I Radio Controlled My Car

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[@stanceworks]

Driving your RC car from the passenger seat is such an absurd scenario. I love it.

[@JD2jr.]

Bri'ish simulator 2025

[@wiryantirta]

I work as an operator for an autonomous vehicle company and uhh... theres a reason they don't let you do this apparently.

[@ssthirdgen]

When @stanceworks comments on your video you re winning!

[@MumrikDK]

Brosnan Bond did it.

[@bobroberts2371]

No worse that being in a restaurant with a few people whom communicate between themselves using texting. Even worse, I've witnessed someone carry on a conversation using voice to text. . . .

[@paulheitkemper1559]

Using the RC controller from inside the car is really just fly-by-wire. Your engineering is on par with AirBus!

[@Avetho]

It sure is! On the other hand, Boeing could learn a thing or seventy-three-thousand-four-hundred-twelve from Matt on how to do things properly and safely XD

[@brianb-p6586]

That's more like fly-by-wireless.

[@Curt_Sampson]

@@Avetho Really? That car looked like it was missing a window to me.

[@DynoRC]

Which makes it better than Airbus ​@@brianb-p6586

[@964cuplove]

@@Curt_Sampson maybe - but the doors did stay in place… nothing Boeing can claim…

[@darwinskeeper421]

Yep, another interesting but impractical idea that was presented in the silliest way possible. Totally on brand for this channel.

[@bobbyboy1465]

Candy Withani is hilarious

[@sobertillnoon]

It got me so hard. I would have spittaked if I had been drinking

[@tristangillis7365]

Agreed. I always love Matt's humour, but I burst out laughing at that.

[@gentleandkind]

I like to pronounce it 'withani', too. Makes me laugh.

[@MarkkuS]

Camdy with an I

[@EvanWadley]

best joke of the vid

[@darkwinter7395]

Actual use case: making movies. A number of Hollywood blockbusters have featured stunts partially or completely done with RC-modified full-size cars.

[@tissuepaper9962]

that's exactly what this video was.

[@LongPeter]

Accelorator: use a drive by wire throttle body. If it is a cable throttle or you don’t want to figure out the programming, put your servo in the engine bay and disconnect the pedal. Put a weaker return spring on the throttle assembly if needed. Steering: use an electric power steering rack instead of stuffing about with the wheel. Take the steering wheel off when it isn’t needed so the steering motor isn’t fighting a flywheel.

[@ryan.crosby]

A few cars have electronic power steering with automatic reverse parking. If you tap into the right spot on the CAN bus I think you can basically drive by wire the entire car. Even the brakes can probably be slammed on with the ABS unit.

[@mcspikesky]

Sounds like effort to reengineer a system when you can just add complexity!

[@1978SOOTY]

I've also seen a backyard steering system with hydraulic cylinders replacing the steering rack.

[@bennylloyd-willner9667]

​@@ryan.crosbyI suspect there are safety features in the software that prohibits steering control when not in reverse.

[@Lurch-Bot]

These days, most cars can be converted to RC very easily because it is all fly by wire, even steering. I personally won't ever own a car that doesn't have mechanical steering or good old fashioned hydraulic brakes that you directly control. I have accepted throttle by wire, ABS and traction control (but not on motorcycles, for a very good reason - I have wrecked a bike with traction control because they put the button in the wrong place. It also makes you dependent on the computer and you really don't know how to ride your bike if you have it and it fails. Riding a bike is as challenging as flying a plane if you're doing it right). I want to be able to control and stop my vehicle if the computer breaks. You don't have the same level of redundancy as you would in an airliner and I know this because I used to work major overhaul on airliners. Mostly on 747s, one of the safest planes ever built. Has quadruple redundancy for everything important to making sure you don't crash. Typically, modern airliners only have triple redundancy.

[@Jarrett1604]

Your vanity plates had me and the wife absolutely in tears. We love you guys' sense of humor and, lets be honest, maturity level too 😂😂

[@NineSun001]

Thanks I rewatched the video to search for the plates. I don't know what else I expected :D

[@NotSean269]

This man will do literally ANYTHING to not finish any of his other projects... and I'm totally here for it!

[@mitsuman5555]

RC car nerd here. The throttle servo issue might be fixed by setting separate endpoints. It looked like when you put the brakes on, the throttle servo was trying to pull up on the pedal past the neutral point when it was making the grinding noise. So you'd want the endpoint for the throttle servo to be set to zero in that direction. I'm sure you're smart enough to realize this, I just want to pretend like I'm involved. Great video, all hail the algorithm.

[@duceanahalf]

also maybe a big actual servo, like the Reefs Beast 2000 or the Perfect Pass Monster Xl

[@Jehty_]

So.. I had an RC semi truck with trailer as a kid. I'm not saying that you should convert a real semi-truck into RC, but I'm also not saying that you shouldn't.

[@awesomestuff9715]

full sized rc plane.... possibly the most dangerous idea but i'm not saying they shouldnt either 😂

[@douglasburnside]

@@awesomestuff9715 They're already doing that in Ukraine.

[@awesomestuff9715]

@@douglasburnside true, but I mean done by them specifically RC full sized car has been done before as well I've seen before, and better

[@gubbtratt1]

Heavy duty tow trucks in finland have rc so you can do precision maneuvers from somewhere with better view.

[@playyourturntodieatvgperson]

im saying he should

[@eagle-from-aut]

8:52 talk about a custom plate

[@przemo555]

4:04 and second one on the front

[@tehpwnerer6821]

@@przemo555 haha, didn't see that

[@johna1160]

Ah yes, psychological development arrested in adolescence. Wouldn't have it any other way.

[@ralanham76]

800:82

[@geoffreystearns1690]

One of my first assignments just out of engineering college, was radio controlling surplus aviation rescue boats (about the size of a PT boat) to use them as training targets for missiles shot from US Navy aircraft. No fun like making something big behave like a toy!

[@malvoliosf]

I need to watch a full-sized RC car get big air off a ramp more than I need food or water.

[@CSNCSNCSN]

There's a classic KZbin video somewhere of this same concept which ends with exactly that! Haven't been able to pull it up. It's got Knight Rider music and ends spectacularly.

[@Jehty_]

@@CSNCSNCSN there is a Top Gear episode that does that. And I think it's the night rider theme playing in the background. But I might be mistaken.

[@howardsimpson489]

I feel sorry for the little car doing it's best. Remarkably tough, well worth $12K.

[@Jehty_]

@@CSNCSNCSN I think there is a Top Gear episode whit that. And I think they also used the Knight Rider theme.

[@__dm__]

holy shit, you actually did it

[@UKBUILT]

It's crazy 😂

[@chexo3]

If you can get a slightly newer used car (look for one that’s not running but might be a simple fix) with ADAS, you can apparently connect to the CAN bus and send your own ADAS commands to steer, accelerate, and brake. Instead of building a contraption to operate the controls you can just use what the car’s cruise control or auto emergency brake would use.

[@BarrettCharlebois]

SuperfastMatt living out all of our childhood “wouldn’t it be cool if…” type dreams

[@hjelliottca]

The shit you can do when you have an engineering mindset and a KZbin budget.

[@TheSalamander5678]

The amount of fun you guys were having is completely obvious and absolutely makes the video 1000x better. All hail the algorithm

[@gustavcarl1334]

glad to see you are doing well. Was worried after the fires!

[@n00bist723]

I thought I had some how missed months maybe even years worth of content seeing a finished build but not remembering seeing any build progress videos for the project.

[@mxskelly]

Reminds me of all the times Mythbusters RC-ified full sized cars to do dangerous car myths, that was one of my favorite parts of the show

[@jesseshort8]

Love the P3NIS plate, surprised they let that fly.

[@thaphreak]

The front plate says 80085, not real but still great.

[@CajunGreenMan]

I was a remote heavy equipment operator. The way we managed that was plugging into the ECM directly, then operating the controls from there, rather than mechanical devices on the controls. There are plenty of hackers who working directly with the ECMs who could show you how to do that. Keep up the great work!

[@512Chaos]

Of all the videos I have watched today, this is one of them.

[@SamCooler]

one of the most, for sure!

[@TurboHappyCar]

I too watched this video. 👍

[@aninnocent1544]

4:55 is such a fun over complication. I guess you could swap the RC controller for a console controller and then you can pt a Forza driver in there and watch him ram someone for going to slow through a corner

[@Strykenine]

Oh man ANOTHER PROJECT who could have seen this coming?

[@mrricky3816]

Thanks!

[@Fishdogfish]

got me with a superfast click

[@FoolishOdachi]

No gonna lie you were an inspiration for me to finally make my channel, went live yesterday

[@FoolishOdachi]

Not car related though😅

[@cplusone]

I would use a solenoid for the pedals; they don’t take continuous power to keep down and are already moving linearly like the pedal

[@Lurch-Bot]

The smartest use of a Smart Car ever. I spent my teen years in the UK, where there were a lot of cars this size. A buddy had a Fiat Cinquecento, which might make 60HP on a good day in stock form. He bored, stroked and turbo'd it (he was a factory trained Mercedes tech) and it was the most insane vehicle I ever saw. It would do 0-60 in about 3.8s and topped out at 170mph. I mean, he did it the right way, but still. Cars like that are not meant to go that fast. It isn't natural. You want a long wheelbase for stability at high speeds and even my MkIV Jetta is kinda twitchy at high speed, with 50% more wheelbase than a Cinquecento (or Smart Fourtwo). Props to you for wearing a helmet, even if you didn't have to. I've seen what happens when people don't want to wear them. Better to wear it and not need it than to need it and not be wearing it. Ensuring you will die if you get into a motorcycle wreck is not what I would call 'freedom'. Nobody 'survives' catastrophic brain damage, even if they keep breathing. With all the sh*t flying back and forth on YT these days, it was refreshing to watch this. Brought a smile to my face.

[@gsmdo8836]

Brilliant Matt 😂 algorithm hailed…

[@UKBUILT]

🙏

[@roboman2444]

If the system has drive-by-wire, you can try interfacing with that. If the system has old-school cable driven cruise control, that can also be an option. Even if you can't figure out how the signals work for it, you can directly drive whatever actuator/solenoids it has and use the TPS for feedback. Also, if the car has power steering, you may be able to get way "quicker" steering control by throwing on some hydraulic valves into the mix. A little more direct. That would probably need to add some sort of steering angle potentiometer/encoder though. There's also some guy on youtube who developed force feedback steering for RC cars. That, applied to this car, may really help out.

[@CleverRat]

I highly recommend Wheelie Yellow for folks who love RC Car content.

[@GhostRyderFPV]

I have 2 Smart Cars, and I'm an RC enthusiast. I strongly suggest FPV for the next jaunt, Matt - lemme know what 'ya need, I haven't done a 1:1 build, but have a 1:10th FPV 6x6 bus that's probably bigger than my Smart Cars lol I have to have the Smart RC body - where'd it come from?!

[@TheRSAngle]

Looks 3D printed to me

[@amazeddude1780]

"You have to plan ahead" (03:30). That must have been an 'undiscovered land' experience for No Plan SuperfastMatt.

[@chrisl2656]

Would it make sense to put the throttle servo at the *other* end of the cable? Where the throttling actually happens. No more big spring to overcome, no more draggy cable, no more magic smoke liberation.

[@brianb-p6586]

It would make even more sense to command the throttle electronically... but this car might be old enough that it actually has a mechanical throttle cable, and not electronic control. Even then, there might be a solution via the cruise control (assuming that it has cruise).

[@theratking14]

It might overheat in the engine bay but if you just bypass the pedal it might work.

[@ThaJay]

@@brianb-p6586 Throttle by wire is very easy to do after market with an electronic throttle body although the ECU probably has no provisions for it so it'd have to be controlled independently.

[@swealer]

He wasn't lying when he said he will get back to the landspeed car 2 month before it needs to be done😂❤

[@Starbelt]

Totally got an rc car this year and I drive it everywhere I go walking. I added some head/tail lights as well as blinkers. The sidewalks are fucky and the driveways are old so there's a diversity of terrain to enjoy.

[@stevenwest1494]

Oh my god, that really is fantastic to hear you're sending that little smart car to the moon, it so throughly deserves to. Make sure to pack the jump steep, but FIRM so it doesn't nose the take off.

[@maxcactus7]

8:10 - The Netflix remake of The Dukes of Hazard!

[@wilderstewart9917]

I appreciate seeing you have fun. I know that you've been grinding and that you got a bit burnt out on the landspeed car. Just be the happiest superfastmatt you can be man. We enjoy the ride. F the algorithm man, just do you and we're here for it.

[@big_icky]

Candy Withani - my god

[@lukew1779]

You should just remove the steering wheel and mount the steering system straight to the shaft or whatever. Should be way faster to turn if it has enough torque.

[@casuallatecomer7597]

Yeah, that was my thinking too. Surely you could have a system where can take off the wheel and hook it up the RC controls, and if you want to use it as a normal car, it's as easy as taking the RC parts out and put the steering wheel back on?

[@KarrasBastomi]

Directly shove into steering racks. Hijack throttle pedal signal and control directly from RC receiver. There's so much thing that can be improved. Hope it make on 2nd iteration, ia there's any 2nd iteration.

[@lukew1779]

@@KarrasBastomi I hadn't thought about the pedal. If the steering is electronic power steering and the throttle is by wire instead of cable you should be able to tie into both with just a couple wires. Good thinking

[@nickdeveer5378]

I literally just ordered my first rc car in a decade this past weekend. How did you do this?!? It can't be a coincidence

[@Mikey.750]

Fantastic content. As a long time RC enthusiast, I recommend using a large scale servo (1/5) for the throttle. Stronger and more robust for a similar price. Hope to see more RC videos in the future.

[@Gunbudder]

when you are driving the car using the top down view from the drone, trying sitting in a chair and leaning all the way forward so your face is pointing directly down at the ground (while looking at the screen). something about your head being in this position can make it much easier to pilot something third person

[@CptJistuce]

"Candy Withani" Love it.

[@AutoSearPin]

“Candy withani” Sent me into a visceral rage

[@n8shep]

You could probably wire throttle control directly to the petal position sensor and feeding it back the signal/resistance it’s looking for. That way you get away from the mechanical movement and get more precise control.

[@literal_lee]

Are you related to Wesley Kagan by any chance. If not watch his channel and listen to his manner of speaking. You guys should team up. 💪🏻

[@mr_datsun]

you get no brakes, or you get all the brakes reminds me of playing any racing game on a keyboard

[@jonnyphenomenon]

I built a couple 1:35 scale rc cars for my classroom and strapped fpv cameras on them so we can drive them around the school. I have a video receiver on our TV so everyone can watch.

[@quakslikeaduck]

'Candy Withani' is such a simple yet banger joke

[@samuelb6960]

I worked on a boat once that an early analog version of throttle and shift by wire it had twin engines and due to it being analog and some electrical noise it decided to shift one engine into reverse while pegging both throttles wide open while the boat was duing 20 knots.

[@ChristianKlasen-mq4rs]

The accelerator pedal is already elektric. You just need to unplug the cable, convert signal with an audurino nano. And have a proper working solutution...

[@benjocaz45]

7:26 got my dad one for Christmas and he’s had a ball with it

[@batsonelectronics]

As an RC Car racer from back in the mid 80's, THANK you THANK you THANK you for calling it the correct name. Radio Control and NOT remote control. Remotes are what operate your tv, Radio are what control RC Cars , Planes , and drones. Your 10th scale rc Smart was not 10th of the weight, more like 1/320th scale weight so of course it handled the terrain better.

[@simonlee7121]

I’ll defend the Smart Fortwo til the day I die. Super rigid chassis, rear wheel drive, super short wheel base, cheap to fix. The build quality is actually quite good too. It was fun as hell to drive on the twisties, they only let down was its gearbox

[@corvettefreakno1]

That was sooo fun to watch!😊❤😊 That's something I always wanted to try but have been too cheap. I don't have that kind of budget. Thank you for letting me live vicariously through you. 😎

[@Ovenman940]

sweet, another 90% finshed project

[@ralanham76]

Basically it’s done

[@ThaJay]

@@ralanham76 It worked so it's good for now. Back to the offroad viper!

[@ralanham76]

@@ThaJay I think it's SMARTer to work on the rc CAR 😜

[@pieterfranke]

Laughed way to hard about Candy’s last name😂😂😂

[@CorvusCorps]

@1:44 You should pick up a pinecil. You can solder with a power bank. USB-C its legit. 3D printed a case and its good to go. Ive replaced my full size station with it. Ali-express tips on the cheap. Easily my favorite electronics purchase in the past year.

[@endangeredmarmot4518]

The plates are *chef's kiss* All hail the algorithm.

[@thelegacyofdan]

A pretty easy solution to the slow steering input is to change the gearing on the electric motor to the steering wheel. Put a smaller size drive gear on top of the steering wheel attached to the electric motor, of which should have the larger drive gear. Naturally you are bound by the limits of torque of your electric motor but it should be faster.

[@aspecreviews]

Or go the Infiniti Q50 route. Rip out all the steering gear, and put a very powerful motor on the rack to turn the wheels.

[@ThaJay]

@@aspecreviews If it has electronic power steering or better yet drive by wire from factory it's just a matter of controlling it - no motors needed. Although this car probably just has hydraulic power steering.

[@trackdaytim]

If you can make the steering to be speed sensitive, then it should help the lag a fair amount. The vehicle can only achieve it's minimum turning radius at quite a low speed, so using that same amount of steering angle at higher speeds means that the steering motor has much further to go while it takes off the excess steering slip angle.

[@ryan2580-h2l]

1:04 I believe the 2007 Chevy Aveo5 SVM (Super Value Model) was around or under $10,000 brand new when it dropped, could be wrong though. Great video btw!

[@Poorschedriver]

Every part of this video is pure genius. However the cherry on top is certainly the license plate. Well done sir you earned yourself a sub on this one.

[@martylawson1638]

Fyi, coreless motors are great for response time, but quickly smoke if they hold position for long. In this case it's worth springing for a brushless servo. They'll set you back >$70 from the usual Chinese vendors but hold up great when holding a load.

[@AngryTurds]

The rego plates! 😂

[@BenRelle]

Good plates.

[@Donn29]

This reminds me of that Camry from the KZbin before days. Nice work!

[@Donn29]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZSynKqif816pLM

[@LazerLord10]

Gotta love how rigid the body of that Smart is, haha.

[@rickoates-eb3ni]

It's SuperFastMatt.. or course it's silly, and fun as always!

[@jpkatz1435]

SFM.. You put a smile on my face like NO OTHER. THANKYOU ! ! !

[@CSNCSNCSN]

Anybody else remember that classic KZbin video of a RC'd car (black Pontiac?) out in the desert with Knight Rider music? Can't seem to find it now. The critical element: a massive final high-speed jump leading to total destruction.

[@pierceswan87]

As someone who has always used R/C cars as an outlet for my love of teal cars, I get down with this video. Also, bonus points for using a Spektrum DX-6c.

[@georgew.9663]

You’re a legend Matt, all hail the algorithm 🙌

[@anotheryoutuber_]

This is the youtubes

[@Landiiii]

no way he actually did this project

[@mattsherwood3501]

Number plate is perfect. Love your stuff Matt. Matt

[@christopherspicer9341]

Great video, looks like tons of fun. Nice job. See you on the lakebed.

[@davesmith9325]

Hysterical as always . Being serious, consider using a force (rather than position) servo for the brakes, and I think you can remove the spring from the throttle pedal, I support your comment about wanting to be sure it will stop, consider using another channel as estop to be able to just cut the ignition ? Whatever, all hail

[@Patrick94GSR]

I recall some radio controlled full size cars built for Mythbusters, and I want to say they used things like linear actuators for things like brakes, instead of servo motors. I think that would be more reliable to hold pressure as well as adjust pressure instead of it just being on/off. And of course the drive by wire throttle instead of operating the pedal.

[@powerlitep17]

8:30 setup end point adjustment, maybe grab a 1/5 scale servo too. exponential curves could be useful for the brakes and steering too, your DX6C should be able to do that.

[@HannyDart]

3:13 actually a great example to show how PID-windup happens

[@operator8014]

RC: Rarely Controlled.

[@ZaphodBeeblebrox-ry5zs]

Great idea and great video. In Germany the smart was called a "elephants roller skate" 😄

[@felipep.4022]

This is so wrong... AND TOTALLY AWESOME. I was laughing my ass off the whole time. Thank you!

[@SWS50000]

I smiled all the way through this video. Can't wait to see more of this.

[@samuelcookphippen]

Awesomeness. As I recall from watching the Mythbusters making full size radio controlled vehicles, overcoming the steering issue is best accomplished by removing the steering wheel and replacing it with a small gear. However, this would render the vehicle unusable for regular driving.

[@trailmagnus]

You sir are a national treasure, a silly one, but still.

[@ImNotHere4750]

As a person working in an rc car shop, this is funny as hell, please make the long video explaining how you built it.

[@LordHolley]

I'm surprised more people haven't done this. So cool!!!!

[@phmiii]

The Best Video Ever! Please keep up the Great work!

[@seanblah12]

you squeezing the accelerator with your head through the window is insane

[@kekke2000]

I for one think that starting a new project was a great move.

[@TRiToN219]

I thought about this with a stick shift. And then I thought again and that was that.

[@CraigHair]

You're insane. I love it!

[@psgouros]

I had a smart for 9 years. Still miss it. The cabrio was a delight.

[@IanLikesVideosSometimes]

God I love this channel and your guys' ideas. Brilliant 👏