Is It Possible To Ride An RC Car Above Water?
One of the coolest things that you can do with an RC car is to make a ground RC car skim and ride above a body of water, like the flash. And many of you might be wondering if that’s actually possible. In this article I will say the truth about that and also I will mention the things needed to make your RC ride above a pool or a lake.
The truth is that yes, you can hydroplane, or ride above water, with an RC car, but you may or may not need to tinker a little bit with your RC car, depending on which model it is. Factors that improve your RC cars ability to ride above water include its weight, 4WD capability, a high-powered motor, and battery, among other things.
If you are interested in hydroplaning, how it works, and how to make your RC car ride above water, then check below for more information. The steps below might not apply for all cars, so make sure your car is light enough and has everything needed below before attempting to ride above water.
Hydroplaning – What Is It?
For those who didn’t know, Hydroplaning happens when the water under the tires starts to push and sustain the car’s frame, essentially preventing the car from sinking. The RC car needs to be moving fast for this to happen, and if you combine that with the correct set of tires, the RC car will be able to cross a body of water like a pool or lake, just like the flash.
Hydroplaning is considered dangerous for normal cars, but it’s something that we look for in our RC cars.
What You Will Need To Ride Above Water
So when it comes to the things needed to hydroplane, these include:
- Paddle Or Sand Style Tires: The first thing that you will need is paddle or sand tires. These are made with a special tread for sandy or snowy conditions, but in this case, they will do a good job of pushing the water and making sure the hydroplaning occurs in the first place. You can get these types of tires at your local hobby shop, or in an online retailer like Amazon. If you are going to buy online, make sure the tire actually fits your particular RC car.
- Motor With Enough Torque: A motor with enough power is going to be necessary for this to work. The motor found in your particular RC car will probably be fine, but if you have a monster truck, an offroading car or anything made primarily for bashing, then there’s always the chance of it not providing as much oomph as needed. As long as your car can reach at least 20 MPH (which most decent 1/10 scale models will achieve) you are going to be fine.
- Light Frame: Heavy RC cars, especially those made with offroading in mind may not be able to hydroplane at all. The weight of the car might be too much for the water to support, and the car sinking might be possible. There are a bunch of 1/5 scale trucks that tend to feature bulky constructions, which might be great for more extreme terrains, but unless the motor is modified to provide more power, they will not have enough torque for them to stay above the water.
- 4×4 System: One of the features that your RC car must have if you want to make it ride above water is 4×4 capability. a 2WD RC car typically won’t move the front wheels, and the front wheels not spinning means that the RC car is going to sink nose first. A 4×4 system avoids this by spinning all the wheels. This is the only drivetrain that will make your car ride above water, and if you don’t have an RC car with this capability, then trying this will only damage your toy’s internals.
- Water Resistant Components: If your RC car features waterproof or water resistant components, then you probably don’t have to do anything extra, but if it doesn’t, then you are going to have to protect your car’s internals from water contact. The components most likely to suffer water damage include the ESC and the receiver, and so they are the components that most require protection. If you want to know how to make your whole car waterproof, then check this guide out.
- Extra Mods: Some people go a step further and add certain parts and do certain mods to their cars to make sure they don’t fail to ride the water. These include attaching materials that float under the frame and drilling holes in the chassis to reduce weight. This might be useful if you think your car is too heavy for it to stay above the water.
How To Make Your RC Car Hydroplane
After making sure your car has enough power to do this and that the components are waterproof, you need to find a body of water where this can be done.
In order for this to work, making your RC car gather some momentum is recommended. An RC car that starts spinning its wheels as it contacts the water will probably just sink, so make sure you have enough space for the car to build up some speed. Anyways, follow these steps to make your car hydroplane.
- Make Sure The Car Is As Far Back As Possible: The farther the car is, the more likely it’s going to stay above the water. The ideal would be to have the car several meters back and have the car pick up speed, before actually hitting the water.
- Remove Everything That Might Weigh The Car: Aside from gathering the necessary momentum, there’s not much more to hydroplaning. Just make sure that the car stays as light as possible. If willing, try to remove extra plastics from the frame and anything that isn’t useful from the car.
