Losi or Associated--what to get?

[El Mexican]

Hello, everyone:

After lots of pondering about wich car to get next--and seeing Tamiya has nothing to tickle my fancy at the moment--I´ve decided to go full hog and buy a good competition buggy.

Te choices are pretty obvious: RC10 B4 Factory Team edition or the XXX BK2 buggy from Losi.

However, I just can´t decipher the better one of the two. Sure, Associated has one the last buggy World Champioship (and a few others, I might add) but Losi seems to always come out with a better buggy shortly after Associated beats them at the Ifmar events (see 1991, 1993, etc.)

Last time I checked, Losi had the upper hand in 2wd buggies, but that was more than ten years ago. Has the competition shifted radically and now Associated is now the king of offroad?

What do you reccomend?

[cant_get_right2005]

id get a losi myself......i think its about the same losi wins lots of races....i think they end up with all the good drivers too...??

[Shodog]

definetly buy the one that your local hobby shop stocks more parts for. That way spares will be easy to get.

[El Mexican]

Shodog: the parts availibility is secondary here. Everything will be sourced by the mail orders (remeber this is Mexico and the only parts you can get with any regularity in our hobbyshops are Duratrax, HPI and a little bit Traxxas).

Flat out: which is the better car?

You guys have about 280 combined years in experience with these things, so I consider your opinion real valuable.

[cant_get_right2005]

Flat out: which is the better car?

well im no pro..but i think it boils down to the driver.....both of them are computer aided in design.and designed to be the best.....overall me myself.i still like the losi stuff for new.....and rc-10 for older

[Shodog]

Whats better? kinda like saying which is better a ferrari or a porsche. These are both excellent buggies. Many arguments can be made for and and against each. You won't go wrong with either.

[PBXI2]

I looked into this a year ago. I bought a BK2 losi as it was better built IMO. I still managed to snap the little thing in two, like a twig. I much prefer the older metal RC10 for looks and toughness. I found it pretty cack in damp weather too - spinning out too easily on power. I wouldn't ever buy either a 2WD or a carbon chassis car again. I'll be sticking to 4x4 and metal chassis from now on. (Maybe I'm a pants driver, lol)

[El Mexican]

Ah well, I already own a very old Losi buggy (Jr. X-Pro). So Ill try the new Asso B4 just for kicks and see how much buggy design has advanced in the last ten years or so, ja!

Thanks for you replies, in a few weeks Ill post some comments of the new find. Cee,ya!

[PBXI2]

That's the point - rc cars have not advanced in the last ten years. Unless you count purple anodising and chinese mass cloning as a major step forward.

Each of these kits set the peak standards in their respective fields and nothing has changed since - RC10, CAT, Burns 1/8.

[fastboy]

what????

are you serious?

try racing a b4 against a b3 and and the difference is very noticeable!!

whilst the cars may not have changed that much in appearances they most certainly have moved forwards in performance,ive been racing for 15 yrs electric offroad so i do know.

dave

[El Mexican]

Well maybe the arquitecture remains basically the same, PB, but surely something HAS changed!

I sure hope so, at least...Would be pretty sad to buy one of these new buggies and find out they cant outrun in a straight my old Losi.

[stulec52]

also you can go into your local model store ( in most cases) and buy spare parts off the shelf, not so easy with an obsolete car.

[fastboy]

get a b4 and you wont be dissapointed,handles very neutral,jumps very well and sooooo easy to drive its embarrasing.

[PBXI2]

Ok, I'm a kack driver and their subtleties are lost on me

[Dirt Racer]

EL, the only way to see whats best for you is to goto your local track and ask to drive both makes of cars, there you'll see what will work for you, Both the Losi and Associated car have excellent pedigree but ofcourse they have their subtle differences losi being a little more stable and forgivable whilst the B4 is siding on nimble and is sensitive and would really depend on your driving style and what sort of characteristics your after. Personally if i were to race none other than loose dirt or clay ill choose the Associated hands down, having said that i did better with the losi as UK track surfaces being grippy ie grass outdoor and multi surfaces or carpet indoors.. So choose your pick but ultimately test them both out before you buy or if your loaded just buy them both [] .

[Dirt Racer]

To answer your original post EL, Associated Had the crown first and sat there for a long time, Losi never really made an impact until the early 90's with their XX and really came to their own at the 93 Worlds held at Basildon temac track where they came 2nd with Joel Johnson. 15 years on the story is a little different. []

[bender]

Just to stir up trouble [] I'm going to agree with PB here.

Off road cars have developed very little over the past 10-15 years in terms of design at least. What has improved is the materials used to make them, plus the all important tyres. One major difference nowadays is that cars are very much designed for one specific set of track conditions ie: blue groove, high grip, where as in the past designers have tried to make some thing that will work very well everywhere.

As a competative race of both the LosiXXX and older XX I can tell you that the old car is far superior on loose, bumpy tracks - the newer XXX hates these types of tracks - though you wouldn't notice it as everyone else is in the same position - as they're also driving a XXX! (or Asscoiated equivalent).

There are plenty of older cars that would be more competative now than in the past - as with newer tyre technology they could now find the elusive grip that they lacked when released. Cars like the last AE RC10 tub car, Kyosho Triumph, Cougar 2 etc would be much better if they were running new tyres. Heck, much of the B4 is a direct copy of Associateds 91 worlds car [:0] and that seems to work []

Back on topic - I would say go for the B4, it does seem to be the better car at the moment []

[El Mexican]

Thanks a bunch. You´ve all been very helpful!