Traxxas vs Losi

[Pope]

I am not bashing TRX they are what they are. Great starter RC's and they have some well designed stuff. They have brought thousands into the hobby but how many have they turned off from the hobby because they had so many problems with them that would have been avoided buy spending 100$ more on a higher end RC. The same is true for HPI, Losi, AE, kyosho, and any other company's RTR stuff.

If you notice I have thousands invested in HPI products but I said exactly the same thin about them.

I don't play favorites. I run what ever is the best in the range I can afford and for what I want to do with it.

When someone asks a question I try to give them an honest answer from a non biased point of view. Yes I always try to give the high end options as well so that if they choose to go with the cheaper option they don't come back and say why didn't you tell me that for 25-30% more than what I started with I could have saved hundreds in the end. I have made those mistakes and don't want to see others do the same.

I spent over a 1000$ turning a savage into a ROAR legal Truggy when I could have bought a top of the line Truggy for less and had a better rig in the end.

 

[SchrodeMode]

People keep saying that Traxxas is a cheap backyard basher, quality..maybe but they're not too cheap on the price. Traxxas prices have been going up lately, the Revo is up to $650 on their site and $620 on Tower's, for $670 you can get Losi's LST XXL. The Classic T-Maxx is now $400 from Traxxas and $390 from Tower, the 3.3 version is $475 @Traxxas and $460 from Tower. For the same price as the classic Maxx, you can get the Aftershock which is on the same platform as the XXL and easily/cheaply upgraded to the XXL. So in my opinion Traxxas is no longer a cheap entry into the hobby, now that they have been sponsoring everything in motorsports and getting more popular their prices have jumped up. I would much rather spend the extra money on an XXL vs the Revo, it is a true 1/8 scale powered by a reliable BB (3.3 has known issues) with a much nicer and user friendly trx/rx system. With the prices going up on Traxxas' website it's only a matter of time before the retailers up their's.

 

[Dis droid]

Yeah I've surfed around ebay and craigslist, and almost EVERY craiglist post says 'NO TRAXXAS TRADES PERIOD'. I've heard its the 'tonka' of RC. Which is fine, just wanted to gather opinions. Also no one likes redcat?

 

[hamz9561]

Craig's List is not a very good place to get a used RC. Most of the time the vehicles have been abused, are basket cases or not properly taken care of. Your best bet for purchasing is either a reputable local hobby shop (LHS) or a reputable online store such as A-Main, Tower or Horizon Hobby (which owns Losi).

 

[Greywolf74]

Everyone's opinions on this are gonna very greatly depending on their experiences with various manufacturers. I'm not gonna stand up here and say something is better than something else. What I will do is say that if you are looking for a race level kit look at the high end race circuits and see what the pros are racing. You'll find 5 names consistently and I'm not listing these in any particular order but you'll find Losi, Mugen, Associated, OFNA and HPI are probably among the most prevalent but you will also see the occasional Hotbodies, Durango, Xray, and Kyosho kits in there....

One name that you wont see is Traxxas. Does this mean traxxas is terrible? No. It just means that they dont build race kits. They do however build a handful of great bashers that are generally budget friendly and have tons of support and hop ups for them. Traxxas goes after the basher market while most of the other companies have a mixture....

Virtually all the manufacturers that you will see in the racing categories have a wide range of kits ranging from basher to top level racer. So its almost better to not worry so much about brand name and look at it more on a kit level. The only manufacturer that I know of that only produces thouroughbred racing kits is Mugen. Mugen only has a couple of kits but those kits are some of the best you could ever hope to drive. They are also some of the most expensive to repair and maintain. I actually sold my MBX4 because replacement parts for it cost double that of anyone elses replacement parts cost. Personally Id say hold off on a Mugen until you get to a serious compitition level. There are alot of other really good kits out there both for bashing and racing. Its been my experience that the race kits bash just as well as the bashers and they can also be race worthy so typically i recommend that someone who is interested in racing or doesn't know yet if they will be to start out with a race level kit. You'll be just happy bashing it as anything else and if you decide to race then you will already have the kit. Now if you know you're never gonna race then buy whatever you want....It doesn't matter to much at that point. except stay with the name brands if you can...better parts support and usually more hop ups.

But all of this Traxxas vs Losi talk is meaningless if you're looking for a buggy or a truggy anyway because Traxxas doesn't really have much to offer for either. That have a 1/10 2WD buggy but most people that get into buggies especially if you're wanting to race mostly lean toward 1/8 scale 4wd buggies. Traxxas offers no actual truggies but does offer the REVO which is basically a MT with Truggy like characteristics. Its not race worthy against other actual Truggies but if you want something to bash around it can do fine. for a little bit more than the REVO costs though you could buy the Losi 8ight T though. The 8ight T and the Mugen MBX6 T are probably 2 of the most popular racing truggies out there. Same with their buggies. So its really up to you and what you think you may end up doing with the kit someday. I've tried to present the information I know here as unbiasedly as i can. I've tried not to put much opinion in here but some part of it is based on my experiences with various kits and I guess that is considered opinion. Not everyone may share it but from my perspective thats the best explanation I can give you. If you want a good kit whether its for bashing or racing see what the high level racers are using and you'll start to get an idea of which kits are the good race kits for each of the various companies that makes racing level kits and then buy one of those kits. If its a great racer it will be a great basher....the reverse isnt always true.

 

[Dis droid]

Interesting, the revo is electric then? sorry if you already said that, just got finished working a 12 hour shift, I'm beat and worn to the bone.

---------- Post added at 6:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 6:35 AM ----------

sorry of am i thinking E-revo

 

[jk6672]

IMO this shouldn't even be a discussion if you're interested in a buggy/truggy. Your answer would be Losi. I'm not bashing Traxxas either, because if I was after a MT or SCT, traxxas would be on my list of contenders. Now since you are after a buggy/truggy, and I’m assuming nitro since you posted in nitro talk, Xray, Losi, and Mugen would be on the top of my list. You sort of hinted that money doesn’t seem to be an obstacle, and if that is the case, my top choice would be the Xray XB9.
I personally just struck an interest in buggies and after all my questions and research I picked up an Xray XB808E, I wanted to get my feet wet in the electric scene, but if I was to go nitro with a buggy it would have been the XB9.