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DeadMeat666

Help me decide: Avante 2011 or VQS?

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I've been toying around with adding yet another buggy to my already ridiculously large (to me) collection, but I'm faced with a dilemma.

I can either get an Avante 2011, or a VQS with a bunch of hopups (Aluminum shock mounts, hubs, high capacity shock set, etc), and these two options come to around USD 15 of each other in cost, so very much similar.

If I intend to actually use it, is that Avante really that pants to drive? Shall I just bite the bullet and get a VQS? 

I know it's my choice/my money/etc, but I would like feedback from members who have one or both of these to help me get as much info as possible before making my decision.

Also yes, I will eventually buy both (as we all do), but which one should take priority?

Edit: I already have an Egress that I haven't built yet, and I enjoy building a little more than I enjoy driving. Is the Egress more similar to the Avante in the build process or the VQS? 

Edited by DeadMeat666
Forgot to add something

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Its not that the Avante is totally pants to drive, though I consider it quirky in some respects, its that the Vanquish, er, VQS is better. The VQS is kinda like a plastic Egress without the F/R ball diffs. The Avante is beautiful and a great build and certainly can be run but the following iterations were aimed at ironing out its kinks. The Egress is sort of in-between as far as the build goes. You get a double deck chassis and alloy shocks (although a different design) like the Avante, but you get less complex plastic suspension arms like the VQS.

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I personally think the avante is really good to drive! Obviously it's not an all out racing machine especially in today's world but the problem with the avante is it was marketed wrong back in the day! Tamiya believed (and why not they designed it) it was going to transform racing but weight and a bit fragile plus over engineering meant really it didn't live up to expectations so I think it's old reputation and a bit of Idlib tends to follow it which  is a shame:unsure: although some tamiya drivers did have a bit of success? But as a hobby grade buggy I think it drives superb I had my avante flying around the local disused at the moment tennis court and it was great!, The vqs I can't really comment on because I've never had one! Just to expensive for what it is IMO.

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No opinion on one of those over the other, but the idea of building and hopping up a kit is more appealing to me than just building a kit straight from the manual…

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5 minutes ago, Frog Jumper said:

No opinion on one of those over the other, but the idea of building and hopping up a kit is more appealing to me than just building a kit straight from the manual…

That's my exact dilemma down to a "T".

I like building/hopping up, and there's really not much in the way of hopups for an Avante tbh. Or is there?

Obviously the VQS can be hopped up, but again its the age-old question of "hopped up cheaper chassis vs. buy a better RC to begin with". Even though I'm not sure the Avante is "better" in this particular case.

I couldn't figure out if the Avante 2011 comes with a spare set of yellow DF03 wheels. One particular blogger who built one did have them in there, but the manual makes no mention of them under the parts section. Anyone know?

One thing that's gotten me a little antsy about both of these is that they don't currently have any hex screwkits, and they use such a huge range of screws (and specialty screws) that trying to source them in bulk wouldn't work either.

I don't like JIS, and I don't like self-tappers. It's a matter of taste.

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I dont have any of em. But if a fairy ask me to choose 1 and give it to me for free, ill pick Avante. Build it stock and make it a shelf queen. Vqs is overpriced and doesnt have historical value, id rather bought other brand 4wd buggy with that money.

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I believe in the end you will probably end up with both (say within the next year). :lol:

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32 minutes ago, hIghQ said:

I believe in the end you will probably end up with both (say within the next year). :lol:

 

6 hours ago, DeadMeat666 said:

Also yes, I will eventually buy both (as we all do), but which one should take priority?

Probably won't even take a year lol.

 

 

@Morinstal You make a good point. But what's the fun in a shelf queen? I don't want to end up with a buggy that I don't drive for fear of damaging it. I just sold such a buggy 2 days ago for that very reason.

 

I'm getting a buggy to enjoy building, and occasionally enjoy driving. From RCMart, the VQS is significantly cheaper than the Avante, so much so that I can stock it up with all the hop-ups I'd ever want and it would just about reach the cost of a stock Avante, hence my dilemma. 

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With regards to handling,unless you are racing at any level would that matter? We all have lesser cars in the collection and enjoy driving them.

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I don't know much about either car tbh, other than the basics, plus whatever I've picked up in the last month or so since returning to the hobby. However, I did see the chap on the RC Kicks YouTube channel (Gavin I think) really quite unhappy with fragile his Vanquish is and I think he said the same for the VQS. Raises concerns on its suitability as a runner imo.

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I'm not familiar with the Vanquish/VQS, but I own both an original Avante and Egress. I'm no racer and I treat the Avante with due care (and stocked some spares), but as a runner it never lets me down: of course it's oversteering and underdampened, but if you already have a large collection of buggies you could always save the Avante for the most appropriate courses (the 2011 should be tougher than the 1988, as well).

And then there's the building process:wub:

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I think it was only the original 2011 release that had the Bonus Parts DF03 yellow wheels included. Theres normally a sticker on the box if it does.

The answer to your initial question though is clearly......both.

Then once you have an Avant Black Special as well to add to your Egress then you have the whole family :wub:

And if they rere the 2001 get one of them too.

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I don’t own any of these cars, but as a vintage M38 collector, if you’re not going to do any hopups I would get the original vintage Avante and build that and drive it sensibly.. meaning don’t crash.

Otherwise the rere’s to me would be a waste not to mod and drive them.  Again, just me. 

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4 hours ago, DeadMeat666 said:

 

Probably won't even take a year lol.

 

 

@Morinstal You make a good point. But what's the fun in a shelf queen? I don't want to end up with a buggy that I don't drive for fear of damaging it. I just sold such a buggy 2 days ago for that very reason.

 

I'm getting a buggy to enjoy building, and occasionally enjoy driving. From RCMart, the VQS is significantly cheaper than the Avante, so much so that I can stock it up with all the hop-ups I'd ever want and it would just about reach the cost of a stock Avante, hence my dilemma. 

‘You’ll end up with both’ was going to be my reply too. 

I only have and Avante, but was tempted by a VQS. In the end I said no, partly because (in build, materials, design and personal nostalgia) it will always fall short of an Avante for me, no matter how you hop it up.

So my advice is get the VQS first!

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The Avante was an important car in Tamiya's history. It was a total break from previous designs - certainly not a warmed over Hotshot. It wasn't until they hit the track that their shortcomings became evident, but it was pitched as a top-tier competition buggy not the object of art that we view it today. It was a collection of beautiful, but unproven designs that did not come together well for the tracks of the time. It was heavier than its competition and the aluminum in the car tended to bend or break in crashes. Its handling was sharp and darty. Good for hairpins but nervous in most other situations. It took a fair bit of concentration to drive it successfully IIRC form BITD. On a smooth, tight track, its nature may have been of some advantage, but that wasn't typical of tracks then.

Every hop up and following vehicle on that chassis architecture was aimed at fixing its shortcomings. I feel Tamiya invested too much in capital and passion just to let it wither on the vine. The carbon graphite chassis set re-made the car. It made it lighter, lengthened the wheelbase thus increasing stability and included the plastic suspension arms for greater durability/lightness. A titanium screw set helped shed more weight. The lightweight wheel set not only further reduced weight but with narrower front wheels, it helped with its skittishness. A ballrace steering set aimed at tightening up slop. With choices of ball/locked or one-way center diffs in addition to planetary or ball f/r diffs, the drivetrain could be configured in many ways. 

The Vanquish was mistakenly seen as the budget "plastic" Avante, when it actually out-performed it on the track. The plastic suspension, longer wheelbase and lightweight wheels all came stock on the Vanquish, though I do believe the VQS is a bit pricey for what it is.

The Egress was the Avante with all the aforementioned hop-ups in the kit and the Avante 2001 was more like a budget version of that, substituting FRP in the place of carbon graphite.

None of this matters today as they aren't used in competition today so buy and enjoy what you like.      

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Another way to look at it is will the difficulty of finding the kits later and how much will it cost 

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I know it was not in your Question so sorry for that but i just have to stick in if you considered top-force evo. Its a pure dream to drive, i thought it was so good Actually that had to ask this forum if i could just drop Egress that i considered at that time to be my next kit, it ended with i dropped it to make the story short :). I do not have Evo though but standard in dark red and some Hop-Ups <3

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I went for an Avante, and I have a Top Force Evo as well.

The VQS is too in between for me if that makes sense. And as you have the Egress I’d go for the Avante.

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For me, personally, the Avante (vintage or re-re doesn't matter to me) is an iconic, perhaps the most iconic Tamiya car - which the VQS is not. Having said that, if I had an Avante, I don't think I would drive it much (might even end up as an unused shelf queen - even though I am not the type of guy who collects RCs and/or puts them on display.). The VQS is probably much more sturdy and perhaps even handles better, but then OTOH, if I was after pure performance (which I am), I'd go a totally different (non-Tamiya) route (which I did) any way, so (again, for me) that point is moot. But as iconic as the Avante is to me (was my absolute dream RC car 30+ years ago), I don't think I'd ever be willing to spend so much money on it. Funny thing is, I'm  perfectly willing to spend even more (sometimes much more) on my racing kits, so it's not the money itself, it's also (or even more) what I get for it. So... it's really your decision to make, as everyone has their own point of view.

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@DeadMeat666 The fun is when you build it and knowing that not every one can have that beautiful historical very overpriced junk, atleast in my case. And when u shelf it and someone who doesnt have it see it with forlorn sight that speak " god i wish i own that" and then talk to you about it, thats another case of fun.

But if ur a (rc) runner, why not buy another kit that more capable. If you limited your option to tamiya, theres better kits according to TC guys, like Terra scorcher family, df01, db01, or can wait for the new TD4/TD2. And u have the Egress, why not built it and run it?

i heard a minimalist person that said Its not having more that counts, but its having more experience from what u have. Of course its your money and i dont mean to attack you, im sorry if it feels that way. Its just sometimes from a limited fund guy point of view like me, it ticks me.

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4 hours ago, simalarion said:

I know it was not in your Question so sorry for that but i just have to stick in if you considered top-force evo. Its a pure dream to drive, i thought it was so good Actually that had to ask this forum if i could just drop Egress that i considered at that time to be my next kit, it ended with i dropped it to make the story short :). I do not have Evo though but standard in dark red and some Hop-Ups <3

 

3 hours ago, Cynan said:

I went for an Avante, and I have a Top Force Evo as well.

The VQS is too in between for me if that makes sense. And as you have the Egress I’d go for the Avante.

Appreciate the input. I perhaps should've included in my first post that I already have a Top Force Evo (not yet built), but for some reason I consider it from a different 'family' of buggies so I didn't think it was relevant :)

 

Thank you all for the replies so far, they present different views that I hadn't completely considered.

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