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Bogus3000

New to the hobby looking to get a 4wd buggy to bash, is the df03 obsolete?

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I currently have my eyes on the df03 dark impact and the db01 durga, now i understand that the durga is a much superior chassis, although i can’t just let go of the fact that the dark impact is that much better in the looks department (for my personal taste anyway) especially with the livery i’ve come up with for it. With some upgrades, would the dark impact stack up to the durga? would its high ground clearance be important to the performance in terms of bashing? Attached is the livery i mentioned if anyone is interested

28AA68D1-7FBB-4FF5-A453-7CEC2E237C93.jpeg

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also wanted to mention that i’m getting it to bash with my friend’s traxxas rustler, i’m not saying my car should be faster that bc that would be kind of ridiculous without serious upgrades but i would at least like to keep up so it’s not boring.

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The df03 is a great buggy and spares are still easily available although aftermarket parts tend to be quite expensive for some reason. I would recommend universal shafts for it and the slipper clutch but the clutch alone is about 50 quid if you can find one. - fortunately the base kit tends to be quite cheap so it balances out. 

The downside to it is that the chassis tub is very small so putting modern electronics such as brushless systems and lipo batteries can be a bit of a pain to get them to fit.

In terms of bashing it's a perfect chassis really, its got good ground clearance if you want to run it off road but it can be setup for hard surfaces easily enough as well. I've never owned or driven the a DB01 but I did look at getting one for a while, spares seem to be a bit less easy to get hold of and if you are just gonna be bashing it about then belts aren't always a good idea as they tend to need more maintenance than having a propshaft.

Whatever you decide to buy, If you put decent electronics in it, it will easily keep up with a rustler, the 4wd alone gives you an advantage if you are on loose surfaces. I sold my old DF03 MS to my brother and he has put a 5.5t brushless system and even used a 3cell lipo in it and it flys with no problems.

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DF03 runs ok but for fun bashing IMHO the DF01 MantaRay would be tougher, easier to keep running & probably better to live with.

DF03's ball diffs can be a PITA if not built right & they keep blowing up.

 

Or just get a Slash 4X4 :) 

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1 hour ago, WillyChang said:

DF03 runs ok but for fun bashing IMHO the DF01 MantaRay would be tougher, easier to keep running & probably better to live with.

DF03's ball diffs can be a PITA if not built right & they keep blowing up.

 

Or just get a Slash 4X4 :) 

Actually i’ve been looking at the top force for a while and i really like the way it looks. from what i understand it’s a improved manta ray. My only concerns are the low ground clearance and the lack of parts support due to it being a re re. also i’m not sure how it would stack up since it’s a vintage buggy after all. if i did decide to get it, what are some important hop ups?

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Another vote here for the Mantaray. Despite its age, it is still very capable even by modern standards, and has more ground clearance than most modern buggies. Parts are still quite easy to get as well as the most important upgrades, unlike those for the df-03 which are very hard to come by.

The most important hop-ups are the hardened propshaft, metal motor mount, steel pinion gear and of course a full set of ball bearings. It doesn't really need anything else. It comes with oil shocks as standard and the rest of the running gear is pretty tough.

You might consider a ball raced alloy steering rack to reduce slop in the steering assembly, but this isn't essential. The plastic parts are plenty strong enough and the excess play doesn't really affect handling terribly much.

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17 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

Another vote here for the Mantaray. Despite its age, it is still very capable even by modern standards, and has more ground clearance than most modern buggies. Parts are still quite easy to get as well as the most important upgrades, unlike those for the df-03 which are very hard to come by.

The most important hop-ups are the hardened propshaft, metal motor mount, steel pinion gear and of course a full set of ball bearings. It doesn't really need anything else. It comes with oil shocks as standard and the rest of the running gear is pretty tough.

You might consider a ball raced alloy steering rack to reduce slop in the steering assembly, but this isn't essential. The plastic parts are plenty strong enough and the excess play doesn't really affect handling terribly much.

Thanks for the reply, should i just get the top force since it’s the hopped up version of the manta ray?

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If you can afford it, go for it the top force! Maybe a little less robust than the more plasticy Manta but it's a better performer.

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What he said. Mantaray is simpler and tougher so a good bet for general bashing. TopForce is quicker and more adjustable so the better choice if you are going to join the vintage racing scene.

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if it the ground clearance your worried about how about something different in the form of the stadium blitzer. although both the manta ray and the top-force are very capable buggies but out of the 2 i would go for the manta-ray for the bashing factor just buy the hard shaft and alloy motor mount set 

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Another thing to consider is that while the Mantaray has quite adequate ground clearance with its stock wheels and tyres, they are quite small by modern buggy standards, so if you put modern buggy wheels and tyres on it, you get even more ground clearance. This is what I have on mine, and it is quite capable of bashing around the park even if they haven't mown the grass for a while.

2019-07-07_10-26-06

 

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