Chosing buggy for racing
 

Hey Guy's, I've been doing some bashing and just fun with my Jato, but I'm ready to get into Racing, I have an Losi 810 which is a bit old and not a race buggy. Basically I want to start with some club racing and see how that goes. I have a few options I'm thinking about for a buggy. I have a budget of around $500 to $600

1: Get something Brand New probably an RTR either:
JQ Products "THE Car" RTRI
HPI D8S RTR
RC8 RS RTR

2: Get a used buggy, I live in Canada so I really can't buy off the forums, but there are a few Xrays for sale in Kijiji Alberta:
Xray 808 w/DX3S Remote & Werks racing engine + Hopups and Extras
Xray XB8 Also hoped up w/spare parts, controller, engine, ready to go

I am kind of leaning toward JQ Prod The Car cause I recently got ripped off on my Losi 810 purchase, I baught it and was told it was a Losi 8ight 2.0 but when I got it, well it was an 810 and I paid $500 and coulden't get a refund, it wasn't from anyone from here.

Thanks for any help :)

Does anyone have ideas of what would be the best direction to go, please help me out, thanks

Jq rtr is best out IMO as far as quality products for a rtr.

I've heard many people on here a couple times saying that the 8ight 2.0 RTR is the best bang for your buck 1/8 scale racing worthy buggy out there at the moment. Before you even listen to any of the people saying their brand is the best, find out which car your lhs has the most parts for. Its good knowing that if you break a part that you wont have to wait until your order finally shows up, instead you can just go to the shop and buy it there, as well as helping them out too.

Why not just try racing the 810? It is not a full-blown "race" buggy, but should be good enough to put on the track for a first-time racer and won't cost you anything but tires. Get a set of good tires for your local track and get out and run it.

Unless it is totally screwed up, it will at least allow you to get some track time to see if you like racing.

If you decide that you like racing, you will need the tires for the new buggy anyways. If you decide that you don't like racing, you are only out the cost of the tires instead of the cost of a brand new buggy.

While you are at the track, take note of what others are running and what vehicles the hobby shop stocks parts for. Will help you when and if you make the decision to get a good quality race buggy. You may even be able to pick up a good used buggy from someone at the track, especially as the season winds down.

Yeah for sure I'm gonna start practicing with the 810 at least it will help me with my driving skills. And that's a good idea about getting a waiting till the season ends to see how much I enjoy racing, thanks for the advice.

You CAN buy stuff off the classifieds here, also there is a buy/sell topic in the Canadian r/c scene section. You just have to be careful. Don't buy from a guy who has little or no feedback, or has negative feedback, and you should be fine. Always require shipping with tracking and delivery confirmation, and ALWAYS pay with a credit card, never direct from your bank account. If you get screwed the credit card company will help you out.

I bought an 8ight 2.0 RR from a guy in the states for $225 incl shipping. I bought it for spare parts but all you would have needed was a motor, servos, rx, and bump start box and would be good to go. If you wait a good deal will eventually show up.

As for new, I personally started out with the 8ight 2.0 rtr and was very happy with it because it comes with everything you need minus fuel and a battery for the bump start box. Just be warned that the servos it comes with are junk (all rtr will come with junk servos imho), so plan to replace them early, and the tires it comes with are good for breaking in the motor and that's it, no good for anything else.

One of the best ways to buy is from a regular at the track. Many times you'll be able to see it run or at least eyeball a roller. Pictures sometimes hide surprises. Any trouble or questions, you'll have the seller available.

Example - one of the regulars at my track is selling a Hara D8 with servos, motor and pipe for $250

also a key note... make sure where you live you can get parts... otherwise to me, it is not worth it.

As far as an RTR... best bang for the buck is the Losi RTR's. I am an AE guy and love my buggy but the Losi has everything you need to get started and a rocking radio and starter box. Just my thoughts from a hobby racer.

run what you got for now, then wait a few months and either at the end of this season or after the worlds in Dec, there will be a ton of stuff up for sale as guys decide to run different brands. happens every year.

Idk why you can't buy on the forum. I just shipped parts to Denmark and Australia. When I sold my Mugen truggy it shipped to New Zealand. You will just pay a little more in shipping.

If you're going to race you should reconsider going for an RTR. These rigs often have equipment that aren't even race legal, so you need to buy replacement parts before you can start racing them, e.g .26 engines with too large fuel tanks.

Well, I also got ripped off buying my first second hand rc car. Turned out it was already discontinued, the 2.4GHz radio it comes with stock had been replaced with a 27MHz FM radio, the engine was more or less already gone... Not a great start in a new hobby!

From what I have seen the JQ is a copy from the Losi with a few minor changes, but most of the cars our are copies of one another. As was said earlier what cars do your local hobby shops sell?? What cars do they race?? I live in Vietnam and there is only one Losi dealer so when I started racing over here I bought 2 losi cars, one for parts and one to race. The thing I don't want is to be at a race and break something and not be able to continue or get in for my main. I love my Losi and it suits my driving style, I like to fly into corners and tear off after a landing so it suits me. I have practiced with the standard set up for a LONG time getting used to how it felt, then I would start to play with ONE thing at a time to see what FELT better, then another and another. Once I knew my car it was on. I never raced before moving to Vietnam only bashed with an old tmaxx. Needless to say my driving was pretty bad. I had been hanging out in c mains in the middle of the pack my first 6 (and only 6) races, then on my last race I put my knowledge into the setup of my car and I placed 3rd in B-main. Now if I can just keep my cool (they like to bump and punt cars in races here) when they bump me and not go for payback (jungle rules in Vietnam) I would have been probably top 5 in a-main. I actually had the fastest lap in the entire race!

Jq is also a copy of the losi? Like the XB9? Wow! Again I dont see it bro. I respect your opinion though but I just dont see it. Joseph design was well thought of and much respect for him racing his own car in the euros and doing fairly well.

So I've narrowed my options down to 2 choices,

1st: The Car RTR when it comes out in Spetember

2nd: Xray 808 2010 Spec, only 4 tanks Werks eng, only $450

Any thoughts of which would be the best to go with,
Thanks.