ajhaun

hey everybody, im somewhat new to the whole racing part of r/c cars, im in texas right now but soon im going to be at camp pendleton in california. im trying to get my self set up with a decent truggy i cant run, not intesne racing till i kinda learn but at the same time a truggy that i can make competitive, i have been looking at the losi 8ight t rtr set up on amainhobbys. and i really just want some opinions and advice on if this is the right way to go.
thanks

Nitroburner9

iTrader: (7)

how new are you to the rc scene? Any experience with nitro?

ajhaun

ya i have a t-maxx that i have run on and off, mainly just messin around though, but i have been in/ around racing go karts, formula mazda and spec miata as long as i can remeber. so i know how to tune basicly, i know off road will be a little diffrent.

ajhaun

and a couple electirc rc 10's i havent played with those in a while thoguh

Nitroburner9

iTrader: (7)

I am new to the racing scene as well in the past couple months. But have been into rc and nitro for 6 years. I think with your experience you are better off finding a used truggy roller on the forums. With winter and the racing scene off season it would be the perfect time to build your truck the way you want with the parts you want. I spent nearly 500 total on my buggy roller and all the equipment, its a Mugen MBX-5. So I basically built my buggy for the price of what a new kit would cost. I took apart the diffs and made sure it was all good. I changed my fluids and it is practically new. I love it and had a great time with it all. Check out the for sale section. Much of my equipment came from here.

ajhaun

ya i have been cruising and was looking at some of the deals, but its going to be a late christmas present from my dad who is all into buying everything new for the quality and so u can change it the way you want it.. hes a team owner so im not going to argue with him, plus.. hes the one paying for it

cjm1126

iTrader: (163)

if you are gonna be racing i wouldnt recommend a rtr, you will end up spending alot of money upgrading it over time, if you look out for deals you can get a full competition kit for similar money, or maybe pick up a nice used rolling chassis and then just get new electronics and engine, i have seen alot of people take a rtr and just spend all the money to convert it to a full competition kit, then just to get rid of it and get a kit to start over fresh

TMizzle

iTrader: (1)

i see you are in sugar land, tx
im in Pearland... we have a race this Sat. you should come check it out. (weather permitting)

cota348

+1, I would add that you should know if there is race track near Pendleton where you can go to practice and race in beginner cat., that is the only way to improve your driving skill.

vladconnery

iTrader: (35)

Two very accurate statements above take there advice. Stay away from RTR spend money once the correct way and you will actually save money. Anytime you cut corners trying to save money in this hobby you actually spend more money. By that I mean RTR's you will end up buying upgrades and race quality engines anyway to make it competitive. Waaaaay to many good used rollers on the market to buy a new one. A good used kit will last a loooooong time.

My suggestion is a nice used Truggy with hopups incl should be about $350 or less get a new engine stay away from used ones. New engine great quality and price RBS5 L2G $230 or less or a GoTech 7P 209 or less. Servos steering atleast 200 oz of torque digital is best. Thats a nice truggy and will be very competitve anywhere.

ajhaun

i appreciate all the advice thank you every one, now to start looking for a used roller, i wanna get a lost 8ight t still but what type of upgrades should i be looking for?

ajhaun

just curious.. what are all the diffrences from rtr to a good roller? chassis wise

cjm1126

iTrader: (163)

well with the rtr you are paying for engine and radio equipment that you most likely will get rid of not to long after you start racing, the towers,chassis, and alot of miscillanious stuff is different to keep the cost down, if you are looking for a good used truggy i would suggest the mugen mbx5t prospec, they are very durable and easy to drive, you can pick them up pretty reasonably priced, it will cost less to maintain then the losi over time, i personally use the jammin x2crt, i have owned the losi 8t also, it just seemed to wear out faster then the mugen and the jammin, but the mugen is about the most durable truck u can get

vladconnery

iTrader: (35)

I'm sorry I respect cjm's opinion but a losi wearing prematurely is B.S. All and I emphasize all top quality buggy's and Truggy's are pretty much of equal quality and performance. Every Buggy and Truggy has it's quirks.

Here's the thing about those who love a certain brand. That brand has a quirk that is overlooked by the owner due to love for the ride. Kinda like ford vs. Chevy. When you love the ride you spend more time with it doing what you should be doing maintenance and practicing. What makes Buggys and Truggys wear properly and bulletproof is maintenance + luck and driving skillz nothing more nothing less. When you love your ride it's not called maintenance it's called playtime.

Always buy the ride you like for whatever stupid reason it is you liked it whether it's Kyosho to a Losi. Even if the reason is you liked the way the shocks looked. A Buggy or Truggy that is loved by the owner always jumps higher and further corners on rails and breaks the sound barrier standing still. Modern Race class RC's are so similar in performance and durability to it aint even funny.

I wanted a losi from the jump and settled on other brands which were not bad. However I was never satisfied with them. When I got my losi I never looked back and I have never been unhappy with it. I like tinkering with it so I never have a problem with wear or parts failure or even breakage. Any problems I did have can be chalked up to learning curve and user error. The 2 most common problems that all Buggys and Truggys share. For every 1 person that will bash any brand I can find you 20 who will brag about it.

Before someone else comes on and says losi's are twitchy let me kill that rumor as well. Every buggy and truggy can be setup to be driven by a rookie to a pro. If you set a ride up to corner on rails but you corner like a drunk in a 56 cadilac yeah its going to be twitchy. Set the vehicle up with the base set up and make incrimental changes on a track not in your backyard. Proper setup takes time unless your a you guessed it pro.

To answer you question about hopups, Look for aluminum spindles and spindle carriers, 1 piece motor mounts king headz or losi, aluminum chasis braces and toe plates, radio tray stiffners. It does not need to have all of those but a few are nice. The less hop ups the less you should pay.

mracer

iTrader: (43)

+ oh, about 1000!!!!!!! If you are going to experiance what rc can be, leave the RTRs on the shelf. I started with an RTR and almost quit because of it. I could make the A-main, but never finish. If you want to really find the fun of the hobby go ahead and save up to buy good race equipment. I finally spent the money, and haven't looked back!