Looking for a buggy project

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by glassdoctor

The LHS (the one with a track) has good deals on all their kits... you won't find them much cheaper anywhere.

They carry the new Sportwerks RTR buggy and it's pretty dialed. It's a good car and a good value. I have thought of getting one of those and parting out all the stuff I wouldn't need... that would cover much of the cost of the kit.

I know one guy did that and almost got the roller for nothing after ebaying everything.

That's where I plan to check out tomorrow. I'm kinda hoping to find a kit that doesn't have the motor, tank, electronics, etc to save me the trouble of eBaying stuff, but if it comes out that cheaply, I may reconsider. Like I said, one of my main considerations is durability and ease of finding replacement parts.

[glassdoctor]

The Eight is very cool, but yes the chassis is very narrow. It's a full two inches narrower than most buggies (counting the side skirts). It's also about $600

I want to check out the Eight in person and see how BL stuff might fit.

Seriously, you need to just skip HT and check out HH. They stock real cars, they know 100x more than HT, and they can get anything you want in a matter of days. And you don't pay shipping.

There are guys there (or they know the guys) who have owned every brand of buggy out there. Brandon and Mike (car dept guys) have owned Sportwerks, Jammin, Hyper 8, Kyosho, and Mugen, and have the Losi8 on order. That's the cars I know of... that just those guys have had.

Ask the HT lady what the difference is between the Mayhem and the Kyosho SP2 and you will just get a dumb stare. :)

Hobbyhaven has also sent back stuff for me to get fixed, like my ICE charger I smoked a couple weeks ago.

Rant over. :)

The Hyper 8 and Jammin RTRs are pretty good deals too. All of the "pro" kits are expensive. Buying a RTR and selling off the nitro crap is not a bad way to go unless you want to race and want the best hopups.

Back when I was loking, I really wanted the new at the time XRay buggy or the 777 SP1 but they were both $700. I got the "standard" Kyosho 777 kit for $320. It's not that cheap now.

[glassdoctor]

Or if you want you can check out my 777... I may be getting a Jammin from one of the local racers.

As for getting parts, buy from HH and they can get parts no problem... sometimes it only takes 2-3 days... they have shipments about every day.

[glassdoctor]

BTW I will be there racing again tomorrow night.

And hobbyhaven I think is down a bit on 1/8 kits in stock from what they usually have cause it's about the end of the racing season. And Brandon is off on wed so Mike is the only one you want to talk to.

[BrianG]

Cool. I will be hanging around town tomorrow anyway to take advantage of the nice weather (winding down my two-week vacation :frown: ). I'll probably stop by to check out what they do have and maybe ask some questions. I'm sure I'll be around for the races, and I'll have both the Revo and Jato along with me if you want to check them out. They're nothing like your buggies, but I'm pround of my "babies". :)

About HT vs HH: The people over at HT may not know much about the higher-end stuff, but they sure do carry pretty much any Traxxas part. Plus, they seem to be very nice and friendly. Sometimes I feel like I get brushed off (no pun intended... I know, bad joke) at HH (car dept) when I'm looking for the right vehicle and asking questions. Oh, they answer me, but that's all they do; answer. There's no discussion involved. When a potential customer is seriously looking for something, I would expect the sales staff to volunteer various strengths and weaknesses of the different brands based on what I'm looking for, especially when I'm ready to plunk down $400+. I have to know to ask the right questions or I'll never really know what I'm buying until after. I've gotten much better service from one of the flight guys there, but they don't know all that much about vehicles. That's why I didn't get my Jato there.

Sorry, rant over. I just hate poor customer service, so I tend to vote with my wallet. :)

Anyway... (I do tend to ramble :dft001: )

[glassdoctor]

Yeah, I know what you are talking about. The people at HT are nice and they try to help. But they aren't hardcore at all imo... just rtr newbie types.

Sometimes HH is busy and I have noticed they don't converse a lot. But they are cool too, everyone seems to like them, even the non-racers. :)

Rick is one of the owners and he's cool... more customer oriented than the "car" guys. They aren't natural salesmen. :D

I'll definitley check out your rides...

[neweuser]

BrianG, you Jato is BL right? Got pics?

[Hydrodancer]

I was gonna ask for pics of the jato too but I didn't want to be a hijacker :018:

[neweuser]

Ooops, i guess your right. Sorry about the hijack man! But pics would be nice????

[BrianG]

Sheesh! There's a whole thread about the E-Jato! :http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3423
The pictures of the final product are on page 6. :)

BTW: I stopped by HH today and all they really had was an Ofna Hyper 8 and a Sportwerks model (can't remember which). The Hyper8 is oh so pretty, but not sure if it is wide enough to house the motor and required batteries. I will check out glassdoctor's buggies tonight at the races (which I'm apparently late for); maybe I'll get some inspiration.

[aqwut]

BrianG, forget about every other 1/8 buggy... do a 1992 Kyosho inferno... haha j/k... that's what I have and it's old as H*ll... but man.. it's still running good.. the rear diffs just finally wore out... http://www.geocities.com/aqwut/INFERNO05.jpg If anyone knows where to get parts for this please help me get a manual... it's 92 or 93... :)

[BrianG]

LOL, I think I'll stick with getting something a tad newer.

There are a few lightly used Hyper8 rollers on eBay right now for quite attractive prices. I just wish I knew if everything would fit. Glassdoctor showed me the layout on his 777 and the Hyper 8 looks similar, so I'm guessing everything will probably fit.

[aqwut]

everything fits... Just make it fit.. :)

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by aqwut

everything fits... Just make it fit.. :)

Well, yes, it could be stuffed in there any old way, but I like to have a neat and safe setup. It's gotta be pretty and functional. No sense in getting a beautiful Hyper 8 and then zip-tie a bunch of crap in there. :) I may actually go lipo on this and making sure the battery is padded and secure is a must.

Or, I was thinking that I may just go with emolis. Something like 4s2p (or two packs of 2s2p). I'm quite happy how they perform in my E-Jato. Depends on the my motor choice and current draw. Plus, they are kinda cheap.

Either way, it's gotta look nice.

You may have seen this Hyper 8 already but I'll post a link anyway. http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/show...ighlight=hyper