Boomslang

Hi all

I need your help. In 2 weeks time I want to buy an off-road car/truck from Tower. The problem is I don't have any experience with cars, only about 3 years experience with glow/electric planes, so this is all new to me. I would appreciate it if you guys can help me put together a nice package of all that I would need with the Tower stock numbers.

I've been reading a lot the last few weeks, but I just don't know what to get. The 3 trucks I've got a liking in are:
RC10T4
TXT-1
Savage 4.6 X SS

I would prefer electric (but from what I've read the performance is a bit low), as that gives me more options on where I can ride with the truck, but if there is no other way I would go nitro. Where I stay, I will almost always ride on dirt/grass/rocks, so the truck must have good ground clearance as well as not break every other day because I have to import replacement parts. Almost forgot to add, it must be in kit form as I like to build stuff.

My budget is $800 (excluding stuff like batteries, paint etc. (dangerous/flammable goods) which I can't ship with UPS from Tower to South Africa.)

If someone here is willing to help me and I choose the package he put together, I will buy him/her a $35 gift certificate from Tower.

rcxboy

Well, you could always go brushless for your budget i would think if you went with a T4. But the T4 is a dedicated track racer, but you could still bash it well, but it wouldn't have as much durability as the Savage or TXT-1.

Does the budget include radio gear and charger? I assume so. Radio gear - i recommend a FM system, or even a 2.4ghz system (FM - good reception, better than AM, but 2.4ghz is the future and airtronics has just released a 2.4gz mx3)

I can't really be bothered putting together a full package atm, i'll let someone else do that. sadly my cynical side doubts the gift certificate /curses self.

Boomslang

Thanks, for the reply, lets wait for the next reply then. Whats the prob with the gift cert?

**MilkMachine**

I would suggest the Savage 4.6 X SS over all of those cars, that car will take hell. It is the most durable car that I have ever owned. But it is a Nitro. I don't quite understand were you are going with the you can go more places with electric then nitro. You can do just as much if not more with a nitro then an electric, but I guess of course you couldnt trive it in your livingroom. I would suggest Nitro because its so much fun, just the smell of nitro is. Go for the Savage 4.6 X SS kit with a Nice radio system. here ill make you a list.

Savage 4.6 X SS towerhobbies part #LXMYA2

For a remote system I would strongly suggest the Airtronics MX-3 3 channel reciever and controller. I ran this controller for about 3 years in 2 of my cars and its fantastic! The transmitter includes the remote and the receiver, it even has some misc. crappy servos that you can have for backup parts! Here is a model number! LXCHA9

Servos for that car are gonna need to be the ****, its a 1/8 scale kit and let me tell you its gonna scoot, so some high torque servos for steering and throttle.
I would purchase 2 of these Futaba S3305 servos for this car. They have metal gears and pulls about 150 oz per inch. thats plenty well at moving speeds. (Towerhobbies model number LXDWF8)

With that kit that I picked out all you will need is batteries and nitro.

Total Price so far- $639.96! Still under your budget!

$696.41!

You will have on hell of a car if you go with this plan, its actualy almost similar to my 1s gen salvage! but let me know what you think! Ill be back!

But there is some spare parts that you will def need in the process of breaking in and bashing the hell out of your new vehicle!

Your gonna burn plugs while trying to tune that engine since it will be your first rc TRUCK that you will be messing with so pick up 2 of these awesome glow plugs LXDTK6 its all I run in my vehicles!

also you will want to get a glow ignitor if you dont already have one, I would suggest LXVZ06

your gonna need a hump pack to strap in the back of that car for power, I would suggest a rechargable HPI 5-cell 1200Mah pack, they have great life and are greatly priced!
LXFJT1

a charger for the hump pack would be nice LXHCF1

Thats all the NEED to haves for this truck to get you going.

total price!
$696.78 you cant beat that, have fun bashing and let me know what you think!

dickdom

i suggest you go for the e-savage it is electric. it goes 40mph thats quite a quick car.

dickdom

Philster

You should look beyond just Tower. They don't have all the brands (which are distributed by others).

For example, sticking with Tower, you'd never get to see trucks from Sportwerks or Losi...or Kyosho for that matter.

For the dough you are talking about, you could get the Losi LST2. Horizion Hobby and HobbyPeople are worth a look, and if your fancy includes buggies and truggies, I'd give amainhobbies.com a whirl. Your budget can get you some serious hardware (Kyosho, etc).

Team Dominion

You Might want to check ou tthis listing on eBay It looks like everything you would need to get started.

Everything you can imagine is in there Item number: 200041715313

-Inverted-

Hello BoomSlang,
This in my opinion would be an ideal package for your environment.

Traxxas E-Maxx
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=LXVS28**&P=ML
Superbrain 977
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXLCJ6&P=ML
Batteries (6)
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXMCZ0&P=7
CVD's (2)
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXUR79&P=7

That is $861 INCLUDING batteries, you said your budget didn't include your batteries. In my opinion you cannot beat this truck for what you will be doing, you will have SO much fun. For an extra $95 we can throw in an extra charger to make sure you always have batteries charged. If you would like a few hop ups I reccomend these
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXVV08&P=ML
and these
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXBPD3&P=7
these (front)
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXVV00&P=ML
(rear)
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXAMZ1&P=7

You would absolutely LOVE this setup.

CustomTamiyas4Life

My Feedback: (34)

I would exclude the T4 as it's very low and made to live on a track and will not take as much abuse or have the most desired performance on choppy ground. The savage x is descent in the fact that it's tough and is pretty fast, but not a rocket. It may break your budget after radio gear and fuel though. I believe the TXT best fits your needs. It's in kit form like you want, and it's a tamiya kit. Tamiya has probably the best instructions and most enjoyable kits build wise. That specific truck it large to tackle terrain and is tough as nails. Stock it will out terrain almost any stock truck out there minus the category of speed. Don't get m wrong though, with a descent motor /battery combonation it's a very fun truck. It's also capable of 4 wheel steering and has tons of possible modifications ranging from a racer with a tube or carbon fiber chassis, to a full bore rock crawler. Picture Stock Number Manufacturer and Product Description




Stock Number Manufacturer and Product Description Order Qty Ship Qty Back Order Qty Price Each Remove From Cart
LXAWE0 Tamiya TXT-1 Monster Truck 4WD Kit
Accessories Needed Combo Available
1 359.99
LXJAC0 Novak Super Duty XR ESC

1 139.99
LXJ766 Great Planes ElectriFly S-600 7.2-8.4V Ferrite Motor

2 15.99
LXUZ89 Hitec HS-645MG High-Torque 2BB MG Servo
Qty Discount Available
1 39.99
LXGAG290 3PM FM R133F NO SERVO 90
Accessories Needed
1 119.99
Sub-Totals: In-Stock Items: $691.94
Back Orders: $ .00


Combined: $691.94


This is a good combo for a txt-1 and descent speed. It it 100 dollars below budget, then with a tower coupon it's even better.With the motors listed, you should be able to do 25-30mph. The only other thing I would get is thicker shock oil like 50wt to improve high speed stability as it is solid axle truck after all.

This is just a suggestion, hope it helps with you decision making.

slink1

Well done! I agree with this suggestion.Tough truck has ground clearance. From the description of what you need & where you'll be driving it would be hard to beat this suggestion.

TheLinkster

Im not that good with picking stuff for other people but here I go.

Its only 2WD but from what I hear its the perfect Basher.... Traxxas Stampede.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXNJJ0**&P=0
Some good battery's http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLZK6&P=0
Good charger that can charge Li-Po if you decide to go that route. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXMAH9&P=ML (It will need an 12V powersupply)


Or if you want 4wd...
The E-Savage... http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXPCH5&P=0
And thoes same batterys and the charger Inverted posted.

Boomslang

Hi all

RealTrucksDont... Both are RTR, I really like to build stuff, that why I got into planes in the first place (+-600 hours building time for a good scale model!)

Slink1... The Traxxas E-Maxx is RTR as well.

MikeMachine.... I like you package the most, only prob is I would really prefer electric as they don't allow noise where I stay, but I will go nitro if all else fails.

Inverted.... RTR as well....

CustomTamiyas4Life.... I think your pakage would be the best option for my needs.
What performance gains would I have if I go for the Novak brushless (only one motor I think) instead of the Electrifly setup? One down side is that it will be over my budget....
Is there anyone here that used the electrifly setup you proposed?

Philster.... I will have a look at those sites.... what I like about Tower is that you have instant shipping charges and they don't have any probs. to ship international.

-Inverted-

I would strongly advise against the TXT. It is a rock crawler, and that is it. If your going to rock crawl, get it; if not you will get bored quick. Also, to run brushless you will need two motors. I did not know you wanted a kit, you did not state that in your original post. Honestly there is not really anything that fits your ctiteria. All the decent electric monster trucks come in ready to run form. If you absolutely must have a kit your options would mainly include touring cars, stadium trucks, and buggy's. Neither would fit your situation very well. I still reccomend the E-maxx, but that is just my opinion.

R/C fan-addict

Well it all depends on what you want to run on and what your budget is. The Savage X SS is a kit and requires servos, a radio, and starting equipment. It is a great truck but it will cost a lot. My reccomended setup for the savage X ss is this:

Kit ( http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXMYA2&P=ML )

3 channel radio ( http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLZP2&P=7 ) The 3PM is a very nice radio and the synthesized
version is even better since you do not need crystals to change channels. I'm thinking of buying it myself. If you have more money for a radio I highly reccomend you check out the nomadio sensor. Unlimited Engineering ( http://www.unlimitedengineering.com/...e/NOM-104.html ) sells it for $360 with an additional receiver included for free. The sensor also operates on a 2.4ghz frequency which means no interference from other cars or other objects and no interference from a servo or ESC or motor on an electric car. Both of these radios do not include servos. If you get the speedmart catalog there is a coupon for something like $10 off the 3PM I believe.

Steering servos:

For servos I reccomend you get something like this for steering: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDWF8&P=7
If you have a little more money something like this would also be a good idea: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXUZ80&P=ML
If you have a lot of money than this is probably one of the best servos on the market: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHZS1&P=7
The last servo has high torque and is also pretty fast so it is the absolute best for steering

Throttle servos:

a cheap servo: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXVW07&P=ML
This servo is strictly budget, it won't bite down very hard on the brakes and isn't particularly responsive, it's cheap though

mid range servo: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDTB3&P=7
a little more performance over the first servo for a little more price

high end servo: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDWF8&P=7
This servo is a little overkill on throttle and brake duty, but it will bite the brakes hard and is so so responsive.

Running equipment:

For running equipment you'll need a few things. First a glow starter, second spare glow plugs, third fuel, fourth a battery and charger for the rotostart, and fifth a fuel bottle

Glow starter: This isn't a very important choice but there are several models avialable so pick one that's good for you. A standard rechargable one like this is the most popular and is good for all around use: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXSF52&P=7
Some come with a battery meter on top like this one: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJ802&P=7
Most glow starters come with chargers. Other glow starters can use alkaline batteries:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXUM80&P=7
or
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXKLM2&P=7
just pick one you like

Spare glow plugs: All nitro kits include or should include a glow plug. Still it's always a good idea to keep a couple spare plugs since sometimes a plug can burn out after just the first run! You don't want a cold plug as they are only really good for running in high heat conditions and they will mess with the engine timing. A hot plug is a good idea if you will be running in the winter. Here is a hot plug that I reccomend:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXABK7&P=7

For general purpose though a medium plug is the best idea. Something like this will do fine: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXAAX2&P=7


Fuel: fuel choice is very important for the life of your engine. 10% nitro is really not a good choice as it can damage your engine and will give you very low power. 30% is mostly for racing and it costs a little extra. It gives you the highest power. Most people will buy 20% fuel as it is a nice balance of performance and price. Here's what I'd suggest for 20% fuel:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXTT04&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXMGE5&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJM38&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXNE12&P=7

For the rotostart you don't need any fancy batteries or a charger. A simple wall charger like this one will do: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXL342&P=7
For a battery a simple stick pack will do. Something like this is cheap and has a lower capacity: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXHUJ8&P=ML
Something like this has a higher capacity: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHUJ9&P=7

A fuel bottle is an easy choice, just pick the cheapest. 250ml is plenty big so here's the cheapest on tower: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXBDU5&P=7

Another thing you'll need for running equipment is a glow plug wrench to remove the glow plug from the engine, it's also good for taking off the wheel nuts. Here's a standard one that's pretty cheap: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXL387

Hop ups for the savage: What I am about to list I won't really consider hop ups as they are pretty much necesary to run your car properly. The first is a fail safe. It will apply brakes or just let off the throttle if you battery runs out or your radio signal is lost. Here's a standard failsafe: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHUH6&P=7
another choice is this one: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXHLV3&P=ML

The next item is a temperature guage. This tool is vital to the engine life and to the first time tuner. It will help you see if you are in the ball park range for proper tuning. There are 2 styles that are popular. Onboard and laser. Onboard is usually cheaper and is mounted on the truck. I prefer onboard temp guages as they record the temp the whole time they are on not just when you pull over the truck and check the temp. The other style is a little handheld unit which you point at the engine head and it tells you the temperature on a little LCD display. Here are a few examples of onboard guages: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXHUH2&P=ML
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGZK7&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHEM4&P=7

Some examples of a laser temp guage:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXEMG5&P=ML
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKAX3&P=ML
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXPEX7&P=7

One thing I highly, highly suggest that will also save you some money is a combination temp guage and failsafe. There is only one on the market that I know of but if your engine gets hotter than a preset temp then the failsafe will kick in. This is a very good thing to have as an extra layer of engine protection. Here's the combination display: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJTW3&P=7

The last item I highly suggest you buy is a rechargable receiver pack. The stock 4 AA box will work but the batteries will die soon and replacing them often can cost a lot! Here's what I use on my savage: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXFJT1&P=ML
Here's a higher capacity pack: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXMEY1&P=7
Here's a really cheap, but okay quality pack: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLFX1&P=7

Then there are other hop ups like shock towers, exhaust pipe, wheels and tires, etc. But those are more of a personal taste so I will leave those up to you. What I can suggest are the engine stop from HPI, the 3 speed tranny from HPI, and the lexan radio cover. I suggest before you go out and buy aluminum hop ups, drive the car and after you break a part replace it. It's the best way to know where a weak spot is and then strengthen it.

That pretty much concludes my long post on the savage X ss. I'll write about the T4 and the TXT-1 in another post.

Patrick_W

I would have to recommend the e-maxx. The savage is a great truck, ive always wanted one, but im beginning to grow sick of nitro.. i have 2 nitros an many more electrics, and my electrics just get so much more usage, because the old lady down the street doenst come out and yell at me.. i dont like to get the old lady mad, she might hit me with a broom..... again [sm=bananahead.gif] Also, i would suggest the T4 (not to go against everybody elses suggestions), if you stick a set of masher 2000s on it, it can tackle some terrain.. If you got the factory team kit, and a mamba max brushless (i had to stick that in there, i am a brushless freak.. and a castle creations freak..) it would rip, and rpm makes parts for it, which is the toughness side of it.. it would be raceable too. Its fairly cheap in comparison to the others.. its just somthing to conisder.

R/C fan-addict

The TXT-1 is more of a crawler truck than a monster truck. I would reccomend you look into something like the e savage or the emaxx instead. For one the TXT includes only a mechanical speed controller which is very low end and should be immediately replaced. That adds a good chunk of money to the price. Also is must be built and isn't exactly fast or well handling as other monster trucks are. It is built to crawl over things and can be built into an all around monster truck but that requires a lot of money!

The esavage or ezilla: both the ezilla and esavage are pretty much identical. One comes with a truck body and carries the savage name, the other a buggy body and the zilla name. Both a good trucks though they are not very much like the savage. For one they are 1/10th scale, not 1/8th like the nitro savage. I can't tell you much about the trucks as I do not own one, but they seem to be decent and pretty speedy too. I'm sure you can find scores of threads on the emaxx and ezilla.

The emaxx: I personally own an emaxx so I can tell you lots about it! The chassis design itself is somewhat outdated but with a few hop up parts it can be quite robust. First lets start with the basic requirements though.

The emaxx needs a 2 battery packs and a charger to run. You can choose a single charger which will require you to remove one battery from the charger after it is full and put the other battery on. Or you could opt to buy a dual charger which will cut charging time in half. A few examples of a single charger:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCLD5&P=ML
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXAVN1&P=ML
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXUF43&P=ML

These are all peak chargers which means that they will top off a battery to its absolute full. After a battery reaches its maximum capacity the voltage will take a slight dip. The charger will detect this dip and then stop charging, leaving you battery at its peak capacity. A timed charger is something you want to stay away from though. This type of charger requires you to set a timer every 15 minutes and can severly damage your battery packs by overcharging them. The extra $15-20 that a peak charger costs more than a timed charger is definitely worth it! I can reccomend the MRC 959 as I own one and it is a decent charger. It can charger up to 4.5 amps and overall does its job well. Some higher end chargers that I can reccomend are as follows:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJXJ0&P=7
This charger is very capable and also includes a discharger function which is good for maintaining pack voltage or reviving a dying pack. One thing it does not include is an LCD but it instead has LED indicator lights.

my second reccomendation is this charger: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXUF46&P=7
It is a good all around charger and is very capable, it includes an LCD display and has several more functions over the other charger. I own this charger and it is very nicely made with an aluminum case and is of high quality. It also includes a 5 year warranty!

Dual chargers: Dual chargers aren't as common on the market but here is an example of a good dual charger:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXXG87&P=7
standard features, nothing too exciting. It's very similiar to the cheap peak chargers except for that it has dual charging outputs.

Batteries: as I said before the emaxx requires dual battery packs to function. These are some packs that I can highly reccomend: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCUH3&P=ML
I own 6 of these packs. They are a great balance between cost, performance, and capacity. There are high performance packs on the market for the emaxx but for a single pair of those packs you can expect to pay over $120 so I think these packs are the best option for a basher. I would buy 2-3 of these sets so that you can run for a while without having to charge again and again.

The emaxx has decent servos and radio so there is no need to replace either of those. The few things I would replace are listed below:

motors
shock towers
bulkhead braces
bulkheads
shock caps
hinge pins
electrical plugs

While this may be a little big of a list the parts are well worth it, and I presume that since you live in Africa you don't want to be buying parts that break every other week and have to pay huge shipping fees. For motors I reccomend the s-600 motors: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXJ766&P=ML
You can find many posts by me on these motors. They are great performers. The stock speed is around 25 mph on 12 cells. With these motors you can expect to see speeds touching 35 mph! You will need to drop 2-3 teeth on the pinion gear though as not to overgear the motors. Another suggestion I'll make while we are on the subject of motors is a heatsink. This will aid in cooling and extend motor life, here is a cheap option that I have on my s-600 motors in my emaxx: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?&I=LXJD62

The next part is the shock towers. These break quite easily with any jumping you might do with your emaxx. RPM makes some nice shock towers that I have on both the front and rear end of my emaxx, they offer a warranty that if you break the part they will replace it for free! They come in 3 colors, black, blue, and purple. Here's the black tower: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXBBB7&P=7

The next part is bulkhead braces. The stock part is not very strong and will cause your bulkhead to break prematurely. Here's what I suggest: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXXJ84&P=7
This part also comes in 3 colors and with the warranty.

The next part is the bulkhead inself. This part can break easily in a head on crash or a forcefull blow to the wheel. An aluminum upgrade is in order for this part. The cheapest option is this one for the front: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXKVH0&P=7
and this for the rear: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXKVH2&P=7

The stock plastic shock caps break easily so you should order a set of aluminum caps: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXJG94&P=ML

The hinge pins which hold the a arm to the bulkhead bend quite easily on the emaxx so a titanium upgrade is fit. Lunsford makes a nice set for pretty cheap: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXEMC9&P=7

The emaxx uses high resistance plugs to connect the batteries to the ESC and to connect the ESC to the motors. These should be replaced with a lower resistance plug such as the deans plugs: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKX39&P=ML

Your emaxx will bring you a huge grin on your face with these few hopups! I love my emaxx and with these couple items I guarantee that you will have a great time with your emaxx.

I'll continue on the T4 next post.

R/C fan-addict

The Associated T4 is also a very good truck. I reccomend you buy the deans plugs I linked in the emaxx post and the charger I also linked.
I wouldn't reccomend the RTR T4 as it is on the slow side with its stock electronics. Instead I would buy the Team edition: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXFAB6&P=ML

This kit does not include electronics so you'll need to buy those seperately. For the radio I again suggest the 3PM synthesized. While a 3 channel is not necesary it is a good idea to have the extra channel in case you buy a car that requires a third channel, like the emaxx or the savage is a reverse module is used. For steering this servo will do well: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXNRP9&P=7
It has less torque than the servos I recomended for the savage since the T4 is a lot smaller and lighter and it is also higher speed so that reponse time is better.

For an ESC something like this is a good choice for medium performance and a good price: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLHE2&P=7
For a motor, something with decent brush life and good performance would be this motor: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJGW9&P=7

I don't own this motor but it is highly reccomended by people who I have spoken to who own it.

One option you should consider on the topic of ESC and motor is brushless. Brushless motors boast high speed and virtually no maintenence. They are quite expensive though. There are a couple popular options that would be good for the T4. The first is the novak GTB and 6.5R motor. This setup offers good speed and acceleration and the GTB speed controller is very high quality. I own one with the 4.5R motor and it is a very good quality setup. The second option is the LRP sphere ESC with a neo 3 star motor. This is very much like the novak but costs a little more. The third setup is the Castle Creations mamba max 5700 system which is the newest and cheapest of the systems but offers probably the best performance. It allows you to hook up the ESC to your computer and program many features to adjust it to your personal preferences.

With the motors I suggested comes high current draw which puts a heavy load on your batteries and connectors. As I suggested before, you should switch to deans plugs as they have a lot less resistance than tamiya or bullet connectors. For batteries I can't reccomend the Orion 3000mah packs that I suggested for the emaxx since these packs are lower quality and won't take extreme loads very well. Instead I suggest something like this:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXKAT7&P=7
or this: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJZD1&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLZK6&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHXU5&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLYZ5&P=7

any of these choices will do well in the T4. I can't say as to what hop ups you should buy as I've never owned a stadium truck before. I hope my 3 posts helped you decide what truck to get.

-Inverted-

4 votes E-maxx, do I win.

Reagan_Lathan

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLZP2&P=7 179.99 Radio Futaba 3PM-FS Pro (No crystals needed)

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDKP4&P=M 34.99 Battery for Radio NiCad

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXNK66&P=M 16.99 Charger for Battery in Radio

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHKB0&P=M 29.99 Digital High Torque Servo

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LL5113&P=1 239.99 Novak Brushless System

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXEX34&P=M 10.99 Robinson Pinion Gears

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFAB6 184.99 RC10T4 KIT!

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0161p?&I=LZ0951 144.97 Charger & 2 4200 NiHm Batteries





842.90 before taxes


That should fall into your budget and it is ALL HIGH END STUFF!!! This is what I would get for about well a complete set up. The truck is 2WD however but it is a KIT.

Happy hunting!

Infinite Gundam

If you are looking for monster trucks, take a look at [link=http://www.kyoshoamerica.com/carsandtrucks/monstertrucks/30521.asp]Kyosho's Twin Force[/link], the only MT in the league of the E-Maxx and E-Savage, and in kit form.

ElToroLoco.

to tell you the truth, there are not many kits any more, rtr has mainly taken over. Only the race cars and factory team cars(trucks) are kits.

pacotaco

The battle for $35

Roscco

I hope this doesn't offend anyone as it's not intended too,

I have never seen so many detailed responses to a thread essentially asking 'what truck'. Some of you guys have clearly put alot of effort into your posts and should be commended as such, but have you done it to help a fellow member out or because you stand to gain? Where as it's incredibly decent of Boomslang to offer a gift certificate for receiving some help, my concept of our community and indeed forums in general was to share experience, and help others in the name of bettering our (or any other) hobby.

Looks like RCU is taking a step down IMO[]

Reagan_Lathan

Myself I could really care less about a "gift certificate" and would just hope the person gets a good set up within his price range. I also wanted to make sure that he did not really forget anything that is necessary just to start up. Now if he was offering several free high end LiPo's with an ICE charger that would be another story.