Originally Posted by
lethalsassonic
If it's your first car go with a readyset, you can always hop it up later.
I would argue with this in a big way. Ready set/RTR whatever you want to call it is generally a false economy. I spend autumn working at a track and in a shop and watched a fair few readysets get sold and run. Of the 4 Kyoshos i saw friends alone buy within 2 months they were frustrated with breaking parts (Shock mounts mainly, always a weak pot on RTR's) and dying servos. Then of course wondering why their cars don't handle the bumps at all no matter what they try or advice they take. After purchasing an RTR all i have seen people do is spend a steady stream of money on it, then giving up and buying a strong car. In one case giving up all together.
Of course learning to drive, things get broken... an RTR from my experiances just ensure stuff wil break easily. I garuntee the first thing that gets broken on a Kyosho 7.5 is going to be the shock mounts. They are made of cheese. Then the plastic spur gear before the clutch starts being a pain in the behind.
I can truly vouch for the strength of a competition orientated Kyosho though - i am not out to bash Kyosho, it's what i learned to drive with and continue to drive. The race cars are VERY strong and when i have broken something on that, it's my own fault.
Saying that, if someone has to go RTR i would put forward the Losi buggy or Truggy. Shock mounts of course are the weak link but as whole the RTR is pretty sweet.
Generally though an RTR is made cheaper, which means quality somewhere has to take a hit that means the strength... and for someone starting out, they need all the strength they can get from a car. If anyone has to go RTR i would shop really carefully and compare the differences in the race version.
Picking a car that the local hobby store carries a wealth of parts for is the best overall advice i have seen, first car will get broken a lot!