ORIGINAL: The_Shark
unless your a hardcore racer, a $300 radio is pointless, i use a flysky gt3b 2.4ghz system, for $35 all the adjustments you need and a solid signal.
you also dont need a major charger, buy a hobbyking/hobbypartz $50 charger, charges everything, balance discharge mapping, temp guage you name it, two years on mine going strong (ive used it to charge my 1/1 car a few times!)
right there your saving a bundle of money, and will work just fine unless you become a hardcore racer.
1/8 buggies or truggies are your best bet, powerfull, durable and race ready, im a huge fan of OFNA, HIGH quality products for low cost, then i would say mugen for something a little less bash more race.
dont expect wheelies on both, but do expect stable driving, great acceleration and stable jumping.
Have you owned a higher end charger than the hobbypartz/hobbyking stuff? Have you owned a $300+ radio?
If the answers to either of these questions is no, then please don't tell anybody how "you don't need it unless you're a hardcore racer". It's not stuff you absolutely need if you don't know what 99.99999% of the features do, and even if you know what they do, you don't necessarily need it anyway.
You don't NEED an aftermarket radio. 99% of the time the stuff that comes with an RTR is just fine, and even the new HPI 2.4 radios come with endpoint adjustments, which is all you really need. The flysky radios are absolutely no better than your typical RTR 2.4 gear, so what's the point in paying $35 for something that's not a significant improvement? Hell, a used Futaba 3PJ you should be able to find for $50, and that is 1000x the radio that the FlySky computer radio is. Who cares if it's FM? Only crap RTR radios have issues with interference.