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Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 10:55 am
by Shady Rascal
What current options do I have for white ball cups ?
-I have the RPM set, and while I like RPM products and the company in general, the cups are pretty chunky and overkill for the kind of light running I do with my semi-shelfer type of builds.
-I ordered a set of modern white AE cups from some ebay shop and they have that greenish thing going on with the color.
-I have seen reference to Losi cups on this board frequently, but as far as I can tell, they are obsolete and require a little eBay luck or at least paying a stiff price due to their rarity.
Am I missing any other easy obvious options here ?
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 10:56 am
by GoMachV
I wish
white ball ends are very tricky these days. I have heard some batches of the Associated were not as bad as others, but all mine are glow in the dark green
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 11:00 am
by Shady Rascal
I recently did a full restoration on my B4.1 FT car (weird I know) and i used the current low friction AE cups. They are about the nicest cups I've ever used. Of course, they aren't white. I was really hoping to find some option for a high quality cup like that in white color that isn't built to overkill standards like some Traxxas part. No offense intended to Traxxas either, but when I think of crazy overkill, that's what comes to my mind.
By the way, gomachV, did you get the paypal okay ?
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 11:30 am
by GoMachV
Sorry been busy and forgot to update you on shipping. Went out same day and says you'll have it Monday
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 12:10 pm
by jwscab
Unfortunately what you mention are all that are around that are new. I've scavenged ball cups from used links off eBay over the years so any shelfers would be getting cleaned used ones that are in the best shape. If you keep your eyes sharp, generally you can find partial or full link sets that will have a number of good links. Of course, being used, I would not subject them to rough racing duties.
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 9:08 pm
by Incredible_Serious
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 4:13 am
by works92
I don't know if it could help but there's the yokomo (BM-206W)
I used it on some modern builds like Bmax2 and they're pretty good for the price.
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 7:36 am
by scr8p
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 8:27 am
by Shady Rascal
I appreciate the help from everyone. Having moved from Tamiya stuff and into AE I'm having to learn a lot. It seems like I need to put together a little cheat sheet to remember these things like the Kyosho and J Concepts (purchased) options.
Now, someone please explain to me why the current RPM arms are black instead of white. And why J Concepts doesn't make the steering kits anymore. And why the re-re parts I need seem to keep getting pushed further away on backorder. The demand is out there for these things. And why doesn't Associated run off a whole bunch more Classic kits. For what a NIB one is selling for lately, the demand for new ones still exists.
Enough rambling. Thanks for the help fellas.
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 10:56 am
by marty slater
I like RAMBLINGs
it is just like I thought it
marty
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 8:58 pm
by klavy69
Shady Rascal wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 8:27 am
Now, someone please explain to me why the current RPM arms are black instead of white.
its cheaper for plastics and the white is harder to quality control is the answer I got when asking(even though they came out with a bunch of traxxas white parts shortly after that)
And why J Concepts doesn't make the steering kits anymore.
profits. you can control the supply and create demand by doling out small portions rather than big ones. It costs alot of profit to sit on parts for long terms at a time and if you put out 100,000 of a part vs 1000 you end up earning less in the short term sales which unfortunately these things cycle at. Plus this company isn't the size of say Associated so it doesn't have the overhead say a bigger name has so they can come in and make a quick buck without warehousing and personnel to take care of it.
And why the re-re parts I need seem to keep getting pushed further away on backorder. The demand is out there for these things. And why doesn't Associated run off a whole bunch more Classic kits. For what a NIB one is selling for lately, the demand for new ones still exists.
For some of the same reasons above about profits and cycles of these...plus I'm sure associated wants to stay competitive in the new market where primarily all their profits come from. With the QC issues on the re-re's I'm sure that it bit off profits that were already figured into the loss side of things but in reality it all comes down to the mighty dollar.
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 11:07 am
by Shady Rascal
I'm not naive by any means. I know that profit is the bottom line of every move a company makes. But, like the classic kit thing, I don't understand the details. It is my impression that the originals were made in California and the re-re Classics were made in China. So either the original tooling got moved to China and set up or they retooled from scratch. I'm guessing most of it was original tooling with perhaps some repairs thrown in for another cycle of production. That had to cost a mint of money to do it either way. It just doesn't seem that they could have sold enough Classic kits to recoup that investment. I'd figure they would keep grinding them out to get the bottom line into the black.
My current concern, and I'm a rookie at this AE stuff, is that I was planning on using some re-re parts on my current builds. By the time I got my shopping list gathered together a lot of the parts were out of stock at Tower and Amain. They showed late February as a restock date on most of them. Then that drug on to early March, now late March. I'm wondering, did I just watch the end of the re-re parts supply peter out ?
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 11:18 am
by jwscab
I sure hope not....as someone mentioned to me, since the parts are just 'out of stock' and not discontinued, there is a good hope. I need some rear arms mounts......hopefully, they are just de-prioritized over some other parts being molded and they are just lagging due to scheduling.
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 11:27 am
by Shady Rascal
My wish lists at Tower and Amain are long when they finally do restock.
Re: Current options for white ball cups
Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 12:28 am
by klavy69
Shady Rascal wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2017 11:07 am
I'm not naive by any means. I know that profit is the bottom line of every move a company makes. But, like the classic kit thing, I don't understand the details.
Never said you were naive...just threw out some answers to your questions. If you read through the re-re thread that started with rumor then through the planning and release stage it kinda does the logistics part of where things started and where they ended. What tooling was new and if there was any reusing of anything old (don't think there was anything left from the originals). It might give you some more info that you want about this.
The only thing I could hope for is that the vintage scene actually takes off like it did for the slot car world with the tjet racing. Maybe there would be enuf demand that some big company might take the plunge and get to it as johnny lightning and autorworld did for the tjet. Just that its gonna take alot more vonats re-re accepted type races to validate its bottom line vs. the newest, fastest type races that are paying their bills now.
All in all, I'm hoping this is just a delay in getting parts out...not the end of another run.
Todd