ntrain42

Ive seen and played with the Savage XL and TA MGT 8.0 over the weekend at the LHS(THey dont carry Losi brand), so your right in one respect, I do need to drive a Losi in reality for a final verdict. But considering that it can be agreed upon that overall in general all 3 of these trucks are in reality the same quality class as each other, each with their own strengths and weakness's that doing research on the internet does have merit.

As a side note, concerning the Losi 454 engine. It is in reality a (rebadged for Team Losi) SH motor and its identical to the LRP badged spec.3 .28 engine with its own custom heatsink. There is no question on that whatsoever.

The .50 TA engine itself is really a rebadged Super Tiger engine, not bad itself either andbuild quality is going to honestly be about the same. Regardlessthe .50 is basically a converted heli engine and isgoing to have more low end torque, but the midrangeand top end will favor the smaller .28 IMO since inreality thesenitro buggiesare already spooling up the engine pretty high just gettingoff the clutch.AndIMO proper gearing and clutch slip is more important for these vehicles than a few extra cc's for a bit more low end torque. Again thats MYTAKE and MYOPINIONonly. Im sure other people have different views.

As for not being able to get my hands on an XXL to play with and compare to an MGT 8.0, my research does come in handy. On PAPER the XXL has a number of small advantages. It has a slightlylonger wheelbase and wider track for improved stability. It uses 4 large body shocks vs. 8 smaller ones which I feel would and should be a slight improvement for damping and rebound. It has a bit more useablesuspension travel as well and a bit more ground clearance. Then add in what I would consider a bit better steering setup using dual servos. A nicer 2.4ghz transmitter and reciever and it seems like a better product for the money spent. Is that necessarily the case? No, but indications points toward it. But being an HD mechanic and doing custom headwork for motorcycles for the past 15 years helps with knowledge and insight. What tends to improve performance on real life cycles and atv's also applies to the scaled hobby side as well. My question though is how goodthe plastics are thatthese vehicles use?My guess is they are probably comparable, just likeeverything else.

Youtube also has some videos which can also be informative, many timesgetting to see howstable a truck runs over ground, bumps etc, helps get a feel for thetrucks potential. Again, your right, its not like hands on, but its better than nothing. Again it can be a useful tool, esecially the videos posted that give good in depth "reviews" on the product in question. Ive seen a few whereinfo is given on the suspension setup, nitro content used, mods if anymentionedetcetc. etc. Again, nothing more than another useful tool to be used to make an informed decision.

And hey, your post comes off as offended by my threads. Seriously don't be.Im married with kids nearing the age of 40, my posts are not here to step on toes or offend, just merely speculation based on the facts presented. I used to be in this hobby hardcore back in the 80's and 90's, just getting back into it now(boats,bashing trucks and 1/8th scaleracing buggies and large scale as well), but I am an extremely fast study. Alot of things have changed, but many things, basic concepts etc.remain the same as well.

And since I want to spend my money right the first time, I make sure to do as much research as possible. Back when I was into this, we didnt have the internet. We were stuck with paper catalogues and the local hobby stores. And making countless trips down there to play with and do research on potential purchases, and if you had a lack of quality hobby stores in the area or they didnt carry products you were interested in, you were SOOL. THe internet and these forum boards are a serious luxury. People should encourage posts and threads comparing and nitpicking products. It makes everybody else's purchasing decision that much more informed.

cheers
Ntrain