Answering Your Questions About...
R/C CAR RACING

 

4) "How Fast Does It Go?" THE NEED FOR SPEED

The speed of one of Team Associated's oval cars has been clocked at 111mph. An off road truck on a track with numerous jumps will not approach the speed of an on road oval car on a track with a 200-foot straightway. Thus, you may never match the highest speeds if you drive only in your small back yard or short street. And as in real car races, the car builders must tackle the job of matching the best components with each other for maximum performance. 

How fast can it go? An electric kit's speed depends on many variables. Some are:

Track surface. With poor traction, the vehicle will go slower. With long straights, it has more time to get up to speed. With many turns, it won't have the chance to get up to top speed. If your track is straight and has high traction for many yards, then you'll get your fastest speed. But that's not much fun unless you're into drag racing.

Gearing of spur and pinion. More teeth on the pinion equals more top speed, but your batteries will quit ("dump") faster too (meaning less run time).

Motor. Choose your modified motor by turns and winds. With fewer turns you'll get more rpm (more top speed), but your batteries will "dump" (lose power) faster too.

Shocks/springs. If your car has wrong shock oil or springs, it may bounce too much, meaning that poor traction will cause less speed and handling.

Practice. with insufficient practice, a vehicle that wanders over the track or hits the boards wastes time.

Tires. Good tires will hook your car to the track well, poor tires will cause your car to spin.

The list goes on.  Generally, the stock electric truck and buggy kits can go 20-30mph. The above variables and more make it difficult to judge accurately your personal performance.