my wife said i can buy a 1/8 scale buggy. i currently have the hpi savage ss that my daughter will be racing this summer. i have under $500 to spend. my local lhs can order just about anything. id like something thats easy to work on, durable, and has parts readily available. this will be both a basher and will be raced on the weekends. im a newbie to the sport so i dont need anything to advanced. ive always gotten great help from the guys on the threads. you guys race and bash so thats why im asking for help. you know what works and whats not worth your money to spend on. thanks...tim

get a hyper pbs or similar.. they have the hyper 8 port which is ok .. the carbs are hit or miss.. but the hyper is a very durable bug and competitive at an entry level.. should be able to pick up an RTR for around $450.. ish ..

no best buggy, but for under $500 i say sportwerks mayhem

I would say....1st-Mayhem.....2nd-hyper 7........3rd-x-terminator

The Mayhem is excellent out of the box for the money. It is prob a little better engine, radio, and handleing wise package than the hyper 7 is out of the box. The hyper 7 is a little cheaper and has plenty of parts availability. And the X-t is the cheapest but you get what you pay for.

the mayhem eh .. im going to have to check it out ..

my local lhs says the same for the mayhem. they also like to sell the kyosho 777 kit. would you buy it rtr or arr? is the pro mayhem better? what are the likes/dislikes? do you have any upgrades that youd do to start? rc car action had an article about the top ten rtr's. can i read it on the web? id like to buy used if i could to save some money. thanks...tim

It all depends upon whether the "under 500$" are supposed to cover everything - buggy, engine, radio, starting equipment, tools etc. or if it is just to cover the basic kit without engine and radio?

I really wouldn't buy used if I was you. The main reason being that as a user of such a serious RC car with advanced engineering (these things are not just set up and go like monster trucks), you need to have a complete understanding of it yourself, and this is learned mainly from either building the kit, or even if you get an RTR, to set it up for first use, breaking in the engine, setting the brakes, tweaking the servos and clutch, etc. These lessons are important if not only to give you an extra appreciation of the vehicle.

Also, of course, you can never know what kind of condition a second hand car is in, especially if you have little or no experience of the type of car you are looking at.

With regard to your choice of car, it all depends what you are planning on doing once you get past the bashing stage, and learn how to drive the thing reasonably well. If you may want to get into racing...seriously, take a look at the Hyper 7 PBS RTR kit, it has a lot of stuff for the money, and it's a competitive, legal racer straight out of the box, unlike the mayhem RTR, plus it's about $100 cheaper I just discovered.

That's my two cents...

Most used buggies require the same again spending on worn out parts, normally it costs more than buying new anyway, but for under $500 I recommend the Hyper 7 PBS, complete with a starter box and only really requiring a 12V battery and charger, 6V rx pack and charger and a Quality high torque servo for the steering.

First of all there isn't a big diff in the pro and rtr mayhem. You basically get some thicker shock towers, a lighter chassie, and a few other minor diff. If you get the rtr it comes with a .26 engine which is technicaly ileagal, but most tracks don't care. I have raced my buggy at several tracks around my area and no one is complaining even when I win! So far I havn't found anything I don't like about the mayhem. It is a great buggy and extremely fast and competitive. I am out runing mugens and 777s. I do like all the hop-ups that come standard. Also there is a bunch of setups on line for it. You can read the review online I believe. And if I remember correctly the mayhem won due to its great engine and excellent radio and servos. The engine that comes with the Hyper is kindof weak, and the starter box that comes with it is kindof low budget also. And the first thing you would want to do is change the steering servo. So by the time you change the servo you would have as much money in the hyper as you would in the mayhem and in my opinon the mayhem is a much better buggy. Some first hand upgrades I would do would be, order the threaded shock adjusters, change all the diff fluids, and get a 13 tooth clutch bell. By doing this you are garunteed a great handling buggy with lots of power. As far as buying used that is up to you. I bought mine used and it is doing just fine. Even if you buy the mayhem new you want be getting the experience of putting it together because it is pre-assyembled. If you do buy used I would suggest tearing the buggy down to its bare frame, clean everything up real good and enspect all the parts for wear or for breaks. This will familurize your self with the buggy and how it operates. This way if something does break (which is highly unlikely for the mayhem) then you will know how to fix it and you will know what tools you need to fix it! You do need to put a couple of days aside for this because it does take a while. And keep all your screws organized in groups cause there is alot of them! For some good info and set-ups go to www.horrizonhobby.com web site and read the sportwerks update article. It is very informatable. Good luck with your choice and like others have said you can't go wrong with any of them.

I am also thinking of getting a 1/8 buggy and was wondering what manufacturer makes the Mayhem, thanks and sorry for the stupid question.

would you choose the hyper 7 pcr? i already have a jr xr2 for a radio. but with all things considered, it looks like the mayhem might be the way to go. then my daughter and i could bash together at the same time. too bad ofna doesnt offer a better radio. what about a arr? then i could pick up a radio and other gear. does anyone offer arr with the motor? tim

sportwerks does, but the sportwerks rtr comes with an fm radio

1st question is does your hobby shop carry replacements parts for the buggy you decide on?

my lhs sells kyosho, ofna, and sportwerks but like most can order what you want. they have alot of mt parts on hand but buggy parts are to be ordered. this year hopefully theyll have a better selection.

You can get the Hyper7 without radio if you get it from rcmart.

Yes.

so far the choices have been the mayhem or the hyper 7. what are the big differences between the two? what makes it better than the other?

id say go for the mayhem. the steering is better and it has the lay down servo for it. its just (IMHO) better in all aspects. i had the hyper and had nothing but probs w/ the motor (8port) the carb sucks and it was a LOT of trouble and i can tune like no other. so for a beginner the mayhem would be more user friendly and its a notch up from the hyper. and as for the starter box that comes w/ it -ive heard many complaints on it also. so plan on getting a diff one and another motor if you get the hyper. and the mayhem has a great motor and it will hold a tune. it comes w/ a roto start that would be easier to carry when you bash. there is like 3 of them at our track and they hang or even do better than the $1500 dolla bugs.

well i have a 9.5 mbx, dont get that, thing breaks all the time

once again, just on a diff thread, i absolutely love my mayhem.....it seems to love the 30% eliminator fuel and only needs to be barely tweaked depending on ambient conditions. they are definately tough and i have had mine, no lie, up to 10 and 12 feet in the air. and it is fast, i think actually over 50 with the 9mm carb throat and the 30% fuel, but my friend with the pd hasnt had time to radar it for me yet. and they can be bought for less than the 550. i got mine for 460 after shipping and have heard of it for less.

Obviously you can't, the 8 port, if you follow the guide I posted the other day is a very easy mill to tune. The box that comes in the US version is trashy but the UK one is much better. The Hyper 7 does come with the laydown servos if you get the PCR and Roto starts are the cause of most one way bearing failures. TBH the Hyper 7 is definately the best VFM on the market. And it did TQ at the worlds last year.

worlds shmroulds? if you want a "kids toy" get a hyper and hate it. if you want a race level bug that will STAY running then get a Mayhem. and you cant tune the un-tunable? they are cr@p.

how about the new jammin' x1?

Definitely Look into the Jammin X1 RTR. A VERY good choice for what you seem to be wanting to do.