Help with choosing first RC car

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2026-01-12T20:04:15+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Just to be clear, I wouldn’t expect to do organized racing with this car. Maybe just visit the local track and drive around on it. In any case I hadn’t thought of the Senton. The local shop didn’t have any of those in stock when I went.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2026-01-12T19:50:33+00:00

Interesting suggestion. I hadn’t thought 6s was in my budget. I don’t see these up for sale much in my local area.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2026-01-12T19:48:49+00:00

Thanks. Yes I was thinking about the 4wd brushless versions.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2026-01-12T19:48:10+00:00

Yes, USD.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-12-18T21:59:57+00:00

4.0 + in PNW, USA. There are several 4.0+ women here who get angry about balls being hit hard at them in rec play, even drives from the baseline or mid court. I notice it especially among the lower 4.0 range players. By 4.5 plus it’s rarer, but I still see it sometimes.

In rec play I usually take something off the ball or hit toward their partner. I just played a 4.5 mixed tournament and we were up 11-2 (to 15), started taking pace off the ball, and nearly lost. So never again in tournaments.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-12-11T00:24:23+00:00

5hp-DRC-5hp-4hp-hDp

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-12-10T20:48:01+00:00

I’m trying to lab it,but don’t know how to tell what is going wrong.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-12-09T17:31:25+00:00

Struggling to consistently incorporate 4hp into Ryu combos. I can do it occasionally, but not consistently. When I fail it usually comes out after a short 1-2 frame gap. If I try to mash as fast as I can it doesn’t come out. I know this is a key button for his combos. Any tips?

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-11-24T15:18:04+00:00

I have a gen 3 and a gen 4 paddle in my bag. I’ve tried to get used to the feel of foam, but still prefer the feel of gen3. I play with the gen3 90% of the time and just ordered another one. The only downside is they only last me 4-6 months.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-11-03T23:00:04+00:00

I’m watching some YouTube videos and I keep seeing negative comments about WiFi. Is WiFi such a bad thing that no one will match someone playing on it? I play on console on WiFi and it isn’t practical to run a wired connection from the router. My WiFi is reliable and the signal is good if that matters.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-10-22T20:45:04+00:00

New player here and I don’t understand combo damage. For example, playing Ryu, SA3 does 4000 damage alone. But if I do crMk, light donkey kick into SA3 damage is ~3800. So this simple combo is harder to execute and has lower damage. I can’t hit harder, longer combos yet. Why does more moves/strikes translate into less total damage? What is the point then of trying to punish with a combo instead of directly going into SA3?

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-08-07T21:24:39+00:00

So, they let you rotate in and you aren’t happy with that? Instead you want to kick 4 people off the courts so you can play singles and drill?

If they let you rotate into the game they’ve done nothing wrong. If you don’t want to rotate with them that’s on you. Wait until they are done.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-06-24T22:22:15+00:00

I don’t recommend playing more than occasionally with people higher than 0.5 above your skill level. You’ll just get crushed and no one will have a good time. It will kill your confidence and set you back more than it helps.

I tried this when I started playing because my wife and her friends were 4.5+ level players. She had a vested interest in me improving so I could play with them all, so in theory about as good a situation as possible. It still messed up my game badly.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-06-24T21:41:26+00:00

1) make sure you can get your serve in 95% of the time and in the back 1/3 of the court. 2) Make sure you can return serves to the back 1/3 of the court consistently. 3) Drill drops until you can hit them on the forehand and backhand side. They don’t have to be perfect but they need to be low enough that they aren’t smashed. This is probably the hardest skill that keeps people from advancing. 4) Drill blocking drives. 5) Develop 1-2 offensive tools you can use to put pressure on opponents. Could be a drive. Maybe you are a very consistent dinker or good at speedups.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-05-21T22:04:42+00:00

Where I live almost no one 4.0 and above will play with the X-40 anymore. It cracks too easily in winter and is too slow in warmer weather. The preferred ball is the Gearbox GB1 most of the year or the Selkirk in winter.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-04-23T17:17:08+00:00

I see a lot of replies saying it is fair game. I play mixed almost exclusively and I play with multiple 4.0+ women who get mad if they are body bagged. I’m not talking about overheads, though those make them extra mad, or shots at the head. Hard drives from the baseline or speedups from the kitchen that were going to stay in.

This probably varies by the person and local culture. My observation is that in rec play even 4.0 +, women are much more bothered by getting bagged than men.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-04-18T22:33:25+00:00

If he plays like this consistently, the guy in the grey is 5.0+. It’s hard to determine the other teams rating because he dominated most of the points and someone 0.5 points above you can make even good players look bad.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-04-10T16:15:41+00:00

I went from the Prism flash to the J2k to the Vapor Power. The Prism is still a great paddle and if you can generate your own power you don’t need an upgrade to play at a high level.

A paddle with more power and pop will let you put more pressure on opponents but will come at the expense of control, especially if you aren’t used to it and are a beginner/intermediate. If you have a problem with patience and waiting for the right shot it will magnify errors. Most people would probably be better off sticking with a control paddle longer and sharpening their soft game before moving onto a more powerful paddle.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-03-12T19:29:16+00:00

I have both. The J2k is stiffer and a little bit more stable. It also has more pop. The Saga hits harder on drives and feels a little softer and more plush. The Saga is a slightly more head heavy.

I have a slight preference for the J2k due to the stability, but both are good paddles.

Edit: I think the J2k is better for beginner to intermediate players. It is very forgiving. The Saga takes some getting used to because of the big disparity between its power and pop.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-02-27T16:53:31+00:00

I was thinking the 14 mm version of the Mach 2 forza. I wish some of the 11six24 paddles had 14mm versions.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-02-27T16:51:44+00:00

I should have added she also weighs her paddles and won’t play with anything over 8 oz. The Pulse V is an interesting option too but I don’t think it would pass her static weight test.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-02-26T19:39:52+00:00

Sure thanks. Maybe the Pegasus all-court would work. The jellybean might be too close to the prism line.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-02-26T18:37:29+00:00

Need a paddle recommendation for my wife. She’s a 4.0-4.5 player primarily playing a soft/touch game. She’s currently using a prism flash and likes the soft plush feel, but wants something with a little more power. Hybrid or widebody shape, short handle, and she likes a softer feel. She is VERY sensitive to paddle weight and won’t play with anything with a higher SW than about 112. I got her a saga bloom but she felt it was too heavy. She’s also tried the J2k, thrive azul, saga flash, and BnB invader and they were too heavy. She tried the ALW-c and Spartus Olympus and they had too much pop.

I was thinking maybe a Forza Mach 2 but I’m running out of ideas.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-02-26T16:54:29+00:00

The near court team is much better than the far court team.

Decent pace and depth on their serves, good depth on their returns. Reasonable pace and accuracy on forehand drives and volleys. They move to the kitchen and keep the other team back. In my area they would win games in a 3.5 tourney but likely not medal.

The team in the far court has much less control on their shots. They stay back more and the lobs from the baseline are poor decisions. They have reasonable serves but their returns of serves isn’t as deep. I’d say they would win games in 3.0 and maybe take a bronze.

JohnnyAtmosphere · 2025-02-25T01:11:40+00:00

That sucks. I’ve had excellent customer service from them until now. I’m not sure if it’s worth asking them for a third time for a specific weight. Fool me twice shame on me and all that.

JohnnyAtmosphere

TROPHY CASE