Driving an RC – The Basics

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Driving an RC – The Basics

Driving an RC – The Basics You Should Know

Those who are passionate about radio control cars always dream about building a strong portfolio of skill sets. Irrespective of whether you own one, you are building one from scratch or you can’t afford to buy one, you dream endlessly. That’s the right attitude and for building one you need a strong foundation. We call it the basics and don’t dare to forget these golden rules when it comes to driving your RC. It all starts with choosing the right RC.

Choosing the right RC

Since you are here, we suppose that you are a relatively new kid in the world of RC vehicles. Here are some tips for choosing your first RC.

You need to keep it in the back of your head that you are an amateur & that you need to take it slow and steady. One step at a time! Every master was once a beginner & so have to be you. No matter where you stand now, you will reach heights only if you are willing to learn. Keep your complexes aside.

If you are a beginner, it’s always better to go for RTR (Ready to Run) factory assembled cars including radio gear than building one from scratch on your own. RTRs are best suited for those who want to save time in building one and for those who lack the expertise. As a beginner, we advised you to avoid any customization.

What’s your purpose?

If you have to drive through large paved roads in a street or a good-sized driveway, invest your money in road cars. Most on-road RCs are 4WD, made from carbon, aluminum, and titanium components with independent suspension systems. Made to sprint through the streets at high speeds.

One advantage of investing money in a road car is that you can later customize the tire & suspension components to take it off-road. Off-road kits include larger and spiked tires and long-travel suspension components which are readily available in the market.

Read your RC’s operating manual

Irrespective of the brand or variant of your RC, the manual of your RC car has to be your Magna Carta on its functioning. While most find it boring to go through the owner’s manual, we highly recommend you find time for it.

Your RC car is more like a puzzle with thousand different components that are put together. You must have a basic understanding of its important components, its functioning, basic DIY, do’s & don’ts, and more, and reading the owner’s manual is the easiest way to do it.

How to start an RC?

How to start an RC depends on what powers your RC. If it were to be an electric RC, charging and installing the batteries both in the car and in the radio, gear would do the job. If it is a nitro RC, you have to install AAs into the transmitter and the vehicle and then fuel it up before you can get it running.

This is where the importance of reading the owner’s manual comes to play!

Electric vs Nitro – How to choose?

If you are new to the track, we recommend you go ahead with electric cars which need less preparation. It can also be driven both indoor and outdoor helping you spend more time practicing.

Unlike electric RC, Nitro RC can only be used outdoors. While the realism factor supports nitro cars with smoke, exhaust note, etc, it is always better that you start driving an electric and later move on to a nitro RC.

Whichever car you go, we strongly recommend you to carry the tools keeping you ready for an immediate replacement or repair.

Get acquainted with your RC & its radio

While you can get acquainted with your RC vehicle through its owner’s manual, getting acquainted with its radio & how it controls the RC needs some time at the track. Most of the RC cars have twin channel radio gear. Each one of the channels has different functions associated with it. Mostly channel 1 does it with steering and Channel 2 deals with throttling.

Triggers are attached to the radio gear to control the movement of the car forward and backward and left and right. The transmitters and receivers of the radio gear should be of the same frequency to avoid any possible interference.

Take it out for a spin

Once you are well acquainted with the RC vehicle & its radio, it’s time to hit the tracks. Take your RC to a track & drive it slowly in the track until you get a good feel of the control. Remember that the trigger for accelerating is pressure controlled and you don’t need to go full throttle right away, ease into it and get comfortable. After a few laps make the oval bigger until you understand how your throttle responds and can control it.

Keep a note of these:

  • If it is an electric RC, keep the batteries (including spares) fully charged and if it is a nitro car, make sure you carry the right amount of fuel. You don’t want your RC to stop midway in a course.
  • Before you start driving on the main stage, make sure you have done adequate trial laps and ensured all the contacts are working perfectly. A repair at the mid-race could cost you the win.
  • Doing a practice lap is important to double-check the acceleration, braking, steering, etc. It can also ease you to an extent and help build confidence.
  • The triggers are pressure actuated and the test laps could help your hands learn the right amount of pressure you need to apply for the right turn. This is how practice and experience lift you through to the top.

Getting used to the conventions and controls is indeed a tough task. It’s all about spending time on the track & taking slow steps to progress.

Meanwhile, here are some of the best RTR machines in the market. The filters were tight and the scrutiny could only be sustained by the best. Do have a look at our recommendations from the favorites in the community. Do visit us now. Your satisfaction is our priority.