KZ 250

iTrader: (3)

Im looking at racing 1/8 scale more this summer and would like a little more of a race buggy or truggy. As of now i have an ofna lx one which is not really competative. Im on a budget so ill have to pick one up used. My question is, are the mugen mbx5 and mbx5t still competitive or what about the jammin x1 buggy and truggy?

Thanks for the imput

Ryan

RAlmeida

iTrader: (2)

We might need a bit more information, what is your budget, what do you need to get engines, servos, pt, pipes, receiver, batteries, starter box, etc.

If you need to get 85%, or $500.00 is your budget, nothing out there right now beats the Losi 2.0 rtr (value for money)

carlam

iTrader: (5)

Go with the D8 and D8T, they are affordable new!! and they wond the worlds.

bigde2001

iTrader: (10)

I agree.

RAlmeida

iTrader: (2)

He is on a budget a D8, by the time you get engine, pipe, servos, etc is over $800.00. The Losi 2.0 RTR comes with everithing including a Spectrum dx3S, starter box, and all the gear needed, just add nitro. Kyosho has how many world titles???? and Mugen????

carlam

iTrader: (5)

yes but, himself versus himself one with rtr losi and one with hand picked d8 and he will roll on that losi. spend the money and get what you want the first time or it will end up costing more in time and money in the end.

KZ 250

iTrader: (3)

My budget is about $500 to $600.

Thanks for the replys

Ryan

RAlmeida

iTrader: (2)

With that budget, I woul sugest for you to go to your local track, talk to drivers, go to you LHS ask them what product they suport and then make an educated purchase, by the way the losi 2.0 RTR (I run Kyosho) does not get walked by, losi 2.0T is the best handling truck out there hands down, drivers skill wins races not the car, most new cars in the right hands win, some require more maintenance than other (losi) some are bullet proff (mugen and X-ray) and some are a combination of both (Kyosho). The best advice I can give you is beware of used equipment, unless you know EXACTLY what you are getting.

jbright33

iTrader: (15)

i pretty much agree with ralmeida its not all the car driver experience goes along way i took a picco ofna buggy this year and almost won a cash race lol. but mainly you gotta find the buggy truggy that fits your driving style if your a very good driver or half decent then maybe go with the losi cause there fast but they can be a handful. but on the other hand if your not a very good driver of even if you are a very good driver get the hotbodies lol. i consider my self a decent driver but iv never been as fast till i got my d8 and d8t they just flat out work for my driving style.

RAlmeida

iTrader: (2)

Thank you, nice to see I am not the only one telling people to buy what I run.
I am helped by my LHS and Infernosonly.com to run Kyosho, but I would never recomend a Kit like the MP9 or ST-RR to a newbie although I beleive Kyosho is top notch, a newbie building and setting up a kit with no previous expirience can turn in a turn off very quickly, and race kit tend to be very expensive if you are just starting out you can easly spend over $2500.00 on the car alone plus all the suport equipment that goes along with it, or buy a top kit like an xray 2010 or MP9 TKI and then put really cheap electronics and engine in them, and being desapointed with performance........

merdith6

iTrader: (3)

Losi rtr cars are competitive, but the servos burn out, the scews strip out, and they wear out fast, the wheels get sloppy, the steering wears fast, sure if you want to jump right in, get a losi, but if you want to learn a little and get involved, buy a used rc8 on ebay, or a mugen, the mbx5 is a good car, and at the race tonight, almost all the sportsman drivers had mbx5's or kyosho 777's. You can get a 777 for like 100 bucks on ebay, and buy two ace 1313 servos, and a good airtronics or futaba fm radio. the servos are pricey at 75 bucks each, and the radio for 75-100 bucks max.. I like the airtronics mx3, it fits in my hand good and isn't a cheap feel radio like the spectrum stuff. Starter box 75-100 bucks, and reciever batt,ib1600 15 bucks, and so on, would put you in around 4-500 bucks maybe more. The nova bf engine is 150 bucks but will outlast that losi taiwan engine 4x......over...Besides building a buggy is fun, it's your 1st nitro buggy, make it yours, you won't forget it. RTR's are really nice, the Associated rc8 rtr is slick too. I hate to recommend an outdated car like the 777 or the mbx5, but it seems to be the thing to do in sportsman, just at least get a novarossi bf .21 its perfect.....

yai

avoid any RTRs by kyosho n u'd be good

JUD

iTrader: (4)

Buy the jammin rtr

UltegraSTI

iTrader: (20)

while every1 loves to spend other's money on their favorite, i'm concerned about your budget. is that 5-600 for the car, or ur total cash outlay? b/c regardless of whateva car u choose ,the secondary costs that will follow are really goin to put the hurtin on. i honestly tell folks who wanna go 1/8 nitro (buggy in particular), you should have a 1000 avail to invest/risk before jumpin in.

that said (all this comin from an electric guy), the losi 2.0 RTR was a great piece. i bought 1 last summer just to goof around w/some nitro friends at the track. believe it or not it was a minor joke (b/c i really dont like nitro-despite guys wantin me to run it b/c i'm good at it). yeh the servos arent great, but ur buyin servos with a kit, and other rtr dont have nice elecs either. this 1 has a great radio and a starter box. no pull starters or rotoshafts to mess with.

bluegrasshobbies.com has a great deal goin on em with their coupon makin it far cheaper than the rest of the stores. losi didnt castrate the car over the 'pro' model unlike most others. the pro chassis still wears like the rtr b/c its a hardened sandwich (thin layers of hardened alloy sandwiching soft stuff) and the towers are not terribly much stronger nor do they weigh much less as touted. for 20bux u can get those off ebay later. the rest of the differences come down to metal shock caps and coated pins and shock shafts. waste of $ that stuff wears off anyway.

its a really great deal if u already have a nice radio b/c those radio they come with sell for around ~200bux on ebay. so now ur down around 400bux for a buggy, with a great club motor, exhaust system, and starter box for the above amount. yeh ur buyin servos, but u were doin that regardless.

also includes a nice nimh rx pack which is a great thing to not have to buy or sheepishly relying on AAs like other RTRs. also get the same CVD driveshaft not just some junky dogbones.

the body has a cool paint scheme on it, it doesnt scream RTR (ala ofna 7 if u will), but other racers will know its a RTR and thus feel more ashamed when u outqualify them. i know how this feels, and its nice.

the 350 motor that comes with the car is killer, a real piece that actually had some things u can upgrade on it. this as opposed to feelin like u have to upgrade the car. in stock trim its more than capable club motor. in fact, losi team drivers regularly use this motor at their club tracks from week to week. add a turbo head button, a RE11 or RE10 pipe (long or short track respect.) and say 25 or 30% nitro and the thing really zips even harder than before if u could imagine. those club 'chucks' will really cry in their beer afterwards lookin at their mp9-os speed-all the bling in the world mobile that just got slapped by an RTR losi.

i found the car very easy to work on and intelligently designed. many elements made me feel as comfortable workin on em as i would with a 1/10 buggy. the stuff is tough and after every practice day or raceday (or even when i 1st got it and then again after i broke in both motors-bought 2 350s)...the teardown was easy and the car cleaned up to a new look. had a racer call out 'man you bought another 1 already, why?' i replied by pickin up my car and shownin him the clearly 'used' chassis underneath. response was 'oh well why did you put all new plastic on there this stuff lasts awhile, not like those 2wheels u run'. my reply, 'no its all the original stuff, just clean her up after each playday'. he admitted he 'didnt know what to say'.

in summation, i got rid of the car in the fall havin had my fill of it for a laugh (so nice i know, in these times to just buy a car as a joke/fun to use for a lil while then let go. actually i do regret doing it now and ponder another 1 for summer '10), but i will never speak ill bout that car. its a real piece and losi has the other manufs falling all over themselves to give somethin to the public to compete. the radio is far superior (no more crystals, no more lack of function, you have a race radio that u can stand up there with every1 else and be 'in' with the crowd just the same). a starter box, how nice is that again, no self-start BS and 1way bearings to kill. a great motor u can actually use and its legal size too (so many RTRs have oversized motors for great spd and power to appease the 'basher'). a great car that isnt total-cut rate look the part and share the name.

hope this helps, best of luck

R

jmaxey51

iTrader: (7)

with that kind of budget you can get a used jammin x2 buggy or truggy completely ready to go with servos and everything maybe minus radio. i have those numerous times on ebay for less than that. you can also get the x2 truggy from amain for 400 now. i bought a jammin x1 roller off ebay over a year ago for 180 and im still running it today but i did convert it to an x2 with the conversion kit. in my rear of racing i did not break but one rear a-arm. but i have no clue on the mbx5's because i havent looked for them on ebay but im sure you can get the same kind of deals off ebay if you look. the mbx5's are great buggies and truggies, i see people still running them even though they have the mbx6's out now. the only thing i would do to those are put the 16 mm shocks on them and youll be ready to race. you can go cheap i have about 400 to 500 in my buggy and i run pro buggy getting in the a-main every week.