Now you've got me urning for another vehicle. I'm gonna end up devoriced yet!

I'd like a 1/8 scale buggy. Doesn't have to be 4WD, but it can be. I'd like one in a kit (one I have to assemble) without an engine or radio. Remember, I have an RC 10GT now, so it must be something durable, something that parts are readily available for (both replacement and mod parts), and hopefully not too expensive. Is anything like this available? I might want to try out the Fantom .21 when it comes out for the buggy.

hehehe....grampi....just remember.....you deserve it!

When I talk with my wife....and explain that I am buying "another rig".....she just looks at me and says....that's nice. Her sister has horses....and spends allot of $$$$ on them....so my hobby in comparison is nothing according to the Mrs. God I love this woman!


I did a quick search on Tower Hobbies and only saw a few buggies that are claimed to be in "kit form"....but my taste and yours may be miles apart. I think it's time to call in the hard core buggy guys!

OK....ALL YOU HARDCORE BUGGY GUYS......WHO MAKES A BUGGY KIT???....AND ONE YOU WOULD RECOMMEND???

OK....grampi....tell your wife.....it was USA HOBBIES that did this to you! If you tell her it was my fault....then she's going to monitor how much time you spend on here and who your talking to. We want her to "LIKE" RCU......and all of the RCU members who really do understand your predicament.

I'm here for you grampi!

Now...go order that kit!

Sure, just keep telling me to cross the street when the light says "don't walk." Don't worry, I won't let my wife know you're influencing me.

I've noticed the same thing you mentioned. There doesn't seem to be a lot of buggy kits available. I wonder why. Are buggies not as popular as stadium trucks? Personally, I think buggies are cooler, but that may not be the majority opinion.

I think buggies are more for racing than for bashing around?

I have a buggy....it's a Duratrax BX buggy....and I really don't enjoy it...for the kind of driving that I prefer. I enjoy taking my rigs off-road...more on rougher trails (when weather permits)....and I tried that with my buggy and it didn't handle it well. Of course...in it's defense...if I had set it up differently...other than keeping it stock....I'm sure it would have handled allot better.

yep buggies dont have the ground clearence to tackle the rocky terrain. grampi have you considered a monster truck or a touring car? Im not trying to change your opionion just letting you know whats out thier.

The Kyosho Inferno 7.5 is an excellant buggy, it comes in kit form and the quality and performance is unmatched, IMO. but its not cheap. Dont think many 2 wheel drive 1/8 buggys are out, mostly 4 wheel drive. Like Crash said, 1/8 buggys are more for racing because of the speed and performance over 1/10 scale. If you go for the 1/8 scale you will probably want to sell your rc 10!

OK grampi.....it's time to RUN....NO WALKING ALLOWED!

Forgive me for questioning, but the ground clearance doesn't look to be any better on the RC 10 than any of the buggies, and it does just fine for bashing around.

I looked through Tower's buggies, and I didn't see any that didn't come with an engine, a radio, or both. Where can I find just the unassembled kits?

Are Mugens any good? How 'bout Ofna?

Heck I am just about to finish mine (yes I'm letting the whole world know).. I'll let you know how it goes!
I ahve the Mugen Works with a Rossi motor. Cost about 700
-ram

That's pretty pricey, definitely out of my league. I think I'm seeing one reason stadium trucks are more popular, they're quite a bit less expensive. Why are buggies so expensive? Are their drive trains more expensive because they're 4WD? What is it?

Grampi.. How about one of these.

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/701802.asp

or spend a little more cha-ching and get one of these.

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/145601.asp


Or you can go with an Ofna product which I really like.

http://www.nitrohouse.com/ofna_ultra_lx_pro.htm
http://www.nitrohouse.com/ofna_ultra_mbx_rtr.htm

I've heard more bad than good about Duratrax vehicles. Never heard of the other one at all. From what I've been able to find so far, the Ofnas seem to be the best thing going, pricewise anyway. They have a kit that's 80% assembled, no radio, no engine, on Tower's site for $239, I think. They look to be built pretty sturdily. How is parts availability for the Ofnas? I would think that buggy, coupled with the new Fantom .21 would be a screamer!

I've been racing 1/8 scale buggies for quite a few years now. I've raced Ofna, Kyosho, and GS. Right now, if you're looking for good bang for your buck, check out the GS Storm Pro. You can pick up the chassis for less than $350 (comes with all the performance parts you're going to need for quite a while - thickest shock towers I've ever seen too). The kit builds easily (I have 2 of them - my primary car and my back-up).

Since it doesn't come with an engine, you can go with whichever engine you choose (like the new fantom 21 you mentioned).

I've done some serious abusing on my racer, and I've only sheared 2 bolts on the front suspension.

The one Tower has for $239 is the Ofna Ultra MBX R2. Is this one any good? I went to Ofna's web site, and they have a lot of pictures of this kit. It looks beefier than he11!

i8tweety

Who sells the GS, Tower doesn't have it?

http://www.generalsilicones.com/index_rc.html

Tower hobbies doesn't sell the car because it's distributed through horizon hobby (one of Great Planes competitors).



Here's the link to Horizon Hobby

http://horizon.hobbyshopnow.com/prod...p?prod=GSC2004

As the distributer, the prices they have on their site is MSRP, not street price.

I'm not sure who sells it on-line. I picked up both of mine from my local hobby shop.

I would have to say the GS Storm is very durable. I've thrashed mine since I got it and it just keeps going and going. Of course i've had to replace a few parts but I can't believe the abuse it can take. Very durable.

my gt has almost 2" ground clearence

Also Grampi, don't forget that the Monster Gt will be released soon, I won't forget.

I'm with you grampi... This hobby is killing my credit cards!

Right now i'm lusting for a 1/10 on-road touring, a 1/8 4WD buggy (which always seem to handle AMAZINGLY) or the new AE Monster truck that dan just mentioned. Oh my poor poor credit cards.

In all honesty, the next car will probably be a 1/10 touring, we do alot of parking lot running. So fast!

LMAO!!
Thats why you should do it MY WAY.. NO credit cards..
I buy something ONLY after I have the cash to pay for it. Otherwise.. I just sit there and say "You want it? Wheres the cash?"

Works every time. If you cannot afford it now, you cannot afford it later.. it makes no sense!

I cant wait for the Monster GT either! I get the feeling it will be better than the savage..hopefully! IT has no choice, or it will go the way of the dodo. IF TA know what theyre doing, it better be better and more expensive thatn the Savage. And if it come with an Ace Jaguar remote.. I WILL SHOOT THE LEAD DESIGNER! lol
-ram

I'm in the same boat as you are Grampi...

I got to buy my RC10GT as a Christmas present from my wife this year. Then the bug hit and I needed more. Thanks to an early tax return and Valentines Day I was able to pick up a new TMaxx as a Valentines day present from my wife.

These purchases are on top of the $3000.00 worth of road and mountain bikes I have in the garage as well.

The way she looks at it is there is a whole lot of other worse things that I could be doing with my time and money. Besides she gets flowers all the time, as well as other gifts which helps soften the blow when I want something new.

As for your next purchase, I would recomend a monster truck. I've got my RC10GT for racing and a TMaxx for bashing around and jumping. I was pleasently surprised by how much more fun and how much more ability the TMaxx has off road than the RC10GT.

Anyway, just another opinion from a new addict.

I've looked at the monster trucks, but I'm having a hard time getting the bug for one. Maybe it's just the way they look to me, but they don't look that durable. Are they? I also can't see one being as fast as a .21 buggy, or an RC 10 with a high powered .15 installed. Tell me where my thought process is going wrong here.

Grampi,

I suppose it is a different mind set when you start looking at the MT's. They are not so much about speed (though some are very fast), but more about being able to go anywhere with it.

With my RC10GT I found the limitations of it very quickly. It is very fast and handles very well but if you go to baseball fields to drive it, the car struggles in taller grass. If you go to rough fields with lots of ruts it gets stuck a lot. If you can keep it on smooth dirt, race tracks or very short grass, the RC10GT is a lot of fun. Unfortunately for me those places are few and far between for me.

With the MT I can drive it just about anywhere. It's not slowed down by 3" tall grass, it can take on rock gardens, rutted fields, much bigger jumps, etc. Having reverse is also a nice feature.

Speed wise I would say there isn't much difference between my RC10GT and my TMaxx. I would actually give the TMaxx the edge on top speed even with the clutch restrictor taken out on the RC10GT.

Basically if you never plan on leaving short grass fields, race tracks or smooth dirt fields then the best choice would be a buggy or something similar to the RC10GT. If however you want to mess around in constructions sites, rock fields, etc. then I would suggest looking at a MT.

Since I'm guessing part of your infatuation is with speed you could always pick up something like a TMaxx and drop in the new Siro .18 engine (it's a direct fit, even with the electric starter) which would give a good speed boost. Then put on a 22 tooth clutch bell and a 70 tooth spur gear and you would have a MT that would in the 50+mph range and would at least stay with a buggy in a straight line race.

Also the sheer size of a MT is fun. My TMaxx dwarfs my RC10GT, and the TMaxx isn't the biggest MT (it's still a 1/10th scale truck). The Savage 21 is bigger as well as the OFNA Titan. With the bigger size they look really fast when moving at top end.

Like I said it's a different mind set but you just have to take into account what you want to do with the car.

Anyway, just a thought from a returning newbie to RC.

Wow, I guess I didn't realize they were that fast. Expense is another factor, though I'm finding out that buggies aren't cheap either. You guessed it, I do have a thing for speed. My goal is to get my RC 10 running 50+ mph. I'm not there yet, but I think installing the Fantom engine, and playing with the gearing will get me there. Whatever I end up getting will be required to have the potential of running 50+ mph as well.

Where I run there's very little grass and few rocks. My RC 10 has no problems at all. A 1/8 buggy would probably serve me well. I will look into the MT's some more to see if they can someow light my fire.

hey grampi i know this has been covered but i wanna throw in my opin,i went bashing around with some buds a coupla weeks ago the both had 1/8 buggys and i had my dominator out there,and they spent alot of time on thier lids and wound up with broken parts on both,and ran through 6 tanks a gas with only a minor mishap,this is why i think,combine the big motor with the same ground clearance as a buggy(comparable to the gt) and more mass equals bigger reactions from bumps an stuff,mean while me with my monster truck could keep up with them and stay on my wheels when i hit a rock bigger than a marble,hope this helps not trying to talk ya outa a buggy jus saying...