Looking to start 1/18 project
 

Last year i finished my E-revo (G2R, neu, Quark) and now I´m thinking to start a little 1/18 project. I´m thinking one of these

Team Losi Mini LST 2, Xray m18t or Associated RC18MT (T)

Has anyone experiences with one of those. That they will tell about.

I wan´t to make it brushless and upgrade it to become at little beast :lol:

Regards

You should check out www.Beatyourtruck.com They have pages of complete builds of a brushless RC18t and dual brushless Mini LST.

one18th.com is a great place as well. They have seperate forums for each vehicle.

I would personnally suggest either the Xray M18T/MT or the Vendetta ST. I own quite a few mini's (see my sig) and those two are my favorites. I never liked the MLST because its riddled with drivetrain problems. You'll be spending big bucks to get that POS brushless ready.

You should also have a look at the Lynx Truggy: http://www.team-lynx.com/Shop/index.php

It is BL-ready in the stock version and nearly undestroyable with the available Option Parts.

I'll toss in a recommendation to look at the Duratrax Mini Quake SE. It's a tough little truck with a few minor upgrades.

Yeah, MQ SE's rock. Mine is three years old and still bashes with the best of them. The new XTM rage should also be good. Its based on the MQ chassis and has a lot of needed upgrades like adjustable upper arms, cvd's standard, ball diffs standard, stronger knuckles, etc... It will be like an upgrades SE version. They are due out in Feb 08 I believe.

Here are pics of my old and trusty MQ SE.


http://www.one18th.com/watermark.php...g&type=gallery

http://www.one18th.com/watermark.php...g&type=gallery

I happen to be selling my 18T, check it out:

http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8034

hey, i happen to be selling my mini quake se on ebay no reserve, and already brushless. pm if you want the link.

rschoi_75
which do you like better the BG4 or the vendetta st which one handles better, what are the negatives of the vendetta.

Why hasn't anybody said anything about the Kyosho minis? That would be my choice...

oooooo..... tough to say. They are very different platforms. I personally like my BG4 better because its a rare kit, and just turns more heads. Of course this has nothing to do with actual performance. :whistle:

The BG4 is actually more like a 1/14th scale in size, so its much more stable than any 1/18th. The wheel base is extendend over an inch vs the regular m18T kit. It feels more planted on rough tracks, over jumps, etc... but the turning radius has increased accordingly.

I prefer the handling on the xray mini's, but both the M18T and Vendetta are very solid in that department. The M18T bellcrank unit is simple, tight, and responsive. There is no slop from the get go. The detta needs a servo brace to cut out the slop (they mounted the servo with just 2-sided tape... can you believe that???).

A little background info on the Detta:
Anderson Racing in Taiwan is the OEM company which sells the MQ/MRX-4 and Vendetta/MB4 around the world under different brands. So if you have an FTX blaze (U.K.), LRP Shark (Europe), Yokomo MB4 (Japan), its all the same as the Detta in the USA.


Downsides of the detta:
- 48 metric (.6 mod) pitch on the pinion/spur gears. Unique to mini's.
- 2.3mm bore pinions on stock motor. (Not a big problem, you can always buy a 3.2mm 400 size motor and use RRP 48p metric pinions).
- Most LHS do not stock duratrax spares... at least not by me.
- Less aftermarket support vs Losi or AE.
- Stock outdrives and universals are weak. The steel cvd set includes outdrives, so that's good.
- Stock electronics are god awful. They should go straight to ebay for the next unlucky schmuck... lol... that's mean I know, but someone's trash may be another's treasure... :lol:


Now, don't let this deter you from giving the Vendetta ST a shot. Its a great mini, and is equally capable as a race platform or a basher.

KMI's rock too. but my track won't let me run with the other 1/18th's so I sold it off for a vendetta. As a basher, the KMI ST would be one of the best. The major weak point is the center slipper. Upgrade that, toss in some MI-09 steel diffs, and get some cvd's and the KMI is all set to rock. Oh and the rtr electronics need to go too, but I'm sure no one here ever uses their stock crap.

Ok, I figure I'd share some Mini pics with you guys. Even though this is RC-MONSTER...:lol:

First two are my Vendetta buggy. I just got the FTX pbs front end conversion for it, so it looks like the ST front end, but it keeps the narrow buggy stance.

The 2nd two are of my Mini-T BG2 conversion.

More...:party:

Pic 1: MLST w/ CAW ext chassis, Monotuning ext arms.... Honestly, I hated this truck. It looks cool, but that's about it... :grrrrrr:

pic 2-3: M18T buggy conversion

pic 4: Vendetta trash can truggy... cause it looks like it belongs in a trash can. :lol:

Ok, last set.... I swear. :whip:

Pics 1-2: RC18T shelf queen,

Pics 3-4: dual mamba m18t bg4 experiment. Not practical in any way, shape, or form.... but it sure does move in a hurry. :yipi:

just throwin this out there.

mlst are crap.
do not waste your money on them.

id reccomend the mini quake se or the detta st

now that i look at them i think that would be cool to do

Yea, I really like the ST since it has sealed, tunable diffs. Pretty nice feature for a mini. There is also a REALLY nice CF chassis for it.

I love my mini-t but off road handling is pretty poor. I have to post a video of the thing some time. As for the mini-lst i'd say stay away. I liked the mini lst2 when it came out but it is just too heavy. It's not designed it's just shrunk. The weight of the thing destroys shock towers body posts and the transmission. Once brushless good luck getting a pack through it.

The rc18''s and some of the others are sweet cars though with a few upgrades.

That a lot of new suggestions... thanks a lot. I see there are a lot more mini´s then i thought. Hoping to get even more respond here :-)

Does anyone know if the team-lynx mini´s are worth buying. Prices seems fair ?

From what I have heard - stay away from the team-lynx. I have heard that they have too many problem, I just can't remember what they are. Check on one18th.com and you may find some answers there.

I have been doing some more reading :-) and it seems that the Mini Quake would be nice.

I´m thinking of the SE version. Can I use my Spektrum DX2 system in that. And what servo do you guyes use ?

Any cheap standard size servo will have more than enough torque to turn the wheels. I've used a cheap $7 HS-303 in mine for almost 3 years now. MQ SE's are nice. If you are looking for an Off-road capable basher I'd suggest any of these:

- Xray M18MT
- MQ SE
- Vendetta ST
- KMI ST
- Trinity Now
- XTM rage (MQ re-design due out in Feb 08)

I think I´m down to this now

Mini Quake SE with not yet decided electronics (advices would be nice)

Or an Xray M18MT

What is the best choice for bashing (mostly)

I have both of those - the MQ-SE runs a 3500kv GH with a mamba 25. The M18MT has a mamba 5400 setup. They are way diff rcs due to the weight diff. Xray weighs a lot less and is the only rc I've found thats happy with a mamba motor - it actually runs cool in this one!

The Xray needs more finesse to drive cause it will tumble easier than the MQ. The MQ is better in rough terrain cause its less prone to flipping over and can be driven harder with less attention to throttle control. They are both fast with plenty of power.

M18MT needed alum cvds - the stock plastic ones didn't last long before breaking and Xrays alum ones were about the only choice. The MQ-SE has alum cvds already.

The SE would be my choice as a basher.

Got a small fleet of 1/18 minis myself. 3 of them with mambas. I'll have to post up pics soon. Until then I leave you with this:

_______________

Bud Light Presents: RC Men of Genius

…RC Men of Genius…

Today we salute you, Mr. 1/18th Driver

…Mr. 1/18th Driver!...

In a world of 1/12th, 1/10th and 1/8th RC’s you choose to run the smallest thing possible at the track.

…I can’t see my car behind that barrier!...

Like a brave soldier, you storm hostile territory to run your little pocket rocket with the big boys.

…I have a 12 tooth pinion and Mamba 8000!...

Can you overshoot that first turn? Of course you can. How about actually driving straight down the straightaway? Hell no!! Traction roll? All day long!!

…Boy this thing is fast!...

While other cars are made from carbon fiber and graphite, only you can add ALL aluminum parts and call it race ready.

…My car drives like a brick!...

So crack open an ice-cold Bud Light ol’ Micro Master, because in this time of bigger is better, small will always be better.

…Mr. 1/18th Driver!…

LOL MR 1/18th driver thats funny.:rofl:

Believe it or not the fastest cars I have are mini's my favorite is the RC18's it's a very vers platform and for a basher parts are cheap and you can get them just about anywhere?

I'm testing a 5s set up in the RC18B looks like a 100mph mini is getting closer.:wink:

how fast is that scalpel

hey I remember that 5s truck from one18th.com. :great:

I remember you were planning to take it to the worlds fastest challenge. Are you still planning on that next year? I'm thinking about turning my BG4 into a drag racer since its illegal to race as a "mini" and I wouldn't dream of bashing it.

Detuned it's been over 60mph it's hard to tell it's so small the radar gun has a problem picking it up. Thats with the 6800 Mamba with the 8000 it can be geared to run 130+ with the aero drag I'm hoping for around a 100mph? the biggest problem is finding a place long enough and smooth enough to run those kinds of speeds.:smile:

I couldn't make it this year to the worlds fastest RC contest hopefully next year? I have also been contacted by another magazine that is interested in a Guieness world record contest if they can get it together that would be even better.:yipi: