bamarcdude205

ok guys im torn between the baja5b and the redcat rampage. I know your gonna break something sooner or later but which is tougher out of the box. which one is faster out of the box? which has the best suspension? Im not racing just bashing so which one would be right for me? I really like the rampage cause 4wd but it looks like it would brake easier than the 5b please help.
thanks

savagecommander

well, the redcat is cheaper and awd, plus it has a few more aluminum goodies on it- so bang for buck might be in the redcats favor

Dale Gribble

My Feedback: (4)

You aren't going to go to a LHS and find parts for a Redcat Rampage. You can usually find 5B parts at local hobby stores. That's a plus for the 5B.

pagani77

+1 for rampage

dimag093

My 1st priority when i got to choose was support.Get the one with plenty of spares at your LHS.You WILL break it(and like it) whether it's 2WD or 4WD,fast or slow,tough or weak,beautiful or ugly [8D]
When you bash you trash

bamarcdude205

well my LHS has no parts for the rampage or the 5b, or any 1/5 scale rc

46u

My Feedback: (3)

HPI has some of the best customer service I have ever seen. Over the past 10 years I bought 5 HPI vehicles including the 5B SS and I am very well pleased with them all.

str8jailbird

Depends on what you want. I have both. A Baja 5B SS that has a ton of upgrades and the Redcat Rampage MT that also has a slew of upgrades. Kind of hard to say which is tougher out of the box, they are both awesome vehicles. Price wise the start up costs can vary. The Baja 5B SS requires a receiver, throttle brake servo and radio if you don't have one. I run everything off of my JR so I just needed the Receiver and servo. The Rampage requires a receiver and transmitter (again if you don't have one). The Ramp's stock servos are crap so mine never saw any use as I used Hitec for both throttle and steering. The Baja is faster out of the box but the Ramp handles a tad better due to the 4 wheel drive. Comparing the 2 is like apples and oranges as they are so different. The only major breaks (requiring new parts to run again) on the Ramp were 1 snapped CVD on the rear. I just used the stock drive shaft for replacement. Then today a diff cup snapped. My Baja has had the rear driveshaft snap as well (once) and used to eat clutch bell bearings until I upgraded to an aluminum carrier. They are both a blast and still together are less maintenance than my nitros.

SAVAGEJIM

The Baja 5B costs more than the Rampage MT (the buggy version of the Skeleton is actually cheaper). HPI is about $100 more but you can find Baja 5B for nearly the same price range as the Rampage MT (the $700-800 range). You just have to shop around. So, it is possible to find 5B for almost the same price range with some searching.

For now, the 5B has more hop-ups and upgrades in the market. You can go anywhere and find hundreds of upgrades everywhere. The Rampage also has many upgrades, maybe not as many as 5B, but you can find upgrades for that everywhere too.

As already said, the HPI will be faster especially in acceleration becasuse it is only two speed and it does not have to translate any of its rotatating motions 90degrees anywhere in the drive train. The Rampage (just like the MCD MT) has to translate the engine power 90degrees TWICE in the drivetrain. And that can sap power, and thus acceleration. Of course, the 4WD advantage does help it in its handling and even bashing.

The HPI will give you the typical 2WD buggy feel, and it is a bit lighter. I do not know how many pounds though. Also, due to its pouplarity, you are most likely to run into another fellow who has one. From the looks of the layout of both RCs, they look like one is just as easy to wrench on than the other. So, whichever you choose, I dont think maintenance of either will give you too much problems.

savagecommander

i seriously doubt the drivetrain setup will rob THAT much power from the redcat- also the redcat is 4wd, that will give it the launch on an hpi anyday. be different and get a redcat

str8jailbird

Trust me, the Baja SS will smoke the Redcat off the start and top speed. I have both. The Redcat is about 10 lbs heavier, 4 wheel drive (yes it takes more power to turn 4 wheels vs 2) and is geared overall a tad lower than the Baja. Yes it hooks up better with the 4 wheels getting traction but it also has a LOT more mass to move.

bryan70546

My Feedback: (4)

Well yea a baja ss will be faster then the rampage it only comes with a 23cc , now put a headkit like the 28.5 and a pipe and its bye bye baja well at least thats what they say , thats what i hear you know , but what do i know http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHg5ycL3jVA

str8jailbird

No it won't. mt Ramp has a ported 28.5 in it already and it doesn't stand a chance. After I get the rear modded dominator on it, then maybe. The weight of the truck is 1 lbs heavier so it is gonna take a lot more to get it to be as fast off the line. Maybe a ported and polished ESP 30.5 Zenoah.

mooman007uk

personally i don't like the 5b or the way it handles unless you run on sand dunes...then it's the best...after all it is a sand rail, my fgbaja eats 5b's in the handling department round a track, run with them before and had a good breakfast.
if you run a rampage tt against a 5b the ramp will beat it round a track easily the weights are close and the tt is 4wd, the 5b will beat the mt cos the wheels weigh 2lb 4oz each!! my mt is fast as hell but still don't think it'll beat a 5b round a track...on rougher terrain I think it will though, the mt with phatdad kits and ramtech springs handles the rough extremely well.
it depends on what you want your rc for...general bashing i'd say redcat all the way...drifting, freestyling and donuts again redcat...sand dunes 5b.

bamarcdude205

does anyone know if the diffs will hold up on the rampage ?

str8jailbird

Interesting that you ask that. The Rampage (if ordered through Rampage Hop Ups) comes with the upgrade kit which includes thicker pins that secure the diff cups. The old pins were prone to breaking I guess (never used the stock ones) but now there have been a few of the diff cup shafts actually breaking, mine being one of them. It isn't that common and I highly doubt that the stock engine will break the cups. Those of us that have broken them are running modded 28.5's or bigger. We are partiently waiting to seee if someone comes up with a "heavy duty" diff cup to take car of this. It's times like these that I wish I worked in a machine shop or had my own CNC.

bamarcdude205

str8jailbird how fast will your rampage go with the 28.5cc in it?? just wondering

mooman007uk

I'm another upgraded diff cup shaft breaker...2 to date one front, one rear. As jailbird says it's not a really common problem but a few of us have had it happen.
Dunno how quick his ramp is but mine is real quick with oneills ported 28.5, 813, 77 rear dom pipe and 27/33 gears. For a truck that weighs 37lb it really moves...
here's a vid after I just bolted on the dom before I got it totally tuned right
[link]http://s729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/mooman007uk/?action=view&current=dom77_mpeg2video.flv[/link]

str8jailbird

I'd have to say 35 or so. Mooman has a little taller gearing than mine so his is faster. I'm still running 25-35 for my gearing. Last time my buddy and I had our RC's up at the mall parking lot there were 6 state troopers having lunch. I didn't have the Rampage yet but I did have my LST2 and Baja there. Larry (my buddy) was trying to get the hang of his first RC, a Jato. The troopers were pretty amazed at the speed and one pulled out his radar gun and told us to give it a few passes. Larry's top speed was 59mph with the Jato, my LST2 was 55 and the Baja was 48 at the best runs. I have to say the Ramp is in the mid to low 30's right now. Plenty fast enough for me as it sees no pavement and I usually am running on rough ground.