Research… Buggy

[Cheez ‘n’ Quackers]

Owners and anyone with experience chime in….

Serpent SRX8-E PRO 1/8 Off-Road Electric Buggy Kit​

or

Team Associated RC8B4e 1/8 4WD Off-Road Electric Buggy Kit​

Looking at next addition.

 

[bill_delong]

I am a club racer and I am familiar with most 1/8 race grade brands. For the most part you can't make a bad decision in terms of durability, performance and support regardless of any modern race grade brand.

What will become important are the layout configuration of the electronics and long term maintenance.

Both Serpent and AE offer saddle pack designs, but you need to be aware that saddle packs require extra maintenance where both packs need to be paired up and labeled so they aren't mix-matched and can't be used as dual purpose as 2S in a 1/10 car for example. The packs need to be swapped from side to side between every use because 1 side of the saddle always wears faster than the other side, more info here:

• SMC - LVC Adjustments and Packs in Series

This extra maintenance is the main reason I try to stay away from saddle pack designs.

AE has better parts support and will be less expensive to maintain compared to Serpent, however Serpent offers C-Hubs which I prefer more than the Pivot Balls on AE. Main reason I dislike Pivot Balls are because they tend to be less durable and also tend to be too aggressive in steering response. C-Hub designs tend to be easier to drive and are significantly more durable.

There are 3 other brands that I would encourage you to consider:

TEKNO offers a 50% lifetime warranty making them on of the least expensive brands on the market to maintain, I have a build thread on the EB48 2.0 here sharing my experience with the platform:
https://www.teknoforums.com/threads/build-review-eb48-2-0.1864/

I list all the reasons why I went away from TEKNO here: https://www.teknoforums.com/threads/build-review-eb48-2-0.1864/post-17986

Arguably the least expensive and equally as durable as TEKNO would be Caster, I share my experience with that platform here:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?4322447-BUILD-REVIEW-Caster-ETO821

I list all the reasons why I went away from Caster here: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=51092491&postcount=34

I am currently a sponsored driver with HB Racing, so I am biased with this brand, the main reasons I chose to run this brand are because I feel it's the most durable, easiest to drive fast/consistent on all possible track conditions where I rarely need to make setup changes when I travel to other tracks out of state to race. More info on HB here:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?4192321-BUILD-REVIEW-HB-Racing-E819RS

Just because HB is a no brainer for me as the best pick for me, doesn't necessarily mean it will be the best for you, it requires some upgrades listed in the review thread so be sure to factor these costs as you compare your options before making a final decision.

Good Luck!

 

[Cheez ‘n’ Quackers]

I am a club racer and I am familiar with most 1/8 race grade brands. For the most part you can't make a bad decision in terms of durability, performance and support regardless of any modern race grade brand.

What will become important are the layout configuration of the electronics and long term maintenance.

Both Serpent and AE offer saddle pack designs, but you need to be aware that saddle packs require extra maintenance where both packs need to be paired up and labeled so they aren't mix-matched and can't be used as dual purpose as 2S in a 1/10 car for example. The packs need to be swapped from side to side between every use because 1 side of the saddle always wears faster than the other side, more info here:

• SMC - LVC Adjustments and Packs in Series

This extra maintenance is the main reason I try to stay away from saddle pack designs.

AE has better parts support and will be less expensive to maintain compared to Serpent, however Serpent offers C-Hubs which I prefer more than the Pivot Balls on AE. Main reason I dislike Pivot Balls are because they tend to be less durable and also tend to be too aggressive in steering response. C-Hub designs tend to be easier to drive and are significantly more durable.

There are 3 other brands that I would encourage you to consider:

TEKNO offers a 50% lifetime warranty making them on of the least expensive brands on the market to maintain, I have a build thread on the EB48 2.0 here sharing my experience with the platform:
https://www.teknoforums.com/threads/build-review-eb48-2-0.1864/

I list all the reasons why I went away from TEKNO here: https://www.teknoforums.com/threads/build-review-eb48-2-0.1864/post-17986

Arguably the least expensive and equally as durable as TEKNO would be Caster, I share my experience with that platform here:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?4322447-BUILD-REVIEW-Caster-ETO821

I list all the reasons why I went away from Caster here: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=51092491&postcount=34

I am currently a sponsored driver with HB Racing, so I am biased with this brand, the main reasons I chose to run this brand are because I feel it's the most durable, easiest to drive fast/consistent on all possible track conditions where I rarely need to make setup changes when I travel to other tracks out of state to race. More info on HB here:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?4192321-BUILD-REVIEW-HB-Racing-E819RS

Just because HB is a no brainer for me as the best pick for me, doesn't necessarily mean it will be the best for you, it requires some upgrades listed in the review thread so be sure to factor these costs as you compare your options before making a final decision.

Good Luck!

Thanks Bill for the detailed reply. I do have a Tekno Buggy as well as Mugen Seiki and Xray Buggies. So far the Tekno seems to perform the best.

 

[bill_delong]

HB just released the Worlds Edition which offers significantly more corner speed without feeling too aggressive, that's very hard to design where I feel it's the "Goldie Locks" of RC

https://www.absolutehobbyz.com/hb-r...etition-electric-buggy-without-bodyshell.html