Radio Control Car Action - September 2009

REEDY WOLFPACK 3600MAH NIMH BATTERY PACK ■ HITEC LN5014 BATTERY CHARGER ■ LRP 14A POWER SUPPLY ■ PROTEK 5000MAH 35C HARD-CASE LIPO ■ 8 AA BATTERIES

TEST
GEAR

Driving an SC10 is a blast because it looks so real going around the track. The truck takes flight, lands off of jumps and corners just like the real deal. It’s noticeably quiet, especially when other trucks are being run at the same time. This is a trademark of Associated’s electric vehicles; they are known for having supersmooth trans- missions and making hardly any noise. Initially during testing, a NiMH 6-cell battery pack was used. The truck seemed a bit underpowered compared to what I was used to with short-course trucks. With the weight of the heavier stick pack, the truck felt planted in the rear and had a considerable understeer in the corners—perfect for beginners. I wanted more steering, so thankfully, I was able to dial in additional steering throw by maxing out he dual-rate dial on the radio (dial just under the steering wheel), which increased the truck’s cornering abilities. This quick adjustment made carving corners much easier. The XP radio didn’t having any glitches during testing, and the trim dials were easy to use for on-the-fly changes. I would have preferred if the XP radio had a foam donut ring for the steering wheel as opposed to the rubber one, which felt a bit skimpy. After getting a good feel for the truck’s abilities with the less expensive NiMH power, I opted to swap it out for a 5000mAh 35C hard- cased LiPo battery from Pro Tek. Instantly, the truck felt quicker, and its top speed seemed a couple of ticks faster. More experienced racers will want to use LiPo battery power right from the start. The truck will run for 20 minutes with the 5000mAh LiPo battery pack, which is a lot of time to have fun. If you opt to use LiPo power, you’ll appreciate the XP SC200 speed controller’s built-in LiPo cutoff. The cutoff worked perfectly throughout my day of fun and always shut the SC10 down before I could run the battery too low. This cutoff feature is not available in other short-course vehicles and will save your costly batteries when they get near the end of their charge. Since I don’t crash as much as a newbie, I decided to hand the radio off to my younger brother, Nathan. Nathan has only driven a few RC cars and doesn’t have much experience. He had some fun driving the truck in our gravel driveway, but I knew he would get a kick out of driving on a track, as he’s a pretty good MX racer. His lines at the track looked more like a bowling ball at a kid’s birthday party. He hit just about every track pipe he could find. Some of his collisions caused a loud “crack” that I thought for sure produced some damage, but didn’t. He cased jumps, hit other vehicles (sorry, guys) and really put the SC10 to the durability test. I cringed, he laughed, and we determined that the SC10 is a beast and can take a beating. PERFORMANCE

Controls for the SC10 RTR are given to an XP2 AM radio system. The XP2 radio has a rubber grip on the steering wheel and small dials to adjust steering and throttle trims. A thumbwheel below the steering wheel adjusts the truck’s steering dual-rate, which controls how much steering the truck has. An XP digital SC200 speed controller delivers linear power to the 17-turn modified motor. With LiPo power, the truck easily reaches a top speed in the mid-20s. A nice feature of the SC200 controller is its built-in LiPo battery cut-off, which prevents LiPo batteries from being discharged too low. A few tools are included for removing the truck’s wheels and shocks and adjusting the turnbuckles. INCLUDED ELECTRONICS & ACCESSORIES

❯❯ Handles extremely well

❯❯ Looks are unbeatable

❯❯ Can take lots of abuse

+

❯❯ Understeer in tight corners

❯❯ Radio’s rubber wheel -

The SC10 RTR can bear the Associated name proudly. It delivers on performance, looks and durability with very high marks. Those who are looking to race would be hard-pressed to find a better ready-to-run ride for the short-course class. If you want to tear up your neighborhood, the SC10 RTR is also at home bashing; it bounces off curbs and absorbs rough crashes that would immobilize most vehicles. VERDICT

SUSPENSION. Blue-anodized, fluid-filled shocks provide a smooth ride for the SC10. The shocks can be placed in a number of positions for altering the truck’s handling characteristics. Adjustable steel turnbuckles span the truck’s chassis to the outer components for changing front and rear camber and toe. The suspension’s geometry has been lifted from the race-winning Associated T4,

thus producing an agile racer with sharp handling characteristics. Out of the box, the truck suspension feels pretty good and would be at home on most racetracks.

STYLING. A hard look at the SC10 shell reveals an accurate representation of the full-size trucks raced in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series. There are five officially licensed bodies to choose from when pur-

chasing an SC10. The realistic looks don’t stop at the body; rubber mud flaps tuck under the rear end just behind the rear wheels. The blacked-out wheels and tread pattern also depict the whoops run on the big trucks. Clean, black plastic bumpers do an excellent job of protecting the SC10 and finish off its accurate styling.