ORIGINAL: wmh0901
Wow, great advice. We have a small hobby shop in my town and he only carries Traxxas and Team Associated parts. The owner is also kind of a jerk because when I asked him about parts he laughed and told me I got what I paid for. I knew that and bought the little car on a whim and now I am hooked. I have developed a good relationship with Wondertrail hobbies as they were the only ones that I found that carried all the parts I needed for the little ZD racer. I have narrowed it down to these three. Thanks again for all of the advice and I think I will end up with the RedCat buggy. I just have a feeling that wing on the back cannot be that durable but the low center of gravity will be a huge help and the fact that it is a 1/10. I have to admit for me the little 1/16th is so much fun. It flips around and cartwheels all over the place so I am already preparing for the two I have to surely die soon. Here is what I have come up with.
http://TX7107 E-Revo VXL 1/16 Scale ...uck by Traxxas - I love the way this one looks and it has sealed differentials and some waterproofing around the electronics. the other two can be had for $200 or less around the web and I can use the extra $100 for upgrades. This Traxxas is $300 and then I have to upgrade the battery and charger. Decisions Decisions. Thank you again for the input.
I will second syco's reccomendation of the tamiya DF-02. It will cost more than a tornado epx pro (kit plus brushless system and a decent radio) but with 1 or 2 small mods is a tough buggy.
If you think you'd enjoy building your model, then the tamiya is a plus there.
The tamiya plasma edge (df-02) is around $130. Then add a $80 ezrun brushless system, a $30 flysky 2.4 ghz radio and Id throw in a better servo for $20. So around $250 not including a battery.
Possible issues with the redcat are:
dogbones break
body cracks
shock towers bend
diff gears strip.
The diffs stripping is rare., but I have had it happen. The other 3 can be avoided with simple mods. Tape the inside of the body, add nitro fuel tubing to the inside of the diff cups (cushions dog bones and reduces play) and upgrading to the billet alloy shock towers.
Im not going to tell you the tornado is the most durable 1/10 4wd buggy. The DF-02 is a bit more durable. But for the money its hard to beat.
Oh, the buggy is more durable than the volcano due to its smaller tires. Puts less stress on the driveline and suspension parts.
tbone racing has a good front bumper for the tornado. I also found that with a simple mod a RPM bumper for a traxxas rustler fits nicely.
the df-02 plasma edge I owned, and 2 vids of my tornado:
second video is a box stock tornado running a 2s 5000mah lipo battery. Ran the whole pack with no breakage.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-7mpcF5ewQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fI06o6HvqA[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODHMzg2w_Xo[/youtube]