I am new to RC and on a 500$ budget. I want to be able to go fast but also go in the woods or over rocks

[Ian meyer]

I want an RC car in the $500 to $700 range that can go fast but also can go in the woods

 

[tow_glinka]

Hi,
So, Is your budget for only the car, or is it for everything you need at the start (lipos, charger, radio, etc...)?
Also, what do you mean with go in the woods and over rocks? Do you want to be able to go crawling or do you just mean blast over offroad terrain on higher speeds?

 

[Ian meyer]

The $500 is for everything but really if have a 500 to 700 dollar budget. When I say go in the woods I do mean just blast over terrain. Go through grass and over small sticks and rocks

 

[Tunedfrog]

Welcome in Ian. There is a ton of choices for RC cars but we can maybe narrow the playing field. Crawlers, Scale trucks are not designed to go fast however there are some rock bouncers that are pretty fast. Buggies dont have much ground clearance but are fun to drive on the track.
My advice would be a monster truck. Electric, Nitro, or large scale Gas trucks are a ton of fun but the first thing I would look for and I can't stress this enough..........."AVAILABLE PARTS" . When you are driving a RC vehicle its not a matter of "if" you break a part, its "when", so make sure you research available parts first. It's a awesome hobby and with your budget you can get into some pretty nice RTR "ready to run" rigs that come with transmitter, batteries, and charger. Usually you have to supply the AA batteries for the transmitter. There are also battery choices and i would suggest you to research that as well.. Have fun....

 

[tow_glinka]

Well, with that budget I would get something 1:10 scale.
I would personally look into the Arrma 4x4 3S BLX lineup (for example the Arrma Granite 4x4 BLX).
They are pretty nice for their money, and as you can get them for about 300$ (In the US, that is) you still will have some money left for batteries, a charger, another radio (the Radio Arrma supplies seems to be pretty bad at the moment) and other goodies you will need.

 

[olds97_lss]

Well, with that budget I would get something 1:10 scale.
I would personally look into the Arrma 4x4 3S BLX lineup (for example the Arrma Granite 4x4 BLX).
They are pretty nice for their money, and as you can get them for about 300$ (In the US, that is) you still will have some money left for batteries, a charger, another radio (the Radio Arrma supplies seems to be pretty bad at the moment) and other goodies you will need.

If you want to push your budget, you can go with an arrma 6S outcast or kraton:
https://www.horizonhobby.com/outcast-6s-4wd-blx-1-8-stunt-truck--red-p-ara106042t2
https://www.horizonhobby.com/kraton-6s-4wd-blx-1-8-speed-monster-truck-rtr--red-p-ara106040t1

They used to be $500, but with updates in the latest version, they increased the price.

Or the 4S outcast or kraton for $400:
https://www.horizonhobby.com/1-10-kraton-4x4-4s-blx-rtr--black-p-ara102690
https://www.horizonhobby.com/1-10-outcast-4x4-4s-blx-rtr--black-p-ara102692

 

[tow_glinka]

Also really good options.
I would basically look at what the budget lets you get from Arrma and get that (but I wouldn't go below the 3S BLX line).
The best option is, like @olds97_lss said, a 6S Kraton / Outcast / Notorious, but it is pretty pricey, I'm not sure weather it is a good idea if you still have to get Lipos, a charger and other stuff.

 

[BobP]

Losi Rock Rey is a lot of fun it will run about 35-40 miles per hour and you can run through the woods and since it is a rock racer you can race it over the Rocks also. If you have your radio get the bind and drive and that would stay within your budget with battery and charger

 

[Ian meyer]

If you want to push your budget, you can go with an arrma 6S outcast or kraton:
https://www.horizonhobby.com/outcast-6s-4wd-blx-1-8-stunt-truck--red-p-ara106042t2
https://www.horizonhobby.com/kraton-6s-4wd-blx-1-8-speed-monster-truck-rtr--red-p-ara106040t1

They used to be $500, but with updates in the latest version, they increased the price.

Or the 4S outcast or kraton for $400:
https://www.horizonhobby.com/1-10-kraton-4x4-4s-blx-rtr--black-p-ara102690
https://www.horizonhobby.com/1-10-outcast-4x4-4s-blx-rtr--black-p-ara102692

Thank you for this, I am looking at the 4s then buying lipos and battery. The 4s is still good right?

 

[olds97_lss]

Thank you for this, I am looking at the 4s then buying lipos and battery. The 4s is still good right?

I don't have one, but read a lot of guys on arrmaforum.com that do and watch quite a few videos of them. I have a 6S outcast, which I ran on 4S for the first year or so.

The 4S versions are based off the 3S versions. Similar chassis, diffs, slipper, axles, etc. The 6S versions all run a 3 diff setup with steel pinion/ring gears in the front, center, rear and steel axles.

The 3S/4S versions run a slipper setup with front/rear diffs that have composite pinion/ring gears.

When running a 3S/4S truck, I prefer to be able to run a center diff. Makes it easier to control and tends to be less fussy once you figure out the right oil weight for the center diff to do what you want. With a slipper, they need to be adjusted to allow slip on hard acceleration or you end up tearing the rear diff/axles apart.

Still, with the 4S version slipper adjusted right, they are pretty durable out of the box. The 6S versions require quite a bit more $ to make them durable if you like to jump big.

 

[tow_glinka]

Well, I've got one of the Arrma 4x4 3S rigs (same base more or less like olds97_lss said), and I really love that car.

 

[Ian meyer]

Hey just wanted to let everyone know what I ended up getting. I got a traaxas E Revo 6s

 

[tow_glinka]

E-Revo 1 or 2?

 

[Ian meyer]

I am not sure what the 1 or 2 means, it is the 1/10 scale, I bought it new

 

[tow_glinka]

Well, first of all, it is labeled as 1/10 scale. It really is an 1/8 scale.
Second, there is an E-Revo and an E-Revo 2.0 on the market, and if I would go E-Revo at all I would go with the 2.0 one.

 

[Ian meyer]

I just went with the E Revo. But it does me good

 

[tow_glinka]

Nice man, have fun.

 

[Ian meyer]

Nice man, have fun.

Thanks man

 

[olds97_lss]

Does it have the vxl-6s esc on it or the mxl-6s? Does it have steel axles going to the wheels from the diffs? Got a photo?

 

[Lightbender]

I just went with the E Revo. But it does me good

You can have a lot of fun with your Revo, gear it up for speed runs or down for a little crawling. No matter which rc you go with keeping up with maintenance will be well worth your time. I enjoy taking my revo apart about as much as I like running it.