oakleyguy89

djzachtyler

My Feedback: (4)

the CEN is a great truggy. have read awesome reviews on it. and you shouldhave good parts availability for it. never heard ofthe other. parts availability is key when getting afirst vehicle.I just bought my first truggy myself, but went all out and got the losi 8ight-t 2.0 and am selling off all my stadium trucks and buggies to help pay for it. you may also want to check out the OFNA Jammin truggy it is also a very solid beginner truggy. manufacturers with god names are Losi, CEN, hot bodies, kyosho, OFNA, to name a fdewMy recommendaytion though would be to start with a ST versus a truggy at least till you get used to Nitro. it is a wayyy difefrent animal than electric, and requires a bit more maintenance, but all in all I love nitros cuz they are alot more realistic.

Another recommendation would be for you to try and get yourself a used vehicle on ebay or even here. you can find alot of great deals as long as you are careful and read through the descriptions. the upside to buying used for a starter is that you can tear it down and rebuild it to familiarize yourself with the construction, and know how it works, and also you won't be as heart broken if you trash it, which can happen very easily. I see alot of great deals on ebay for the losi 8ight-t 1.0 now that the 2.0 is out I would strongly recommend you look into those as they are in your price range and about one of the best and most solid around, and parts are pretty well available and inexpensive.

the key to nitros is that you NEVER take youe eyes off the thing. and keep it in transmitter range so it doesn't run off on you. they are fast and easy to lose control of even if you blink.
so I would recommend something used to start out.

If you do go with a new one read up on "proper" engine breakin on here. in a nutshell with a new vehicle you want to use the same % nitroyou break it in with and disregard the whiole idling thing that a maufacturerrecommends, that has been proven to decrease engine life. You should run your truck from the first timeyou start it up. granted keepo it slow atabout half throttle for the first couple of tanks, and gradually tune it and give it more after 3-4 tanks. if you get a used vehicle you need not worry about break in, and can focus more on getting used to just tuning the car.

that is all the advice I can offer, and I am sure others will have their 2 cents also.

oakleyguy89

Thanks, ive heard some horror stories about CEN customer service so idk if Iwould want to go with them?I checked out that OFNA jammin buggy and thats alittle out of my price range ($589), Iwant to keep my price range at about $400 for what Im wanting.

Druss

First of all, I want to clear up something on your battery issue.

Planes and helis are restrained from carrying large capacity packs because they can't lift them.  There is no restriction like that with land vehicles.  Keep in mind that before lipos came around there were virtually no decent electric planes or helis and 10 minutes flying is quite long.

For land vehicles, you can put what will physically fit in your vehicle.  My 7.4v 4900mah lipo will last for almost 30 minutes in my 1/10 buggies/trucks.

My personal choice for all round beginner basher 1/8 nitro truggy is the thunder tiger ST-1. 

BTW, you're in the nitro stadium trucks (which are usually 2WD) not the nitro truggy section.

djzachtyler

My Feedback: (4)

well then you would definately want to go with something Losi, Traxxas, or Associated if you want to buy new as they are all renowned for their support. Especially traxxas and losi.. unfortunately you won't find anything that cheap from those guys. Anything else is either junk, or has a bad servicerep. otherwise I stand by the idea of getting something used to start out with that is about the only way you will get a quality truggy in the range you are looking to spend. Heres some good posts I found for you on ebay, these look to be in great condition and would suit you well...

Team Losi:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Losi-8...3A2%7C294%3A50

http://cgi.ebay.com/Team-Losi-8ight-...3A2%7C294%3A50

if you could swing 500 this is a stellar deal
http://cgi.ebay.com/Losi-8ight-T-2-0...3A3%7C294%3A50

OFNA:
http://cgi.ebay.com/OFNA-Jammin-X1-C...3A1%7C294%3A50

http://cgi.ebay.com/ofna-jammin-x1cr...3A2%7C294%3A50

Those are some examples at least so you can get the idea of what to look for....

oakleyguy89

oh okay what about the jato 3.3?

Sable

My Feedback: (1)

same question. im thinking about getting one. i just heard the steering sucks, and at high speeds the steering cant keep up.

yakfish

My Feedback: (27)

Steering is going to be a problem at high speeds no matter what STyou get. evn if the steering was really responsive at high speed you car would most likely flip anyway. Ihave never owned a Jato, but I have had and have several other St's including an HPI Firestorm, Associated RC10GT and a traxxas nitro rustler along with buggys and MT's as far as steering goes you can easily upgrade your steering servo to make your steering more responsive (which Iwould recommend doing no matter what car you get since most stock servos suck)but when you are under high throttle conditions the front end will be very light so there won't be alot of steering control anyway.

The RC10GT is by far my favorite ST. There are tons of upgrades available that will allow you to improve your suspension and steering and overall toughness. there are quite a few hopup available for traxxas also and not quite as many for the Firestorm. the firestorm and the associated both handle very well IMO with the RC10GT handleing the better of the two the nitro rustler Ihave doesn't handle nearly as well but with the easy start system nitro can be trouble free (for the most part) so here would be my ranking of these cars:

1. RC10GT the GT2 is now available- excellent handling for racing
2. Firestorm- good handling great for bashing
3. Ruslter- easy to use but the handling is not as good

Idon't have any personal experience yet with losi's XXX-NT but from everything Ihave seen, heard and read they are about on par with the RC10GT

this is just my opinion, thats all you are going to get on boards like these.There are many different opinions but Ilike to think that I am fairly unbiased.My opinions come mainly from my own experience which is more than you can ask from many people on here who are very baised and form the opinions based on what they have read in magazines or online.

djzachtyler

My Feedback: (4)

the Jato is a stadium truck, and only 2WD. I have never heard any issues with the steering sucking so much as I have heard about people having issues with the Traxxas servos going bad. another point for the steering issue is that the vehicle is so damn fast that it makes it difficult to steer. easy enough to fix tho.you can alwaysreplacethe stock servowith a HiTec if it bothers you. I have a slayer with the stock servo and have yet to see any issues arise.

That said, the Jato is another fine vehicle, and a great idea for something new. the drawback is the 2WD, the upside is it is awesomely fast, and has alot of readily available hop ups and parts. Plus it is a Traxxas and the customer support is great as well as the traxxas forims where you will get all the goods on the truck you own.

I think for an nitro entry level person this would be your best bet since traxxas is a well known brand, makes very very solid vehicles, they are easy to maintain, and a balst to drive and bash with.

on road the Jato is set and ready, if you want to go off road you will need a different set of rims.

Pound for pound the Jato will rock your world with it's wheelie popping action, and wicked speed after you tune it. and it is ideal for urban environments...

djzachtyler

My Feedback: (4)

+1 this guy knows what he is talking about too... and to add to what he is saying, the XXX-NT is right on par with the RC-10. I have owned both and the XXX-NT was IMO the better of the 2. I am actually selling my XXX on RCU if yo care to look at it it is one sweet ride.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemID=524474

oakleyguy89

I ended up getting a slightly used HPI savage x 4.6. Its really nice, but it doesnt pick up speed until half tank?

Chris_RC

You have to warm the engine up.

Sable

My Feedback: (1)

a buddy of mine just got one of those.

hows the speed of the jato 3.3 compare to the savage x 4.6?  i know its way different trucks for way different purposes, i just wann know.

also can anyone recommend a good replacement upgrade steering servo for the jato 3.3? im planning on picking up a spektrum radio.

Chris_RC

hitec 645mg comes to mind. Or for more speed 625mg.

djzachtyler

My Feedback: (4)

ditto! 645 if better for more torque, the 625 will get better response either way you go go HiTec for sure... it is the only servo I use for steering anymore, and probably the most reliable...

oakleyguy89

No its not that.When the tank is full it runs richer and goes slower, then when it gets to about half tank or less it gets leaner and runs faster. They say theres a mid-tank mod for it, but that requires a ton of work,time,and rearranging alot of stuff.

Chris_RC

Who is they? It is just caused by the pressure of all the fuel.For example, in races, when you pit some people's engines stall when getting out of pit lane and all engines have a dreaded rich bog for the first few laps because of the fuel in the tank.

Sable

My Feedback: (1)

yeah ive heard of that at races. its from having the tank full. the buddy i mentioned that has one even told me it gets faster when the fuel gets lower.

is that the servo im looking for?
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXUZ89&P=SM

will it giiv me increased responce time over the stock? and with increased steering torque?

quietnas1

I actually use the Futaba S3003 servo for sterring on my Jato. They are cheap money wise and last forever. But I also use cheap AM radios still. Guess I'm just stubborn and old school. One day I will get a 2.4ghz system for now my AM has not failed me yet. Lol.

Sable

My Feedback: (1)

for now im using the stock traxxas radio and receiver.

i just picked up a nice jato 3.3 from the market place here, and then imp planning on getting a nice 2.4 ghz system for it.

hoits4

Hi im also new to this whole forum thing. But i recently took my jato to an offroad track near my house and had an absolute blast. My factory tires didnt work so well, as expected. I had some tires that were lil bigger and made for off roading and they worked pretty well. So last nite i ordered some IMEXSTEPPINWIDE tires to try and give it a lil more weight and lil wider for the corners. Was this a good choice? i was also wondering if i should maybe gear it down it a bit... somebody plzzz help! I was also looking at buying a bigger offroad nitro truck. any recommendations? 300-450 dollar range

jakyying

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