chocyman

Think this thread is a great idea.
Ive been posting in the road car section as they have an 'official Smartech thread', where everyone seems to post winner 1, 3 and winner sport issues. Granted theres not much difference between them, but still.

Anyway, Ive had a winner 3 single speed buggy for a while now and have to strongly disagree with the 'not as strong' comment. My Winner has taken a fair beating over the months and pretty much come out unscathed.
I currently own a Traxxas Nitro hawk(oldie) with a .15 engine and a Tamiya TGS WRX, and both seem to break/strip more bits than the Smartech does.
Totally agree with parts distribution tho, its a pain in the arse to get hold of any specific bits, other than order from the net and wait a few weeks for the part to arrive. My advise...when you need to get parts...get a few, not just one!!

Ive gone through the major trouble parts, and uprated/upgraded them.
So far i have done the following

Replaced the servos with Futaba units (smartech ones are really not good)
Added a failsafe (a must!)
Replaced the Shockies with Duratrax ajustable units
Replaced the engine with an OS CV-RX
Replaced the flywheel, clutch and bellhousing for a uprated and vented unit (geared down 18T instead of 15T)
Replaced the exhaust header with a HPI unit (much better and doesnt throw oil over the engine)
Fully ballraced

Im going to fabricate a new front shock mount plate as the duratrax front shockies dont have as much travel as Id like (the duratrax units are about 3 or 4mm longer than the standard ones), rear is not a problem.

I'll add a few comments as well.. The cars retail for around $150, you DO get what you pay for. The engine is not the best and is a bugger to tune(although apparently a change to an OS carbie makes a biiig difference). You want something thats 99% perfect out of the box, then go for the bigger brands. You wont have to touch it and you can wheel it out every weekend and it`ll go, but if you want a cheap basher, that goes right out of the box without too much hassle AND that you can fiddle with and make it better without worrying that your throwing your $500 investment away, then Smartech takes some beating.
Plus you can bet your life that there A LOT of owners out there, given the price they sell for.

When people say "they break easily, they are cr*p", try driving your Toyota road car or your nice Honda into a curb @ 30MPH +, cartwheel it a few times and then slam into a tree and see if anything breaks. Bet it will, so why should the Smartech be any different, hell drive your bling bling all ally Savage at a curb fast enough and parts will bend and break!
People can argue that all the add-ons and fixes that ive done, I could have purchased a Kyosho or HPI for the same price...but my answer would be...wheres the fun in that!!??

Buy one if you want a cheap, fun nitro basher that can be uprated with some work if you want
DONT buy one if you dont want a car thats 100% perfect out of the box or want a challenge.

Just my 5c