These RC cars are almost like toys, but they're not actually toys because they're built for adults and can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour in stock versions. I knew about the speed, but I couldn't imagine the torque and how it would actually feel in the real world. I also knew that this was an expensive hobby, and I could never justify the price just for fun. I had also heard about Nitro engines requiring a lot of work and continuous maintenance, which was another reason why I had never tried these cars or planes.

So, back to the original story. It was winter, around December, a little before Christmas, and it was a good time for me financially. So, I decided it might be the right time to try something like this out. I called my friend Domen to see if he had time and if he'd be willing to show me his truck in the snow because I might be interested in buying one in the next few weeks. Domen was very excited to see my interest in this hobby, and he immediately said he could come over, which was about 1:00 PM or 2:00 PM in the afternoon.

He arrived about two hours after we talked, and immediately, I saw that the truck was much larger than I had imagined, and it looked way better than I ever thought. The first thing he did was throw it about a meter and a half into the sky and let it land on its wheels, showing off the amazing suspension system that these trucks have. I fell in love with that moment, specifically with the suspension of the car, and I already knew that this was a game-changer for me. Don't get me wrong, not a mistake in the sense that it was a bad idea, but a mistake in the sense that I would probably end up buying one and spending a lot of money on spare parts and various upgrades.

After he inserted the 2 x 4-cell 16.8V batteries, he started the truck, and it immediately spun the fans at higher RPM. At that point, my heart started racing in my chest. Our private road was snowy and icy at the time, and I thought the car wouldn't accelerate at all and would just spin the wheels, but I couldn't have been more wrong. As soon as my friend hit the accelerator, the car started throwing snow all around us and accelerated to about 30 to 40 kilometers per hour in no time. I was in awe. He said, "Here you go, you can drive it, just be careful with the accelerator because it's very responsive." I replied, "Of course, I won't just floor it. I know this truck is very, very fast."... Yeah... a few moments later the car was already uncontrollably spinning down the hill.

I started up very slowly, just like when you drive a real car for the first time and have to release the clutch gently. That was it for me; the car was just epic. At that moment, I told him, "That's it, I want to buy this." My friend said he could get me one, and we just needed to drive about 60 kilometers to meet his friend who could sell it to us on Sunday. I was all in, and we went and bought the truck. It was one of my happiest days in a long time. That car cost me a lot of money, a lot of time, and a lot of effort to upgrade it to what it is today. It can go up to 100 kilometers per hour without any effort, using two big 8000 milliampere batteries that can produce about 20 horsepower for a 16-kilogram truck. I never actually measured the acceleration, but I know it's a very powerful beast that I've had a lot of fun with.

I would recommend anyone with an interest in the mechanical properties of real cars to work on one of these because it gives you a great overview of how 4-wheel drive works, how differentials work, how power is transmitted to the wheels, and how easy it is to create a very powerful electric car. You also learn a lot about various suspension properties, wireless signals, soldering, and other very interesting stuff. I have to say, I had an RC car when I was very young, but it was nothing like this. This is something totally different, and it truly is a toy for adults.

I would also say that kids, after a certain age, like 12, would also benefit a lot from the RC world, but there's a financial problem because these things are very expensive and they break pretty fast. It's not necessarily because they're designed badly or something like that, but simply because there's a lot of power and a lot of variables that can go wrong. You can easily break it by hitting something or rolling it over, and whether it's aluminum or plastic, it will either break or bend, and you will not be able to fix it easily. I've spent a lot of money on this, and I'm not sorry for it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who can barely make ends meet. This is for pure pleasure and is a bit of a money pit, just like a real car. You'll never be able to sell it for the same price you bought it for. If you're interested, I can share a lot of stories about how I modify and upgrade my RC cars. At the moment, I have two: the Traxxas X-Maxx and the Arma Kraton 8S.