If I Was To Buy A Cheap Tamiya Buggy What Would You Surgest?

[hoppi05]

hi there everyone, well as the title says i am wanting a tamiya buggy to bash about a bit, i have seen a few on ebay go pretty cheaply so i thought why not but then which is surposed to be the best or which one is good for hopups n bigish motors? from looking on ebay there seem to be a lot of Boomerangs & Manta Rays if you had the choice which would you choose?

just so you guys know i have a Brat n a frog before they get mentioned.

Cheers for any advise....

[SegaFalcon]

Depends on what sort of age car you want and what drive it has

[Immortalis]

Personally I'd go for the Manta Ray, purely because it is so ugly that bashing it up some couldn't make it look any worse , Boomerangs are a cool vintage tamiya to have and would be better all nice and restored as opposed to being a runner - that's only my personal opinion though. Hey, let's hope Tamiya decide to re-release the Boomerang, especially as it was one of their most popular 4WD buggys in the late 80's

[SegaFalcon]

Im pretty sure I saw a Manta Ray going cheap on ebay UK so if thats the one you want Id look there soon.

[hoppi05]

yeah there has just been 1 go for around 16 (manta ray) i would like a 4wd one ive seen the ones using what looks to be a wide wheel base ta01 is that correct? they look cool and will be easy to fix n upgrade, also i have seen the dt 02's some of them look mint but over my budget for a light weight basher. to be honest i have had so much fun with the brat this aft i dont know y i would want 1 but everyone knows you always have room for one more lol

[Origineelreclamebord]

Any TA01/02 Based chassis (Things like the Blazing Star) will be very reliable and a nice driving car too. NIB Blazing Stars even sell for about $60 dollars ex. shipping on ebay!

A Baja Champ/King (TL01B) is also a reliable car, but I think my TL01 touring car was a boring drive (although that was only onroad, so maybe off-road it's different)... So I think the TL01B won't score much better than my ye-old TL01.

You can also go for a DT01 (cars like the Mad Fighter) and DT02 (cars like the Sand Viper). They are simple 2WD buggy chassis, I never owned one but it appears like they can have some abuse and are not too badly priced either I think? (I heard that they are masters of understeer though, quite a pity).

[taliesin]

i got a sand viper dt-02 and a mad fighter dt-01 for around $30 each from fleabay and i love them both. the sand viper is MUCH better, but they are both fun. they both understeer horribly, but i've fixed most of it on the dt-02. parts are easier to come by for the dt-02 as well because its newer. the only thing money can't buy is a new body set for the sand viper. not sure why...

the df-02 gravel hounds are pretty solid, but more pricey and not as crazy to drive as the 1st two mentioned. it handles much better, but costs more and takes away some silly driving fun since it does what you expect it too. the mad fighter has a bit of an ornery streak and it occasionally does something unpredictable because of its vintage suspension. i love it.

the dt-01 mad bull would be a killer basher buggy if you can find one. they seem under loved, so maybe you can grab one cheap? really too stupidly simple to actually break anything from what i can see. i'm trying to find a nice one here in the states myself for the same reasons as you. i kinda want a manta ray too, but can't find one and spares might be an issue....

good luck and let us know what you buy.

[Gruntfuggly]

Anything Manta Ray based is good. TL01B are also very cheap to run, but need bearings and proper shocks.

Stadium Thunder are also v. cheap, bulletproof and good to drive...

[Swarm]

Hi I would have to say the Blazing Star is a good solid kit, strong chassis can take the tumbles fast reliable ease to source parts looks good and is pretty cheap and just as easy to assemble and maintain I give mine a hammering I found the stock standard tyres and shocks were quite good ..

Stuart

[Lonestar]

I'd actually voice for a VLB or Midnite pumpkin... if this qualifies as a "buggy" to you. Be aware though that the VLB eats up a lot of body posts, but if you can have some machined in metal, it's the absolute funniest car on the planet!!!

Paul

[Butler]

Brushless Grasshopper.

[SegaFalcon]

Brushless Grasshopper.

If someone ever does that I want to be the first to see that thing corner

Bear in mind 4wd buggies are far more controlled on corners which can take the fun out of things.

My Falcon is proberly my Favorite car, its design is 22 years old and yet it functions so well. I can beat my Dt02 driving mate with ease (Alright mine has a rocket up its ******* but shhh). The only grips I have about it are The usual dog bone faults and those tyres which wear quick if you race on Tarmac.

My best advice would be, go on ebay go into Radio controlled and the cars. Look in both other and battery operated, and just buy the cheapest most solid car you can find that you like but of course make sure parts are on hand before you bid. Good luck with finding an ideal car, I know theres some good ones on there right now

[hoppi05]

Cheers guys some good advise and pointer there i am keeping my eye on ebay at the mo theres a few on so i may have one next week?........ i see what you say about the 4wd taking the fun out ill bare that in mind...

[tupers]

If someone ever does that I want to be the first to see that thing corner

Or not .

I would go for something like a mad bull they're always good fun.

[Skysaxon]

If someone ever does that I want to be the first to see that thing corner

Bear in mind 4wd buggies are far more controlled on corners which can take the fun out of things.

My Falcon is proberly my Favorite car, its design is 22 years old and yet it functions so well. I can beat my Dt02 driving mate with ease (Alright mine has a rocket up its ******* but shhh). The only grips I have about it are The usual dog bone faults and those tyres which wear quick if you race on Tarmac.

My best advice would be, go on ebay go into Radio controlled and the cars. Look in both other and battery operated, and just buy the cheapest most solid car you can find that you like but of course make sure parts are on hand before you bid. Good luck with finding an ideal car, I know theres some good ones on there right now

I coudnt offer you that ,but a brushless Brat is on my shelf and waiting for good weather.

Just finished it today with a Carson ABC TQ100 brushless combo and on the first testdrive it seams to break the sound barrier.

Oh it wasnt slow before I run a Team Orion Turbo 11turn motor - but I want more

So if you want a fast basher that is reliable and if it doesnt mind that it is 2wd look out for a Frog or Brat.

This car is realy bulletproofed.

[bigoggy]

i second the vote for a mad bull. they are great fun

[TA-Mark]

When you add up what is missing from each model of buggy they are all around the same price.

DF01 + Bearings + ESC (This car is most expensive for bearings having 3 different sizes and none in the kit).

DF02 + Bearings (Missing 8x 1150 from knuckles, comes with a Tamiya 101 ESC).

DF03 + ESC (Full bearings, needs an ESC).

TL01b + ESC + Bearings (Needs both).

After building all 4 myself there was about a $50 difference between the most expensive and the cheapest to get them built and running with radiogear, ESC, battery and bearings.

As a first buggy I would recommend the DF02 + 8 wheel bearings. This is the simplest chassis from the group and is the easiest to work on. My only pick with this kit is it's slightly lower ground clearance to the other 3 and the fact it's missing 8 bearings from the box.

DF02 and DF03 both have the same long/short CVA type adjustable plastic shocks. DF01 has those terrible yellow plastic things you cannot tune. The Baja King I bought didn't even have shocks, only friction dampers (useless).

Something else I've noticed about the DF02 is it has a longer runtime. I doesn't matter which battery I use in it, it will always do 10 orso more laps of my track than the rest do before stopping completely. TL01b is flat first. DF01 and DF03 both runout at about the same time. This pattern has been consistant everytime we have driven the 4 car together.

I'm not a DF02 lover, I actually prefer the DF01 Top Force myself, even with it's short comings (disintegrates with a very powerful motor, MambaMax has split my rear gearbox in 2). I just feel that out of the 4, DF02 was the easiest to build and use.

The DF03 tyres don't seem to grip anywhere but carpet. DF01 comes with a variety of tyres, Blazing Star (CC01) tyres will handle nearly any terrain but don't offer much in the way of grip. The Top-Force spikes on the DF02 and TL01b grip very well in dirt, these would be gone in a flash on a sealed surface however.

Cheers, Mark