derivation

I'm an RC newb, never had a real car and always wanted one so my one said I could get one for Christmas as a gift from her. I read a lot of the posts in the forum, particularly the 'so you want a mini....' which I found very helpful. I just had a couple more questions.

First, the budge is $100, so that limits my options a bit. I really liked the vendetta, but that appears to be out of the price range. I want a car primarily for bashing around and making some jumps with. Really just something to fool around with in my spare time and see if the hobby is something for me.

I was thinking about getting one of the master radlines, but I'm worried that the weird size 1/24 would make it hard to find parts. On the other hand, it's price means I could get a few upgrades so I could tinker around with it a bit.

Do you guys have any suggestions for a different car? Think a radline would be ok?

calvino

um, maybe an RC18 (T, MT, B), the only drawbacks are the diff gears die easily, and the shocks leak oil[], BTW, welcome to RCU

scheibler

with $100 I would only recommend the losi mini t or the losi micro t.

Micro-T-you can also get the micro baja which comes with a beetle body
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...oducts_id/9857

Pros-
very fast for its size
cheap
easy to find parts for
upgrades are fairly cheap

Cons-
hair tends to get caught in the tires
limited to inside or on road use
e-clips hold the wheels on(15 dollar upgrade will fix this)
short run times unless you buy a lipo battery which runs about $50

Mini-T
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...oducts_id/8549

Pros-
its a little larger
parts are very easy to find
upgrades are fairly cheap
perfect for indoor, on-road, and smooth dirt use

Cons-
Doesn't come with a nimh battery and requires AA's(this may be better for you though since you only have $100 and can't buy a sperate battery/charger)
Stock motor isn't very fast compared to other minis
Doesn't come with oil filled shocks
If you upgrade the motor, esc, or servo you have to get new everything

hope this helps...got any questions just ask

MacMan72

^ Exactly

derivation

Thanks for the welcome and advice. The mini-t does seem to be a good choice.

Two more questions: Are certain cars easier/harder to tinker with? Would it be a better long term investment to spend the extra 50-100 bucks to get a better RTR kit (like a vendetta or RC18T)?

It seems like most people buy a mini-t and then promptly replace almost everything.

rustlerbasher

I think your best bet is to watch ebay for a nice rc18t or mt. I got mine for 100 on ebay. Also, do you have a charger? you'll need one... the included wall chargers take forever to charge the pack.

scheibler

4wd will be harder to tinker with simply b/c it has more moving parts. No matter what you get you are going to want to get some upgrades. I think the mini-t is your best bet.

The rc18t or rc18mt have very weak differentials and tend to strip gears...definately don't want that if your a beginner.

The vendetta is more expensive, but I hear that the stock electronics is crap so you will soon find yourself atleast replacing the esc.

The mini-baja is what I would go with if I were you. It may have an ugly body and wheels, but its the same exact car as the mini t except with a slightly faster motor, two sets of wheels, bearings already installed, oil shocks, and better esc/reciever/transmitter.

Rody63

I know a lot of people here don't like them, but you may want to take a look at the Propulse cars. I think they're called MegaPro now. They are very close to the RC18, and some of the parts actually interchange. They are fast, tough, and upgradeable, and the parts are as near as your local Radio Shack. They used to be sold at Radio Shack which stopped carrying them, but Tower Hobbies carries them as the MegaPro. Parts are still available at Radio Shack, or you can get them from Megatech. I'm not sure if Tower carries parts, but again you can use some RC18 parts.

I have a couple of these, and have been very happy. I jump these all the time, and they actually fly pretty good. I have a brushless set up in one, although I'm having problems with it cogging (not the cars fault...esc problem), and it screams. I've seen them on ebay for about 50 bucks, which leaves you some money to upgrade.

I'd stay away from the Radlines. I have one of the Elite series, and the steering and the speed control is terrible. There are fixes available, but I wouldn't recommend them.

Beomagi

I thought the mini-t was actually more complex than the rc18t.

the rc18t is very easy to work on. I've built both the rc18t and mini-t from scratch and the rc18t is just easier.



The rc18t wont damage gears stock. More powerful motors mean you need to use better drive train parts for any vehicle.

shims alone will make the rc18t's diff "stronger" (this goes for ANY 4wd where there's even a slight bit o ply between the input and diff gear). It prevents slippage which flattens the gear teeth. If the gear slips, the teeth flatten a bit, making it easier to happen later. Use shims from the start, and you'll almost never have issues.

The mini-t has the hardest upgrade path imo, since the receiver and esc is an all in one, and the servo is a funky 4 pin. While the drivetrain is harder to break - not having any bevel gears for a shaft, the lack of ball bearings means you'll have to include that as an upgrade when going to faster motors, or if you just want a freely rolling chassis. Mini Baja is a very nice offering though, and the mini-t pro is very schweet.