84jeepj10

I'm new to the RC sport, been bashing whatevers cheap for years an I'm good with electronics. My wife an I are wanting to purchase new cars together. Here's the catch, I'm in the Army stationed in Korea so I need to have APO shipping, if not then I have to pay extra to have it shipped through a third party. Here's what were looking for in our cars:
1/8 scale
Electric
Off-Road
RTR
Prefer 2.4Ghz radio set but not reqired
Good listing of aftermarket replacements and hop-ups
<$300 USD

My wife picked out the Redcat Racing Backdraft 8e. I'm leaning towards Redcat's Earthquake 8e, ACME Werewolf.

qoisdhc oqina

My Feedback: (-1)

Stay away from redcat,exceed, himoto etc They are just cheap chinese junk. And 1/8th scale under $300 is gonna be very hard, 1/10th scale would be alot easier.Look into the rustler/bandit/stampede vxl which are around $300 and include battery and charger.

redfisher1974

I agree $300 is not enough for 1/8

84jeepj10

I thought Redcat was based out of Arizona? What's so bad about them, from other reviews and vids I've watched they seem pretty sturdy, able to take alot more damage than I'm willing to put 'em to.

qoisdhc oqina

My Feedback: (-1)

Maybe they have a store there or something, but all of their cars are cheap crap.Some will say they are great and fast and blah blah, most of the time they have never owned anything else.Check their prices verses these, for their 1/8th scales are around $350 for an electric.Look at the good name brand prices.

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=TRA5607
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=TRA5608
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=TRA3908
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...odID=HPI104240
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...odID=HPI103420



http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=LOSA0806
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...dID=ASC8090128
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=OFN14352



Those ^^ Are race built cars, most need electronics, i.e. radio, $100+ some up to $300, and battery and charger another $100 or $200, plus motor and esc, some do, another $200-$300.Theres a reason the redcats are so cheap.

bkfamily1

My Feedback: (1)

Have you ever owned any of the brands you are bashing?

Redcat is in fact based in Arizona. They import their vehicles from China or Hong Kong.

And for the record, I do not believe any of the major brands are manufactured in the United States.

I am not a Redcat fan, but the brands you mention are not "cheap chinese junk." I have owned Traxxas, Redcat and Himoto. And I would not waste the extra money on another "name brand."

84jeepj10

Thanks BK. I've been researchin them and from what I've found they have been cheap Chinese junk in the past but have rebuilt their models and put together quality product in an attempt to compete with other high end brands. I watched several videos of racing and durability tests for them and they look real good. I was hoping someone would know of another good entry level vehicle that met my requirements I hadn't considered yet. The $300 limit is mostly because we're just getting into it and don't want to put down alot more money just yet. My wife and I have decided for now to go with them as they meet all our criteria and are well within the budget. Once we get them in I will post up a good full review and pics and hopefully clear up whether or not they are indeed a good choice.

I would also appreciate a list of good resources for parts, preferably that ship to APO, and information on dirt track racing how-to's. Any advice on beginning racing and tuning the suspension, gearing, etc... as well. Thanks.

nitrosportsandrunner

i think the real issue with redcat is quality control. the ones in the vids you see on youtube are crazy tough and run great! but many people have got them, pulled them out of the box and broken a part on the 1st run. and a gentle run, nothing like shown in the vids. their prices reflect this. quality control cost money. as does parts support, which can also be an issue with redcat.
LOL, my hobbyshop has some redcat products, yet the owner will tell anyone who asks to stay away from redcat! you know a brand is not good when the sales person warns you not to buy.
i agree that your budget is too low. you can get a brushless 1/10scale for that kind of money.
good luck with whatever you get. it is a great hobby and you will have fun no matter what you get.

84jeepj10

That makes sense. Can anyone tell me anyhting about HPI?

nitrosportsandrunner

i dont know about the shipping part, but i can say that with your budget, the rustler VXL is a great start. it is easy to use, easy to work on, very tough out of the box. and it can be made almost bombproof with RPM upgrade. it comes RTR with a 2.4g radio, a 7cell battery and a charger. that will get you speeds of 35mph. then, when you can afford it, you can get a pair of 3s 3300mah lipos and an imax b6 charger off ebay(total cost of $110 shipped) that will get you speeds of 50-60mph and 15-20 minute runtime per battery.
i bought my rustler vxl used, for $225. then bought the 2 lipos and imax b6 charger. i couldnt be happier. the used rustler came with many rpm upgrades and a bunch of spare parts. its a crazy strong truck and its wicked fast on lipo batteries.

neyou86

My Feedback: (2)

when i had my redcat i had to order parts every weekend.but then again i bought one that was beat to crap. i payed a wopping $40. haha. but that was an older tornado bb. as many say it depends on who you are and what you like. some good sites are rufaster.com urchobby.com both great guys and will match prices.

nitrosportsandrunner

well you cant argue with a $40 RC! heck, i would buy a $40 redcat in a heartbeat.

84jeepj10

Ya'll definately aren't making me feel good about this choice. My wife is dead set on the 1/8 Redcat Backlash 8e. I think we'll get that for her so we can form our own opinion. But I might go with something else. I like the one she's getting alot but don't want to have the same car. Looking more towards a truggy.

What about HPI and Team Associated (comments on each please).

neyou86

My Feedback: (2)

from what ive heard the 8e is pretty tuff. ive never had either of those two yet. hpi are usually strong trucks. they are geared towards the basher. as for AE they are geared more towards the racer. im not sure how durable they are. i presonally own a traxxas rustler and i love it. i beat the crap out of it and only put like $20 in parts in it. its now a year old. take a look at the e revo. from what ive heard they are a great truck.

84jeepj10

NEWSFLASH!!! Wife is letting me spend $500 (instead of the $300)! That should certainly open some options up. Now what can ya'll recommend? Again staying with the parameters of the first post and knowing I'm looking for a truggy or buggy to race dirt track. I'm new to racing but have been bashing cheapos and my Pro-Pulse T100 1/18 electric for years. If i could get a good kit and combo for it within that price that would work too.

I've found a NIB Kyosho Inferno VE RTR -batteries for $429 on Ebay. I have one 7.2V 1600MAh NiMh battery already so I would just need to get another and be good, could upgrade to Lipo later. It says the ESC has built in overvoltage over 4S, 120A max continuous current draw.
I need to read up more on Lipo to understand them.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Kyosho-Inferno-V...item35a9ded0ef

nitrosportsandrunner

lipo isnt that hard to learn. they are rated in voltage, or # or cells(S) the amount of continuos discharge(C) and the capacity or MAH(same as nimh)
lipo is sooooo much better than nimh packs. honestly, if you spend hundreds on a brushless RC and use a 1600mah nimh pack you wont be impressed. its like running a farrari on old gas from your lawn mower[&:] im not trying to say your battery is crap, just that it wont let a new brushless RC perform like it should

i was looking on ebay and you can buy a new brushless slash 4x4 RTR for under $400: http://cgi.ebay.com/Traxxas-1-10-Sla...item5ada0d4f34
i know that it isnt 1/8 scale. but other than that, it meets all your needs. they are fast, durable, good on a track, nice scale look and there are many upgrade and tunning that you can do. it doesnt hurt that the electronics are waterproof either.
you would have enough money left over to buy a lipo and a charger.
there are many threads on lipo chargers you can look at. i went with the imax b6. it does what i want and was only $50. but for alittle more cash you can buy nicer ones with more features.
i have bought a 2s 30c 5000mah lipo for $30 shipped. a lipo like this will push the slash to 40mph and get you 1/2 runtimes easy.
i have seen these trucks run on 2s lipo. they accelerate wicked fast. and they handle well to.

84jeepj10

Wife went ahead and got me this for $450. With the • 2 Peak Performance 4000mAh 30C Lipo's with Dean Connectors that ain't bad.
http://m.ebay.com/Pages/ViewItemDesc...000916&emvcc=0

Thanks all for the help. My wife is dead set on the redcat cant change her mind. Ill post thorough reviews of each when we get them.

Now need a good charger for those batteries and can quick charge from wall or car battery at the track. Hers has lipo also so im not worried about NiMh.

TCA999

My Feedback: (32)

First off, if a hobby shop owner is telling you to NOT buy a product from them, he's not running his business correctly and he will or is going to be out of business soon. He shouldn't even promote or carry the brand if he's pushing potential buyers away.
Second, I've owned a Redcat Volcano EPX Pro(brushless) and the only problem I ever had was my stub axle breaking. It tends to happen with any vehicle when you slide into a curb at 30+ MPH. All in all my redcat was great for me. Although, I've owned a Traxxas Stampede and only burnt up my motor due to submerging it in water a few times.
I don't think anyRC company manufactures their products in the USA. Redcat has fantastic customer support and the replacement parts are very cheap. RUFaster.com is a great spot to grab Redcat products.

I did just sell both my trucks for a upgraded Stampede VXL 2.4GHz.

84jeepj10

Thanks for the info. Any suggestions on a computerized charger? Primarily LiPo but also Nimh; do I need the discharge setting for LiPo? Both cars have 2 LiPo packs each so I would like to be able to charge 1 pair at a time to the same amount. The batteries are 2s.
Also I've been reading that the stock shocks aren't real good, what's a good shock to put on it for dirt track? I don't try to get much air in jumps, I'm focusing on my cornering and speed control right now.

mssrcritic

Iam very new to the sport. Ihave a Tamiya Blackfoot Xtreme. I seem to break something every time Iuse the truck. Can anyone tell me how the Blackfoot compares to the Exceed, Redcat, Traxxas, etc.?

Shenanigans

My Feedback: (12)

not sure what car you ended up getting...link doesnt work for me

84jeepj10

Sorry the link went dead after purchase. Here's Kyosho's link to the car:
http://www.kyoshoamerica.com/cars/in...part_num=30875
On top of that I got 2 Peak Performance 4000mAh 30C Lipo's with Dean Connectors for $450 US. Wife will be getting the Redcat Backlash 8e next month. Like I said when we get them in I'll post full reviews, especially on the Redcat, to hopefully answer questions about quality and performance. Thanks again.

SyCo_VeNoM

lol clerks at my LHS tell ppl all the time Integy, and venom is crap and they carry the stuff. They said its for the die hard people that must have it no matter what.

Hell got my jammin they told me to buy the braces off ebay cause there around $20 there where they would have to charge me $60
I spend a good chunk of change there whenever I go there though