Sir 51D3WAYS

IMO, all the 1/8 buggies look very similar IMO, I couldn't tell you the difference between any of the, so you'll have to ask someone else on the finer points.

MRO thread:MRO Inspire 4

Didn't know you were British. Go Schuey L1 then.

EvilR2.0

Yes mate, and used a Schumacher Atom in GT12 briefly before getting into 1/28 scale

Just reached out to MRO racing as their design look intriguing.

Thanks for all the help

elk

iTrader: (30)

EvilR2.0 - take a look at MCD 1/5 scales. I have tinkered on many cars, but the RaceRunner Ultimates are the nicest platforms I have owned. They are beautifully machined and tunable pieces at the large scale level. At smaller scales, the Unlimited Engineering Maxx trucks were beautifully developed 1/8 scale machines. These vehicles fall into the category of the nicest engineering that could be purchased if money were no object. Another favorite piece of design was the Serpent F180, albeit an F1 road car.

b1narych0ice

I started with TLR (2.0, 3.0, 4.0, SCTE 3.0, Eight 4.0, 22-4 v1 and v2), ran AE for a while (B6, B6.1, B64, B74, 1/8), and now run X-ray (2020 xb4, 2021 xb2, SCX). Enough kits in the past 5 years to wear out a MIP 2.0 driver!

TLR is a bit of a mixed bag, I feel like the material quality has generally been a little better than AE, but the engineering is a bit hit or miss - they have been playing catch-up on both 2wd and 4wd buggy design for the last few years, and their “current” SCT is way behind. Never had a missing part in any TLR kit.

AE plastic quality between the B6/B64 and B6.1/B74 got much better when they moved from China to Taiwan, to the point where it’s pretty much even with TLR. The engineering is usually pretty good, though the manuals and kit setups are the worst of these 3 brands by a mile. Most kits had a few pieces of hardware missing or in the wrong bag, but the cars share so many parts that I always had what was missing in my parts box anyway.

X-Ray is just all around better quality, from the plastics to the metals to the hardware to the manual. Everything that wears lasts longer than the AE stuff, which really balances out the higher parts pricing. If an AE ball diff is $50 and the X-ray ball diff is $80, is it really more expensive if it lasts twice as long? They have also been leading the way on engineering - the split gearbox being a good example in 2wd, and really the entire XB4 (B64 and 22-X4 are basically copies). All of my X-rays are very predictable and consistent on track, I have to think that the better parts quality contributes to this as much as the engineering.

mes

They're all copies of the Yokomo B-Max4 III If you want to call them copies. Xray's plastics are good, but they use plastic where they should use metal (rear camber link mounts). They take several generations to remedy design flaws as ever owner of the early XT2 versions will tell, and their shock design is outdated, too. Don't get me wrong, they offer a really good overall product that is clearly ahead of AE.
I fully agree with your opinion on AE, and mostly on TLR. TLR is in dire need of an updated 2WD programme to make their platforms more user friendly. Shocks are great and plastics match the requirements of the individual parts. CF shock towers on their latest cars have been perfect, the best I've seen so far.
My favourite maker so far has been Mugen. Quality and design of the MTC2 is on another level! The only manufacturer left to try for me that I am interested in is HB Racing, and as it seems I'll get my chance later this year.

rearviewmirror

iTrader: (17)

I agree with you about Mugen’s quality, it’s excellent. I wish they make 1/10 2/4WD kits.

I’ve narrowed down my 1/10 4WD selection to Xray and Tekno, due to them both having excellent manuals. There’s no shortage of good reviews on both, anyone owned both can give me some idea on which is preferred? I have no doubt Xrays quality is good, I have no idea about Tekno.

Joshstix

I understand the appetite for beautiful engineering and workmanship. I own a lot of things that do the same job as a much cheaper item could do but I just love the thought and precision that goes into making a beautiful piece of engineering. For example my Toyota MR2 I built is way faster than my 911 but the engineering of the 911 means its the one I use and the MR2 lives in the garage.

For those kinds of taste I would suggest looking at getting the Xray kit and buying the Willspeed chassis kit for it. Truely beautifully made items that are likely no higher performing than many other kits, but I am nowhere near able to use the performance of the worst kits so I can't really measure the performance.

mes

With Mugen having recruited Shin Adachi, I guess we have something to look forward to!

rearviewmirror

iTrader: (17)

This is the absolute truth. I posted in another thread about the law of diminishing returns. All the brand names are VERY capable, and the fact is that most never come close to reaching the "insert model here" potential.

I've shifted my RC buying from price to my experience or perception of quality. Recently the Mugen MTC2 has exceeded my expectations, what a beautiful piece of engineering. In my hands, it won't be any faster than models that cost half as much, but that wasn't the point when I purchased. Mugen doesn't make a 1/10 off-road vehicle so I've set my sites on XRay now as I perceive them to be a quality brand, only time and my money will tell.

rearviewmirror

iTrader: (17)

Thanks for sharing, that good news if it helps them bring some new models to market (and maybe speed up development on the current off-road models).

Alexv2024

iTrader: (2)

The last thing I'd buy is a tekno 4w. A few locals have them and they aren't great. The average skill guys break every part on them including gear boxes. That being said I'm considering one for 1/8th as those are good. 1/10, no. My buddy just sold his and cursed it due to breaking everything.

I'm an associated fan. I've built TLR and AE kits and wrenched on most brands and AE is the best overall car. The B6.2 build was awesome, just everything went together and I didn't have to tweak anything or clearance stuff or ream out holes. But Xrays are nicer, but you pay the premuim. Replacement and tuning parts are 80% more expensive than anything else. Like arms. $12 for 2 AE arms or 10.99 for 1 xray arm. Bit much honestly. Hard to swallow though racing on a budget, so it doesn't take away from my real cars.

Serpent and Schumacher plastic does not seem great to me. I don't have too much experience with them but the little wrenching I've done to help others and on a borrowed schuy is not great. Metal machining is great though and serpents new 4w looks great. I'm really tempted to try one but their plastics... Yokomos are still fragile. They are way nicer than they used to be but the locals running Yoks still break them way more often than AEs or TLRs.

Like I said I'm an AE fan, but I'm not blind. Other brands offer some advantages in areas, but AE and Xray stand out for 1/10 to me. Rest are also rans. And I've driven and tried to help locals setup EB410s and others.

bratan

iTrader: (5)

I will just give my 2 cents on serpents s811e and srx8e pro-tanks, they just don't break.

Sir 51D3WAYS

Pretty much this, if I was looking for a conventional 4wd, I'd just go for the cheapest locally or something with known quality, i.e. for me it's AE or Xray. AE is very good nowadays, but Xray is even better.

Yokomo isn't too fragile nowadays, but believe me it used to be even more fragile in the BMax era.... I've noticed Yok likes to use fairly hard plastics for their arms, off and on road. They have even harder arms as an option.

I've only ever heard good things about Tekno, so I'm not sure how ppl are breaking every part, their arms are very beefy. Schuey plastic has always been a bit state of the 1986, so good to hear nothing has changed lol. Serpent looks ok no idea on plastics but frankly I'm going for the new belty if I change cars.

billdelong

iTrader: (33)

1/10 TEKNO's are notorious for having issues with the bulkheads and suspension pin bending, rear hub carriers failing, snapped shock towers, etc.... they are extremely durable compared to their predecessors... I used to race a Schumacher CAT K2, and that buggy was great on a clay track, but broke arms like candy when the local club switched over to turf. I've heard that the current version of Schumacher and many other brands have since released more durable platforms than what TEKNO first released as being the most durable brand at that time, most everyone else has since caught up or improved beyond TEKNO's 1/10 durability offerings.


Here's my progression of 1/10 4WD Buggies with each being better than the next:


InTech ER-14

Schumacher CAT K2

TEKNO EB410.1

PR Racing 401LW

PR Racing 401R


After COVID, the 1/10 program died off in my area as 1/8 classes are all that's raced lately, but if 1/10 comes back, I have every intention to get a

HB Racing D418

rcgod

iTrader: (33)

IMO Xray is top quality on all of their cars except the xb2. The plastic rear camber mount is garbage and I can’t believe they still include it in a 2wd kit that costs $400+.