NitroLuver

iTrader: (48)

No offense but I must admit these types of posts are a little redundant I mean I can't count the times I've seen some one say this about mugen,losi,x-ray,kyosho,and ae. True caster is an up and coming company and no they are not recognized like other companies but unless you've owned,driven, and maintained a car how can you honestly advise not to get it? I've seen people have problems with hb,ae etc. that doesn't mean it's a bad car.

Oh and before you say well you run for them or you're a Caster Fan boy ask around I voice my opinion on any car I've personally owned,driven, and maintained. So far the caster has been good and the only time I've broken was when I landed on my rear a-arm badly(1 time)

Caster like every other MFG has it's issues but once again that doesn't make it a bad car.

hakmazter

and that is the whole point, you intentionally gave a negative impression for Caster Racing by saying a guy bought a car, drove it a day, and quit while knowing a guy that has hardly ever bought parts. Hamilton has been with us for quite a while and he rarely buys parts from us. People like you are part of the reason as to why have to battle every day to become a big force. Now that you portrayed a more accurate picture, I thank you.

I also do not understand why everyone has such a problem with Caster Racing saying they are as good as or better than another brand from a customer standpoint. I understand that there is brand loyalty such as Ford vs Chevy, Polo vs Nautica, etc... but we can give various reasons as to why we say what we say now. Back in the day, we were a work in progress admittedly, but now, we have done a lot of research in the marketplace. Also please remember that product durability is not the only criteria that we are basing off of.

Consider this. Next time you see Dustin, ask him to drive his car a few laps and let me know if you went slower, the same, or faster. That is an important criteria and we get mocked for being a Mugen clone while xray is a direct copy of Losi and gets a free pass. We have had several Mugen guys try our cars and some have gone 4 seconds per lap faster so there is obviously something different. Also another comparison, I was personally disappointed in a good way that xray did yet another typical motor mod conversion for electric. I figured they were better than that.

We designed our own layout that is proven to be a better design and get no credit for doing something radically different just because the pillowball system is the same. Which brings up a different point. We have a full c-hub system available, but we feel that it is a step backwards in performance and durability on the track. However, we do have 2 different suspension systems.

Also consider price. Our pro kits are less than $400 now in the US. I did this because Kendall Bennett gave me a ton of recommendations which this was one. He said that we have a legitimate product, we have made substantial improvements, BUT, we just do not have a name yet in the marketplace.

Also consider upgrades. We have a lot of upgrade parts in our cars so people do not have to spend $100s of dollars for additional parts. We do have some upgrades, but they are not required or even recommended, but they are available for the customer that wants to have everything aluminum.

Overall, taking price, handling, value, durability, and true reputation all into consideration, we win the day, but because we are "not big enough" and people are skeptical, won't give us a chance, and are still Chevy vs Ford with us being Hyundai, we stay small but are growing. There are a few companies we are talking to that will help us throughout 2010 get bigger and become a more accepted brand in the marketplace, but there is only so much we can do.

See you guys at the tracks!

Mike

ScottyM

iTrader: (27)

Good luck in the future. Sorry for expressing my opinion and my observations.. I'm obviously in the wrong..

But, let me ask you this, if you are as good as al the others then why did you feel the need to post in the Generic brands thread? Even if it was to defend your point.

hakmazter

No harm no foul. Our car was brought up in the generic brand category. I replied because I ran across it. As usual, most people defend the product because of what we have done and what we are doing and that the product is not bad at all.

However, we always are lumped into the generic brand because we are not mainstream like Losi and Mugen and Xray yet. I have no problem with being called generic or off brand, etc... because we are still known as that technically. But people read my replies and see our character and when they get to look at a Caster, they suddenly realize that I am speaking the truth and they consider buying one. When they drive one as an experienced racer, they end up getting one and they are happy. Even ex Caster people in this thread are defending us for what we are. It is when someone intentionally skews a viewpoint or makes a baseless attack is when I feel I need to defend. I wish I didn't have to, but what is strange is whenever we get bad press, etc... Our sales increase. We sold 15 kits last week. Compared to Traxxas that is a joke, but when we are selling 15 every week instead of 5-10, then 30, then 50, etc.... As of today, I wish we sold 15 every week, but we sell what we can and we do what we do. the great part is that we can only go up from here and we increased sales volume 400% last year from 2008. I would imagine that not many companies can say that.

Such as us being a knockoff Mugen because we use a pillowball suspension, yet xray gets a free pass because they use a Losi suspension. I just wonder when you are no longer a copier or knockoff? If we went to a kingpin, then would we be called a copier of something else? Is it the suspension only? If a person runs a BCE chassis are they still running a Losi? If they run RPM arms is it still a Traxxas?

Looking at 1/8 buggies, the reality is that they are all pretty much the same at the end of the day. There are 3 different suspension systems designed today and that is it. As for innovation, by us being the first manufacturer to make an electric production buggy proved we are not copiers and that it has been said by several reputable people in the industry that it is the best design, proves we are innovative.

NitroLuver

iTrader: (48)

Firstly I originally posted because as usual everyone mentioned the normal cars AE,Losi,etc. I simply stated that caster is another viable option of car that has been nothing short of solid for me thus far. Secondly no one said you're wrong I am just saying that your post was redundant because people say that about AE,Losi,Kyosho,etc or any car that they can't just pick up and win races with. I've seen people break stuff on the High end quality cars(well known) but because of their name it's a non issue?

hakmazter

Last post. I think that the term generic has different connotations for different people. I knew we would get brought up as it always happens, but to be fair, you do get what you pay for and we are not "generic" in price, therefore, I hope that everyone would not lump us into the $189 ebay special with 3mm towers that are stamped, etc....

But I also believe that most people here know the difference.

I am just as tired of defending Caster as everyone else is of reading my posts, but when I see something I feel is inaccurate, I have to defend it. What is frustrating is all through time, I have NEVER hidden any issues we had and then we fixed every issue, letting people know during the process where we were at and what we were doing.

For example, we had diff issues in 2008, had body issues up until 3 months ago, had wing issues until the 2010 model and we have been fighting the ghost issue of plastic. It really amazes me that we do sell plastic to some Mugen guys who swear by it and we do have Caster guys that I can prove by sales that have ordered a few arms ever and we then have the occasional guy that breaks them like crazy. At one point in early 2009, we determined that the issue was the hinge pins and we changed them. That solved a lot of the issues, but then we have people who do break them when it is cold and they run Mugen arms in the winter. But in the world of RPM, Answer RC, Proline, etc... all of whom I support, if Mugen lowers are the only accessory our cars need, I will take it.

But, we did come out with new lower arms that I would like for everyone to try. They are JR-0131 and they are closer to RPM plastic than the others.

bschanz

iTrader: (3)

i'd be willing to pimp the caster products here in south florida if you wanna send me one. I have never driven one, muchless seen one in person but from the pics that I see, they look pretty solid.. i'd be willing...

madweazl

iTrader: (12)

Got a link?

NitroLuver

iTrader: (48)

www.casterracingusa.com

hakmazter

then online store, then kits, then pick one... then on the left below the picture says "click to zoom"

rltanner

iTrader: (2)

I have a VTX Buggy and Truggy and when I bought them i let some of the really fast guys drive them at my local track and they gave me some tips on what to change and what to keep and the only things that they recommened was just servos of course and the motors I changed because I just wanted alittle more power.. Ive had them for 3 years and i race alot and I do well against the big name brands.. and I practice alot and have a good pit man....

MadRussian

iTrader: (3)

Why does Caster not design its own buggy rather than basically being a Chinese copy of an MBX5 then?

Shuming

YUP

hakmazter

What by definition constitutes your own design to you? Apparently you did not pay attention to my posts.

1.) We have a pillowball suspension that we use in the US. We have a C hub suspension that we use in Europe. The tracks are different, therefore, I think pillowball is the setup of choice here in the United States. but if it makes you feel better, we are currently testing a kingpin setup, therefore, we will have all 3 suspension systems available by 2011, but will probably keep the current setup unless we can beat the current level of performance. There is a very specific reason why we use pillowball.

2.) We designed the fusion lineup which cemented us into the industry as not only the first manufacturer to make an electric 1/8 scale lineup, but the one with the best design.

3.) Caster Racing was formed in 2004 when some asian engineers decided they had enough working for another company by the way.....

4.) Caster Racing does tons of OEM manufacturing.

Also, how is it that the other companies get a free pass by just as blatantly copying companies such as Tekno and Novak?

hakmazter

So you honestly believe that every Mugen part is made in Japan? If it is, then they are the only company in the rc industry who is not in bed with China/Taiwan and I would not take that bet.

So why are you so racist towards the Chinese? Everything is made over there. It is like saying that Canadians suck because they are not Americans or something.