i have had some excellent experiences racing 1/10 scale electric buggies several years back. i was the local champ. 1/10 scale nitro trucks were becoming popular at that time, but i never saw a 1/8 scale buggy. i had always perceived the 1/8 scale buggies to be hugely expensive. out of the blue, just yesterday, i purchased the hyper 7 pbs rtr. i read hundreds of threads on the ofna website, as well as this site. everyone raves about the buggy. I have very little experience with nitro anything. i purchased a high torque servo, and futaba fm radio to compliment the buggy. the buggy was cheap enough, $440 through ace hobbies, is this thing entry,entry level, or is it ready to be raced?

the great thing about the Hyper 7, is that even though it is RTR and rather inexpensive - it is easily a raceable buggy and can get a podium finish with a good driver. Electric STs are harder to drive in my opinion than an 8th scale buggy, so u should have no problem with it. the hyper 8port engine that it comes with is pretty powerful and will be adequate for entry level racing on all but the largest tracks. Alot of people invest in putting on an OS .21RG carburetor as the stock hyper 8port carb seems to be troublesome.

Other than that - good choice, and have fun.

this sucker was inexpensive, i won't have it in my hands for another week and a half or so, but what is expensive? i used to spend around a grand for the electric buggy with stock motors, magnum jr. radio, matched cells, charger, and all the graphite and titanium parts.

trust me - i also have well over 1000 in each of my buggies. When moving up to the Race Bred Kits and race engines it gets up there. Like I said, entry level and club racing will be perfect for the hyper 7 RTR. At that level, drving skill is so sporadic that a quality chassis and engine dont come into play as much. Once you move up and everyone can drive well, a newer race oriented buggy and engine will be more important. i have noticed that if you can get around the track without incident and without malfunction you can usually sit on the podium during club racing. I am currently running the R/C Pro Series, and at the warm up, the drivers were all keeping lap times very consistant. This is where handling and power play more of a role.

i also just purchased an HPI R40, because i thought sedan racing was more popular. i had no intention of buying anything other than the required accessories to complete the R40, but i am in korea, and the koreans love the big buggies. i will be here 5 more months and i want to run something. the dadgum hyper 7 pbs comes with lots of stuff i would need to finish the R40 anyway.

no problem. i recently switched from 10th scale touring to 8th scale open onroad. i was racing a reflex last year, and ran against alot of R40s towards the end of the series. they seem to be quite a good car too.

unrelated to the original topic, but are the ofna picco .12 engines up to snuff? i wasn't considering buying a $350 engine for the R40. will a $150 engine suffice for local racing? what about the ofna pipes and headers for .12 engines.

i would not recommend the picco.

if your budget is limited for the R40, go with the Mugen MR12. it will cost about 170.00 and is about the most potent engine for under 200.00 Other choices that ate good would be the Mugen MT12, OS .12TR, and Sirio .12TRP.

if im correct, doesnt the R40 come with ah pipe? if not, the THS once piece pipe is a good low cost option. I would recommend the RB Concepts X12 one piece pipe, though.

Well hello there. I see you chose the PBS then. Well you've already done the first step to getting thing to be reliable in replacing the steering servo. All I would sugest you get now are some Torsens F/C this will make the handling so incredible you would wonder why they aren't standard (I know you get one in the Pro kit). So yes it is really on the borderline of entry level and club racer. From the box It actually needs very little in terms of hop-ups to get you through to the Nationals (If your drivng is good enough). Also the tyres that come with the car are some of the best I have ever used on loose dirt and sand, so there is another saving. Just one thing though, don't even consider the laydown servo uprade as it will cost you more than it's worth in agro and replacement servos and horns.

the pbs is a great buggy, very fast, and handles great! the pbs is my first 1/8 but not my first nitro... tmaxx. i have upgraded it and i think the best mods are, mx-3 radio, but you have a new radio... rb 086 pipe (it won't fall off). and os carb/rb air filter more reliable...