1mtx1

Hey everyone I been in to this hobby for many year's. At this point I have 200.00 to spend max on a rtr nitro. There is a few I am looking at. One is the shockwave an the other is the tornado s30. I rather have the s30 do to the 2 speed,motor upgade an tune pipe. In my mind it's worth the extra 40.00 compared to the 159.00 for the shockwave. I have heard the 2 speed an a few other known issues with the s30 has caused major headaches for people.I know the pullstar on all the rtr can brake but keep in mind I know how to brake a motor in an tune it I think lol. Anyways should I get the tornado s30 over the shockwave?

1mtx1

If anyone can add there input I would appreciate it as I just found out I should have my money in a few days. Thank you.

ijpom

Hi 1mtx1,

I run Redcats, so I know there is no real love out there for these cars. If you have been in the hobby for a while (electrics?), and know other people with the Tornado or Shockwave then that is a nice entry to nitro. I personally don't think 10th scale nitro is robust enough.

I was in the same position a year and some ago, and had the S30, Backdraft and Hurricane as options. Not knowing what I could handle, it was easy to pick on price and specification. The 2 speed is virtually valueless from what I understand, and many people lock it out (you mention it too). Most car do great with only one speed and a large rev range. The larger engine is nice in the S30.

But here is what it comes down to for me when recommending cars: WHERE WILL YOU RUN IT?
An 10th scale buggy struggles to perform in regular mowed grass. A truck or truggy would do better. On a driveway (dirt, gravel or paved) it could be fine.
My 8th scale 28 buggy performs so-so in my mowed front yard, and is too low for the corner of the driveway leading to a bad dead stop incident.
My 8th scale truggy is too big for only my yard, but does not struggle on the grass or with driveway edges. Only if I use the un-occupied neighbors yard as well as mine, do I get a decent run at things. I still have to avoid trees and houses, as these are also car killers.

Do you have a local RC track, BMX track or large personal property? Then a 10th scale may be the cheapest entry point to see if you like nitro.
IMO the street is a horrible place to try to tune and drive an RC. Curbs are hard and break stuff, big cars come and go, and it may be a legal issue too.

Only after that do I worry about which brand has the best bang for the buck, or will hold together, or have parts available locally.

Just some thoughts.

1mtx1

I can run on open road but not good for on road rcs cars.it would be some grass/dirt as well mixed in. I have a update I found out the website is out of both rc's. Rc planet has the volcano s30. It's in blue an I am getting it. I avoid the 2 speed as well. II am getting a few bottlesof fuel etc. I'm pretty happy I can't wait to hear that new motor sing.

1mtx1

An that funny I'm in a gaded community they losers an like to complain. last time out of spite I paid a loud distribution fine of 50.00 in pennies. I plan olen parking lots with grass/dirt

krokodyl

Good choice, the voocano s30 should handle much beter than the tornado on off road. I have acaldera 3.0, not many issues except the engine which was entirly my fault. It rips through grass without the slighest issue. I actually had it going faster on grass than on pavement. On pavement it goes spinning at full throttle. That was on the last tank lt break in. Have fun!

1mtx1

One issue with the volcanoe s30 I see is me paying more for tires as I see they tend to cost more $$. I wan want the added speed with 2 speed but the added shocks seam to be a good trade off. I will be on the road a fair amount so the stock soft tires won't grip. I would lower the ride hight an keep the a arms level .I want the speed on road with the best turn handling an good ol grass/dirt bashing at times.I do think a buggy fits my driving.I see the volcano flip in alot of vds. I know I need a stering servo to fit my on road driving.

1mtx1

Dubble post..

nitrosportsandrunner

$50 in pennies....nice.
I don't live in a place with a bunch of stupid rules...but a buddy of mine came over on a sunday afternoon and ran his big block ofna 1/8 scale buggy up and down the street a few times and my neighbor (older gentleman) came out and threatened to call the cops because we were using the street and it was too loud. First...there isn't a law saying you cant drive a RC on the street (though the ofna was breaking the speed limit) and second...while the ofna was a bit louder than most nitros, it wasn't much louder than a riding mower. No way he would have come out and told us to stop mowing our lawn because the noise was waking him up...but since it was a "toy" making the noise he suddenly had the right to complain and threaten. People are funny that way. A few days ago I ran my off-road mudding mower down the street at 20mph...wonder if that ticked him off...lol.

krokodyl

Haha, yeah I haven't had issues with neighbours yet.. Although some just moved in. Hopefully they dont say anything as soon as i get my engine. And yeah Uve surely broken the speed limit a few times aswell, sjnce its only like 40 KILOMETERS per hour lol.

nitrosportsandrunner

on my street it is 25mph...ive had a 65mph traxxas vxl on it. I sometimes let cars pass my house...then quickly pass them with my RC. Usually gets some funny looks from drivers when they are doing 35mph and get passed by a rc truck.

1mtx1

I just moved back to long island people here are ri h an up tight. I don't fit in lol. I am waiting on my $ damn bank playing around . there is a local rc store where I am at now. There traxxas an charge 10-20% above internet prices. I am getting the nitro but I want a small scal electric again. I had a lisi micro t an a mt18 . I figure we'll I wait for the nitro truck I can get a local rc to keep busy. I just got home after 5 years so I'm bored daily. I think with the weather change in side with a small scale could be a nice change of pace. I just doubt the lhs will have anything under 200 out the door. (No small scale ) side note there 20% topfuel is 18.35 that's for a quart

nitrosportsandrunner

I recently got a ECX Outburst. Its a micro motorcycle. only $40 RTR. I am impressed how well it handles. No room for upgrades or anything, but I think it was worth the $40...especially if you have room to setup a track. It can turn much sharper than I would have imagined. I had a venom rc motorcycle some years back that cost 3 times as much and it didn't handle as well!

Micro rock crawlers can also be fun for indoors. Some have gone crazy with the redcat micro crawler. But even the 1:16 Everest crawler can be good for indoors if you have a decent sized room and setup a course. The micro crawlers (redcat or losi) it is fun to make a course from insulation foam board and craft stuff. I hope to get a redcat micro crawler and mod the chassis and put a scale truck body on it this winter.

If you can still find one, the vaterra Kalahari is one of the best small scale RC's ive ever had. It was based on the losi 1/14 race buggy...which is partly why it got discontinued. When that happened, you could get one for just $120! It could handle a 2s lipo, was brushless, 4wd and just a tad bigger than your average 1/18 buggy. My local track raced them in a stock class for a while. They do some jumps well and handled nice and the durability was very good for a mini rc. Not sure if you could find a new one for that price, but if you can find a used one in good shape Id recommend it. The only thing that was odd about it was the 280 size brushless motor...a bit on the small size. But it had no problem hitting 25mph which is plenty fast for its size. I regret selling mine.

1mtx1

so this been a few months and i have a nice update..... I went to the lhs and found a used traxxas nitro slash. It was a great price and i bought it and since then i have bought a few rc's and sold them. I got some great deals on craigslist and even made money buying/fixing and selling the rc's i bought. I bought 2 nitro Revos, and for xmas i got a 1/18th brushless dromida mt. I liked it a lot i even got all the upgrades for it but tbh i needed money and sold that. I now have the ITCH again lol, and the same issue i faced back in NOV i do again. Not much to spend but good news is i have fuel,starting gear and lots of parts on hand etc . So yesterday i ordered my first Redcat rc, I got the shockwave and tbh i am pretty darn happy. I did some research and from what i can tell all the hsp UPGRADES for there 1/10th buggy can be used on my shockwave and whats great the prices are close to 40-50% less the the branded "upgrade" redcat parts i been seeing online . I do have a few questions about the shockwave and upgrades. I am going to make another thread but i thought i would bump this one as i felt like my years of running nitro rc's vs the redcat rc's stink threads that have been around for years should be tested and reported back for my own use and for others looking for a TRUE review. so check back here as i should have my shockwave in a week or so and i will update this thread when my package comes and threw the brake in and first few tanks after brake in when i assume the motor is at its peak and putting out all it has to offer.. holly long post i know i know