"As an RTR owner who has never built a kit, what’s good and bad about your RTR experience?"

You Get to Start Right away

Well one thing is that when you have to replace a part you will have trouble with it and also you can't paint your own body also, put your own electronics.

One when you get and are a newbie and the box say's ready to race or something like that You still have to break it in. My t-maxxes worst experience. The good thing is that is you just want to run on a RTR you just fill it up and go to the track.

What's good is that you don't have to worry about putting the car together wrong. The down side is that you don't know how exactly your car works

Well Its not my experience but my brother always tells me how he wishes he would have got a team TC3 kit like I did but he got an RTR instead. He always talks about how my car is fast and his is slow, how mine handles better . He loves to build things so he would have preferred an kit but...he doesn't like the speedo that comes with his RTR because he wants to upgrade his motor but he has to buy another speedo first.

Well I bought a HPI micro rs4 RTR and I hated it. it was slow and it just didn't cure my need for speed. After a while i got sick and tired of it and bought a TC3 team kit and i just finished building it and now I know an RTR just aint worth it -Zach k. 11

I felt that the rtr that I bought was very well put together, and when I built my first AE kit my knowledge gained from working on my RTR helped me in building it correctly without any hangups.

Not truly learning the car because you didn't build it! Build one and make it your own!

having never built a kit, and the rc 10 being the first rc car I've ever had. I would have to say that the rtr rc10 was a very good first rc car. It was very easy to understand how everything worked together, also the detailed instructions are a big plus. I have recommended this truck to a few of my friends. The rc 10 was easily set up to run on an oval clay track. Replacement parts are fairly cheap & easy to get. The only thing I didn't like about the rc10 is not having threaded shocks. I will say that the rc10 is a well thought out machine, with the first time buyer who wants to get into rc racing at an affordable price. The rc10 is also a good platform to start with for the racer who wants to spend some time & money to upgrade. Its quite simple to tear this truck down & work on or upgrade with hop up parts. It also helps to have good friends that own a hobby shop & have been racing for years.

i just bought a rtr gt and i have lots of rc experience...but this was my first nitro kit...the thing is awsome...i have only one complaint...the throttle linkage setup is hard to get right...they tell u to measure the gap....and with what tiny ruler?...lol...after i got it set it was time to rip it up again...but it took several hours to reset it

It seems that normally RTR is actually slightly different kit. Also if you actually built your car, you know how it works, you know how to fix it and you feel more affinity with it. I have as much fun stripping and rebuilding as i do racing.... Just feels like i have contributed more to how the car is. Seems to make it unique... /me hides in the corner - Danny, UK

A RTR TC3 got me into the hobby, but the one thing I couldn't stand about it was that the speedo didn't have an on/off switch. I would think that a RTR would have something as simple as this for the beginner.

Mostly bad. When I brake something I have no idea on how to fix it or how it works. Good, I'm ready to run.

You dont gotta bild it, but you dont know how to fix stuff

I purchased the start box for my RC10GT RTR and had to reconfigure the start box to fit my RC10GT...what a tedious task. Way to much of a challenge for a rookie mechanic person.

I just purchased my first R/C car in over 10 years and got the RTR RC10 GT. It was quite nice being able to curb the anxious body when i got it home by being able to run it instead of having to assemble the car. on the other hand i think it took away some of the familiarity of the inner workings of the model by not having to put it together......Saggy

my good experience was not the hassle of having to build the b4 and being able to drive on my local track right away and have fun. the bad was realizing later that I needed a m8 radio because I'm left handed but I'm glad the m8 is aussom radio I'm flying now

My RTR had not been assembled with threadlock on the engine mounts and so I stripped the spur gear in my nitro truck. On the good side, I used it the same afternoon I bought it.

as an RTR owner i have found that if something gets broken you don't have much of an idea how to fix it especially on nitro's. And you don't want to start fiddling in case you make it worse! on the good side its ready built and all you have to do is add fuel or batteries and away u go

gas truck RTR, fun at first, a nightmare to keep running after 2-3 weeks. lack of tuning experience with gas motors hurts also

Trying to race at an organized race with the limited number of available frequencies on 27Mhz and so many RTR vehicles available with MOST on 27Mhz.

My T3 RTR is a great truck that introduced me to the electrics, without spending a lot and not having to worry about building.

I would say the most pleasant surprise as a RTR owner was the motor that was included in my RTR Nitro TC3. The associated .12 has really been a powerhouse. I cannot think of many negatives about the RTR set. As a first time RC hobby participant, the RTR Nitro TC3 was perfect for my needs.

I think that a RTR is a great way to get out to the track or street and see what your new car/truck can do. You can be driving as soon as you open the box! But there is a down fall. If you don't have r/c experience and start to drive your car, you are going to break it one way or another. It's as simple as not knowing that when the car comes at you that the steering may seem reversed or just seeing what your car (or YOU) can do. Now I have seen too many people quit after getting frustrated when trying to fix their car. So kit cars sometimes solves that.

I wanted buy my nine year-old an RC vehicle with proportional steering and throttle control. As I am a newbie to RC (I built rockets when I was a kid), I did some web research and talked to a few hobby shop employees. Based on that research, I ended up buying an RTR electric stadium truck. It was great to be able to run the machine right out of the box. The truck is strong and seems to put up with my son's overwhelming desire for "big air". He's worked up to jumping the truck off of a 4 foot high jump with no mishaps. Another great aspect was the overall cost. The RTR package including the truck, motor, speed controller, and radio cost me about $130 before tax. With a peak detecting charger, two 2400mAh NiCd battery packs, and batteries for the radio, I was out the door for about $230 after tax.

As a disclaimer, the RTR truck was not an AE product so don't take the following comments as a critique on AE's offerings. What is not so great about my son's RTR is that the electronics, particularly the mechanical speed controller, are weak. I actually had buyer's remorse before Christmas and wanted to trade up to a model having an ESC but the employees at the hobby shop convinced me that the model I bought was stronger mechanically than another brand RTR I could get with an ESC. They were partially correct on that score because if I had shopped around some more I could have found the truck I bought with an ESC for about $20 more. What is also not so great is that my son's RTR cannot really be upgraded to be race ready. The chassis design is just too old to justify adding an FM TX/RX, a stronger steering servo, an ESC, and a ROAR sanctioned motor. If he wants to race next year, we will be starting from scratch. If I had been able to do more research before Christmas, I would have determined that any RTR I bought should have at least a first tier chassis design. That way, I could salvage the chassis if/when we go to race.

the good thing - RTR is cheaper but with quality stuff bundled & can enjoy right out from the box the bad thing - person has no understanding of how the kit is build and solve any problem regarding the chassis

Three months ago I decided that I would take up R/C as a hobby. Because of my anxious nature, I decided on buying an RTR (the RC10T3). That was a great decision, because I loved the fact that I was up and running right away. Now, three months later, both my daughters also have R/C trucks. It takes me a little longer to repair the vehicles because I do not have the experience of building them. As I slowly replace all the parts on my truck (I am a hard driver) I am getting that experience. All in all the RTR was a good decision. Had I picked a kit, I may have gotten frustrated and given up on R/C all together.

I once bought a fuel engined RTR Stadium Truck, but not from Team Associated. The good part is that I didn't have to put it together myself. But the bad part was that it took longer time to get the RTR running than if I had put it together myself.

My first experience with racing was purchasing a ready to run carpet car from a club member. I have since built a couple of kits from scratch. For me, the opportunity to drive and learn right away was the right decision. The guy that sold me the car was available and happy to answer questions and offer assistance. Generally, breaking parts while racing is only a few minute fix. The length of time and intensity of focus needed to build a car from scratch, just to break something on your first outing could be disappointing. Now when I build a car I understand how the parts work together, when a shortcut is acceptable, and what upgrades are desirable prior to building the car. My wife and son are now involved in the sport (carpet and clay oval, touring, outdoor mx) and are confident in their skills at repairing and building because they learned the same way I did.

Fit to finish was ALWAYS terrible!!!!! Yeah, you can take it out of the box and run it, but it takes much more than that. Once you realize how much work is even involved compared to a kit, (well in my case) You will never go for a RTR again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the RTR is good but you get bad equipment

The good thing is that, with RTRs, you can run right away and all the electronics are included. The bad; RTRs usually include poor quality electronics and you don't know how everything works in the car.

The RTR kit is perfect for beginners who want to get right into the sport. The kits are fully assembled and require only the installation of batteries and fuel if required for nitro vehicles. There is no real "bad" experience for RTR vehicles. The only downside is that buying a RTR doesn't let you build the vehicle and learn how it goes together. This comes into play later on when something breaks and you need to replace it. If you had built the vehicle from scratch, then I think it would be easier to replace parts, and you would feel more confident.

they are really good cars and useful. they will run for a long time. they are inexpensive. associated is the best and will never be beat. a RTR is pretty good for a race out of the box.....so good luck and always have fun

in an RTR u get everything u need but don't get to learn all the parts of the car so it takes longer to to figure out what's wrong

A RTR is fun for beginners and a kit is for more serious drivers.

Good: you learn how the trucks work and how generally set one up plus the price is unbeatable compared to decent parts that it comes with. Bad: the .15 engine is not acceptable in sanction championship racers. Your only allowed a.12

Good: They are ready to run right out of the box, all you have to do is charge up the batteries and put them in and you are ready to go. Bad: When something breaks you have no idea how to fix it and if the car didn't come with the instruction manual it is very hard to get back together properly. Also, if it is your first ever car you will most likely have no idea what the parts are called but if you make it yourself the instruction manual tells you what they are called.

I have a RC10T3 RTR. My son has a Traxxas Bandit that we bought used and I bought my truck new. The only reason I would by a car or truck not as an RTR is that I like to work on things and I like to know the parts inside and out. With the RTR, I didn't get the chance to see the transmission and other inside parts. Otherwise, I have not had any problems with my truck at all. Jim Butler, Bonanza, OR.

the good part about owning an RTR is its ready out of the box but it takes a little long to get to know you truck than it would building the kit either way their tons of fun

what is good about it is that you don't have to build it for a week. solid the bad is how to take it apart or tweak it to go faster

It's good to have everything prebuilt right so you don't mess anything up during assembly, but it's really important to know your car well, and a RTR won't help with that.

I would say an RTR is good for beginners, because you don't have much experience assembling a car as a beginner. while driving the RTR you get to repair the car and this is how you gain experience assembling a car. your second car can be a kit. greez from holland.

right out of the box bashing is the best part of RTR kits just break it in and go, however if your a beginner and need to do repairs it might be a little harder /unfamiliar/ not knowing any better you may not get things back the way they were. but overall RTR is definitely the way to go-- at least you start out with everything set up right, its a great starting point

My bad RTR experience was when the front tire on my car came off because it was loose. The car being RTR I did not have to put the tires on they were already on and I thought that they were on tight.

Good: No more assembly required. Bad: low grade parts.

not having "hands on" experience building the kit, if ever there is a problem or breakage i wouldn't have the experience

good thing car is already built...just race baby...bad thing is u don't really learn anything about the car and have to go get it fixed all the time

Good...Very little time from opening the box to running the truck. Bad...Having not assembled the truck gives me no idea what may be a problem area (if you can call that bad). I am quickly learning where the trouble spots are and how to go about repairing them.

The good thing about it is that you do not worry about having all the parts needed but the bad thing is having to upgrade parts to win something

The advantage of building a kit is if you brake something you know where and how to fix it. On a RTR you don't have that advantage. Axel,12

well, if you get an RTR and want to experience building a kit, it completely defeats the purpose. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't get q

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