Hey everyone, I'm new to nitro and i can't decide between a rustler or an evader. I've heard good and bad things about both. I will probably just be bashing. Is the trx 2.5 hard to tune? what about the .18 in the evader? I've looked at the manual for the rustler online and break in and tuning seem fairly simple as long as you follow the instructions but I keep reading that is is hard to tune. Is it hard or not? And the manual for the evader doesn't seem that detailed at all. Hope some of you guys can give me some good info to help me decide. Thanks.

Evader, hands down. The rustler is a little faster than the evader stock, but the evader handles much better than the rustler

rc10gt or xxx-nt forget traxxes and duratrash they break easy and handle bad

I bought a nitro evader as my first RC car. I became to incredibly frustrated with it after not being able to get it started and keep it running I finally just put it up on a shelf and gave up on the hobby. I recently picked up a nitro rustler and I can tell you I am very happy to be back into RC. This is what RC should be. Read through the pages on this site, everyone agrees that the evader is a POS to start and tune. The rustler gets a bad wrap for poor handling because it goes so d**m fast lol. Its not the handling its the fact that people with limited experience drive it wide open and then lose control. Now that I have some experience with the speed of the rustler I can handle it as good as I can handle my freind's Losi competition truck. (of coarse I can't beat him lol). Anyway...as a former comfused newbee I will also add this thought...buy whichever truck your LHS has the most replacement parts in stock for [8D]

im with stumpy.
i also got the evader as a first car. i couldnt keep it from breaking whenever i go out and run it. finally decided to sell it and havent gotten a buyer yet. the nitro rustler is alot more durable and has a more powerful engine. i dont know about tuning though. mine just burnt out. im getting an os .18 at the end of summer.

The rustler was my first RC and I still have it. It is the fastest stadium truck out their. As far as handling it maybe a little harder to control at top end. I think all traxxas trucks are. But every car and truck have to be dialed in. I have a fantom fr.15 on mine and It has smoked everything thats come against it. Including a xxxnt with a novarosi engine. The duratrax is a good truck. It is a little cheaper. But if you want a good deal on a great stadium truck. Go too www. acehardwarehobbies.com. They sell a Mugen MTS1 Race Truck kit. Stock #MUGL0001 for $129.00 and you can work up from there. And you will have a race ready truck in no time.

have any of you newbies that sold you Evaders put different engines in it!!!

well i have the nitro evader and i have been more than pleased with it. With a simple clutch bell and spur gear change the evader is very fast. I have had trouble with the DTX 18 as it is a very touchy motor but it is goin good now. I have only broken the shock tower and front a arm because of stupidity the tower broke cause of no body on and the a arm cause the pin slid out. It is a very strong truck in my experience ad if u put a OS18cvrx in it it will perform beyond your dreams. Hope this helps

Thanks a lot guys! But could anyone tell me how the trx 2.5 is?

Your going to hear a lot of people say the trx 2.5 sucks, but I'm not one of them. I have several trx 2.5's and a 2.5r and I personally think they are incredible.

When properly sealed and tuned they are extremely reliable, durable, idle smooth and have tremendous ammounts of power.

rustler. But ill say this, dont matter what you get. There bad eggs in ALL brands. If i was to do it all over again, i would have NEVER got this HPI rs4 3 peace of ****. My little old nitro sport is soooo much better. Might not be as fast out of box, nor handle as good. But, i do spend more time playing and runing my traxxas then rinching and cusing at that hpi

I work at Hobbytown USA and it is very RARE that I come accross a nice running 2.5. I don't know if it's because the way people tune and treat them, but from my experience they don't last very long. For the time that it lasts, it's pretty powerful.

How would the tuning compare in the DTX .18 and trx 2.5?

2.5 is a junk engine, one of the worst made to date besides the trx pro .15. The dtx .18 is a LOT easier to tune and its also way more reliable.

wow obviously you know nothing... quit lieing, an entry level st is not going to beat competition trucks...

The 2.5 like to run hotter than most engines

I have heard a lot of people dog the 2.5 but I have to say it is the easiest engine I have ever had to keep running. All I ever have to do is tweak it a little depending on the weather. As for Midget...why would I want to go out and buy a new truck as a newbee only to have to go out and dump more money into it by buying a new motor?? Shouldnt the motor that comes with the truck work at least halfway decent?? I undertand that the OS is a better motor and that is what I will be putting in my rusty when (or if) the 2.5 ever craps out. As for tuning the .18...it has to START before you can tune it lol

yall all a bunch of dumbasses

wow that was very eloquent there bonk...nice that you took the classy path there...and that information should help everyone on this post very much

thank you. Thought i would give a little help to yall. Traxxas is not bad. I dont care what you get, there is good and bad in all. To tell truth, the only one i have never had a problem with is a traxxas. Take it for as you will,thats the fact.

I have a rustler that is 5 years old and had countless gallons of fuel run through it. I haven’t been kind to it one bit, like running in winter, summer heat, sand, mud, and dust.
I finally managed to kill it by over heating it and busting part of the piston skirt off. As far as tuning, it’s never ever been a problem. It’s been rock solid for 5 years of hard use. I can’t say anything bad about the nitro evader because I don’t own one but I do have 3 dura trax cars, a BX ,an ST and a Delphi all electric and I enjoy all of them also.

Thanks guys!