1/8 Magazine shoot out.
01-16-2009, 11:20 AM
#46
Well I didn't expect this much discussion on magazine reviews,test and shoot outs when I started this thread. I was just trying to find out if there had been a shoot out of all the new buggies yet.
Pretty cool to see a pro driver and what sounds like some actual magazine editors responding to this thread.
My opinions of magazine reviews, test , and shoot outs is that, I think there to give the average guy some basic information and understanding of that product or comparison of products so that consumer has one source to evaluate what he is shopping for , instead of having to ask a lot of different people there opinions of each buggy, and when asking people there opinion on what buggy they have, chances are they don't have first hand knowledge of all the other buggy's to choose from, which a magazine shoot out would.
The last 1/8th scale shoot out I saw was right after the Losi first came out. I bought my Kyosho SP2 right before I saw that test, when I was trying to decide which 1/8 to get it was between the Kyosho and Mugen.
All of the local hard core 1/8 drivers said those were the two best at that time.
I like Losi and of my Electrics are Losi , but I was a little Leary of buying Losi first 1/8, just because I thought they mite not get it right the first time out.
I passed on the Mugen only because it had the pillow ball suspension, and my only experience with that came from the T-Max, and I just remember it not being the most durable.
I know the Mugen ended up winning the shoot out, and they praised it and it's pillow ball suspension for working great and being supper durable.
I can't remember if the Kyosho ended up second or third, but after reading it and talking to a lot of the guys that drove Mugens I think I mite have ended up buying Mugen.
Except for the stock front knuckles , I have been real happy with my Kyosho.
And now looking back It looks like I would not have gone wrong buying a Losi either.
Any way I guess what I'm trying to say is that the more Information you can get, weather it's from magazines, Internet forums, or word of mouth, it will all be helpful when your trying to decide which new RC Car to buy.
Reading all the posts so far , it does not sound like there has been a recent shoot out of all the new buggy's.
Maybe one of these editors could tell us if and when there will be a shoot out of all the newest buggy's that are out now.
Thanks.
Mike
Pretty cool to see a pro driver and what sounds like some actual magazine editors responding to this thread.
My opinions of magazine reviews, test , and shoot outs is that, I think there to give the average guy some basic information and understanding of that product or comparison of products so that consumer has one source to evaluate what he is shopping for , instead of having to ask a lot of different people there opinions of each buggy, and when asking people there opinion on what buggy they have, chances are they don't have first hand knowledge of all the other buggy's to choose from, which a magazine shoot out would.
The last 1/8th scale shoot out I saw was right after the Losi first came out. I bought my Kyosho SP2 right before I saw that test, when I was trying to decide which 1/8 to get it was between the Kyosho and Mugen.
All of the local hard core 1/8 drivers said those were the two best at that time.
I like Losi and of my Electrics are Losi , but I was a little Leary of buying Losi first 1/8, just because I thought they mite not get it right the first time out.
I passed on the Mugen only because it had the pillow ball suspension, and my only experience with that came from the T-Max, and I just remember it not being the most durable.
I know the Mugen ended up winning the shoot out, and they praised it and it's pillow ball suspension for working great and being supper durable.
I can't remember if the Kyosho ended up second or third, but after reading it and talking to a lot of the guys that drove Mugens I think I mite have ended up buying Mugen.
Except for the stock front knuckles , I have been real happy with my Kyosho.
And now looking back It looks like I would not have gone wrong buying a Losi either.
Any way I guess what I'm trying to say is that the more Information you can get, weather it's from magazines, Internet forums, or word of mouth, it will all be helpful when your trying to decide which new RC Car to buy.
Reading all the posts so far , it does not sound like there has been a recent shoot out of all the new buggy's.
Maybe one of these editors could tell us if and when there will be a shoot out of all the newest buggy's that are out now.
Thanks.
Mike
Some people on the internet are sponsored and will fight tooth and nail to tell you how good their free stuff is and how bad everything else is. But when they switch they seem to say that all over again. I know a certain editor that has been quoted to say that everything but Losi sucked...when he was sponsored. I wonder if that's still true?
Magazines have a value just like the internet, BTW there are much more grammar and spelling issues online than in print anywhere, but we'll ignore that. The forums are a great place to learn, and when you buy something learn more as a collective group. But they are also, to me, more misleading because there are 1 million opinions on everything. I won't use RC, but when I was looking for a new subwoofer for my home I went to forums and couldn't find a really good answer to what I should get...just a 100 opinions on $1000 subwoofers. I even tried to check some magazines that might have rated them and it was hard to find.
So at least in our hobby we have magazines that point people in the right direction and have some websites to help.
Oh I bought a sub for $230 on eBay and I think it's awesome. If I had bought a FT subwoofer which probably is way better it would have been $750. But I'm happy with my RTR....somebody will understand that yoda talk.
01-16-2009, 11:54 AM
#48
No need to get butt hurt Derek, I haven't painted for them in a long time, still doesnt change the fact that they put out the best magazine on the shelf.
01-16-2009, 12:09 PM
#49
rc driver is a joke of a mag with all the nascar crap they put in it and rc car action just dosent intrest me much
I would have to dis agree with that RC Driver is a very good mag .I live in the northeast and alot of times I see them testing 8th scale and other stuff .Plus they sponser races up here and the prizes are unbalievable lots of kit and parts. Most of the time everyone gets something ,then they throw everyones name back into the drawiing for the bigger stuff !! So for me that someone who puts so much effort into testing and giving back to the racer you sould know what there about before you call them a JOKE!!
I would have to dis agree with that RC Driver is a very good mag .I live in the northeast and alot of times I see them testing 8th scale and other stuff .Plus they sponser races up here and the prizes are unbalievable lots of kit and parts. Most of the time everyone gets something ,then they throw everyones name back into the drawiing for the bigger stuff !! So for me that someone who puts so much effort into testing and giving back to the racer you sould know what there about before you call them a JOKE!!
Last edited by Pete G; 01-16-2009 at 12:21 PM.
01-16-2009, 12:29 PM
#50
Again, what are you judging things on? A savage isn't a race car should it be judged against a FT RC8?
And if you really want to read into things....if magazines never rate things poor and they are all "good" reviews but one is "average" what does that mean? But in the end there isn't a "junk" definition. If a $350 RTR that makes people happy is that junk?
And if you really want to read into things....if magazines never rate things poor and they are all "good" reviews but one is "average" what does that mean? But in the end there isn't a "junk" definition. If a $350 RTR that makes people happy is that junk?
If relative to other $350 RTR cars the car being tested drives crappy and is poorly constructed, then you need to say it is junk. No one is expecting you to compare a RTR to an MP9 or X-ray. However, ALL $350 RTR cars cannot be judged average and excellent relative to their reasonable competitive products.
01-16-2009, 01:27 PM
#51
I know XRC uses girls and all, but show more ass Not all of us are tit guys 
Anyways, I enjoy all the RC Magazine as they all are taken very differently in the way they do things and it's quite apparent. Spelling errors, seriously? You stopped buying magazines because of spelling errors? Grow up, I've seen plenty of grammatical errors in your posts alone. Shit, probably have a few in here! I can find plenty of errors in ANY magazine you throw at me.
Not all of us are tit guys Anyways, I enjoy all the RC Magazine as they all are taken very differently in the way they do things and it's quite apparent. Spelling errors, seriously? You stopped buying magazines because of spelling errors? Grow up, I've seen plenty of grammatical errors in your posts alone. Shit, probably have a few in here! I can find plenty of errors in ANY magazine you throw at me.
01-16-2009, 01:46 PM
#52
The magazines should do a magazine shootout to see which is the supreme magazine!!!!
01-16-2009, 05:51 PM
#53
No one is saying a Savage should be judged against a race level buggy. I am just saying I have never seen a mag actually rate something poor. Every product is not average or excellent. Average means half are better and the other half are worse. You can't have every product being average, someone has to make something that is worse.
If relative to other $350 RTR cars the car being tested drives crappy and is poorly constructed, then you need to say it is junk. No one is expecting you to compare a RTR to an MP9 or X-ray. However, ALL $350 RTR cars cannot be judged average and excellent relative to their reasonable competitive products.
If relative to other $350 RTR cars the car being tested drives crappy and is poorly constructed, then you need to say it is junk. No one is expecting you to compare a RTR to an MP9 or X-ray. However, ALL $350 RTR cars cannot be judged average and excellent relative to their reasonable competitive products.
Don't take this the wrong way but average means the majority of cars fall in the same performance. Not to mention many of the ones you speak of are sort of the same buggy.
What car do you think sucks and be constructive why. In order to judge which is better in a group it must be done in a shootout so they are all tested in the same conditions and time frame. Then you can rank 1st to last and even the ones at the bottom might be okay for a person to buy.
I like to bring up the example of my Tamiya Falcon. It was my first "real RC car' I loved it, raced it and probably had the most fun of any car I've had. If I reviewed it's equivalent today I'd say it sucks...but since I remember that joy, and you can see that in people who really ENJOY RC today, you can't say it sucks...it doesn't. It's intended use is very important. Fewer than 10% of cars see a track. The 10% that do are far too "serious" and forget how fun things are. I race Slash now and laugh my ass off. We are serious on the track (hell we have Expert STock Slash) but you can watch people and see 30 year old men looking like a kid at Christmas...when Santa was real.
If you ask me what I would buy with my own money, I answer that. We actually do a X-Best issue every year where we answer that.
But the people who want something to suck so bad to think people are being honest always confuse me. There are a lot of good (average products) in fact if you want total honesty in the 1/8-scale buggy market most of them are average now (meaning all really good). Thing is people don't want to see "average" either. When we posted dyno numbers that showed "below average power" people actually then switch to say we didn't know what we are doing.
Bitching is easier.
01-16-2009, 05:53 PM
#54
I know XRC uses girls and all, but show more ass Not all of us are tit guys
Anyways, I enjoy all the RC Magazine as they all are taken very differently in the way they do things and it's quite apparent. Spelling errors, seriously? You stopped buying magazines because of spelling errors? Grow up, I've seen plenty of grammatical errors in your posts alone. Shit, probably have a few in here! I can find plenty of errors in ANY magazine you throw at me.
Not all of us are tit guys Anyways, I enjoy all the RC Magazine as they all are taken very differently in the way they do things and it's quite apparent. Spelling errors, seriously? You stopped buying magazines because of spelling errors? Grow up, I've seen plenty of grammatical errors in your posts alone. Shit, probably have a few in here! I can find plenty of errors in ANY magazine you throw at me.
Lots of girls are "butt shy"
01-16-2009, 08:04 PM
#55
rc driver is a joke of a mag with all the nascar crap they put in it and rc car action just dosent intrest me much
I would have to dis agree with that RC Driver is a very good mag .I live in the northeast and alot of times I see them testing 8th scale and other stuff .Plus they sponser races up here and the prizes are unbalievable lots of kit and parts. Most of the time everyone gets something ,then they throw everyones name back into the drawiing for the bigger stuff !! So for me that someone who puts so much effort into testing and giving back to the racer you sould know what there about before you call them a JOKE!!
I would have to dis agree with that RC Driver is a very good mag .I live in the northeast and alot of times I see them testing 8th scale and other stuff .Plus they sponser races up here and the prizes are unbalievable lots of kit and parts. Most of the time everyone gets something ,then they throw everyones name back into the drawiing for the bigger stuff !! So for me that someone who puts so much effort into testing and giving back to the racer you sould know what there about before you call them a JOKE!!
Your a JOKE! Go play with your stupid toy car................oh wait, you can't, the shock fluid is frozen solid!
I've said a couple other times, R/C Car is the most accurate magazine out there. No fluff, no filler, just the truth.
01-17-2009, 06:12 AM
#56
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DereckB is XRC going to have a 1/8th shoot out any time soon ?
01-17-2009, 12:42 PM
#57
You know DerekB the simple solution to the Buggy Shootout as far as the logistics go is to have some So. Cal guys that race (get different levels of talent) sign up for a weekend of testing..swap cars and race..have the racers "rate" the cars..Sorta of like what you guys did on the TC shootout a few years back (on the rating system)..only difference is it would be the readers cars and you guys would oversee and test the cars also..I'm sure you could get the manufactures to lend support to the racers..do it like a race and give out first second and so on so their is no sandbagging or playing favorites..I think it would represent what people are really racing and what mods they are doing to make their buggies competitive..
..
..
01-17-2009, 10:27 PM
#58
There are many times where the article contradicts itself 3 different times. And it happens quite a few times in each and every magazine.
Not trying to be a dick but i dont even know which dyno numbers are correct cause ive seen like 5 dynos where it says 2 diff sets of numbers.
Not trying to be a dick but i dont even know which dyno numbers are correct cause ive seen like 5 dynos where it says 2 diff sets of numbers.
01-18-2009, 05:47 AM
#59
u 1/8 nuts need to put together a shootout via rctech. put ur collective set of skills together and do a real honest thorough 'dont have to worry bout gettin more vehicles in the future to test', down and dirty test. multiple writes, multiple drives, multiple circuits. really lay it out for people to make their best decision. rc mags are for kids (not kids at heart)!
R
R
01-18-2009, 07:48 AM
#60
The company I work for (music production products) spends $100K/yr on advertising in various "trade magazines" (the term used for publications aimed at people in a particular trade). EQ, Keyboard, Electronic Musician are some of these magazines.
We never get a negative review. We make great products (of course I think so, lol), but we know what really goes on behind the scenes. There's a simple formula... and I use that term lightly, because it might be more accurate to call it a freaking template.
They basically say it's a new product aimed at [insert music production type here], that it does this and that.
Then they talk about any potential problems, but they only do this in an attempt to cover the fact that the "review" is really bonus advertising. There could be more serious "problems", or they may think it's a gimmick, but they won't bring that up at all. They sweet-talk the lightweight/forgivable problem they've chosen to dedicate all of two sentences to.
Then they write a dozen paragraphs about how great it is and how they are recommending it to all their buddies in the industry. Then we're given a copy of the review before it goes to press (so-called "fact check") and we can respond to it and request changes. LOL.
Some people call this the sandwich theory. Whatever you call it, we all use this basic psychology in everyday life. Your boss, if he has any knowledge of supervisory skill, uses it in your yearly reviews.
The only publication that I've ever read (aside from Consumer Reports) that contained any real scrutiny about products was a video game magazine I used to read. They'd outright say that a product was a horribly-made gimmick. I don't remember the name of that magazine, but people had more respect for that one over all the others.
The price we pay for a magazine subscription covers the cost of printing and/or shipping the magazine. The actual operational cost of the publishers' businesses is all paid for by the advertisers and they serve the advertisers first. The only need to serve the readers is in the sense that advertising premiums are based on units sold/subscriptions. The only way they can charge $100K/year for a back cover is to show how many readers they have.
I'm skeptical of every review I read.
We never get a negative review. We make great products (of course I think so, lol), but we know what really goes on behind the scenes. There's a simple formula... and I use that term lightly, because it might be more accurate to call it a freaking template.
They basically say it's a new product aimed at [insert music production type here], that it does this and that.
Then they talk about any potential problems, but they only do this in an attempt to cover the fact that the "review" is really bonus advertising. There could be more serious "problems", or they may think it's a gimmick, but they won't bring that up at all. They sweet-talk the lightweight/forgivable problem they've chosen to dedicate all of two sentences to.
Then they write a dozen paragraphs about how great it is and how they are recommending it to all their buddies in the industry. Then we're given a copy of the review before it goes to press (so-called "fact check") and we can respond to it and request changes. LOL.
Some people call this the sandwich theory. Whatever you call it, we all use this basic psychology in everyday life. Your boss, if he has any knowledge of supervisory skill, uses it in your yearly reviews.
The only publication that I've ever read (aside from Consumer Reports) that contained any real scrutiny about products was a video game magazine I used to read. They'd outright say that a product was a horribly-made gimmick. I don't remember the name of that magazine, but people had more respect for that one over all the others.
The price we pay for a magazine subscription covers the cost of printing and/or shipping the magazine. The actual operational cost of the publishers' businesses is all paid for by the advertisers and they serve the advertisers first. The only need to serve the readers is in the sense that advertising premiums are based on units sold/subscriptions. The only way they can charge $100K/year for a back cover is to show how many readers they have.
I'm skeptical of every review I read.