A couple of months ago, I reviewed the SB Sport Pro. The buggy platform offered a viable alternative to the more popular electric four-wheel drive choices on the market. However, it was a kit and came without any electronics at all. This may not appeal to all people, and MRC/Academy realizes this. So to address this to those who may be beginners, or those who may not want to build a kit version of the buggy, they offer the RTR (Ready to Run) version of the SB Sport as well.

The SB Sport RTR comes equipped with a host of features which include a Futaba radio and receiver, as well as a Futaba electronic speed control. Coupled with the fact the body is pre-painted, and the electronics already set up, you'll find it quick to take the buggy from the box to the dirt.

First, we'll take a walkthrough of the components and parts on the SB Sport RTR. Then we'll hit the dirt, and see exactly how well this electric four-wheel drive platform handles one of my local tracks!

My MRC/Academy SB Sport RTR came complete with a body that was already finished in a bright array of blue, white, pink and black. It also has with a lower half that mounts on the lower side of the chassis as well. However, you will need to perform some cutting with the body sections, so be prepared. I'll have to admit that I've been a little spoiled lately, with most RTR bodies simply being a drop in place affair and this is more than most models have to do. So with the SB Sport, you'll have to make sure you have a hobby knife or pair of lexan scissors on hand. Regardless, it's not a difficult or time consuming task.

It's always good to have some documentation to take you through the various parts of the vehicle. So you'll be glad to see that the SB Sport comes with an assembly manual and parts list. The manual will be very helpful in regards to maintenance, as well as altering the various handling settings of the buggy. You'll also receive a manual for the included Futaba radio, as well as a decal sheet to help you finish off the detailing of the included body.

You'll find a few plastic trees that still have some parts attached to them. Hold on to all of this stuff, as it'll all come into play later on as you start tweaking the suspension and handling characteristics of the buggy. This assortment of parts includes shock preload spacers, as well as extra rod ends and piston heads. You'll also find spare servo horns, suspension pin blocks, and an assortment of spur gears. You certainly won't need to look very far when it comes time to start tweaking the buggy!

If you need extra shock oil or grease, don't worry. The Academy buggy has you covered in that department as well. You'll receive two complete bottles of shock oil and a tube of silicone grease. The buggy doesn't need these when it comes out of the box, so put these aside and save them for later.

If you're lacking in the tool department, MRC/Academy does provide you with some basic items to get you started. A small cross wrench to help with the nuts, and three L-shaped hex wrenches will give you the ability to work on the buggy. However, in the long run, you'll probably want to pick up a better set of tools to work with on a more frequent basis.

The SB Sport is built upon a fiberglass chassis, which uses an upper fiberglass brace to provide additional strength. The steering bellcrank area is additionally reinforced with another fiberglass brace as well. The steering servo is laid down at the front left-hand side, while the ESC and motor are positioned behind it. The right side of the buggy's chassis is reserved for the vehicle's battery, while the receiver sits atop the fiberglass upper brace.

The underside of the buggy is smooth, and all hardware is countersunk even though a protective lexan plate will protect the body once it's installed. Cutouts in the chassis allow a 6-cell side-by-side pack to sit low on the chassis, while additional cutouts help reduce the weight of the buggy overall. If you're interested in carbon-fiber, it should be noted that the manufacturer offers all of the fiberglass parts in carbon-fiber as an upgrade option.

The front of the buggy sports a wide range of adjustment possibilities, and not just in the shock department. While the shock tower offers the upper end of the shocks three possible mounting locations, hardcore racers will be pleased to see that there are four possible locations to mount the upper camber link. This allows you to easily alter the roll center of the buggy. As with the upper end of the shock, the lower end has several mounting positions as well. To be exact, you'll find a total of three individual lower shock positions ready for your use on the suspension arm.

One of the big differences with the RTR version of the SB Sport, as compared to the Pro kit version I reviewed earlier, is the fact that the turnbuckles lack the ability to be adjusted while installed. Since they are rounded they lack a point for a wrench to turn them. Both ends are also standard threads, which makes adjustment impossible while they are installed. They can still be adjusted though, you'll just need to remove the link to turn the ends.

The steering capability of the buggy is handled by a pair of c-hubs and steering blocks. A 3mm pin with e-clips secures the c-hub to the suspension arm, while stainless steel shoulder bolts keep the steering block positioned in the c-hub. Positioned at the top of the c-hub, a ball stud serves as a mounting point for the camber link.

The SB Sport comes with the ability to adjust the caster of the front suspension, as well as the anti-squat of the rear suspension. This is accomplished by using plastic suspension pin braces for the 3mm suspension pins. The manual covers exactly what combination of these you'll need to use to achieve the desired setting you want. The front caster is adjustable with settings of 7, 9.5, and 12 degrees. The rear anti-squat can be set at either 1 or 2 degrees.

Once you disassemble the front suspension, you can see the various components that make up the suspension. The suspension pins that connect the suspension arm to the chassis, and the c-hub to the suspension arm, are both 3mm in diameter. They are stainless steel, and should handle their task for the lightweight buggy with ease.

The buggy doesn't come stock with bearings, instead it's equipped with bushings. I would have preferred to see bearings installed from the factory, but since they're not this would be a good area to target for an upgrade later on. The inner bushing measures 10x15x4mm, while the outer bushing is 5x10x4mm. The bushings support the axle as it spins.

The SB Sport's front axles use a CVD-style approach. The cup end is squared off, and designed to fit in the large 10x15x4mm inner bushing of the steering hub. The stainless steel CVD axles transfer the power from the differentials to the wheels with minimum backlash and provide a near instantaneous response when your trigger finger puts the vehicle into motion. The axle measures 5mm in diameter where is passes through the axle bushing, and awaits placement of the aluminum hex adapter.

Look a little further behind the front suspension, and you'll find the steering linkage. The SB Sport uses a bellcrank steering system, which is supported at the top by a fiberglass brace with flanged bushings pushed into it. The front of the brace ties into the bulkhead area, while the rear ties into the upper chassis brace as well as the main chassis via anodized aluminum posts.

The bellcrank steering linkage features an adjustable servo saver that's built into the pivot arm that's directly in front of the steering servo. The draglink is a threaded rod with ball cup ends on it. The steering links are provided two positions where they can mount on the bellcrank arms. This allows you to adjust the Ackerman angle of the steering travel. The steering duties are handled by a Futaba 3002 with 56.8 oz-in of torque, and a transit speed of .16 at 6.0 volts.

An electric buggy such as the SB Sport RTR ends up with a fair amount of wiring on the chassis due to all of the onboard electronics. MRC/Academy realizes this, and ties all of the wires up in a neat bundle between the steering servo and the motor. Bullet connectors connect the motor to the ESC. These will handle current well for the stock motor, although if you step up to a more powerful motor combination you'll want to invest in some low loss connectors.

To control the motor, and provide a full proportional range of motion, the SB Sport is equipped with a Futaba MC230CR electronic speed control. This speed control can handle down to a 20-turn motor, which makes it ideal if the buggy is used in a stock motor racing class. The speed control also features reverse lockout, which is a requirement at most tracks and races. If the need arises to reset the speed control, you'll find the task is easily accomplished using a single button setup system.

On the opposite side of the chassis from the motor and speed control you'll find a resting spot for the battery pack. The SB Sport is meant to be used with 6-cell flat packs, and in the event you plan on using a side-by-side pack, cutouts in the fiberglass chassis plate allow the cells to sit as low as possible to help keep the vehicle's center of gravity low. A fiberglass battery brace retains the battery in place once it is positioned properly on the aluminum battery posts.

Futaba also handles the radio and receiver chores as well. The receiver is mounted on the upper chassis brace, and is an AM receiver. The receiver model number is a FP-R122JE, which designates it as a 2-channel receiver. The radio and receiver operate in the 75MHz frequency range, which means that you have 30 available channels that are compatible with the radio. All you'll need to do is to purchase additional crystals for any other channels you may want to utilize. My SB Sport came set up for channel 88.

To help provide some additional cooling capability to the stock motor, MRC/Academy provides the SB Sport with an anodized aluminum clip-on heat sink. The stock motor is a 20-turn motor, and is equipped with a 20-tooth pinion gear and an 72-tooth spur gear. The cast aluminum motor mount is designed to allow the motor to be rotated to adjust the pinion and spur gap, when an adjustment is needed.

Beside the motor, and under the upper chassis brace, you'll find the rear ball differential and output yoke. The output yoke has a spring placed in it, which helps to hold the driveshaft in place while it's spinning. The spur gear is directly mounted to this assembly, which avoids the use of a slipper clutch in its stock form. However, there's an optional upgrade available should you wish to install one. A small white nylon brace securely holds the output yoke and bearing in place, while still allowing the whole assembly to be easily removed if the need for maintenance arises.

The upper chassis brace sits low enough on the chassis that it would interfere with the spur gear, were it not for the cutout that was made for this specific purpose. In addition to that, you'll also find a series of round holes as well. These allow you to reach the screws directly under the chassis brace, eliminating the need to remove the brace to access these screws. Countersunk washers are used all along the upper brace to provide superb clamping force for the screws that hold it to the vehicle's chassis.

The SB Sport's wing mount uses a full-featured approach. Not only is it built to withstand the large amount of abuse that can be thrown its way, but it's highly adjustable as well. This adjustability allows you to easily tailor the vehicle's rear downforce to your liking.

The pin-style tires for the SB Sport come installed on white dish-style rims. However, you should take note that the tires are not pre-glued onto the rims. So, you'll need to tackle this before you run the buggy. I'm a little disappointed in this approach, as most RTR vehicles come with the tires already glued in place. However, the one benefit of this is that if your tire preference differs from what's included in the box, you can easily make a swap before running the buggy.

The front wheels are slightly narrower than the rear by 8mm. The wheels are spun by a 12mm aluminum hex mounted on the axle, and held in place by a locknut. The tires are a fairly soft compound, and equipped with what I'd consider a soft foam.

The front ball differential for the SB Sport is located in a plastic housing that splits into upper and lower halves. Hardened steel output yokes exit the left and right sides of the housing, while an aluminum yoke extends from the rear of the housing for the driveshaft. Cap head screws hold the plastic halves together, while grub screws hold the output yokes in place.

While the plastic housings for the front and rear differentials differ slightly, the gears inside of them are the same. The ring and pinion gears are plastic, while a ball differential handles the transfer of power from one wheel to the other. The differential rides on a pair of 10x15mm ball bearings, while the pinion gear rides on a pair of 5x10mm bearings.

The SB Sport comes with a purple anodized aluminum driveshaft. This differs slightly from the Pro version of the buggy which uses a graphite shaft. Both ends of the shaft utilize a dogbone-styled end, which mates to the output yokes. A spring in the rear output yoke holds the driveshaft in the proper position while the driveshaft is spinning, but also allows it to be easily removed if needed.

The rear suspension doesn't differ a whole lot from the front suspension. One of the main differences is that it uses axle carriers instead of a c-hub design. C-hubs and steering blocks simply aren't needed since the rear of the vehicle doesn't perform any steering functions. As with the front, 3mm suspension pins connect the suspension components at each end of the suspension arm.

The rear axle differs slightly from the front as well, in the fact it uses a dogbone design instead of a CVD-style setup. The axle is still 5mm, when it passes through the outer bushing, and a larger 10mm section rests in the inner bushing. Again, as with the front, replacing these bushings with bearings would be an excellent upgrade to make later on.

The suspension arm offers the rear shock two positions to place it's lower end, while the shock tower offers three mounting holes. The shock tower and axle carriers offer optional mounting points to adjust the roll center of the rear of the buggy. However, as with the front suspension, the camber links are not adjustable turnbuckles. Instead they are simply threaded rods with ball cup ends.

The SB Sport's shocks utilize plastic bodies, and aluminum outer caps. The uppermost portion of the cap is plastic and uses a pressed in plastic insert. The lower rod end uses a pressed in stainless steel ball to provide a sturdy and strong point for the screw to pass through. MRC/Academy equips the shock with a soft black spring, and clip-on preload spacers. The shock is filled with 30 weight shock oil to control the dampening action of the vehicle.

The buggy comes equipped with a Futaba Magnum Sport AM radio, which allows the owner to control the buggy. The radio provides its owner with all the basic features that they will need to get started, although the more advanced racer may still opt to replace the radio later on down the road.

The radio has a comfortable feel to it when it's held, thanks to the red rubber strip in its handle. This also prevents the radio from slipping as you're driving with it. Should the need arise to reverse the servos, you'll find switches that will accommodate this located under the smoked panel at the rear of the radio. On the front corners, dials allow the owner to adjust the throttle and steering trims.

The vast majority of what you'll need to do to get the SB Sport ready for action involves the body and the tires. I tackled the body first, and took care of the trim work needed. You'll simply need to cut or trim along the molded lines and discard the excess. The lower half of the body can be a little more difficult to cut, as the lines are not as clearly marked as the upper half. So take your time and test fit the two halves together if necessary.

Once the body is trimmed out, you'll want to round out its looks with some of the included decals. Obviously you'll want to apply the window stickers. From there you can install as many, or as little, as you wish. Once combined with the bright paint theme of the body, the body will really look sharp!

Before gluing your tires, I recommend you either vent the rims or the tires. This allows air to flow in and out of the tires easily. Most people would be better off venting the rims, as there is the possibility of a tire becoming damaged or ripped if you choose to place a venting hole or slit in it. I used a 1/16 inch drill bit for this procedure, and drilled a single hole in each rim.

To keep the tires on the rims, you'll need to glue them with some CA (cyanoacrylate) glue. Peel the tires bead back and drop a few drops of CA glue into the channel on the wheel, allowing it to run around the rim. This is best accomplished with thin version of CA glue. When the glue has run around the channel on the wheel, set the tire's bead back into place. Be careful with the glue during this process however, as it's often easy to glue your fingers to the tires!

To prepare the onboard electronics for their first use, you'll need to install the antenna in the supplied plastic tube. Before sliding it through the tube though, you'll want to route it through the small plastic antenna mount on the chassis. Then push it through the tube and push the tube into the mount. The wire slid through easily for me but if you should encounter any difficulty, simply sprinkle some baby powder on the wire. I rounded out the top of the antenna tube with a Dubro antenna cap set (part number #2342).

Once the battery is in place, you'll want to drop the fiberglass battery bar on top of it. Slide it into place on the back post. Basic sport packs will require you to place the bar between the e-clips on the rear post. However, if you are using a side-by-side pack, or even a Li-Po pack, you'll probably find the battery bar works best when positioned under the lower e-clip. Once the bar is in place, use a body clip to hold it in place on the front post.

The upper half of the body will be held in place by Velcro. So cut out a few strips, and place some along the lower half of the body. You'll want to also use some Velcro on the inside of the upper half of the body, so the body will be firmly held in place once it's installed. Once the body is fully installed, the wrap-around nature of the SB Sport's body does an excellent job of keeping the dirt away from the chassis.

The last item you'll need to address is the radio itself. Insert eight AA batteries into the base of the radio. Check to make sure you have power, as well as a good signal to the receiver, and then you're ready to go!

Once the battery is in place, you'll want to drop the fiberglass battery bar on top of it. Slide it into place on the back post. Basic sport packs will require you to place the bar between the e-clips on the rear post. However, if you are using a side-by-side pack, or even a Li-Po pack, you'll probably find the battery bar works best when positioned under the lower e-clip. Once the bar is in place, use a body clip to hold it in place on the front post.

The upper half of the body will be held in place by Velcro. So cut out a few strips, and place some along the lower half of the body. You'll want to also use some Velcro on the inside of the upper half of the body, so the body will be firmly held in place once it's installed. Once the body is fully installed, the wrap-around nature of the SB Sport's body does an excellent job of keeping the dirt away from the chassis.

The last item you'll need to address is the radio itself. Insert eight AA batteries into the base of the radio. Check to make sure you have power, as well as a good signal to the receiver, and then you're ready to go!

With the MRC/Academy SB Sport prepped, I was ready to head to the local track to put it through its paces. I bought along a couple of additional items to help me run the buggy, in the form of battery packs and chargers. I had decided prior to this outing that I would slap both a NiMH pack in the buggy, as well as a Li-Po pack. This way, I could get a feel for any differences the two power sources might offer in regards to weight, power, or capacity.

Once at my local track, Monkey Bottom Raceway, I started off by charging an IB 3800 NiMH pack from Boom Boom Batteries. I used my Duratrax Intellipeak Ice, and charged it at 5 amps until the pack peaked. Then I moved it to the buggy, strapped it in with the battery bar, and installed the body. I was ready to rip at that point and gunned the throttle.

Upon squeezing the throttle the SB Sport leaped forward, but not quite as fast as I had expected. My previous outings with the SB Sport Pro evidently spoiled me, because I was able to install my own motor that time around. The motor in the RTR version of the buggy has some good overall power, but just simply didn't match what I had experienced before obviously. If you read my previous review, you'll know that I used a 27-turn stock motor in the Pro version of the buggy. The RTR version uses a 20-turn motor, and most people would tend to think it offers more power. However, that's not always the case. A true "27-turn stock motor", that's race-legal and has a fixed timing of 24°, and will often put down more power than many 18 or 19-turn modified motors.

All of this may make you wonder why the SB Sport didn't simply include a 27-turn stock motor like I used before. The answer for this is fairly easy. Since the vehicle is a RTR version of the buggy, a good number of them will likely never see the track. While a 27-turn fixed timing motor may throw down some tremendous power it is really designed to only be run for around five minutes at a time. This is the normal length of most electric races. Seeing as how many of the RTR SB Sport buggies may never see the track, their owners would likely wish for a cooler running motor that is conservative in regards to brush and comm. wear. A 20-turn motor such as this one included with the buggy, fits this characteristic much better. If more power is needed, a simple motor swap can give the owner as much as they wish for.

As the SB Sport sped away from me, and rounded the first corner, I set it up to try and clear the double. My first try was far from successful though, as the buggy tumbled after hitting the second jump a little too short. I repeated the effort a few times and found that I just simply wasn't getting enough speed to make a reliable jump up the face of the first jump. The traction was there, thanks to the damp soil, but the factory motor showed itself to be lacking in the power department for this area of the track.

After I started taking the doubles in a single-single pattern, I found myself making good time though them and was able to come through the following corner at a very nice rate of speed. I did notice that the chassis was slapping the ground a little too much, making the landings a little tricky. So I quickly made a preload adjustment, and then altered the front toe angle some as well. Soon I was ripping through this area of the track and ready to conquer the rest. The SB Sport was really starting to come around now that I had made a few changes and adapted my driving style. I liked how lightweight it felt, knowing that this would be a huge advantage in regards to control in the air, and through the corners.

The first tabletop on the track is a source of current construction at the track. During a previous outing, this section of the track was impassible. It had been corrected somewhat, although further work is still pending. So it's more like a single jump onto a tabletop. This section of the track will be ideal for 1/8 scale buggies, but the spacing and "roughed in" jump just wasn't ideal for the 1/10 scale four-wheel drive platform as it sits now. So I really just ran through this area without paying a lot of attention to how it handled across it. However, I bring it up for one reason, and that is it let me know how easy the buggy was going to be to control in the air. After hitting the initial jump, the SB Sport would take to the air with a slightly nose-up attitude and then awaited my command to bring the nose up further, or to bring it down. I was really starting to like the way this buggy felt.

I carried a lot of speed through the next corner, and took to the air across the next jump. This was by far the best slice of air the buggy had taken yet. It flew gracefully, and landed perfectly at the foot of the next jump ready for a run up its face and around the next turn. Traction from the tires was still excellent, providing me the grip I needed to accelerate up the faces of these jumps and to take to the air. The buggy pushed slightly as it rounded its way to the far tabletop, but that slight push is characteristic for a four-wheel drive vehicle. I quickly began using the small banking angle through the turn to help me carry the speed I wanted, while the chassis never once left me feeling as if I was pushing the envelope on being out of control.

So far the buggy was handling well and, despite the fact it felt a little lacking in the power department with the doubles, it had plenty enough power for the rest of the track. The track's rhythm section is the next major obstacle to tackle, after the back tabletop. The very low stance of the buggy required me to be very precise when hitting this section of the track. If the buggy wasn't run through this section in a controlled fashion, it could quickly get out of shape. I experienced this for the first few laps, as I warmed up to the buggy's handling characteristics.

With the right rhythm through the section, I could keep a fair amount of controllable speed up. It was best to try and hit the jumps as singles, landing between them and setting myself up for the next. When I executed this attack plan well, the buggy responded very with a very light bottoming out of the chassis. However I felt this worked best with the buggy's characteristic and the 20-turn motor, and the buggy felt pretty well composed and in control. I feel that an upgrade to the carbon-fiber chassis would help the handling through this section some. The SB Sport Pro I reviewed a couple of months back felt as if it were more firmly planted, which I attribute to the more rigid carbon-fiber chassis plate. Slightly heavier shock oil would also help keep the bottom from touching the ground as much. Once I switched to the lighter Li-Po setup I would notice much less of this issue however.

Throughout the entire track, I found the SB Sport to handle exceptionally well. It carves the corners in a very refined and controllable manner, giving you just a small amount of typical four-wheel drive push to prevent a loose understeer condition. It's hard to say what I enjoyed the most, carving through the corners and trying to push the through them as fast as I could, or grabbing some nice air off of several of the jumps I encountered as I made my way around the track. It was tremendous fun any way you look at it.

On the straightaway, the buggy held a good controllable line while at high speed. I could carry a fair amount of speed through the corner after the straightaway, especially if I used the base of the banking at the edge of the track. I could have never got away with this using a larger nitro vehicle. However the smaller low slung chassis of the SB Sport worked well in this regard. With a little more powerful motor, this buggy would be just as good of a contender as the Pro version. The performance between the two is very similar!

I ran several packs through the buggy over a period of a few days. During these runs I also used my FMA Direct Scorpion Li-Po pack as well. With this pack installed the buggy became even more nimble, and there was a performance increase as well, thanks to the slightly higher nominal voltage. The biggest advantage though, was the fact the weight of the buggy dropped tremendously. This gave me a slight edge when it came to running through the rhythm section. With the lighter weight, the buggy's springs were a flawless combination for the chassis. This made it even easier to run through the rhythm section without slapping the ground. I could also carve the corners throughout the track feeling as if I carried a little more speed. As responsive as the buggy was initially, the Li-Po pack increased it exponentially and showed the SB Sport is simply a force to be reckoned with!

If you're looking to enter the electric buggy segment of the hobby the SB Sport has a lot to offer. This ready to run version lacks some of the parts found on the Pro version, but gets you up and running in a hurry. With it having a sibling that's a Pro version you'll find an abundance of upgrades that are included with the Pro version, but also available for the RTR. This gives you the ability to end up with the same vehicle as the Pro version later on, should you decide to go that route.

I would like to see the buggy come standard with a full set of bearings and true turnbuckles instead of basic threaded rods. While these are easily upgradeable, it's a much more common sight to see them installed on a RTR vehicle now than it used to be. These two areas would be immediately upgraded by me soon after purchasing a SB Sport RTR.

The SB Sport RTR is just one of the three versions that MRC/Academy offers this particular buggy in. This RTR version will likely be the most popular choice among them for those just starting out in the hobby. The SB Sport platform is a very capable four-wheel drive buggy, even in regards to racing. You also can't beat the amount of parts that the manufacturer has made available to support the platform. If you're looking to enter the electric four-wheel drive buggy genre, you'd be doing yourself a serious disservice if you didn't give it some serious consideration. It's got the handling and capability to be a winner!

Model Rectifier Corporation
80 Newfield Avenue
Edison, NJ 08837 USA
Phone: (732) 225-6144
Website: www.modelrectifier.com

W.S. Deans
10875 Portal Drive
Los Alamitos, CA 90720 USA
Phone: (714) 828-6494
Website: www.wsdeans.com
Products used: Two-Pin Ultra Plugs