i would actually go rusty too. i know you guys like the others and so do i but let me give you an example. my brother (12yrs old) got a rusty and (not bad but he has only raced 2 races before but defiantly not great) races it with the t4s, xxx-4s, and stock buggy's, now i know it is not all about speed but my brother wins 2 out of every three races. He even beats the veterans drivers. why you ask (i know it is not all about speed) because his car does 30 on a fully charged pack while the others do like 22mph and he smokes them in the straights and carries much more speed in the turns. and for a rusty it does not handle that bad it actually is comparable to a higher end truck on a street track as far as handling. he also recently raced with a t4 stock with (orion lipo) and a Brushless stock xxx-t and also won. so i think that this speed will help make up for the wrecks you have to catch up on. in addition because it is a basher it is very durable. so if he crashes nothing never breaks and because it is so simple it is so reliable and that is 50% racing anyway because if your car does not run or breaks you lose. out of the whole time we have had it (6 weeks) nothing (i am serious) has broken. the only recommended thing you should do is put thread lock on the motor screws, but absolutely nothing has broking at all and we have been bashing racing, all terrain. it is so durable and reliable that my self just wants to get one so when everything else is not working i have something to play with. sorry for the long speech.

While I respect that a couple of you would buy a Rusty to race, here's the downfalls of it...

No adjustable camber links
Stock bushings in axle carriers
Differential isn't adjustable
Weak tranny without at least an AL Idler
No options for rear toe adjustments unless you buy an FLM chassis
Kinda heavy for a stadium truck
Narrow track width in front

IMO, the rusty is a very poor choice as a racer unless you like spending money to upgrade parts to make it tweakable. Out of the box it's a great basher, but it's just nowhere near the same class of racer as a XXX-T or T4. There's a reason you don't see anyone race a Rusty on the national level.

I also vote for T4 (with stock equivalent brushless?). Never had a T4, but have had many of the earlier 10T's. If you like the jato (maybe that's part of your driving problem?lol), then see if you can put stock equivalent brushless in that. Of course the jato may be slower with same power than a T4 would.

camber and toe and all those little adjustments do matter, but the factory inadjustable settings are not bad and any good driver can make up for the lack of performance tuning options, but yes adjustability helps. But if brian is not one to sit and re-adjust the camber if it has a slight under,over steer, loss of grip ect... then those things might not be important to him. WHat ever you get brian you will be happy because there all great trucks.

Yeah, I like to set it up for what I think will be good and then leave it alone. Like I said, I'm not a really good driver yet so how can I effectively make adjustments and actually see the differences? Besides, I believe wholeheartedly that racing is 30% truck, 70% driver. A good driver can make anything run good. OTOH, having the capability of those adjustments is nice if I ever do get good enough.

So, it looks like the T4 wins, closely followed by a Rustler, and the Losi in last place with 0 votes. Hmmm, looks like the LHS guys maybe aren't simply fanboys after all and there is a reason for the choice.

The Jato is my basher since it is actually very tough. I think it would do well in the Mod truck class once the person behind the wheel gets better. :)

However, now I have to wait a couple of weeks before I get it. I spent wayyy too much money yesterday on another form of entertainment which I won't go into here...

Thanks everyone for their input and suggestions!

Brian, you'll enjoy the T4.

As for successful racing being 70% driver, I think it's a higher percentage than that. One friend of mine is just one of those guys that keeps a cool head and is very analytical. He sorts everything out and figures out the best way to get around EVERYTHING. I don't know how he has any fun like that, but he does.

Anyway, he showed up at the track a while back with a Monster GT that he put MT tires on and kicked everyone's butt. This was in MT class that was dominated by Revos. I know that the Revo is a better handling truck. I know that for a fact, but it sure didn't help the other drivers.

If you got you're heart set on a traxxas, there is only one i'd choose for racing, SRT. I know its discontinued, but all nitro rustler parts for suspension are exact fit and rustler electric tranny parts fit perfect. I am currently building one with a new stampede/rustler slipper with plastic top gear and alumnium idler, will post pics when i get a chance

Well, you don't really have to be a good driver, just a consistent one. The best drivers are the one's that may not always get the best racing line, but always follow the same line each lap and don't crash. If your consistent, you know how the car is supposed to react and can then make changes. The 2 BEST things you can ever do is either as the hot lap guy at your track or go by the stock set-up, and to get consistent laps.

Brian by roar rules which is what most track's go buy stock is considerd any 27t motor with 24 degrees of timing.

Hey... I'm back hee hee.

I vote for the Losi Novak BL RTR for what it's worth even though I run a T4 myself. There really isn't much difference between the trucks... it's 90% driver anyway.

Since I'm running the races I made the Novak 13.5 legal for racing. We actually have several of the Losi RTR trucks running in the novice class and it's working very well. They even come with DSM radios IIRC.

Rusty: there's nothing wrong with the truck but if you really want a race truck... I can't recomend a Traxxas. You won't be able to ask for setup help and you won't really know if the truck is "good" or not. Also the Rustler doesn't come with good race rubber. At least the T4 and XXT come with "race" tires that are usable on the track.

I'm not sure what you have for batteries but that's another "issue". I got lipos green-lighted for mod classes but it's not ok for stock classes. I have some extra 6 cell packs you can use if you don't have any.

If you run novice... lipos will probably be ok unless it looks like you are too fast. And for stock class, maybe you can run a lipo/emoli turn down the power just a bit to make sure it's equal to the other guys.

edit

hope to see you racing soon... we made the track "easier" too... better for the not-so-fast guys. :)

my buddy has a xxx-t,bone stock. and i think he has won a couple of races. but he has been racing for 6 years.

Hard to argue with that since you made the XXX-T BL RTR legal in novice class. Also, the XXX-T BL RTR does not come with Spektrum. It comes with a JR XR2i radio.

Another thing to consider is that if Glassdoctor runs his T4 at the races when you are, if you bought a T4, you guys could help each other out with parts if someone breaks and one of you has spares. That's one of my main reasons with buying a T4 is that two other guys I plan to race with have them.

My biggest problem with racing is I started with too much power (dang BL setups :)), and it seems I need to learn to walk before I can run. Practice will help with the skill part. I'm better than I was when I started, it just takes time.

Thanks GD. I do have some extra GP3300 cells laying around. Just unmatched cells, but brand new. I just prefer lipos now for the runtime and ease of charging.

What did you do to the track to make it easier? My biggest problem was being able to slow down enough before the turns at the end of the doubles and triples. That and getting the Jato to put the power to the ground - which was ok when the track was swept and watered, but when it started getting dry loose dirt on it, I'm all over the place!

Hmm, so it seems like the trucks are about equal performance wise. Hows the durability between the two?

Slowing down is all in the finger. The BEST way to get that down is to start braking way early, then gradually stop shorter and shorter from the turn. You'll really learn how to finesse the brakes and how hard you can punch before you lock up your wheels.

As for traction, get the hot tires for the track. If proline, the M2 compound would be best (softest). If the track is smooth, tray adding antisquat. I would not recommend changing you shock set-up for traction as it will have ill effects on jumps. The best thing again is learning trigger finger finesse. Just practice rolling your finger and not gunning it.

For really becoming a good driver, the best advice I can give is just go slow around the track for a while till you get your line down then go faster and faster. If gunning it spins you out, put a piece of fuel tubing over the trigger on the gas side. It will stop the trigger before full throttle so you can drive like you normally do but be more controlled.