I've found personally the best way to maintain a RC, is to spot check it every so often and just make sure the car functions correctly and address issues as needed, and once a year, preferably during colder winter months when you don't run as much, completely rebuild the car from the ground up, so you can really see every last part of the car and if plastic parts are worn or pins are bent etc etc. As a basher I've found this works great for me. It's a fair bit of effort but you learn a lot about a RC rebuilding it, and it's half the fun.
This is the greatest tip. Being able to rebuild your RC from the ground up allows you to easily a fix it with confidence and spot the slightly issues with your RC.
Yeah no doubt. LOL. I am into boats as well. My boats are fully custom built by me and many of the parts were fabricated by me. Talking big boats like 50" Apache with twin brushless motors and scale outdrives. If I run through a battery before something breaks then it bitter sweet. Sweet because I don't have to fix anything but bitter because maybe I didn't run it hard enough. LOL
@@RazorRoo1989 had a guy selling a fully decked out e revo with a pair of badlands because of the infamous tie rod issues...... that he didn’t know traxxas made a fix for 🤪🤪🤪🤪
@@V8chump see. I Kinda feel bad at times when that happens if their young and don't have much knowledge ill throw xtra but an older person who come at me like their an know it all then I have to get in them pockets lol
This hobby needs more of these videos and needs to be reshared more. I think the next video needs to be about myths and facts of rc cars. I hear so much that its hard to know which to believe. Like one fact I do know is true is upgrading to metal parts isn't always the answer.
That and how to read the instruction book. I see so many questions asked in facebook groups that can be answered just by looking in the imstruction book.
some metal parts are good but it need to be plastic between like alu diffhouse plastic A arms and alu C hubs so if its a to violent crash the arms brake before the metal parts bends. also the benefit of that system is that you dont need alot of part most of the time more then those sacrifice parts in plastic.
The comparison with bikes for maintenance is on point : both have components that have a limited life span, those parts require specific attention if you want your bike/rc car to perform their best for longer. Knowledge is key too, learning from others, knowing what to do and why, etc. the more you know the less you'll pay...
@@nuclearzs8615 yes, I'm sure it's not great, both the moisture, possible currosive salt and constant spinning probably puts quite a bit of wear on them. I use cheap Chinese brushless ones so no great loss, but a little shot of wd40 followed by a drop of oil probably can't hurt.
Wd-40 works good the trick is to have an air compressor or a can of air you blow it out and around so it gets to parts cleans and lube them I like that method your car looks new when you're done.
I've always been good with maintenance on my R/C's. I don't live near a hobby shop, which means on line orders if I break something. So keeping a close eye on things is a good way to save money and keep bashing without hassle.
The RC car community is amazing, most are so selfless and supportive! Thank you for the info, I watch them all and learn so much! Thank you, the hobby shops that sell these, so helpful and kind!
All great tips. I clean and maintenance my RC Cars after every run. I have RC’S that are 15 to 20 years old and look brand new. I still have a Kyosho Optima Mid SE since I was 16 years old and it still looks new. Thanks for the video.
@@Deepfried4skin I sent my little brother in law that lives in the Philippines a Stampede and it will have to stand up to the humidity, heat, salty air, and sand. I also sent him a SS screw kit. He will have to take care of it over their for sure in that tropical environment or it will turn into a rust bucket.
Great video full of good advice. I've already destroyed parts in basically every way he described, so I know it's all true. Save money, listen to this guy 👍
I take a high pressure air hose "120 psi" and blow everything off 👍it has worked so well I have had my 2wd stampede for 8 years and no parts replaced yet! All is good👍
When you talked about gearing and drivetrain causing heat in areas should of mentioned lipos aswell. They can take a lot more abuse depending on setup and changes.
I had sworn off using my trucks in wet years ago. My daughter got me to break that a few weeks ago with her smt10 and it took me a few hours to do a complete tear down. There is a level of fun that keeps the hobby alive. Then there is playing in the snow and mud......
Man snow and mud is SOOO much fun, honestly I just destroy my cars and just fix w/e breaks constantly, I enjoy it, I enjoy upgrading and building them, it gets me off my computer (programmer) and is healthy therapy.
Small tip for everyone cleaning your car. Buy a horseshoe brush these are usually made of hard plastic fibers and often come with metal bit sticking from the top thats great for getting rid of bigger chunks of mud and the best part these cost like 1$.
This was a really good refresher. Did RC cars back in the old days (1st kit was a Kyosho Big Brute) and now that my son is getting into some more advanced ready to run cars that need maintenance I need to get my head back into how these things work. Great video!
im also back from doing a paus in rc since 2005 (nimh and brushed engines, 27mh radio era) and all new stuff of lipo/ brushless and tuning of modern race rc cars i had a steep learning curve.
@extec101 I’m been away doing the grow up thing with mortgage and marriage. Didn’t even know what a Lipo was 😂. Now I’m back with 2 kids, 1 house and 1 business. Just got a Arrma infraction and I’m scared half the time to run full throttle. I’m glad to be back in the age of youtube. I’m learning a lot and loving it.
@@Omega-uj6qz It’s been great bro! I don’t regret getting into the hobby one bit! I managed to get a good collection going this year so In total I have 9 Rc’s, my favorite one out of all of them is probably the Arrma Talion because it’s an overall beast🤘💪
LoL, I use the "touch the motor for 3 seconds" method all the time. Has never failed me. I've never burnt out a motor or reached thermal shut down on a ESC. Temp gun? What's that? Lol.
I remember the one time when I brushless-swapped a cheap-ass stadium truck and fired it up with a 3S LiPo afterwards. Not only was that thing suddenly capable of doing like 50 MPH vs the 20 or so it did before but it could also pop wheelies when I yanked the throttle. After a few of those wheelies the gear between the input from the slip clutch and the differential gave out and I had trouble finding a new one for a while. But when I did and got the thing running again I always accelerated much more carefully and loosened the slip clutch a little so that it would protect the gear from breaking again if I DID yank the throttle again by accident. I still had the very nice top speed but probably was too careful to ever accelerate the thing to its full potential (without breaking the gear) again. I never took part in any competition tho so it doesn't really matter. I just used the car for fun and once had 2 dogs chasing it and getting a rise out of it aswell. What made it really funny is that while driving on grass the limited grip of the rear tyres (which were not really designed for moist grass) allowed the dogs to catch up a little but whenever I pulled onto the dirt road next to the grass I totally left them in the dust with zero chance of them keeping up. And I also had an equally cheap 4 WD buggy that I also chucked a 3S LiPo into. Man, those studded tyres became *SLICKS* within a few hours of driving coz I just LOVED driving that thing on a dusty parking lot and deliberately spinning out of control at full throttle. One time I even threw those worn-to-sh!t tyres back on to drive around on a frozen-over road. None of the above was good for either of the cars but I sure as fuck had a crapton of fun doing it!
Thanks man I’m getting my first car this Friday and it’s good to know this before a made a ramp with some snow I’ll make sure to tape so nothing melts and waters and dry
I'm seriously considering this hobby. Looks fun. Plus I love modifying crap and tinkering. I also live about a mile from Amain Hobbies here in Chico and about the same distance to the fair grounds where they race them.
You should! The retail store has started having mini crawler nights, where you bring your 1/24 crawler and traverse the courses in the store. The 1/24 trucks are space saving, relatively inexpensive, easily upgradable and fun! A good alternative to the proper race cars over at the track. Here's a mini truck: www.amainhobbies.com/axial-scx24-deadbolt-1-24-rtr-scale-mini-crawler-green-axi90081t2/p-qqzztzeq7b2xactz -Brett
When you said "service your RC regularly" I was like: oh no, he's going to say tear the whole vehicle down and check everything, for me that'd take the whole day. But the short list that he gave didn't look that bad, check for drivetrain binding, steering mech binding, suspension arm binding, check your shocks and their oil level, and top off your doffs if needed. Even a beginner like me can do that! I think the hardest of these are probably the diffs, and checking the drivetrain for binding. Great video!
all good points aside from the tape on the rim vent holes. Tires are vented to help with handling the vehicle also if taping the vent holes because of water, its not a matter of "if', Its a matter of when will the water get in. its always a good idea to put 4 small holes every 90 degrees in the tire to allow for water to exit if it ever gets in. it'll also help from blowing a bearing when water does get in and throws it off balance.
If your not breaking parts your not having fun. I didn’t buy a crawler just to drive in dry conditions.... don’t be silly... still gunna sink it😂😂😂😂😂 that’s some UA-cam gold right there
I’m not gonna lie I just purchased from you guys today and this video popped up. What an amazing video. Thank you so much for the information. I am a mechanic by trade and this is very useful information. Have a blessed day.
Greatest video for me. I don’t go over my cars bc I didn’t know how. Lol. Only my Scx 10.3 bc in the manual it says what to go over. I try and just wipe down my SBR 2.0, but I can’t get inside of it bc of the 22 screw body. I put WD 40 on it though. I’m a little skeptical bc my hobby shop said it weakens plastic. I have heard that I doesn’t do this, but I would like your opinion Brett. Thanks.
I avoid a lot of these for one reason: I don't mod my cars. I like them the way they come out of the package, and that's the way they stay until they're dead.
This is a great video. I noticed a couple of things that I wasn’t doing properly. Number one being that I killed my Servo because I didn’t properly set my steering end points. I had no idea that I needed to match the Servo travel with the wheel and steering travel. 🤦🏽♂️
With electric RC cars I learned that a good way to destroy spur gears and diffs was giving it 100% throttle on a stand still. Grinded the spare parts that came with the car and some "after market" ones until I realised this.
Ikr I have a Tamiya lunchbox which comes standard with plastic parts for the drivetrain and steering. I already upgraded the servo I bought originally to a servo with 20kg of steering force with metal bearings and stuff like that because last time I had them I crashed into a curb and they snapped in half. My new parts are 👍 I was gonna upgrade my gearbox parts to metal to make sure they last. I bought a Tamiya 540 sport tuned motor and it melted itself until it broke in 10 minutes😢 idk how I broke it apparently they need heatsinks and fans so I might have to buy another one and get a heatsink and a fan to cool it down. But the thing is I do alot of full throttle driving in the rain off-road which tests my car to the limit so I might just break the fan
Excellent video. Some people just don't care. They get a car, drive it like they stole it literally, than expect it to turn on the next time they want to take it out.
Holyshit you guys are the ones I order from now instead of Walmart third-party sellers. I just want to say your shipping is awesome. The products are great and packed very well to get to you safely. Just want to say thank you and can't wait to keep doing business with you
@@AMain_Hobbies I find all the videos great and the rock crawler I built from all the Parts I ordered is awesome. My rock crawler is metal, stainless steel and aluminum alloys. I have all the goodies that your website offers. thank you.
I clicked on this video because earlier today I went over cat doo and it was let’s just say it was moist, so the. I just washed it and got freaked because I washed the truck witch is a traxxas slash 2wd and then when I press the accelerator and reverse the motor sparks so I am just hoping I didn’t just throw away my first rc car witch I only had for 2 weeks!
@@danielbahena6286 sparks from The motor.? Must be a brushed slash… “traxxas / titan” brushed motor is not a power house but they’re usually pretty hard to kill Even on 3s.. but you’re issue is dirty brushes Try bumping the truck forward as you’re holding the throttle If that makes it take off then UA-cam cleaning / drying out a brushed motor
One of these should be “driving it through the mud constantly and not cleaning your car” I’ve seen waaay to many people come into my local hobby shop with a brand new car trashed because they ran it through the mud constantly and never cleaned it.
@@bogtrotter10 if you run it through mud , you should clean using an air compressor and a towel, as well as a toothbrush and a q-tip to get the dirt that has hidden from you. Then, take each part off (parts that you can get wet, not electronics) and wash them with soap and water, then let them dry and put them back on your car.
My scxiii gladiator looks like it's been to war and back, and I love it that way 💪 when all the show crawlers are taking easy lines and I'm going bouncer style up a hill it's quick to see where the phones are recording 🤣
I got my castle 5700 to 200 degrees one time in a sc modified with a 4 min main. You could smell it lol. It still works today but doesn't go over 150 lol
I was really young when I started the hobby and totally blew apart a rear diff on a 1/16 e-revo with too large diameter tires lol. Learned the hard way what to do and what not to do with that car
Nitro deserves some more love than the obvious call outs. You should cover how things like not properly breaking in your engine and going full throttle if the wheels are not touching the ground, i.e. on a stand or upside down. The one is really important. You might find yourself upside down during a race and you might have been full throttle right before that happened. It's important to let off on the throttle immediately when upside down. Also, when your engine is new, i.e. during breaking in, you shouldn't let your car run out of fuel. When it runs out of fuel it increases rpm significantly, and it could cause damage to an engine that hasn't been properly broken in yet. Then there is the whole discussion about richness, top end, low end setting, and nitro content that is appropriate to someone who may not know enough and might end up destroying an engine.
@@bogtrotter10 some motors do better after "controlled heat cycles" meaning oil bearings, then make a few loaded passes, going throughout rpm range to heat motor components(about 3 minutes) . let them cool and repeat. Normally takes one regular use battery charge.
On the motor temps, there is a phrase we used to say for brushless setups. ESC hot, motor cool, gear up Motor hot, esc cool, gear down Both similar temps and not scalding, happy setup, party on This is the rules I've used for more than 10 years with no issues with durability. Also we never used fans, so this was important to the life of both the motor and esc
@@AMain_Hobbies, thank you. When i started in brushless there were few good systems outside of the mainstreams of Tekin and Novak, mainly Castle creations and Sky and technology quark esc's. Castle Creations was just dipping their toes into surface RC, didn't even have motors or sensored ESC's then, so we learned the hard way. trial and error. If everything's happy it runs perfectly. We had a small brushless forum, with people learning everyday and this was the main thing that stuck
Great video, dehumidifier in a small bathroom will suck the water right out of the air really quick drying the RC, also good for rain jackets or any thing wet or damp.
Thanks for the video i am new to driving RC cars and got the Traxxas Maxx and am finding ways to clean and take care of it before i drive it and this is the perfect video. Thanks!😀
8:39 with nitros you can usually just roll them with everything in place since the clutch will be disengaged and the only resistance present is going to be the resistance you're trying to check.
I've also seen people go brushless with brushed cars or just put a 4000 kv motor on a 2000 kv buggy and destroy the differential cause some of them, especially in cheap cars (traxxas does it too) are plastic and capable to endure a certain stress, that is also for the chassis and components made to endure a certain speed, torque and impact at 45 to 60 km/h not 80 or 100! If u want to upgrade make sure to not overdo it and check the gears and components. Also some stoxj servoes can be plastic geared or super weak (6 to 8 Kg) not able to manage such speeds offroad and u will be oblidged to align them back via transmitter every fast turn !
i take rc car into the shower if its really muddy, and use an electric blower, sold for computers but work equally fine for rc cars to blowdry it, and selected parts get a little WD40, so far so clean
Little tip on checking motor temps, if you want to use your fingers, just tap on the motor first. Let your finger sit on there for only 1/2 second or 1 second and then pull it off. If it's too hot, you'll know, but you wont melt your skin off.
Here is the steadfast RC list 1. Throw safety out the window unless you're putting someone else at risk. 2. Feel free to submerge your RC's in water as long as you are prepared to do the extra maintenance down the road. 3. Drying your RC is important but cleaning not so much, this is meant to be fun not work. 4. Don't be afraid to take risks and experiment and push the limits of your equipment, sometimes you will fail but you will learn along the way. 5. Take everything everyone else tells you with a grain of salt. Including me. 6. Always remain innovative and do the things that you want to do in this Hobby, not what other people tell you to do. 7. Subscribe to my channel for more RC excellence.
I've found personally the best way to maintain a RC, is to spot check it every so often and just make sure the car functions correctly and address issues as needed, and once a year, preferably during colder winter months when you don't run as much, completely rebuild the car from the ground up, so you can really see every last part of the car and if plastic parts are worn or pins are bent etc etc. As a basher I've found this works great for me. It's a fair bit of effort but you learn a lot about a RC rebuilding it, and it's half the fun.
Bold of you to assume my basher makes it a whole year without needing parts lol
For real can never understand people who don't work on their cars
This is the greatest tip. Being able to rebuild your RC from the ground up allows you to easily a fix it with confidence and spot the slightly issues with your RC.
One technique I've found for maintaining an rc, is to buy a new one. Although that solution isn't budget friendly.
Just last week I burnt my motor out, hobby shop was out of parts and would be until June. Bought a new car and took it to the chop shop and voila@!
@Tommy Chong Cost efficient, no. But convenient and time efficient, yes.
Great advice
I think ill stick to my ascender
nor is it a very responsible thing to do.
play 30minutes，fix for 3 hour
Also Wait 3 months for parts that you broke🤣
Literly did this early
Buy a Hyper 7 and you wont have to worru about that. Drive 3 hours wrench 5 minutes. Go Hobao
Yeah no doubt. LOL. I am into boats as well. My boats are fully custom built by me and many of the parts were fabricated by me. Talking big boats like 50" Apache with twin brushless motors and scale outdrives. If I run through a battery before something breaks then it bitter sweet. Sweet because I don't have to fix anything but bitter because maybe I didn't run it hard enough. LOL
My redcat everest 10 lasted 4 years I drove
It in the pool
“Don’t gear too high”
*proceeds to gear 2wd brushed slash for 100+mph speeds
Lmfao
Thats for speed runs. They don't leave them in there when bashing. He even says its only for speed runs.
@@SacredGter sigh...
ive got a rustler geared for around 90mph but i only use that one for speed runs
@@koenoder4323 don't quit your day job. Chill bro I was just stating something he said. Smh
i literally drive mine until the wheels come off!
Same
2wd brushless ay same here now i have stuck lock nuts lmao
Ssme
Mine goes underwater lol
I drive min till it brakes
50% of this hobby is playing with your truck, 50% is for maintaining it. I enjoy both aspects equally, luckily.
Not sure exactly why, but I like this guy, I like the delivery/personality. Works for me, I’m a fan.
One man's/woman's trashed/bashed rc is another one's treasure... I love ebay lol
True that. Especially if you catch 1 that the person won't know the true value of their car.
@@RazorRoo1989 had a guy selling a fully decked out e revo with a pair of badlands because of the infamous tie rod issues...... that he didn’t know traxxas made a fix for 🤪🤪🤪🤪
@@V8chump see. I Kinda feel bad at times when that happens if their young and don't have much knowledge ill throw xtra but an older person who come at me like their an know it all then I have to get in them pockets lol
WORD!!!
@@matthewbyrd398 SENTENCE!!!!
This hobby needs more of these videos and needs to be reshared more. I think the next video needs to be about myths and facts of rc cars. I hear so much that its hard to know which to believe. Like one fact I do know is true is upgrading to metal parts isn't always the answer.
That and how to read the instruction book. I see so many questions asked in facebook groups that can be answered just by looking in the imstruction book.
some metal parts are good but it need to be plastic between like alu diffhouse plastic A arms and alu C hubs so if its a to violent crash the arms brake before the metal parts bends.
also the benefit of that system is that you dont need alot of part most of the time more then those sacrifice parts in plastic.
The comparison with bikes for maintenance is on point : both have components that have a limited life span, those parts require specific attention if you want your bike/rc car to perform their best for longer. Knowledge is key too, learning from others, knowing what to do and why, etc. the more you know the less you'll pay...
it's funny as I have both, and don't maintain either, and have never had to fix anything on either in years lol
Road salt is another bad one. Gotta be sure to rinse everything thoroughly after a snow bash.
My motor now does a high pitch sound when i was done snow bashing😑
@@nuclearzs8615 yes, I'm sure it's not great, both the moisture, possible currosive salt and constant spinning probably puts quite a bit of wear on them. I use cheap Chinese brushless ones so no great loss, but a little shot of wd40 followed by a drop of oil probably can't hurt.
@@WalldoTheWInner thanks for the advice
Buy some dry teflon lube and give it a coat before taking it out on winter days! Safe for electronics and is not oily like wd40 😉
Wd-40 works good the trick is to have an air compressor or a can of air you blow it out and around so it gets to parts cleans and lube them I like that method your car looks new when you're done.
I've always been good with maintenance on my R/C's. I don't live near a hobby shop, which means on line orders if I break something. So keeping a close eye on things is a good way to save money and keep bashing without hassle.
I never thought about it like this I’m a teen and now I’m working so I can buy a new motor haven’t used my Rc in 4months
in my opinion if it drives then there's no need for maintnence
Dam dame bro
@@cmtvlogs9118 same its been so long ive been trying to get my dad to order this differential that burnt down not my fualt i dont break stuff
The RC car community is amazing, most are so selfless and supportive! Thank you for the info, I watch them all and learn so much! Thank you, the hobby shops that sell these, so helpful and kind!
All great tips. I clean and maintenance my RC Cars after every run. I have RC’S that are 15 to 20 years old and look brand new. I still have a Kyosho Optima Mid SE since I was 16 years old and it still looks new. Thanks for the video.
I’ve had my slash for a year and it looks like it wants to retire in the garage
@@hawkmoon128k5 poor slash
@@hawkmoon128k5 lol same I have a 2wd stampede that looks like it was put through a meat grinder. 6 months ols
I have a 2011 stampede. I beat on it everyday. Still going strong 💪
@@Deepfried4skin I sent my little brother in law that lives in the Philippines a Stampede and it will have to stand up to the humidity, heat, salty air, and sand. I also sent him a SS screw kit. He will have to take care of it over their for sure in that tropical environment or it will turn into a rust bucket.
Love these types of videos from Brett
Half the fun is fixing the damn thing 😅... You can always blame the kids.
I asked my step dad to not explode my oversized tire, fan cooled, rc car. It's been without any driveshafts for about a year now.
I agree I prefer disassemble clean reassemble over driving them sometimes
Personally just started the hobby, got and built a tt02, Upgraded the motor and steering and got a fan, Enjoy it alot too.
Great! Happy to hear you're back and enjoying your car. If you need anything, let us know.
-Brett
Great video full of good advice. I've already destroyed parts in basically every way he described, so I know it's all true.
Save money, listen to this guy 👍
I take a high pressure air hose "120 psi" and blow everything off 👍it has worked so well I have had my 2wd stampede for 8 years and no parts replaced yet! All is good👍
I keep a couple of cans of computer duster air in my field box.
When you talked about gearing and drivetrain causing heat in areas should of mentioned lipos aswell. They can take a lot more abuse depending on setup and changes.
That's what I call a PROFESSIONAL video for beginners that destroy their rc vehicles, thumbs-up
This was very helpful I just bought my very first rc a few days ago and I’ve been doing hours of research to make sure I do everything right .
Good research Luis, you're going to be well prepared! If you come across any questions, please ask us. Have fun.
-Brett
I just got into it too. So much fun.
I had sworn off using my trucks in wet years ago. My daughter got me to break that a few weeks ago with her smt10 and it took me a few hours to do a complete tear down. There is a level of fun that keeps the hobby alive. Then there is playing in the snow and mud......
Man snow and mud is SOOO much fun, honestly I just destroy my cars and just fix w/e breaks constantly, I enjoy it, I enjoy upgrading and building them, it gets me off my computer (programmer) and is healthy therapy.
Small tip for everyone cleaning your car. Buy a horseshoe brush these are usually made of hard plastic fibers and often come with metal bit sticking from the top thats great for getting rid of bigger chunks of mud and the best part these cost like 1$.
Brett gives some of the best RC "How To", on UA-cam. Number one in straight forward delivery of information.
This dude just has the perfect voice for these types of videos
This was a really good refresher. Did RC cars back in the old days (1st kit was a Kyosho Big Brute) and now that my son is getting into some more advanced ready to run cars that need maintenance I need to get my head back into how these things work. Great video!
im also back from doing a paus in rc since 2005 (nimh and brushed engines, 27mh radio era) and all new stuff of lipo/ brushless and tuning of modern race rc cars i had a steep learning curve.
@extec101 I’m been away doing the grow up thing with mortgage and marriage. Didn’t even know what a Lipo was 😂. Now I’m back with 2 kids, 1 house and 1 business. Just got a Arrma infraction and I’m scared half the time to run full throttle. I’m glad to be back in the age of youtube. I’m learning a lot and loving it.
My solution is to never let anyone use it. 99% of the damage on mine is due to letting friends use it.
Thanks for the info I was REALLY destroying my first hobby-grade RC car.
Lol
That was nice and good info on how to maintain a good running and tuning your rc.... Thank you very much for sharing sir.
Wow, I’ve been getting emails from these guys, and just found this channel. Now I’m hooked on another channel! Thanks guys!
I’m new to the hobby so thank you for these informational videos man, keep up the great work 👍
How’s it going so far also what car do you run?
@@Omega-uj6qz It’s been great bro! I don’t regret getting into the hobby one bit! I managed to get a good collection going this year so In total I have 9 Rc’s, my favorite one out of all of them is probably the Arrma Talion because it’s an overall beast🤘💪
do u have a traxxas slash 4x4?
LoL, I use the "touch the motor for 3 seconds" method all the time. Has never failed me. I've never burnt out a motor or reached thermal shut down on a ESC. Temp gun? What's that? Lol.
I remember the one time when I brushless-swapped a cheap-ass stadium truck and fired it up with a 3S LiPo afterwards. Not only was that thing suddenly capable of doing like 50 MPH vs the 20 or so it did before but it could also pop wheelies when I yanked the throttle. After a few of those wheelies the gear between the input from the slip clutch and the differential gave out and I had trouble finding a new one for a while. But when I did and got the thing running again I always accelerated much more carefully and loosened the slip clutch a little so that it would protect the gear from breaking again if I DID yank the throttle again by accident. I still had the very nice top speed but probably was too careful to ever accelerate the thing to its full potential (without breaking the gear) again.
I never took part in any competition tho so it doesn't really matter. I just used the car for fun and once had 2 dogs chasing it and getting a rise out of it aswell. What made it really funny is that while driving on grass the limited grip of the rear tyres (which were not really designed for moist grass) allowed the dogs to catch up a little but whenever I pulled onto the dirt road next to the grass I totally left them in the dust with zero chance of them keeping up.
And I also had an equally cheap 4 WD buggy that I also chucked a 3S LiPo into. Man, those studded tyres became *SLICKS* within a few hours of driving coz I just LOVED driving that thing on a dusty parking lot and deliberately spinning out of control at full throttle. One time I even threw those worn-to-sh!t tyres back on to drive around on a frozen-over road.
None of the above was good for either of the cars but I sure as fuck had a crapton of fun doing it!
Thanks man I’m getting my first car this Friday and it’s good to know this before a made a ramp with some snow I’ll make sure to tape so nothing melts and waters and dry
I'm seriously considering this hobby. Looks fun. Plus I love modifying crap and tinkering. I also live about a mile from Amain Hobbies here in Chico and about the same distance to the fair grounds where they race them.
You should! The retail store has started having mini crawler nights, where you bring your 1/24 crawler and traverse the courses in the store. The 1/24 trucks are space saving, relatively inexpensive, easily upgradable and fun! A good alternative to the proper race cars over at the track. Here's a mini truck: www.amainhobbies.com/axial-scx24-deadbolt-1-24-rtr-scale-mini-crawler-green-axi90081t2/p-qqzztzeq7b2xactz
-Brett
Chico, CA? That's my hometown!
I'm in Houston, TX now. Trying to get into the hobby.
@@stephenclarkjr6967 yes, I'm sitting here with my girlfriend at Butte Creek enjoying the beautiful sunshine.
@@mostrosticator awesome! Take a swim at 5 mile for me this summer. Need to bring my kids back there to see the parks.
When you said "service your RC regularly" I was like: oh no, he's going to say tear the whole vehicle down and check everything, for me that'd take the whole day.
But the short list that he gave didn't look that bad, check for drivetrain binding, steering mech binding, suspension arm binding, check your shocks and their oil level, and top off your doffs if needed.
Even a beginner like me can do that! I think the hardest of these are probably the diffs, and checking the drivetrain for binding.
Great video!
all good points aside from the tape on the rim vent holes.
Tires are vented to help with handling the vehicle also if taping the vent holes because of water, its not a matter of "if', Its a matter of when will the water get in. its always a good idea to put 4 small holes every 90 degrees in the tire to allow for water to exit if it ever gets in. it'll also help from blowing a bearing when water does get in and throws it off balance.
love these tips and video format, my whole family works under the hood. Dad still doesn't get these small electronics are still motors too
Do a video on how to clean your rc car and servicing it.
nice! this is helpful because I recently purchased an off-road RC and this tells me how to keep my RC in good condition for longer
Don't be silly , I'm still gonna sink it
And overgear it before it takes a swim. It needed cleaning.
Rc enticer lol
This comment on thisvideo is very funny
If your not breaking parts your not having fun. I didn’t buy a crawler just to drive in dry conditions.... don’t be silly... still gunna sink it😂😂😂😂😂 that’s some UA-cam gold right there
I’m not gonna lie I just purchased from you guys today and this video popped up. What an amazing video. Thank you so much for the information. I am a mechanic by trade and this is very useful information. Have a blessed day.
Thank you for making this video ! I feel like people will not listen to this information unless it's on a video These Days...
Many thanks! Very timely video for those of us who are just starting/returning to the hobby!
Greatest video for me. I don’t go over my cars bc I didn’t know how. Lol. Only my Scx 10.3 bc in the manual it says what to go over. I try and just wipe down my SBR 2.0, but I can’t get inside of it bc of the 22 screw body. I put WD 40 on it though. I’m a little skeptical bc my hobby shop said it weakens plastic. I have heard that I doesn’t do this, but I would like your opinion Brett.
Thanks.
I watch a lot of your the AMain videos. Lots of good info when I was getting into crawling. Thank you so much.
I avoid a lot of these for one reason: I don't mod my cars. I like them the way they come out of the package, and that's the way they stay until they're dead.
Except you can keep a rc going for life if you keep replacing the broken or worn out parts. What constitutes death in a rc?
RC death, to me, is when a car stops working completely. When changing the batteries no longer helps.
I just slap in a new motor or esc or possibly both, I'm with you on keeping things stock though. Alot of the time "upgrades" are downgrades imo.
This is a great video. I noticed a couple of things that I wasn’t doing properly. Number one being that I killed my Servo because I didn’t properly set my steering end points. I had no idea that I needed to match the Servo travel with the wheel and steering travel. 🤦🏽♂️
With electric RC cars I learned that a good way to destroy spur gears and diffs was giving it 100% throttle on a stand still. Grinded the spare parts that came with the car and some "after market" ones until I realised this.
It's hard on the drivetrain, but damn it's fun.
That's only an issue if your car doesn't have a slipper clutch or if the slipper clutch is set too tight.
Yeah, didn't take me long to upgrade to metal drive shafts/axles and higher quality gear boxes with stronger motor mounts.
Ikr I have a Tamiya lunchbox which comes standard with plastic parts for the drivetrain and steering. I already upgraded the servo I bought originally to a servo with 20kg of steering force with metal bearings and stuff like that because last time I had them I crashed into a curb and they snapped in half. My new parts are 👍 I was gonna upgrade my gearbox parts to metal to make sure they last. I bought a Tamiya 540 sport tuned motor and it melted itself until it broke in 10 minutes😢 idk how I broke it apparently they need heatsinks and fans so I might have to buy another one and get a heatsink and a fan to cool it down. But the thing is I do alot of full throttle driving in the rain off-road which tests my car to the limit so I might just break the fan
I drive mine at full force. Parts break. I just upgrade and go even harder. Love it!!
Yep, exactly. I bought my basher to absolutely destroy it constantly, I have enough spare parts to build 2 or 3 more of them.
that first pic of the summit screams "$450, no lowballs, I know what I have"
One of the worst things you can possibly say as a seller. The buyer is in control and can move on.
I'm a newbie, great info for guys like me who are getting ready to retire with a new hobby. My old hobby was drones but to many restrictions with FFA.
The fact people have to be told not to drive their RC car in deep water tells you everything you need to know about the average consumer these days.
I agree, the fact that you can sue a company because u did something dumb and said that the product didn’t tell you not to do it...
@@sleepingturtle32 you cant.
Ima stil do it
@@MaYbYl8eR in the us you can
It’s just so fun to go mudding 😩
Excellent video. Some people just don't care. They get a car, drive it like they stole it literally, than expect it to turn on the next time they want to take it out.
Holyshit you guys are the ones I order from now instead of Walmart third-party sellers. I just want to say your shipping is awesome. The products are great and packed very well to get to you safely. Just want to say thank you and can't wait to keep doing business with you
Heck yeah man! Thanks for shopping with us and finding our YT channel; hopefully you found some good videos!
-Brett
@@AMain_Hobbies I find all the videos great and the rock crawler I built from all the Parts I ordered is awesome. My rock crawler is metal, stainless steel and aluminum alloys. I have all the goodies that your website offers. thank you.
This video was uploaded once my 2wd stampede motor shrieks what a coincidence thanks for uploading this at that exact day
Again a nice movie. Thank you for this.
Best regards
Gregory
Thank you for the crucial tips. Learning the easy way is fun. Now I can get together a list of cars that need proper servicing. I'm subscribing.
Thank you for all the great tips- really helps out a newbie like me
Planes only. Great video! No bull, self hype, b.s. music etc. Just fine details from exp. (5⭐).
Me clicking on this video looking for answers to my issues and realizing I’ve done everything 😂😬
😄😆😅 same
Offffff
I clicked on this video because earlier today I went over cat doo and it was let’s just say it was moist, so the. I just washed it and got freaked because I washed the truck witch is a traxxas slash 2wd and then when I press the accelerator and reverse the motor sparks so I am just hoping I didn’t just throw away my first rc car witch I only had for 2 weeks!
@@danielbahena6286 sparks from
The motor.? Must be a brushed slash… “traxxas / titan” brushed motor is not a power house but they’re usually pretty hard to kill
Even on 3s.. but you’re issue is dirty brushes
Try bumping the truck forward as you’re holding the throttle
If that makes it take off then UA-cam cleaning / drying out a brushed motor
Great video! Love that this hobby is still going strong
I still have my nitro rush running strong since I had it when I was 16, I’m 34 now lmaoo
Noice. I just bought a 4tec 2.0 brushed it's gonna be a shelf queen I got a rustler 4x4 vxl. For bashing
Just bought the k10 a month ago. Need new shell, steering servo bumper and 2 shocks. But totally worth the bashing!!
One of these should be “driving it through the mud constantly and not cleaning your car” I’ve seen waaay to many people come into my local hobby shop with a brand new car trashed because they ran it through the mud constantly and never cleaned it.
What do you think is the best way to clean them ?
@@bogtrotter10 if you run it through mud , you should clean using an air compressor and a towel, as well as a toothbrush and a q-tip to get the dirt that has hidden from you. Then, take each part off (parts that you can get wet, not electronics) and wash them with soap and water, then let them dry and put them back on your car.
My scxiii gladiator looks like it's been to war and back, and I love it that way 💪 when all the show crawlers are taking easy lines and I'm going bouncer style up a hill it's quick to see where the phones are recording 🤣
I got my castle 5700 to 200 degrees one time in a sc modified with a 4 min main. You could smell it lol. It still works today but doesn't go over 150 lol
I was really young when I started the hobby and totally blew apart a rear diff on a 1/16 e-revo with too large diameter tires lol. Learned the hard way what to do and what not to do with that car
This video was amazing on information, thanks dude Big respect!!!!
i highly recommend getting a cleaning duster, the ones that come in a can for your keyboards, cleans the engine really well
Also I had an rc car when I was like 7 and I drove it so much the tires were smoother than glass.
I am new to the hobby, thanks for the tips👍👍
Is it bad that I squeezed streams of water from the vent holes out of my tires😂
Nitro deserves some more love than the obvious call outs. You should cover how things like not properly breaking in your engine and going full throttle if the wheels are not touching the ground, i.e. on a stand or upside down. The one is really important. You might find yourself upside down during a race and you might have been full throttle right before that happened. It's important to let off on the throttle immediately when upside down. Also, when your engine is new, i.e. during breaking in, you shouldn't let your car run out of fuel. When it runs out of fuel it increases rpm significantly, and it could cause damage to an engine that hasn't been properly broken in yet. Then there is the whole discussion about richness, top end, low end setting, and nitro content that is appropriate to someone who may not know enough and might end up destroying an engine.
Great video I get the air compressor on them after every use
Imma have to do this soon to an Erevo that I’ve been neglecting. It needs electronics, set of bearings/tires all around, and a good scrubbing.
This video needs to be renamed. New title, '' If you actually use your rc, you'll need to buy more parts from us ''
I do these things all the time but its still good to be reminded on why its so important
Like videos like this!
Would love to see a video on tools. Quality, affordability, durability, etc...
Impact grade is best
Less striping and are more durable
My son and I just got into RC cars and I have no clue what I'm doing. This is very helpful video!
Great Detailed video. On this same order, could you make us videos on how to best break in (brushed, brushless, nitro, gas) motors?
Do you have to break in brushless motors ?
@@bogtrotter10 some motors do better after "controlled heat cycles" meaning oil bearings, then make a few loaded passes, going throughout rpm range to heat motor components(about 3 minutes) . let them cool and repeat. Normally takes one regular use battery charge.
@@BandWidthExpired thanks, I just got a traxxas maxx yesterday and havnt driven it yet, do you think I should do that with the Maxx ?
@@bogtrotter10 well it cant hurt. plus it can give you sometime to get the feel of it before you go HAM BASHING ;p
@@BandWidthExpired ok thanks , I’ll look into doing that
Just bought one today. Thanks for the info. I'll make sure to keep an eye on servicing mine. :)
Great video. Very informative
Thanx for a great video, and KEEP ON BASHING, OR SPEEDING! FROM BARRIE ONTARIO CANADA 🇨🇦❤.
Brett, you da man! Great tips.
On the motor temps, there is a phrase we used to say for brushless setups.
ESC hot, motor cool, gear up
Motor hot, esc cool, gear down
Both similar temps and not scalding, happy setup, party on
This is the rules I've used for more than 10 years with no issues with durability. Also we never used fans, so this was important to the life of both the motor and esc
Never heard that before but dang good tip!
-Brett
@@AMain_Hobbies, thank you. When i started in brushless there were few good systems outside of the mainstreams of Tekin and Novak, mainly Castle creations and Sky and technology quark esc's. Castle Creations was just dipping their toes into surface RC, didn't even have motors or sensored ESC's then, so we learned the hard way. trial and error. If everything's happy it runs perfectly. We had a small brushless forum, with people learning everyday and this was the main thing that stuck
I clean mine after every 2-4 runs, depending on where i drove it.
Great video, dehumidifier in a small bathroom will suck the water right out of the air really quick drying the RC, also good for rain jackets or any thing wet or damp.
Damn this whole vid is on point and i was hoping to rectify some bs ;[
Thanks for the video i am new to driving RC cars and got the Traxxas Maxx and am finding ways to clean and take care of it before i drive it and this is the perfect video. Thanks!😀
Me squeezing the water out of my scx foams after sitting for several months lmao 🤣
8:39 with nitros you can usually just roll them with everything in place since the clutch will be disengaged and the only resistance present is going to be the resistance you're trying to check.
I destroy my RC vehicles by SENDING THEM as high as I can 🤣. Good info.
To the moon 🚀🚀🚀
I've also seen people go brushless with brushed cars or just put a 4000 kv motor on a 2000 kv buggy and destroy the differential cause some of them, especially in cheap cars (traxxas does it too) are plastic and capable to endure a certain stress, that is also for the chassis and components made to endure a certain speed, torque and impact at 45 to 60 km/h not 80 or 100! If u want to upgrade make sure to not overdo it and check the gears and components. Also some stoxj servoes can be plastic geared or super weak (6 to 8 Kg) not able to manage such speeds offroad and u will be oblidged to align them back via transmitter every fast turn !
i take rc car into the shower if its really muddy, and use an electric blower, sold for computers but work equally fine for rc cars to blowdry it, and selected parts get a little WD40, so far so clean
Try dry teflon lube
No oil to collect dirt and is safe for your electronics.
@@austingrunig5183 that is a good point, tho right now it's winter, and no dust and less dirt, WD40 will help keep bearings and joints clean of water
Little tip on checking motor temps, if you want to use your fingers, just tap on the motor first. Let your finger sit on there for only 1/2 second or 1 second and then pull it off. If it's too hot, you'll know, but you wont melt your skin off.
I had a Bandit when I was younger, and after like two years the tires were balder than my dad
Yep still happens with new ones
Thanks for making these videos
I buy from AMain now. Thanks a lot and keep continue doing them
Thanks Zone. Glad you enjoying them.
-Brett
Here is the steadfast RC list
1. Throw safety out the window unless you're putting someone else at risk.
2. Feel free to submerge your RC's in water as long as you are prepared to do the extra maintenance down the road.
3. Drying your RC is important but cleaning not so much, this is meant to be fun not work.
4. Don't be afraid to take risks and experiment and push the limits of your equipment, sometimes you will fail but you will learn along the way.
5. Take everything everyone else tells you with a grain of salt. Including me.
6. Always remain innovative and do the things that you want to do in this Hobby, not what other people tell you to do.
7. Subscribe to my channel for more RC excellence.