Bryan Gil

Hi Guys,

I'm new here and I want to ask for help in deciding what RC Nitro off-road vehicle I will buy. I am from the Philippines and I was about to buy one way back in 2009 but financial constraints prevented me until the pandemic happened. Now, I am slowly getting back on my feet and I am not sure if the RC stores in Manila are still open.

I am planning to buy a couple of Monster trucks and on road. I made a list below:
1. Traxxas Revo
2. Traxxas Tmaxx
3. Traxxas Nitro 4tech (Not sure if this is still available)
4. HPI Nitro RS4 (Not sure if this is still available too)

Also if the budget permits, I am also planning to buy electric RC's like E-Revo and Summit.

Questions:
1. How long does Nitro fuel last if I stock them since the Philippines is far from the hobby shops in the US.
2. Any immediate upgrades that I need to do for preventive maintenance?
3. Any recommended body shops who cater custom painting that you can recommend that is not expensive?

Sorry for the long post. I am really a newbie and had no idea where or what to buy.

wely324

iTrader: (4)

If it’s your first RC maybe just start with one and see if nitro is for you. TMaxx is a great truck tons of parts and still in production. Avoid discontinued vehicles.

Matt Piva

iTrader: (25)

Hey as a brother of what we love listen and do not go the basher route, they are a headache that breaks and are slow. Get yourself an 8th scale buggy like the (8th scale)kyosho (Tlr 8ight x which I use) mugen,associated, teckno, any of the big names that make buggies rtr or kit. I run kit because the parts are built up from stock and you can choose your servos and engine n have a solid radio. But even a rtr 8th scale buggy is way way better then a basher n kills a basher doing basher stuff.

Bryan Gil

Yeah you're right. I will just buy 1 Nitro for now and see where it goes from there. I may get the Tmaxx or Revo.

Bryan Gil

Also love buggies brother. Saw them in RC car action magazine years ago. I actually have no idea of discontinued RCs. I like the Kyosho or associated buggies. But for now I may buy a monster truck as the terrain here in the southern Philippines is mountainous.

Matt Piva

iTrader: (25)

then maybe a Truggy? Have you seen them? Again they are a much more simplistic design easier to work on and are very strong and fast. When I had revos and the old hpi savage stuff (right when I came into Rc) I was getting rtr monster trucks that had plaster shocks and didn’t survive very long. Leaking shocks, I didn’t understand how to work on those style clutches and the shifting put a lot of drag on the engines and would lead to failures down the road anyways. Also pull starts and electric starters that stuff again puts drag on the engine that rob u of power. When I got a few buggies I started using my least favorite to ‘bash’ basically taking it to the dirt bike track and sometimes out to the field and hills and they would send stuff so hard and land so hard and take it and never have issues, Truggy is just a really beefed up version of a buggy and would make the ultimate basher. If you do go down the monster truck route I would definitely stick to electric, much simpler. When you start getting into nitro my experience has always been ‘if I could do it all over again I would never go threw the headache of those traxxas rtr engines and monster trucks and even the Losi rtr engines I got in an lst(and I love Losi product), I would just get a quality engine and servos and a buggy or Truggy kit from the for sale section here’

if I did want to get a monster truck again (I still look at those revos and remember how much fun I had when I first got into Rc) I would try n make it as simple as I could, get 1 strong steering servo and a sirio .23 (which I have a brand new one I never used because I made a shelf queen revo as a kid all aluminum parts but the aluminum made that thing worse and impossible to drive so I shelter it n got into 8th scale buggies) and I would try n find a way to get it started on a started box and eliminate those electric starters and pull starters because they failed on me a lot and took a considerable amount of engine power being connected to the crankshaft, that’s why I say if u really want a monster truck get electric cause they have insane power and the newer monster trucks these days are probably a lot better built then 10 years ago. I just find the buggy/Truggy products to be more versatile, have better option parts and upgrades, much more tunable threw out the entire car (u can adjust everything’s position to make them handle how u want it to) adjusting diff oils (actually having 3 diffs) and they are easy to drive and put it where u want it instead of the monster trucks that kinda go where they wanna go and half the time u hit jumps and the things 3 feet right or left of where u wanted it to be because they don’t drive very easy. But like I said if getting a monster truck gets u in the hobby get it forsure. It’s just fun being able to hit up the tracks when you don’t wanna always drive in a field or in the mountains. U can do both with a Truggy.

ray4624

iTrader: (5)

tekno nitro truggy
theyre absolute tanks and you can race it
ive had tmaxx trucks, revos etc etc the 2 speed is cool but a truggy is more capable in every way
you will need a starter box but i choose that over a pull start anyday

im personally running AE cars for 1/8 racing but still have an mt410 for bashing.

Bryan Gil

What can you recommend for a truggy? Traxxas XLT? How about HPI or Kyosho? DO they have truggy I can check out?

1995 Monster T

If you have to travel a long way to get nitro fuel. I suggest buying a electric brushless truck. You will be better off as running nitro can get expensive and brushless is cheaper to run. When you get more experience you can try nitro later.

Bud

Don't get me wrong, I love nitros BUT They're loud, they're messy, and you can't always run them when or where you may want. Plus there's a learning curve learning to tune one. A brushless on 3 or 4 s would be a huge handful to run. That's what I would get if I was buying a new rig. Civilization has kinda encroached on me.

RazorRC

iTrader: (5)

I'm pretty sure there are hobby shops in the Philippines, they have racing series there. I would check out what you can get parts for locally and stick with that, because you WILL break stuff and it will suck waiting weeks for parts to arrive from the U.S.

Bryan Gil

You are right. I may buy Traxxas E-Revo instead.

token

There are hobbyshops and RC tracks in the Philippines. Dogbone and JDRC... Check those places.

daniel33

Regarding the availability of RC stores in Manila, it's best to check with local hobby shops or do some online research to confirm their current status. They might have adjusted their operations due to the pandemic, so it's worth exploring their websites or contacting them directly to inquire about their availability and stock.

Now, let's go through your list of potential RC vehicles. The Traxxas Revo and Tmaxx are both popular and reliable monster trucks known for their durability and performance. As for the Traxxas Nitro 4tech and HPI Nitro RS4, availability might be a concern since they are older models. It's worth checking with local stores or online retailers if they still have these in stock or if there are newer alternatives.

In terms of electric RCs, the E-Revo and Summit are excellent choices. They offer versatility and a fun off-road experience. If your budget allows, they can be great additions to your collection.

Bryan Gil

Thank you so much for your advice. Will check my options.