Help me choose a buggy..

[mustang-04]

im stuck on buying a buggy this weekend and really dont know much about them.

im buying an electric one for now because i dont want to leap into nitro without any knowledge of the workings :P (for now)

heres 2 that ive got in mind but wouldnt know whats good and whats bad of either the 2. help!!!

http://www.greathobbies.com/producti...d_id=DTXC0022R

http://www.greathobbies.com/producti...rod_id=TRX2405

[RallyWRX]

I think the Evader is better looking than the Bandit. The Evader looks like a really good buggy. It comes with a lot of stuff you would need to upgrade on a Pro Pulse like Aluminum shocks, metal drivetrain parts instead of plastic.

I think it's a good idea to go electric for now, my neighbor has a Nitro truck and it's way loud, it looks fun, has lots of power and is really fast, but it seems like he's always adjusting or fixin something more than driving it, plus it's a lot more expensive to buy, maintain, by fuel.

There was a Pro Pulse sale in July, A buggy and a truck with a bunch of upgrades for only 99 dollars, but nobody bothered to say anything about it here untill the sale was over. Even if they're not that great, that was a sweet deal. I'm keepin my eyes peeled now for another Pro Pulse sale.

Those cars you're looking at seem really good, you might also consider the Mini Inferno by Kyosho.

The Mini Inferno is 1:16 but I couldn't see if the Evader is the same scale. That's a pretty cool hobby site.

You might get more help from a buggy site.

[coolcar24th]

I say get the traxxas. IMO duratrax isn't as good of a brand. The stock parts are much weaker and cheaper built. Traxxas usually also has more after market parts. The duratrax has a much better customer service though. If you break a part they usually send you one free of charge.

[mustang-04]

Originally Posted by coolcar24th

I say get the traxxas. IMO duratrax isn't as good of a brand. The stock parts are much weaker and cheaper built. Traxxas usually also has more after market parts. The duratrax has a much better customer service though. If you break a part they usually send you one free of charge.

like rallywrx said, the evadar here comes already built with steel parts, shielded ball bearings etc... as opposed to plastic. so im really leanng that way

and if i break a part, duratrax will send a free one as long as its within a year of purchase. gotta like that..


and i dont about propulse, ive heard theyre cheap and a right off of some other buggy. ive got my xmods from rs and the source, thats enough from those guys!

[Sweed]

But steel ways more and BENDS, plastic doesn't..

You're looking at a crappy traxxas vs. a duratraxx? Are you forgeting about Kyosho, Losi, Associated, and HPI? Losi and Associated both make really nice electric buggies...

The Losi XXX Series is nice, take a look at those...

Someone find REDisFASTER, ASAP!

[REDisFASTER]

Originally Posted by Sweed

But steel ways more and BENDS, plastic doesn't..

You're looking at a crappy traxxas vs. a duratraxx? Are you forgeting about Kyosho, Losi, Associated, and HPI? Losi and Associated both make really nice electric buggies...

The Losi XXX Series is nice, take a look at those...

Someone find REDisFASTER, ASAP!

Bwuahaha! Why me? lol

IF you're going to go with the ones in your post, then:

IMO, get the Duratrax Evader BX. Its better than the Traxxas Bandit.

First off, the Bandit is really for beginners.

The Duratrax Evader BX is an old Team Losi (Team Associated's rival company) design that was sold to Duratrax. Its a good buggy to start off with, as well, it's very competitive in the hands of a capable driver!

-----

For $231.99 at Tower Hobbies (one of the most respected and reliable hobby-grade R/C online stores, you can pick up Team Associated's B4 RS RTR (ready-to-run, like the two you posted).

The B4 RTR is a world of wonders (yes, it is) compared to the two buggies you posted. You will also have a very easy time (no, REALLY easy time) finding parts for it if you live in central and southern United States.

The B4 is a current-day buggy, its a killer at the track (in the 2WD buggy class, the B4 and Team Losi's BK2 are the top choices, and just about the only ones you'd see at a race track).

The B4 has great potential and it'll be here for a long-long time... You'll find MANY people who will help support you with the B4, as well as a B4-oriented forum which many sponsored racers and bashers (not-sponsored) can help you out.

The Factory Team B4 is also the 2003 and 2005 IFMAR World Champion buggy driven by pro-drivers Billy Easton and Neil Cragg in Florida and Collegno, Italy respectively. The RTR isn't loaded with all the parts the Factory Team kit has, but for someone getting started in the hobby, its the closest to driving a World Championship car you'll ever get!

Here's a link to it on Tower: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXMGM6&P=ML

Here's the link to the B4 (with more pics and info) from Team Associated's website: http://www.teamassociated.com/ae/b4/b4_home.htm

[mustang-04]

Originally Posted by Sweed

But steel ways more and BENDS, plastic doesn't..

You're looking at a crappy traxxas vs. a duratraxx? Are you forgeting about Kyosho, Losi, Associated, and HPI? Losi and Associated both make really nice electric buggies...

The Losi XXX Series is nice, take a look at those...

Someone find REDisFASTER, ASAP!

lol, see thats why im asking, i dont know the difference. i did look at this from associated, is it a better all around buggy? http://www.greathobbies.com/producti...od_id=ASC20105

hpi has some really nice cars, but are a bit pricy for a starter buggy.



edit: hey red, i live in edmonton dude

[REDisFASTER]

Ah... Hmm... Well, I'm not to sure on parts availability in Edmonton, but I know for sure the parts availability here for the B4 are... NOTHING! lol

I purchase almost all my R/C stuff from Tower Hobbies (except full-kits, since customs would kill me with taxes lol) Ontario customs are poo...

But otherwise, the B4 is still a very good option. I've had mine since '04 and its still running strong. I don't have much time to drive it around anymore, but I did recently get this sweet aluminum rear chassis plate from Integy! its just sweet lol!

Anyway, the RC18B that you posted is the closest R/C in comparison to the Pro-Pulse. We don't have it in Canada so we don't need to worry about it.

The 18B is, as the name suggests, an 18th scale R/C, so its slightly smaller than the DTX and TRX buggies you posted earlier.

The advantage to the 18B is that its 4WD, shaft driven, highly-moddable, excellent aftermarket support (aluminum, and other bling), as well, it uses hobby-grade electronics and you can go LiPos and brushless later on.

For a starter in hobby-R/C, I would say that its second-to-none. The RC18 RTR series from Associated is the 'truest to the name, RTR'. The only thing you need to buy when you get the 18B is 8 AA batteries for the transmitter. The battery and overnight charger are already included in the box!

Of course, its good to have a faster charger, Duratrax sells the Piranha Digital Peak charger for roughly $50 which can charge the included battery in 15-20 minutes if you use it from a wall-outlet, or about 5 minutes if you charge it using a powersource. The powersource is usually a car battery or a portable 12v gel cell or racing independent power-supply. You won't need to worry about those though, the 15-20 minutes from the using the wall outlet would be good enough.

[mustang-04]

got it, stay away from the traxxas buggy, duratrax has good customer support, associated is a better all around buggy..??

so the B4 or the RC18 it will be. im guessing the B4 would ba faster and need less maintenance as its not 4 wheel drive???

[REDisFASTER]

Originally Posted by mustang-04

got it, stay away from the traxxas buggy, duratrax has good customer support, associated is a better all around buggy..??

so the B4 or the RC18 it will be. im guessing the B4 would ba faster and need less maintenance as its not 4 wheel drive???

In a sense, yeah. But if you're planning to have more 'fun' than race, the 18B would be better, since its 4WD. It really isn't much more maintenance, just as long as you don't drive it in too many deep puddles or in too deep of a mud hole.

The B4 is great for bashing, but racing on a purpose built track is what it was made for.

The Traxxas buggy compared to the Duratrax buggy is like a ZipZap compared to an XMOD. Between the two, the Duratrax (being an old discarded Team Losi design) is the better choice). Duratrax has excellent customer service. Its also known for its Stress-Tech guarantee on its RTRs. If you break any stress-tech part (mainly suspension arms) within the first year of owning it, just send in the part to them and they'll send you a new one. Problem is shipping+handling.

Since we're both from Canada, I can safely say that you'll be happier with the 18B over the B4, since the 18 is more of a friendly R/C. Many people have them, I think most of the hobby-grade owners here own an RC18, and here in Canada, its common to find parts and places to drive them (like a dirt lot or small-R/C track.

The B4 is more of a competition buggy than a basher, though it does a great job of bashing, but IMO, 2WD really isn't the best option for bashing around. You'll get stuck in some places, have bad traction in some, etc.

Just for kicks, I'll post this message I found on another forum:

On the topic of high-end racing R/C car manufacturers posting top speeds as a specification:

#1. People whose main interest is the top speed of the car aren't the type of people who are buying Serpent's Mugens and Xray's. 99% of the people getting these kits are going to race. In case you don't know, pro level race set-ups never get to 70mph, because you would have to sacrifice a lot of bottom-end to do that, and theres very few track with enough running room to get to those speeds with 1/10th. Races are won in the corners.

#2. Theres literally thousands of different engine, pipe, and gearing combos you could have all giving different top-speeds. (for nitro)

#3. That (top speed advertising) is not going to help sell any cars. In all the forms of R/C racing, everyone who races knows what are the top cars. A company like Traxxas claiming there car can go 70 isn't gonna get any racers (at least those who know at least 1/2 of what there talking about) to buy it.

Its just a thing I found that was said pretty good. Its something that most R/C beginners should really think about. You know the new guys who are saying "What car should I get?" then someone says "For a beginner, I recommend: x car or x truck". Then the person asking almost alway says: "What's its top speed? how fast does it go?"

When you're getting into the hobby-grade R/C hobby, having a fast car isn't something that you should be looking for. If your first R/C car is a speed demon, chances are, you're going to end up forking over half what you paid for the vehicle for replacement parts. Its better to start slow (or at a decent speed) and learn to drive than break a lot of parts trying to look cool in front of your friends while spending hundreds on replacement parts and eventually quitting the hobby because you never had any success in it.

[taiwanesekid05]

after the extensive 'ennie-meenie-minee-mo' competition, i choose the duratrax. just kidding, i never did ennie meenie minee mo, i just think the duratrax is better because it's more expensive and was discounted to a price less than the traxx

[mustang-04]

sold.. im going to buy the rc18 for that reason alone.

im not going to be racing anyone, just bashing around the dirt track (theres a few nice ones around town here). and im not so much interested in speed as of yet, i figure down the road a bit ill jump into nitro and the speed will come then. for now i just want a decent buggy, that i can goof around with and upgrade that isnt going to crawl at top speed.

thx for the tips guys

[coolcar24th]

I think duratrax has the best customer service. They dont request that you send a receipt or anything. I actually broke a part that was 2 years old and they sent me a replacement.

[kungpow420]

if you want rc18 to go faster later on you could always put a brushless motor and lipo pack than you would get some amazing speed out of it

[RallyWRX]

Hey Red, what do you think about the Mini Inferno?
Let us know how you like the Team Associated RC18B once you get it and drive it a bit. It's pretty cool looking.

[mustang-04]

well crap, lol! after a few or more hours spent lastnight reading, reviewing and watchig youtube videos. ive decided to not go electric, instead i am going to go with the "Duratrax Raze 1/8 offroad nitro buggy"

this things has some serious reviews and comes built up with alloy right out of the box. for $309, its a bargain buggy..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox7bQkU7NVc

http://www.duratrax.com/pdf/dtxd76-rcdriver-review.pdf


thoughts anyone?

[REDisFASTER]

Originally Posted by mustang-04

well crap, lol! after a few or more hours spent lastnight reading, reviewing and watchig youtube videos. ive decided to not go electric, instead i am going to go with the "Duratrax Raze 1/8 offroad nitro buggy"

this things has some serious reviews and comes built up with alloy right out of the box. for $309, its a bargain buggy..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox7bQkU7NVc

http://www.duratrax.com/pdf/dtxd76-rcdriver-review.pdf


thoughts anyone?

$309 for the buggy, $20 for 10% or 15% nitro for engine break-in. $10+ for new glowplug(s) for after break-in, $40 for 20% everyday-use nitro after break-in, $5 for ARO, $5 for thread locker (if you don't have already), and eventually, you'd want better quality tools = more $$$. Don't forget AA's for receiver (4) and the transmitter (8). C or D battery for glow starter (get more than one battery, just in case). The receiver batteries are only good/guaranteed for 3-4 runs. Runs=a full tank of nitro.

It adds up. Surely $309 is great if you're already settled in with nitro or hobby-grade electric and already have an array of tools and maintenance equipment.

For me, I started off with Team Associated and had nothing but success with their products. I settled myself in and purchased another AE product (my nitro stadium truck, the GT2). Fortunately, I already had most of the tools needed to properly work on the GT2 since I've already acquired them with my previous AE car.

The problem that arises with lower-end RTRs is that it uses a large range of different screw types. Specifically Duratrax. It uses both allen (hex) head screws, as well as phillips head screws. I can't recall correctly whether Duratrax uses metric or imperial for their hex screws, though...

[Sweed]

I thought the same about the Revo.. $500 for a great truck, but I've easily hit $600 on maintnence, but only had half a tank in..

If it's above 90*F and 70% Humidity, you can't run Nitro, too much tuning the carb!

[mustang-04]

dangit.. nitro sounds like it could be a headache that sucks your wallet dry?

what exactly is the difference then between electric and nitro? i know the obvious and etc.. but can an electric that run on batteries have enough balls to climb a hill? how long are the runs on a good charged battery?

these are somewhat stupid questions i guess, but im not starving for money and i want somthing that i can call a hobby. i feel as if i go electric ill only be upgrading in scale from an xmod and still get stuck on small rocks on the road.

maybe ive got radioshack elctric crap in my mind as to what to expect, plz tell me different!


:P

[sensoryx]

Im all about looks and didnt bother readin the stats, so id go with the evaader