car for 8-year old girl

[TGX Fan]

Hello,

My friend has an eight year old girl. I want her to have a car so she can drive it when i drive mine. I had purchased a mini cooper, but am having second thoughts it would be too fast. Typical of an 8-year old, she thinks she knows how to do everything. What would you recommend for this case? If possible, avoid buggies, but it can be off-road (and looks cute for a girl lol). Much thanks.

[OldSchoolRunner]

I would get here a simple Tamiya Grasshopper. 380 engine. Not too much power. It will give her a chance for gaining confidence and control and later you can drop in a 540 motor. Grasshoppers are cheap and plentiful on eBay so if she ends not being into it you haven't put a lot of money out. Good luck.

OSR

[Psylence]

Grasshoppers are awesome for starting out, if you dig the off road buggy look. Very hard to kill, run forever with that 380 motor...

[Daves956]

I'd suggest anything TT01. Not too fast out of the box, 4 wheel drive so you can drive it almost anywhere, body styles and parts are everywhere so it's easy to keep running or change to suit.

My daughter is now 15 and hers has changed bodies several time since she started driving it at least 6 years ago. It's also taken boatloads of abuse too. It's been the Ferrari F40 then the transformers camaro and currently the proline graverobber hearse.

[djmcnz]

Well, the Grasshopper is a buggy... so, since you already have the Mini, can you set the ESC or the transmitter to a lower throttle setting? Set max to between 40% and 60% and graduate from there. If you can do that it will cost you no more... speed is typically the problem, take the problem away...

Is it a rear or front wheel drive Mini? A RWD will be hard for a learner to handle...

Edit: Mini's are seriously fun, very adaptable and inexpensive - if it's a front wheel drive then I really do believe it's a good choice.

[berman]

Lunnnnchboxxxxxx

All kids of all ages love the lunchie, she can hav it any color she wants, it pops comical wheelies, and goes just about anywhere.

[TA-Mark]

If things are going too fast, fit in a 55 turn or 65 turn motor from RC4WD. This will get it back to child speeds, and increase runtimes without needing to have expensive radio gear with end point adjustments. Once she gets the hang of it, throw back in the kit 540.

[Psylence]

Lunnnnchboxxxxxx

All kids of all ages love the lunchie, she can hav it any color she wants, it pops comical wheelies, and goes just about anywhere.

Winner. This is dead on, Lunchbox is win.

[TGX Fan]

Thanks for the input guys. I will think about the Grasshopper and maybe keep the mini cooper for myself. Also, I have a Hummer which is another option.

[XV Pilot]

It has been my experience that kids like to run what the grownups are running, or at least something that looks similar. So I suppose the question would be what would you be running when she is wanting to play?

The answer would then be a rugged, afffordable vehicle in the same category, slowed to child speed by a 380 or a high-turn 540 motor. The Lunch Box, TT01, Mad Bull, Grasshopper, DT02 and WR01 are all potentially kid-friendly models. Which one to choose would depend on what you plan to run yourself.

[beefmuffin]

tamtech frog rtr would be my first choice. lots of pink. small. fun. no maintenance.

[TGX Fan]

I tend to mostly run nitro/electric on-roads. Can you replace the 540 with a 380 on any models or only on certain models? I like the idea of a 380. Ideally I would like for her to be able to run both on and off-road. Although I don't care much for the look of a buggy, it might be more stable than non-buggy models.

[TA-Mark]

I tend to mostly run nitro/electric on-roads. Can you replace the 540 with a 380 on any models or only on certain models? I like the idea of a 380. Ideally I would like for her to be able to run both on and off-road.

Finding the right pinion to fit the 380's 2mm motor shaft is hard, hence why the 55 turn or 65 turn motors are the better option. These motors are the same speed as the 380, without loss of torque and without the fitment issues.

At $9.99 for a 540 high turn motor, you will not be able to buy a 380 motor + a 2mm shaft pinion + the 380 adapter plate and hardware to fit it all up.

When you slow the model down, most models are suitable. It's speed that kills.

[GregM]

I wouldn't go for the Grasshopper, as its handling is rather frustrating, especially for a child. If you want a new one, this car isn't even among the most inexpensive ones. Being rather low, it may even tend to get stuck here and there as soon as the child wants to get offroad on the lawn.

[mr crispy]

Whatever you go for I would suggest it should have a decent full width front bumper to protect your steering, or a bodyshell that does the same thing. In my experience lettings kids have a go its the front wheels that take the most damage.

As you already have the mini are you mostly driving on road? If not the M chassis rally tyres would probably be a good idea coupled with a high turn motor to reduce top speed. I padded the bumpers on my M03 mini with a little sponge foam to help soften impacts, I used a strip of double sided tape stuck on the outter surface with a 10mm strip of foam on top.

[EddScott]

My daughter was 9 when we got the Stadium Blitzer. Held up pretty well even if it did have a 9T ezrun in it She had to learn throttle control quickly to keep the front wheels on the ground.

She is now 11 and uses a SC10FT at our local club.

[XV Pilot]

Since you'd be driving a road car, she'd probably want to be driving something that looks the same. You could stick with the Mini, but if you want the easier handling and improved offroad ability of a 4wd chassis, along with the wider choice of cheap replacement bodyshells available for a standard-size touring chassis, I'd suggest a TT01 or even a used TL01. Both are tough and cheap to fix if they do break, and are easily slowed with a high-turn motor, yet can be raced in the beginners' classes if/when she develops the skill and enthusiasm to do so.

Padding the inside of the bodyshell with some foam tape so that it passes collision forces to the chassis bumper will help improve longevity, as would a bit of fibrglass tape reinforcement in vulnerable areas. I'm sure you know the drill from your own racing experiences.

If you would like the car to be capable of some offroad use (short grass, gravel, etc.) you could raise the suspension a bit and fit a set of Rally Blocks or similar knobbly tyres. I have a TT01 set up thus, and it handles the rough stuff surprisingly well.

[DCLXVI]

If things are going too fast, fit in a 55 turn or 65 turn motor from RC4WD. This will get it back to child speeds, and increase runtimes without needing to have expensive radio gear with end point adjustments. Once she gets the hang of it, throw back in the kit 540.

I think this would be the recommended course of action...

[Percymon]

If you already have the mini and you'll be running ont he driveway or hard ground in the local parks then stick with the mini, and fit a higher turn motor as Mark suggested - plenty of RC4WD motors at 55/65 turn that will halve the speed compared to the stock silver can. I think 65T is s bit slow, 55T will be fine for starters and you can always swap it for a 35/45T after a few months.

Buggies are fine if you want to run in the back garden or dirt areas, but on tarmac the tyres will wear out in no time.

[XV Pilot]

There is also the Street Rover on the DT02 chassis that you might consider if you need more offroad ability. It looks more like a road car than a typical racing buggy, comes with a 380 motor (but is easily fitted with a 540 further down the line) and is both rugged and cheap to fix. Fitted with some hop-ups and a lightweight lexan shell, it could also become an entry level racer further down the line if need be. And unlike most buggies, it has tyres suited to tarmac use.

[IBIFTKH]

Another suggestion - the WR02 VW Camper. With a slower motor to keep the front down it's more stable and controllable but still a lot of fun. I sometimes take a bunch of stuff for kids to run at my daughter's school fairs and the VW is always very popular - and it hasn't broken yet!!

[XV Pilot]

The WR02 is a good, tough, kid-friendly chassis with a mild motor. And if you want one with kid's appeal, they don't come much more appealing than the Farm King, that looks like a Bob the Builder character. I have one, and it is a strong favourite amongst my nephews and nieces.

My only concern about recommending it in this case is that it looks nothing like a touring car. I know with my bunch that they want to drive something that looks the same as what their uncle is driving. They are quite happy to drive the Farm King if I am driving a truck for example, but if I have one of my touring cars out, they want to drive a touring car too.

[TGX Fan]

Thanks for all the input guys. I have some thinking to do and will post pics of my build.

[94eg!]

Any car will work as long as you have "Throttle EPA" adjustment on the transmitter. Turn the "High" side (forward) down almost all the way and give them a go. Just stay close to help out if they get lost or distracted. I've had two 4 year olds and two 6 year olds drive a couple of my cars and nothing bad has happened. Of course we have have REALLY wide residential streets here in Vegas, so you may want to consider finding a parking lot or some place wide open.

[Daves956]

Just an opinion on detuning. Everybody has to learn how to drive something with a bit of power sometime. I don't think I would have appreciated being given a detuned car to run when I was that age. Age appropriate speed is fine but if it's just plain slow you might ruin the experience. I'd make the build and repairs part of the experience since everybody takes better care of the things they invest time into. That's just my opinion