buggy help
 

Hello All,

i am new to RC and am wanting to buy an electric buggy. i am leaning towards a traxxas bandit vxl because i own a slash 4x4 electric. a friend of mine joked that the bandit is a toy and not waste my time. i want to take my car which ever i buy to the portland RC raceway and enter a novice class race.


what do you all think? what is a good buggy to get that is not a toy and will suit a NOOB as an entry level electric 1/10 buggy.

thanks for your input

-pdx :spidey: :D

Well, I partially agree with your friend. The Bandit does seem kind of like a toy. If you were willing to go up a little on the price range then you could go with the Team Associated B4. The B4 might also cost more because the B4 tends to be more fragile than other buggies.

But, if you were not willing to pay then the Bandit vxl will probably do just fine in a novice race, and possibly even more.

B4.1 or Rb5sp, you get more support on parts and setup´s.

I don't think a Bandit will give you a real (good) 2wd buggy experience. If you look in the case at PRCR there's a couple used B4 rollers for sale right now, your going to have to invest a little more money for the parts to get it running but it's a lot more car than the Bandit.

If money isn't your first priority I'd look into buying a Kyosho RB5, the main reason is that Joe Pillars (the track owners son in law) is Kyosho's team manager and Shaun Dunlap (the track owners son) is a sponsored Kyosho driver along with a few others at the track. Which means you'll have the best support out there and they'll help you keep your car dialed. You can't put a dollar amount on having team drivers help you with your car! Especially if your just getting into 2wd buggy!

It's not too often you see people selling their RB5's unless they're upgrading to a new version though so finding a used one might be tough. My best advise is to not buy off of ebay or somewhere that you can't see it before you buy.

I've been contemplating selling mine to upgrade to a new Kyosho 4wd... If your interested shoot me a PM and I'll let you know if I decide to sell mine.

Another thing that I'm not sure of is wether or not you'll be able to run a bandit VXL in stock buggy, where you'll eventually step up to after the novice. You'd have to ask Jim at the track about that one.

Stock buggy is by far one of the most fun classes to race!

Don't get a Bandit. Not as good of a race car. I have never seen a Bandit at my track. They are not adjustable nor good on the track.

Instead, get a B4 or B4.1 or a Losi XXX-CR. If you really want something good, you can get a Shumacker or Tamiya.

I own a B4 and love it. It is a tuff car and doesn't need much to run well. Just get some good electronics and you are ready to go!

I got the B4.1 brushless RTR and it comes with everything you need but the battery. I would recommend not getting the brushed version as I have heard about the motor and ESC not lasting very long. It comes with a Deans connector and is Lipo ready. I get about 30 min run times on mine with a Dynamite 2S 25C 4200mah hardcase Lipo. It comes with the Deans connector on it so you don't need to put one on. I love mine and have run a lot of packs through it and have not had any problems. Good luck with your choice.....

+10000, cant beat brushless b4.1 rtr for about $200

Your best bet is to get a B4.1

Damn, why don't you tell us how you really feel...

Get an Associated B4.1. It's the most popular buggy at the track and it's really easy to get parts. The B4s regularly win races so you'll easily scale up from Novice class if you really get into it.

I've honestly never even seen a Traxxas Bandit, other than on the shelf at the hobby shop. I'm sure it's a great car but whether it's good or bad, not many people seem to race them (at the tracks I've been to along the West coast, anyway). I also read this forum daily and see almost no discussion of it. Again - that doesn't mean it's a bad car, it's just not a buggy that people seem to be racing much.

FWIW, when I first got into this hobby, not long ago, Traxxas was described by the many, many people I asked for advice as a "durable" brand that caters more to "bashers" (those who play with the car in their backyard instead of racing them at the track). I was even told that the electronics they include are waterproof. That doesn't mean people don't race them, it just means that they seem to focus more on the non-racing market (which I'm sure is much more lucrative).

There are many, many other great choices for 2wd buggies, which in my opinion is generally the most popular class. I just started racing a Schumacher Cougar SV, mostly because it looked pretty and was less common at the track. It's a high-end buggy with lots of carbon fiber and aluminum parts. I can't drive it worth a damn but it sure is pretty. The down-side is that spare parts are harder to get (although my local track, TRCR, just started carrying them).

If you want to be a little different and have plenty of extra cash lying around, go for a Cougar SV, Kyosho RB5, or Tamiya TRF201. If not, B4 all the way!

I race 1/8th scale, but by being at the track, the only cars that i see at the top of the field regardless of being Novice, Stock or Mod are B4/B4.1, Losi XXX-cr and Kyoshos. I've seen a few bandits out there and they just don't handle tracks as well. They're very durable and great basher buggies, but I've never seen them up near the front of the classes they run in. If you just want a buggy you can bash well and occasionally take it to the track, it's seemingly a good choice. But if you go into it thinking that you will be bitten by the racing bug (as most of us do), then you're better off getting a car that will grow with you as your skills increase. The bandit also seems to have a pension for landing on it's lid whereas the AE's, Losi's and Kyoshos always seem to end up back on their wheels even when taking a pretty bad tumble. It's hard to get around the track if you're not on your wheels.

Get a Losi XXX, its far more forgiving of a vehicle to drive (most important to a rookie in training), and tough as nails, and you can pick one up off the forums for a good price.

To many associated vehicles out there :D

I also recommend more of a "racing" brand of buggy. Even a used losi assoc or kyosho rtr with cheap electronics will out-perform the bandit on and off the track. Even if you have to replace a few parts that break every once in a while, you have a very large group of people who know a lot about the cars and can help with a problem or tuning or whatever. And if you want to sell it one day, that will be easier too.

Joe is one of the nicest guys I have met and is always there to help. I have no idea who you are talking about.:flaming: