Jhyten

I pretty much know nothing about 4wd. If money was not an option what is the absolut best out there in the as far as 1/10 electric? If you give input can you please try to answer these things:

1. What is the best
2. Why
3. What are the pros and cons

Obviously these are opinions but i would like to know what everyone thinks. Thanks.
Jake

Thai3g_Eclipse

iTrader: (10)

The top current 4WD buggies would be the BJConcepts BJ4, Kyosho Lazer ZX-5 or the Losi XX-4/XXX-4. I had a XX-4 and it was an excellent car, but parts are becoming scarce and the saddle pack configuration doesn't suit me. I would personally go with the BJ4 or the Lazer ZX-5.

If money is not of concern, there's always Tenth Technology's Predator X10. Hard to obtain, expensive and still not proven in the U.S. tracks.

tony2

iTrader: (1)

check the new yokomo buggy. awesome!

Mike Elam

iTrader: (6)

1 thing to also consider is parts availabilty. nothing is worse than to be racing and break and be done cause your local hobbyshop doesnt carry parts for the car your running. and It is very expensive if you decide your going to carry your own parts for the car. I agree with thai. saddle packs are kind of a pain I have only personally had the xx-4 and the xxx-4 so it wouldnt be fair for me to judge the others I have seen the bj4 in action and it appears to be a pretty good car as well. but dont know about the kyosho or yok car

binaryterror

The problem you need to know about all 4wd electrics is that they are race machines designed to go fast, and most people run them with really hot burshed or brushless mod motors. So take a light 4wd buggy add tons of speed...you hit stuff they break simple as that.

After you think about how good you are (the more you break the more parts you need) you then have to decide what is easiest to get parts for for you, be it at your local shop or if you prefer online. Team Losi is probably the best at an average parts supply at most local shops, however depending on where you live you might see better support for the others too.

I personally own the Lazer ZX-5 it's a great car (comes with tons of drivetrain options the others won't), I prefer shaft drive over the belt options, but thats a personal preference. Also it needs very little in the way of hop ups to be durable...yes thats right almost all these buggies need extras to be more durable, except maybe the BJ4 which is well above the others in price.

RcCzarOfOld

Just from watching what does well at my local track and the opinions of many of the racers, I think the BJ4 is probably one of the best cars out there. It's record speaks for itself with what it has won. Plus parts availability is excellent. It uses Associated B4 arms all the way around and TC3 diff parts. The only thing you might need that is proprietary would be the shock towers. It uses B4 buggy shocks all the way around as well so rebuilding the shocks is a breeze too. It's a tough car too... I watched my friend hit a jump wrong and cartwheel his for 20 feet and NOTHING broke. If I had done that with my XX4, I would have had to replace all 4 arms and possibly a shock tower or 2.. BJ4 for sure in my opinion.

Tony

dr_hfuhuhurr

iTrader: (95)

Really depends on how quickly you want to get into it. If you can wait for the BJ4 Worlds kit or the Yok, I'd try one of those. I run a BJ4 Worlds and it is MUCH more durable than the XXX4 (I some will disagree).

Parts availability is not a problem with the BJ4, JConcepts ships VERY quickly and I've never had problems getting parts from them.

If I had to buy a new kit that was available now, it would be the Kyosho ZX5

Vegaspilot

iTrader: (1)

Actually the newer BJ4s don't use B4 arms all the way around. They have a new Heavy Duty front arm that still seems a bit brittle(I keep snapping them), but supposedly better than the B4's and the new lightweight front bulkhead will only accept this arm. The rear arms are B4's, but the have some material machined away to clear the transmission. Other than snapping arms, the car is tank. The only stuff on the BJ4 that you can buy at a normal hobby store is the shocks, turnbuckles, gears and diff hardware and screws...arms, shock towers and chassis plates can be ordered at jconcepts.net. Jason is awesome about getting parts to you ASAP and their customer service is 2nd to none.

I also have the ZX-5. It's a great car. You don't need saddle packs like on the BJ4 Worlds, it has good steering and good rear traction and it's suspension is awesome. It needs the front aluminum hinge pin brace and some say also the aluminum shock tower mounts(although I haven't broke mine yet). With these parts the car is pretty bulletproof...I know some have also cracked the chassis, but I haven't seen this as of yet either. Downfall is that I have to order all the parts for this car...LHS said they'd be getting some, but not yet...we'll see. Also the phillips screws kinda suck, Tony's screw kit is excellent.

Right now it's kinda a toss between these two for me, they both have excellent handling...I like aspects of both. One other thing about the BJ4 is that it uses Losi/AE rims so I can swap with my B4, the Kyosho uses TC style hexes so you need Kyosho rims and they don't swap with any 2wd. Hope this helps some!

Jhyten

Ok sorry for the stupid question but BJ4 is associateds car right? So looks like the top are

BJ4
xxx4
yokomo?

Jhyten

Ok i answered my own question looking it up. One more, is 4x4 WAY faster than 2wd? Lets say i have my xxxbk2 with a 5.5 brushless gtb in it and i have the exact same setup in the xxx4? Is 4wd always faster than 2wd?

cartmen34

iTrader: (2)

At my local track (and most I've ever raced at) the 4wd class is about a full lap faster than 2wd.

And it also depends on who is setting the fast laps. If you've got sponsored guys in 2wd and a bunch of bashers in 4wd, then I'd bet that 2wd would set a faster TQ than 4wd. It just depends on the situation really, but I know that I'm almost exactly one lap faster with my 4wd than my 2wd.



Oh, and to answer the main question of the thread....
If I had to choose a first 4wd car I say without hesitation it'd be the Kyosho ZX-5. It's got some crazy insane good handling and is excellently designed. Get the aluminum front brace, stock up on front end spare bits and rims and you'll do fine. Oh, and get the screw kit from rcscrewz.com. If you don't I recommend at least investing in a driver that is an exact match to the size of the heads on the kit screws. That'll help a ton when assembling the kit with the supplied screws.