I probably should have got a Traxxas E-Revo to start out with. After talking to the guys at the RC shop and comparing notes combined with the experience I have had from the Caldera, I might have had less frustration with the Traxxas. Traxxas parts are sold damn near everywhere, redcat is not. Aluminum parts for the Traxxas cost less than the Redcat. Redcat has minimal upgrading capabilities because Redcat doesn't make much for it. Not to mention, both steering knuckles have busted because the screw threads are too fine for a load bearing component. Also, the Traxxas has a better frame compared to the Caldera (which is a thick piece of plastic with a central aluminum member that extends from the front to the back) which has no real support. Torque on the Caldera body lifts the tire about four to five inches - essentially making it a three wheel drive in turns and losing steering traction so the truck spins out or flips.

The Caldera 10E has quite a bit of punch for the money ($250) but now it will cost me $200 plus to fix the issues I have had with the truck. You might be better getting an E-Revo. Just my thoughts though. I've only been doing this since August.

I'm actually thinking about moving up to 1/8 Nitro. I've got my eye on a beautiful Losi.

Hey, Losi has that new MT, with a GAS-powered, but nitro-sized engine. So you don't have to buy the ex$pensive nitro fuel. Just pump gas!

Sorry to hear about your experience with the Redcat Caldera. It's my belief that just about every RC has some weak link that needs to be modified. I had a similar problem with ball studs pulling out of the steering knuckles. A longer ball stud, kept by a nut, fixed that. But the suspension action you described doesn't sound right either. Yeah, it's a pisser having to wait for parts sometimes. But I've gotten to the point where I kinda know what spares I need to have on hand if something breaks or wears out. So I'm not usually in a position where I'm going "Crap, I NEED this part, and I gotta wait a week."

Another example: My OFNA Hyper 10TT. Thing's built like a tank. But the bumpers were a little small, and I kept snapping suspension arms if I had a bad tumble or cartwheel. "Geez, did I make a bad choice of car here?" But thanks to the forums, I learned that I needed a T-Bone Racing bumper set for it. Haven't broken a suspension arm since. And I still have bad tumbles or crashes.

Y'know, sending in resumes into companies, and spiking a company's interest in you.

My first true rc car that I brought with my own money after moving out was a $600 Great Vigor v2 o.s powered nitro 1/10 touring car.
I was a complete noob ant they got me good, I got sucked in bad, the version I got was down graded to 2wd and had a big fancy Ford Falcon V8 super car body.... Cuz I was a sucker I brought it purely on looks... Big mistake. Over the next few years I spent a small fortune on it converting it to 4x4 and a few other goodies.... Ten years later I sold it for $30 lol

Ofna is a pretty good brand,an offer good products at a reasonal price.I have 3 running Ld3's an one that still needs
to be built.
Cant go wrong with the Ofna brand!..

Haha. Now I realize just how stupid that question was.

LOL, no such thing as stupid questions, my friend.

Well last night I happened to pick up a Losi nitro. It's an older 1/10 XXX-NT RTR (not II) with a Mach .15 engine. I think most of the truggy is stock except for the graphite suspension members (with extras). I turned the crank and the piston moves up and down freely. Overall, it looks fairly well taken care of. Inside of the tank is clean, fuel lines are clean, servos seem to be fine, radio should probably be replaced but other than that, I think it was a good deal. I only paid $40.

You stold it at that price..Those are some great little trucks,an fun to run.I had the privaledge of going through
one for a guy.
It ran sweet.Theyre still fair a descent price used on ebay...

Heres the one that I recondition for a guy,the Tmaxx too.

Unfortantall those old second hand stadium trucks are not worth much....but u did get a good deal... I sold mine for that (xxx-nt AdamDreame edition) but.... But mine was missing a few parts (throttle linkage, diff, shocks,) so comparing that. U got a way better deal than the guy I sold mine to lol

Well, some time has passed but I found out why I got it for $40. The truck got wet and then sat. The AA batteries leaked and caused corrosion in the carrier, power switch is fried and so is the receiver. Servos are still good though. After about 2hrs and $15 dollars (new battery carrier and switch), the electronics are in good order. The old Futaba radio was only 75hrz, so I was already planning to replace it with a spare radio I had. I'll work on the tear-down - clean and rebuild later.

Picked up another RC today at the local hobby shop. The deal looked too good to pass up. Photos and description to follow tonight.

Ooo...wad ya get? wad ya get?!

Okay, short backstory:
I've been trying to decide what to get; either a new Losi 3.0 or a used 2.0 roller. After spending about 15min on the phone with Billy over at RC Hobbies in Houston, I decided to go with a 2.0 roller. I hung up the phone and called back about 5min later and asked if they have any used 2.0 buggies for sale. They just so happened to have a used 8IGHT 2.0 truggy for sale. The guy wanted $600. Billy gave me the guy's number and I called, offering $500 and picking it up tomorrow (the guy was originally asking $800, then dropped it to $600 after three weeks of nothing, then I called after another two weeks).

So here she is, in all her glory. A Losi 8IGHT-T 2.0 that has been converted to electric.


I spent some time on the phone tonight with the guy who sold the Losi (consignment) actually, and he gave me a bit more info. Apparently his buddy races nationally and he bought this a couple years ago to race with him. He converted it to electric, put in the motor and ESC, and never got around to actually racing. He bashed it a couple times and then it sat in a closet for over a year, so he decided to sell it. He said everything probably has 4 cycles on it. I'm going Saturday morning to pick up the boxes, manuals, extra wheels, etc.

Losi 8IGHT-T 2.0 converted to electric
Mamba Monster 2 motor and ESC
Airtronics MT-4 radio
SMC 4s LiPo
Protek RC 130T servo
The original body and stickers he never used
Oh, and batteries in the radio

I decided to snag it while I could. I may or may not do local races but I still wanted a Losi 8IGHT, and this looked like too good of a deal to pass up. I think it saved me quite a bit of money in the end. I took it out tonight and the darn thing is pulling wheelies! I wonder how much power it will have when I eventually upgrade to a 6s LiPo.

HOLY COW!! Did you get a deal or what?! Jeez, the radio alone is worth half of what you paid, and the truck conversion is SWEET! You are gonna dig that rig!

Yeah, I got lucky with this one. It's about $1200 in gear I'm guessing from searching the internet. I'm already in love with the truggy and even considered selling my Redcat. I need to put a fan on the Castle motor but that's it. This thing is ROCKING. The handling on it is awesome - a HUGE difference from my Redcat, and the power is incredible. The radio is wicked too.