Advise for semi-newbie
 

Hi All,

I would like to get back into RC racing and need some advise.
Years ago I used to race a Losi LXT truck and XX buggie but got out of it as I was still in school and couldn't afford it. Now I want back in and would love to race a 4WD buggie.

The kits that I am considering are the Losi XXX-4 the Associated B4 and the Kyosho ZX-5 SP.

The Kyosho is coming out on top (with the Associated comming in seccond) at the moment as I like the battery lay out which means that I can get a 2WD buggies later on and share batteries. I have read good things about then but can only find the ZX-5 in RTR form (in Sydney Australia) - I would much prefer to biuld the kit myself.

I have read reviews on the ZX-5 where the reveiwer built the car, but these seem to be the ZX-5 SP version - what is the difference between the SP and the non-SP?

Can anyone else suggest some 4WD buggies that would be appropriate? I haven't considered Schumacher due to $$ and availability here in Australia.

When I raced last I was found of the twin stick controllers, are there any quality 2 channel kits still out there?

Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll get out to my local track and figure out what's what again (I'm used to motors with brushes in them and have no idea about LiPo batteries). In the mean time any help would be appreciated.


Thanks
Elliot.

Get down to the local track first, see what is being run, buy based on that.

Twin stick controllers are still out there (still the most common here in the UK, I'm sure they are available in Aus too). LiPo and brushless motors are becoming more popular but again depends on the local track. Personally speaking I think brushless is on top now, if I was buying new I wouldn't buy brushed again. LiPo is not so clear, while the cells seem quite reliable now, the cars are built for NiMH weight still so don't handle so well with LiPo, also LiPo is not necessarily legal for a lot of classes.

All the 4wd cars on the market now are pretty decent but local knowledge helps too, if there is nobody else with a Lazer locally (for example) you might be stuck when things go wrong.

Cheers, thanks for the reply.
I aim to get out to the local track and check out the action again.
Looking forward to it alot actaully.

Does anyone know the difference between the Lazer ZX-5 and the ZX-5 SP?
Alot of places locally to me sell the ZX-5 in a RTR package, I can only assume the ZX-5 SP is the kit form that you biuld yourself?

I asked a shop today about the SP and they said they could get it in for me, but it would be much more expensive than the RTR kit. Does the SP have any upgrades over the ZX-5 in RTR?

I run a Lazer zx-5 sp and the suspension arms and hubs are different. Shocks are too. I is much better then the lazer zx-5 and the sp kit has alot of nice things the original kit doesn't have. Like velvet shocks,swaybar, aluminum front brace, newer shock design, and better springs (at $7 usd a pair it adds up)

I love mine and it's very competitive and durable.

I drive a b4 and i would not buy a b44 because of the shock maintenance. Kyosho shocks are by far the best out in off road.

www.kyoshoforums.com

If you are planning to race in Sydney, I would strongly recommend picking up a B44. Lots of guys run them and advice/spares will be easy to come by.

Even better, come down to the track one day and ask a few questions. Just about everyone will be happy to help out.

You can always take your saddle packs out of a four wheeler and put them in a buggy. You may need to make some slight modifications in the batt tray with a dremel to clear batt wires on saddle packs. They should fit end to end in the batt tray of most two wheelers.

if i were you i would get the b44. the xxx-4 is older of the three but is good. the zx-5 sp has problems with parts avalibilities but is an all round good car the b44 is the newest of the three parts shouldnt be a problem now. but just try to see what your lhs has and what kind of parts they have then deside.

Thanks for all the replies, I'm going to head down to the local track this weekend (with any luck) and see what people are running. Got to check out a few more stores too to see about prices / parts availability.

Two of my local shops have the B44 kit so I guess parts should be fairly easy to come by. I like the look of the car, but I guess that should have little bareing on my final choice.

What are people's (from Aus) experience with ordering from O/S? Just talking to a friend at work and he suggested to order from the US - the $AU is quite good at the moment...

Now I just have figure out what radio / charger / batteries ect to get.
Does this forum have a comparison section (or wiki) on suggested purchases for different levels of drivers?

I used the search function but it seems to return alot of threads that seem unrelated to my search criteria. Never the less - great site with heaps of good info.

Alot depends on your budget. As far as a charger, you should get one that will charge Lipo's and regular NiMh. That way no matter which type of bateries you run your going to be set. As far as batteries, Lipo's are the new industry standard, a bit more $, but well worth it.(I would look at either Maxamps or Orion's) For a radio, a nice solid relatively inexpensive unit is the Sprektrum DX2, it should be able to do everything you need from a radio.

Spending a bit more on quality electronics are well worth it!:nod:

Another consideration would the Tamiya Durga. It's cheap, but I heard it runs pretty good and is durable if you get the optional slipper for it. I would buy what I can get parts for.

id get a b44, so you can still use those batteries in a 2wd buggy, ive seen it before. just but the strap over the wire.

Well. after scouting around and talking to the local hobby shop (really helpfuls guys), I'm back!

I ended up getting a B44 kit.

For the radio I got a Spectrum DX3 (going to use the servo that cam with the radio), the radio came with 2 recievers and 2 servos, so when I get that 2WD car later on... ;)

I got a novak brushless speedo, the GTB which I'm told should hadle any motor I throw at it. For the time being I got a Novak SS series brushless 13.5 turn motor. I'll see how I go getting back into it before I upgrade to something with more power.

I got a trakpower 550Li charger and got the balencer to go with it. The guy in the shop said I should be fine to balance them everytime I charge them.
I also got 2 Trakpower LiPo battery packs.

Thanks for all the responses, it's good to be back into racing.
I'll have to post some pics of the finished product so you can all laugh at my poor painting and body cutting skills.

Well, I'm going to start building it before buyers remorse set's in...

Hi All,

Little help regarding the build...
I have finished the builld of the buggy (sans electrics) but ran into 1 snag.

The CVA input shaft (prt 9761) for the front gearbox had a small lip on the end next to the CV joint that stopped the bearing (3977) sitting flush against the CV joint.

When the bearings / shims and shaft pinion gear were mounted on the input shaft, the whole assembly whould not sit flush in the lower transmission case (9733) as the bearings were too close together.

I eventually got it to fit by some sanding of the input shaft (the bearing still doesn't sit flush) and not using any of the drivetran shims (I assume they're only there for spacing?).

Also I couldn't put on the e-clip (6299) to secure the shaft pinion gear. The pinion gear is sitting flush with the diff gear and there is no play between the 2.

The whole car / gearbox is now together and the gears are sitting flush, everything turns nicely, it's just I'm worried under load that the front gearbox is going to do something that I won't like very much - explode.

You can see, when comparing the CV shafts coming out of the front and back gearboxes that the rear CV joint is sitting flush with the gear box, but the front is not.

I'm going to take it back to the shop that I bought it from tomorrow and get thier opinion. I'm hoping that they give me a new front gearbox assembly, or at least a new CV joint / driveshaft.

The whole car rolls very easily / smoothly, it's just that under load I think I may be in trouble.

Has anyone had this issue before?
Am I justified in asking for replacement parts?
Or am I worried over nothing?