Which RC Car should I get?

Posted by Ben Boughton on March 20, 2013 at 6:47pm

Hi all, I am completely new to RC cars and Drones. I have spent a couple hours reading about ArduRover and would really like to give it a try. I thought about building my own but figure for now best to get a car and focus on getting ArduRover working.

Recommendations for a reliable well suited RC car would be great. Do they generally all come with a transmitter? They all seem very fast. I suppose gear can be modified later on to slow them down? Brushed vs Brushless?

I have had a look at some Traxxis cars but most info on the net is about racing etc not really about which is best suited for autonomous control.

Looking forward to getting car selection out of the way so I can focus on ArduRover technology.

Thanks in advance, Ben.

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Tags: ardurover, car, selection
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Replies

  • MR60
    Hugues June 4, 2013 at 11:47am

    Hello,

    I am also entering the group for my first Ardurover build. What is worth the following platform to start with ? :

    http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__13449__1_16_Brushless_4W...

    It is 78 dollars, includes motor and ESC.

    Is this advisable to start with or should I stay away from these chinese cheapos ?

  • PX4 May 31, 2013 at 1:33am

    Hi all,

    I'm looking similarly for a RC car and plan to build it with PX4. I don't want to drive long, fast or large distances. But I want to drive slow. My budget is medium, I rather want something solid and repairable, I don't need high-end.

    Some technical detail requirements: No clutch, 1 m/s or less min speed, smaller sizes preferred, brushless preferred.

    Would someone have a decent suggestion for this profile? I'm looking for a global vendor, so that my setup can be used as tutorial for others.

    Thanks!

  • Ben Boughton May 22, 2013 at 8:54pm

    Hello everyone, its been a while but I now have some time to continue this project. I built my 4-wheel tank steer rover with a Sabertooth 2x60 ESC and 2x 500W 24v motors. I use a 9x to manual control. Vehicle works great as a remote control car, appropriate speed and torque.

    I have not had a successful ArduRover 'mission' as of yet. I have come close but just a few questions to help me along if you dont mind.

    The Sabertooth has a mixed mode and independent mode for steering, similar to to Ardu software. Am I better off mixing tank steering in Ardu or Sabertooth? I have tried both and actually got a better result mixing in Sabertooth, in fact I couldnt get it to work properly mixing in Ardu.

    What configuration do I need to run before I start apart from radio? Is it just the compass? And to adjust that do I just press the Auto configure button and drive around in all different directions?

    That should be enough for now. I have got it to successfully drive to one Way Point turn around and head to a second but then it got lost and almost ran into a shed. I am glad I am trying this first on a rover rather than a plane!!

    Thanks

  • Evaristo Ramos, Jr. March 23, 2013 at 2:34am

    You should join this yahoo group:

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Flysky_RC_radio/

    and register here on this website:

    http://openrcforums.com/forum/index.php

    I used to guides at both places to mod my transmitter and I am using the ER9x firmware.

    Humbly,

    Roo

  • Bot Thoughts March 21, 2013 at 6:50pm

    What's the intended use? What's your budget?

    If you want slow RC, look at 1:10 scale crawlers.

  • Moderator
    Michael Pursifull March 20, 2013 at 11:12pm

    I think the ECX Ruckus 1/10th makes a solid starter platform and a good value in general.

    For Rover, we're not really racing it, much of the general RC car preferences are not as important.

    You'll need to replace the transmitter to really make use of the APM, but that can be done on the cheap as well.

  • wraith March 20, 2013 at 7:03pm

    traxxas is all good if like repairing ur car all the time, they are not the strongest rc cars

  • Rud Merriam March 20, 2013 at 7:02pm

    You might want to consider getting a robotics platform built for the outdoors rather than a car. Visit RobotShop.com for some ideas. 

    As  you note, RC platforms are generally built for speed. There is the rock crawler category of RC vehicles that move slower. 

    The real issue with RC vehicles is the steering. Pivoting front wheels is dubbed Anderson steering and becomes a challenge when a rover becomes trapped in a corner or blind-canyon. The rover has to back out and you may not have sensors toward the rear to make that easy. 

    Many rover's use 'tank' type of steering where you turn by changing the speed, including reverse, of the wheels on both sides. With a square vehicle you can turn around in a space not much wider than the vehicle itself. 

  • Evaristo Ramos, Jr. March 20, 2013 at 6:58pm
    I went with a traxxas model, but pretty much anything should work for you.
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