To Build or Just Drive, That is the Question

Hobby-grade RC vehicles usually come as kits intended for assembly or RTR, Ready to Run. Which is best for you, like most aspects of R/C, depends on what you want out of the R/C experience.

RTR

• Fewer tools are required to get up and running. In most cases, you only need to charge battery packs, fire it up, and go.
• RTR's are assembled in a production line environment. It's not uncommon to find loose fasteners and incorrectly adjusted settings, such as clutches and suspension settings, as a result.
• Greater care has to be taken to fully read and understand the manual with an RTR. Since you didn't build it yourself, you will have a more abstract understanding of how the various mechanisms of your new R/C work.
• Some features of the same model in RTR form are often slightly different and sometimes inferior to the kit versions to reduce assembly costs.
• In order to be Ready to Run, parts that are optionally chosen when assembling a kit, such as radio equipment, servos, motors, engines, and speed controls, are part of the RTR package. To reduce the cost of the RTR vehicle, these are often an acceptable but not superior grade of component and may have to be replaced or upgraded later.
• To add any performance upgrades or hop-ups, you must first learn how to properly disassemble your R/C, a process you would already be familiar with had you built a kit.
• You may not be able to implement many "racer recommendations" if you buy an RTR. Various methods of gluing tires to the rims, for example, may not be possible if the RTR comes with the tires already cemented to the wheels.
• The lexan bodies of most RTR's are painted from a template before being heated and molded to fit the model. The only way to custom paint your R/C body is to buy a new one, which comes in a clear uncut form.
• Some decisions in the building process - for example, where holes may be drilled to mount specific hardware - are already done for you and may not be available to alter at a later time.
• RTR shock absorbers will come with the same weight of oil all around. If you wish to change the dampening charcteristics of your suspension you will have to buy shock oils separately and dismantle the shocks to change the oil.

Kits

Radio controlled vehicles are an extension a much earlier hobby, scale modeling. If you build your R/C from a kit, not only will you have a greater understanding of how they work, you will have the satisfaction of knowing you built it yourself, old-school.

Many of today's R/C's come in kit form should you want to take the time to assemble your own from scratch.

• A small collection of tools that include screwdrivers, small nut drivers or wrenches, pliers, several sizes of hex (Allen) wrenches, and a soldering iron and solder are usually required to successfully build an R/C kit. A Dremel or equivalent high-speed hobby tool is also handy.
• Assembling a kit involves building many smaller sub-assemblies, such as transmissions, differentials, and front/rear drive train assemblies, many of which will be internal and hidden from view in the finished model. When something breaks down or fails to fucntion properly, you will have a better understanding of how these parts function and what is going to be involved in repairing or adjusting your R/C.
• Following along with the assembly manual is critical in building your R/C. You will pick up a lot of tips about fine-tuning your finished R/C from the manual that might otherwise get overlooked or ignored.
• Kits are designed with the "serious" hobbyist in mind and often have features and quality parts that are not available in their RTR counterparts.
• Kits generally don't come with electronics, such as radio equipment, motors, engines, speed controls, or servos. When you build your own kit, you can select the most appropriate brand and quality of these components to suit your individual driving needs and budget.
• If you are planning on adding performance upgrades, you can purchase these prior to assembly and integrate them into the assembly process, rather than having to dismantle the vehicle later. Bearing sets, which reduce drag and increase overall speed, are a perfect example, especially if the original kit comes with brass or plastic bushings. Rather than dismantling the vehicle to add bearings, just have them ready prior to assembly and install them as you build it.
• As you assemble your kit, you may be able to implement custom alterations with the raw parts that you could not do with the RTR version.
• Most kits come with a clear lexan body intended for custom painting. Some kits don't even come with a body, allowing you to select one of the hundreds available from third party manufacturers.
• As you build your kit, you may have choices during assembly for particular effects. For example, you may wish to install different caster blocks up front or rear suspension mounts that have an anti-squat or toe-in angle that is different from the stock version.
• As you build the shocks, you may decide to use different weights of oils and springs, incorporating these decisions into the assembly process.

If you take the time and build the kit from scratch, many of the problems you may encounter - steering adjustments, traction, or performance issues, for example - will be easier to address because you have a better understanding of how the vehicle works.

Like many things in life, sometimes you just don't want or need to know. All you want to do is pull the trigger and watch it go! The RTR's on the market today make that a reality. RTR vehicles allow everyone to particiate in the hobby no matter how mechanically inclined you are - or are not.

So do you want to build it or just drive? Once you've made that decision, let's have a look at the two main divisions of radio controlled vehicles, onroad cars and offroad cars, buggies, and trucks.