Looking for Racing RTR under $100USD - Carisma 1/14 worth a look?
 

Hi everyone,

I used to own a lot of Nikko R/C toys about 5 years ago. I'm looking to rekindle my love of R/C cars, but I'm starting off as a newbie I guess.

I'm looking for a RTR car under $100 USD to do some fun little racing in the neighborhood. Nothing serious as I can't afford anything in the real R/C racing ranges of $300+. I prefer on-road, but if a off-road car turns out better in the pricerange, I might do off-road driving instead.

I know some Nikko toy R/C's can run up to 20 mph. Considering my limited budget, I guess I'm not going to find anything much better than them.

Has anyone have had experienced with Carisma 1/14 R/C's? They usually sell for $99, but I want to know how well they perform. I have a feeling that they're all looks and nothing underneath, but as I'm a complete rookie, I'm just guessing here.

I also found a HPI Dash Porsche 911 Turbo RTR R/C Car for $90 at ehobbies.com.

HobbyPeople.com has a few Tamiya's under $100 at http://www.hobbypeople.net/prdcls/caraac01.asp How are these Tamiya TT-01's or Tamiya QD's? They don't come with a controller do they?

Any suggestions? Or should I just get a new cheap Nikko for now and see if I can save enough for something better later?

I don't have a preference for size; I think my only preference is that speed comes before anything else.

Thanks so much everyone!
Venio

That's sort of a tough call, assuming that you'll be running outdoors I think you'd want something in the 1/10-scale range; the 1/14 might have a hard time with bumps and whatnot (although it is still a decent car for the money).

I would avoid a Nikko-ish car as they will be far slower than any sort of "real" RC you might find.

The Tamiya QD ("Quick Drive") kits are (I think, correct me if I'm wrong somebody) RTR and come with most of what you need to get up and running. The TT-01 kits, however, do not.

The HPI Dash may also be a decent choice, although I don't know much about it. I think if you stretched your budget to around $150 for the car and anything else you'd need, you'd be able to get a capable performer out in the street.