ZeroGravity

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Hi all, I am considering getting a 1/8 buggy. Can you guys share some wisdom about the differences with the Ofna buggies? There are quite a few to choose from. I was "eyeballing" the ultra mbx pro but these buggies are all very close in price so I would like to get a little more "educated" before I commit.

Nitroaddict

the ofna mbx and lx are the entry level buggies. these are not recommended for racing of any kind. they are inexpensive, and quite sturdy and make a good low budget buggy. They are made by a seperate company called Ho Bao than the one that makes the rest of ofna buggies. The other ofna buggies are made by Hong Nor.

the hyper 7 series is the race version of the ofna buggies. these buggies have aftermarket support and race oriented engines and chassis'.

The 9.5 series is a slightly outdated race series, and the violator version of this buggy is a backyard basher version.

cemeb4dk

the mbx pro is the the lowest I would go on the ofna chain. It comes with the force 26, beefier shock towers and hard kick up plate, it is very durable. The only weak point in my opinion is the steering servo and that is in most rtr's. If your looking for a durable buggy that you can bash with and race for fun, and stay around 350 then the mbx pro is for you. The tires are kinda weakly glued also, you may have to reglue after a few runs..

ZeroGravity

My Feedback: (2)

Can you tell me about the Ofna buggies in general, are they good quality and how do they stack up to competition (Kyosho,Mugen, etc..) Which suspension is preferred c-hub, pbs, mbx?
Thanks!

Nitroaddict

buggy preference will be a hotly contested argument, but based upon my years of racing, here is my honest opinion.

Ofna buggies are good, but no where near the quality and raceability of the top names. The kyosho inferno, mugen mbx5, Berganzoni Brave, SVM Crono, and Thunder Tiger EB4 S2 are far better choices, but also much more expensive. The only ofna buggy that is a raceable car is the hyper 7 PBS and hyper 7 pro. I have seen that ofna buggies tend to be a bit sturdier when crashes are concerned, but do not handle as well, nor have the structural integrity to hold up under the loads of top race engines. If you are serious about racing, spend a lil more and get one of the other buggies mentioned. If you are just looking for something to play with, or maybe race occasionally at the club level, the hyper 7 is a good choice.

ZeroGravity

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Thanks for the replies guys! I have narrowed the choices down to MP 7.5, MBX5 and Hyper 7 PCR/PRO. Does any of these kits stand above the other 2 or are they all pretty close? If you guys had to choose between these 3, which would you go with and why?
Thanks.

master_retard

Which version of the 7.5? kanai, kanai 2, kanai 3, sport?

Mugen Mbx5

The Kanai and Mugen are a step above the Hyper,but if you are talking about the 7.5 RTR than I would say the Hyper over that any day..The Kanai is probably the best buggy period,the Mugen is almost right there,The hyper will work to race but it is a race/basher. I race at a club that has a blue grove fast track with only one jump and a Hyper 7 won the season. A track with sharper turns and more jumps would favor the Kanai or Mugen for sure!!

gemiller

I am going to have to argue his first statement my ultra mbx holds its ground on the track with some minor tuning the .26 motor that comes with it can rip with the right setup. I love my mbx and for 350 you can't go wrong. Only thing to worry about is their stock steering servo sucks.

Sherak

I am also quite new to it and spent a little time deliberating 'which buggy' before I bought. I didnt want to spend too much incase I lost interest however I wanted one which would allow me to 'legally' race without having to churn much more cash into it if I got well into it....

Anyway after a bit of reading and asking questions I got a Hyper 7 PBS and I am more than happy with it.. It is RTR but if you want to bash it around you need to get a new exhaust almost straight away (or bodge a fix to keep the manifold attached to the pipe) and a new steering servo is a must, which also means a high power battery pack is a must. Basically its RTRun for about £500 but its RTRace for about £600... plus dont forget all the bits and peices you need to keep on top of it, if you dont already have a tool kit then expect to spend another £100 on tools/oils/glue etc....

I think this is the least you could spend on a car if you intened to race (and going off the leaderboards it only really entry level racing). However if you know now that you will never have the urge to race go cheaper or even 1/10 scale......

Nitroaddict

Argue all you want, but the day they let you race with a .26 at a sanctioned event is the day the sun doesnt shine.

--------------------------------

BTW - People, dont forget that Kyosho makes a standard MP7.5 Inferno Kit as well. This is the buggy he is talking about, and runs for about 475.00 kit price. It is an awesome buggy and is the same as the Kanai versions, minus a few hop ups.

dagass

Zero,

You've received a lot of good advice here from what I've seen. The one thing we don't know however is what is your intended use for this buggy you are looking to buy? Originally, you were looking at a basher (MBX Pro) and now you are considering a full on race buggy (Kyosho, Mugen, Hyper Pro). Are you looking to get into serious racing or are you just going to running around the local park or the odd construction site? Determining how your buggy will be used should ultimately be the deciding factor in what you buy.

If you're just going to be bashing and taking the occasional trip to the track, then the Kyosho Kanai, Mugen MBX 5 and the Hyper Pro are just a waste of good money! You will have every bit as much fun bashing with a MBX Pro, GS Storm, XTM X-Terminator, Hotbodies Lightning etc.... The race level kits you are looking at are going to run you $1000.00 or better to get going. Maybe it's just me, but thats alot of money to spend on a basher.

On the other hand, if you plan to race seriously and compete (and have a deep wallet), then by all means go with the Kyosho, Mugen or Hyper Pro. As mentioned, they are purebred race machines. They are built for all out competition and you can chose the engine and radio that best suits your needs. Make an educated decision based on what you want and need. Don't buy because this guy says that "this is the best" or "that is the best". What is best differs from person to person and situation to situation. Good luck!

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

Guys and Girls,
You can argue the finer points of those out dated Ofna buggies all day long , but Race Results don't lie. You might beat up your buddies back there in the rolling hills of PA, but bring that MBX pro out here and you'll get worked, HARD.

I'm lucky for many reasons to live out here in So Cal, Where many of the Top national racers live. Now I'm just a Sportsman driver and allways will be. With a wife and 2 kids I don't have time to be a pro driver. But, I'm lucky in the fact that guys like Greg Deganni, Marty Korn, Chad Bradley, Jeremy Kornz, just to name a few, live out here too and it's nice to have the pros at the weekend club races so we can ask set up questions.

There are a allot of RTR buggies out there to play with, but if it serious racing you want to do your choices should be narrowed to a small group of real "Pro" kits
If you want to be a winner out here you'll need to have a "Race" buggy, and I only see 4 models ever finish at the top, or even show up are Kyosho's Kania, Mugen's MBX series, Hyper7 Pro's, and Marty Korn with his GS Storm (although he is going to Kyosho, we won't see a GS win for a while)

There is a reason those other buggies don't have race legal engines, Don't ya think?


NA,
Were the love for the Hyper7 pal, it only gets "Honorable mention" in your book, Wow it wins allot out west? With property prices what there are out here no one can afford a Crono or Berganzoni

Sherak

what are the clear differnences between the Hyper 7 PBS and the Pro (ie what hopups do you need to bring the PBS to Pro level) have any of you seen a PBS race a Pro?

ZeroGravity

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks for all your responses, you guys made a lot of great points. The reason I did not mention how I intend to use the buggy is because like you may have guessed, I don't know yet. I am looking to get one to have some fun with it at first and then try racing. I have raced before off and on road various classes but free time is not as abundant as it used to be...[]. A good rule to follow in life when making purchases is the 80% rule. The 80% rule dictates purchasing a model one or two notches below the very best as that usually offers the best bang and quality for the buck. This applies to many different products...."the rule of diminishing returns", etc... I also know that if I get a good quality buggy and loose interest or don't have time to race or play with it anymore, it will be a lot easier to sell it and get a good chunk of your investment back. Then there is also the "pride of ownership" feeling....
So to sum it all up, I guess I am looking for good quality, tough buggy that I can "rip" around with, have fun doing it and have a sense of ownership satisfaction. If I was really ready to commit to racing for sure, I would just get the Kanai III and be done with it.... 'cause the 80% rule goes out the window when you race...

dagass

Sherak,

You can finid some decent info here as I recently made the conversion: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Hype...1364292/tm.htm

Zero,

Well put. Let us know what you decide.

Sherak

Thanks dagass

ZeroGravity

My Feedback: (2)

Where can I see some good pics of the Kyosho buggies? Their website doesn't have any close ups...

Sherak

www.google.com click the search images tab and type Kyosho

cemeb4dk

Post deleted by moderator

REASON: For sale item in general forums.

ZeroGravity

My Feedback: (2)

Sherak, thanks for the tip on google...worked reasonably well...

Cemeb4dk, this is my first buggy so I think I want her to be "pure"...... but thanks for the offer!

ZeroGravity

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I noticed ultimatehobbies has a sale on Kanai II, $569 and free shipping. I have heard a few bad things about Ultimatehobbies before. Does anyone have any experience dealing with them? I heard that they overcharge for shipping, but if the shipping is free???
[link]http://www.ultimatehobbies.com//l123.html[/link]

Nitro7-inactive

$569[X(]

JayP

My Feedback: (1)

Hey guys. I am new to this forum, and without the possibility of argument, I wanted to give my 2c worth about Ofna. True, they don't have a race team, and sell most of their cars rtr. But i disagree that they are not race worthy. I own an older Ofna Worlds II car with an OS RZV99/RB063 and it flies. Here at my local track, many have the exotic Mugen, Kyosho, along with C5, P5, etc. Of course their cars fly, but all I am saying is that my car is right up in front, and will stay right on the rear tire in the straights against a Kanai/C5 car! There are many other cars that I pass as if they were standing still. I am not saying mine is better than any other brand (i'm sure they charge so much for a reason) but for the $$ I have in my car, I wouldn't change it for anything! What do you guys think of an OS RZV99 with an RB086 pipe instead of the 063?.......JayP[8D]

Cryptic

if this is your first rc car period than i would not waste your money on a pro setup. especially the engine. your first engine break in/tuning will probbably not go well with a high end engine of any sort and there is a chance you will ruin it. you dont have to listen to me, but i dont believer y there is such a huge market out there for expensive rtr's. the average (normal) rc guy will have bought his first car as a rtr and after mastering the basics will never need to worry about rtrs for the rest of his life because of pros. your first rc car no matter what it is, you will not win any races, nor will you properly tune your engine instantly or get the correct suspension setup without a lot of practice and expeirece. you do not learn how to do engine mods and and shim gears and tweak suspensions from a guidebook. it all takes time. there is no need to buy an expensive kit which was made to be properly tweaked and will be perfect for the pro. your first car should be a rtr because you need to learn your expeirence thru something that will not cost you $200 to replace the whole front suspension. on my first rtr i will admit i did not a single mod on my car, i dont even know if i was running with air in my suspension or oil and i didnt care. it wouldnt have mattered because i still hadnt grasped the idea of "the slower you go, the faster youll be" in this long learning curve for rc. it is nice to know that nothing u own will make you bankrupt when you crah into that pole that popped out in front of you. after your first car assuming you have learned a fair amount of these things, it is absolutely proper that you never touch a rtr again.