DB01 or Super Hotshot

[GTodd]

Good morning.  I know the chassis' are out 30 years apart in design and the DB01 will run circles around the Super Hotshot.  Im not looking for all out speed.  Just some fun at the local track.  I always wanted a Hotshot chasis car. I remember drooling over picks of the black hot shot II in the Tamiya catalog.  Whatever I get Ill run at my local track.  I know the DB01 will handle he track quite well.  Will the supershot be a disapointment?  Will be able to handle descent size jumps? Can the hotshot trans take mild brushless motors?

[Saito2]

I have great affection for the Hot Shot series and the Super Shot in particular. The Super Hot Shot has a hefty, substantial feeling to it. The drivetrain can take mild brushless with ease. Some ran down to 12T brushed motors back in the day. The Shots do suffer from bump steer (unlike the Boomerang, Super Sabre and Big Wig) and don't turn all that sharp. I often flick the brakes to bring the rear around in a tight turn. The Boomer suffers much less of this. As far as what I've seen of "modern" tracks, I wouldn't be winging a Shot series buggy over those really high jumps. The Super Shot was from the era of real off road tracks with loamy dirt, rooster tails and realistic jump heights. Here it does well. My Super Shot in particular jumps very well, level and stable. Mega-high modern jumps would shatter it sending people running for cover from ABS shrapnel. Driven responsibly it would do fine. Its not like trying to pilot a bouncy Hornet or anything like that. Being a fan, I'd quote the Super Champ and say "go for it!"

[Juggular]

You are wondering about the potential buyer's remorse, I suppose.  

Let me tell you right off the bat: If you don't get what you always wanted, you'll regret it.   

I got hung up on the performance just like everybody else.  But as another member, Jonathon said, it's about fun.  Don't worry about the performance difference and go with your heart.  RC is not about winning (unless you are racing, then go with DB01).  Old designs have their limits.  But does it matter?  You wanted it.  If you run it on a track with high jumps, there is a chance you'd crack the arms when you land particularly hard.  The holes for the pivoting pins can crack.  But many in the series share the same arms.  Parts are not hard to come by.  Fixing is also part of the fun.  

There is little something called "IKEA effect."  Even though IKEA furniture looks nothing like furniture worth thousands of dollars, YOU built it with your hand.  It becomes truly Yours.  So you'll like it more than some expensive hotel furniture.  To me, getting what you always wanted is worth 70%, performance accounts for 30% of my buying decisions.  

I'd be a bit cautious about brushless.  As I built Bigwig, I noticed some tiny gap issues.  Basically, some gears are 0.5mm loose along the axis of the gear.  As you turn them you'd hear a cyclical noise, as if gears are ever so slightly lopsided or rubbing where it shouldn't.  By using a couple shims here and there, I was able to get rid of the cyclical noise.  Dog bones are not always in perfect depth in the drive cups, so I'd recommend using rubber o-rings or urethane sponge to space the dogbone perfectly in the middle.  And mind the steering angle.  All these are not a big deal for brushed motors.  But if you want a mild brushless, you could carefully adjusted these things, and I think you'd be fine.   

 

[Jonathon Gillham]

First off, as many wise TCer's have said, get both since you'll end up getting both anyway!

The Super Hotshot is pretty pricey right?  I think I have seen it here for around the NZD$450 mark, which seems a lot.  A DB01RR is about the same price, around NZD$450.  A Boomerang is about half that amount, and the pinnacle of Tamiya RC cars.  If you just want a Shot series car, could you get a Boomerang or does it have to be a Super Hotshot?  AND (this is where my genius really comes in) the basic DB01 Durga kit is about the same price as the Boomerang, so for the price of a Super Hotshot (and a bit of poetic licence by saying you would be getting the DB01RR) you could have a Boomerang and a DB01. 

Which will all actually just add to your overall cost, as then you'll go and buy some hopups for Durga and realise you could just get the DB01RR, and then you'll still want the Super Hotshot.  So you'll end up with a Boomerang, hopped up Durga, Super Hotshot and a DB01RR, and be very happy.  And what price can you put on happiness?  (don't ask my wife, she'll tell you its $250 for the Boomerang be thankful you have that!)

Now for a perhaps more helpful answer...the Boomerang part is actually pretty helpful, if that will scratch the Shot series itch as it frees up cash.  I would also look at a secondhand racer for the track.  There will be a bunch of Associated B6's and Schumacher (the ones just superseded by the new one) around cheap as both have just had new models come out.  If you wait a couple of months then the HB Racing D413's will be cheap as the D418 is due later this month.  It looks like Kyosho are going to be releasing new cars too as theirs are on sale at Amain at the moment.  The race kits are what you need for track work.  Not just performance but durability.  Racing 2 buggies for 18monthish and I have broken 2 things, in the same crash, which wouldn't have happened if there wasn't track maintenance and a barrier was removed which exposed a post, the only thing I could hit in a 5m long space and I hit it.  Set it up with a 17.5T (and a fan!) and blinky spec ESC, if you get the gearing right it will be plenty fast and never break unless you do something really crazy with it, and you can also enter 17.5T Stock (assuming thats a class where you are, it seems to be common around the world) races if you feel the need to race.

So to answer your question, I have no idea.

[Mahjik]

I've seen it posted on this forum by others and I'm sorry I can't quote the exact authors..   Basically, if you've always wanted a Hotshot, you'll still want a Hotshot if you get anything else.

 

Yes, a DB01 is light years better than anything the Hotshot series every produced.  But if that's something you wanted, you'll still want one even if you have a DB01.  The best approach is "get both".

[Re-Bugged]

  ‘Let me tell you right off the bat: If you don't get what you always wanted, you'll regret it.’ 

So true Mr Juggular, as a Fighting Buggy is ‘The One’ for me and found out last night that one I had my eye on (at the top of my price range though) at a Hobby Shop in Sydney has now sold !!!!!!!  I have been walking around like a bear with a sore head since.  

But since reading Jonathan’s addition to this post I’ve since had a good chuckle   

So go with your heart GTodd. As I did that with a Sand Scorcher and love it for exactly what is, and is just as satisfying as tearing around with my Nitro Buggy 😃

[Re-Bugged]

( Must of hit a wrong button somewhere as my previous post has come out all bold type, sorry about that )

[Juggular]

4 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

 

First off, as many wise TCer's have said, get both since you'll end up getting both anyway!

The Super Hotshot is pretty pricey right?  I think I have seen it here for around the NZD$450 mark, which seems a lot.  A DB01RR is about the same price, around NZD$450.  A Boomerang is about half that amount, and the pinnacle of Tamiya RC cars.  If you just want a Shot series car, could you get a Boomerang or does it have to be a Super Hotshot?  AND (this is where my genius really comes in) the basic DB01 Durga kit is about the same price as the Boomerang, so for the price of a Super Hotshot (and a bit of poetic licence by saying you would be getting the DB01RR) you could have a Boomerang and a DB01. 

Which will all actually just add to your overall cost, as then you'll go and buy some hopups for Durga and realise you could just get the DB01RR, and then you'll still want the Super Hotshot.  So you'll end up with a Boomerang, hopped up Durga, Super Hotshot and a DB01RR, and be very happy.  And what price can you put on happiness?  (don't ask my wife, she'll tell you its $250 for the Boomerang be thankful you have that!)

...

So to answer your question, I have no idea.

7

LOL, that was Brilliant! 

A certain sentence I had heard, had floated up to my mind; "Truly, you have a dizzying intellect."   

Am I the only one who remembered this conversation?  (a 1987 movie was a bit too old a reference, I wonder?)

 

3 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

 .... as a Fighting Buggy is ‘The One’ for me and found out last night that one I had my eye on (at the top of my price range though) at a Hobby Shop in Sydney has now sold !!!!!!!  I have been walking around like a bear with a sore head since.  

...

 

I feel you... we all know how that feels.  My deepest condolences. 

(I can almost hear Taps playing sadly in the background...)

[Jonathon Gillham]

59 minutes ago, Juggular said:

LOL, that was Brilliant! 

A certain sentence I had heard, had floated up to my mind; "Truly, you have a dizzying intellect."   

Am I the only one who remembered this conversation?  (a 1987 movie was a bit too old a reference, I wonder?)

 

 

I don't know how many times I have seen that movie, and first time would have been 1987. It took me a few moments to remember the line though.

I wonder if any of our replies have answered the OP question

[Grotty Otty]

Being an owner of a Super Hotshot and a modern belt drive racing buggy (Cat K2) I'd actually say the Super Hotshot. Use it within its limitations and its really good fun to rag around. Mine is on a 8.4v Nimh and  Nosram Dominator speedo so not far off a mild brushless. It kinda handles OK, but I like how it points skyward when it accelerates, nose dives when you throw on the brakes and understeers forever if you don't dab the brakes first to flick it round. I personally wouldn't jump it to high as its a heavy old thing and would probably land like an anvil as there's not a huge amount of suspension travel. Gratuitous pic follows... 

[GTodd]

Thank you all for the input. So a Boomerang isn't based on the Hotshot series? I I didn't realize that. 

What's the difference between the two series of cars? The chassis tub, transmission, diffs?????

[Mahjik]

Can you see some differences here:

 

http://www.blackholesun.fr/en/39-en/tamiya/201-tamiya-off-road-chassis?start=11

 

[Jonathon Gillham]

2 hours ago, GTodd said:

Thank you all for the input. So a Boomerang isn't based on the Hotshot series? I I didn't realize that. 

What's the difference between the two series of cars? The chassis tub, transmission, diffs?????

The Boomerang is part of the Hotshot series, it has the same gearboxes. The series ran from Hotshot to Bigwig and all the 4wd models in between. They used different chassis to connect the 2 gearboxes together and different suspension setups, but all used the same drivetrain.

The Boomerang was in the middle of these and was made as an entry level 4wd whereas the others were more expensive. It was also lighter (very important with 1200 nicd batteries for run time) and was a decent performer, so it was very popular and sold well. It was my first hobby grade RC, hence I preordered the rerelease. Now it is cheaper than the others too.