What 1/8 scale rc buggy should I buy

[bevo]

Being as this is a racing forum, I figured some people might race rc cars. My buddies have a losi 8 2.0 and a new jammer x2. I need something to compete with them, but I want something different then they have.

Any suggestions would be great. My budget is around 800$.

 

[TB]

If 1/10th scale isn't a problem, go with a Traxxas. Just make sure to get one with the 3.3 motor. 👍

 

[bevo]

I need a 1/8th buggy. I wanted a traxxas short track truck, but I guess I wouldn't be able to keep up with the buggies that everyone else has.

 

[Masi_23]

wow, that's a hefty budget for an RC!

 

[bevo]

I would really like to spend around 500$ or so, in all honesty. I think I might go with an associated RC8. It comes RTR and is under 500$.

 

[TB]

wow, that's a hefty budget for an RC!

You can't put a price on wiping the floor with your friends.

Until they upgrade, of course...

 

[Masi_23]

Indeed. I have 2 HPI Gas RC cars but its been a while since ive run those things. It's been rotting somewhere in my dad's house. Each were $200 bucks + accessories

 

[bevo]

I just wish I knew more about them. It sucks starting a new hobby that you know nothing about. Especially when it costs as much as this does.

 

[UnoMOTO]

I started with this Tamiya Raider waaaay back in the day. We had a local indoor track that we raced at every saturday night.

Then I upgraded to the first graphite RC10. I never got to race it because the track closed down. I would hope that anything Team Associated will still be a quality product.

 

[Neal]

I started out about 25 years ago (!!!) with the Tamiya Falcon which was a pretty heavy hunk of crap but I liked the look of it and wanted something different to my mates Hornet’s, Grasshopper’s and my brothers Lunch Box. I think there’s a reason no one else had the Falcon, god knows why I thought it looked good!

After the Falcon went to R/C heaven when the radio jammed and sent it straight under the wheels of a passing car I saved up and got the Tamiya Thundershot…I really do have to question my taste in cars as this looks pretty lame now but at the time I thought it was the muts nuts. At least it was 4wd and jumped pretty well.

I’ve been thinking about getting another R/C car or truck recently and quite like the look of the Traxxas Stampede but my wife thinks I’m a big enough geek as it is without me disappearing to the park to play with a toy car! My lad’s only 2 years old so I haven’t got too long to wait before I can get one and pass it off as a present for him

Traxxas, HPI, Associated and Losi all seem pretty good but I wouldn’t like to recommend anything specific but you should be able to find some reviews with a bit of googling.

 

[TB]

My lad’s only 2 years old so I haven’t got too long to wait before I can get one and pass it off as a present for him

Six and 4 and my wife is still saying no.

 

[Neal]

Six and 4 and my wife is still saying no.

I've got a feeling my wife will be the same

I'll probably do what I normally do and just order it and say they don't take returns unless it's faulty Might be a good idea to start off with an inoffensive electric one first and then get a nitro later!

 

[GilesGuthrie]

I've got a 1/8th scale Kyosho nitro car in the garage. Shaft-driven 4WD, Subaru Impreza body. I'd love to get it going again, but I'm a lot short on time.

 

[bevo]

Here's what I went with. http://www.rc10.com/ae/rc8/rc8_home.htm
Mine is the RS version.

 

[Neal]

Nice wheels 👍

That’s about £440 in the UK which works out at approx $150 more than in the US…not fair

@ GilesGuthrie: Definitely work finding the time to get it running again even if it’s just for the smell and noise

 

[lbsf1]

Are you looking at electric or nitro.
I saw someone at the beach with a nitro and buy god it was fast (any faster and it looked like it would take off. I had an 07 cataloug for nitro rc buggies. You could get proper racing ones (not cheap and cheerful) for alot less than $800.

 

[addictions]

Ihave a shaft driv Kyosho and a belt drive thundertiger.
HPI is a dam good option loads of my friends have them i live up the road from the HPI factory but wanted something different from them.

 

[bevo]

Well, I got my buggy today, broke in the engine, and got to run 1 tank at a decent speed. These 1/8th nitro buggys are much faster then I imagined, and they sound like pure speed. I can't wait until my buddies get their tracks built. I really can't imagine how I'm going to keep control of the thing around a track, and over jumps. I think the top speed is about 50mph and it gets there in about 4 or 5 seconds.

 

[Neal]

Very jealous, if you get time post some phots or you tube clips.

 

[bevo]

The guy that wins this race is using the buggy I bought. His has some upgrades done, but mine will run really close to how his is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oc_2Q2Wk5w
I love the step up jump. Hopefully mu buddies will put something like that in one of the tracks we're building.

 

[bevo]

I got my buggy broke in and took it to a track today for the first time. It was the most fun I have had in a long time. I couldn't believe how these things handle jumps and turns. At first it was almost impossible to stay on the track, but after an hour or so I started to get the hang of it, and was within 3 or 4 seconds of the pros.
I'm ready to sell my turbo s wheel, and playseat and put the money into these rc cars. Not really, but the only time I'll probably play racing games again is after the weather turns to bad to race buggy's.

If anyone has ever been tempted to buy a high end offroad rc, don't hesitate any longer. My buddies kept making fun of me because I couldn't stop smiling the whole time we were there. These things are a blast and are more fun then you can imagine. There also not near as hard to get running as I thought. Just make sure to research it alot, and break in your motor the right way. Really though if there aren't any tracks in your area and you can't build one yourself you would never really be able to enjoy it.

My friends woman video taped some of it and I'll try and post a video whenever I get her to let me get ahold of it.

 

[bevo]

Here's a video of one of the tracks we built with a couple buggys trying it out. Neither one are mine, but the one I have is pretty much the same thing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdU0TyyiQRE

 

[lbsf1]

Wow nice track. Pretty cool buggies too.

 

[Neal]

Ubercool 👍 That's exactly what I wanted to do in the field behind my house when I was a kid but never imagined something that awesome. Have you got an RC club or is it just you and your mates?

 

[bevo]

Ubercool 👍 That's exactly what I wanted to do in the field behind my house when I was a kid but never imagined something that awesome. Have you got an RC club or is it just you and your mates?

Right now there's about 10 of us, but the numbers are growing fast. I would say by the end of the month it will be closer to 20 of us. So I guess you sould say we're a club in the making. Everytime someone comes and sees us run, they say I'm getting one of those. Then they ask how much they cost and only half of them still think about getting one.

They are pretty expensive, but they're a blast to race with.

 

[Blitz187]

Here's a video of one of the tracks we built with a couple buggys trying it out. Neither one are mine, but the one I have is pretty much the same thing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdU0TyyiQRE

Man, that is a nice track... I have an R/C as well... Tamiya-TT01.. I got into it a couple of years ago and me and a friend went for drift cars... the TT01 was the best entry level chassis to go with... Since we were new to it we went with those... Still have it and it still runs great... Have a lot of Hop-ups on it as well Great fun, but these buggies look really cool too and I'd love to have a Nitro powered R/C... The drift car uses an electric motor...

 

[Venom800tt]

I have been thinking about getting a small electric buggy myself. My current 3 r/c cars are all road cars. I rock a 1/10 HPI Nitro RS4 Evo 3, 1/8 Ofna Ultra GTP (needs work), and a 1/28 Kyosho Mini Z. Was looking at a little Tamiya buggy at the local hobby shop. Was around $120 and I think was 1/14 scale or so...

 

[bevo]

I have been thinking about getting a small electric buggy myself. My current 3 r/c cars are all road cars. I rock a 1/10 HPI Nitro RS4 Evo 3, 1/8 Ofna Ultra GTP (needs work), and a 1/28 Kyosho Mini Z. Was looking at a little Tamiya buggy at the local hobby shop. Was around $120 and I think was 1/14 scale or so...

How do you like your OFNA. A buddy is wanting to get a buggy but not spend a ton of cash on one, and OFNA looks to have some really good deals on entry level buggys.

 

[Venom800tt]

How do you like your OFNA. A buddy is wanting to get a buggy but not spend a ton of cash on one, and OFNA looks to have some really good deals on entry level buggys.

Well, when it worked it was pretty fun. Haven't really tried to run it in like a year or so, So I am not sure if it still runs. Might try to crank it up sometime soon though. No where near as fast as my HPI though lol...

 

[bevo]

Here's a video of the track we went to today. This is me running a few laps in between the qualifying and the race. The race ended up getting rained out, which really didn't matter to me cause I was going to get smoked. The only people I qualified higher then were the ones who didn't get to run in qualifying.
It was really fun though, and I got better and better as the day went. These laps were later on after I had gotten more comfortable with the track and got my buggy tuned in better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GervH5G3vuw

I don't know why, but anytime I make a youtube video, it takes my 16:9 and turns it into 4:3 and makes it look weird.