I race a lot of off-road, but I am new to on-road and just bought an AE TC5. I have owned the Xray M18, AE RC18, and Vendetta. I owned these all as off-road cars. But I see that they are all available as on-road.
What is a nice car to buy? The Xray M18 Pro has my eye, and I remember the RC18 had crappy steering issues. My Vendetta was actually very legit, and I see they now have a TC and Rally on-road.
Please help me buy an 18 scale on-road please!!!!!
I race a lot of off-road, but I am new to on-road and just bought an AE TC5. I have owned the Xray M18, AE RC18, and Vendetta. I owned these all as off-road cars. But I see that they are all available as on-road.
What is a nice car to buy? The Xray M18 Pro has my eye, and I remember the RC18 had crappy steering issues. My Vendetta was actually very legit, and I see they now have a TC and Rally on-road.
Please help me buy an 18 scale on-road please!!!!!
(1) If you like a well engineered, very competitive, 4wd carpet indoor ride, then I would reccomend the Xray M18 Pro. And the Protoform Stratus TC body.
(2) If you prefer outdoor asphalt style bashing or racing, I would reccomend the AE RTR 18R. Yes it does have some issues with the steering, but there are pleanty of aftermarket fixes for it. And if you would like have a real competative step up you can always get Exoteks 18R onroad conversion kit to transform your RTR 18R into a real serious indoor carpet racer or even outdoor asphalt racer. I would also choose Exoteks GTZ body.
(3)The Vendetta TC is OK.....but if I had my choice between the Xray M18 Pro or the Vendetta TC, I would have to pick the M18 Pro. Yes it costs a little more but IMO, is well worth it.
Don't forget the new Vendetta Rally. Same size as the 18R and just as much fun.
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Great Planes, Futaba, O.S. Engines, MuchMore USA, Shepherd Micro Racing, Duratrax, CEFX, Parma/Faskolor, Tornado Fuel, BSR Racing Tires
I would be on an indoor carpet track most of the time. The Vendeta is really pulling me it's way because I owned one and they are bonehead simple and in all reality, more of a 16th scale. Therefore a hair more stable due to it's size.
The M18 Pro however just looks like the real deal eh? I've owned the M18T and it was a tight car. The 18r Pro even looks nicer.
The AE car I'm probably not doing. I have all AE cars, but I don't remember having very kind feelings toward this car.
Last question.....does the Vendetta handle nice? Let's face it...Xray did a heck of a lot more R&D than Duratrax did to make a road car. But I'm just curious if it is stable, responsive, fun, etc.
Just to be clear up front, I am biased towards the m18. I am trying to be fair though to allow you some decision room.
A friend of mine recently got the Vendetta TC to race. Other than the weak rear stock hubs, he loves it. I think his laptimes are a bit less than what he had before. Within the same second and a 1/2. However, he is still learning the in and outs and attempting different compounds and setups.. The biggest flaw though is that stock, it weighs a ton, so unlike a smaller graphite based sedan, you have to add larger mah lipo packs and a larger motor to get to the same speeds and runtime. He can pass me with the stock 380 motor and esc on the 1/10th straight, but I can get inside him in the infield with my 370 graupner/tekin setup and still have more battery left over even with a 300mah less pack. If you do want to make it graphite and light, then it becomes even more pricy than a xray.
This is on a 1/10th carpet setup, so your mileage may vary on other surfaces.
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*Have a question on the M18/T line of vehicles? Check the (unofficial) FAQ.
http://forum.teamxray.com/viewtopic.php?t=2524
*Need help finding an Xray supplier? Check the dealer/distributor database.
http://www.teamxray.com/teamxray/other/worldwide.php
There has been an upgrade to the hubs and it solves the problems. The new Duratrax Rally has a Tactic 2.4 radio and in my opinion that makes it worth looking into seriously. It also uses 380 motor so a Novak Mongoose will fit. I had no trouble with my Vendetta ST being reliable or fast.
The Vendetta is cool, but the dogbones and difs were not up to par with the ball dif and dog bones of the Xray. And yeh, the Vendetta is bigger and wieghs more.
I think they're all fun, but all very different from my memory. I decided to go Xray M18 Pro after weighing it all out. The Xray quality can suck you in, and it did me. In the end, I decided I just wanted a super nice car ready to race. Xray
The Vendetta is cool, but the dogbones and difs were not up to par with the ball dif and dog bones of the Xray. And yeh, the Vendetta is bigger and wieghs more.
I think they're all fun, but all very different from my memory. I decided to go Xray M18 Pro after weighing it all out. The Xray quality can suck you in, and it did me. In the end, I decided I just wanted a super nice car ready to race. Xray
Thanks for your help!!
Good choice!!......... I"ve been racing mine for over 3 years now, maybe 4 years (carpet only) and it keeps getting more and more fun. Over the years and with a lot of input from other M18 Pro racers, we've learned and shared quite a bit of clever little tricks to make these little pocket rockets handle even better than they do right out of the box.....which isn't that bad to begin with. Anyway, hope you enjoy your new ride. After all, you have an excellent car to start with. Good luck. If you have any ????? after putting it through a few races or so, feel free to post any ?????. I'd be happy to steer you in the right direction.....no pun intended.
You can use the shorter length lipos to allow room to put electronics in front to have a super low cg. And allow to tune/balance the car by moving the lipo forward or aft.
Examples:
Trakpower 1345
Thunder Power 1350
Apogee 1000
You can fit the Trakpower 1600 as it only a hair longer, but it is much taller, so you would have to put spacers under the battery mount towers. I still get a good amount of time just running 1300 lipos.
There are plenty more that others can suggest. The biggest thing is try to keep the width under 34mm.
__________________
*Have a question on the M18/T line of vehicles? Check the (unofficial) FAQ.
http://forum.teamxray.com/viewtopic.php?t=2524
*Need help finding an Xray supplier? Check the dealer/distributor database.
http://www.teamxray.com/teamxray/other/worldwide.php
I know it's a shameless plug, but you might want to consider the Team Psycho Cells 1150mah pack. It has TQ, and won this past years 1/18th East Coast On-Road Open Micro Sedan Championships, This years 1/18 On-Road Nationals Open Sedan Championships, and the MRL 1/18th Open Sedan Championships. It actually went 1 and 2 in all those championships. The pack is 35C, but more importantly, the packs have very low internal resistance that gives them incredible punch. Email support@teampsychocells.com for more information.
Psycho Man
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Team Psycho Cells - Team Exotek - D&K Air Designs
Help me pick an On-Road 18 scale. I'm new.
than they do right out of the box.....which isn't that bad to begin with. Anyway, hope you enjoy your new ride. After all, you have an excellent car to start with. Good luck. If you have any ????? after putting it through a few races or so, feel free to post any ?????. I'd be happy to steer you in the right direction.....no pun intended.
