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Hi lift vs. Bruiser rere

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Hey guys

I am wondering if I should get a Hi lift or a Bruiser rere. I want to drive it, so which one should I get. Obviouly I would really like to build the Bruiser, but am a bit affraid on the performance compared to the Hi lift. Anybody with experience in both that can advise here.

Thanks

Jesper

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Two different beasts, really.

Bruiser has a 2wd Lo, 2wd High, 4wd transmission.

High Lift has a 3 Speed permanent 4wd transmission.

Personally I like the Bruiser as that transmission is more on the "real" side and there is a speed difference when running it in 2wd high vs 4wd.

The bruiser is also larger than the High Lift. The latter is a bit on the "small" side.

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I once had both of them. I used Bruiser tires with 2.2 wheels on the High-Lift without making any modifications. Here's some side-by-side pictures:

02_zps499e2f42.jpg?t=1372450256

04_zps5ba833e0.jpg?t=1372450259

01_zps0598b5e6.jpg?t=1372450252

03_zps6138195c.jpg?t=1372450263

It would be useful to remember that the original Bruiser shares almost nothing with the new version of it. Tires and bumpers probably the only exception.

You all have a great weekend! :)

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Thanks for the info guys, and thanks for the great pictures for the comparison. Looking at the pictures the Hi lift looks more beefy around the knuckles/diff area.

From the pictures I can see that I really should get both :) but guess it will be a bit too expensive.

I will primarely be using it in the garden and a bit in the forrest, and I guess both should be ok for that? I know the bruiser have more ground clearance, but that is obvoiusly just a matter of wheels/tyre combo according to the pictures.

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I think you can't go wrong for either one of them. The new Hilux may have better performance given is a newer design. Looks wise will have to go to the re-re. A consideration is the availability of replacement parts and the cost. Both are not Tamiya's entry level model so prepare to shell out.

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I think you can't go wrong for either one of them. The new Hilux may have better performance given is a newer design. [...]

The new Hilux might be a better runner than the original 1985 Bruiser, but the new one is really something else. The new Bruiser and the original Bruiser are actually a completely different kind of RC vehicles. The new one has differentials, and a better transfer case. On the not-so-nice side of things you also have a noisy truck to deal with. Had I have the money, I don't believe I'd buy any of them but of course that's your choice. ;)

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. On the not-so-nice side of things you also have a noisy truck to deal with. Had I have the money, I don't believe I'd buy any of them but of course that's your choice. ;)

Do they make a lot of noise? Is it due to metalgears?

Why wouldn't you buy them? Would I be better off with one of the RC4WD vehicles?

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Would I be better off with one of the RC4WD vehicles?

NO ! Those have a lot of quality issues. (Having owned several, I can say that).

If it's a garden runner, I'd get the Bruiser re release. (I can say that too, I've both you are looking at).

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I don't know why everyone's rere Bruisers are so loud? I went to town (but didn't drown it) with ceramic and moly grease in mine (depending on the gear material in question) and it runs nice and quiet. Much quieter than the clanky rattle of the oldy.

But to case in point, the Bruiser is a good truck for appreciating what it is. Tamiya (both then and now) did a fine job of making it look unitised and any alterations to the chassis and suspension really stick out like add ons. The Highlift underpinnings are all pretty much tweaked semi truck parts, are all blocky and over sized, making no beauty pageant winner with the top off. But, due to this, it's blessed with 12mm wheel hexes, common parts, and other stuff so modifying the chassis and suspension is easy, affordable and unless you really stuff it up, always an improvement!

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NO ! Those have a lot of quality issues. (Having owned several, I can say that).

If it's a garden runner, I'd get the Bruiser re release. (I can say that too, I've both you are looking at).

I owned both, kept the re-release bruiser

Runs great, tougher than original and not as noisy like some say

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If you plan on keeping the vehicle pretty much stock, the re-re Bruiser would be the better performer. However if mods are your thing, there are many really good hop-ups available for the Hi-lift from companies like Junfac, which significantly improve its offroad performance, putting it in SCX10 territory.

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Do they make a lot of noise? Is it due to metalgears?

I can not explain the reason for the noise, but you can check yourself any re-re Bruiser video on YouTube. They're noisier than a Hilux High-Lift. And both trucks would sound better without the squeeshy Tamiya ESC. I frankly hate those rat-sounding ESCs.

Why wouldn't you buy them? Would I be better off with one of the RC4WD vehicles?

Both trucks are way too expensive for the running fun they provide. They don't run like a Black Foot, and can not crawl like a CR-01. They're something in between. I believe everybody should own an original Bruiser, though, because of its historical significance & unsurpassed scale looks. It's a truck you might want to run from time to time, but sooner or later you'll realize almost any Tamiya kit under $200 is more reliable and fun than the ones you're interested in nowadays.

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I've been building a Hilux high-lift since completeing my Bruiser re-re. I'm not impressed at all.

The gearbox seems questionable in comparison, the plastic differential case which had all sorts of flashing inside that I had to sand smooth to make the thing axles turn without binding...

I was really expecting a lot more out of the highlift kit, I mean... there was a chance to make things better and it really seems like a step down to me.

Buy the bruiser.

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Thanks for all the replies guys. I think I will go for a Bruiser, even though they don't impress everybody that much. I am most in this for the build, and then if it can take some trips in the garden and the forrest, I will probably be satisfied. I don't like the pricetag, but guess I will sacrifice my Gorillamaxx to pay for it.

Heard many people say that I should get a SCX10 in stead, which should be a better performer, which I won't doubt, but I just like the look of the Bruiser too much...

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Thanks for all the replies guys. I think I will go for a Bruiser, even though they don't impress everybody that much. I am most in this for the build, and then if it can take some trips in the garden and the forrest, I will probably be satisfied. I don't like the pricetag, but guess I will sacrifice my Gorillamaxx to pay for it.

Heard many people say that I should get a SCX10 in stead, which should be a better performer, which I won't doubt, but I just like the look of the Bruiser too much...

Well, if you're in this for the looks, I can say the re-re Bruiser is almost unbeatable ;)

Good luck with the purchase and don't forget to share some pictures of your truck when you get it. :)

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If you have a gorilla maxx and want something more slow and crawly why not a summit! I know it's traxxas but I'm a big summit fan wanted one for ages just wish it were narrower and more scale.

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Thanks for all the replies guys. I think I will go for a Bruiser, even though they don't impress everybody that much. I am most in this for the build, and then if it can take some trips in the garden and the forrest, I will probably be satisfied. I don't like the pricetag, but guess I will sacrifice my Gorillamaxx to pay for it.

Heard many people say that I should get a SCX10 in stead, which should be a better performer, which I won't doubt, but I just like the look of the Bruiser too much...

Great choice ! It's a good build, watch the steps for the transmission and take your time. I have to rebuild mine, doesn't shift very smoothly but I rushed the build so my error I'm sure. Lots to do and it looks great when you're done.

Here's mine for some inspiration:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=115311&sid=7434

img7434_19052013010402_4.jpg

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I think I will go with box art, so how much paint will I need?

Primer

Blue paint

Laquer?

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Got the Bruiser a fewdays ago, and opened the box this morning. First thing that springs into my eyes, is that front and rear axle are not same width. Wonder how that will look on the finished build?

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Got the Bruiser a fewdays ago, and opened the box this morning. First thing that springs into my eyes, is that front and rear axle are not same width. Wonder how that will look on the finished build?

It's going to look good, believe me.

Tamiya decided to make the axles like that apparently because they thought it would help the geometry of the driving force of their very first 4x4, the Toyota pick-up from 1981. And they just kept it that way when the Bruiser came out, later on in 1985.

With the new Bruiser last year (which is what you have there), although the axles are completely different than the originals, they chose to keep the original width, probably because they wanted it to resemble the classic chassis from 1985. I would say the the front axle is more realistic than the rear.

Now the Hilux High-Lift (2007) has both axles the same width, but unfortunately the same width of the rear Bruiser axle. You could say the Tamiya boys were just lazy back in the 80's. Oh, well, they still are (and probably even more) thirty years after they released the first 4x4 RC trucks.

But anyway, I'm sure you're going to like the truck when built. So much you'll probably agree that it is more a shelfer than a runner.

Don't forget to share some pictures of the building process when you get into it! ;):)

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Got the Bruiser a fewdays ago, and opened the box this morning. First thing that springs into my eyes, is that front and rear axle are not same width. Wonder how that will look on the finished build?

Buy these wheels, problem solved with an offset built into the front wheels, makes the width even.

RC4WD Set.

http://store.rc4wd.com/Truescale-Series-Bruiser-Beadlock-Wheels-_p_2534.html

I have a set but have not fitted them, they are packed away unfortunately with my NIB.

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Thanks for the link. I will build it first, and see how I like it.

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