Chossing a new Buggy
12-16-2009, 10:21 AM
#1
Chossing a new Buggy
I am looking to purchase a new buggy for the 2010 Season in my country. This year I raced an Xray 808 which is a pretty good car, I never broke any part during racing, my only concer is thay in terms of pricing is alittle more expensive that other cars and also as much as I tryed it was difficult to race against the Losi 8ights, because the losi is far more agressive and have better jumping capability.
I have being looking into different buggys, I dont want to move into Losi because I will have to purchase alot diferent equipment like tools and new starting box, so I have being reading about the MBX6, the D8 and the Hyper9 2.0.
The MBX6 looks very nice and it seems to me that is the car you purchase and race it as it comes inside the box
The D8 looks fast at least in the hand of Hara and Tessman, but if I am not mistaken some upgrades had to be purchase like the rear shock tower and rear shocks and also from what I understand the car is heavy and the material are not very resistant.
The Hyper9 2.0 looks very interesting because of the diferent design, tilted engine and lay down servos, but I wonder in terms of maintance if the car is dificult to work. Also I see in Nitrohouse they have an upgrade for the shocks, that are 17mm, which by the way are expensive in terms that I am purchasing a brand new kit.
Maybe someone may give me some pointers and provide me with personal reviews and let me know if its better to purchase a Losi 8ight, tools and starter box insted of exploring with this other cars.
Thank you very much for your help and time and just to let you know the Hyper 9 is the one that is winning for me.
Please let me know. Thanks to all.
I have being looking into different buggys, I dont want to move into Losi because I will have to purchase alot diferent equipment like tools and new starting box, so I have being reading about the MBX6, the D8 and the Hyper9 2.0.
The MBX6 looks very nice and it seems to me that is the car you purchase and race it as it comes inside the box
The D8 looks fast at least in the hand of Hara and Tessman, but if I am not mistaken some upgrades had to be purchase like the rear shock tower and rear shocks and also from what I understand the car is heavy and the material are not very resistant.
The Hyper9 2.0 looks very interesting because of the diferent design, tilted engine and lay down servos, but I wonder in terms of maintance if the car is dificult to work. Also I see in Nitrohouse they have an upgrade for the shocks, that are 17mm, which by the way are expensive in terms that I am purchasing a brand new kit.
Maybe someone may give me some pointers and provide me with personal reviews and let me know if its better to purchase a Losi 8ight, tools and starter box insted of exploring with this other cars.
Thank you very much for your help and time and just to let you know the Hyper 9 is the one that is winning for me.
Please let me know. Thanks to all.
12-16-2009, 10:33 AM
#2
Tech Fanatic
iTrader: (2)
Hello fellow racer,
Last year I started with the MBX6, nice buggy race ready off the box and reliable, mid season I went to Losi 2.0 and was faster with it as it jumps better, I did not like the maintenance on it. I tried a friends MP9 and I foun it to be a compromise between the MBX6 and the Losi 2.0. I am runing the MP9 next year.
Last year I started with the MBX6, nice buggy race ready off the box and reliable, mid season I went to Losi 2.0 and was faster with it as it jumps better, I did not like the maintenance on it. I tried a friends MP9 and I foun it to be a compromise between the MBX6 and the Losi 2.0. I am runing the MP9 next year.
12-16-2009, 10:49 AM
#3
D8 not resistant?
Never broke a single part on my D8 except front spindle after crash into concrete barrier
and of course both carbon towers but they are bound to break on any car. - thats why people run aluminum towers even on mbx6
D8 is a tank. too heavy for some (then all the lightweight parts come into play)
mbx6 can be driven very aggressively if that suits your style
no hands on losi but seen to many poeple wrenching all the time. same with mp9
Never broke a single part on my D8 except front spindle after crash into concrete barrier
and of course both carbon towers but they are bound to break on any car. - thats why people run aluminum towers even on mbx6D8 is a tank. too heavy for some (then all the lightweight parts come into play)
mbx6 can be driven very aggressively if that suits your style
no hands on losi but seen to many poeple wrenching all the time. same with mp9
12-16-2009, 11:40 AM
#4
first off, you don't need a new starter box to run a losi 8ight (assuming you have a universal 1/8 starterbox). you might need a couple of new hex drivers but that's about it. also, if you were having problems keeping up with the losi's in an 808, you would probably have issues keeping up with them regardless of what car you're driving, even if you were driving a losi also. the newer gen high end cars are all very capable cars and they all have theirs positives and negatives but they are all equally as competitive.
maybe you can tell us what driving characteristics about the 808 that you didn't like and felt was holding you back from going faster. is it too twitchy/too responsive? is it unstable? that way people can give suggestions based on what driving characteristics you are looking for. another bonus to describing your issues with the 808 is that the 808 crowd may be able to chime in with setup suggestions that'll allow you to setup your buggy to drive the way you want it to. then you don't have to buy a new buggy at all and save some $$$. you stated that you did not break anything on the 808 but when on to say that parts pricing is so expensive. but i guess thats a moot point since you dont need to replace many parts in the first place??
maybe you can tell us what driving characteristics about the 808 that you didn't like and felt was holding you back from going faster. is it too twitchy/too responsive? is it unstable? that way people can give suggestions based on what driving characteristics you are looking for. another bonus to describing your issues with the 808 is that the 808 crowd may be able to chime in with setup suggestions that'll allow you to setup your buggy to drive the way you want it to. then you don't have to buy a new buggy at all and save some $$$. you stated that you did not break anything on the 808 but when on to say that parts pricing is so expensive. but i guess thats a moot point since you dont need to replace many parts in the first place??
12-16-2009, 11:43 AM
#6
The MP9 to me is just to expensive anyways, I love the losi which when you ask everyone is going to say the same on the buggy they run, but I have been whipped several times by Mugen drivers. After looking at their Mugens in the pits very nice buggy that would have been my next choice if the Losi's where bad but there not so I went 8 2.0
12-16-2009, 12:54 PM
#8
well here is my personal opinion on the two and please don't bash me for it. i don't have a favorite at this point since they both have their ups and downs.
cornering:
losi: the more responsive or "twitchy" car as some may call it. the rear end also rotates very well mid corner (which is an advantage or disadvantage depending on who's driving). if you drive a losi and race on a medium or high bite track, try 7/5/3 on the diffs and you'll see a whole new world in steering response. people like to stay with the recommended 552, 553, 572 setup but yea. just something for the losi guys to try. i thought my car would push like hell but boy was i wrong... hoooly steering. i went home with the biggest smile on my face that day. this doesn't seem to work as well on those really loose tracks though.
mugen: very responsive, with the losi having a slight edge. takes a lil more work to make the rear rotate but the payoff is at the exit of the turn where the mugen is more stable, allowing you to get on the throttle with a little more confidence. don't get me wrong though, you gun the throttle and the rear will still walk out on you. overall the only word i can find to describe the mugen cornering is "balanced".
jumping:
losi: definitely pops up off of those jumps better than the mugen.
mugen: jumps very very well with the losi having the edge. what it does better than the losi though is landing the jumps. it seems to do it in a more controlled manner, allowing you to get on the throttle with more confidence.
rough track/whoops handling:
losi: handles rough tracks well, but the rear end tends to get upset often and i couldn't get it dialed out with oil/piston setups. one of these days i'm going to try different shock mounting positions.
mugen: definitely outshines the losi on the rough tracks or whoops sections. the rough parts of the track are effortless with this buggy. my buddy/pit guy who drives a losi also noticed this with the car and commended the car for it.
wear/tear:
losi: a lot of people bash losi for parts quality/slop or whatever but i simply disagree. the losi does develop slop in the front end, but i tell you this, my buggy handled better once the slop got in there. on the losi, slop is your friend, not your enemy. there's also alot of bashing on the losi for servos going out, diffs going out etc. i have 4 buddies that i race with who all have losi buggies/truggies and yes they've broken servos and had diffs go out. i've worked on most of their buggies and truggies and i can tell you that they've broken those things because they were not set up correctly. linkages were in all sorts of funny angles cause they weren't using the right horns, diffs not shimmed correctly, you name it. let's face it, the losi is the most popular buggy out and the more popular it is, the more chances that the average joe shmoe will get their hands on the car and not know how to maintain it or set it up. i'm not saying that if this has happened to you that you are an average joe shmoe, but yea.... you get my drift.
mugen: great quality parts. i haven't owned the mugen long enough to really make good judgement call. i do have a feeling though the the mugen is more proned to breakage than the losi. so basically, if the two were to go on a high speed head-on collision, my bet is that the mugen would lose. but again, that's my personal opinion.
maintenance:
i don't see either one requiring more than the other, but the losi is a little easier to work on. i say this since there's a lot more going on in the mugen front end and is a little more work to take a part and put back together.
but anyway, this is my take on the whole losi vs mugen thing. oh... and i'm not pro racer nor am i even a fast driver. just an average club racing guy with some analysis skills. so yea feel free to disregard all that i have said if you only look for opinions from the highs and mighties.
cornering:
losi: the more responsive or "twitchy" car as some may call it. the rear end also rotates very well mid corner (which is an advantage or disadvantage depending on who's driving). if you drive a losi and race on a medium or high bite track, try 7/5/3 on the diffs and you'll see a whole new world in steering response. people like to stay with the recommended 552, 553, 572 setup but yea. just something for the losi guys to try. i thought my car would push like hell but boy was i wrong... hoooly steering. i went home with the biggest smile on my face that day. this doesn't seem to work as well on those really loose tracks though.
mugen: very responsive, with the losi having a slight edge. takes a lil more work to make the rear rotate but the payoff is at the exit of the turn where the mugen is more stable, allowing you to get on the throttle with a little more confidence. don't get me wrong though, you gun the throttle and the rear will still walk out on you. overall the only word i can find to describe the mugen cornering is "balanced".
jumping:
losi: definitely pops up off of those jumps better than the mugen.
mugen: jumps very very well with the losi having the edge. what it does better than the losi though is landing the jumps. it seems to do it in a more controlled manner, allowing you to get on the throttle with more confidence.
rough track/whoops handling:
losi: handles rough tracks well, but the rear end tends to get upset often and i couldn't get it dialed out with oil/piston setups. one of these days i'm going to try different shock mounting positions.
mugen: definitely outshines the losi on the rough tracks or whoops sections. the rough parts of the track are effortless with this buggy. my buddy/pit guy who drives a losi also noticed this with the car and commended the car for it.
wear/tear:
losi: a lot of people bash losi for parts quality/slop or whatever but i simply disagree. the losi does develop slop in the front end, but i tell you this, my buggy handled better once the slop got in there. on the losi, slop is your friend, not your enemy. there's also alot of bashing on the losi for servos going out, diffs going out etc. i have 4 buddies that i race with who all have losi buggies/truggies and yes they've broken servos and had diffs go out. i've worked on most of their buggies and truggies and i can tell you that they've broken those things because they were not set up correctly. linkages were in all sorts of funny angles cause they weren't using the right horns, diffs not shimmed correctly, you name it. let's face it, the losi is the most popular buggy out and the more popular it is, the more chances that the average joe shmoe will get their hands on the car and not know how to maintain it or set it up. i'm not saying that if this has happened to you that you are an average joe shmoe, but yea.... you get my drift.
mugen: great quality parts. i haven't owned the mugen long enough to really make good judgement call. i do have a feeling though the the mugen is more proned to breakage than the losi. so basically, if the two were to go on a high speed head-on collision, my bet is that the mugen would lose. but again, that's my personal opinion.
maintenance:
i don't see either one requiring more than the other, but the losi is a little easier to work on. i say this since there's a lot more going on in the mugen front end and is a little more work to take a part and put back together.
but anyway, this is my take on the whole losi vs mugen thing. oh... and i'm not pro racer nor am i even a fast driver. just an average club racing guy with some analysis skills. so yea feel free to disregard all that i have said if you only look for opinions from the highs and mighties.
12-16-2009, 01:27 PM
#9
Very well said unsp0ken. 
12-16-2009, 03:08 PM
#12
check out rc8b
Being a long time losi driver, i just recently went over to the associated rc8b and i will tell you it is a much more stable car, and you cannot beat the price on it. Car is not a "twitchy", does not get loose on you as easy, seems to stay planted more. Just an idea, might be worth looking at.
12-16-2009, 03:50 PM
#13
The 810 is out. Longer chassis alot like the Losi 2.0. (imagine that)
Did you try moving the front arms back on your 808 with the rear hubs back? (puts more weight on the front tires, more steering) It really isn't that hard to make an 808 get more agressive. Did you add lead to your battery box? The 808 is a bit too light on some tracks. Especially with lipo rx packs. Icrease rear camber. use the optional caster blocks for more turn in?
Sheesh, just post a setup sheet. I'm sure there is a simple explanation.
The team setups are fairly tame. Then again they don't need as much rotation because they don't miss the apex of every turn by a foot or two like we do.
But Wheelers shock setup is dead on.
I'd stick with the car you have and dial it in better. We can help with that. Xray has setup sheets on their website that you can save to their website so we can critique them and then tease you. LOL.
Did you try moving the front arms back on your 808 with the rear hubs back? (puts more weight on the front tires, more steering) It really isn't that hard to make an 808 get more agressive. Did you add lead to your battery box? The 808 is a bit too light on some tracks. Especially with lipo rx packs. Icrease rear camber. use the optional caster blocks for more turn in?
Sheesh, just post a setup sheet. I'm sure there is a simple explanation.
The team setups are fairly tame. Then again they don't need as much rotation because they don't miss the apex of every turn by a foot or two like we do.
But Wheelers shock setup is dead on.I'd stick with the car you have and dial it in better. We can help with that. Xray has setup sheets on their website that you can save to their website so we can critique them and then tease you. LOL.
12-17-2009, 02:10 AM
#15
Great idea Zero Defect.....
I too race an 808, and overall, it's got everything. I do like the mbx6 and the rc8 for all out blasting over jumps. the mbx6 needs a little help in getting more steering, but nothing that can't be tuned, but I really like the parts quality of the 808. It rarely strips out screw holes. It's easy to drive fast, I am one of those smooth drivers who looks fairly fast, but I don't push it too hard, yet am usually in the top 3. So the 808 is great for me. I like aggressive steering, and the 808 needs a little help, but not much, because the rear is so planted the front end can push if you don't slow down, i use more rear brake bias, but zero has good ideas in moving the rear hubs, or leaning the rear tires in a litle more. I do think the stock 10 degree caster blocks are good, but I haven't tried the 12's either. Usually more caster gives less turn in, but more exit speed. What I'm trying to say is the 808 is the most perfect car out there, but the mugen is super nice to drive hard and it is built like a tank yet light in the pants. Perfect shocks gears and all, ant the rc-8 just moves it out, yet the parts are a little cheaper IMO. Listen to zero defect, keep your buggy and tune it some more. If you can drive it will be there in the end of the race.
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