Looking to do some club racing this spring, I'm changing my focus to durability more than performance. I want to be somewhat competitive but most importantly, I want the buggy to remain rock solid withi minimal upgrades/replacement parts. I really feel this takes some of the fun out of the hobby. (IMO)

Which of the buggys listed in your experience has held up the best? I listed the Turmoil Pro as I can get a pretty good deal locally on one new.

Thanks for your advice.

HYper 7.

Another useless poll. And whoever voted for the 8ight RTR is a clown.

Please enlighten me why this is a useless poll? What are your experiences with the above listed buggies?
Thanks.

It's useless because people vote for what they own, it's always the way its been, you've been here since 2003 and you should know that.

I've driven a RC8 and Turmoil Pro, I've raced with 8ight RTRs and seem them fall apart (the race roller is better on the other hand) and I own a MBX5R, I have pretty good experience with your listed buggies I think.

I've been out of the hobby for almost 5 years so forgive my lack of knowledge of how people vote.

Rev, You've been around for a while and seem to know what you're talking about, how about giving me your honest opinion now on the question? And to others voting here's a plea, please vote on what you've seen at the track etc. holding up the best, not simply what you own. Thank you!

(there, that should produce some accurate results now

Of course I'm gonna be biased towards my MBX5R and there is no denying that its a VERY durable buggy and very fast and well made buggy as well, anyone that thinks differently is fooling themselves. But again everyone has their preferences. I'm honestly not too fond of the 8ight, it's great and people love it, sure it wins races (arguable because its 99% of the time, the driver) and again I've never driven one, but I don't like its included features and layout even as a race roller it lacks the quality and features of buggies like the MBX5R and XRAY XB8EC/808. I haven't had enough time with the Turmoil pro to recommend it.

Again you can say I'm just saying this cause I'm some what biased and since I own one, but it's near impossible to hurt a MBX5.

the Xray is a very durable car that needs little or No Hopups & is competitive out of the box
the new 808 will be out in 6 weeks or so is obviously a bit of an unknown quantity BUT it will be made with the same awesome materials as the previous cars & will ber the most up to date car design on the market
the EC is very good & there will be bargains to be had with places offloading them before the 808 arrives
personally i'd wait for the 808

as mentioned before the MBX5R is a very solid car, they are also well made & last well
the MBX5 platform has been with us a while now & appparently there is a new car coming later in the year either before or after the Worlds in Charlotte NC
so if you were after a Mugen it might be best to wait a while?

ideally you don't want to buy a kit that will be out of date so to speak

anyway the original question was about durablility & from personal experience the Xray stuff seems better made & lasts longer than pretty much everything else out there!
i say hang on a few weeks & be one of the first guys on here with an 808, you won't be disappointed

I picked other, and here is why. Of the buggies you listed, the only ones I have raced against are Turmoils. (I have a Hyper 8) and Turmoils seem to have the most problems of any 1/8 scale in this area. Don't do it!

I have yet to see a RC8 in person, But I would be willing to bet they can't take a beating like most 1/8 scales. I say this simply because the RC8 was purely designed for racers. Associated did not factor in a 'n00b' factor or a bash factor when they built that car. You tell just by looking at it.

Mostly what people run here are Losi 8ights. I have yet to see one break. I'm talking 2 - 3 hard track days a week, some guys go through a gallon of fuel in a weekend... and they NEVER seem to have any problems.

My Hyper 8 is also pretty tough. I broke a c-hub last year because my loctite job on the knuckle bushing was sub par. The screw fell out, c-hub didn't have any support. So in that case were talking user error. I also broke a wing mount.. again I was using the wrong screws, user error. Other than that, I haven't broken anything that would point out a weak point on the Hyper.

So theres my 2 cents.. if you want tough, get an 8ight, or a Hyper 8.5.

JAMMIN HANDS DOWN

couldn't see that coming looking at your sig

HA HA

Another Xray vote here. They just stay together, it's unbelievable. Both my Xray cars had survived unsurvivable crashes, with little to no damage. Most incredible was clipping the grass during qualifying with my Xray NT1 at about 85kmh. Car rolled and bounced over 20 times (on asphalt), past the end of the straight over the grass and over the track fence, had to go round and get it from the edge of the off road track. [&:]

Damage: Body and 1 foam tire utterly destroyed, everything else, untouched. Not even a change in car setup. I also had an XB8R, considered the 'budget' xray buggy, and I raced that for a half season without breaking a single thing, EVER. Maybe it's partly the way I biuld the kits, but no doubt, they are great kits, the way they fit together and the materials quality. If I went back to nitro off road, it would be with an 808.

i had a turmoil rtr and now have the pro roller. I have raced this thing hard, the only trouble have had are ball ends popping off. you can add a washer between the ball and the cup to solve this problem. But most guys will agree if you can not drive good you will break something no matter what you own. I club race every week on pave ment and dirt, more dirt now, pave ment is hard on them. especailly with wooden ramps

Sorry but I have to laugh that the 8ight RTR has 18% of the votes on that poll right now.

Get the buggy that has the best support where you are going to race the most. If most people run one buggy more than others the hobby shop is going to have more spare parts for that buggy. If the hobby shop doesn't have the part most racers will give (or let you borrow) the parts if you need them.

Well, if it wasn't the option "other", then i would vote Mugen, BUT since it has the "other", i vote that. Why? Kyosho MP777 WC. If you look in my profile then you will see why. Sure everyone votes his own (almost) but what to do?

That would be because your opinion is not as common as you would like the guy who started this post to believe.

Everybody has their preferences, but the truth is, most 8th scale buggies are pretty darn tough. All the cars you listed are strong enough to handle a new driver. Pick one that appeals to you, and has good parts availability.

have you driven a jammin it is the toughest buggy

Hyper 8-8.5 ....bullet proof!

RevToTheRedline, what is your problem?Have you ever seen a magazine with the end results of the pro racers? I'm sorry but out of the top 5 there was 3 losi 8's. And no i dont have a Team Losi so dont try to tell me that, its called watching, reading, and more experience!! I was at my track last weekend and there was 2 losi 8's. one with a v spec, and one with an axial .28! both crazy powerful engines. they were absolutley HORRIBLE drivers. crashing into our fences coming off triples and flying aroud like monkeys from 9 in the morning to 5pm! Guess what? no broken parts? they have had that buggy since they came out with it and al they broke was an a-arm! So im gonna tell u straight up YOU ARE COMPLETELY WRONG!!!!! Oh and to answer the forums question i picked other too just because of my opioin I put the Jammin X1CR. great buggy and loves gettin beat up!!!

2 of the guys who pit inder my awning ran them the past 2 years & yeah they are pretty tough but they seem to wear out quick [:'(]
i also know a couple of other guys who bought them because of price & then bought other cars as they thought they were slow!
these were guys running them in A & B finals at National level who needed the few tenths a lap they were losing to other cars!
in fact only 1 guy in our crowd still has one & he's been spanking his monkey over the pics of the 808 so go figure [:-]

but yeah they are pretty durable at their price

Better end this thread guys. It starter to annoying many. Better stop. Some say their own best and some not. The conclusion will be a wrong one, in my opinion. Sure all buggies are really strong except the "no name" of course

+198723

I voted my Turmoil because it is what i have. However, even from the limited amount Ive driven it (probably), Ive had enough crashes to show that it is most durable than anything Ive owned (especially without mods). My worse crash was when my GF clipped a car tire at about 30-35 MPH. The only thing that happened was that one of the wheel bearings became a little wobbly, but I still drove it for several more tanks before repairing it. Every other problem Ive had with it was my fault (screws loosening, etc). But, Im pretty confident it wont give me any trouble racing on a track. Even with my Storm, the only time I ever really broke it was doing jumps that were way too big, and I am almost certain it would not have survived that run-in with the car tire.

But I agree that probably half of the people in this thread are just voting for what they have, hah. I say get whatever is within your budget and has good parts support!


BTW, how much would you get the Turmoil Pro for?

I cannot speak for all buggies as I have not owned them all but I do know my Hyper 8 with WELL over 9 gallons on it has been very durable! I am far from a good drive and I have wrecked it every way possible many times and have had VERY little breakage. I am so pleased with it I just built a Hyper 8.5.