Team Associated RC28 Series Idea / Question

[jtaylorva]

Hey guys,

So I've been pondering on the idea of using Team Associated SC28 Series RC Car as an avenue to introduce some locals into the whole mini RC car racing scene.







These trucks/buggies are very cheap in the grand scheme of things at around $50 a pop and has replacement parts available along with clear bodies to give folks the ability to bring individuality to their SC28.

The one drawback I've found though with these, is that at a stock setup.. they run for 20 minutes with a recharge time of almost an hour. This, in my opinion, is the one thing that ruins the entire idea - though there is a potential solution.

I've seen quite a few individuals on YouTube that have modded their SC28's to use interchangeable lipo batteries. It's a fairly basic mod involving a little bit of soldering and can make the SC28 run for over an hour per battery.

Along with the mod, do you all think this would be a good idea / avenue to introduce new folks who don't want to dish out too much to get a little taste of RC car racing?

I just feel like an SC28 along with mods, costing the price of a newly released video game is far easier to swallow for a very new entry level person. From a local perspective, these newer folks racing at the same track used by Mini Zs can potentially be influential into getting them into that aspect of RC car racing as well.


[Update: 12/12/18]
A list of potential entry level mini RC Cars:

Buggy/Truggy/Short Course Class:
* 1/28 Team Associated SC28 (SC28/SC28T) - $55.00
* 1/28 wlToys p929 - $50.00
* 1/32 HPI Q32 (Baja/Truggy) - ??
* 1/36 Losi Micro T - $90.00

Car Class:
* 1/28 Kyosho First Mini-Z - $48.00
* 1/28 wlToys k989 Rally - $55.00
* 1/28 Sinohobby Mini-Q TRQ2 - $50.00

[EMU]

I drove one a couple years ago, and was impressed with what you got for the price. I think it is a good avenue for an entry level class to get people on track, but you would need to expect that most entry level users wont have the skills to do the conversion and would need to have it done for them and warrantied to an extent to make it feasible.

Right now there are few entry level RC's that offer enough customization to draw people in and get them hooked on RC. At the cost of a video game, I think this is a great option, you just need some good bait to get people on track and make them an RC hobbiest for life. For me, it was the Xmod that opened my eyes to the Mini-Z, I quickly saw the shortcomings of the Xmod, and dove right in to the Mini-Z after a short while. What the Xmods did right, was they got everyone working on the car rather than just charging and driving. You could spend so much time upgrading the car, that even when not driving it you were engaged. All you needed was a screwdriver.

[bobbyz]

I just picked up one of the, the larger monster truck version. I'm planning to mod the battery to run a single 3.7v AAA li-ion 550mah cell. The stock lipo battery is 150mah, so hopefully the runtime will be closer to 45min or 1hour. Hopefully I'll have some time over Christmas break to work on it. Ill post a follow up here with the results. Graybeard RC has a tutorial with pics regarding the battery mod he did if anyone is looking for more info.

[EMU]

Those AAA sized lithium cells have very low current capability, and a lot of voltage drop. Only a select few will actually meet 300mah with moderate load. From my communication with PN Racing, they went through a lot of development and selection to get cells that could actually withstand load and meet higher capacity. They may be the only cell of its size that I would consider for such application.

Vape use has also put supply shortages for the better performing cells of this size, the us only one other cell that I would consider using, and it's name slips might memory at the moment but it is rated 350mah aand does not have a button top (so it is not mini-z compatible).

[jtaylorva]

Originally Posted by EMU

I drove one a couple years ago, and was impressed with what you got for the price. I think it is a good avenue for an entry level class to get people on track, but you would need to expect that most entry level users wont have the skills to do the conversion and would need to have it done for them and warrantied to an extent to make it feasible.

Right now there are few entry level RC's that offer enough customization to draw people in and get them hooked on RC. At the cost of a video game, I think this is a great option, you just need some good bait to get people on track and make them an RC hobbiest for life. For me, it was the Xmod that opened my eyes to the Mini-Z, I quickly saw the shortcomings of the Xmod, and dove right in to the Mini-Z after a short while. What the Xmods did right, was they got everyone working on the car rather than just charging and driving. You could spend so much time upgrading the car, that even when not driving it you were engaged. All you needed was a screwdriver.

Yeah I could definitely see how there would be some warranty needed for making a mod like that to some else's SC28. What are some of the other entry level RC cars of this scale that can be bought new right now at around the $60-$70 price point (or below)? I know there is Losi Micro T and Mini T, though I think the Mini T is slightly too large for the track and Micro T is $20ish more than that price point

Originally Posted by bobbyz

I just picked up one of the, the larger monster truck version. I'm planning to mod the battery to run a single 3.7v AAA li-ion 550mah cell. The stock lipo battery is 150mah, so hopefully the runtime will be closer to 45min or 1hour. Hopefully I'll have some time over Christmas break to work on it. Ill post a follow up here with the results. Graybeard RC has a tutorial with pics regarding the battery mod he did if anyone is looking for more info.

Look forward to reading about it!

[EMU]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXbh5DcWBhY
http://rc.kyosho.com/en/rccar/miniz/...i-z/66602.html

The First Mini-Z could be a decent entry RC for someone that has never driven an RC, and the body could be used for a Mini-Z in the future if they decide to continue in the hobby. For roughly $20 more than a body, they get a driveable dummy chassis

The car uses two AA batteries, so runtime is not a concern. It will be slow, but will get people on track and should be run in a class of its own as an entry level car. In theory, you could use a 3.7v lithium cell in its place with a dummy cell to complete the circuit (or run 1S2P with modifications), and not need to do any modifications to the car itself. This would increase speed a bit, but steering might become slightly too sensitive.

There are a couple chinese Mini-Z sized drift cars like WLtoys, or Sinohobby cars that might be cheap enough to get people involved in the scale.

My opinion is that you should ride the $130 RWD McLaren as much as you can while it is still available for that price. If the car remains available at that price, it is a great way to get people in to Mini-Z.

[gctkaz]

Any consideration for the WLtoys K989 or other 1:28 series? The price is about right where you're looking.

[jtaylorva]

Originally Posted by EMU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXbh5DcWBhY
http://rc.kyosho.com/en/rccar/miniz/...i-z/66602.html

The First Mini-Z could be a decent entry RC for someone that has never driven an RC, and the body could be used for a Mini-Z in the future if they decide to continue in the hobby. For roughly $20 more than a body, they get a driveable dummy chassis

That is a very good idea, I'll look into that further. I know a friend in particular that has never driven an RC car before and the slower speed would be a huge help for him as he gets used to the pistol grip controller style.

Originally Posted by gctkaz

Any consideration for the WLtoys K989 or other 1:28 series? The price is about right where you're looking.

Looking at that now I'm surprised how much the K989 has to offer at that price. Any experience with this car? Really cool it has the interchangeable battery and metal chassis.

[will3kgt]

I have 2 k989s. I'm very impressed at the performance one gets out of the box. With some modification (See Beaver Hobby's video on YouTube) this AWD is pretty neat.

[byebye]

Originally Posted by jtaylorva

That is a very good idea, I'll look into that further. I know a friend in particular that has never driven an RC car before and the slower speed would be a huge help for him as he gets used to the pistol grip controller style.



Looking at that now I'm surprised how much the K989 has to offer at that price. Any experience with this car? Really cool it has the interchangeable battery and metal chassis.

I've got one and it's essentially a chassis that you can add any electronics to. It comes with an ESC/Receiver board which is very inexpensive and a very fast servo. The controller isn't too bad either.

As Eugene mentioned the x-mods added the upgrade-ability to the original chassis you purchased. This kept it interesting as you upgrade you can see what works and what doesn't. If you don't have that you can lose interest very quickly.

Originally Posted by will3kgt

I have 2 k989s. I'm very impressed at the performance one gets out of the box. With some modification (See Beaver Hobby's video on YouTube) this AWD is pretty neat.

Beaver has made some great videos and shows how you can actually run an Autoscale Audi body on it which is a plus.

I like the idea of creating an entry level class lower than the current Mini-z series available to get people in the door. Typically these classes do well when locals are also participating.

[jtaylorva]

Originally Posted by byebye

I like the idea of creating an entry level class lower than the current Mini-z series available to get people in the door. Typically these classes do well when locals are also participating.

Yeah I still think there is something to the idea of a lower than box stock Mini-Z class / a sub hundred dollar price point class... though I still haven't figured out what that could be.

Sort of wish something like the Kyosho Mini-Z Buggy would come out at around that sub-hundred dollar price point that could use AAA or at least interchangeable batteries regardless of how fast it is lol..