Going to Buy a SCX-10 Have some ?'s

[mrbeef]

Hi guys how are you all doing. I have been stumbling around here for a week or so now. I have not had a hobby lvl rc car since the mid 90's. I really want a scale car. I love to SCX-10 Trail honcho. Now I know it is RTR but need a battery and charger. So if you guys do not mind can I get some help.

I am going to use this for fun and if I can find a Group close to me to go have fun with.

1. What battery and charger should I get for it?

2. If any thing what are a first good upgrades that are NEEDED? I.e. easily breakable parts.

3. I like the trail honcho body but how hard is it to put a different one on. I like the Land rover DC90 i think?

4. Any tools or materials I need right away. I am a car mechanic by heart so i have plenty of tools. But I know these need some special tools at times.


Thanks Guys!!!!!

[pvo_srt4]

I would get a 2s Lip, im running my old race batteries in them, 65c 6500 mah 2s Lip from Reedy

nothing really breaks on these things unless you run it off a 25ft cliff, i would invest in a BEC as that will help you down the road

i would start off by investing in a good hex driver set, when i first got into RC's i purchased the Losi one and i still use it to this day

[355C]

X2 on the driver set, have been using metric allen wrenches, such a PITA. Just beware opf the RTR, a common misconception. it does not mean ready to run but ready to replace. i have heard lost of stories of screws falling out of these RTR's. before driving go through and make sure all scres into metal are tight (maybe even pull them and put threadlock on them,) and screws into plastic are SNUG. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN SCREWS INTO PLASTIC, it will strip the plastic and you will be screwed.

just my .02

[mrbeef]

Awesome ..... Thanks guys what is a BEC? And do I need to change the plug for a Lipo? And what charger?

[Fatman489]

When I got my RTR about a month ago all I changed right off the bat was a trx plug for the battery and that's only because my batteries all had them from using them in my stampede 4x4 lol .. i run a 2s lipo 50c 8200mah from spc batteries .. i played like that for a bit but then the upgrade bug bit and i started the upgrades .. The truck is really fun right out of the box and then once i added aluminum suspension and steering links it got more fun lol .. but I feel it's fair to say right out of the box it's pretty stout and shouldn't need anything replaced right away .. and as a side note i do love the run time i get from the 8200mah battery lol these trucks don't use a ton of juice like my stampede does so i say get a decent battery and have a blast till you decide to start upgrades lol .. won't take long at all lol

[allanon1965]

I am using an onyx235 charger, i think its a nice basic charger that does a variety of batteries, including lipos

a BEC is a battery elimination circuit, read about it here.. Castle Creations | CC BEC and CC BEC Pro

change the plug to a deans or traxxas...whichever you prefer, I have rigs with both styles..the factory one will not handle high current that will come with upgrades to batteries and motors..(the connectors heat up and spread out making poor connections)

[mrbeef]

So with the BEC would I need the pro or the regular? Hmmm Looking at all this stuff and trying to understand it hurts LOL.....

[allanon1965]

the regular would be fine...

[6sharky9]

A BEC will be great for giving you a little more power to your servo..The stock internals of the RTR ESC only provides 5 volts of power where an external BEC such as the Castle creations one will provide you 6 volts giving your servo the power most manufacturers claim at a 6v rating or even higher in some cases.

You can potentially use a 3s battery as well as long as you have an BEC with the stock ESC.

A BEC will aslo allow you the power needed to add more lights and a winch should you chose to do this down the road.

If youre in the states look up a company called HobbyPartz.com...they have really great prices for what I consider good quality batteries and charger..Ive been using them about 5yrs now without any issues.

I recommend the GensAce roar approved hard case 2s batteries in a 25c rating and the ThunderAce AC6 charger...can get both for well under 100 dollars.

If you go with a more powerful servo and a winch and added lights and such with the BEC then a higher c rating would be recommended


Id like to add as far as upgrades just drive it and see what might break on you...We don't all drive the same but the truck just wont start breaking things left and right.

If you want a little better performance in general get yourself a 16T motor pinion and have fun with it until you break something..As you break things you can upgrade accordingly.

[mrbeef]

Wow thanks for all the info.. I was looking at this battery what is all the extra stuff coming off of the pg tail.

GENS ACE 4000mAh 2S1P 7.4V 25C Hard Case Lipo Battery ROAR Racing Approved

[6sharky9]

Originally Posted by mrbeef

Wow thanks for all the info.. I was looking at this battery what is all the extra stuff coming off of the pg tail.

GENS ACE 4000mAh 2S1P 7.4V 25C Hard Case Lipo Battery ROAR Racing Approved

I have 2 of the exact same batteries...they have been doing very well

I used them im my Honcho and then used them in a RC boat..now they are back being used in a Rubicon I have..very good battery.

The small wire you see in the middle is a balance wire..you need that..the other two are for battery connection...You will want to replace the connectors as those wont fit the stock Tamiya plug anyhow.

The Tamiya plug is garbage..theyve been know to have a lot of resistance and a very poor connection.

As some have mentioned you want a traxxas or a deans style connector..Ive used deans for a long time now so that's what im using but the traxxas connectors are known to work well also..so choose one..lol

[DeoreDX]

I have a Turnigy Accucel 6 charger and it works great. Doesn't come with a power source. I used an old laptop charger that fit and will supply 6a and it works great.

[johnnyh66]

Choose Deans connectors (aka T connectors) because that's what most people run... then, when you are out with friends you can share batteries.
Value Hobby includes them with purchase: Value Hobby R/C Hobby Store (Addison, Illinois): 2S LiPO - 7.4V - Batteries - Power

[mikesmyth11]

I second Gens Ace, probably one of the best bang for buck plus your getting quality not to mention really cool looking batteries.

a stock RTR scx10 will impress you, the KIT lets you LEARN the ins and outs of the truck which i find amazing. plus it lets you waterproof everything from the start and you know its put together right,

for charger i have a thunder ac680 or somthing like that, thunder makes cheap chargers with powersupplies that seem to work well, lots of people have them.

yeah thunder ac680, was a best bang for the buck option at the time i purchased it.

[road_rascal]

Gens Ace or the hard cased Sky Lipos have been doing fine for me (all 2s). You can spend some serious $$$ when buying chargers so if you think you need to charge large packs (4s or bigger) in the future try and get one that will handle those. I fly larger electric planes so I have a multitude of chargers and power supplies.

[corporatelemon]

On the stock axial servo there's a plastic bushing instead of a bearing in the top portion, while tinkering around I found out that the bearings from the traxxas 2075 (maybe others) servos fit like a glove and take up the slop the plastic bushing gets after a few runs. Im not sure of the size but the stock servo with this simple upgrade is well worth it! It does make 122oz give or take so not terrible! Any other questions feel free to pm me

Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

[CBR74]

Can't support the Ace batt's for a newbie. The plug in leads are too easy to reverse and.. *POOF*, you let the magic smoke out. If you must have a hard case (which I am also against but that is a different argument) I recommend a hard soldered lead like this Nano-tech:Turnigy nano-tech 4200mah 2S2P 40~80C Hardcase Lipo Pack (USA Warehouse)

[Phins Fan]

Batteries - I run Turnigy 2S 25C 4000mah. They typically get me about an hour a piece. I will take 3 of em total for a days worth of driving and typically not burn thru all 3 of em. They are cheap and reliable. I've had several different sizes for various rigs and have never had an issue. No swelling, premature failures, nothing. Just make sure to use the balance plug every time.

As far as upgrades - do it as you go. If it ain't broke than it doesn't need to be fixed. I would also advise to go thru it and resnug out of the box and after every bashing. This way you get kinda "personal" with the rig and will have an idea of what may need to be replaced in the near future as you will see it when you do the cleaning/resnugging. There are parts that wear out and will cause wheel wobble, or new noises the more you drive it. Identify them early and when the $ is available buy an upgrade and wait for it to break. Once it does, replace it.

Good luck and welcome to the addiction!!!