Which 1/8 buggy to convert for racing?

[supralover72]

You have to drive the 8t really aggressively to be competitive, where as the Mugen you don't really have to go last lap final turn hard in every corner.

I guess if your a super aggressive driver, get the 8t, but if you want durability and consistency, the mugen is unmatched.

May I also recommend the rc8?

Although, this all means nothing unless you drive one, everyone is different.

[Cain]

I will say I have been very impressed with the quality of the parts used by mugen. They feel top notch.

[skillx]

I have been putting my Kyosho through its paces for the last few weeks now that a track has opened about 1/2 mile from my house ..

http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9531

I will say this about Kyosho quality and durabilty. I have owned about 25 or so different hobby quality rc's in my 34 years. Probably 50 or more if you count the Radio Shack junk I got as presents...

NOTHING!,and I mean nothing, i have ever owned has matched my Kyosho in terms of durabilty and quality of parts. About the only brand I have not tired has been Xray but all the nitro guys at my LHS have jumped ship from Losi to Xray so that has to mean something. My 10 cents....my 2 cents are free...

[GO-RIDE.com]

My problem is the local 1/8 track does not open for about another 2 months and is about 1 hour from me. It would be tough for me to drive other vehicles. With a short season I need to find something before it opens to get it converted and somewhat setup.

RC8 does seem really nice, and if I was going nitro I'd probably go that route. But, doing an E conversion I don't want to pay top dollar for a new car, convert it and find it's not for me. I'd rather find a used deal or something like the MBX5 that is being closed out.

My buddy has a used 8ight and hopefully he'll sell that to me, unless I find some other great deal before.

Originally Posted by supralover72

You have to drive the 8t really aggressively to be competitive, where as the Mugen you don't really have to go last lap final turn hard in every corner.

I guess if your a super aggressive driver, get the 8t, but if you want durability and consistency, the mugen is unmatched.

May I also recommend the rc8?

Although, this all means nothing unless you drive one, everyone is different.

[GO-RIDE.com]

Originally Posted by skillx

NOTHING!,and I mean nothing, i have ever owned has matched my Kyosho in terms of durabilty and quality of parts. About the only brand I have not tired has been Xray but all the nitro guys at my LHS have jumped ship from Losi to Xray so that has to mean something. My 10 cents....my 2 cents are free...

Your Kyosho looks great. How's race against nitro buggies?

[skillx]

Originally Posted by GO-RIDE.com

Your Kyosho looks great. How's race against nitro buggies?

The car does an awesome job. The driver on the other hand.......Getting about 20 minute run times safely on that setup with the MM set to NO lvc. It is crazy fast and can do things on our track the nitros can't with the instant torque. I love it and am currently looking to sell my 8T and convert a STRR Truggy and go all Kyosho... Since getting the buggy it has made a believer out of me..Interested in a 8T? I will make an awesome deal for you complete or just as a roller

Link to 8t ==> http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7921

[pipeous]

Here's my take.
The Losi turns very sharp but has a few weak points to address, one thing is the center to front driveshaft is tiny so a Mugen one fits in. If you are a smooth driver and land jumps flat it is a very fast buggy. If you land of kilter it can be a handful

The Mugen is a tank and lands jumps flat, angled etc and easy to drive, very tough though the position of the drivetrain is a bit more work to get things balanced

The AE (which I now have) corners almost as good as a Losi, lands jumps like a Mugen and out of the box setup is really good. I am impressed with this buggy.

Xray quality is by far the best materials. It is the most adjustable buggy made and that is good and bad. You could end up tuning yourself out of a setup.

Kyosho is good too. GS Racing, Team Magic, Nanda and bite my toungue CEN even

Best bet is to buy what you can get parts for at the lhs so less downtime and you can get setup help at the track because chances are it'll be more common. I chose AE this year because the distributor is about 40 min drive away and I can get parts fast. Last year I think I supplied more Xray parts at the track than all the lhs sold lol. (I had almost 4 buggies in parts plus I bought out a team guys supply after he switched brands)

[SpEEdyBL]

Just to comment on the quality of 8ight parts, I am quite amazed by the quality of the molded 7075 shock towers and the chassis. I also love the giant shocks it has. If you do get an 8ight and want quality parts make sure you get the race roller and not the rtr version. They are different. I don't think the performance would be any different though.

[supralover72]

well, my jammin is abeast andeasy as pie to convert. Newer than the mugen and tower was blowing them out for 360 or so plus discounts its the same price as the mugen. Id get that after owning one.

[glassdoctor]

Originally Posted by skillx

About the only brand I have not tired has been Xray but all the nitro guys at my LHS have jumped ship from Losi to Xray so that has to mean something. My 10 cents....my 2 cents are free...

LOL... that might be because Xray just went "china" and cloned the 8ight!!!

Hopefully they found some tweaks to make it more stable?

The RC8 and 8ight are nice buggies and can be super agile and fast, but they are more twitchy and not as stable (easy to drive and good on rough stuff...) as some more conventional cars.

I love my 8ight but I can't deny that the rear can be "happy"... and I haev yet to run on a big rutted out track.

[glassdoctor]

Tell you what guys, since we are talking buggies... from what I'm hearing, the new Caster car is REALLY a good big-race big-track car. It handles great, like a Mugen/Jammin, but with steering and more stable.

I'm going to be running one this summer. I haven't run it yet, but my buddies that have are pretty pumped about it and they have driven most of the big brands.... and are more hardcore 1/8 than I ever will be.

Just wanted to throw that out there. Caster is an unknown right now, but I think it won't be for long.... muah ha ha ha

[GO-RIDE.com]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the great replies, especially those of you will multiple car experience. I just won't have the opportunity to try any 1/8 buggies before the season. It's not a surprise to me that there are number of good buggies out there with strengths and weakeness.

The Mugen sounds like an easy choice being both tough and forgiving to drive, although only the mbx5 is in my budget and not the mbx5r. I don't know how big of a deal that is?

The Losi seems very competitive being both tough and agile. Maybe a little harder to drive in the rough, but there are a lot of setups out there claiming to work good in the rough. I'd get good local support with Losi.

I do like Jammin (I have a crt.5) and it's won a lot and there are a bunch of conversions on this site.

The AE RC8 doesn't seem to have faults and for some reason I really like the idea of a very progressive suspension system. I've seen them for as cheap as $450 new, so it's close in price and may be worth the extra $ to have the latest buggy out. This one also has great local support.

As Glassdoctor has mentioned the Caster has developed a strong following over on rctech.net and seems positioned for a strong 2008 season.

I guess the list could go on and on....

What it really comes down to is which one is the best after being converted to electric? I won't be going exotic and having custom machined parts made, but rather using the great stuff from RCM and maybe one of those machined side pan battery trays.

At this momment I see:
1. Losi - I can get a good condition roller from a buddy and it converts nicely.
2. AE - I love the look of that buggy and if I'm going to spend extra $ it will be on the latest stuff.
3. Mugen - the mbx5 is available new for low $ and it seems with a bit of work in can be a competitive racer.

Decisions...decisions...?

[jhautz]

You should also consider the new Xray buggy. Its due out in a few weeks. The XB808. It looks like it has taken allot of the best design features from many of the buggies you mentioned and melded them together. Downside is its not proven yet. But knowing Xray and the way the XT8 performs I'm betting its gonna be a heck of a buggy this year.

Just thought Id throw it in. I didn't read the entire thread so if it was already suggested and dismissed, just disregard this comment.