grip isn't great, and when you take into account the the rubber is firmer on the 144001 tyres then you are left with a tyre that is not really suited well for bashing off-road. In this article I'll explore some better bashing alternatives that shouldn't compromise the rest of the car
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Stock wheels and tyres
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Stock tyres have an outside diameter of 72mm which is the same front and rear (it needs to be on a 4wd). Widths are staggered meaning they are slightly wider at the rear - 30mm compared to the front - 26mm. Again typical for a buggy because on acceleration weight transfers to the rear and the extra width provides more grip. Drive on the wheels is provided by a 12mm hex drive which is something of an industry standard on cars around this size

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Stock diameter is 72mm
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Stock width rear is 30mm
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Stock with front is 26mm
The problem is that a combination of the design and compound of the tyre mean that they don't grip well on the majority of surfaces we run (off road bashing and tarmac). Since the 12mm hex drive is common there are a lot of wheels that physically fit but not a lot that work well because of the uncommon diameter. On to the theory:

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36 Comments

SG 1601, SG1602 BrushLess RC Truck long term use Update

18/7/2020

19 Comments

 
We've now had the SG 1602 brushless RC Truck (same as SG 1601, HBX 16889) for 6 months and it has been abused several times per weekend by my 5 year old (and myself!) in that time. I'm delighted to say that it is still running, still fast and I haven't needed to buy any spare parts. So far the list of casualties are:
  • The rear spoiler. This was the first to go when my son kept reversing in to things.
  • On of the front LED headlights. Continual front on crashes into solid objects at speed have damaged a wire. It's an easy fix but I am lazy! (Update, just fixed it last night)
  • On of the tyres has become unglued in one spot on one rim but was an easy fix with some cheap super glue, the stuff that is like 99c for 6 packs.
Here is the original review with lots more write up and pictures
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This truck is certainly no shelf queen!
So, as you may be able to see, this fast and light truck has taken an incredible amount of abuse and has very little damage to show for it, even then the damage is purely cosmetic. So what are my thoughts on the good and the bad of this now and my more recommendation based on the additional experience? Read on:

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19 Comments

WL TOys 144001 / 124018 / 124019 Setup: 3 things you must do before you even turn it on

25/5/2020

40 Comments

 
Note, this is not a review. You've probably seen a ton of those already. This is about how to set your car up once you've already bought one.
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The WL Toys 144001 is a 1:14 scale offroad RTR 4 wheel drive buggy that has rightly been labelled as one of the best value RC cars around in the budget category where it can typically be bought for $70-$90. All 3 of mine were ordered from Banggood who ship worldwide. The primary purpose of this article is to cover the 3 things you must do to this car before you get started. The 124018 and 124019 is essentially the same car but longer so all of these mods are applicable here as well. This will be the first in a series of articles on the 144001 on tuning and modifying getting a maximum of bang for buck. Other articles I have planned include choosing the right upgrade parts to make it bash-proof, a brushless upgrade for best handling and a brushless upgrade for maximum top speed. Parts are ordered!
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Banggood have an exclusive new package that includes a larger, more powerful 2s 2600mah lipo battery
Firstly, "must do" is a bit strong and a bit of a pisstake of the clickbait Youtube videos out there. With that said I do strongly recommend them if you can to get the best performance out of you car and extend it's life. I've arrived at these recommendations by comparing the 144001 directly to the car it was copied off - the excellent LC Racing EMB-1h plus basic fundamentals of rc car operation of which I've been around for years. 

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40 Comments

budget brushless upgrade - Surpass hobbies 3650 3900kv + 60a esc combo (Updated with 3S!)

12/3/2020

7 Comments

 
*Note this is the same as the GOOLRC combo that is often recommended as a good budget option*
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Sorry for overly long title. I've now had the Surpass Hobby 3650 sized 3900kv brushless motor and 60A ESC Combo for about 3 months now and have thoroughly tortured it in a very large 1/10 scale 4wd short course truck (brushed version of the DHK Hunter here) for this review. With these electronics you can easily upgrade any 1/10 scale hobby grade rc car to brushless which for the uninitiated offers significantly more power, efficiency and if done right, durability over their brushless counterparts. This stands true for on-road tourers, pan cars and offroad buggies, SCTs, trucks (2 and 4wd). The only cars this would be unsuitable for is where very fine control is required - drift and crawlers come to mind. Read on for install and review. 
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The "Surpass Hobby Waterproof 3650 3900KV Brushless RC Car Motor With 60A ESC Set For 1/10 RC Car" is available from Banggood and is the same as the GoolRC combo you hear about so much (which is on the right)
A look at the gear
The kit is very simple - a 4 pole brushless 3650 sized motor (540 in brushed terms) and a 60a ESC. The motor I reviewed is 3900kv which is a good all purpose size on common 2s batteries. The ESC is another simple waterproof affair with built in cooling fan. They are both waterproof according to the specs but personally I haven't and would not put the ESC to the test. The ESC can be programmed with common features but does require this programming card to change. Parameters that can be changed are:
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Default settings are:
Low voltage cutoff = 3.1v
Start mode (punch) = medium
Maximum brake force = 50%
Maximum Reverse force = 25%
Neutral range = 9%

These are actually all settings I would choose. I have a programmer on the way but I don't think I'll actually use it...

Instructions (click to enlarge)

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7 Comments

SG 1602/1601 and HBX 16889 Review - an excellenT budget brushless 1/16 truck

19/2/2020

32 Comments

 
The SG 1602 Brushless RC truck is a 1/16 scale 4wd off road truck/buggy (truggy) that has a powerful and efficient brushless motor/esc system. Note, this appears identical to the HBX 16889 and shares the same parts. It is available from Banggood for less than $90 and as little as $70. I've had one of these for about 2 months now and for the times that my son lets me drive it I've had quite a few runs to get a good feel of performance and durability. My full review is below.
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What's in the box?
Actually this is pretty well equipped:
  • The Truck (4wd brushless 1/16 scale)
  • 2.4GHz remote
  • 2s 1300mah li-ion battery
  • USB charger
  • LED Headlight system (for user to install)
  • Wheelie bar (for user to install)
In order to get this running you'll need 4 x AA batteries for the transmitter. These 2.4GHz transmitter are extremely efficient so you'll get good battery life even with cheap alkaline batteries. As mentioned above there is a nice set of headlights and wheelie bar included and these are very simple to install with well laid out instructions.
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LED headlight integrate nicely in the bumper and are easy to install
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LED headlight plug into a spare port on the receiver/ESC and have a power regulator. Spares are listed on Banggood for $3
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The wheelie bar is mounted solidly to the frame and is absolutely necessary given the power. Spares on Banggood for $6

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32 Comments

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