paper_boy

Doe anyone own any of them? I want to here some opinions to help me decide which one to get! May the best buggy win!

PillowPants

I do not have the rc18b but i have the rc18MT and it is a great little MT. It HAULS. I am still using the stock motor, but i just bought a really nice battery pack and i swear its pushing in the high 20MPH range. I haer that the vendetta is just another typical mediocre duratrax product. And that the mini inferno is crap stock, much like the mini-t.. Not sure if all this is true, but its just what i've heard.. You should look into a mini-LST, they are pretty much the best mini on the market as of now.

Tigger N. Bennie

It appears he wants a "buggy" since all three listed are supposed buggies. Of the three listed, I own a brushless KMI and though I don't own the RC18B, I do own a brushless RC18T. Of the three listed, I would still choose the KMI if modified and made brushless. Stock, well not much remains stock for long, but the Vendetta is the lowest priced of the three or at least it is where I have seen the Vendetta listed as I mentioned on another thread. If obtaining parts is an issue, the Vendetta would probably be one of the easiest to get parts for since Tower Hobbies distributes Duratrax.

paper_boy

Obtaining parts is not an issue for me but I have never owned a RC before so I really have no clue when it comes to parts. I really like the Mini Inferno and I have the money to hop it up but do you think I should get something like the Team Associated 18B? I want a buggy which I can uprgrade as I get better and isn't limited to only a few hop ups. I really don't want a monster truck and I like the 18T but its really really small compared to the buggies. Please help! Thanks.

Tigger N. Bennie

The AE RC18T and RC18B are basically the same thing. The buggy simply has a buggy body, a wing, different front tires and wheels, and slightly different shock towers so it can mount the buggy body. The KMI is slightly larger, but slow out of the box; however, it doesn't take much to speed it up if you want to go the brushless route and there are a lot of option parts for it if you want to spend the money. Even Fioroni has option parts for the KMI (knuckles, towers, and upper support plate) and Fioroni is very expensive--they also make the high dollar option parts for 1/8th scale buggies. Other companies make option parts as well.

In the search box enter "mini inferno".
http://www.gsracing.com/web/page.asp?pgs=search

Hacker Da-Cracker

My Feedback: (1)

I have Rc18B, love it very fast and very fun better than the other 2, inferno is slow and shocks are POS, the vendetta has POS batt and charger, The Rc18B comes with all the best stuff its worth the $160 i paid

eaglesfn68

the rc18b has a plastic chasis. can u upgrade it to graphite or is it bad to for strengh. what should u upgrade on it.

paper_boy

I think I am edging over to the Team Associated 18B or MT...

eaglesfn68

on tower the vendetta is more than the rc18b. thats a rip off because the 18b is better.

Hacker Da-Cracker

My Feedback: (1)

the vendetta is not that good at all is what i heard

eaglesfn68

me to just wondering. Anybody have a video of the rc18b or know were i can find one. i want to check it out before i buy it

paper_boy

Like eagle I am also really keen on buying the 18B but was wondering if anyone has a video? Thanks!

Hacker Da-Cracker

My Feedback: (1)

nope i cant find one any where

paper_boy

Shucks Well could you describe it to us lol and say how it is so good so that it will make me want to run to my LHS even faster?

binaryterror

I love mine. The only minuses on it is the stock battery pack is POO. Also the stock shocks are hit and miss on quality. I've solved both and I run on a 1/8th scale indoor offroad track...only broke 1 knuckle trying to drive under a tube!

Tigger N. Bennie

This guy apparently had the same problem inside his motel room, but he returned it to the LHS.

MBX5T Maniac

My Feedback: (-1)

Excuse me carter, but it's obvious that the Inferno shocks are crap. But you can easily hop them up to the better aluminum threaded kyosho ones, and they are way better than the rc18t shocks.

IMO, the rc18t is just too small. It's to prone to flipping at high speeds because of the small wheelbase, and short length. If you want to be able to control the mini at high speeds(45+ mph), i'd say you should take a look at the mini inferno. It certainly has the potenial to be super fast, and you can actually control it while driving it.

Also, the inferno uses AA batteries stock. This, unlike the rc18t or vendetta, allows you to buy the battery pack of you choice. The Half 8(mini inferno) also can handle 8 cells stock, vs 6 or 7 cells for the vendetta and rc18b.

If you have the money to upgrade the car, I would definetely buy a Vendetta, or Half 8. I wouldn't buy the rc18b because it is simply too small for my taste. It looks bigger in the pictures than it actually is.

paper_boy

You have a point there, the 18B is really small. So do you have any suggestions on what to buy first if I was to get a Mini Inferno? Do you agree with me the mini inferno is a better car in the end after hop ups?

binaryterror

I'd say the RC18B isn't as bad as people make it sound. It is small, does include a crappy charger. Shocks aren't of the best quality, but still decent and OIL FILLED. Also stock bearings and a good ESC included. Also you can swap out the radio without a major cost. It is the smallest by far. Dirt in the spur issues aren't fun either. Tons of hops ups out and more coming it seems all the time. Plus you can turn it into the T or MT very quickly and cheaply. Mamba friendly. The stock battery pack and motor are a fast combo.

The Vendetta, medium sized between the 2 actually. Very buggy looking, and durable. Uses a seperate ESC/Receiver and a FULL size standard servo. Bearings also included. Open front window might let dirt in as some think, but my Vendetta only sees dirt tracks and it has not mud/dirt inside maybe some dust at most. Not Mamba friendly, you'll want a Mamba 25 Controller and a Aon 4900 or Hyperion brushless, even some of the others out. Fits standard 12mm Touring car wheels stock. Hop ups are coming, but not here yet . Quick once you install a 1200IB pack

Kyosho is the truest in scale, except it lacks in many areas the big buggies would never skimp on. No oil filled shocks, no bearings. Also the Servo, ESC, and Receiver are all custom set up together and can not easily be seperated. Huge aftermarket out there. Not Mamba friendly needs the Mamba controller and a bigger motor (like Vendetta). Very costly to get running quick and on a big track, but possibly one of the better handlers due to its bigger size.

paper_boy

So hard to choose one! Duratrax wins as stock, Mini Inferno is large and good handling, amd Rc18B is pretty fast as stock it sounds like. Has anyone driven all three? Please can someone give some reviews!

BassMan257

it was explained to me at my lhs like this:
i asked about their mini inferno

"well, your looking to get an rtr car right"
'yeah'
"well, i would go with our ******"
'why'
"quite simply, the mini inferno is reallly really slow out of the box, and we dont carry upgrades or parts"
'i heard that it handles really well'
"yeah, thats true, it handles a bit better in my opinion"
'so do you think that the mini inferno would be a good car if i hopped the snot out of it' (or something like that)
"well, i guess.. prolly handle alot better at really high speeds... but i mean, weve got plenty of ups for the ****** than we do for the inferno so..."

he was obviously trying to get me to buy the other car... not sure if he just meant that it was better out of the box, or if he was trying to sell it for the upgrade parts...


If i owned a mini buggy, it would definitely be the inferno... (with the snot hopped out of it you know, the bearings the oil shocks the mamba and the AON and prolly a graphite chassis...)

but thats just me...

Tigger N. Bennie

A certain US distributor tends to give better rates if certain retailers purchase a certain number of a particular RC. In other words, if <6 of RC1 are purchased, the price is "Z+Y" but if 6 or more RC1s are purchased, then the price may only be "X". This tends to allow a greater profit margin, especially if RC2 has to be purchased through yet another distributor all together at a higher price. At times, greater volume sales generates more profit than a larger sale. And some LHS make more money selling parts than they do selling the RCs themselves--my own T-Maxx is a very good example since it has a lot of alloy option parts. Of course, if it was only about speed, the KMI would not be in the running, especially since most of the employees I have ran into didn't realize that the slipper was intentionally shipped loose. The thing is that I can count how many diff gears I have gone trough in my KMI on one hand--the answer is zero. Meanwhile, I'm tearing up diff gears like crazy in the MLST with the same motor.

Schmernst

My Feedback: (2)

THe Kysoho Mini inferno would be the one to get if you plan on doing the speed upgrades anyways... Stock it is really slow. It has a really similar electronics layout as the mini-t combined receiver speed control, runs off AA's, crappy receiver specific servo. . SO you have to replace all that to get anywhere.... HOwever The drive train can handle the upgraded power straight out of the box!! (somehow) and is very drivable at high speed. So the KMI has the most upgrade potential in my opinion. BUT if you were planning to just keep it stock then one of the others would probably be a better deal as they are faster stock.

jp-gopher

I would say the mini inferno if you plan on hopping it up. In truth, it isn't THAT much bigger than the 18b. goto one18th.com and look for bermbuster's galleries. He has them side by side and nose to nose.

BUT the mini inferno does have a lot of support if you are willing to buy online. If I could afford another RC atm, I wouldn't be selling my inferno

paper_boy

I looked at Bermbuster's pics and it is obvious how small the 18B is compared to the half eight. Length may be the same but height and width? The 18B is an ant when next the Kyosho Mini Inferno! Anyway, I still think I am going to get the Duratrax Vendetta. Does anyone have any pics or videos of the Vendetta? Thanks!