Getting into 1/8 buggy racing.
 

Hello to all!

This is my first time posting to any RC forum!

I'm looking to get into 1/8 buggy racing asap and I am looking for some advice!
For now I'm just interested in "Club Level" racing. If I find myself being dominate (probally wishful thinking, lol:lol:) then I will think about moving up to more serious types of buggy racing. Because I do have lots of experience wheeling these things around the track.

I'm 25 years old and have been into the hobby for about 9 years now. That time was spent mainly "bashing" and not entering races -although I have rented tracks many times for the day to go have some fun on a dedicated surface. I have tons of expierence with Touring cars -mainly electric. But I also have alot of experience in the Nitro field on and off road.

So I am not clueless as to what I am getting myself into. At first I'am definetlly going to be on a budget. I have done a lot of research on what buggy to buy for this type of racing that i plan to do for now.

I have never bought a rtr. I have 11 diffrent kits that I have all built. But These 1/8 scale buggies are pricey. So to get my foot in the door im going to buy a rtr kit. What I plan to do is take it out of the box, tear it completely down and rebuild it so I know the ins and outs of the vehicle.

I have done alot of research on what buggy would be best for me to buy and I have decided that in the next couple days that im going to purchase the -Ofna hyper 7 tq black. I have found it almost everywhere for 299.00.

I know the first thing I need to do is replace the steering servo with a metal gear one thats kind of a no brainer!

If any one has any advice for me on possible another kit or rtr they think I should buy, any tips they think i need to know for the Hyper 7 or just any advice at all would be greatly appreciated. I have no problems with buying a rtr kit. Because I know how to work on my chassis's. I just want to stay around 300 dollars to start out on.

I look forward to everyones feedback, and all advice good or bad is welcome!

Thanks Again, for your time.

P.S. Im a turkey, baist me!!!:sneaky:

The Losi 2.0 RTR is going to be by far the best RTR ever released. It's about $600 though, comes with a starter box, a great radio and a good engine.

All that aside, with your building and Nitro knowledge you are silly to buy a RTR. They are all seriously lacking! get a Kit, a roller, or even a used roller...they would all be better than any RTR...Good luck

I really dont like Losi products.


But I really cant find a serious reason to not tell you to buy an Eight 2.0 RTR setup.


A beginner couldnt ask for more, it's really that good.

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ducts_id/37782

Free shipping plus big discount:
$250 or more - $25.00 - JJDCPP925

Not to burst your bubble but chances of you dominating anything with a $300 ofna rtr kit are non existent. Even if your local club racing is subpar.

Practice, practice, practice. I've been racing rc cars for 15 years now and in no way could compete above club level. The skill and talent of most the "pros" is nothing short of amazing. Very few people have the raw talent.

Just because you can make it around a track without crashing doesn't make you fast.

Definetly look at the losi rtr if your set on a rtr. Figure to compete at the expert club level you are looking at atleast a $1500 car between motor/kit/pipe/electronics/transponder etc.

+1

Those hyper 7s are really outdated. Heavy as hell and lacking in performance. If you are really into buying a hyper, look at the new hyper 9, or you can find 8ight 1.0 rollers on ebay or here for pretty cheap if you are on a budget.:nod:

Talking from experience....If you buy a ready to run, you'll end up spending twice as much in the long run. My first truggy was a rtr, and within two weeks, I had bought all new electronics, motor, and loads of hop-ups. If you're serious about racing, I would definitely consider going the kit route. I know it costs more up front, but you'd end up wanting something better in no time.

Jetta i understand what you are saying. If i find that my kit and not my skills are whats holding me back then yes i would definetly upgrade my kit to a losi or something compariable! But for now I need to stick with my budget. I would love to go drop the money on the losi but im not going to do that just quite yet.

I KNOW that if i get that hyper my tuning skills chassis set up and engine tuning skills can keep me up front in the pack. I just want to get my feet wet first get that racing "fever" going and I know that once i get that racing urge going inside me again then i wont be hesitant to open my wallet and buy the latest greatest thing.

Im just going to be conservative at first. But i would definetly like to buy a kit rather than a rtr. half the fun in racing is building your own equipment.

Even if i do get the hyper tq black the engine is coming out the day i buy it and some better horsepower is going in before the car even turns a lap!

If anyone is interested in selling a kit let me know, I mean im not dead set on the hyper. It was just definetly the best thing i have found for the money.

I grew up racing motorcross and go-karts. We were always front runners in both styles of racing. We didnt have a lot of money but we knew what we had and we knew what to do with it to run upfront and be consistent to win races. We use to always get a kick out of the the "fat Wallets" that would show up to the track with the latest greatest bike or kart and the best equipment that money could buy and they would end up bringing up the rear for months!

I'm a strong believer in figuring out the ends and outs of the equipment you have and making it work for you. It makes you a better driver and just as important a smarter mechanic.

Keep the advice coming. If there are any other kits out there that are a little more than 300 hundred let me know i may have over looked them. Also, if there are any hyper drivers out there -i would like to hear from ya.

Everyone that has replied so far thanks for the advice. You never know i may bite the bullet and get the losi.

Might buy a used roller!
 

Everyone is saying stay away from rtr.

I know the hyper 7 is Heavy. but everyone who has one says theylove it. I just have always been hesitant about buying used rc stuff over the net. You never know what you're going to end up getting! You could get the deal of a lifetime or the raping of a lifetime lol!

if anyone has some 1/8 buggy's they want to get rid of or possible trade for i will give that a option. The whole reason i got on this forum was for advice. An everyone is defenitly bringing the goods!

Let me know if you got some NICE stuff u want to get rid of!

Thanks again...

Hyper 7 RTR is a good choice for a beginner in this calss, although it is a bit heavier it is also a more stable car to drive. Trust me: you can break parts on every car when you crash.
Now this is my advice for you: buy the car you want, don't listen to others because they think your car sucks and their car is better (well it isn't:ha:). Go to your local track and look what type or tyres and fuel they use. Talk to them and ask for their advice. If this is you first car take it to a large paved place and practice to drive. But the most important advice: have fun in this hobby!:)

First off: Nice post, all the info we need right in there, which is nice to see.
Your decision to buy cheap first is a bit strange perhaps, but I definitely see where your coming from, because I like to race on a budget too, and started off with a cheap Ofna buggy as well. Managing your expectations will be key in getting everything from your $300 RTR buggy, since obviously it is not going to have the same performance as the new Losi's, Xray's, Mugen's, etc. Your only spending $300, but that money will be well spent if you utilize that car to it's fullest extent. Use it to learn on and maintain it regularly so it will finish races for you. Once you've become accustomed to competition you can sell it and use that money towards a modern racing kit.

Personally if I were you I would use the engine that the Hyper comes with! Your going out there with a shoe string budget policy anyways, so why throw a $300 V-spec in there and ruin your whole money saving tactic? I've had a Hyper 8 port, which is basically the same as the engine in the hyper 7 tq black, but with more power and it was a reliable engine. The Hyper 4 port included in the RTR will be a nice engine to learn your way around with the track. More power is not a good thing until you can harness it, or unless your track truly needs it. I have placed well in some Canadian national races with cheap slow engines, because they make the car easier to drive. Put in as many hours of practice as you can on that cheap engine, because you will never get the equivalent cash benefit from selling it as you will from all that track time.

That hyper 7 chassis has all the adjustments that any new buggy does, so you will be able to get experience in all different types of chassis tuning. You will want to pick up a front sway bar for it probably though.

Pound that Hyper 7 into the track, take everything as a learning experience and have some fun on the track! $300 is about as cheap as you'll ever get into racing, so just go have fun. Once you've completely worn that car out you'll know whether or not racing is for you and then it'll be time to step up to a new race car.

The Hyper 7 might even be a better deal for you than the Losi RTR, because you won't be keeping the car for long anyway. The Losi RTR would still require you to replace the electronics, pipe and engine to racing spec anyway, so you're not saving anything there. The Losi RTR would make a good parts car once it is worn out though, but if you don't want a Losi or something anyway, then all you would be able to do is sell it for next to nothing. The Losi does come with race-able tires though, and the engine does have a lot of power, plus parts would be easier to get, and obviously it would handle better.

Well I was in the same boat about three years ago;) and there were so many decisions to make. I asked the same types of questions and mostly had the same types of answers. If you are just starting out racing but have had experience with bashing or playing around then you have some knowledge but there is alot to learn outside of the bashing.
I bought my first kit and I must say that I was happy with my decision. I was told don't buy this or yes you should buy that but it still all came down to me and what I thought was best. At that time I wanted bang for the buck and also the most amount of fun. I really never considered a RTR as I know that all the parts they come with are never quite what they might seem. So in my opinion a RTR is ok,but for racing I would buy a kit;)
At that time my options were Jammin,Losi,Kyosho,Mugen ect ,ect, and then I saw the Hyper 8 and said to myself that looks kind of cool and different! I am for sure one of those people who like to be different so I asked opinions about that car and most people told me to stay away from it and just buy what everyone else has. Now having what everyone else has has it's advantages like for instance setup help or possibly people may have a part you need when you break at the track. For me local parts support stinks so I was going to do alot of online buying and Ebay so that part was not a concern for me. Now back to the Hyper 8,at first I has some issues with certain parts(front hub carriers) but all the people online were not having the same issues so I didn't know what to do:weird: One day I tried a Kyosho hub carrier and it worked much better than my stocker so I went with that. I did many upgrades and some mods through the life of the car and the car always treated me good and I also did pretty well with it. I always maintained my car like(tightening screws,changing diff oil,cleaning,shock oil,more tightening screws and more cleaning and for that I almost always finished races weather they were 5 min or 30 min. Let me say that is one of the ways to success and part of your learning;) I have had my Hyper for almost three years and this year I finally broke down and bought a new ride but the only real reason I bought a new ride was because I wanted to see what it was like to drive something else than what I knew. I got the most bang for my buck going with a Hyper 8 and nobody can tell me any different. Is it the best buggy no but I think it did just fine for me and what I wanted at that time. It is now my backup buggy and I am having a real hard time parting with it:)even though I should. All buggies that you may purchase will have issues of some sort,probably not serious issues but there may be some things that you may not like. Run with the wind my brother :tire::tire::tire::tire:

If you want a good kit and you're going to replace the engine of your RTR before even starting it I would suggest to get a Losi 1.0 Kit at AMain for 349USD. That's pretty close to your budget and will be way better than the Hyper 7.
my 2 cents

sacha

I tried to edit my post to add the link to the page on amain with the 8ight 1.0, but I don't have enough posts yet...

Dont do it. Buy a quality car and quality stuff. If nothing else it will be worth more when you go to sell it if you dont like racing. Ive been down the rtr road before and it wasnt cheaper and it wasnt fun. There are reasons why cheap things are cheap. Cheap cars break easily and cheap engines run erratically.

Racing is tons of fun as long as your not constantly trying to put band aids on your gear. I can take getting whooped on the track with a big smile but when my car breaks and stuff goes wrong its not near as fun.

Buying used is a good alternative but before you buy I recommend a good inspection of the gear your buying.

Its also a good idea to go hang out at the track and LHS you plan to utilize for a bit before you buy anything. You may find its near impossible to get parts for car X but everyone and their brother has parts for car Y. If your just starting out this is probably the biggest factor you should consider when making a purchase. Nothing sucks more than breaking a part and waiting weeks for it to come in on backorder.

Money spent now can and will save money in the long run. If nothing else get an rtr like the 8ight or RC8 which are still mainstream cars that parts should be readily available for just about anywhere you go.