I'm going to put a Tamiya R/C Lightning together soon, and i need tips on assembly/care.

Also, what remote controls do you guys use? The kind with 2 control sticks or the kind with a steering wheel & trigger?

Thanks!

 

That's so cool, I just put together a 1999 SVT Lightning from Bburago:

 

I put one Bburago together..

the one with flames in the lower right corner..



I have a couple of yellow ones:

 

ive always used a pistol radio, and ive raced r/c cars and trucks competitivley for the past few years. pistol grips have seemed to be 99% of ppls weapon of choice. Futuba is the brand ive usedFutuba website, also for just about any accessory you need Tower Hobbies is a great place to find them. Also i believe Bill Murray on here owns a Hobby Town you may wanna try and give him a shout with any questions

 

I've put many R/C cars and trucks together. I've had a bunch of associated RC-10's and B3's and even a few Tamiya's. The Tamiya's are easier to put together than about any other rc car. Just take your time and follow the directions carefully, and it will be a breeze to put together. Be sure to lube the internal gears in the gearbox, and the bushings or bearings...whichever your L has. And be sure your batteries are fully discharged before recharging them. JUST A NOTE: Never put any kind of oil on the motor bushings! The oil will work it's way down to the commutator and brushes in the motor and cause sluggish performace. If you want to go a little faster, buy a "stock" racing motor for it. Stay away from the modified motors unless you have an electronic speed controller and at least 2000 mAh batteries. Because a modified motor will drain your batteries real quick like. The best batteries to buy are the nickel-metal- hydride Trinity batteries. They cost a little more, but you get longer run times. The best speed controllers are Novak speed controllers. They have mosfet transistors in them that make them more efficient at transferring power to the motor, and they make run times longer and heat handing capabilities are much greater. You might even consider putting different rims and tires on it too. You can find all these parts that I mentioned at the Tower Hobbies website www.towerhobbies.com. They are great to deal with, and they have just about everything you will ever need for your r/c vehicle.

 

clonetek,

I KNEW you had some yellow SVT die cast. That's soo cool

 

What do i need to put this thing together? other than hand tools.. it didn't say I needed lube for anything.

 

all your lube for your shocks and sutch should be included if not you should be able to go to the tower hobbies site and find it

 

With most Tamiya vehicles, all you need is a phillips screwdriver. Unless there is a special tool that came with the kit. But all I've ever used was a screwdriver on Tamiya rc's. When I put my Tamiya Blackfoot monster truck together, there was a small tube of grease that came with the kit used to lubricate the tranny, but I'm not sure about the L kit so there might not be any. But there should be if your L has a gear case with internal bevel and spur gears. Just follow the instructions, and all should be fine. If I were you, I'd look into a Trinity "stock racing motor from tower hobbies for that bad boy. You'd be surprized how much faster it will go. Just remember, stick with a "stock" type motor (they usually range from 23-27 turns depending on the motor), not a modified because a modified motor will drain your batteries in like 5 or 6 minutes. With a stock motor, your L will run anywhere betwwen 10-15 minutes depending on the amount of turns the motor has. What I'm reffering to when I say "turns" is the number of times the copper wire is wound around the armature of the electric motor. Remember the higher number of turns, the longer you can run your rc. The lower the turns, the shorter your run time will be. Sorry I got carried away, but I just thought I'd give you some ideas about what you can do with your L. Hope I helped!

 

I opened up all the bags in the kit & found the grease..

It looks like i'm gonna need to buy a remote control, battery packs, a servo, and i think i'll upgrade to the electronic speed control.

it says to glue the tires to the rims.. should i do that? do tires wear out fast?

 

I've put that model together before. Not hard at all. I believe the only additional tools you need are a philips screwdriver and a razor blade.

The shocks do not use shock oil, instead they have a piece of rubber inside to adjust compression/rebound.

The kit should have already included lube for the gears, but I would suggest either of these 2:

Associated Green slime


or Aero Lube


I'm not one to waste money on all those little stupid overpriced RC crap, but I can say that the Green Slime is much better then any kit supplied diff lube, and friends say the Aero Lube is even better.


For radios any will work, Hitec, Futaba, Airtonics, JR. I'd suggest that you consider get a mid range model though as you will most likely end up getting addicted to RC.

Screw mechanical speed controls, get a radio that is a Radio/1 servo/Electronic Speed Control combo.

For batteries, like Peacemaker said Trinity has good batteries, but I think they are overpriced. You can find just as good for cheaper if you shop around.

And don't forget a decent charger. Novak makes an okay one that is not expensive. The MRC superbrain one is decent, but you have to manually add a fan to make it constantly reliable (overheats).

 

clonetek,

You can buy a radio with servos already included in the package. Novak also makes very good electronic speed controllers. If your interested in tires, just call Tower Hobbies "Tech Support" I think that's what they call it? (Look on the Tower Hobbies website for the number) and they can lead you in the right direction for tires. Just tell them what kind of tire your looking for, and they should be able to help you out. Like captainoblivious said, there are cheaper battery packs. But stay above 1500 mAh if you want a decent amount of run time. Just about any battery will do. But it's all up to you on how much you want to pay. I think Tower Hobbies makes their own battery packs. And they are generally less expensive than the others, and they come in a combo where you can buy one get one free. Or they did the last time I checked. TH batteries are ok for just bashing around the parking lot. And yes, R/C is very addictive! Have fun!

 

Well, it looks as if I'm at a stopping point for today. I have to have the servo before I can finish the next step.
Plus the tube of grease in the kit was half full of air, and I'm gonna need another small tube to finish the rear gears.



I wish Bill Murray would see this thread. I already sent him an email.

 

i have put together 3 rc vehicles (all electric and all tamiya) and all have futubah controllers.

wait to you see all the upgrades you can do to these things. last car i made i got the oil filled shocks and there is a big difference between them and the spring loaded shocks on the truck i have.

the off road vehicle tires seem to last forever. the road ones have worn much quicker. i would suggest getting at least two nicads for the car so you can play with one while charging the other. i think charge time is roughly 20 minutes depending on the battery you get.

the tamiya kit instructions are awesome, nice and easy to follow.

i would also suggest going to a local hobby shop to talk to the folks that work there, cause in most cases you can just b.s. with them and get some great info. the truck i made i purchased over 10 years ago, i can still get parts for it, and it still works like a charm.

 

There aren't any local hobby shops around here any more.

this morning:



as of 3pm: