razer123

Greetings everyone!

Its been a while since I've last stepped into the nitro racing scene and it wasn't until about 3 days ago that I somehow chanced upon this forum again.

Boy was I in for a surprise when I saw that Mugen's latest iteration for their off-road buggies are already on the MBX6 series while my old one (the MBX4RR was sitting back out in the garage....I did get myself a Kyosho MP777 WC edition a couple of years back as well but like the Mugen, its all hidden somewhere in the garage). Anyway, after a couple of videos on youtube and extensive reading, I guess I'm sold and would probably be getting a 1/8 ON-ROAD kit this coming Chritsmas/early Spring 2012...

The thing is, there has been SOOOO MUCH changes in the RC scene since the last I stepped foot in it and I'm really spoiled for choice as to what to get.

As of now, I'm torn between the big boys like Mugen's MRX5 WC edition, Kyosho's Evolva M3, Motonica's P81 RS as well as Serpent's 977 TE and Xray's RX8.

The thing is, this gets a little tricky as some of the cars mentioned have been around for a while already and might be on the verge of getting replaced with a newer model anytime soon. This is especially so for Kyosho's Evolva M3 and Mugen's MRX5 and I'm just afraid that by the time I get one, a new model/update would be released for it.

Then again, issues like parts support at my LHS is another concern as well. I do know that Kyosho and Mugen are the more widely available and supported brands here in Singapore.

These two are really conflicting problems themselves since I know that sticking to KYOSHO or MUGEN ensures great parts availability at my LHS but not necessarily the latest cars (well, they're still race proven though) while the other part of me is really keen to try out the offerings that Xray, Serpent or the "M" brand has to offer.

I'm particularly interested in the Motonica when I chanced upon a thread and saw the photos. Their design and build quality looks stunning to me but I'm not entirely too sure where I can find them since I live in Singapore and last I checked on their site, they do not have any dealers here.

Then we have the X-RAY RX8. I know X-RAY makes pretty darn good 1/8 off road buggies and I've always been impressed by their quality and standards but the RX8 seems like a pretty new product so I'm kinda holding back on that one since I've not managed to get more insightful reviews on them.

As such, my question of the day is a simple one: Which car should I get? Should I just wait another 2 or 3 months to see if there are any new products and releases or should I simply get a Mugen MRX5 and race it?

Your feedback and help will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!
Razer123

garen

iTrader: (7)

They are all good cars. Visit your local track, there are at least a couple of guys in Singapore that I know of, that run Motonica and as far as I know, they like the car and the support provided.

speedracer1bp

iTrader: (20)

The World Championships were held this year in Miami, so a lot of the new gadgets are out and most car brands are fairly fresh. I'll throw another brand out to you. The Shepherd Velox V8 eleven. But like you said unless you're a rebel. Staying with a locally supported car had it's advantages. Good luck!

razer123

@garen: Thanks for the fast feedback! Yeah, I gotta go check out the local tracks for sure! Haven't seen how its like for on-road 1/8 racing yet... Btw, I heard that the P81 RS2 will be out in the near future? Is that so?

@speedracer1bp: I would LOVE to try out new things since I've been mainly a Mugen/Kyosho person all my life and hearing all the great stuff that's been coming out from the likes of non-Japanese brands have really sparked my interest for them.

Snowy

iTrader: (15)

You should go down to East Coast Park track (Marina Parade) for the next club day and see what brands are running around. I was there racing in September and all the brands were represented.

The most popular brands in 1/8th were Xray and Mugen but I did see a few Shepherd's, Carpicorn's, Serpent's and Motonica's. The Evolva is a bit up in the air at the moment, I was told Kyosho have canned it but I'm still not 100% sure about that.

Go down there and speak to the fast guys like Nelson Lee, Jesse Wu, Tay Wui Kat, Ian Wong, Erwin, Roger etc, I'm sure they will give you their thoughts.

garen

iTrader: (7)

Yes, the P81 RS2 has been announced but details are not available yet. I posted what I know about the car on the Motonica thread, which you can find in this on road forum.

The P81 platform is essentially the same since introduction in 2009, so 2012 will be the 4th year for the car, and everything from the original P81 to the current RS is interchangeable, so it's not like have to buy a new car each time and you can actually choose which parts to use. For example, on my car, I do not use all the RS parts.

If they follow what they normally do, the RS2 and RS2 conversion kits will be made available around February or March, but we'll wait and see on that. If you do purchase a P81 RS (contact me before purchasing for exact details) you will get an RS2 conversion kit when it is made available.

Definitely go to the local track(s) and talk to the guys that race and that should make your decision a bit easier.

razer123

Thanks a lot on that! I'm really leaning towards the Montonica RS for now. I've yet to find time to head down to my local tracks so I'll probably do so late November when I'm a little less occupied.

Anyway, being new to the 1/8 on-road scene, are there any particular spare parts that one should always stock or keep in their tool box in case something bad happens on track?

fatboy

cal Atalon Rc at 97553151, they do carried RS

pierre johnson

iTrader: (2)

I wanted to mention that you missed speaking of the shepherd velox eleven ,which is a very solid car and is similar to the p81 rs because they both foreign made cars designed to drive fast and smoothe along,the track so please take into consideration that ,its up to you and what car fits your driving style and what level of driver you are and everything should take its course...

pierre johnson

iTrader: (2)

I have a brand new shepherd velox eleven 1/8 th scale on the market for $635.00 which is a steal please contact me if anyone may be interested thanks guys .my email [email protected] ...later

John.

iTrader: (11)

Out of the following 1/8th on-road cars which would you chose to race as a privateer?

Mugen
Serpent
Xray
Shepherd
Motonica
Capricorn
KM

I know they're all capable of winning, what I'm more interested in is which kit offers:

Best value for money out of the box.
Great parts support online (I buy all my gear from US and HK online retailers).
Ease of maintenance (some cars are easier to work on than others).


Lastly which is the most popular 1/8th on-road raced in the US at the moment.

kyosho malaysia

are you sure KM already came out their 1/8 on road kit,as i know they only got 1/10 200mm and 220mm,i was waiting their 1/8 on road kit,i will get it if they have.

JamesHealey

iTrader: (1)

How does the Edam Razor 2 stack up against the big boys for club level racing?

TM America

As a past importer of this car, Edam, I can tell you it is a good "club racer" car. It just is not updated enough to be in the same speed zone as the Shepherd, Mugen, XRay, and others. It is pretty stout and the pricing is generally lower than the major manufacturers. However the majors are also very stout and the advantage of purchasing one of them is as your abilities grow you don't have to throw the car away and get a high competition car. You already have the the competition car in hand. Something to consider.

Parts support is large also. You will find the major manufacturers have an excellent distribution base throughout the USA. As an example for the Shepherd car, GQ America (me) is a dealer for Shepherd cars. You can purchase off the website and have parts in 2 to 3 days and also we attend races in our area and always have enough complete parts selection to keep our Shepherd customers racing all weekend. Another thing to consider when making your choice. Be sure the parts flow and support from other racers is very good where you are going to club race. Makes the hobby a lot more fun!

Hope this helps you a bit.

Sam Felish

hitcharide1

iTrader: (1)

I just got a Razor 2 and I can hardly tell the difference between it and most of the others. Same basic setup...even looks like some of the parts are interchangeble, and I know the price is good because I got the kit and a good 8-port engine for a hair over 400 combined. I also have a line on tire foam so I'm saving a buck there. I spent awhile making my decision...I think the price of things has gotten way out of hand to where a lot of people just can't afford to race competitively, and that's a shame. I intend to run the Midwest series this year and see how I stack up, I think I'll do ok, but I know I'll be doing it on a shoestring budget compared to what the other guys are doing it at. I know Mugen is a good product, and many others are as well, but it seems silly to me that the car I just bought looks the spitting image in so many ways as the others but costs less than half, same with the engine. I'm determined to show that you don't have to have top price stuff to do well.