Well I got back from my mini vacation this weekend and picked up a Team Associated TC4 RTR. Its got a 15 turn motor and everything ready right out of the box. I also picked up a couple 3000 mah batteries and a charger. I found the car to be pretty darn fast out of the box. I've probably put about an hour on it so far and luckily I've had no crashes.

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Have you went to any hobby shops and asked about local racing ?

I did and unfortunately, in my area there isn't much going on in the way of organized events (Orange County). There is however a place called So Cal Raceway not too far that has both a dirt and carpet track and they have offroad races once a week. The Touring cars don't seem to be as popular for races around here. I'm looking forward to practicing on their carpet because all the pebbles in the parking lots freak me out.

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f you get into the "off road" units, you *must* use a kit. Because it's the only way to learn how to reassemble/fix it when it gets broken (often).

I'm definitely going to get an off road car as well. If I get it new I'll probably follow your advice and get a kit because after seeing the instructions for the RTR I bought, I think putting it together will be doable.

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Do not buy an AM radio.. it's just not worth it.

The TC4 RTR comes with an AM radio. Everyone is telling me that its crap and I'm sure I'll realize its limitations soon enough, but it hasn't given me any problems thus far. If I find a good deal on an FM receiver though I'll probably pick it up.


Now I'm looking at the upgrades. A little confusing what to go with as there are about a million upgrades for each car and everyone has a different opinion. I think I'm going to look for a used brushless system on eBay as I don't feel like dropping $250 on a motor at the local hobby shop. Some of these things go ridiculously fast. With the right combination, apparently you can hit 70 mph. Nuts!