Noob needs his 1st 1/8th Buggy

[morati]

Hey Fellas, been bashing and racing for about nine years now with many different cars/trucks/buggy's so I do have a little bit of experience but unfortunately nothing in 1/8th scale because I've never been crazy about Nitro. Costs for good Lipo's have steadily come down to the point where I can actually afford to buy a pack or two and I already have a decent Hyperion charger/Novak power source so that part is already taken care of.
I am curious as to what brand of Buggy you would suggest to start off with? I have access to parts for Ofna, Mugen, Associated, Hot Bodies and Kyosho. Like the looks of the Hyper 9E but I have read on different forums that it needs alot of custom work to make it worthy (motor mount, mud guards, limited battery space etc.) I was planning on running a Tekin 1900 or 2050 system on 4S (only because I like sensored systems). Your thoughts here would be much appreciated.....

[nuz69]

Forgot Kyosho, the kits are very expansive and spare parts too....
Mugen, hot bodies, associated are all good and tough buggy, maybe the mugen mbx6 is better... Hyper9e is very light, but like you said it needs some work, and the space is limited for big motor and battery...
The sensored combo will give you more smoothness between 0 and 2 mph, but above this speed you wont see any difference with a sensorless combo. Only tekin has done a sensored combo by the way.
In 1:8 scale, the problem that many people encounter is the heating. The 1:8 scale is heavy, tough but heavy. Therefore you need to really care about your motor choice, a small motor will be lighter but you will have to gear it very low if you dont want to overheat it.
If you want absolutely to take a tekin combo, choose the truggy motor because the buggy motor is a little weak.
the castle 2200 kV combo works pretty good too in buggy, avoid the 2650kV.

[FG101C]

The RC8e is a great buggy and priced right. I've had alot of different makes of buggies except that one but I've learned that they are all good, parts availability is what's really important. Sucks not being able to run because you have to order and wait for a part.

My personal preference after having a bunch of them is the Losi.

[morati]

Thanks Fellas, excellent advice!

[magman]

Mugen is an excellent choice...the mbx-6 is superb

[morati]

Mmmm, two votes for the Mugen and my LHS stocks alot of parts for it already. I guess thats all I need to know.....I've always wanted to own one anyways.
MBX6
Elite RC motor mount
Losi receiver box
RCMonster battery box
Tekin truggy motor/ESC combo
JConcepts 808 buggy body?
Hows this setup sound so far?

[E-Revonut]

Support the monster and run a RC-Monster motor mount as well! Superb machining and strength!

[morati]

Actually the entire RCMonster conversion kit looks nice!
Do you guys recommend the plastic spur gear from the RC8 to help keep noise levels down?

[magman]

Noise levels depend solely on individual taste. I run a metal spur on both my mbx-5 and mbx-5T and do not mind it at all

[nuz69]

+1 for the mugen. I use a metal spur gear in my inferno VE and with good shimming, there it's very quiet, i find it more quit than my mate's plastic gear....

[morati]

Thanks, good to know with regards to the metal spur gears. I will try it that way first and see how it goes. My LHS is closed for the next couple of weeks but i will get on it as soon as the owner returns. Much more reading for me to do on this forum and others regarding the build.

[E-Revonut]

I run the plastic spur on my RC8T, I like that it's a bit quieter and since I haven't sprung for a slipperential yet I like knowing that the plastic spur should be the weak link in my driveline and should strip before breaking the motor shaft.

[DwightSchrute]

if not an 8ight, the mugen is a great choice. those buggies are virtually indestructible

[Semi Pro]

i would start with a losi 8ight, they are cheep used and have tons of parts as well as simple conversion kits

they hold up to tons of abuse and they have won more races than any buggy in this latest generation of buggy's

its by far the best choose of bashes and racer right now if you ask me.

i have been useing plastic spur gears and i have only stripped 2 in the last 3 years, both from motors comeing lose because i forgot to thread lock them, i like the idea that i will strip a cheep $3 spur gear before i ruin an expensive diff gear, as long as your mesh is right now days metal on metal is allmost as quiet as plastic on metal

[Stoomstrijkijze]

Originally Posted by DwightSchrute

if not an 8ight, the mugen is a great choice. those buggies are virtually indestructible

Destoyed my front diff case last week :/ Bad landing on the shock tower and it broke :/
The hinge pins that hold the rear also bend faster. I got some new hinge pins today and they look thicker than the normal ones from the kit. I had to use the 2.0 C hubs to fit them :p Fortunately is had some of them laying around.

I'd say go with Mugen. There are build like tanks, although Losi is a good choice too. I bought my 1.5 2nd hands with loads of spares, hop ups and tires very cheap :D