mvolps22

I am completely new to this and have tried to do some research but to no avail. I am looking for an on-road nitro RTR car that is good for beginners. I actually like the idea of working on the car when stuff breaks so I don't mind that the RTR parts are of cheaper quality out of the box. I only plan on running it in parking lots and my little cul-de-sac, no racing or anything.

Also, when looking at used cars what should I be looking for? What's most important?

My budget isn't set in stone but since I have no idea if I will actually enjoy driving these RC cars I would like to keep it reasonable.

Thanks for any help in advance.
Matt

Artificial-I

iTrader: (17)

Just be sure to get shaft drive.

Nitro NTC3 RTR
Hpi RS4-3 RTR
Kyosho FW-05T (links of it here)

Id lean to the kyosho. Its the newest of the bunch and probably offers the best drive all around. The other thing if your interested in easy to mount and use bodies from the hpi bunch then go with the hpi rs4-3. But the ferrari's look mighty nice on the kyoshos.

Another thing to look at is possibly some nitro buggies. Those are fun precise and can go off-road. If anything in the areas your running in , youll find more fun with a buggy.

mugendude

why do you say get shaft drive i like belt cars such as the mtx4 i woul save a little more money and get a mugen mtx4

Serpentd

He recommened shaft drives because you mentioned parking lots and street. Pebbles will destroy belts and pulleys in the matter of minutes, not hours. You will be replacing these belts and pulleys so often that you will not enjoy the car at all. Plus this can get expensive if you need to do this on a daily basis. This is also why he mentioned a buggy. They do make onraod tires for buggies. Different things to consider for the surface you want to run on. Buggies aren't slow or boring by ANY means. Might even be faster then an onroad car for the surfaces you are talking about running on. Look into it a bit more before you decide.

The belt driven cars are made for the race track only unfortunatly.

Jspeed

Those 1/8 scale buggy based rally cars are very cool too.
They cost a little more but they are RTR, super durable and fast.

The Inferno GT is a great way to start.

Artificial-I

iTrader: (17)

Because hes running it in the streets only. The belts will get stuck full of rocks. Shaft drive is best for the streets and he doesnt need an mtx-4 , the price is more , costs more to get running , so he couldnt ever get it with anywhere near a $300 dollar budget.

Kit = $329-400 + Servos ($50 at least) + Radio ($100-300) + Starter Box ($75-120) + Engine ($150-300) = $700 dollars , nearly double and thats minus a few items that are needed as well was the lowest price you can find and the most budget of parts.

And thats just to get on the road.

Granted his budget and running purposes a mtx-4 in my eyes would be way out of his range for price and use. He also wants RTR and wants to fix it as it breaks. A lot of people do this to get into the hobby and comfortable.

Dredd

Then you would be upwards of $1k for a car you will drive once in a while on a unfinished surface and you know as well as I do...the MTX4 is not built to bash around.

BIGTACO

iTrader: (11)

You know if you want to spend a little more cash, actually about 100 bucks more you can get a fully RTR car that wont be junk like the others out there. Its called the Team Magic Lemans G4. This is a car that is built on the same platform as the G4S. The G4S is a highly competitive car that ranks performance wise with Kyosho RRR and Mugen MTX-4. It is the ONLY RTR that comes with a rear exhaust engine. It can be upgraded to the G4S part by part, if you decide to put a racing engine in it and race it. My buddy had one and it was great. It does take a bump box, as its not pull start like the other RTR's out there. Its something to consider. My buddy ran it on the streets all the time and never had any issues. Just up the ground clearance a bit and don't run it in a gravel pit and you will be fine. Don't get a junk RTR, you will spend that extra 100 you could have spent on a better car fixing the $300 RTR.

Ignore the $600 price tag the team magic site lists. You can find it for 400 here in the states...

http://www.teammagic.com.tw/en/profr...2073&pageNum=1

teabag

iTrader: (3)

don't forget about GPX-4 good rtr

BIGTACO

iTrader: (11)

That GPX4 does look good too. And it has rear exhaust engine also.

Wayne1one

Is the mtx4 a Ready to Run??

No, so why is it even mentioned????????

The question was Which RTR car for ~$300 or less? "I am completely new to this and have tried to do some research but to no avail. I am looking for an on-road nitro RTR car that is good for beginners."

Everyone has to have their first kit, and it usually isn't an all out racer.

If you guys are going to respond to a thread respond to the thread.

ShrekNZ

seriously I can see both sides here our local track is a permanent facility that is open to the public nearly all the time. Often we get new guys at the track with some fo the low end RTR kits that are frankly just a waste of money as they will not hold a tune or they will spend 30 minutes pulling on the cord just to get it to start etc. Also often the RTR cars are misstreated because the owners don't know about afterrun oil etc so second hand can be risky.

So I guess this is where Mugen Guy is coming from that the true race cars are more reliable will drive better etc. but are more expensive and will not tolerate small stones etc. in the street or parking lot.

You also need to take into consideration where you will get spare parts from as you will break stuff - honestly

Hey good luck with your decision - there are soo many options to take into account - and you will may make some mistakes - but in all it's great fun

atxgman

iTrader: (2)

I started out with the duratrax street force, and it was a great beginner/learners car. Now I race the mtx4, and it is a serious racer for real permanent tracks.

Tower hobbies is selling the duratrax street force 2, for only $175!

Ed Delgado

iTrader: (3)

I agree. I work in a hobby shop and deal with this everyday. We sell all three cars listed. This would be my advice to you:

The most important thing is to go and see what car your LHS sells AND stocks parts for. This way you don't have to order your spare parts online.

At my store we sell all three models listed above and the cheapest out the door is the Kyosho FW-05+. We sell it for $279.99, and most versions come with fuel bottle and a cheap igniter. All you need extra is your fuel and 8 AA and 2 D batteries. Just make sure you get the "Plus" version-it comes with valuable upgrades like alum. shocks and front cvd axles. Plus it comes with really nice bodies!

The Nitro TC3 is a good car too-it is based on Associated's race car of the same name. Probably cheaper to upgrade this car later to a rear exhaust .12 engine (on the Kyosho FW05 you have to upgrade the clutch and 2 speed to do this). The Nitro TC3 also comes with an igniter and fuel bottle. Just add fuel and batteries. Ugly body though.

The HPI car is the most expensive because you need to purchase a 7.2 volt stick pack ($14-$20) and charger ($30-$40) as well as a fuel bottle and glo-plug igniter (about $25 alltogether). It is also the worst handling of the three as it is not based on a racing-type touring car chassis chassis (flexible suspension components=more forgiving in a crash. Basically add $100 to price of car for accesories and fuel.

I would probably go with the Kyosho for the good handling, low price and really nice bodies-especially the Ferrari's and BMW M3GTR. Just remember that the engine has a pull-start-if you flood the engine and the pull strater gets hard to pull, DONT'T KEEP PULLING-you'll break the pull start cord (the pull starter is not covered by the warranty!). Just remove glo-plug, pinch off the fuel line, turn car upside down and then pull the starter cord a few times to remove excess fuel.

Stay away from the Inferno GT RTR. Expensive to upgrade (at least engine wise)and very few body choices.

Dredd

As someone said before, if you can swing the extra cash for the Team Magic G4S RTR it's a much better car than any other RTR. It's also the easiest car to make into a competitive racer. You can upgrade the parts to the Kit version piece by piece and basically have the Pro kit version of the G4S. The only caveat is that you need to buy a starter box for it as the engine that it comes with is an SH .12 with no pull starter or electical starting system.

It goes beyond the ~$300 pricetag you mentioned but I think the car would be worth the extra few bucks for someone who was considering getting into racing in the future. You can evolve the car into a competitive racer over time if you choose. Currently the buggest drawback to this car is that you cannot find it locally in most areas and you will most likely not find parts stocked for it. You will have to go online and order parts and things.