RE: HobbyKing ..... Garbage (Refund and Return related)
UPDATE, April 20 2012..... its now been 2 months since I returned my truck to HobbyKing's USA Warehouse (I refused delivery) and still they haven't even picked up the package. US Postal re-attempted delivery at the beginning of April and left a notice at HobbyKing for them to pick up the package. Ummmm..... 2 months and still no refund???? What....the.....F-??? HobbyKing.... you P.O.S. company!!! Also, their 800 number doesn't even f-ing work (800-607-5803). When you call it, you get this gay recording that tells you to go online. This company is such BS.
Posted on: 4/20/2012 7:07 AM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11049744

HobbyKing ..... Garbage (Refund and Return related)
WOW! To make a long story short, I just talked to the Lakewood Washington post office (ph#, 253-983-8266) near where HobbyKing's USA warehouse is located and the post office told me there are a ton of [b]RETURNED [/b]HobbyKing packages just sitting there waiting to be picked up by the company. My package has been sitting there for over 2 weeks (it arrived in Lakewood on Feb 29th). [u]DETAILS[/u]: I am trying to get a refund on a Hobby King Trooper I ordered from their USA warehouse. I refused delivery of the package on Feb 15th and then on Feb 22th it was sent on its way back to Washington state where HK's USA warehouse is located. That was over 1 month ago. After submitting multiple tickets about the issue on HobbyKing's website, they told me to talk to US Postal because the tracking info for the package says it hasn't been delivered to HobbyKing's USA warehouse yet. - TOTALLY RIDICULOUS on the part of HobbyKing just to let returned packages pile up at the post office and not even attempting to pick them up and issue refunds.
Posted on: 3/16/2012 3:23 PM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11002989

RE: How can led lights put into my RC car?
The biggest piece of advice I can give you is [u]GET A BODY REAMER[/u]. Imo, Body Reamers are 100x better than power drills at making precise, [u]custom [/u]sized holes. Installing LED's is actually super easy. The video below gives a pretty good overview but he uses a power drill while I think its much easier to use a body reamer. Also, you don't have to make our own LED kit if you don't want to. There's a lot of good LED kits on Ebay, like this one [link=http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yeah-Racing-Dark-Drifter-6-Slots-LED-Lights-Kit-RC-/190618262906?pt=Radio_Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c61bbdd7a#ht_1086wt_1051][b]HERE[/b][/link][u][/u] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoI42U9AGi0[/youtube]
Posted on: 2/21/2012 3:05 AM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10968700

RE: two new ECX Torments both broke same day
You guys drive in puddles and water? If you guys did, then water may have shorted the ESC's. Its either the battery or ESC so it shouldn't be difficult to troubleshoot.
Posted on: 2/20/2012 3:17 PM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "RC Electric Off-Road Trucks, Buggies, Truggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10968053

Turnigy HobbyKing 1/16 Buggy, Mini-Review & Video
Got this buggy with a 1600mah Lipo the other day for $93 shipped from HobbyKing's USA warehouse. Its pretty sweet, its a lot better in grass than I thought it would be. The buggy does well in most grass but if the grass is higher than about 7 or 8 inches then it will probably get stuck. The one big problem with these buggies is the spur gear strips very easily (mine striped on its 3rd outing). But spare spur gears are very cheap from HobbyKing so just make sure you stock up. Overall, I highly recommend this buggy. Here's a couple of videos of it in action. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu_GQl-5RQI[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFBa80ZL1bs[/youtube]
Posted on: 2/18/2012 7:01 PM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "1/16th, 1/18th, Mini & Micro RC Cars"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10964784

RE: Are you new to RC? This is my opinion on entry level 4x4 truck choices.
The REDCAT CALDERA 10e is a great truck for really cheap (under $200). 4wd, brushless, handles great and very reliable. Only weak areas I see are servo-related items and the flimsy body. Otherwise its a great truck. Here's some videos of my Caldera 10e (sorry, there is some really bad camera work in these videos; i was driving and filming at the same time so the truck is not always in the video frame). [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpGAq_4jukI[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp-WOG2EejQ[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9swp4AHBiA[/youtube]
Posted on: 2/18/2012 6:33 PM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "RC Electric Off-Road Trucks, Buggies, Truggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10965220

RE: Looking for electric 4wd buggy, 25-30mph for around $150 ($190 max)
Ok, thanks for the advice. If I'm leaning towards getting the DF-02 but will probably put bigger tires on it vs stock. What kind of gearing should be done to the car with slightly bigger tires (say SC sized tires) do to prevent overheating with, for example, a 3000Kv brushless?
Posted on: 2/12/2012 7:29 PM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10956190

Looking for electric 4wd buggy, 25-30mph for around $150 ($190 max)
I am looking to buy a 4wd buggy for around $150 (up to about $190 max). This buggy will be used primarily for driving through the grass and light bashing (nothing crazy). I know buggies are not the best for driving through the grass but the only 4wd SC truck that is near my budget is the HobbyKing Trooper and I am unwilling to wait 2-3 weeks to get parts from Hong Kong. I would like the buggy to be able to go at least 25-30mph. [B]MegaE 10Xb[/B]..... initially looked good but then i read on another forum of a dude who installed a 2s Lipo and his motor caught on fire. That spooked me because I am definitely going to run at least a 2s Lipo. [B]Tamiya DF-02[/B]..... kit car that is very inexpensive but this dude [link=http://www.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?p=2458089&highlight=speed#post2458089]here[/link] kind of scared me. he seems really knowledgeable and seems to imply there are better alternatives to the DF-02 nowadays. i would like to know what better alternatives are out there. Are there any other buggies I should look into? Also, parts support needs to be good. No Exceed or RedCat please.... there parts support sucks (I know because I have vehicles from each brand).
Posted on: 2/12/2012 2:35 PM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10955787

RE: Need advice on rc car brands
I actually have both an Exceed drift car and a RedCat RC truck. The Exceed drift car is decent but imo the Exceed brand in general sucks. They use the same f-king chassis for everything. Their Drift car, Non-drift car, Buggy and "Short Course" truck all use the same damn chassis. Actually there's one chassis, two configurations (off road and on road)..... the only difference is the shocks/shock mounts they use and the length of the dogbones. The buggy and the short course are the same car except with a different shell. That's why their Short Course truck is so small, because its just the buggy with a SC body. RedCat is a little better imo but the quality of the RedCat RC's varies from model to model. For example, one of their Monster Trucks is a total POS, handles like crap (can't remember if its the Earthquake or the Volcano) while another one of their MT's- the Caldera 10E- is pretty damn good and it handles great (I have one). The difference between the Caldera and the other RedCat MT's is the Caldera's chassis was specifically designed for off road use while the other trucks use generic chassis's. Exceed and RedCat share some models. For example, the drift cars are the same for Exceed and RedCat. Also, parts support is kind of sketchy for both companies, especially Exceed. Exceed is always out of stock on a ton of their parts. Another brand you might want to look at is HobbyKing. Specifically the HobbyKing Trooper. Its basically a 4x4 Slash clone but at half the price. It costs less than $170 shipped from the USA warehouse, it has a lot of very solid reviews and parts for the truck are ridiculously inexpensive. The only negative (its a pretty big one) is the parts warehouse is in Hong Kong. BTW, I am going to sell the Exceed Drift Car in the near future. Not because its a bad car or I am feed up with Exceed (I am not). It more has to do with RC Drifting itself being is too limiting...... off-road RC-ing is much more flexible as far as where you can drive. I don't want to have an RC lying around that's rarely used.
Posted on: 2/10/2012 7:23 PM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10952637

RE: Bump this thread everytime you spend $100+ on RC Cars/Trucks
Just bought a HobbyKing Trooper a few days ago with some parts and a 3s Lipo. Total $270
Posted on: 2/8/2012 12:25 AM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10949233

RE: *Official* Caldera 10E Video, Picture And Discussion Thread
[quote]ORIGINAL: Jhawk19 Here's the new Stampede body. Painted white, obviously. Looks good! [/quote] ***THREAD RESURRECTION*** WHAT TIRES AND WHEELS DID YOU PUT ON THE TRUCK? Anyways the truck looks awesome. I got the Caldera 10E a couple of weeks ago. Its a great truck. Let me comment on a few things. [b]LIPO'S[/b]....For Lipo's, GENS ACE 2S 30C 5300 Lipo's fit perfect. I got mine [link=http://www.nitrorcx.com/98p-30c-5300-2s1p.html]here[/link] [b]ESC PROGRAMMING WITHOUT CARD[/b]..... Imo, a ESC programming card is only worth it if you plan on programming the ESC often. If you only plan on programming the ESC only a few times (like most people) then just do it without a programming card. Its actually pretty easy to program WITHOUT A PROGRAMMING CARD. The ESC has a Green LED and a Red LED. When programming the ESC without a card, the Green LED flashes [u]and[/u] beeps so its not that hard to follow. Just make sure you know which beep/LED flash corresponds with which items (like Brake force, Voltage cutoff, etc); the pdf for the EzRun ESC can be downloaded from HobbyKing's website [link=http://site.hobbypartz.com/hobbywing/HW-13-V2.pdf]HERE[/link] [b]BSD VIPER XST = CALDERA 10E[/b]......Also, the Caldera 10E is also sold as the BSD VIPER XST TRUCK. Exact same truck, exact same parts but slightly cheaper.
Posted on: 1/29/2012 1:23 PM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10933828

RE: I want to get back into 1/10...
[quote]ORIGINAL: ThunderbirdJunkie Have you had any other cars? For $180 it doesn't seem like it's all that great of a deal ITBJHO. [/quote] For what you get its a great deal. Sure there are cheaper off road RC vehicles out there but the Caldera 10E has a great combination of things that other cheaper RC's don't offer. [b]-GREAT CHASSIS[/b]. The Caldera 10E's truck chassis is very well designed and the truck handles very well. Other cheaper trucks (like the the Volcano or Exceed Infinitive) can't match the Caldera in this very important regard. [b]-DURABILITY[/b]. The Caldera 10E is very durable. Some buggies may be cheaper but in general buggies are not as bash friendly and durable as trucks. [b]-4WD + BRUSHLESS + LIPO READY ESC[/b]..... very hard to find this combination below this price point. The trucks/buggies that do have this combination at a cheaper price (Exceed, I'm looking at you) have sh*t chassis and handle like crap.
Posted on: 1/28/2012 5:20 PM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "RC Electric Off-Road Trucks, Buggies, Truggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10932772

RE: I want to get back into 1/10...
CALDERA 10E CALDERA 10E CALDERA 10E I have this truck and I love the hell out of it. Imo, this truck is one of the best deals in the Off Road RC world. 4wd, EzRun Brushless and ESC, Durable, very, very good handling for a truck. Can be found for under $200 easily. It goes 30mph with 2s Lipo's. CALDERA 10E >> VOLCANO or any of the Exceed Trucks. The Caldera chassis was specifically designed for off road use which is why it is so stable. Watch videos of the Caldera 10E vs videos of the Volcano or Exceed Infinite Trucks.... you will see the Caldera is in general much more planted to the ground and rolls on its roof much less often compared to these other trucks. If you can find it get the BSD Viper truck. It is the exact same as the CALDERA 10e but cheaper. Its hard to find but I got a new one off Ebay for $180. [b]EDIT[/b]: [u][/u] Also, the Caldera 10E is a great truck for jumping off of ramps. The truck's suspension absorbs landings extremely well and the chassis is just very well balanced.
Posted on: 1/28/2012 12:31 PM by Author "xmod3563" in the forum "RC Electric Off-Road Trucks, Buggies, Truggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10931857