onebadtwo

I have been thinking of getting back into RC here lately. My first and only electric truck was the Losi Jr. T WAY back in the day. I quickly got frustrated with short run times, which led me to getting into Nitro. I then picked up a very early Tmaxx, which I built up and sold. I have since had another Tmaxx and a Savage Limited Edition (which I liked MUCH better than the Tmaxx). I kept finding myself having tuning issues after letting them sit for extended periods of time. One of my coworkers came in the other day with a brushless lipo Rustler. I was pleasantly suprised by its runtime, power, and punchyness. Over the years I have mostly just played around in the neighborhood and seeing how much air I could get while jumping, but I wouldnt mind trying my hand at some light racing. What car or truck should I look into geting? The Losi Mini 8ight has kinda cought my eye, but I am open to other reccomendations.

My primary requirements are...

1. It must be either an RTR or a roller... I don't want to assemble a kit.
2. The aftermarket support must be fairly strong. I like hot roding!
3. It needs to be fairly tough!
4. I THINK I want a 4wd... Possibly a buggy?
5. I am open to anything from a MINI to 1/8 scale.

phmaximus

Man I feel ur old frustration, the old electric cars were shocking!
I remember the old days of charging a RTR over night with a wall charger for 7min run time!! Crazy now when I look back lol
I must admit the current rustler is a very capable stadium truck, but fresh out of the box they are very zippy.
The thing I like about the new lipo batteries is u can fully charge any voltage,capacity and efficiency battery in under 1h20min at 1c.
Some of the even newer battery's u can even charge them over 1c and reducing the charge time.

Defiantly checkout ur local tracks. To see what types of races they have.

From what I can gather, 1/8 buggies is the most popular electric offload racing followed by short course truck racing.

I would recommend to check them both out and see what u like the look of more, buggies or SCT,s

When u get a better idea of what style u want, then we can rattle of a few brands and vehicles to checkout

SyCo_VeNoM

That there almost screams go with a Traxxas, as there are so many ater market parts for most of their vehicles you can build one almost completely(if not completely) out of aftermarket parts. I don't think there is one other brand that has so many 3rd part parts.
Just be warned most RC's only have aftermarket parts cause they NEED them. As is there was no need they wouldn't bother.

Also agree with phax go look at the track if you think you might want to race to see what they run cause it would really suck if you get recommended a vehicle,, and buy it just to learn they have no class.

onebadtwo

OK... after a little research today, it looks like the only off road track in Jacksonville has closed its doors. Looks like I'll be getting something to just play with... I'm currently kicking around the idea of getting something used to convert to brushless. I still need to check out what the local shops carry as far as parts... How can I locate the closest offroad RC track to Jacksonville? I wouldn't mind a little roadtrip to race once every couple months!

Sixtysixdeuce

Associated. Tremendous aftermarket support for almost all of their vehicles. I could build a brand new RC10GT without using a single Associated part, except maybe the trans input shaft.

collector1231

My Feedback: (1)

http://www.therczone.com/tracks/sear...?state=Florida 

The Hedgehog

Don't overlook this brand, I have this model and it is amazing, one of the most durable trucks I have ever owned, and I let everyone drive it, so it takes tons of abuse....

http://www.helionrc.com/invictus10MT/

Foxy

I'd probably go for this truck (I have owned it previously, see pics in following post)

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...olling-Chassis

The OFNA is a better car than the slash, it has much more in common with racing chassis and 1/8th layouts. It's also much cheaper. The aftermarket is rampant and competitive, since this chassis has been floating around in various guises for many years. It is essentially a Jammin SCRT10 with the pillow ball suspension upgrade. For the money it cannot be beat. Indestructible and raceworthy.

And I'd probably go for this combo...great value and will make that car fly.

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...le-1410-3800kV

The charger you linked above is not an AC unit, so would need a power supply. I'd probably go for this charger, since we're shopping from the same store...

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...rger-6S-5A-50W

Then you're gonna need a radio, which is...yep, this one...(excellent radio).

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...203GF-Receiver

This is all decent quality stuff that should last in the application, but if you want to spend more, I can recommend even better stuff. The ESC that Collector linked above is a beauty, for example, and is also available with the motor that I recommend in a combo ( http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...le-1410-3800kV ). If you can afford it I recommend this, but the one above is also fine.

Foxy

But then if I really wanted something that would make me feel like an RC god, every time I look at it, I'd have to get a serious 1/8th truggy. Oh wait ! I already got one (uh-oh, shameless pic prostitution incoming* - Ed)...

[link=http://s613.photobucket.com/user/foxy42_s2k/media/RC/xt8angle6_zpsbcc92a5e.jpg.html][/link]

About the cheapest way to get something like that running without building a kit would probably the Thunder Tiger ST4 G3 with a small electronics upgrade.

For what its worth, arguably the best value 1/8th madman, is the fully 6S ready Thunder Tiger MT4 G3, its just a 1/8th truggy with mad electrics and big tires. Completely ready to run, aftermarket limited but that's the case for most 1/8th cars, there isn't much to upgrade, they are hard as nails, even the cheap ones... Anyway, I just kinda started thinking out loud there, sorry.

Since I'm sharing, here are some pics of my old Jammin SCRT10, basically the same short course truck I linked above. Sold and missed. Solid performer with that motor.

[Link=http://s613.photobucket.com/user/foxy42_s2k/media/RC/frontangle1.jpg.html][/link]

[Link=http://s613.photobucket.com/user/foxy42_s2k/media/RC/side-arty.jpg.html][/link]

[Link=http://s613.photobucket.com/user/foxy42_s2k/media/RC/zfrontanglebodyoff.jpg.html][/link]

Sixtysixdeuce

+1 to what Foxy said. Traxxas made a name for themselves with flashy graphics, catchy names and whiz bang electronic gizmos, but IMO, are way overpriced for what you get. Don't get me wrong, some of their products are pretty good-they just don't perform up to the price tag when compared with others.

OFNA doesn't pander to the same crowd; They're more like Associated & Losi in that they build race-bred vehicles first and foremost. I've never personally owned an OFNA car, but run OFNA/Picco nitro motors almost exclusively. They also have excellent customer service. If I were going to buy a 1/8 buggy today, I'd go OFNA. Best bang for the buck.

The Xray he has shown is also a nice choice, but kinda spendy last I checked.

Foxy

Yeh, the Xray is silly money (that one has about $1300 in it all told) and a real hard conversion to find these days, not at all what the OP is after at this time (not to mention its very 'buildy' as a kit and conversion) , but an electric truggy is an electric truggy, I was trying to convey that I feel they are the literal pinnacle of the surface hobby, the ST4 G3 has a great platform behind it and is very economical. Not quite got the 'rodding potential, but as stated, that's simply because 1/8th cars are universally tough as nails by design, few upgrades are ever needed.

SyCo_VeNoM

Own a few jammins, cant complain about their durability at all. Only managed to break my one (that is essentially a SCRT10 but modded to look like a 1/8th buggy) once, and that was cause it was flying through the air going probably 30mph and hit a cement pole with its tire.
Only other thing I broke was my 1/8th truggies arm, but that was when I 1st got it. I bought it used, and trust me that sucker was in terrible shape when I got it so the arm probably was on its way out anyways.

collector1231

My Feedback: (1)

Geez, why does everyone on here hate Traxxas?
And foxy, if you wanted some REAL power out of that SC truck, a Novak 550 4.5 turn 6000 KV motor would really make it shine.

Foxy

In case you're referring to me, i'm not hating on traxxas. Simply recommending something that's better value. Noticeable difference.

Eman77

Ofna seems to be one of those brands that is very underrated on this forum (not talked about much, not many threads on them it seems), but offers a solid array of products for the money - both kits and RTRs. Durability and quality is great, I recommend them.

I wonder if part of it is their site - the website itself is a bit "meh", and the photos of their products sometimes aren't the best, so you're left wondering a bit if these are shady vehicles, or good stuff. On the other hand Traxxas does a great job with their website, great photos and details, so for the average web browsing person, it's a more attractive product.

But no new user should overlook Ofna. I neglected them for years, but am a big fan now.

SyCo_VeNoM

Don't see any traxxas hate
From what I read everyone just said they charge more then they should for what you get in the box. Only extremely huge issue I have with all their vehicles is the damn plastic sliders. Seriously as 90% of the truck is plastic for the price they should be able to at least use a metal dog bone or something.

Ofna is just a better value as they keep their prices lower through not advertising a ton.

onebadtwo

I'm thinking of picking up an older used RC10 here lately.  I figure the parts should still be available, and the aftermarket parts should be plentiful.  I remember wanting one really, really badly back when I was first getting into RC.  Which version of the RC10 should I look for?  Will I need to change anything to convert it to brushless power?  How are the new brushless motors rated?  What should I look for in a motor/ESC?

SyCo_VeNoM

They use Kv which stands for RPM per volt(and not killavolt ). To figure out the RPM take the Kv rating and multiply it by how many volts the battery puts out. Some places list turns in addition, but those are all over the place if you compare them as there really is no standard company to company, hell even in the same company one 8t motor might be 4000kv, but another might be 3500 or 4400.

On top of that they are also have amp ratings. Basically the amps varies on the vehicle size like 1/10th 2wd, and some very light 4wd's like the low end tamiyas can use 35A setups. Mid sized 1/10ths use 60A setups(weight depending), where the heavier 1/10ths like SCT's use 80-120A setups like the 1/8th buggies, and 1/8th MT's(and truggies) use 120-150A setups.

Hope I didn't miss anything(or get anything backwards which I'm sure someone would point out) as its quite late.

Sixtysixdeuce

Not hate. They just don't offer a the same value as others at a given price point. They're kinda toy grade vehicles, but they're popular with the youngsters because they have all the gizmodery with telemetric data and fully digital tuning from the TX. If you understand that you're paying $500 for a $250 car and are OK with the other $250 paying for the technology that gives you instrumentation on your iPhone, then great. Me? I'd rather the car perform, don't have time to look at engine temp, etc while I'm flying off a jump or drifting a corner.

Traxxas does make certain things that I'm fond of, though. Not whole cars, but parts. Love the Talon tires, and the beefier camber links worked out well on my 10GT, as the factory Associated parts are made for light weight, not durability through abuse.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find another kit, discontinued or current, with as much parts availability and aftermarket support as the gen 2 (blue chassis) RC10GT. They had a long production run and were tremendously popular. I still have 2, just sold one, and they are my platforms for crazy builds. I know the guys here are probably getting sick of seeing these pictures, but I'm gonna post 'em anyway:

RC10GT FT, with OFNA .32, many custom hand made parts, 2.8" TRX Talons:



RC10GT RTR chassis, currently running a Picco .21, about to get crazy modded with OFNA LX2 rear sub chassis and an LRP ZR-32 engine:



As for making one brushless, I believe there are a couple of sources for motor mounts.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Associated-G...item1c33d8b454

Just a plate that bolts to the trans. Personally, if I were going to make one brushless, I'd build the tranny with RRP gears and a GPM alloy housing, put a 2,650 KV 1/8 motor in it, and run 6s. But as you can see, I like to overpower everything. Heck, I built an RC18T nitro and stuffed a .15 in it. I do it with real cars, too, like my '78 Dodge Aspen coupe that I shoe horned a 440 into.

Foxy

Yeh, I'm not the biggest Traxxas fan, but I'll give credit where its due, they have the hands down best mini, I love my wife's Merv. Great car after you've spent another 150 or so on aftermarket goodies...and therein lies the problem. Anyhoo...

Onebadtwo, nostalgia isn't what it used to be, as they say. I reckon you should pick up a modern 4wd with a killer brushless setup, just to see how the hobby has evolved compared to the bad old days. You can always buy something retro later.

SyCo_VeNoM

Think I have $115 or so in parts to make it run how I like
lets see what I put in mine
front/rear alum brace, center diff(one of the key things), spring set(needed out of the box), front, and rear RPM arms, Front and rear RPM bumper(stock looks stupid IMO), front and rear alum knuckles, 550 motor mountradio box/ and other things

phmaximus

I haven't spent a single thing on my wifes traxxas mini and it goes hard??? even with the kids driving it. (Brushless Ken Block rally car)

what on earth are u guys doing to them? are u braking parts or just replacing them?

Im no Traxxas Fan boy but I completely disagree with most of the members comments about traxxas, it makes me think some might have never owned one and just are re posting other peoples opinions that they have read.

Plastic sliders....
overpriced...
toygrade...

my old style plastic sliders have been going strong for 2 years now on a 0.7hp pluss setup. (slash) that's more I can say for a Tamiya dogbone...... I can prove this if requested
also I don't think SCT wheels can handle enough traction to torque twist the sliders like we see in the pede or rustler.... but on a stock VXL brushless setup the plastic sliders are well up to the task and should be problem free for at least 2 years.
a lot of people don't realise traxxas in the last year had revised the sliders for all there models so lately they are a lot stronger. based of 4x4 shafts
Also not many people realise that traxxas have a hardened steel shaft now for people fitting aftermarket more powerful brushless combos.

1951R


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xOk4PkKx9Q[/youtube]

what specific traxxas vehicles are overpriced??? Tower has the slash for [link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDBUC**]$235[/link]
IMO that's great value for what u get

sure there are better SCT's out there than the slash, but I think some people may be out of touch with how much better they are, seriously check out a offroad low traction race. looks wise the slash looks is just as good as the others and depending on driver holds it own. From what im seeing its 90% driver 10% truck.

one of my bash buddies just got a slash 4x4 platinum, nothing fancy just a few wanky integy upgrades. on his first race day.... (never raced 4x4 SCT's before) he got 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 1st and 3rd... thats up against haboa, Durango, AE, and losi trucks....

just goes to show winning races has nothing to do with what brand u run.

SyCo_VeNoM

The knuckles plastic o-piece just popped out. Seriously I had maybe 20 mins run time on it (5 mins brushless 15 mins brushed), and was wondering why the wheel was wobbling bad. Tried pushing the piece back in it popped out again before I could even get the wheel on. Was gonna get the RPM ones, but a few ppl told me they were worst then the stock traxxas ones so I ended up getting the GPM aluminum ones.
My front had a slight crack at the thin part that holds the front bulkhead which is why I got the brace off thetoyz(hated how the t-bone brace looked). Didn't replace the chassis as it wasn't broken through yet figured the brace would hold it together if worst came to worst

Figured hell while I had the knuckles off might as well put RPM arms on cause whats $14 more.
Stock merv bumpers looked gimpy as hell IMO, and I couldn't stand their looks so the RPM ones were mainly for aesthetics.
Also didn't like how it ran on the brushless setup(spent more time flipping it over in 5 mins then my savage at a BMX park for 40mins) so I ended up converting it to brushed(but didn't count that n the cost), and threw in the center diff kit. (IMO the mervs COG is too high for BL)



Edit: Forgot to say what I did. Driving it on the sidewalk, some short grass, and jumping it off a curb. That is it.

onebadtwo

For what its worth, BOTH of my Tmaxxes received lots of replacement parts due to breakage.  I never had any such issues with my Losi Jr T or my HPI Savage.  With that being said, I don't think I will be looking for another Traxxas product.

phmaximus

cheerz man for taking the time to reply....

ahhh I see, that sucks big time, im thinking with the rally/ken block car the body must protect it some what?

Im keen to find out are these problems generally found in the revo/summit version's, and is the rally and slash more resistant?

In a way I wish I never got the Ken block.... its stressful to drive IMO. has anyone had any luck getting it to handle offroad? ATM it kinda sucks