aboleth

Hello,

I'm interested in getting a 4WD buggy to bang around the back yard with. Something around 200 bucks, and I'd highly prefer a brushless sytem. I've looked into the HPI Brama, and the Redcat Tornado. The Tornado looks good, but I don't know much about the company. The Brama is nice, but I'd be sinking more money into upgrades to make it faster (it does something like 13mph stock). I don't need the most awesome buggy on earth, but I would like a fairly durable beater for the backyard. 4WD, BL, 1/10, and durable. What can you guys recommend in or around 200 bucks? If people say the redcat tornado is pretty good I may just go with that.

redfisher1974

Not sure if it can be done for $200...

phoenix15477

With a BL setup RTR...its almost impossible, unless you look on Ebay, you might be able to score a decent buggy there, also there's Craigslist.

FoamyVictim

Yeah, go to your LHS and see if somebody is selling one. Other than that, you're goal may not be achievable... Try the classified section on this site, you might find just what you're looking for.

aboleth

Well, does anyone have experience with this car?

http://www.redcatracing.com/RC-Cars/...ornado-EPX-PRO

It seems like a good deal. From my understanding it's the same as the Exceed-rc Sunfire. I realize this isn't top of the line brand name wise, but I'm just looking for a decent beater. I can supply my own radio. This looks to be a good deal at 210, and I've seen it posted for cheaper. I don't know if there is really any competition for it in this price range. I knew finding 4WD/BL at a cheap price would be difficult, but providing this car delivers and isn't a POS, I think it might be a winner.

Ripe

I would not suggest buying a no-name brand. (redcat, exceed, himoto..) I have and have owned one of those and been very dissapointed with the quality and parts could only be found online.

aboleth

Well, hopefully someone can point me in the right direction then. I wish the Bandit / Rustler were A4WD, I'd spend the $270 no problem I suppose I can broaden my price scale a bit. Any other suggestions for RTR or almost-RTR 4wd/brushless buggy/truck? I'm basically just going to use it in the backyard, so I don't want to spend too much, but I suppose 200 bucks is asking for too much for too little. Lets say I want to spend no more than $350, what would you guys recommend?

Thanks for your responses thus far btw.

aboleth

Would it be worth it to upgrade a Brama to brushless?

[email protected]

check out rufaster.com he is really good on prices and his cars and trucks are all great.

Flux Driver

A 1/18 scale RC will come in 4WD and your price range. Won't come brushless out of the box but brushless may be overpowering it anyways.

NY DIRT

Red Cat's are pretty much made from scrap parts.....You can buy a Traxxas Rustler that will hit nearly 35mph,it is brushless but you could always upgrade later...And it is under $200.00....Just need a decent battery or two and a charger...!!

NY DIRT

Sorry....The rustler is not 4WD....I told you wrong.

redfisher1974

And for it to hit 35mph it would be geared to the roof...

Flux Driver

I doubt 35mph will do him much good unless he's got a really large back yard. I assume he'll bash in other places because just the backyard would get repetitive unless it's really spacious like a ranch.

The Rustler is 2WD but I would also recommend that to consider. I went with the Stampede VXL because it's a Stampede thing. But I'll get the Rustler VXL eventually. Otherwise you're looking at an EMaxx or E-Savage, but they're not brushless. And the E-Savage is starting to become a dated design. The Savage Flux is 4WD and brushless like you want, but it's around 600 bucks to buy. And you'll need two battery packs to operate. Infact I don't know of any 4WD that will go on one battery pack only unless it's a smaller 1/18 scale RC.

Only other I can think of is the E-Revo Brushless, also at least 600 bucks to get when it's available. To have 4WD and brushless, it can't be done for $200 new. Doubt you can find it used. If you add brushless to an Associated 18th scale RC, it's still more than $200.

aboleth

Well I've got some time I'll browse around and see what I find. Anything that goes 35MPH is more than enough for my back yard 4WD is pretty important to me, and I'd prefer 1:10 scale, but anything that will get through some grass and a few twigs will probably suffice.

For those who say that it just plain isn't available, you can indeed pick up the exceed-rc or redcat 1:10 buggies in 4WD brushless and ready to go for around 200 bucks. The opinion seems to be that these cars don't perform well or won't suffice for my backyard bashing needs. I'm not totally convinced of that yet, but I'm definately looking at some different things now... The Losi Speed-T 1:10 Brushless looked pretty dang nice, with the spektrum system included for 300 bucks. Appealing, and seems very similar to the rustler. Anyhow I'll browse around and post some links of stuff, and see if I turn up a winner.

joshreynolds777

My Feedback: (1)

Look at the Kyosho 1/10th scale 4WD buggy. I cant remember the name. I wanna say I bought one new RTR for like $225
One other is the XTM XT2. It's 1/8th scale 4wd RTR, i paid $229, but they go for like $279.
Both of these'll do WAY more than 13mph
more like 35-40mph
Both are Nitro tho
You get what you pay for in this hobby BWT
Good luck

Chris_RC

Also look at the Hot Bodies Lightning Stadium Sport RTR if you can go nitro, $240 with coupons from tower hobbies, 4wd and very durable, also 1/8.

J.D.T

tamiya df 02, about $100, easily handles brushless, easily upgradeable, the entire chassis is $5 if you know where to get it. Search for Rising Storm, Gravel Hound and DF 02, you'll find lots of threads on them, lots of guys make truggies out of them like this

roachn76

i recently bought a redcat tornado epx pro, and its great, i have several needs from redcat, like a manual for the radio, and a better charger for the battery, the one it comes with is just a simple plug in the wall type, which takes about 4 hours to charge the battery. now im ready to upgrade what i have, to make it faster and more reliable(toughness)...balls as you will..im going aluminum chassis, and lower arms. the motor it came with is a 3300rpm/kv type, which i found a bigger motor 5000rpm/kv offered from redcat. i hopeany of this helps you at all. later nate

aboleth

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, it has helped a lot. I've been looking at a lot of different stuff, and some of the 1/18 monster trucks are even fairly appealing to me (the Losi Rammunition looks fun). I'm not quite ready to make a purchase yet, but I'll be looking at the cars mentioned in this thread.

john01374

Like others have said stay away from the unknown brands. Some have bought them and liked them but jsut as many or more have had said they're junk. For what you're looking for i'd buy a dark impact or one of the other DF cars from tamiya. Check out ROCOUSA.COM They have one of the DF cars on sale right now for around $100. It will take the power of a brushless setup. You should be able to have a running brushless car for right at $300 assuming you have a bettery and charger.

Cheap Guy

One of the reasons why people say stay away from the lesser known brands is because when you need replacement parts (which you will), it's tough to get them. I've found that it's even tough to get Tamiya parts from the LHS and it is a well-known brand.

You say you want 4wd, but IMO, it really depends on what you plan on doing with your car. I've found ground clearance is just as important as 4WD when running the backyard, and my Rustler runs great on grass and moderate dirt in a wooded area of my backyard. I haven't run in deep mud or water with my other 4wd cars so I can't compare the performance in that setting to the Rustler. Another good thing about the Traxxas is that it is a very easy car to work on, it's easily upgraded to brushless, it's VERY durable, especially for bashing, and it's easy to work on. You can get a waterproof Rustler or Stampede XL-5 now for less than $200.

ramp4ge

Yeah.

From Tower:

DF-based buggy - $129.99-ish, depending on the car. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHAS9&P=7
Cheap radio - $42.99 http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXDEL3**&P=7
Castle Sidewinder system - $144.99 http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXUTA2&P=ML

$317.97 before you talk about batteries. That's about as cheap as you're going to get a brushless 4wd buggy. And it'll be a kit. Which is a plus.

You could recoup some of that by selling the stock esc the car comes with. Or you could forgo the brushless system for the time being and still have a great buggy for under $200.

aboleth

You guys are awesome Ground Clearance is an issue in the backyard, so as I've been thinking more and more, I've been leaning towards something that sits a bit taller, etc. I've had an opportunity to reprioritize and figure out what will be the most fun for me. Right now, I'm looking at 3 options,

Losi Mini-LST2
Duratrax Mini-Quake
Losi Rammunition

These aren't buggies, and they don't come brushless, but they will DEFINATELY conquor my backyard and all seem to be fairly durable. I'm leaning towards the mini-lst2 as it seems to be the most powerful out of the box, and easily converts to brushless when I decide to take that step. The 2.4 TX/RX is also a plus. I know I'm eventually going to get a 1:10 or 1:8 scale buggy/truggy, but I'll probably buy a kit and just build it out. If there's one thing I know, it's that I'm never satisfied until it's perfect, so it will inevitably be well over 200 when I do it. I think the mini-lst or similar vehicle will be a lot of fun while I'm building something bigger and more expensive (I have 500 bucks into my micro-dt... this hobby just never ends)

So, do you think the mini-lst2 would be a good choice? It seems durable and powerful, and it looks like it can outrun the kid (which is good).

Thanks!

aboleth

Th RC18T is also something I looked at, but I'm a bit concerned about ride height.