RC Battery advice

[tpee01]

Hi, completely new to RC but my lads 8 & 9 have shown an interest. After searching through the forums and visiting our local shop I need a bit of advice regarding the batteries.
I'm looking at getting a grasshopper and a hornet and after looking at a link in a different thread, came across a bundle for both that includes the kit, radio set, servo, fast charger and 2 x batteries (3300mah).
When I spoke to the salesman at the local shop he advised 5000mah.
Can someone please shed light on the difference and would you recommend one over the other.
Many thanks

[CoolHands]

5000 will simply last longer before it runs out.

[tpee01]

Thanks. Any idea about run time for both these models. Would it be significantly longer?

[CoolHands]

yeah it's just a value-for-money decision really. If the 5000 was twice the price then no it wouldn't be worth it (buy two 3300 instead). etc. For children I would suggest it might be better to have more lesser-capacity batteries than one big one. That's cos they can be charging battery two while using battery one in the buggy. Then swap over and repeat. If they just have one big mega-battery when it runs out you're going to have to wait half an hour before you can have another go.

[Magic919]

With the 3300 you ought to get 15-20 minutes as it's not especially heavy or fast.

[CoolHands]

i would get the 3300. 5000 seems a bit excessive and I don't think would be worthwhile value-for-money.

[tpee01]

Thanks for all the replies. There's £90 difference between buying both cars local with one 5000 battery each and the online bundles including two 3300s each. As much as I try to support local traders its a lot of money.

[Razor O Rourke]

Best thing you can do is spend a few quid on a proper ballrace set to replace the nylon bushes that come with the kit. They make specific sets for each model and they don't cost much but make a noticable difference to performance and run time.

[C.A.R.]

A Grasshopper is a bit unusual in that it has a 380 sized motor as opposed to the more common 540 - like that in the Hornet. The smaller motor means less performance but naturally longer run time. If you were intending to buy both and have them be mildly competitive at the same time you'll find a significant difference in speed and acceleration.

With NiMh batteries quality is more important than capacity. There's no point having 5000+ mAh if you have no "punch". Also, the Hornet and Grasshopper share the same chassis and being an old design, the battery compartment is designed to accommodate older tech. Larger capacity NiMh cells are physically bigger, it might not be a good fit if you go for something 4000+ in capacity.

For your needs I'd recommend two Grasshoppers and two sub-4000mAh batteries with associated radio gear. The lower speed will teach your lads better car control combined with longer running. The Grasshopper obviously features this smaller motor but also has a harder-wearing bodyshell and longer lasting tyres. Included in the kit is an adapter plate to convert to a full-fat 540 motor at a later stage if you wanted more speed (new motor and pinion should be around £10 mark).

[tpee01]

Razor O Rourke said:

Best thing you can do is spend a few quid on a proper ballrace set to replace the nylon bushes that come with the kit. They make specific sets for each model and they don't cost much but make a noticable difference to performance and run time.

Thanks, will look into doing this

[tpee01]

Thanks for all the info, think the two grasshoppers will be the way we go.
Will probably make it easier to build and learn together too. Plus free up some cash as I'm sure it won't be long before their dad wants one, once he takes them out with them!
This is what I've been looking at http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/tamiya-grasshopp...
Does this look like a good deal?

[CoolHands]

that looks great. The owner of that store is a member here on pistonheads too. Buy two sets of bearings too to get rid of a lot of friction. You add them when building the kit instead of the standard plastic bushes.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tamiya-Hornet-Grasshoppe...

[Magic919]

Russ might do a deal for you.

[Razor O Rourke]

CoolHands said:

that looks great. The owner of that store is a member here on pistonheads too. Buy two sets of bearings too to get rid of a lot of friction. You add them when building the kit instead of the standard plastic bushes.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tamiya-Hornet-Grasshoppe...

That was my first ever R/C car back in the mid eighties. I forget what I paid for it but I'm sure that in real terms it is a fair bit cheaper now. It makes a great starter kit, easy to build and tough enough to withstand an amateurs driving skills.

[cjs racing.]

C.A.R. said:

A Grasshopper is a bit unusual in that it has a 380 sized motor as opposed to the more common 540 - like that in the Hornet. The smaller motor means less performance but naturally longer run time. If you were intending to buy both and have them be mildly competitive at the same time you'll find a significant difference in speed and acceleration.

With NiMh batteries quality is more important than capacity. There's no point having 5000+ mAh if you have no "punch". Also, the Hornet and Grasshopper share the same chassis and being an old design, the battery compartment is designed to accommodate older tech. Larger capacity NiMh cells are physically bigger, it might not be a good fit if you go for something 4000+ in capacity.

For your needs I'd recommend two Grasshoppers and two sub-4000mAh batteries with associated radio gear. The lower speed will teach your lads better car control combined with longer running. The Grasshopper obviously features this smaller motor but also has a harder-wearing bodyshell and longer lasting tyres. Included in the kit is an adapter plate to convert to a full-fat 540 motor at a later stage if you wanted more speed (new motor and pinion should be around £10 mark).

I agree with this almost 100%. But the plate is used on the 380 motor, and removed to fit the 540 motor, the instructions for both motors are in the manual.

[russy01]

I'm guessing with the term bundle and the 3300mah batteries the package is from Jadlam - which happens to be me!

Erm 3300 are plenty, you will get 15-20mins fairly easily. The packs are also reliable (2 failures in well over 20,000 sold) and much lighter than 5000mah packs. Finally they hold about 3500mah, it's a very good pack. I wouldn't buy them in the thousands if they weren't...

G'hopper and rising fighters are ok, but if you get into it they soon become a bit basic and there is only so much you can do with them. I personally rate the neo fighter, tough little car with the 540 motor from the off.

Buy tonight or tomorrow and use code CYBER10 for 10% off - with their discount you won't find a better price anywhere!!

Finally, as for supporting local etc. It's all well and good and I support local businesses where I can, however with models I often find prices are made up and well above RRP! £90 above our prices sounds laughable, you're either getting ripped off or being sold some nice top end gear which you may not see the benefit in...

Cheers...

[tpee01]

CoolHands said:

that looks great. The owner of that store is a member here on pistonheads too. Buy two sets of bearings too to get rid of a lot of friction. You add them when building the kit instead of the standard plastic bushes.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tamiya-Hornet-Grasshoppe...

Thanks. Just ordered the cars, so will get these too.

[tpee01]

russy01 said:

I'm guessing with the term bundle and the 3300mah batteries the package is from Jadlam - which happens to be me!

Erm 3300 are plenty, you will get 15-20mins fairly easily. The packs are also reliable (2 failures in well over 20,000 sold) and much lighter than 5000mah packs. Finally they hold about 3500mah, it's a very good pack. I wouldn't buy them in the thousands if they weren't...

G'hopper and rising fighters are ok, but if you get into it they soon become a bit basic and there is only so much you can do with them. I personally rate the neo fighter, tough little car with the 540 motor from the off.

Buy tonight or tomorrow and use code CYBER10 for 10% off - with their discount you won't find a better price anywhere!!

Finally, as for supporting local etc. It's all well and good and I support local businesses where I can, however with models I often find prices are made up and well above RRP! £90 above our prices sounds laughable, you're either getting ripped off or being sold some nice top end gear which you may not see the benefit in...

Cheers...

Thanks for the info - yes it was Jadlam, I found a link to the shop whilst searching on here. Glad I found this site!
Yeh the total they gave us was only including one charger to use for both cars and a battery pack each - have saved a fortune (thanks for the code btw, really appreciate it).
Went for the grasshoppers to start but def consider upgrading to neos if they take to it.
Thanks again, looking forward to a Christmas build

[russy01]

Thanks for the order.....appreciated. I happened to see somebody in the warehouse packing up 2 Grasshoppers earlier, could have been yours

As for the other seller, sounds like you have dodged a bullet there. Although I would be interested to hear the specs of the stuff you were getting, so I can workout whether you were going to be ripped off or being sold Rolls Royce components!

Thanks.