ORIGINAL: wmh0901
I bought a cheap ZD Racing car for $90 at Christmas and the place I bought it actually sent me two. I emailed them but never heard back so I kept it. We have had a lot of fun with these but I stripped the differential on the first day..bought a cheap part and fixed it but now one of the servos is gone. I have now spent about the same price that I paid for the car in parts to keep it running. I do have the fever and had more fun repairing them. This is a 4wd brushless Truck with lipo batteries. It is a 1/16th scale. For the money it was a great deal but cheaply built. I have read and searched as much as I can and then finally joined this forum. I am 42 years old with no kids yet....we are adopting a son and he could be here anyday. I have the 2s LIPO batteries that I would like to continue to use. I don't want to set speed records. The little ZD racer got up to 25mph...(I taped my iPhone to it with a GPS app!) That is fast enough for me but the truck does flip over a lot in the turns. I want a 1/10 scale brushless 4wd vehicle that can run the full size LIPOs that I already have. Prices are all over the place. From what I see here on this site, Traxxas seems to be the favorite but from what I understand they use a smaller battery in the smaller scale cars so I don't think the batteries I have will work. I looked at Redcat racing but they do not seemed to be a favorite becuase of durability. I want something that I can take out on Saturday morning and just have fun with. I do want to jump it and run it through the dirt without worrying about something breaking. So my question to the froum is, if you were me and had $300 to spend, what would you suggest? I don't think I can get LIPO batteries stock at that price point and that is OK. I f I can use the ones I have that would be great but not a deal breaker. I am sure this has been posted before so I apologize if this is in the wrong place. I am posting a picture of the battery that I have in case someone can recognize it.
the traxxas options are good, but as you noted a 4wd 1/10 traxxas runs well over $300.
And even then, they are only good with a few rpm and other upgrades.
The speeds brushless models can hit means that even fully upgraded ones (with $$$ invested) can still break.
I have owned all of the redcat epx pro models. If a buggy works for you, the tornado epx pro is a good option. Its brushless, rtr, and 4wd. Unlike its volcano (mt) version, the buggies smaller wheels means less stress on the driveline/suspension parts.
And I have found that small mods that dont cost a dime make big difference in the durability of these models.
That said, they will break. But at $200 RTR its a heck of a buggy. Parts are also cheap. Only real upgrade thats worth it is the billet alloy shock towers and better tires. Will do over 35mph on a 2s lipo.
I dont know if I can think of any other $300 or less, 4wd brushless RTR models. There are a few $200 kits, but then you have to buy a brushless system/radio/servo...which will be more than $100 for sure.
You can sometimes find a used traxxas slash 4wd or stampede 4wd for $300 rtr.
So, you kinda either gotta save up more $$$, finda
used big brand 4wd brushless, or settle for a redcat. If you enjoy tinkering on RC's, the last option isnt so bad. Redcat gets a bad rep sometimes because those totally new to the hobby buy one because of the price, then blame the brand when it breaks and they dont know how (or dont want to) fix it.
This is my honest opinion, the redcat epx pro models would be nearly as durable as the traxxas 4x4 models if they had a slipper clutch. The lack of a slipper clutch means if you land a jump with the throttle on, something is likely to give. Again, not a problem for someone who has been driving RCs for awhile. We all know not to land with the throttle wide open.
I know I will get ragged on for the above statement, but as I said, Ive had all the redcat brushless models...and the traxxas vxl 2wd and 4wd models. I can honestly say I replaced as many parts on my slash 4x4 as I have my tornado epx pro. But then, I lucked out and bought my slash 4x4 used for just over $200!
pretty cool that place sent you 2 of the ZD models. Never had a ZD myself. (never seen one for sale actually)