hobdean

My Feedback: (11)

I have been flying RC planes for years and recently bought my son a slash. I am now hooked. After two weeks it seems slow to me. Really want NITRO but, snow in missouri sucks and want something year round. Want to stay electric off road 1/10 buggy but, cannot deicide to go 2wd or 4wd. Leaning toward 4wd but, dont have experience with 4wd. Probably drive in my yard and compete at the local track. Saw a guy selling his 4wd to go back to 2wd. Seems to me 4wd handles better at the track and on grass. What is the attraction to 2wd bisides maybe lower price?

The Mad Modder

Depending on the conditions, they are harder to control. However with experience they can be even more fun than 4wd.

Druss

4wd buggy tends to be very competitive requiring better driving skills due to the higher speeds and better cornering ability. If you're just starting out racing then 2wd would probably be better. For bashing though I prefer 4wd.

john01374

2WD has a couple of things going for it. Most of the time it's cheaper. There are alot less parts so it's easier to build, easier to maintain and there is just alot less stuff there to break. Most of the time they're also lighter. 2WD can be a ton of fun if you take the time to learn to drive them. 4WD is more of a sqeeze the trigger and go. You can pretty much just turn the wheel, pull the trigger and the car will go where you want it.

If you're looking for a year around car i'd recommend you stick with 4WD. I live just North of Chicago and I can tell you first hand that 2WD is useless in snow or slush. When the snow falls out come my 4WD buggies. I have an old baja champ that's been through 10 winters with me and she just keeps going. It's all stock except for a new waterproof XL5 ESC and servo.

kistner

My Feedback: (10)

+1 to what John said, I run 2wd in the summer and bring out the 4wd in winter

hobdean

My Feedback: (11)

Year round, I meant racing at the track. I was not thinking of driving in the snow and freezing my fingers off. I do like driving in my yard. Buggies are too low for that but, 4WD will have some adavantage in the grass. I will have to watch some more 2WD and 4 WD. What is that called when you drift sideways full power out of a turn. Do 4WD power slides out of turn or there is too much traction? Sounds like 4WD is turn and full power to the next turn. Then 2WD would be more fun. I love power sliding in my basement with the slash.

thomas95

hobdean did you buy your car yet or no?? i could help you pick

hobdean

My Feedback: (11)

not yet

traxxas4ever

2wd is fun to drive. 4wd is a lot better for bashing. if i were you id get the 2 wheel dr. if your a beginner 4wd can be tougher to maintain and there is just more to them. i have a 4wd revo and a 2wd xxx-t. the revo is a pain to fix the xxx-t is really easy. it is really easy to figure out whats wrong and order parts. if your more experienced get 4wd. 2 wheel drove is also harder to drive however. it tends to loose traction easier. however they are lighter thus also eisier to controle at the same time. it is more fun driving 2wd at a track i think though. it takes more skill.

thomas95

ok....

                                NITRO.                                                                              ELECTRIC.

4WD                lightning 1/8 st                                                                        hb cyclone d4             <<<<<both are at hotbodiesonline.com



2WD                hpi firestorm 10 t                                                                     hpi e firestorm                both from hpi as well and they are stadium trucks
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ALL OF THESE CARS ARE GOOD QUALITY AND WONT LET YOU DOWN IN RACING EVEN WHEN THEY ARE STOCK

The Mad Modder

While I agree that the trucks you listed are good trucks, I thought he was looking for a buggy.

The Mad Modder

You mean when the rear end breaks loose (fishtail?) or when the whole car slides sideways(drift). 4wd cars are better at drifting than 2wd. Rwd is best at fishtails and donuts.

traxxas4ever

fish tailing and doughnuts are fun.thats one of the reasons why i like 2wd. you cant drift on a dirt track with 4wd if you have remotly good tires. on the street with slicks you might. drifting is normally for drift cars though.

Luth7799

Good question!

I find it's hard to get truly objective opinions on this cuz how a car handles andfeels for each personcan differ greatly. Frankly, I'd recommend you tryout a similar 2wd and 4wdfrom the same company/scale/class/etcyou're looking at and see howyou like them both. All that being said I'll throw in my limited knowledge from my own experience. So you know where I'm coming from, my experience is almost soley with 2wd and 4wd 1/10 scale Tamiyas.

IMO 2wd gets more torque,more efficientpower delivery, is lighter in weight, and is fasteroverall. 2WD can take corners better and fishtail better.2WD is easier to build and maintain. 2WD feels much more "natural" to me.

IMO 4wd has better handling and can feel tighter.4wd has better traction and control on rough surfaces like tall grass, chunky dirt, etc. 4wd can drift much better. 4wd feels much more "on rails" to me.

Just my .02! Hope you get one you really love!

hobdean

My Feedback: (11)

Looking for a buggy. That is the largest class in my area. 2WD ummm. Thanks for all the opionions. Will go to more races and check them out.

djzachtyler

My Feedback: (4)

ok, been alot of mixed comments here, but for track racing, or even parxctice, get a 4wd. you will appreciate the signifcant handling gains as you learn to drive, and you definately do not want to spend alot of time washing out with RWD only and believe me that will happen alot. Another recommendation is go with a good 1/8 buggy like an RC8B, the 8ight-B, or if those are out of your price range one of the OFNA Piccos or a Hyper 7...

you cant go wrong with any of those honestly. I have a Hyper 7 myself, and can vouch for it being tough, and it handles great on any terraihn, and is competitve as well...

just my 2 cents on this...

Traxxas4fun

My Feedback: (3)

team associated has a b4, a 2wd buggy.. and losi has a 2wd buggy also.. dont know what its called.. those are your best bets for racing. traxxas has a bandit but, they dont last long they are usually converted into a rustler later on..

if you ever go brushless/lipo you will wish you got a 4wd.. atleast i do, i have a vxl rusty, and a 7 cell and there are to many donuts/fishtails for me, and im using gladiators (beefier racing tires basically)

i havent even gone lipo yet LOL

HawkChalk

These links are all for ready-to-roll packages. They provide radio, servos, engine, the basics, pretty much all you'd need is gas. If you can bare the higher price, 1/8 scale is the way to go in off-road r/c, and the two Losi vehicles are arguably the best in the racing area as far as rtr's go.

I suggest 1/8 scale buggy - http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ed-Starter-Box

1/8 scale truck - http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-Channel-Radio

1/10 scale buggy - http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-wGXR18-Engine

1/0 scale truck - http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...itro-RTR-Truck

there's not many 1/10 scale buggies to choose from, and unless you plan on racing on a dirt oval track, you probably want to go 4WD

bkfamily1

My Feedback: (1)

I prefer 4WD. Luth7799 described the difference pretty well. 2WD has a tendency to break loose in the rear, and it is not as responsive in turns, especially under power when the front end tends to lift. 4WD seems to be able to pull through turns much better. But the 4WD definitely has much more going on mechanically, and that means more loss of power through the drive train and more parts.

I would also say that buggies are more nimble and quicker than trucks in general, although that depends on the specific models being compared. So I prefer buggies or maybe a truggy to a monster truck. The only real advantage I see to a MT is the ground clearance for really rough terrain. That may be good for bashing, but not so much for racing.

The most important aspect of a 4WD to me is whether it has a center differential which I believe gives you much better handing. But I am not sure if you can get center diffs in electrics which I believe tend to have fixed center drive shafts. But my experience is not in electrics. I like nitro, but for racing in the winter, I am sure electric indoor is your best bet.

My last comment - check with your local tracks and be sure you know what the specs are for the class(es) you want to run.

Good luck, and welcome to the 2D world!

hobdean

My Feedback: (11)

Can 1/8 race in 1/10 class off road indoor? Also read on some of the forums the LOSI 8ight-E is not that reliable and at $900 I would not even consider it. In 1976 you could buy a full size Honda racing Elsinor 125cc motorcycle for $999. Guess I just dated myself.

For_The_Win

No. The only car that can race both classes is the Team Associated RC10T4 with the Jconcepts J82 kit. WIth it it makes a 1/8 so all you have to do to switch from each class is. Take off the sets of toe/camber linkages and the ones in the rear also. and put the stock ones back on from Team Associated and switch the the body and the wheels and good to go.

hobdean

My Feedback: (11)

RC10T4 is 2WD. I am leaning toward 4WD buggy. Trucks are not popular here. Some one said 2WD is faster because it's lighter and was wondering, does that sound right to the rest of you?

R/C Lightweight

2WD may be faster in a straight line or on the street, but 4WD is definitely faster on a dirt track. 2WD is lighter, but that difference is more than compensated for by the far superior traction of 4WD. I'm a bit biased towards 2WD for racing, as it poses more of a challenge for me personally.

Luth7799

RC Lightweight sumed up my basic and generalizedthoughts on 2wd vs 4wd pretty well.

2wd has better power efficiency and torque, is usualy lighter, and usualy faster on flatter surfaces withoutan over abundanceof sharp curves. 4wd has awesome traction and steering and handles just about any offroading better. They both have + & - 's. IMO in the hands of a confident and experienced driver you can be competitive and fast with either.

In the end you should pick a car you feel a connection to, that feels right when you drive it. Yeah, if you're looking to compete in a specific class or what not you need that certain kind of car, but overall just drive what you excites you. I'm waiting to get another Grasshopper, even though it has some of the worst stablitily and handling ever in such a popular classic buggy lol, but I'm gonna be smiling huge every time I pull that trigger.

hobdean

My Feedback: (11)

I would rather get a 1/8 for out door off road but, for this winter I want to race indoor and not in the snow or cold. So far I have looked at B-44, Kyosho zx-5. Are there any other good 4wd buggies out there?