Introduced Myself, Now Need HELP :)

[Bangor Lad]

Hi there folks. I am totally new to this whole scene and know NOTHING about these machines so please excuse me. I'm looking advise on what to buy as a FIRST purchase. I quite fancy something pretty rugged ( maybe 4 x 4 ) but have no idea where to start s there seems to be a few to choose from. Budget wise.... I'm open to see what my options are but at this stage of starting out, I dont think I would be willing to spend £0000s. Probably up to £500 ish and dont mind waiting for a bargin or a project. I love tinkering with my big car so looking forward to any mods ect that can be done with these beauties. Any help or direction of where to go would be of great help.


 

[HPIguy]

Hey Bangor, welcome to RCNT. For 4X4 and durability in a nitro rig, it's pretty tough to beat the HPI Savage line of monster trucks. I've owned quite a few nitro rigs, and my Savage was hands down the toughest. Not sure on the price outside the US though.

 

[Bangor Lad]

Hi HPI and thanks for the welcome. Ill do some research into the Savage when I get into better signal as I am now at a holiday home for a weekend break and the signal takes about ten minutes to load up one page  Even the name "Savage" sounds mean 

 

[Bangor Lad]

By just doing a quick flick on Ebay, I see that the Savage 4.2 ( i think thats was the model ) is selling for around £150ish ( used ) Is that about right ?
I also seen the Traxxx or Maxxxx or something like that. It also looks really cool. As I said, I know NOTHING at all about these little weapons so if there is any pros or cons, please advise 

 

[leesy27]

i would start off with a new one you don't want to get other peoples problem
it may put you off

good online shops for the uk are
www.modelsport.co.UK
www.wheelspinmodels.co.uk

 

[hamz9561]

The Savage is a really tough and reliable truck.

 

[Bangor Lad]

Thanks for the advise guys and I understand what you mean by buying a new one rather than a second hand one. I looked at both of the sites that you kindly pointed me towards and they both seem pretty close as far as prices. Both of them offer discounted packs when bought at time of the main purchase but it means double dutch to me 
I have read about reverse gears, three gear kits and rear wheels  These all sound really cool

 

[Chucksolo69]

For 500 Pounds Sterling you can get a pretty nice car/truck here in the US. These days, electric cars/trucks are just as fast if not a little faster than nitros. I have a lot of experience with both nitro and electric and the Traxxas line of vehicles are hard to beat. The nitro versions are pretty easy to start with as they come with electric starters so there is no need for starter boxes or pull starts which to me are a real pain. Nitro cars give you a more "real" feel as opposed to electrics although they require a bit more maintenance than electric. Recently I purchased a new nitro and wanted to go with something other than a Traxxas as I have had 3 Traxxas nitros (TMaxx, Rustler and 4-Tec). I decided on a Losi Ten T and I couldn't be more happy with it. The Ten T is unique in that it has the R.O.S.S. (remote onboard starting system) system that starts the truck from the push of a button on the transmitter. All you do is charge the included lipo reciever battery, add fuel, press the button, and you're off running. This is by far the easiest nitro RC vehicle to run I have owned. The Ten T is basically a 1/10th version of Losi's 8ight T buggy and it is built really tough and comes out of the boX with almost every upgrade possible. Aside from that, and depending what is available in your area, I would definately recommend the Losi Ten T or any of the Traxxas nitro or electric trucks. Since you like to "tinker" with your real cars, a nitro RC would definately be a good fit for you. Whatever it is you pick, enjoy and have fun.

 

[Bangor Lad]

Wow Chuck. Thanks for that info. I'm back at home now so I'm going to spend the day "you tubing" all these options. Just pushing a button to start…that sounds really cool. So far from what I have seen, the Savage appears to be a good safe bet but I have only started researching. This might be a really stupid question but is the numbers after the model just the engine size ? EG Flux, 4.6, XL5.9 ?

 

[Bangor Lad]

Ok "hypothetically" speaking. IF I had decided to go for the Savage Nitro. Which model is the best and what are the differences ?

Please have patience with me guys. As I said earlier… I have no experiance in these machines and have researching over the weekend and finding out pieces of information bit by bit. What is better…nitro or this brushless flux ?

 

[hamz9561]

I would recommend the Savage XL 4.6. The 4.6 is a bit better motor than the 5.9 IMO.

 

[moe7404]

my idea is the hobby shop is as important as the car/truck you buy.

 

[Chucksolo69]

my idea is the hobby shop is as important as the car/truck you buy.

Definately agree with this. I'm lucky to have 2 excellent hobby shops within a 10 mile radius of me. Odds are if one doesn't have a part the other will. I also agree with going new too. I have seen so many used cars that were basically junk people were trying to sell, especially nitro cars. It doesn't take much to ruin a nitro engine and a lot of people don't maintain them right. I have seen nitro cars that had probably NEVER been cleaned up for sale. I still think a nitro car would be a good fit for you since you sound like a real "gear head." I think I prefer nitro because I used to race amature motocross back in the 1970s and early '80s and just love the smell of the fuel/oil mixture burning. If you have an understanding of engines in general, tuning one of these nitro engines will be a no brainer.

 

[Bangor Lad]

Yip. I think that I am spent on going for a nitro and I think that it is going to be the savage. I live in Northern Ireland and dont seem to have any shops local to me or my city at all so I'm going to go for one of the sugested links mentioned in this thread. I'm really going on a whim here but.... thats what makes it even more fun Ill let yous know when I make my order

 

[Bangor Lad]

Ok, I made the choice and went for the combo pack at the bottom of their page here http://www.modelsport.co.uk/hpi-savage-x-4.6-gt-3-rtr-2.4ghz-grey-red-/rc-car-products/39426 As yous know, I live in Northern Ireland and the guys could not get me the fuel quick enough for the weekend. I have done a little more research and found a local model shop to me which is great news as it saves me running around trying to order fuel from the main land. The guys from motorsprt.co.uk told me to run her on "" Any 25% nitro fuel will run well with this engine, such as Optifuel, HPI, Model Technics and other recognized brands ""
I was talking to the guy from the model shop and he said that 20 % will be ok for her. This is his website with the fuel choices http://www.icarusmodels.com/index.php?cPath=52_54
Firstly, which one should I use and secondly, what is the % mean and how does it affect the car by running the wrong % fuel ?

 

[MudSlinger33]

Congratulations on your first nitro!

 

[Bangor Lad]

Cheers mudslinger. I have not got it yet. Hopefully arrive tomorrow fingers crossed

 

[MudSlinger33]

Just remember to take your time when breaking it in.

 

[leesy27]

% is how much nitro

the big bang 20% or 25% will do fine I've used both in the past didn't have a problem with them

 

[Chucksolo69]

20% Means that it contains 20% nitro for the volume of fuel bought. The actual fuel is more methanol and oil than nitro. Nitro helps to introduce oxygen for the fuel to burn efficiently. A higher nitro content will make the engine run hotter,but in Northern Ireland it probably stays pretty cool. Just make sure to tune your engine slightly rich and you shouldn't have any problems at all.