sutts

I am looking to buy an off road nitro buggy. I have never bought one before and I was wondering what would be a good starting buggy. The main components I am looking for are speed and durability. I would like a buggy that goes 60 mph or over, and that I can buy for under $300.

IanWright

iTrader: (1)

Good luck with over 60mph. Even then, trying to keep it in one piece. Racing buggies your alooking at the 35mph mark give or take. You can get "toy" cars that claim it on the box, then you realise you in actuality you need to hop up quite a bit. Read the info on them carefully if you go that route.

A good racing buggy will be more than fast enough for you, 7+lbs traveling at 30 odd MPH is pretty exhilerating to drive.

Realistically for $300 you are not going to get much in the way of a full set up. A good RTR (Ready to run) will be more than that, check out the Losi 8 and the Associated although i am sure you will get many opinions and recommendations.

Best bet is go to your local track and talk to people, check out the local hobby shop but don't buy anything that day, beware of hobby shops trying to sell the stuff on the shelf that has been sitting there a while. Thats not to say LHS's are bad, a lot are very very good and helpful... just try and figure out and get some recommendations.

Also, "Which car should i get?" is an often asked question on forums, have a good look through this and others you find. Best advice i can give is go talk to people at the local track, get something your local shop stocks plenty of parts for and find the hobby shop people recommend in your area.

Good luck and have fun, do your research and you certainly will.

Cannondale1974

iTrader: (33)

None of the 1/8th scale buggies do 60 out of the box. Maybe with difference gearing you can get close. Most do 37-40mph. $300 won't touch an 1/8 buggy either unless you choose a knock off brand on Ebay. (probably not a good idea either) Most RTR's can be had for $500 plus.

You may want to consider a slightly different direction if speed is your criteria. Look at the Jato 3.3 I've seen them on Ebay brand new including shipping for $300 They are 1/10 scale trucks, 2WD, 2 speed transmission and will do an honest 65 mph apparently.

JustinD

Go get you a Cen Matrix look at Amainhobbies they have them.

Powerlink

Are you planning on racing it on a track? or just bashing around where ever. If your going to race it you will not need it to go 60mph . I would say if racing it go over to the rack and talk with some of the peep's that race there see what they are running .I would say they would most likely set you up with a good used buggy at a fair price, and help you out with set up and good advise.If your bashing go for a ready to run car (RTR) There are so many good durable cars ,however if you want to go 60mph get a big high rev. motor and gear it accordingly . And rip!

sptrtrucker

I have been doing this for awhile and used to own a hobby store and the advise u are getting is good. My advice is if u can save a little more like 600 or 700 then u will get a much higher quality buggy, if this is your first and want to get involved cheap I know there is a store in WI called Northern Hobbies and there phone # is 920-662-1530 and she ships alot of stuff out and she has a rtr buggy with everything for $300(I think it's $278) it is an xtm I believe and we where looking at it for my daughter as her first buggy, NOW EVERYBODY TAKE A BREATH, no its not a top of the line buggy but it comes with everything you need and will provide you with a buggy that you can pratice with and learn to drive with and maybe after a year or so might want to get more serious into racing then step up into a racer, if you really want to just go fast check out those trx jato 3.3 and they can do off road too.If u don't have a hobby store by you call northern and ask for Dawn but stay away from online hobby stores they don't build tracks and give us places to get together and have so much fun. and 60mph I think you just saw a buggy running and thought it goes 60 but if u gear it way up to try to get top speed you will loose power and then you won't be able to launch off that table top If you want to check out some cool video go to traxxas.com they got some new stuff on there just having fun, good luck

bobbitrc

Worst thing to do is base your 1st nitro on speed!
many cars say they'll do the 60, but dont say the distance needed, skill level required, or cost of repairs when hitting the tree that jumps out in front!
Take it easy and gain experience.

wes95_z28

iTrader: (3)

LoL, you have issues with trees jumping out in front you? When I first started out in this hobby I had the worst luck with those damn curbs jumping right out in front of my nitro RS4, and of course being the noob I was, did the brakes on the car work? Hell no, who needs something as stupid as those damn things, lol. After spending a lot more money than you initially intend on spending fixing broken parts from your own stupidity, you quickly learn the fastest of anything is the last thing you need until you learn how to drive the damn things.

You wanna go 60MPH? For $300? Simple go buy you a Mini-T pro, or an RC18T, and put a Mamba 8000 KV brushless system on it. DISCLAIMER... wes95z28 is not responsible for damage or personal injury, injured family pets, lost minis seeming lost somewhere in a heavily wooded area, or any other freaky incident involved with brushless minis and noob drivers. LOL

wes95_z28

iTrader: (3)

Ohhh yeah I did just remember there is a pretty good buggy out there that retails for around $300 RTR. The ofna LX one, its pretty damn tough, not noob proof by any means though, and im telling you right now the motor that it comes with is going to give you fits when it comes to tuning. But if you are just set on having a nitro, it will deffinatly get you started in the hobby, and as your budget allows you can always upgrade. Parts are somewhat difficult to find though.

Here is a link. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXRSU8&P=ML

rabidsquirrel

iTrader: (2)

If money is an issue, the real value right now is on the Hyper 7TQ or other package... OFNA/Nitrohouse is really trying to clear these out. Get one for around $200 and you have $100 bucks to spend on some decent servos/radio gear. you may even be able to snag one cheaper on Ebay. This is a better (More Durable, and better performing) kit than the LX One. Parts are dirt cheap for it too, not that you'll really need 'em a lot.