The 100km/h build list: every part, every reason

I wrote about the pain of getting RC car parts in India a couple of months ago. The conclusion was clear: if you want anything beyond toy-grade, you're importing. Since then I've gone deeper — and in the opposite direction from what most people do. No ready-to-run car. No pre-built electronics. I'm building the entire thing by hand, bolt by bolt, solder joint by solder joint, from a competition chassis kit and individually chosen components.

This is the full parts list for a 1/8 scale 4WD electric buggy that should touch 100km/h.

Why build from a kit, not buy RTR¶

An RTR (ready-to-run) car gets you driving in 30 minutes. A kit gets you understanding in 30 hours. Every differential you shim, every shock you fill with oil, every gear mesh you set by feel — that's knowledge you'll need the first time something breaks at speed. And at 100km/h, things break.

The other reason: component quality. RTR cars make compromises to hit a price point. A kit lets me choose the motor, ESC, servo, and radio independently — each the best I can get for that slot, not whatever was cheapest in bulk for the manufacturer.

The chassis: Tekno EB48 2.2¶

What: Tekno RC EB48 2.2 4WD Competition 1/8 Electric Buggy Kit

Why this one:

• Comes as a bag of parts — literally hundreds of pieces. Chassis plates, suspension arms, shock towers, turnbuckles, differentials, drive shafts, bearings, hardware. You build every subassembly.
• Competition-grade engineering — this is the eighth iteration of the EB48 platform, refined over a decade of racing. The geometry, weight distribution, and durability are proven at World Championship level.
• 7075-T6 aluminum chassis and hard-anodized shock bodies — not the pot-metal castings you get in budget cars.
• Three sealed differentials (front, center, rear) with separate oil weights — tunable for speed vs cornering. I'll start with thinner oil for speed runs.
• Massive parts ecosystem — every Tekno part is individually available. When a suspension arm snaps (it will), I order one arm, not a "suspension kit."
• 16mm big-bore shocks — oil-filled, threaded aluminum bodies. Tuneable spring preload, rebound, and damping.

Where to buy: AMain Hobbies or Tekno RC direct. Both ship internationally to India. Also available on eBay from US sellers.

Important note on AMain Hobbies: They ship to India but cannot ship transmitters or vehicles that include transmitters — Indian customs refuses them. This is fine for a kit build. The radio system ships separately from an Indian retailer.

Motor: Hobbywing XeRun 4268 SD G3 2200KV¶

What: Hobbywing XeRun 4268 SD G3 Sensored Brushless Motor

Why this motor:

• 4-pole sensored brushless — smooth startup, precise throttle control at low speed, and violent acceleration when you ask for it
• 2200KV on 6S (22.2V) gives a theoretical no-load RPM of ~48,840 — more than enough for 100km/h with the right gearing
• Hardened steel shaft, sintered NdFeB magnets — built for the current and heat of 6S racing
• Sensor port — the ESC reads rotor position for buttery-smooth throttle response at all speeds, not just wide open
• Proven in 1/8 racing — this is what competition racers run. It's not overkill; it's the baseline.

Where to buy: Hobbywing Direct ships internationally. Also on Amazon US with forwarding services.

ESC: Hobbywing XeRun XR8 Plus G2S¶

What: Hobbywing XeRun XR8 Plus G2S Brushless ESC

Why this ESC:

• 200A burst, 6S max — handles the full current draw of the 4268 motor without flinching
• Sensored operation — pairs with the 4268's sensor port for precise low-speed control
• Bluetooth programmable via the Hobbywing app — throttle curves, brake force, drag brake, punch level, timing. No programming card needed.
• Built-in capacitor module — voltage spike suppression that cheaper ESCs add externally (or skip)
• Data logging — records voltage, current, RPM, and temperature. Engineer brain loves this.
• Aluminum heat sink with fan — active cooling matters when you're pulling 150A+ at full throttle on 6S

Alternative: The EZRun Max8 G2S at $120 is a solid budget option — same 6S support, 150A burst, but less tuneable and no sensored mode. If the XR8 Plus is hard to source, the Max8 G2S is the fallback.

Combo option: The XR8 Plus G2S + 4268 G3 Combo saves money over buying separately and guarantees compatibility.

Batteries: 2× Gens Ace 3S 5000mAh 60C¶

What: Gens Ace 5000mAh 11.1V 3S 60C LiPo — Hard Case

Two packs wired in series for 6S (22.2V).

Why this setup:

• Two 3S packs instead of one 6S — easier to source in India, easier to charge, and if one pack degrades you replace half the cost
• Hard case is mandatory — at 100km/h, a crash puts enormous force on the battery. Pouch packs deform. Hard case packs survive.
• 60C continuous = 300A burst — well above what the ESC will pull
• 5000mAh — enough for 15-20 minutes of mixed driving, or 5-8 speed runs with cool-down between
• XT90 connectors — I'm re-soldering both packs and the series harness to XT90. The stock XT60 connectors are marginal at 6S current. This means cutting the factory leads, stripping, tinning, and soldering new connectors — first soldering job of the build.

Where to buy: Amazon.in — one of the few quality LiPo brands with reliable India stock.

Radio: RadioLink RC6GS V3¶

What: RadioLink RC6GS V3 with R7FG Gyro Receiver

Why this one:

• Must be bought in India — AMain and most US retailers cannot ship transmitters to India (customs blocks them). RadioLink has Indian distribution.
• 6-channel, 2.4GHz FHSS — more channels than I need for a car, but the signal quality is what matters
• R7FG receiver with built-in gyro — stability assist at 100km/h is not optional, it's the difference between a speed run and a cartwheel
• Programmable throttle curves — I can tame the initial throttle response while keeping full power at the top end
• 400m range — irrelevant for the range itself, but the signal strength at 50-100m (where the car actually is) is rock-solid

Where to buy: Robu.in — India's most reliable RC electronics retailer in my experience. Also available on Amazon.in.

Servo: Savox SV-1270TG¶

What: Savox SV-1270TG High-Voltage Digital Servo

Why this one:

• 35kg torque at 7.4V — massively over-specced for a buggy, which means it won't struggle or burn out under load
• 0.11s/60° transit time — the car reacts to steering input before your brain finishes the thought
• Titanium gears — steel strips under repeated shock loads. Titanium absorbs impact cycles without developing play.
• Coreless motor — smoother centering, more precise positioning than brushed servo motors
• This is the insurance policy. A servo failure at 100km/h means the car goes straight into whatever is ahead. I broke an ₹800 servo at 40km/h on a WLtoys. Never again.

Where to buy: Amazon.in — search "Savox SV-1270TG". Also available via AMain Hobbies (shippable, since it's not a transmitter).

Charger: SkyRC B6neo¶

What: SkyRC B6neo 200W Balance Charger

• Balance charges 1S-6S — monitors every cell individually, stops if any cell drifts
• 200W output — charges a 5000mAh 3S at 2C in about 45 minutes
• Storage charge mode — brings cells to 3.85V for safe long-term storage. This is how you keep LiPos alive.
• Discharge function — useful for breaking in new packs
• DC input — runs from a 12V power supply (old laptop brick works)

Where to buy: Amazon.in — search "SkyRC B6neo".

Tires: Pro-Line Positron 1/8 Belted¶

What: Pro-Line Positron 1/8 Buggy Belted Tires, Pre-mounted

Why belted:

• At 80+ km/h, unbelted tires balloon from centrifugal force — the rubber expands outward, throws off the balance, and causes violent speed wobble
• Internal Kevlar belt prevents expansion at high RPM — the tire holds its shape
• Road-compound rubber — softer than off-road knobby tires, more grip on tarmac where speed runs happen
• Pre-mounted on rims — saves the CA glue nightmare (I've bonded my fingers together more than once)

Where to buy: AMain Hobbies — ships to India. Also on AliExpress by searching "1/8 buggy belted tires."

Body shell: Tekno EB48 clear body¶

The kit doesn't include a body shell — you buy one separately, then cut, drill, and paint it yourself.

• Clear polycarbonate — you cut the wheel wells and body posts with curved scissors, drill mounting holes, then paint the inside with Tamiya PS spray paint
• Painting the inside means the exterior stays glossy even after scratches
• This is one of the most satisfying parts of the build — the car becomes yours, not a factory color

Where to buy: AMain Hobbies or Tekno RC direct. Any 1/8 buggy body fits the EB48 mounting pattern.

Gearing¶

The Tekno EB48 2.2 kit includes a spur gear but you need to buy a pinion separately. Speed tuning happens here.

• Steel pinion set (15T-21T, Mod 1) — start with the mid-range pinion from the kit manual, measure speed with GPS, then step up one tooth at a time
• Steel, not aluminum — aluminum pinions wear out in a weekend at 6S power
• Monitor motor temperature after each gearing change. If it exceeds 80°C after a run, you've geared too tall.

Where to buy: AMain Hobbies — search "Tekno pinion Mod 1" or "1/8 buggy Mod 1 pinion set".

The stuff nobody lists¶

Spare parts — order before you need them¶

The lesson from the first post: when something breaks at 100km/h, you cannot wait 4-6 weeks for shipping. Order spares with the kit.

• 2× front A-arms, 2× rear A-arms — first thing that snaps
• 1× steering rack assembly — tie rods bend on hard impacts
• 1× set of CVD drive shafts — absorbs drivetrain crash energy
• 2× sets of bearings (full car) — they wear at high RPM; cheap per set
• 1× spur gear — gearing experiments wear these
• 1× body shell — because the first one will be shattered before you perfect the livery

All available on AMain Hobbies by searching "Tekno EB48 2.2 parts" or on Tekno RC's parts page directly.

The build plan¶

This is a build, not an unboxing. My plan:

1. Differentials first — assemble all three diffs, shim the gears, fill with oil. This takes hours and requires patience. Rushing shims means noisy, inefficient diffs.
2. Shocks — build all eight shocks, fill with oil, bleed air bubbles. Each one is a tiny hydraulic system.
3. Chassis assembly — suspension arms, hubs, steering, bulkheads. The manual is 40+ pages. Follow it exactly.
4. Drivetrain — install diffs, drive shafts, center drive. Check every gear mesh by hand.
5. Electronics — mount motor, ESC, servo, receiver. Solder battery connectors. Route wires clean.
6. Body — cut, drill, paint. Let it cure 48 hours.
7. Shakedown — first runs at low speed. Check everything tightens, nothing binds, steering is centered.
8. Speed tuning — gear up one tooth at a time. GPS speed checks. Motor temp checks. Repeat until 100.

I'll document the build as I go. Probably with more profanity than technical precision, but the data will be clean.