help in choosing first 4wd buggy
 

im a beginner and would like to venture into 4wd elctric buggy.after reading oople buggy reviews ,im thinking of getting tamiya durga or kyosho zx5.durga is newer then the zx5 but zx5 seems like a nice one too.cant decide.

I'm a bit biased towards the Durga as I run one, but, in my opinion its a better car and its tougher than the ZX5. Plenty of Durgas running at our club now and many have changed from the ZX5 to the Durga. Its a great beginers car and can also be very competetive.

Hth, Dave.

I'd go for the Durga, the only two zx5's ive seen run have both suffered the same problem (front part of the chassis snaps off).

The Durga is a top car..

Ahem, I have a brand unbuilt new one in the box I am selling as well, although thats not the reason I recommend it. Its my brothers and he isnt able to commit to racing this year.

If you are on a strict budget and won't be running a powerul motor I'd vote for a Durga, even better if you could get one with the "must have" hop-ups ready built ie, alloy hingepin mounts and slipper. If you have around £200 what about the HPI Cyber 10B?

As a returning racer after some 10 years away from the sport I have chosen a DB01 Durga as my 4WD model. My reason for this choice was due to the fact that it accepts LiPo stick packs which means I can run the same cells as I do in my 2WD, however I would not have purchased it if I had not been convinced of its capabilities.

For a beginner I believe that the DB01 offers many advantages not least of all its reported durability, but far and away what I believe to be the biggest advantage of this particular model is its ability to be upgraded as your skills and finances allow. Out of the box the car I have no doubt will meet the needs of a novice driver (not too quick as to be off putting but still fast enough to be fun) with the addition of only a few reasonably priced upgrades as mentioned previously the car will perform to the standard of pretty much any model in its class as Jimmy's review and contribution to the Durga thread testifies.

ya durga is durable.Ive seen many durga crashes on youtube and they just keep moving without any breakages.but i wonder whether the belt driven transmission is durable and its maintanence based on you guy's experience.another thing ,like kyosho whre its front part is prone to damages, what part of durga is its weakpoint?

thats a nice buggy too.Unfortunately,its way over my bugdet.haha.so i will hav to keep tat in my dreams.hehe

wat do u mean by snaps??its breaks apart?i thought the zx5 is one of the toughest buggy around.

Out of the box and fitted with the kit motor the only "weak point" is inner hingepin mountings for the lower arms as the pins are held in by a plastic block that is relatively flexible. If you snag a corner it can pull the pin out so you'll "lose" that corner. Most times it all just fits back together if you can find all the bits out on the track. The 3Racing alloy mounts will fix this at less than half the price of the Tamiya upgrades.

All the other stuff only starts to become necessary as you put more power throught the drivetrain. The rear diff is a bit iffy once you get into motors lower than 10.5T (brushless) and a slipper is always a good thing to have but its not essential if you are gentle on the throttle.

If you can get HPI parts, you can consider a Cyber 10B (not to be confused with Brahma 10B).

If you like saddle packs, and can get Yokomo parts, you can consider a B-Max 4.

If you like Tamiya, get the DB-01 Baldre or Durga. Baldre shell fits the chassis better in my opinion. As mentioned, this buggy has slightly weak suspension arm mounts but once upgraded, it's a tank.

the other consideration, with the DB-01, is the fact that the wheels are available in almost all shops... as the Losi XX4 wheels are a direct fit.

quite fancied a DB01 myself, can they be run str8 out the box 9000kV+ brushless?!

no... you will mash the rear diff...

yay ,durga will hav street tires cuz my neighbourhood lack those offroad terrains.anyways,how about the jumping capabilities of the durga compared to the kyosho zx5? And does kyosho hav strreet tires for the zx5??

what modifications are required to DB01 to make safe for high power brushless?
1/10 buggies, in the main, are equipped with 2.2 wheels of some sort for which there are an abundance of tyres to choose from. schumachers and ballistics are popular for dirt type terrain, and apparently traxxas (modelsport.co.uk) do a nice line in street tyres, though these i ain't tried.

To run more powerful brushless motors you need to get IMO slipper clutch and upgrade the rear diff outputs to the alloy ones from the TRF501.
Other than that it'll be fine!

thanks for info on DB01 upgrades, very tempting, think i'd want metal shocks of some sort though, and a centre one-way (an extra £120 inc slipper and the ever elusive 501 diff?).

For better shocks just stick a set of Associated B4 shocks straight on, you'll pick a set up for around £20 on here

FAO sirsomrak...

"had a Durga running for about 2 weeks now, and I must say the car is magnificent! It's definitely gonna put Tamiya back on the map for club racers. In fact, I don't think there is a sub $300 car that could even touch this thing. We have a Lazer ZX-5 for comparison and the DB01 seems to be right on par (for almost half the price). In fact, the kit spec DB01 easily out-maneuvers the kit-spec ZX-5"
www.radiocontrolzone.com 20.12.2007 (thread no. 244025)

thx angel.one.juz worried about which buggy is easier to master its jumping skills.i juz started ya now.also on transmission wear and tear.i dunt wan to owes change those belts and pulleys.but i guess durga is the way to go.

Durga, Durga, Durga!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...uramardini.JPG

The Baldre is the same car with a better fitting shell, even if it doesn't look as fancy as the Durga's. The Baldre would be my choice of shell out of the two.

I don't know anything about kyosho or zx5 but good reputation + £169 (www.modelsport.co.uk) for a ready to run less batteries and charger must seem very reasonable to anyone new to 4x4 offroad RC!
Have you considered the yokomo bmax4 with or without the champions pack?! sorry, this is a Tamiya area?

hey angel.one,i read in of the threads tat durga's rear diffs keep loosening after few runs?y is tat happening? zx5 seem to be problem free!! changing my mind abit.u encountered any prob with durga?

don't have one, want one! general concensus is that only the rear diff hub should be replaced, and once done makes DB01 as bulletproof as expected from a Tamiya. for me, the zx5 wouldn't enter the equation as i like to choose my own radio n electrics kit and bodyshell finish. it does have slipper clutch as standard though. expect a PM imminently for cheapest place(s) i found for DB01/Durga.

oic.thx.BTW,wat are u running on ur durga?i plan to use a 12 turn motor?will it be neccesary to change the rear diff hub and add on slipper clutch?

i'd reckon on fitting a slipper clutch whatever, and 501x diff hubs on any motor better than 4000kV.

sorry to be such a noob .wat is a 4000kv motor?brushless ones?

The 'Kv' measurements confused me too at first. It does refer to a brushless motor spec.. Specifically the 'Kv' number is referring to -RPM per volt-, so a 4000Kv motor has a maximum unloaded RPM of 29600 when used with a 7.4v battery (4000 * 7.4 = 29600).

Some companies perfer to use the 'Kv' spec instead of 'Turns' which is what most of us are used to.. If you wanted to compare a 4000kv brushless motor to a Novak brushless motor, then you will find that it is roughly the same as a 10.5 turn.

Hope this helps.

Dan

You must've seen my video then LOL

thx dimblum.

hey dimblum, which would you recommend to noob like me ,kyosho zx5 rtr or durga?
i will bash it around car parks and mostly onroad.which one is more durable and require less maintenance?

I've run a 6000kv brushless with the stock rear diff and it's been fine so far. I have rebuilt the diff a few times to keep it running smoothly, though. Fixing the diff plate with a good glue seems to have helped. That said, I'll likely get the 501 diff halves for spares.

In terms of other hop ups, I've added the slipper, CVDs and the 3Racing shocks (and Losi wheels, just because they were easier to source). I'm not the greatest driver so I can certainly vouch for the Durga's ability to handle a crash :blush:

encouraging, i think the DB01 is a standout Tamiya piece, and the Durga bodyshell makes it a masterpiece.

wow! who jumps better? i mean whose jumping technique is easier to master.

the front part of the chassis snaps off (holding the front gearbox).

I'd get the Durga, its a great car, excellent for jumps and it also looks nice.

does it come with metal outdrives?

The outdrives are metal; it's the kit diff halves that are plastic.

thx blackbeard.till now ,decision still not clear.my budget is around rm1500 = US$390.either RTR or kit.tis is tough man.