Originally Posted by
Allumina
Good Post. I am in no way tempted by the D8 at all, buying "budget" equipment just isnt appealing to me. People can say rabble rabble D8 won the worlds until they're blue in the face, but it wasnt stock. Kyosho has bad luck, Mugen did quite well, Losi did quite well, seems like maybe Xray had some bad luck. I just boils down to brand loyalty, and your pocket book. Anybody can win with any car if the equation is right, im a firm believer of that.
For me, im going to be getting an MP9 in the mail for one reason;
I owned an 8IGHT for a short amount of time, even though I dont talk about it much. This car got so sloppy and worn out it was embarrassing to think that I spent money on it
I also owned an RC8 for a few months, again it got so sloppy it was ridiculous.
I just recently sold a 7-8 year old Kyosho 7.5. I raced this thing competitively weekly, for a good 2 and a half years. I spent a year "bashing" it around the yard and parks after my local dirt track closed down, needless to say this car saw some use. I never once replaced a part on the car, and to the day when I sold it a couple weeks ago, theres still not one Iota of slop anywhere. Thats quality, plain and simple.
You forgot to mention the super sloppy RC8 had a little bad luck as well. TQ and leading the race until a flame out.
Some wear quicker than others, good luck finding a competitive car at this time that never develops slop or breaks under a hard impact in the right place. Talking to a regular A final pro Kyosho driver and checking out his car there was plenty of slop. Mark Pavidis is on record talking about the MP9 saying they have built in plastic bushings so they wear out rather than the main more expensive parts getting sloppy. AE already did that with bushings on the RC8. The guys winning stuff all the time with Losi cars aren't embaressed about the slop, they accept that having a light, fast car that can be tuned to the Nth degree comes with the fact that with use they wear out... and any form of motorsport is expensive in parts.
If you want a car that is as strong and doesn't wear out like your 7.5 best bet is to get another 7.5. No car is perfect in the terms you are looking for AND competitive at any real level.
I do however agree that any car can win if the equation is right, the D8's win is proof of that. It's a shame that isn't the thing that is being celebrated much.