Meet the world's fastest RC car
(Credit:
PopSci.com)
You'd think a gadget guy like me would have grown up with radio-controlled cars, but you'd be wrong. For some reason my parents were terrified of them. They saw some movie in the '80s where a kid's car runs out of batteries in the middle of a street. He runs to get it and is killed by a drunk driver or something. The point is it scared them away from RC cars for my entire childhood.
But now I'm a man. If I want a radio-controlled car, I'm going to buy one. But then on PopSci.com I spotted Nic Case's insane Pocket Rocket, supposedly the world's fastest RC car, and now I know I'll never measure up.
I mean, the thing goes 161 miles per hour on flat land, a world record. And Case plans to take it to more than 200 mph. That's actually a little bit scary when you consider the Pocket Rocket has no brakes: it stops by just decelerating the motor. If that's not crazy enough, it uses an RC helicopter-style gyro to keep the steering on track. Awesome.
And look at the thing! Were I a Smurf, I'd demand a thrill ride in it. Alas I'm not. I will, though, be researching this awesome world I did not know existed: RC-car speed contests. I'm so onboard. And I'm buying shin guards.
Update at 10:30 a.m. PDT July 9: Fixed a typo in the product's name.
With more than 15 years experience testing hardware (and being obsessed with it), Crave freelance writer Matt Hickey can tell the good gadgets from the great. He also has a keen eye for future technology trends. Matt has blogged for publications including TechCrunch, CrunchGear, and most recently, Gizmodo. E-mail Matt. 
RC is actually becoming a highly competitive sport right now. If you think a 161mph car is impressive, check out what some people can do with the helicopters and precision aerobatics.
I wished they still made they're regular kit Nitro RS4. They were amazing. They kind of stopped paying so much attention to their car line up.
" American Eagle" who is testing at Black Rock desert today. http://www.landspeed.com
The HPI Flamethrower... does that model exist? LOL
(just kidding guys)
If you were in your (real) car out doing high speed runs on the salt flats, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to be hitting your brakes at crazy speeds either--you'd probably just leave it in gear and let the engine compression bring you down to a manageable speed.
Nic Case wrote about his setup:
Location: Southern California resident ? 161mph run at Rockingham
Car: A Schumacher Mi-3 was used as the base of this car. The wheelbase was modified (mostly to have more room for equipment) to 550mm & the width was narrowed 25mm. The Mi-3 is great platform to build from because it was able to accommodate 6mm wide belts & is very strong, efficient & tunable. By using belts, torques from the motor dose not affect the direction of the car during acceleration & deceleration.
Batteries: The batteries are FlightPower EVO 30?s. Two, 6 cell packs are plugged together in series, to be used as a 12 cell powerhouse. These packs are high quality & able to discharge at over 200 amps!
Motor: A Neu 1521 1y was the motor of choice. The Kv n this baby is 1577, has a 5mm shaft & it?s calculated that it produces somewhere between 8 and 11 Horsepower.
ESC: The ESC is a Castle Creations Phoenix HV-110. I like it because it?s easy to set-up and has a great customer service. It handles the 12s set-up, is very easy to program & has a very smooth braking routine.ESC settings Zero timing, 40% super slow brake.
Gearing: 75 x 40
Radio Gear: The radio I used is the Futaba 3PJ with the FASST 2.4 GHz module.
During my testing, I have not tried any radio that had more range than this piece of technology from Futaba. Radio settings = F- ATV 74% B ? ATV 78%
Gyro: Futaba GY240 helps the car sow down in a strait line.
Body: The body was custom made, inspired by the JCB DieselMax.
Tires: The tires are also custom made. The wheels are cnc machined by RC4WD. The tire compound is a vulcanized natural rubber.
Car Setup: I used spools front and rear. Schumacher yellow springs 150wt oil rear. Schumacher purple springs ? 150wt oil front
More information at fastestrc.blogspot.com
But that's when I was a kid! I wasn't old enough to drive a real car so this was the next best thing. As an adult... no offense but, I think it's a pretty lame hobby to have. There's no visceral sensation of movement... you're just standing there pulling a trigger and turning a knob. Whoopdie-do!! For the fathers out there into the 'hobby' because their kids are... I commend you. I'll be one of you soon enough. As for the rest of you... lol well hey... to each their own.
Last but not least... this car. Yeah, that's pretty impressive I guess but in about .2 seconds it's out of sight. Ironically, that registers about a .2 on a 1-10 scale of fun.
Last but not least, setting a speed record with an rc car is not about how long it lasts, It's about being the fastest, and for Nic being the fastest equals having the most fun.
Just letting you know about a typo in your article:
Instead of "Picket Rocket" it should say "Pocket Rocket" right?
- by rcmodels November 11, 2009 2:58 AM PST
- That looks like a nasty rc car! I'd love to get behind the remote control on that one...
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(18 Comments)Check out <a href="http://www.rc-models.info">RC Cars</a> and more...