Most Durable or Bang For Buck 1/8 Scale Buggy
11-02-2009, 07:05 PM
#16
Suspended
dont forget about the rc8
11-02-2009, 07:17 PM
#17
[QUOTE=R-E-A-P-E-R-;6555938]My Caster EX-1 is my favorite car period....
Nice! Do you have any pics under the hood? Also, what spare parts would you recommend to have handy for the Caster?
Nice! Do you have any pics under the hood? Also, what spare parts would you recommend to have handy for the Caster?
11-02-2009, 07:21 PM
#18
pretty much....any 1/8th buggy will be as durable as the driver LET'S IT BE. You case jumps, hit walls, flip constantly.........you're not gonna make ANYTHING last forever. Drive conservatively and consistently and any buggy will last, and place you higher on the podium.
personally, though, i ran a Losi 8ight 2.0 with losi e-conversion....and everything was awesome on it...except the front shock tower. When it bends, it takes the diff housing with it...so you have 2 parts to replace instead of just one. The 1.0 shock towers are thicker than the 2.0...and i replaced my front tower (when the 2.0 broke) with the 1.0 and proceeded to bend it and take out an ear on the diff housing for a 2nd time.
Although i busted 2 towers/diff housings.....everything else held up GREAT. The vast majority of people at the tracks i ran at, all ran losi's....and no one really had that many issues. A few had Rc8's and Mugen's....and they all seemed to last just as good, as well.
personally, though, i ran a Losi 8ight 2.0 with losi e-conversion....and everything was awesome on it...except the front shock tower. When it bends, it takes the diff housing with it...so you have 2 parts to replace instead of just one. The 1.0 shock towers are thicker than the 2.0...and i replaced my front tower (when the 2.0 broke) with the 1.0 and proceeded to bend it and take out an ear on the diff housing for a 2nd time.
Although i busted 2 towers/diff housings.....everything else held up GREAT. The vast majority of people at the tracks i ran at, all ran losi's....and no one really had that many issues. A few had Rc8's and Mugen's....and they all seemed to last just as good, as well.
11-02-2009, 07:38 PM
#19
Tech Initiate
Bang for the buck, it has to be the new Ultra LX1e, http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...Off-Road-Buggy
holy smokes
holy smokes
11-02-2009, 07:50 PM
#21
The SH Z-Car is the most durable car i have ever seen. I have jumped it probably 30 feet in the air and it just takes it. I have never broken a part on it. One of my co-workers bashes it like no other and has never broken anything also. He had a MBX5 that he broke stuff on but not the Z-Car. You can get a conversion from RC-Monster.
11-02-2009, 09:22 PM
#22
Wow.. I am really diggin that Caster. So right now I think I'm stuck between the Caster and RC8B-e...
11-02-2009, 10:07 PM
#23
Tech Addict
I think between the caster and ae i would get the caster.
11-03-2009, 07:38 AM
#24
+1 definitely from a durability perspective. I ran an RC8 factory team conversion for some time, and even though I didn't have durability issues really like what I have read, the caster definitely could take more of a beating than my RC8 could. I would recommend though the pro version as the materials are more heavy duty.
As for performance, the casters that I got to race against using my RC8 as well as Hyper 9E were good. There are some things I would like to see them change in a future version / revision, but nothing glaring as a "don't buy me" item. for me, the main thing I would like to see an update on is going to a motor mount similar to the EliteRC motor mount, and I wouldn't mind the chassis extending a bit further back to fully cover the battery trays. In fairness though to the caster, I haven't heard of anyone breaking a tray free from the chassis due to this.
The Hyper 9E is a really good performance vehicle. The layout is how I thought a single pack setup should look like for a 1/8, with the center diff moved back and the electronics moved towards the center. It also allows the use of a variety of battery packs that can be very long. Just not too thick though (47mm width is about it). Its shocks work really well too, it feels very planted on the track and changes directions very quickly. Jumps much more level even with a heavy pack that i run (PolyRC 6000mah 4S) than my RC8 conversion did or my MBX5 conversion.
The main things I would like to see in a future revision would be some sort of mudguards (you can mount tekno's on the vehicle), and I would like to see a better fitting body as the chassis is narrow than the stock body (the VE8 body I hear works well). Others have had some durability issues with the CVDs and a-arms. I haven't had those issues.
All in all, I personally don't think you can go wrong with any of the vehicles out there. Everyone will have its own quirks. Main thing is matching the vehicle to your driving style and going from there.
As for performance, the casters that I got to race against using my RC8 as well as Hyper 9E were good. There are some things I would like to see them change in a future version / revision, but nothing glaring as a "don't buy me" item. for me, the main thing I would like to see an update on is going to a motor mount similar to the EliteRC motor mount, and I wouldn't mind the chassis extending a bit further back to fully cover the battery trays. In fairness though to the caster, I haven't heard of anyone breaking a tray free from the chassis due to this.
The Hyper 9E is a really good performance vehicle. The layout is how I thought a single pack setup should look like for a 1/8, with the center diff moved back and the electronics moved towards the center. It also allows the use of a variety of battery packs that can be very long. Just not too thick though (47mm width is about it). Its shocks work really well too, it feels very planted on the track and changes directions very quickly. Jumps much more level even with a heavy pack that i run (PolyRC 6000mah 4S) than my RC8 conversion did or my MBX5 conversion.
The main things I would like to see in a future revision would be some sort of mudguards (you can mount tekno's on the vehicle), and I would like to see a better fitting body as the chassis is narrow than the stock body (the VE8 body I hear works well). Others have had some durability issues with the CVDs and a-arms. I haven't had those issues.
All in all, I personally don't think you can go wrong with any of the vehicles out there. Everyone will have its own quirks. Main thing is matching the vehicle to your driving style and going from there.
11-03-2009, 10:05 AM
#25
Tech Rookie
I run the losi 8E 2.0. Been very happy with it so far, and before that I ran the Losi 8E 1.0 with Tekno Conversion, also an awesome car. With any car the possibility of breaking somethig is there, even a small 2 dollar part. But with a Losi (at least in this area) there will be parts in the Hobby shop or other racers will have them in their stock. With the Mugen/X-ray/Castor/HB, while all very good cars, possibly even better on some points, parts are not as available. Sucks to be at a race, need a simple part, and done for the day...then wait a week for the part to arive from Amain or Tower.
Find out what is popular in your area, what brands your local hobby shop/racetrack carries, look at getting one of those if possible.
Find out what is popular in your area, what brands your local hobby shop/racetrack carries, look at getting one of those if possible.
11-08-2009, 12:54 PM
#26
For those of you claiming the caster buggy to be more durable than the AE buggy, are you comparing to the RC8 or the RC8B?
I'm getting ready to pull the trigger and can't decide between the RC8B and the Caster EX-1 Pro..
I'm getting ready to pull the trigger and can't decide between the RC8B and the Caster EX-1 Pro..
11-08-2009, 01:39 PM
#28
so in what order would everyone rate the
rc8b
caster ex-1 pro
hyper 9e
as far as durability??
rc8b
caster ex-1 pro
hyper 9e
as far as durability??
11-08-2009, 02:19 PM
#29
Tech Initiate
Hyper 9- I just got one and it looks extremely durable, the only issue has been front a-arms, although there are some "b" versions out.
Rc8e- I guy at my lhs let me try one out for a couple races, very nice buggy
Caster-no real experience so I can't really rate it
Rc8e- I guy at my lhs let me try one out for a couple races, very nice buggy
Caster-no real experience so I can't really rate it
