Tamiya Volvo FH16 Globetrotter 750 8x4 Tow Truck

A brushed motor carries current through carbon brushes that rub on the commutator.

• It is cheaper and smooth at low speed.
• The brushes wear and the motor loses power over time.

A kit you build yourself from parts.

• Most kits come without motor, ESC, servo, radio and battery, and many without tires or a painted body.
• The manual lists what to add.

The maker's nominal size compared with a full-size vehicle. It works more as a class label than a measurement.

• A 1/10 monster truck is far bigger than a 1/10 touring car, so compare length and weight for real size.
• This one is 732 mm long.

The maker's product number for this exact version.

• A V2, a new color, or a kit instead of an RTR usually has a different number, and parts can differ between them.
• Check it against your box or receipt before ordering parts.

The small gear on the motor shaft. Fewer teeth gear the car shorter: quicker acceleration, lower top speed and a cooler motor. More teeth do the opposite.

• It depends on the motor you fit, so the maker does not list one.

The large gear the pinion drives. A bigger spur with the same pinion gears the car shorter.

• Pinion and spur must have the same pitch, or tooth size, to mesh.

Every reduction after the spur, multiplied together: transmission, differentials and axle gears.

• It is fixed by the design; the gearing you change is the pinion and spur.
• This is the high range, which sets top speed and is what the calculators load first.

How many times the motor turns for one turn of the wheels. A higher number is shorter gearing: more acceleration and pulling power, less top speed.

• This is the high range, which sets top speed and is what the calculators load first.

The final drive in low range, where a crawler spends most of its time: slower and stronger, for climbs and fine control.

• It is 3.0 times the high range.
• Switch the calculators to Low to work in this range.

This vehicle has a two-speed transmission: a high range for speed and a low range for crawling.

• A small servo moves the shift fork, so the range changes from a switch on the transmitter, even on the move.
• Both ranges share the pinion and spur.

The outside diameter of the mounted tire, tread to tread. A taller tire covers more ground each turn, which gears the car taller.

• At high speed tires can balloon and grow, so the real gearing gets taller as the car goes faster.

How far the car moves for one turn of the motor: tire circumference divided by final drive.

• It lets you compare gearing across different tire sizes; more rollout is taller gearing.
• Here it is 24.8 mm.
• This is the high range, which sets top speed and is what the calculators load first.

How far the truck moves for one turn of the motor in low range.

• Here it is 8.1 mm.

Brushed motors are commonly described by can size and turns. No motor KV is published for this vehicle; turns alone cannot supply an exact value.

The highest LiPo cell count the maker rates the electronics for.

• The maker does not publish it.

The motor fitted at the factory, as the maker names it.

• Brushed motors are often named by can size, such as 540 or 550, and by turns: fewer turns is faster.

Theoretical top speed is unavailable because motor KV and rated battery cell count are missing.

• Enter the missing inputs in the calculator to work out a theoretical speed.

The vehicle's weight as the maker states it, with the battery.

• More weight takes more power to accelerate and lands harder on the parts; it changes top speed very little.

Overall length as the maker states it, usually with the body fitted.

• Useful for comparing real size, since scale labels are loose.

Overall width as the maker states it, usually with the body fitted.

• A wider car is more stable in corners and harder to roll over.

Overall height as the maker states it, usually with the body fitted.

• Useful when checking it fits a shelf, a bag or a car trunk.