New to Nitro, Looking for Buggy

[bigbirney]

Ok, this will be my first Nitro. Probably wont be racing for a while, but will take to the track during practice nights and running around the local park. Looking for something pretty durable, that I can easily find parts for. I have read great things about Ofna Ultra LXR for the money. I have a little more money to spend, but really dont want to drop $500 on my first rig. Is that extra $200 for Team Associated or Serpent that much better?

I would prefer to keep it around $400, and figure I will have to upgrade servos, from what I am learning.

Thanks

 

[avelciario]

I don't know if you can get a LRP S8Bx2 buggy in local store, I have this buggy for more than a year and run on the track and bash it so hard but I never replace any parts on it, only glow plugs and clutch. I know only a few people using this rig but I am happy with the performance , especially the engine, LRP z21r spec 2.

 

[Zdragon71]

I'm pretty happy with my HPI TROPHY buggy. Bought it from tower hobbies new for $389 and replaced both servos for $70. You can also get an OFNA LX2 with a force .28 mill for around the same price.

 

[bigbirney]

I'm pretty happy with my HPI TROPHY buggy. Bought it from tower hobbies new for $389 and replaced both servos for $70. You can also get an OFNA LX2 with a force .28 mill for around the same price.

Thats somewhat what I am looking for. What did you buy for Servos?

 

[Zdragon71]

I went with futaba S3305's on both steering and throttle/brake. My other choice was Savox 1256tg but the shop didnt have any in stock. I've ran the futabas before and never had any problems with them.

 

[Teamgimpy72]

JQ Products THE CAR RTR

Ok, this will be my first Nitro. Probably wont be racing for a while, but will take to the track during practice nights and running around the local park. Looking for something pretty durable, that I can easily find parts for. I have read great things about Ofna Ultra LXR for the money. I have a little more money to spend, but really dont want to drop $500 on my first rig. Is that extra $200 for Team Associated or Serpent that much better?

I would prefer to keep it around $400, and figure I will have to upgrade servos, from what I am learning.

Thanks

Hand's Down JQ THE CAR RTR. endless adjustablility, built like a tank, light as a feather. you will not be disapointed with the Alpha 3 port .21 it come's with. easy to break in and tune. THE CAR !!

 

[outlawbrett]

u can get a ofna ultra lx2 for under $300. great buggy. its not top shelf, but for the money its the best. i replaced the servos and that was it. put a JP-4 pipe on it and it rips. great basher. havent gone to the track yet with it.

 

[Greywolf74]

The OFNA Ultra LX2 is a great bashing buggy for the money but its heavy and wont handle like the higher end racing buggies. The OFNA/Hobao Hyper 7 is also in this category. If you just want a great basher then look at these.

If you want to spend a little more you can get a HoBao Hyper SS RTR Buggy. This kit will not only be a good basher it would be a good platform to get started racing that doesn't cost a premium price.

If you really get into racing and want to be competitive at higher levels you'll end up wanting to spend $500-$700 on a high end racing kit but the Hyper SS will be good to get started IMO.

 

[nitronoob.28]

i know i am new to this to but from what i have seen from other buggys it seems the higher price you go the more plastic it they have but have better engines and servos to make them light and fast. if you want it to be durable i would suggest what i got the exceed madfire .28 racing edition from nitrorcx.com. i know others will have big comments about it but i have one and it is so much tougher then others on the market and i have the stories to prove it
its around 250. what I'm doing to mine is upgrading the servos to spektrum s8000 you can prolly find good ones for cheaper that work good to. and a picco .28 8 port as a upgrade later on cause the engine is ok for stock for a while afte upgrading the both servos and the engine would would prolly spend around 500 IN THE END AFTER UPGRADES. but it is really durable. i actually raced a ofna ultra lx2 and ran into the back of it as i slowed down around a corner and it tore the rear right suspension arm off of it and destroyed its diff case. and my madfire was perfectly fine and ran the rest of the race

 

[ozziii]

Hand's Down JQ THE CAR RTR. endless adjustablility, built like a tank, light as a feather. you will not be disapointed with the Alpha 3 port .21 it come's with. easy to break in and tune. THE CAR !!

Completely agree, I have THE rtr & its a great buggy, they are very strong & don't break much at all, the engine is one of the best rtr engines around & it goes great & the best thing is the price, its not that expensive, $399 from A-Main. But just because its cheaper than some other doesn't mean its not any good. It also shares 50+% of its parts with the yellow addition pro kit & can easily be upgraded with bolt on parts. Even the engine can be upgraded with turbo head button & the internals from a higher powered alpha engine, like crank, piston & sleeve. This is the rtr to have I think.
I like THE Car that much I'm getting the pro kit as well.

 

[Greywolf74]

i know i am new to this to but from what i have seen from other buggys it seems the higher price you go the more plastic it they have but have better engines and servos to make them light and fast. if you want it to be durable i would suggest what i got the exceed madfire .28 racing edition from nitrorcx.com. i know others will have big comments about it but i have one and it is so much tougher then others on the market and i have the stories to prove it
its around 250. what I'm doing to mine is upgrading the servos to spektrum s8000 you can prolly find good ones for cheaper that work good to. and a picco .28 8 port as a upgrade later on cause the engine is ok for stock for a while afte upgrading the both servos and the engine would would prolly spend around 500 IN THE END AFTER UPGRADES. but it is really durable. i actually raced a ofna ultra lx2 and ran into the back of it as i slowed down around a corner and it tore the rear right suspension arm off of it and destroyed its diff case. and my madfire was perfectly fine and ran the rest of the race

Not only is this bad advice but its just plain wrong. Exceed is notorious for being cheap and not very durable at all and the more you spend on a good racing kit the less plastic you'll get, not more. My Losi 8ight 2.0 has tons of aluminum parts on it that alot of times are plastic on cheaper models. Add on top of that the lack of after market support (or even just regular parts support) and the fact that exceeds are not race worthy and its pretty easy to see why one would want to steer clear of them.

OFNA buggies are known to be good buggies. Even the ones that arent really race worthy and known to be highly durable bashers. I've bashed the snot out of my OFNA 9.5MBX and I have a really hard time breaking it. I break my MTs way more often than I do that buggy and I bash it just as hard.

I'll also point out that for racing buggies (someone correct me here if I'm wrong as I dont race all that often and when I do its just club level stuff for fun.) you want a .21 rather than a .28 for racing on a track for a few reasons. A .21 has more than enough power for a track, a .28 is to much for a track you will have a hard time handling the extra power and making smooth consistent laps. .21s also use less fuel so you'll wont have to pit as often as a .28. .21s are also lighter. Anything bigger than a .21 in a buggy are typically not race legal in most races.

Heres a perfect example of why you dont want to buy an exceed. granted this is the electric version of the Madfire and not the nitro version but none of the reputable youtube reviewers out there that I can find have done a review video on the nitro version. Either way though the problem with this kit is the same problem with most of their kits and that is the quality of their parts. Makes sure to watch the durability tests starting at about 4:15. They also show a couple clips from the durability montage of an Associated RC8 for comparison.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrDKsrsI1nc&playnext=1&list=PL01AF36ECFB2B55D9&feature=results_video"]Exceed-RC Mad Fire EP Review - brushless RTR 1:8th buggy - YouTube[/ame]

 

[nitronoob.28]

i know i have seen that video before. there is a huge differance between the ep version and the nitro version on quality and toughness. i have one and it is extreamly tough. this video is why i didnt go with the ep version

 

[Greywolf74]

Theyre still junk compared to an OFNA/HoBao which can be had for less than 300 bucks.

 

[ausher]

I'm contemplating the hobao. Looks decent for the money. Do they make an electric version?

 

[hotrodrob]

Dude I have an ofna lx 1 and I beat the living hell out of it and never really break anything,it holds its own on a bmx track as well,so an lx2 should be even better

 

[nitronoob.28]

everyone has their own opinion. i wouldn't compare it to a hpi or traxxas for sure but i have beat and battered mine to no end and the only thing i see is the steering sevo is getting somewhat worn and nothing has broke or even came loose. and also keep in mind i don't have a long history in this hobby but this is just what i know from my resent experience

 

[nitronoob.28]

i know they dont compare to models like hpi or traxxas. i also know its not ment to race. but i do own one of the madfire .28's and it is very tough with tons of aluminum on it. i am only going by what i have experienced and a buddy of mine i race with at a back yard track had the ofna ultra lx2 i ran into and he said he would prefer mine over his. what i believe is that the price os a rtr is made by the equipment on it like the radio system servos and engine. my madfire is very tough but the servos and engine are not up to par with other brands out there thats one thing i agree with. what i posted before was my short history with it and opinion

 

[ozziii]

Go for a JQ Products 'THE Car' rtr version, great strong buggy & plenty of support & help with anything from the reps & even the owner of the company on the rc tech forum.
Even though its a reasonably cheap price, its a great buggy & isn't cheaply built.
Savox servo's & alpha engine to.

 

[benlinus]

I have My own "NB16-T Nitro Radiografische Truggy",The NB16-T is a mini nitro truggy with a big powerful engine. He is small but fast enough for the larger models to leave! all the features that the large models, this little monster truck. The result is a small but very fast and small monster truck. Mini nitro models are very popular since Acme the world's first mini nitro model was released in 2006 because you had a field or track to race on. If you want a model that you want and off road racing then this is the model for you.

 

[outlawbrett]

i know they dont compare to models like hpi or traxxas. i also know its not ment to race. but i do own one of the madfire .28's and it is very tough with tons of aluminum on it. i am only going by what i have experienced and a buddy of mine i race with at a back yard track had the ofna ultra lx2 i ran into and he said he would prefer mine over his. what i believe is that the price os a rtr is made by the equipment on it like the radio system servos and engine. my madfire is very tough but the servos and engine are not up to par with other brands out there thats one thing i agree with. what i posted before was my short history with it and opinion

ur boy wants a madfire over an LX2? Lol...if u wanna spend $250 on a nitro buggy for bashing, then cool. I'm sure it works for u. but i think people bash on it because of expierence with one or knows somebody that has. i base my opinion off of paying $297 for my ofna LX2 and ur $250 for a madfire. id rather pay $50 more for quality. but hey, if it works for u, then thats awesome. if ur not racing, then who cares what people think. its just peoples opinions