3 Things you have to Know: #1: IT WILL BREAK! #2: You can fix it! #3: Something else WILL BREAK!

Newbie mistake: Breaking chassis on a Redcat the 2nd day u have it Taking the entire thing apart and stripping every single screw in the process Buying a new aluminum frame Finiding out it won't fit Giving up on RC Never touching the car again Come back 3 years later seeing the remote and now ur back into RC

Top mistake. Handing over your remote

I couldn't agree more about supporting your local hobby shop. Its just a shame that there are some hobby shops that aren't so supportive..... 😕

Is it me that watches these things even though you been in the hobby for a while ps:thanks for all the like

My local hobby shop doesn’t like to help unless I’m buying things...

I cannot believe there are people out there who don’t think to charge their batteries before the first use. 🤦‍♂️

TO HELL with reading the manuals! Thats no way live. .....ill deal with consiquences later

It’s been a long time since I ran an RC over 20 years tbh and now my kids want to get into it so this video was a good help even though I have many years experience running RCs I’m starting back at the basics and working my way back up myself thank you for this video !

I inherited my grandfather's RC traaxas from the early 2000's. It's called the traaxas e15 I believe and it has a super strengthened body and shocks. I love it it's insanely fast and agile! But after a week of using it the old batteries finally gave out.

This is very helpful! I'm wanting an Rc car! And now I know we're to start! Thanks👌🏻

One of the biggest mistake I see is people using red loctite! Our hardware is tiny, blue loctite is sufficent 99.99% of the time in the RC world. When you use red loctite you're casing yourself a huge headache when that screw needs to be removed!

Newbie Mistake #11 - DON'T forget the Loctite! Any metal fastener to metal part needs the Loctite if you don't want to see parts fall off your vehicle while driving it!

Another mistake I see is not putting enough cool stickers on the car. A lot of people don’t know that every cool sticker adds one mph top end down the straight. Fact.

in regards to fires caused by battery charging, I have found a great combination... mix a 1:1 ratio of cornstarch/baby powder and baking soda, (a total minimum of 2 cups) and keep in an air tight container next to your charger, no mixing water, just pour directly onto the battery enough to fully choke it and kill the chemical reaction causing the fire

Great video with lots of great advice! I wish I had a video like this when I first started into RC! It was over 20 years ago when I started into the RC hobby.

You are the most helpful rc channel out of the rest👍 Keep up the good work

This video helped me out a ton, now I have a question for you good sir: what can I do to make a Axial rim with that deep recessed 12mm wheel hex work with my traxxas "a bit too short" hex hub? Fyi, it's Axial rocker 2.2 rim I'm trying to get to work on a 1/16 Summit.

Love the last lesson... I purchased a car for my nephew (9yo), and went right to my local shop, without hesitation. He helped me find the right truck for the youngster to start with.

My mistakes: Didn't read the manual, didn't charge my battery, didn't have an idea that it needed oil, didn't watch this video.

wow he pointed me all wrong! wow im gonna remember these thanks bro!

Good video, breaking in nitros is always the hardest part, I just wanna go faaaaaasssst. But it's important to break it in properly.

thanks needed that i just brought 1 for Christmas n do not wanna mess it up on that day

I love the last tip the most. I always go to the same hobby shop I went to first in 1986. If they don't have it I check the other local shops. IF they don't have it I go for A-Main or the manufacturer. That's the way it should be. If you have a local shop, support them first.

My little piece of advice for beginners. "Do not use a ball end hex key" when finally tightening motors bolts and grub screws in pinions or screws in metal parts. The ball end is not designed for maximum torque applications. Use a plain hex key, and if you have a tricky angle to work with, use a simple 90 degree hex key (Allen key) if you can. The plain 90deg key can apply more torque than you can with a "driver handle", and is less likely to damage itself or the socket in the screw. Use a drop of thread lock in all metal parts when you can.

My first hobby grade rc car was a Traxxas rustler 4x4

I started with a nitro, had to get my dad to help with the maintenance since I was 6-7, but loved it so much. Ended up getting an electric but without the sound it didn't feel right

Love the videos brotha 👌💯 I tell everybody in South Philly about them I have alot of drone friends keep up the good work you're teaching me so much about the hobby I'm new to it

Also, don't run your rc's in wet conditions unless you have to the time to properly maintain the vehicle. I didn't do this with my first rc, and now rust has gotten to every screw

I'm looking in to getting started with some RC stuff. I have two options right now; I either restore an original Tamiya Super Hornet, or I purchase a new Arrma Raider XL Mega, both are about the same price after I consider what needs to be bought for the Hornet.

My biggest mistake was thinking after 35 years without an R/C car, that immediately buying an Arma Typhon 6S (70+mph) was a good idea. I did get a Tamiya Lunchbox that day as well, so at least I used common sense there. The Arma is just too dang fast for me, even with the slower pinion gear, until I can get to a track.

Professional, informative video. Your local hobbyists should be glad to have you around.

Great video. I'm looking to get into hobby rc if that's what it's called. I think toy grade rc is fun but it's only lasts a few months, then the axles plastic on plastic wear out. Ugh. I've outgrown toy cars.

My dad found a hyper 7 tq2 in the shed and it's my first rc car and it runs brilliantly. I did a jump and broke the driveshaft

May 4, 2019----Thanks for the video as I don't know squat about RC's whether it's cars or airplanes. Writing a story about a kid in his early teens who's into RC cars, so now looking for information about them so the story sounds more authentic.As to supporting your local hobby shop, that's SO true. We once had 2 hobby shops in town. One owned by 4 guys, the other by one. The first hobby shop had one of the owners die and the other 3 couldn't afford to buy his share from that guys family. So it eventually got closed. The other guy had been in the hobby business for about 40 years and had enough, selling it to a guy from Vensuela about 10 years or so ago. He dies and family has NO interest in running it, so everything inside was sold off. Now the only place to buy VERY basic modeling supplies is a hobby shop geared towards gamers, Michaels and Hobby Lobby. Live in Reno and CLOSET, REAL 2 hobby shops are in Sacramento. There's 1, maybe 2 RC hobby shops in town, but have never been to them, something I need to do now for my story.

Thanks a heap for this advice!

Newbie mistake #1 for nitro rc cars always turn the controller on before the car!

Thanks for this video! I plan to get into RC cars because A) I always thought they were cool when I was yonger and B) because I now have a three year old son who seems to love RC cars lol

thanks for the tips. great vid

Great video and tips!! These days we are so ´stuck´ on the internet that we would forget the hobby shop... Thanks for that reminder!

Here's another tip for newbie racers... listen/accept any information/help offered to you from experienced racers. When I was serious about RC, there was this girl and her dad at the local track that were an absolute nightmare to run with. Her car handled like crap, and she didn't know how to drive it (you can't really drive it right anyway if it isn't set up right). Every weekend it was the same story of her taking out other cars. It was an older aluminum pan Team Associated car, this was when the B2's had just come out, so it wasn't really a match for the new cars anyway, but with some setup they could still be competitive. Anyway, her dad had the suspension all jacked up so it was basically always at max ride height. It couldn't corner, it couldn't land, it couldn't hold a straight line. Being as I had 3 of those cars already, on top of my B2 and a couple trucks, and a pretty good standing with all the other racers, I had attempted to talk to him and suggest a few changes ti possibly improve her runs and enjoyment. She was obviously not having a good time after months of being a road hazard. The dad was a complete dick. Basically, he already knew everything he needed to and didn't want any help from someone more experienced but younger than him. They didn't stick around much longer after that. Too bad for her, because the life lesson she got from her dad was not going to help her in any other avenue either.

This was REALLY helpful I plan on picking up my first RC car soon (Traxxas Slash 4x4 1/10) so this was helpful so I know what I need to do before I'm ready to have fun!!

Timeless information and yes do support those brick and mortar hobby shops.

Thanks just got my first RC toy. It’s the Rustler VXL. I’m opening it up on Christmas along with my nephew. He’s getting a LaTrax prerunner hopefully we both enjoy. He’s a 5 year old beginner, well outside of the Walmart versions. It’s my first RC experience ever so. Well happy holidays folks.

My first real RC car was a HPI RTR3.... It was cool, but the engine break in period was kinda long and tedious.

#10: Know how to properly charge your lipos. IMNSHO, crank that mistake up to #1, or you're asking for trouble - big trouble. I hadn't owned an rc buggy since I was a young kid (anybody remember the nitro grasshopper?!). Wanted to share my experience so others could learn from my (HUGE) mistakes when I got back into RC'ing. I went electric for ease of use, simplicity, and to avoid some of the issues my old nitro cars would have from time to time - hard to start, loud, etc. I started out with the chinese el cheapo special (the vandal at hobby king) frankly because I wasn't sure I'd love it as much as i did when I was younger and didn't want to invest a ton. Say what you want, but i loved that little buggy. I want to say I spent $120 for everything - until I got to my 3rd run and found out why you need loads of aluminum and not plastic parts. I was just running it in my front yard and clipped some landscaping stone, and snapped the front wheel like a twig. Lesson learned - went back to the site and bought a bunch of el cheapo plastic spares before finally getting the nice looking blue alum parts that were a bit more expensive. The vandal was so cheap, I figured with all the spare parts, might as well get a 2nd so a friend could run one. The biggest problem with the vandal (once I hardened most of the susp. parts w/the alloy) was the spur gear. The motor it came with was super torquey and fun for a sub $100 car, but it chewed up that plastic spur gear like it was made from cardboard. There's some aftermarket alum spur gears on ebay for like $15, but you'll just end up chewing threw your transfer case. Still, I think I took the right path w/ the chinese el cheapo. It was a lot of fun for a beginner car and I learned a helluva lot because I was always breaking down and repairing the thing, lol. So to come full circle as to why the #10 mistake needs to be made #1, I'll tell you about my beloved, beautiful, super duper incredible Team Associated RC8E. Bought her because I wanted to bump up to a 1/8th scale more powerful buggy after the vandal reminded me how much fun these cars are. Went all out. Got the new remote, the buggy kit, the 5s batteries, the whole nine yards. Want to say I spent around $750 for everything since I was considering taking it racing at some point in the future. Mistake #1: Getting a cheap ebay charger with zero safety features (see where this is going?)! Mistake #2: Not educating myself on LiPos. The $25 charger ended up damaging some of the cells in my expensive 5s batteries. Well, the damn thing won't charge the battery with a cell down, so what did I do? Mistake #3: CHARGING THE LIPO ON MANUAL MODE WITHOUT WATCHING IT. NEVER EVER USE ANY OTHER CHARGING MODE OTHER THAN THE LIPO MODE - YOUR BATTERY WILL EXPLODE AND BECOME A FIRE HAZARD. Which leads me to my next dumbass mistake. Mistake #4: ALWAYS CHARGE YOUR BATTERIES OUTSIDE YOUR BUGGY/CAR/TRUCK/ETC, and for goodness sake around absolutely nothing that is remotely flammable. Why? Well, you can probably guess why. Cells typically fail because cheap chinese chargers don't provide adequate voltage and can drop the reading on a cell so low it reads as an error - or sometimes a cell just plain fails. Sometimes you can get a cell back by putting it in NiCD mode and force charging it for a bit...then switch back to LiPo, and charge it normally. DON'T DO IT. It will overcharge and overheat the remaining cells and your battery WILL EXPLODE. I left my 5s battery in the buggy, had the issue w/ not being able to charge it in LiPo mode, switched it to NiCD mode and walked away and forgot about it. BOOM! Luckily, I'd placed my beloved RC8E on the floor of my garage, and my gas can was just far enough away not to be affected, because the battery and the car went off like a roman candle :( I never saw any smoke or heard anything, but when I finally came back out to my garage and looked at my car - the only thing left was the metal and one tire. All the plastic and rubber was gone. All that was left was the undercarriage, motor, and parts of the drivetrain that were metal. Everything else was totally destroyed. It also managed to scorch a nearby rolling cabinet that I had just installed after we'd just moved into our new house. I said I was lucky - and I was. When those batteries explode, they literally disintegrate and can send shrapnel all over. I found pieces of the battery all over the place within about 10 feet. Since the plastic cover was on the car, i think that helped contain some of it - but if one piece had gotten anywhere near that gas can, I'd have burned down my detached garage. If I hadn't put it on the ground to charge, it could have ignited my workbench since the small fire it started was hot enough to consume almost the entire car and permanently mark the sealed concrete. I got lucky that day since it only cost me my buggy and battery (which even 2 years later, I still really, really miss), but it could have been 100x worse. LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE: 1) Never charge a lipo on anything except lipo mode. EVER! 2) If a battery goes a cell down, just bite the bullet and get a replacement. The batteries I was able to revive eventually failed again shortly thereafter. So it looks like the solution to 'jumping' a low power cell using the NiCD battery charging mode was only a temp fix at best. 3) Invest in a GOOD CHARGER. You'll save money on replacement batteries in the long run. 4) ALWAYS ADD A BATTERY HEAT SAFETY SWITCH IF YOU DON'T HAVE A GOOD CHARGER/CAN'T MONITOR RECHARGING! Hobbyking has a heat safety switch which you can add in line while charging to avoid a fire. What I did was undeniably idiotic, but a safety switch - which is literally a $5-6 investment - would have sparred my $500 buggy. :( I'll never use another charger without one. EVER! Lesson learned - and learned the hard way. I'm not a millionaire, so I can't just go out and replace a $500 buggy and haven't owned another since. Hopefully, my electric buggy tales of woe will help prevent others from making the mistake I made. Take the time to learn/educate yourself on the different types of RC batteries. And lastly, whatever you budget to buy your RC car double it - you'll need spare parts. They don't call them bash buggies for no reason. I think at one time, I had 4 complete vandals - 2 regular and 2 XL w/ the rally truck tires. At any given time, 1-2 would be in running order. The rest of the time they were being fixed. Even the super nice Team Associated RC8E had breakdowns. I think it's just a given that you'll burn up gears, batteries, etc and burn through tires (esp on pavement) in just a few runs. The performance of these cars is outstanding, but I think that comes by sacrificing longevity. To keep your car running, you'll need more than just a few spare parts. Investing in a small toolbox w/ some organizers (which you can get at harbor freight for < $10) is a great way to keep your cars in tip top shape - well, unless you set fire to the car. Have fun and stay safe folks :)

My first 2 cars were from my father. Got a 1991 Tamiya Bearhawk which I absolutely love. Very fast and it’s taken a hell of a beating over the years, just rebuilt the entire thing. And I got a 1992 Kyosho nitro thunderbird and it’s a gigantic pain in the ass. Fun when it runs correctly but extremely high maintenance

Great starter beginner cars are Traxxas slash or the hpi blitz I started off with a blitz my self

in 2010 my first hobby grade RC was a Traxxas T-Maxx with a 3.3 nitro engine. if you follow the instructions in the owner's manual you won't have any problems.

Thanks to you, I have a Traxxas Slash and I know everything I should know about not acting like a doofus at the track. Thank you SO much!

The last tip is the best, sadly the local shop around me closed 2 years ago when the owner decided to retire.... Thank you for the video!

Thanks for sharing your time ⚡

some great tips for the new guys

I really could have used this with my first nitro car. It was a corvette ZR1 from Tamiya and boy, did I make some mistakes. Like you said I fired it up, smoke was pouring out, so I let it run a few minutes with 20% fuel and (on a stand) did a few full throttle pulls. Adjusting the needle valve until it sounded like it should and then on the ground for some top speed runs. Funny thing, over the distance of a half mile, I went through a gallon of fuel running it back and forth at full throttle. The head was glowing red when I was done. I thought it was normal. Never ran again once it cooled off. Replaced the motor, had the shop break it in, then came home and ran it into a sewer because I put old batteries in the receiver. Locked at full throttle, bloop! Flooded ZR1. Life experiences...

All good points here. I have been doing RC cars sence the 80s. I do agree nitro is a lot of care and maintance

Very informative. Great tips for a newbie like myself.

This is good stuff. I'm an old school Newbie. Back in the day (1980s Tamiya Grasshopper, 1990s HPI RS4 MT Nitro) before RTR I don't recall any guidance or instructions on "break-in" for either Nitro or brushed motors. Another suggestion to piggy back this is to buy a temp gun. I burned up my first Titan 12T motor making first speed runs with Rustler. Not expensive to replace, but always concerning when things start smoking and strange odors are coming from the car and your son asks, "Is it supposed to do that Dad?"

I just started getting into the RC hobby. I wanted to start off with something small, yet still fast. So I went with a Losi Mini-T 2.0.

As a newbie this is pretty intimidating. Lol had no idea so much goes into RC cars. Thanks for the info!!

loved the video, just got my first hobby grade rc today. sadly we don't have a hobby shop in my town. :( I have the bigfoot #1 by traxxas and it is awesome!

RC is so much easier/cheaper to get into now. i remember the days i first started with serious rc car. A 1/10 nitro kyosho. Kinda had to figuire everything out myself back then. UKposts did not exist yet haha!

I like to red the manual to see the grammar and spelling mistakes.

Great video! Was very easy to understand and helped a lot! Keep up the content!

Thanks man!! I’m in the stage of learning the what’s and how’s. This really helps thanks! Subscribed and liked!!

My local hobby shop has this thing where if I buy a nitro from the they will do a free break in service. I don't do nitro but I think this is really cool, THANKS FORMBY MODDELS!!!

I think a T Maxx or e Maxx makes a great beginner. Really easy for me to work on right away. I eventually put two engines on it.

U got me in 😂🤝 about to go to my local hobby shop and by a 1/16 scale gas truck

Well done. Thank you.

I can think of way more common newbie mistakes. One of my important ones is not to submerge your tires in water. I did it when i got into the hobby and it wrecked the foams. Lol

My first hobby level rc was the Traxxas rustler vxl

My first one is the udr and i couldnt be more happy with it. Broke lower a arm and the servo died in 10 hours...i fixed it all my self. Bought a high end hitec servo. Runs great

My first hobby rc was an ofna ultra lx comp. Very fun once me and my dad got the tuning and break in figured out.

wait a minute i need to charge my battery? madness

I've only been cooing rc's for about a year, but I feel like breaking in the motor is just as important a step with electric as nitro. regardless if you run brush or brushless..... my one rookie mistake according to the video

I got the bezgar 1/12 scale for my son and ended up buying another. So fun. I want to buy new customizable stuff for it

I had a nitro 4 tec when I was 14, blasting about 70 mph down a long straight road, lost signal with throttle wide open and smacked a curb. What a great shower of parts that was!

Informative video, so a couple of questions. I'm thinking about getting into RC, I'm leaning towards the Traxxas E-Revo. Looks like a good all around vehicle. I'm not looking to go fast, just have fun and enjoy it. Is that a good car to start with? And I was thinking about getting an extra battery, what are your thoughts? And as a side note, it amazes me how tough these things are. I'm not going to try and tear mine up, cause even though this one is cheap compared to many, it's still an expensive toy. Also, are they easy to clean up and maintain?

NEWBIE MISTAKE 11! Buying a newbright!

Thanks for uploading! Subbed.

When I was a kid and wanted to get Into RC’s instead of getting something easy I was sold on a big XTM X factor it was cool but as being a first timer I was honestly discouraged because I always needed my dad to come help which was ok but it was something I wanted to learn on my own

Who needs all this when you can just thrash an old Tamiya Subaru Impreza WRC 2003 where everything is tapped together and all the electrics are open to the elements. BRAAAAAP

My first rc car was the e revo brushless edition

Tell ya what I think this is BEST video out there not ONLY for the Beginner but some of us already into the hobby whom started with drones or planes looking to branch across.The difference in response is astronomical..

I was gonna watch this video before I got an RC, well I bought a couple RC a couple months ago and am now finally watchin the video, also I started with a Slash and a Vaterra Ascender

your no.1 common mistatke i think its not a mistake...its all about choice..dont be afraid to buy expensive cars or branded rc cars..eventualy u wil learn all the teqnical things just dont stop learning...

My mistake was also the clerk's mistake. I went in to buy the nitro T-MAXX a few years back. He was new to the shop and sold me airplane fuel with my truck, which I knew nothing about there being a difference, and took it all home and broke in the engine with that. Every time I ran it, it overheated. I still have the same truck and engine after over 10 years so it's not so bad, but I only realized after picking up a second bottle of fuel from the same shop and the owner as the clerk this time that it was the wrong stuff, as he informed me of the difference. I told him what had happened and he took no responsibility for his sales clerks mistake and offered no sympathy. I was familiar with nitro engines long before the truck as I had a couple of nitro air boats in the past, but I had no idea that there was an oil/fuel difference aside from nitro content. So guy's, don't make the mistake I made. Hopefully you read this or know this before getting into nitro fuel trucks. Thanks for pointing out these rookie mistakes as well.

Awesome! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Thank you so much for the info and I didn't start of with a tekno instead I started of with a slash

Pick a suitable place to drive. Don't go racing on the street in front of your home. Minimalize the risk of crashing into stuff.

I wish this one kid listened to tip #6 (4:01).... When I had my car run into his WalMart pos at over 35MPH Destroying his and mine, and never will I forget his mom yelling at me for accusing me of "Crashing into him on purpose"

Thank You! For the info. Super excited to get running just pick-up free electric. No owners manual though, but will be visiting local hobby shop for more help

My first Hobby grade rc was a Traxxas Stampede and I read the manual over and over again and learned my truck and while moving up to Axial scx10 and further on I learned it helps and your hobby store knows what to do.

Number 4 may be a common mistake But how many hobbyist stores actually tell the customer they need a battery charger that may not come with the car they just sold a customer, I wouldn't be mad its dead, I'd be made you knew it needed one and didn't say anything.

My manual was for the wrong car XD

Great advice brother am only new at the game and when I first got my Lipos I ballooned 2 of them because I didn't put the right settings in 😱. As long as you learn by your mistakes that is fine 👍but battery charging isn't a mistake you really don't want to do. Health and safety is paramount, i always make sure now I do it by the book. 😁👍👍👍👍👍 fantastic video bro.

That's a nice drone back there and thanks for the advice

It's just a baby 2 stroke right? Looks simple enough to work on. I'd rather run nitro or gas over anything electric any day. Just wondering before I go buy one.

Great tips...except for the very first one. As a longtime rc hobbyist (30+ years), I'm a very firm believer that everybody getting into the hobby/sport should start out with a kit. So many today have absolutely no idea how diffs, trannies, suspension components work that they end up wrecking their new rtr and having no clue what happened or more importantly WHY whatever it happened happened. When they build a kit, they gain an understanding of not only how things work, but they also are more apt to understand issues and "read" the vehicles problem.

Good advice, well done !

I just competed in a novice crawler competition, using my coach's RC. I think I'm hooked! Looking into buying one for myself now. If I go to my local RC store and want something ready to run out of box what should I look for? Not necessarily a crawler but something I can have fun with.