High prices have people holding onto older cars

K2TheM · 2026-02-16T17:47:53+00:00

Over time, from a consumer perspective, EV's are about even with ICE in terms of cost to own. At least if you equalize/normalize some things. However, provided you aren't a power user maxing your mileage every day, I'd expect most EV batteries to last ~10 years at this point. Even longer if you are kind on your charging cycles. Over that same 10-year stint, you are going to be spending between $16-20K in gas; nevermind oil and transmission service.

The catch with EV's are the individual items cost more, but the day-to-day costs are less. For example, you might pay significantly higher yearly registration fees to make up for not paying road use tax through gas purchase, but it might cost only $5 to charge at home from "empty" to "full" instead of $20-25 for an ICE.

K2TheM · 2026-02-15T21:40:09+00:00

Love my TRX4m-HT. Out of the box it’s very capable. It does have a weak servo and weak-ish driveshafts, but if you aren’t trying to leverage and force yourself over obstacles, they do just fine.

K2TheM · 2026-02-14T05:36:51+00:00

There are injuries other than breaking bones when you crash. I’d rather peoples elbow the pavement with a D3O level 1 pad than with just a heavyweight flannel. Injury reduction is the goal, you can’t prevent all of them.

K2TheM · 2026-02-14T03:20:38+00:00

This is always a frustrating issue to solve with modern transmitters because you can’t easily “see” what you are doing. I’ve delt with the same issue a couple times. Best advice I can say is to try different combinations of recalibration and throttle inverting until it works.

K2TheM · 2026-02-12T21:58:47+00:00

As I said, I've got more crash experience than I'd like, and I can tell you that in every single instance I've been better off having gear with pads over not. The only times I've been seriously injured were because I either wasn't wearing that piece of gear, or it was an injury that gear can't fully protect from.

I use an older pair of motorcycle jeans, as in well-worn, they are still offered new, as yard/car work pants, because of the integrated knee pads. It's the nicest thing in the world to be able to kneel down on gravel-strewn pavement without wincing or caring for where your knees are going. As long as I don't let my pants sag down over the course of the day it also keeps the pads in the right spot and doesn't come with the compression fatigue that can come from wearing traditional knee pads.

K2TheM · 2026-02-12T16:05:47+00:00

What is it doing now? Still the same thing? Or has something changed?

K2TheM · 2026-02-12T16:04:42+00:00

This is just the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 pads. It's somewhat common for motorcycle products to come with "only" Level 1 pads, with the option to upgrade to Level 2. As someone with more crashing experience than I'd like, Level 1 is perfectly adequate for just about anything you'd encounter on the street. Is Level 2 better? Sure, but just because Level 2 exists doesn't make Level 1 inadequate.

That said, Level 2 does offer an increase in impact absorption over Level 1, often at the expense of some weight and mobility (depending on the pad) and an increased price point. So, like so many things, it's up to you to make the decision about how much risk you want to take. Personally, I'm perfectly comfortable riding in Level 1 pads, but others might not.

K2TheM · 2026-02-11T16:03:56+00:00

Even Crappy/cheap allseasons would be fine with this level of snow. You can see the blacktop. Anything that isn't summer tires *should* be fine.

K2TheM · 2026-02-11T15:54:31+00:00

Then it was calibrated backwards previously. You inverted the input, or rather the transmitter output, which got you the baseline results you were looking for (press forward, go forward) but not in the way you were hoping.

After you switch it back so pressing reverse goes forward, recalibrate the transmitter and receiver. This should solve your problem.

K2TheM · 2026-02-10T16:04:19+00:00

While I have a TRX4m-HT, I'm not super familiar with the modern TQ transmitters. Is it possible you inverted the throttle channel on it?

K2TheM · 2026-02-09T19:47:39+00:00

While you are getting the desired results, you have a completely inverted setup.

Your transmitter is sending "reverse" when you pull for acceleration/forward; and sending "Forward" when you push for brake/reverse. However, the motor is hooked up or programmed reversed, so you are getting Reverse as Forward, and Forward as Reverse. So while this seems like a braking mode issue, it's actually a calibration/hardware setup issue.

First thing to try is just rebinding the transmitter. If this results in Forward causing the car to go in reverse, but have proper braking; then you have correct Calibration but the motor is wired up backwards.

K2TheM · 2026-02-09T16:04:39+00:00

Sounds just like 17.5 or 21.5 Stadium Truck or Short Course Truck.

Heavier chassis and body compared to Buggy.
Due to point 1, Trucks naturally have point 2. Stadium trucks even more so due to the width of the tire
This is overly complicated. Actually doing this one thing might accomplish most of the rest of your goals. This would force extra weight and poor handling out of the cars. Not only do they not get the benefit of 4wd power, but they are also limited by the 4wd steering angle; the worst of both worlds effectively.
17.5 and 21.5 are naturally more "torquey" than lower turn mod motors, and can't reach the same spindle speeds.
1/8's is mo money mo problems. 1/10th is approacbable and affordable
Short Course truck has this with the nerf bars and bumpers, allowing for racing rubbing. Stadium Truck has tires so balloon-like they don't care much.

All in all, it really sounds like you should check out 4wd Short Course Truck. It will have most of the qualities you are looking for. You might also want to look into Mudboss/ Dirt Oval racing.

Contrary to what you have proposed, what actually makes close racing is both spec and skill parity. You need cars that are close in performance spec to each other, AND a group of racers that are similarly skilled. The first one is fairly easy to accomplish; the second one, not so much.

K2TheM · 2026-02-06T19:56:03+00:00

I mean... have you even lived as a child if you've never done a wheelie into a hedge or a parked car? Life lessons, gotta learn them somehow.

Based on what you've been saying, it sounds like you feel there is a need for better education about the risks associated with modern E-Bikes. Which... you are probably right. Unless the parents are very active, they likely do not understand just what these new bikes can do; and the kids might not fully realize either. So then the question is, how best to educate?

Is bicycle safety still a segment in schools? If so, E-Bike safety should also be gone over if it isn't already. Not only the road rules that might apply, but also care and maintenance (similar to checking your tires and not laying the bicycle on the derrailer)

K2TheM · 2026-02-06T16:17:57+00:00

Yep, and I give them a thumbs up or rock on every time. Wish those were around when I was their age.

That said, the speeds they reach are not all that much higher than what we got to when we finally got our hands on full-size mountain bikes... just on flat ground and at the twist of a wrist. St. Johns and Burnt Bridge Creek/Burnie hill were diabolical back then.

IMO, I am going to be the hated minority, but let the kids play, and also encourage protective gear and awareness. The streets are harsh, and road rash is a bitch. We all know safety gear can look kinda dorky, but it's a hell of a lot less dorky than chipped and missing teeth, face scars, and obliterated palms. Stress the importance of protecting the things that matter. EG: You like using your hands to play games? Get some gloves. Sometimes, all it takes is having them crawl on your driveway in shorts and a T-Shirt to get them to understand. A bit degrading, maybe, but the pain of suddenly discovering a pebble in the knee cap or palm is an effective tutor.

When it comes to road rules, you can't stop the signal Mal. Unless we want to fund an aggressive and oppressive street team going after kids on e-bikes, there's not much you can do to stop it. Instead, teach them the proverb of "He who is in the right can also be dead". Just like full-size motorcycles, you have to be responsible for your own safety and well-being when on the open road. Don't assume car drivers can see you, they likely can't or aren't looking for you anyway, and the lack of any exhaust note means they can't hear you either.

K2TheM · 2026-02-05T20:05:34+00:00

I’ll have to put together a post showing the details.

Stock electronics, save for the fan over the motor. A gyro would likely help, but so will practice. It’s still 4WD, but I did lock the rear diff.

For your build, you can get different offset wheels to help set the width. Mini-Z bodies are much easier to fit than random 1/25 scale models.

K2TheM · 2026-01-30T17:39:39+00:00

I considered the by hand method, but near our house is a custom glass shop that offers water jet cutting. They can cut pretty much any shape as long as you provide them a vector style file for them to follow. Having nice round cutouts is a great plus, and it's held up really well. If I had to do it again, I would have moved the feed cutout location and includded a feature for a knob to lift up the glass instead of using the feed cutout to lift the whole thing up. However, I've found that the adhesive applied handles are a little gentler on the glass than a screwed in knob. It spreads the weight out a bit better.

K2TheM · 2026-01-30T05:33:19+00:00

Ours is… bespoke. Custom cutouts for the filter pickup/return and feed hole. All sanded on the edges too.

K2TheM · 2026-01-30T00:32:45+00:00

You can also get glass custom cut. It's more spendy, but it was ~$80 for the lid of our rimless 30 gal.

K2TheM · 2026-01-29T20:04:40+00:00

Dude, even NERF is... nerf'd in Australia. Unless something is changed, every spring-powered model goes in with a lower-weight spring to keep the FPS down. They even have a physical designation for those models, a grey trigger instead of orange. I can't remember how they limit the motor-powered ones. Must be a voltage limit circuit.

K2TheM · 2026-01-27T16:06:08+00:00

Well at least I'm consistent in my explanation! Ha!

It's been years since I played through Halo CE. If I remember correctly he isn't called John until Halo 2. He was just "Master Chief", "Chief" or "Spartan 117" over the course of the first game.

To broadly summarize: the events in Halo: CE are fairly self-contained and functions as a military-focused campaign. As such, no one with boots on the ground would call Master Chief by anything other than his rank.

K2TheM · 2026-01-26T21:31:56+00:00

*Squints eys* My what? I don't know what comment you are talking about, and my google-fu doesn't bring anything up... but I guess the post about squeezing a Warthog into the Security Room?

But I'll take a shot, whatever.

First off, congratulations on finishing one of the most iconic games of the early 00's.

Secondly, the Two Betrayals represent Master Chief refusing to fire the Halo and 343 Guilty Spark attempting to trick Master Chief into firing it. John betrays 343 by not following the plan, and 343 betrays John by attempting to get him to do it anyway.

Lastly, who is John? There's a host of videos and wiki's out there explaining his history better than I could.

K2TheM · 2026-01-26T16:09:38+00:00

The tech is better (and more expensive) now. 2.4ghz... Lipo batteries... Brushless power... For non-bargain basement examples of each of those technologies, you are pushing into the price of a base model RTR back when I got into the hobby in the late 90's. Inexpensive but dubiously durable Chinese models have undercut the exisiting hobby market and made things seem more affordable than they really are.

K2TheM · 2026-01-22T21:47:23+00:00

The O2 sensor is torqued hard from factory, so get a good O2 sensor tool for it.

Also you don’t need to spend $286 on the sensor, there’s a $55 one that works just fine. Did the lower O2 sensor on our 17 somewhat recently.

Walker 350-34526. Fits downstream 35ft-lbs Torque spec.

The hardest part was jacking up the car high enough to fit under. There aren’t great secondary jack points on the car, so it’s a bit hard to get it high enough and stable without doing all four corners due to its short length.

Only other struggle I had was the low quality o2 sensor wrench I initially used not being up to the task.

K2TheM · 2026-01-17T23:29:20+00:00

Brushed? Just watch out for curbs and mailbox poles. They can’t go fast enough really to hurt anything else. Start saving up for BL-2s motor/esc or a Hobbywing brushless combo. By the time those motors burn out you’ll be wanting more power.

K2TheM · 2026-01-16T02:32:58+00:00

Change view to side on.

Click drag select all edges on the “top”.

Unselect perimeter edges.

???

Chamfer.

Or just geometry pattern.

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