NewfieNitro

Im just curious Is there any difference between the duratrax firhammer truck and buggy and the ones that FG makes? They look the same to me :s

badz

My Feedback: (1)

Price is the difference mostly. They are basically identical, firehammer doesn't have the rear control arm getting buried into the spur gear cause the motor mounts are smaller and engine is foward slightly more.
Loads of hopups available for either one.

radio_controlled_mad

there not the same,plastics are different - fg arms dont bend/flex or have the arms rub away.worth paying that extra few $$$ for a decent model

edit: also the chassis is different on the clones - same design but a touch longer at the bulkheads so its a hassle fitting fg shell conversions,also i think the wheels and tyres are slightly bigger on fg buggies,some say the shocks have probs with leaks on the clones,you cant use fg gears+different ratios or fg cv drives,fg diffs ect without swapping out the full drive train & gear carrier,the prob with rear upper arms flxing is more an issue with monster models,larger wheels and slightly larger 48th spur sometimes teeth on the spur get knicked on landings - solved with a $10 gear cover or a permanent fix of $35 on rear ally upper arms.imo its best getting the real thing,but saying that the clone range of hop-ups is very cheap when you can get them

badz

My Feedback: (1)

My XTM's, which are identical to a Firehammer have never had a control arm flex or bend nor have I ever replaced one other for when I slammed it into a lamp post at full throttle. I've never seen anyone else complaine about Firehammer control arms either...but I do see alot of posts about FG arms hitting spur gears. So I'm not sure what you are talking about. Can you also explain to me why the Chinese making the parts use special plastics before they stamp FG on the item?

Oh also don't sweat breaking any Firehammer Plastics...it's Duratrax they are under the stress warranty and replaced easily for free Try that with a FG Part

jasrx

the gas tank looks cheap , the chassi looks too thin on the Duratrax.

critrmac

Here we go!

i8tweety

My Feedback: (11)

Let's stick to facts regarding the differences, along with the advantages/disadvantages in those differences. I do not want to see this thread degrade into petty bickering.

"Please resist the urge to curse, flame, degrade, insult or embarrass someone in your post. We encourage the free flow of your ideas, but believe that they can be communicated (and received) much more effectively if you keep things civil. If you have to vent, take it offline. "


i8tweety
Car Forums Moderator

ScooterTrash

These R Big Boy's Toy's! NOT LITTLE KID's bickering Forums! I see this a lot [:@] Grown men that act like little kid's![sm=thumbs_down.gif]PS: That is the main reason I go to other fourms!

kengentry5000

My Feedback: (2)

I have a Firehammer. I got it cheap ($575 used). If I had it to do again I would buy a used FG buggy or truck. The biggest reason is the huge selection of hop-up parts.

MOST FG parts will work on clone buggies and trucks but not all. For the parts that won't work there are few if any options. Nobody makes a clone 2-speed upgrade. If you want a 2-speed setup you have to go to FG engine mounts, gear carrier, spur gear and possibly an FG brake setup.

If you need to go inexpensive go with a Firehammer - but at $899 (Tower Hobbies) RTR it is not saving you a lot of money. If you can find a new one for $750 - $799 on eBay then the savings is bigger and more interesting.

You can get an FG truck for $980 from RC Nut's Hobbies with no electronics. If you have an FM radio then you just need a $40 steering servo, $25 - $40 throttle/brake servo and a $20 failsafe. RC Nut's also has FG Marder buggies for $815 (no electronics).

This Marder buggy in the RCU Marketplace is a steal at $400
http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemId=252010

It needs just a radio - it includes servos and a receiver battery. fastrat_porting (the lister) has been around the forum for quite a while and seems like a good guy. He knows his engines for sure. This Marder will need a small amount of work to get it running but not bad at all.


The HPI Baja is a cool buggy also but closer to $1000 RTR. There are fewer hop-ups for the Baja than the clone (Firehammer) buggies but that is rapidly changing.

badz

My Feedback: (1)

The following IS the facts ask any Firehammer/XTM/Clone owner What parts they've changed. It's real simple both makes need alloy motor mounts and steel pinions on them. Firehammer is WAY cheaper than FG product as far as cost to be RTR. The Firehammer warranty exceeds FG's by 100%, FG does NOT offer stress parts replacement as does Duratrax. I've yet to see 1 Firehammer owner claim they've buried a rear control arm into their spur gear nor have I seen anyone owning one claim the arms flex and break easily. I've owned my XTM for a long time and have never changed a control arm cause it flexed or broke easily. FG's are 15+ years old technology and have had the same issue's since day #1 which FG has never fixed. The best mainstream giant scale RC out of the box is the HPI Baja it needs 0 upgrades. The Firehammer is a good deal when Tower runs them coupons and it really only needs $130?(I forget what I paid for the parts) in parts to be pretty damn durable. As far as the Firehammer tank being cheap if it breaks they replace it no questions asked..ALL PLASTIC is covered under the stress warranty. The Chassis is the exact same thickness and material as the FG's. So if it's cheap so is FG's.

OT: Why has RCU turned into a FG ONLY Forum? It seems nothing can be discussed here unless it's to praise FG. I'm sure Tower Hobbies and Duratrax toss more cash towards RCU for advertising than any FG dealer. I think you MOD's need to crack down on the one sided praising of a company who commits trademark violations to sell products and concentrate on legit and legal companies.

John d

Hi
Well said that man i have had a fire hammer for over 2 years the only bits that i have changed are the pinion gear and the engine mounts as they were the only weak links.

Unless you have had one i dont think it fair to run them down.I also have a number of FG models and i love them all.

What a great forum keep up the good work

Dave

PAPE

I wanted to add on this, I have a fg monster truck the rose joints (tie rod type thing that screws on the rear arm and has a ball thats screwd to the chasis) give out fast withing a few runs, one time I used the duratrax ones that towers sells and they lasted around 1-2 tanks and had to put the old ones back on, ever since I buy the FG ones and they last a lot longer, mabey they will hold on a buggy or onroad but on the MT5 they dont last.

caad5

I don't know how you run your MT or what but that is a complete load of rubbish that the ball joints wear out in a few runs on an FG MT. I have a 2 year old FG MT and the ball joints on it are still fine.

critrmac

Been running the firehammer pretty hard and fast ( no huge jumps ) me and the son, and
so far no complaints. Buggy handles well and have jumped it maybe 4 to 5ft airborne and
no issues. my son barrel rolled a couple of times and besides a few scrathes to the shell
no problems, cart wheeled it a couple times and it's holding up, and trust me we're not
try'in to bash it, but sometimes you roll it, flip it, whatever and so far so good. this is our
fisrt g-scale buggy so i can't comment on the others and i'm sure they have there strong
and weak points as well and am sure their ownners praise the good things about them just
as FH owners do, it's all good, to each his own, i think all giant scales are cool.[sm=shades_smile.gif]

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Badz,
There is no bias from the moderators towards any one product or manufacturers. As moderators we are not privy to how much advertising a company spends with RCU. Nor are we given any instructions to delete opinions about a manufacturer or product. The moderators are instructed to moderate by following and enforcing the [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_377662/anchors_377662/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#377662]RCU Community Rules[/link] , nothing more or nothing less. I am sorry if you think that one product/manufacturer is being removed with no justifications. If you feel that this is happening I invite you to personally PM me and show me what is going on and I will look into the problem.

Ken

critrmac

i8tweety, you replied to me, i did'nt think that i made any negative infrances to anyone.

i8tweety

My Feedback: (11)

critrmac, I wasn't responding to anyone in particular. When you use the "Fast Reply" (text box on the bottom of the page) to enter your post, by default it chooses the previous poster as the "in reply to".


I've seen too many of these potentially great threads degrade and my post is purely to keep this one on the straight and narrow, regardless of your viewpoint (provided you provide facts regarding inflamatory claims).



As for preferential treatment to a paying advertiser regarding how the forums are moderated, there is none.

FG is not an advertiser (though some of our advertisers do sell FG products). FG does not get special treatment.
Tower Hobbies is one of the largest retailers for the Duratrax Firehammer. There's a Tower Hobbies search feature on every RCU page, and the firehammer doesn't get special treatment.

critrmac

Okay, i see what you mean. I think this the site has a lot of good information and i
get a tickle otta some of the little spats that go on, but yaa, the degrade's and
humiliation and stuff is unneccessary.