Lots of Choices

There are so many radio controlled cars to choose from today.  There are monster trucks, stadium trucks, buggies, touring cars, oval cars, drag cars, rally cars, mini and micro on- and off-road cars and giant scale vehicles.  There are electric powered, glow and gas powered varieties.  There are Ready-to-Run vehicles and kits.  There are 2-wheel and 4-wheel drive vehicles.  The variety and range can make your head swim!

The number of manufacturers and their product lines have grown especially fast since the mid-1990's.  In addition, the number of manufacturers of after-market add-ons and hop-ups has exploded.  You can purchase a RTR car and then completely remove every single piece and part with a newer, "better" part!

Familiar Manufacturer Names:

As with the great many choices of R/C cars and trucks, likewise there is long list of manufacturers supporting this wonderful hobby/sport.  Among the many familiar manufacturer name brand products available through PARMA HOBBY are:

Sophisticated Engineering

The technology available within R/C cars and trucks varies from somewhat simplistic to quite sophisticated with the higher-end models.  The young "automotive engineer" can learn quite a lot as he or she progresses in the hobby/sport.  Here is some helpful information pertaining to both R/C cars and trucks.

Shock Tuning

The key elements of shock tuning are spring rate (that's the stiffness of the spring) and damping (the shock's resistance to the compression and extension).  There isn't any way to adjust spring rate; you have to install "softer" or "stiffer" springs.  Check out your owner's manual for the correct item numbers, and buy one set of springs that's stiffer than what you have and one set that's softer.

Damping can be adjusted two ways: by changing the pistons or changing the fluid inside the shock.  Shock pistons with more and/or larger holes will result in less damping (for a "softer" shock), while pistons with fewer and/or smaller holes will give more damping (for a "stiffer" shock).  It's easier to simply fill the shocks with thicker fluid (more damping) or lighter fluid (less damping).

But what do I need to change and when?  Spring rate and damping are usually changed to increase or decrease traction.  In general, a stiffer spring decreases traction, and a softer spring increases traction.  Damping is changed to suit spring rate (more damping for stiffer springs, less for soft), or to change how quickly the suspension reacts.

Servo Torque Recommendations

Servo torque is measured in ounce-inches.  One ounce-inch is equal to the force generated by 1 ounce acting on a 1-inch lever.  If you had a servo with 40 oz.-in. of torque and you installed a 1-inch-long servo horn on it, the servo could like a 40-ounce weight suspended from the end of the horn.  More torque is always better; this chart suggests minimums: