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Big Fun in the Winterland! - Hobby Letter #30/21
16.12.2021
All right! Heikki here and it is time for another EuroRC Hobby Letter! I hope you survived from the Black Friday Weekend alive and made some good deals.
We did a good run and thank you for your support! On personal level I have this feeling that the magic of Black Friday is washing away. Biggest reason for this is that many companies play it dirty and pump up the prices beforehand. It also share the feels of many that it's now more like a Black month or a Cyber Autumn rather than just one weekend. We will see where this goes! I hope you liked our offerings as we always go quality first during these campaigns.
Here in Finland it seems that the winter has taken over. Super cold - check. Darkness everywhere - check. Bone breaking slippery - check. Car not starting, battery died - check. I thought that it would be a good timing to remind you about some issues that come up when you are Blasting your RC in sub-zero or wet conditions. Even if you live in a place that is not cold and dark most of the year you may still find our tips useful!
Please read on and prep up for the Frozen!
Snow How
Most important thing to keep in mind when driving in colder temps is that your car is not so durable anymore! Bash with Care. When the plastic parts freeze, they get harder and more fragile. Some plastics get very very fragile when frozen, especially Lexan-bodies and some composites. Remember that your car is not so beefy and rugged that it is in the summer temperatures! Mind your jumps and keep spares in hand.
Cold brings up another very important issue and it is about batteries. Your batteries empty themselves much faster now and they cannot give as much output. You may experience even half of the driving time than you are used to. Do not worry, batteries are not damaged by the low temps and will be fine - just don't drive them empty! Try to keep extra batteries as warm as possible.
More issues are generated when your RC electronics heat up and meet the snow. If you didn't know yet let me tell ya - snow is actually water in solid state! Mind-F-Blowing! This means that during the cold temperatures the moisture may (and will) find it's way to new places and may (and will!) cause some problems if not now then maybe later! Symptoms may vary from mild to wild.
Best cure is to go full waterproof on electronic side. While many RC's today are already resistant against little splashes, one place is often overlooked - radio receiver and receiver case. Pay attention for that area and get a fully waterproof radio set or seal it up yourself. Upgrade to fully waterpoof servo like one of our Halko Turners. Extra torque is welcome when playing in the snow!
Using a Dusty Covers chassis protector is very recommended! It keeps the snow away from the most vulnerable elecronics and gears and pay their not-very-high price back in no time! Be smart here.
Snowball Effect
Driving in snow and ice is Big Fun! Finally you can make long beautiful slides even with less powerful cars and enjoy the feeling that there is more muscle in your car than there really is. Trust me I know this. I drive Mercedes.
RTR-tires are not anyhow recommended. They are too hard and often designed for dry surfaces such as asphalt or dirt. While there is no really winter tires in the market yet, you get pretty far with some bigger monster tires that have big lugs and are also wider. You need more surface between your tire and ground. Get something that bites! When going big, keep in mind that larger tires weight more and stress out the powerline.
This is a good moment to make some other upgrades too. Maybe go full brushless and beef up some parts when possible! Check out our selection of more durable RPM-parts here that are available for many most popular RC cars. Traxxas also offers some HD parts that are specifically for cold temps and upgrading to those is of course very preferred thing to do!
Ice Cold Check List
Here is a fast check list for your slushy winter action fun! Remember to read our brilliant article about Waterproofing RC Electronics when you are ready to step deeper in to cold water.
- Take your RC Car out 30 min before driving and let it cool down to outside temperature. Why? If you run warm truck in the cold snow you can be sure that soon you have a huge snow ball with tires under! May sound fun but actually is not so let your rig cool down first.
- Pack some extra batteries with you, cold climate sucks batteries dry faster! Remember to keep your batteries as warm as possible.
- Change to winter tires. Our selection of Monster tires can be found here! Ask us if you need help. Paddle Tires may be something you should really consider about as they are super fun in the powder! Scale crawlers usually do fine with regular soft compound off-road tires.
- Note that tires will reshape themselves if you don't have any holes poked to them.This is because air packs itself tighter when getting cold. Poke some vent holes for your tires and tape up the holes in the wheels to prevent snow packing inside the tire.
- Get a Dusty Motors protective bag. It works excellent against the snow! Apply a liquid surface coating to ensure easy cleaning procedure! Did you know that Dusty Motors quality accessories are made in Europe!
- Find new challenges and turn your basher in to Santas Super Sleigh! Pop Integy Sled Skis in the front and paddle tires in the rear and hit the off-piste with no mercy! Snow tracks are also something to try out.
- Do the boring snow plowing business comfy from the sofa with this Integy Snow Plow. Improvise, Adapt and Overcome!
- After the run, remove battery from the car immediately. Do not charge cold battery! Let it get in to room temp first.
- Clean and grease. Repeat until clean and greased! When in doubt, lubricate! Remember that rust never sleeps.
Jingle Hell
Hey it is almost Xmas and I wish you a merry one already. Stay strong in the chaos and remember to chill down and take some important hobby time for yourself, too! When looking for Best RC Gifts with the fastest and reliable delivery you know the address! Play it smart this year and get the presents beforehand. Like I do.. Every Christmas.. uh.. yeah!
Thanks for reading and please share those winter action photos and videos with us! Catch you later my friend!
Greetings from Frozen Forests of Tervakoski,
Heikki from EuroRC
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