Considering getting into XMods - have a question or two...
 

I stumbled upon this site and xmod videos on youtube and I want to get into the xmod hobby :)

Now, I know there are Gen1 and Evo Xmod kits, so...

1. Is it better to get the Evo one or the Gen1 or the Street edition?
2. Is it possible to use other body's or model car body's for the Xmod?
3. Will I regret this hobby? (I am an electronics guy btw) lol.

Mo

1. Is it better to get the Evo one or the Gen1?
everyone has their preference on what they think is the best chassis to use. i think its 6 of one half a dozen of the other. I started out with evo, and personally think that they are easier to do things with. but the gen 1 you can do quite a bit with as well. get different camber easier, more of a "hobby grade" type of electtronics setup. has a sepearate esc, rx, servo incorporated into it. the oevo has it all as one bundle basically.

2. Is it possible to use other body's or model car body's for the Xmod?
the evos can run any xmod body, the gen 1 doesnt go long enough to run a few of the evo bodys. and check out the project section and the picture gallery area, you can see you put almost any model body on these xmods

3. Will I regret this hobby? (I am an electronics guy btw) lol.
(click the link in my sig, i have a ton of xmods, and i dont regret it one bit)


theres some answers for ya,
Chuck

Wow talk about a quick reply! Thanks Chuck. I just realised my local radioshack has only the Street edition xmods left - are these any good or should I just try to find an Evo or Gen1? Btw, I am VERY much into modding everything and electronics and circuitry are one of my main hobbies...

I was hearing the street edition cannot be modded but I would like you hear you guy's answers - thanks.

Street and Evo are the same thing except the Streets have more reinforced parts but with fixed frequency crystals. Any of the Evo upgrades will work on the Streets.

most of the street edition bodies dont have body kits available for them. and the crystals are fixed, instead of removable. but you can transplant one of the old style crystal holders, or a mini z crystal holders onto the boards.
but the cars themselves are just as modable as the evos, bearings, gpm, awd, aftermarket parts, etc.

Ok great - so it sounds like the street edition is not a bad option after all! Do you guys think $25 is a good deal for the street edition brand new? My local RS has the LAST ONE left (he said it was on clearance sale for $25)!! Think I should go jump on it right now?

I did not ask the guy on the phone which body style he had but I guess its okay since I can change the body out if I wanted...

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

I'd jump on it. They are normally 50 bucks so half price makes it that much easier

Well I just got back from RS and here is what I got together with what I paid ...

Xmods Street Audi R8 - $24.95 clearance
RS 8 Pack AAA NiMh 750mA with Charger for Xmods - $12.95 clearance
9V on Sale - $1.99

Do you guys think I got a steal lol? What do you guys think about the RS Xmod batteries and charger I got - are those good enough or should I return them and get something else you guys would recommend? I got em anyway because it was the last one as well lol.

Oh and I thought it would be nice to show a pic since you all have been so helpful :)

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/i...x/IMG_1360.jpg

Put the batteries in the freezer over night, then let them return to room temperature and charge them. They are like 5 year old batteries.

this is true..... welcome to the addiction my friend.. the addiction will empty your pockets even if you try to keep the money in your pockets. :uhoh: :nod:

I picked up my first one at RS clearance for $25 and quickly bought another one and an extra "broken" one at a discount of $15.

As a computer guy and serial upgrader, I instantly started tinkering and within a week or so had ordered enough aftermarket parts to build a nearly $200 Xmod. (see it here http://www.xmodsource.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18663 )

That being said, I have had a blast and although I have slowed down considerably over the last week or so due to work being busy as heck, I cannot wait to run them outdoors now that the weather has turned.

You won't regret it.... All the time :)

If its electronics you like then you might like to do what I do!

http://www.xmodsource.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17567

You couldn't have picked a better hobby or website to come to for help. You will meet plenty of friendly and helpful people here.

Hey thanks guys :) Yeah the batteries where almost dead in about .... 5 mins!!! This was after I put it in the charger and the charger claimed it was fully charged (green light on) :( Wow I was having fun playing cat and mouse with my dog too :(

Well the batteries are in the freezer now lol - I am wondering if some Duracell 1000mAh would be better than those? This is what I am using in my wireless keyboard and a remote control so its kinda overkill in those devices - maybe I should swap them out with the RS batteries haha.

BTW Guys, how long is it suppose to run on those RS 750mAh batteries? Will the RS Batteries be good as new after I take em out of the freezer and charge them?

Should be a good 10-15 minutes on RS Batteries. They will probably last a few minutes longer as the batteries are old, but just keep charging them. Use another charger btw, use the 15 Minute chargers, they charge them properly, the RS Xmod Charger doesnt charge full, just enough for you to run your xmod.

Well, its hard to determine exactly how long batteries will last, I know the formula used is:

Duration= 60*(capacity/mAH) /amp draw of the motor.

I believe a stock stage one motor draws roughly 1 amp draw at full throttle running on 4.8v.

So an example would be 60*.75 (750 mAH)/1=45 minutes run time.
At 1000mAH your run time should be 60 minutes, assuming that they use the same voltage. If its higher, the motor will draw more amperage. Stock FETs can handle up to 3.5A, while the stock motor can handle up to 8.4A I believe. This is why most people stack fets and go lipo or something similar.

The user Action B has a very cheap FET stacking service, and is an approved provider. http://www.xmodsource.com/forum/show...061#post253061

Disclaimer: I doubt anyone has ever seen those run times out of radio shack batteries, I am just providing the formula used for larger scale RC; I can only assume its similar for Xmods.

wow that made my brain hurt. cool though.

In regards to which batts to get. I recommend lithium. Easy to charge (if you have the right charger), As long as your good with soldering, easy to install, and they last a lot longer than the AAA's + your speed is doubled:nod:

If speed and long lasting batteries are what you want then go for lithium

Battery Issues
 

Hi, even after following the instructions to "revive" the old stock batteries, they did the exact same thing and died in about 3 mins this time :( - I am trying a different charger right now as we speak - next I am gonna try my Duracell 1000mAh and see what happens - hope nothing is wrong with my first Xmod ever lol.

I wouldn't worry too much, those batteries don't have a long shelf life. I probably have at least 20+ of those crap radio shack rechargeables in a drawer somewhere that won't hold a charge. As Xmodsunlimited said, I would go lithium. You can pick up a 2 cell lipo pack pretty cheap at a hobby shop, some even come with their own cheap little chargers. We should have an easy tutorial around here on replacing the battery terminals with say, a micro deans plug (What I used). While you are at it, follow the tutorial for removing the on/off switch. If we don't have the tutorials Atomicmods.com has them. I personally have almost all my cars wired with micro deans, and just use the one lipo pack ;)

I just looked up the Lipo battery setup for these and they run on 7.4V - is that safe on a stock setup?!

How long does a typical dual 500mA Lipo (like the ones on Ebay) setup allow you to drive for?

How many charge cycles do they accept ie. how long will the Lipo last?

Now these require a special charger as well don't they? If I do this I am thinking about returning the RS Battery Kit... not worth it if all 8 batteries are basically "bad" even though it comes with a charger....

Thanks for your valuable advice :)