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to buy or not to buy??

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tbsleeper

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been lookin for a nitro rc car for a long time and finally found two i liked and thats where u guys come in. its either the fun factor cen atx or stadium truck. or the smartech dune buggy which i like cause they claim speeds upwards of 60mph. which one is the best all around and which one can i get more hop-ups for to make it faster? thanks
 
1) I don't think you will be happy with a Cen or a Smartech.
2) Don't believe the hype on claimed top speed
3) Be sure that your LHS (local hobby shop) carries replcement parts and upgrades that you will need and be looking for.

And while you're at it, try searchin this site for the types of vehicals you are looking for. I'm sure you will find a lot of info. Good luck.
 
yea i agree, go with a good named company like hpi or traxxas, if u want a buggy go with the gs storm rtr, if you want a stadium truck, look into traxxas, or if you want a monster truck look at hpi savage .25 rtr or traxxas t-maxx, hopes this helps, i got a savage and i love it
 
so u guys sayin not to get either? i dont wanna spend over 350 and i like the cen but its slow!!
 
Originally posted by tbsleeper
so u guys sayin not to get either? i dont wanna spend over 350 and i like the cen but its slow!!

You can find great deals for $350.. Search my friend.
 
i have been but i hate the ez start system!! and wen u do out the math most do come out to over 350
 
For like $29 more, you can pick up a T-Maxx from Tower! Just a suggestion! I would stick with reputable companies, and I agree don't beleive what the company tells you about top speed. It's just propaganda.

Woody:breakdown
 
For your money I would really suggest a used ride. From personal experince, for $350 yourgong to be just under what a good rig costs.

I would definetaly stay away from smartech.

actually sometimes them members on this board have some great deals. Most regulars here are also very carefull of not mis representing what they have for sell.

A stadium truck is a light, extremely fast, and sometimes fragile nitro rig. It is however pretty easy to find a quality one for around $250 They are also simple in terms of moving parts.

Tell us what type of driving you plan on doing.

Stadium trucks do jump (lightly), and go off road somewhat.

A monster truck, well I jump picnic tables, cars, and basically anything with a slope, and it holds together well. (T maxx)

Give us some more info, your driving style, and if you are absolutely firm on $350

PLease PLease don't underestimate the importance of a local hobby shop stocking parts. Nothing sucks worse thanbreakig a part 5 minutes into a bash and having to wait 3-7 days for a part.
 
CEN is an upcoming company. And you can at least get parts for it but Smartech seems like a fly by night company and I have seen many people buy smartech and cannot get replacement parts.
 
If you wanna play, you gotta pay. Good rides don't come cheap. And what good will that econo ride be when your LHS doesn't stock the parts and you're mail ordering everything ? Don't get me wrong. I'm sure there are great entry level rides out there, but they're just that.....entry level. The first buggy I ever bought was a Duratrax evader. You might hear them called Duratrash instead. It was a great buggy but not suited to my intentions. Needless to say, it broke alot. Take these guys advice. Save up a little more and get something that is:

-well supported in both market and aftemarket parts
-is established in the community (HPI, Traxxas, GS, OFNA, etc.)
-is from a company that will stand behind their product (same list)

Some folks talk bad about the T-Maxx. Either way, look at the support it has out there. In fact, I believe you can build a complete T-Maxx without ever buying anything from Traxxas.
And the Savage isn't far behind. Good luck with whatever you decide on.
 
i kinda like the hot bodies lightning rr also. is this a good car? will take all this into consideration thanks alot!!
 
Before I go any further and suggest anything, we NEED to know what you plan to do with it.

Are you going to be satisfied saying on the pavement, or light gravel, and no tall grass?

Are you going to be satisifed staying on the ground, with no jumping?

Street/dirt driving isn't near enough for me and I wasn't satisfied with a stadium truck, the more air I got the more I wanted. The positive about a monster truck is any terrain you want, it will take.
 
I'm goin to be doin packed dirt to loose dirt, street, and prob grass. no mud or water. but i will be using it on a bmx track with very big jumps and will mostly use it on baseball field and on a track in the woods i will make behind my house.
 
You will definatly want a MT. I bought a stadium (losi xxx-nt) as my first, it doesn't get around unless it's pretty flat and the grass is short, real short.

Don't get me wrong, you can try to drive it anywhere, but in tall (2"-4") grass, it drags quite a bit and has a tendency to overheat.

I've since gone to the t-maxx. Started with the 2.5 rtr at the LHS for $380. I've since put around $2000 worth of upgrades into it. This is over a 6 month period. It's not the strongest pan out there, but it does have advantages. The only one I can think of right now is... well it's expensive?

It's a blast, but if your going to get into some serious jumping and will end up wanting a high power unit, I'd get a savage. It's built to handle .21 power and relatively structuraly sound. The maxx is retardedly upgradeble and agile, but it takes a lot of $ to get it to perform like a savage.

Just my .02
 
For the kind of driving you want to do, you will want a moster truck for sure. Check your local hobby shop, and see what they stock parts for.

Stay far far away from smartech no matter how cheap. Seriously it won't last a day without breaking , and when it does your screwed trying to get parts.

Ask for some opionions, or do a search for whch is best theirs ben lots of threads on the subject. The most popular are the

Traxxas T-maxx www.traxxas.com

HPI savage http://www.hpiracing.com/index2.htm

These you can not only get parts for anywhere, you can buy a TON and I do mean a ton of used parts too(cheap). Go to Ebay. or google and do a search for "t-maxx parts", or t-maxx. Also do a search for HPI savage, or savage parts. I hear the savage is stronger out of the box.

The savage kit, (needs a radio only) is only $380 at my local hobby shop

the tmaxx at my lhs is around $415 but it is ready to run out of the box.

I saw the savage up close today for the first time. I was completely impressed. I definetaly want one more than I want my maxx.

Other less "popular" monster trucks, but quality just the same (hard to find lots of parts for)

XTM mammoth
Associated monster GT

their may be one or more I havent listed but these are the most popular and easiest to find parts for.

Please for what you are doing do not go with a stadium truck, you won't be satisifed, for what you are wanting to do.

To give you an idea. I have an old version maxx .15 today we set a chair on top of a picnic table, and propped 4x8 sheet of plywood. I'd say maybe 5-6 ft high. We launched off it for about an hour. The ONLY casualty was a shock cap ($5 for four) and my maxx is pretty much stock.

My stadium truck, although quality for what it is, breaks every time I take it out lol. it's just too fast for being so small and is susceptible to tweakage.

Go to this forum's gallery. search for maxx and savage check out some members pics
 
so you dont think that a buggy would be good for my style of riding?
 
Now, a buggy is a good choice too. However they are a bit more expensive, thought it might be out of range for what you want to spend.

Buggies will hold up better at the BMX track for sure, they catch lots of air, and are hell for stout. Did I mention they flat move? damn they are fast.

The only down fall is that they will get high centered easier. They definetaly don't have much ground clearance compared to a monster truck.

Really looking for somone with more buggy expoerience to chime in. I have seen them run but I am not up to date on the good names.

BTW if it were me and I had to choose between savage and T maxx. It woud be the Savage I just remembered they have the .25 stock vs the maxx's .15

** edit they look a bit more stout and I love their stock tires too.
 
ya i kinda like the buggys i dont really like the look of the big tires on the monster trucks and i really wanna get sumtin new. i found a hot bodies .21 buggy and a ofna .25 buggy not sure which one to get but i def wanna buy new. the hot bodies buggy is exactly 350 and the ofna i think is around 220. which one u think i should get? thankks for all the help!!
 
If your kinda new to the whole MT/Buggy scene, I would recommend this Ofna as a nice basher at a good price...

Ofna Ultra LX Pro RTR

RCBoyz is also an excellent place to shop online... I've dealt with them on numerous occasions...

Good luck
 
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