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B.RAD

Recommend me a 4wd buggy (any brand)

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Hi folks

My latest build is complete and I find myself without a project in front of me. Development of current fleet has them in a good place too, so I'm now at a loose end for RC related procrastination!! 😄

I love my DT03 and now that has become a stadium truck, I'm keen to get another buggy in the fleet.

Must be 4wd (unless you can convince me otherwise).

I'm not precious about brand, I don't mind if it's kit or RTR (although kit is preferable, I really don't mind either way). I don't have spare radio gear though so that needs to be factored in. I do have a spare 4000kv ezrun combo and a decent metal gear servo.

Budget isn't an issue, I'm open to all suggestions, but £300 is probably the top end of what I'd be comfortable spending. Less is better!

I don't mind a pre-order either but in stock would be ideal.

1/10 is strongly preferable. 

Brushed or brushless, I don't mind. It'll go on deans plug 2s lipo. If brushed, I will upgrade to a low turn motor. 

Handling is a priority. It MUST be a good buggy to drive on grass and without grip roll!

So, what do you recommend?? 

I've seen some buggies on Modelsport like the Absima AB3.4 or the Maverick Strada AB, but I'm slightly worried about their budget nature. Any thoughts on these?

Thanks all!

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5 minutes ago, DaveBuildsRC said:

Tamiya Fire dragon, thunder dragon, or a terra scorcher if you can find one.

Terra Scorcher looks viable, what's it like to run?

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The Thundershot  buggies are a good shout from Tamiya, unless you can find a Top Force as they are just cool. Love the Top Force, mine is halfway to Evo spec and the TF Evo will be available soon.  I don't have a thundershot series buggy but have the Boomerang and Top Force and both are good runners so the one in between should be good.

From other brands. I race the HB D418 and it is amazing. Fast, handles well and completely bulletproof. Any race level kit willbe good though and with your budget it should be possible.

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21 minutes ago, B.RAD said:

Terra Scorcher looks viable, what's it like to run?

Very good! Fast, stable and versatile.

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1 hour ago, TurnipJF said:

Very good! Fast, stable and versatile.

Would it cope with the 4000kv ezrun motor? 

I should add - I'm open to second hand options too, doesn't have to be new.

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I just bought a Kyosho Javelin after finishing my DT03 (which you've seen on the other thread B)) , they are currently back in stock...

Mechanic After Hours and RC kicks have build videos on utoob if you want to have a look,.

Very different to Tamiya which is what appealed to me as a change..... Lot more metal in the kit, chain or belt drive etc.

 

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If you watch Mechanic After Hours video, it's one of, if not the best looking RC car I've ever seen !

 

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11 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

Top Force as they are just cool. Love the Top Force, mine is halfway to Evo spec and the TF Evo will be available soon

Oh my word, the Top Force Evo is a seriously cool looking piece of kit! Looks absolutely stunning. The price is slightly off-putting though, for the abuse my RC cars get, I think I would feel a bit precious about something with that price tag. Seriously gorgeous though!!!

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Optima/Javelin are for sure worth a look. Great runners the first time around, and the re-res are just gems. Full bearings, a fantastic suspension and drivetrain, and classic looks.

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18 minutes ago, markbt73 said:

Optima/Javelin are for sure worth a look. Great runners the first time around, and the re-res are just gems. Full bearings, a fantastic suspension and drivetrain, and classic looks.

So Javelin and Optima are both available at £319 - is there any difference between them other than the body? Which is considered the better car?

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19 minutes ago, B.RAD said:

So Javelin and Optima are both available at £319 - is there any difference between them other than the body? Which is considered the better car?

Optima has the more revered name has it not?

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Depends on what you want to do with it - 

Generally I say "get the car that your local hobby store has the most replacement parts for".

If you have a fleet of cars and don't mind some down time awaiting orders to come, I think the following would be good choices:

Hotshot - nostalgic and iconic

Optima - nostalgic, but more durable than a Hotshot

Team Associated RC10B74 - fantastic track weapon

Kyosho Lazer - simple plain vanilla modern buggy 

Tekno EB410 - the ultimate in indestructible no motor limit modern buggies 

 

 

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41 minutes ago, B.RAD said:

So Javelin and Optima are both available at £319 - is there any difference between them other than the body? Which is considered the better car?

Differences are purely cosmetic. Optima has a Lexan body shell and white wheels, Javelin has an orange nylon rollcage and wing and chrome wheels. Everything else is identical.

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(I know it's a Tamiya Forum,  but....)

Schumacher L1, I paid £150 for a nice 2nd hand one recently. The new L1 evo's are around £400.  Plenty of spares back up in the UK, will take any turn of 540 motor with no issues (a 4.5t going in mine ,around 9000kv, one I had in my K1) ,one of the best handling 4wd, and plenty of set up sheets online!! 

https://site.petitrc.com/setup/schumacher/setupcatl1/

 

Looks like the L1 evo handles ok....😯

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157626778151433&id=180970366432&anchor_composer=false

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I’ve had my Javelin for a couple of years now and has had a fair amount of off road use and the only issue I’ve had was part of the steering linkage coming loose and jamming the steering. (Where the pivot screws into the chassis from memory) Nothing a bit of Threadlock couldn’t fix and has been great ever since.

I run mine on 2s and a 13.5t and XR10 Justock combo and find it plenty for me. Space is tight where the ESC goes and there isn’t room to attach the fan, but I’ve never had any overheating problems.

  It’s a fantastic kit to build and run, it’s fills the gap nicely in my fleet and is usually the first to picked out for a bash.

  It has been infected by the Tamiya virus recently in the pandemic though and mutated a bit...

CE38C5D5-A699-4115-AFFC-DEF6D46AEDD5.jpg

8159A461-D36C-43C6-A8DC-C3451E2032AF.jpg
 

AFFEB0AF-8AC9-4E87-AC78-0E49AB3097EF.jpg
 

Pre virus...

1EB3C76C-3BFB-4831-A881-D3CB4170DEA5.jpg

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10 hours ago, SupraChrgd82 said:

Team Associated RC10B74 - fantastic track weapon

Kyosho Lazer - simple plain vanilla modern buggy 

Tekno EB410 - the ultimate in indestructible no motor limit modern buggies 

These are truly awesome looking buggies and probably what I should get, but I don't think I can justify the cost. At north of £300, but without any electrics, wheels or tyres, I'll be looking at well over £400, or £500 in some circumstances, before they get moving. They do look amazing though! I might have to give it more thought, I do have the motor and ESC combo already, so it would just be a transmitter/receiver and the wheels and tyres really. 

9 hours ago, Wooders28 said:

Schumacher L1

Same goes for this magnificent looking beast sadly! Although at £40 more than the Javelin/Optima, I guess I'd get a fair bit more buggy for a small increase in spend?

I do really, really like the look of the Javelin though! A very cool looking buggy!

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34 minutes ago, B.RAD said:

At north of £300, but without any electrics, wheels or tyres, I'll be looking at well over £400, or £500 in some circumstances, before they get moving.

Buying one of these cars at this level, you've normally the elecs to move over from the old race car. Although tyres are a consumable, and at that pace, consume at quite a rate....

Also, unless you've shortys lipos, you'll need those too. I've just modernised to LiHv, they're not that expensive now tbh.

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/intellect-lipo-lihv-2s-18.5mm-shorty-4200mah-7.6v-446966

No buggy will handle as well as a modern race buggy, so if thats the main criteria then it's one of them, but if it's a bit of nostalgia thrown in too, then a Turbo Optima....

Not really saving you cash here 🙄😂, apart from maybe some 2nd hand race cars coming onto the market soon, now racing has started again, but you'll need to be a club member, or at least on club Facebook pages to get first dibs on cars.

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Your Bio says MK, so think your nearest club is the Silverstone club? 

https://www.facebook.com/silverstone.rcmcc/

Some clubs have separate buy/sell pages, just remember the usual, buying stuff off the internet rules (red flag if the seller demands bank transfer etc)

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Thanks @Wooders28, this is good advice. I'd be very happy with a 2nd hand race buggy for a reasonable price. 

Any thoughts on the Kyosho Dirt Hog?

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I love the Kyosho cars, but every LHS store I talk to has a very very hard time getting parts. One refuses to carry Kyosho bc he can’t service the cars and his customers get mad. Even one an hour away that is an “authorized kyosho dealer” (whatever that means) has very little Kyosho stuff...

YMMV,

Terry

 

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Thanks Terry. Very useful to know. I must admit part of the fun so far has been modifying, upgrading and improving the Tamiya kits I've done. Parts haven't been all that easy to source given the current circumstances, but generally I've been able to get what I need. 

Something like the Dirt Hog would be especially hard to service and maintain though I guess?

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