One buggy for all surfaces?
 

I'm planning a return to 2WD and have been looking at the Schumacher range of KF/KR buggies.


I already have some saddle packs which I believe will fit in the KF, is that correct?


Also I know the KF is apparently best suited for Astro & carpet but will it still drive ok on Grass or Mud should I decide to take it outdoors in the summer?

Are there many 'hop-ups' to buy?

Open to other manufacturers but Schumacher seems quite popular locally and parts easy to get etc.


Thanks

Hi Luke, I would look out for a good second hand kf with some option parts in the for sale sections of the forum.

Although you already have saddles which will run in the stock chassis KF, I would look out for a car with the low grip chassis conversion. This chassis accepts shorty lipo's and moves the motor 20mm rearward for more rear weight bias. It won't fit the saddle packs in this layout.

This setup will be easier to drive on slippy/greasy tracks.

Also look out for cars with the ball diff and alloy upper rear transmission housing. The alloy housing allows the shocks to be mounted on the rear of the wishbones which also improves traction on lower grip surfaces.

I find the ball diff option makes the car much easier to drive on all but very high traction surfaces, where the stock gear diff works very well.

Hope this helps a little! :thumbsup:

I would throw into the mix a kyosho RB6. They take saddles or shortie, can be picked up relatively cheap second hand and seem to be good on most surfaces. I'm really impressed with the one I picked up off here and it's a step ahead of the cougar sv I had previously.

I found the RB6 to be very poor in the wet / low grip.

Yokomo Bmax2 platform is very versatile on both high and low traction tracks.
You can also build it mid or rear motor.

The new Yokomo YZ-2 should also prove to be very versatile. it's out next week.

The new Yokomo YZ-2 looks good. I'd like to see one ran in anger as no one over here has ran it properly yet. By all accounts the reports from Japan are very good and they were testing on AstroTurf. It takes saddles down the centre or side by side. Chuck the shocks on the back and stick a ball diff in it I suspect it will be fine on low grip. As they've been testing them like this on clay.

The spec looks to be excellent with virtually nothing additional required apart from a ball diff.

The KF is probably going to be replaced soon so 2nd hand is the best option if you choose one.

The RB6 has been out a while probably due a revamp, there not that popular so trackside spares might be an issue depending where you race.

The FT B5M is probably not far away but there's mixed reviews on the current B5M from people some like them but some hate them.

The Losi 22 2.0 looks good and they're not too expensive with a good spec. They look pretty solid too.

The best bet is try before you buy so you're not stuck with something that doesn't suit you driving style as different cars suit different people.

If anything, I found the complete reverse of that Paul. I couldn't get rid of the grip with the rb6!

Thank you for all the replies, now I've looked at other buggies and gone off the Schumacher a little :o.


The Yokomo and Losi both very appealing but at different ends of the price spectrum too.

Can anyone say from experience if the Losi needs any money spending on hop-ups out of the box? Ran Losi all my previous off road years, Losi XX XXT XXX etc, good quality cars. I also like the fact both motor configurations come with the kit.

Yokomo - the photos on the CML site are excellent and it looks like a very high quality piece of kit, hence the price I guess.

Certainly the new Yoke is at the upper end of the price scale, but good BMax2s come up for sale all the time and usually in the £120-£160 range depending on model, age, spares etc. That is a bargain for a great car.

I really want to buy new though. I feel I learn so much about the car from building it from scratch, especially if I get parts of the assembly wrong. It makes repairs much easier as well and part of the fun is the kit build.

Luke,
Kyosho RB6 works everywhere, price is good at moment and same quality as Yokomo.
Comes with all parts in kit for Mid or rear Motor. and for different Battery configs.
its well under £300 in most shops!

You can get the v3 for £250 new at moment or the v3 factory team for only £20 more
V2 can be got for ~£200

Anybody running the tc02 evo? Looks a good choice at a decent price.

They certainly seemed to be running well at Chadderton at the weekend

I think that if I go for Yokomo ill get the YZ2.

I have to disagree and say B5m all the way, perfectly suited to all situations, cheap to buy, upgrades easy to get and spares easy to get from CML or ebay and takes saddle packs, shorty or square, I know sooo many people who have had KF, KR, yokomo and kyosho and all have moved to associated B5m, it so easy to drive and dominates at my local clubs, deffo not a car to be overlooked

It can only be one car Dex210 in less then 10 minuets it can be rear or mid motor and has won championships on both surfaces and will not cost you a fortune in upgrades, plus the saddles fit without modification.
your other option is the TLR 22.2 both mid or rear motor in one car

I would look at the serpent srx2 as well, maybe only a couple of things needed like springs and the alu or brass bulkhead and gear diff
Its really well put together and a tank of a car
Drives really nicely.

One of the great things is that the designer is on facebook and in the serpent group and he offers a lot of tips and help, as well as discussing with the group how and what would make the buggy better.

Tony E is also a very good source of help and paut of serpent UK i believe

I don't think the YZ2 is a good choice for all surfaces and I quote

"With these developments in the offroad racing scene, the YZ-2 was designed from the ground-up to perform its best in today’s high-speed, high-grip race tracks." This quote is from Yokomo themselves.

No reason why the yok shouldn't be decent on low grip astro/grass, I run a tm2 on schumacher silvers (not 'the' tyre to have) on stotfolds wet astro and it's pretty good