Which Noob Brand?

[WBChunks]

Guys,

Looking to buy an electric 1/10 off road.

I get the impression Ansmann are the way forward but the boy likes the look of some of the Tamiya's.

I don't seen anyone bigging up the Tamiya's, should I avoid?

Thanks in advance

[mattybucks]

The tamiya's are awesome cars, I run a Trf511 4wd. It's an easy car to driver and very forgiving. The latest 4wd is the trf502, again a very good 4wd car.

The main problem in the past was spares. However loads of shops stock them now.

[sparrow.2]

Might help if you write which cars exactly you're looking at and what you want to be doing with them ie. racing, bashing about the park etc.

[WBChunks]

Thanks for the responses.

I'm not sure which model I'm after right now. This would be my first proper purchase and its all a bit bewildering.

I'd like something that can be upgraded should it need it. It will most likely spend most of its life bashing around the local BMX track or the park.

I quite like the look of the Ansmann Blizzard & Tamiya Sand Viper, my boy (who its more for) likes the look of the Tamiya Super Fighter.

I pretty much just want best bang for buck. I have around £175.

All recommendations (any brand) very much appreciated!!

Thanks Guys

[mattybucks]

Ansmann mad monkey. Get down to your local race meeting and see if you want to race, then make your mind up!

[sparrow.2]

Going from what you say the car will be used for I think your boy might have chosen the better car

The blizzard is geared more towards starting out racing and driving on tracks. It is really good for that but won't last too lang if it is not cleaned and maintained regularly.
The Super Fighter is more basic and rugged. If it's going to be used for bashing about this will be easier to keep running nicely with fairly little effort.
It's not so good on tracks though (read really bad).
The Sand Viper will be marginally better on tracks and is slightly better than the Super Fighter but that advantage will be lost if it isn't properly maintained as well.

Basically if he just wants to throw a battery into it and drive it, the super fighter is great. If he's interested in the technology the sand viper will be great too. Stay away from the blizzard if you don't want to put a lot of effort into it yet.

[WBChunks]

Thanks Sparrow.

Aside from Tamiya and Ansmann, where would you spend £175 if you were starting out?

I'm happy to tinker and realistically we'll be most likely throwing it around the local bmx tracks.

[Origineelreclamebord]

Originally Posted by WBChunks

Thanks for the responses.

I pretty much just want best bang for buck. I have around £175.

Though I'm a Tamiya fan, if you want the best specs/performance for your money, I could never recommend a Tamiya. Only the TRF line of cars has prices that are kind of in the range of the competition, but chassis' like the DT02 (that hide under the Super Fighter and Sand Viper shell) are from before the Brushless/LiPo age, so their drivetrain and chassis though durable won't be up to the job of handling any sort of power. Perhaps your son won't be using big power plants in his car yet, but that time may come This problem also becomes apparent when you screw off the motor/spur gear cover: 3 (I recall) gearing options and no slipper clutch! The only thing it was 'ahead' of it's time with was the gear diff (but as standard it's not ready to be oil-filled)

Don't get me wrong, they are nice chassis', but for the money? Though of course, when I think about my childhood RCs, my preference mainly went for the aesthetics of the car, so if you keep that in mind...

I think a Mad Rat wouldn't be a bad start. The plastics aren't as strong as that of other brands' offerings I heard, but then again it's price is considerably lower as well. Any broken parts could be replaced by that of the competition version that Ansmann/Team C sell, which should give superior durability over the Mad Rat's standard parts. The spec (on paper) is pretty good and I heard it's handling is decent. And because the car is relatively cheap, perhaps a 'better' looking body will fit in the budget.

[Andrew Twigger]

Whilst I have no experience of them myself, the Ansmann cars offer exceptional value for money and I have seen them perform as well as anything else.

The Tamiya's I think you're referring to aren't really in the same league as the Ansmann - or any competition level buggy for that matter. They're really designed for bashing - which they do a great job of. But they are not geared towards racing particularly. That is not to say that Tamiya don't make race machines too, they certainly do. The TRF201 2wd and 502 / 511 4wd buggies are all excellent cars and well supported on here. However, they don't fall into the same price category of the Ansmann's and can be tricky to get parts for in the UK.

[sosidge]

If you are looking to build the car, Tamiya offer the PERFECT building experience. The instructions are clear, the cars go together exactly right, and are relatively straightforward to build with the right tools. The bodies are often unusual but Tamiya go to a lot of effort with the sticker sheets and shapes which makes it much more of a modelling experience. You can't really go wrong.

This is the case with all Tamiya's from a £70 Super Fighter to a £400+ TRF car.

However, the lower end Tamiya's do not really cope well with heavy bashing or a racetrack. They are intended for use in the garden or in the park with nothing much more powerful than the kit motor. That doesn't suit everyone.

Ansmann etc. are probably more capable on a track or under heavy use but the build quality is not the same.

Personally speaking, for a first car the Tamiya is a good choice, especially for a younger driver. I think everyone should have a Tamiya in their lives at one point.

[WBChunks]

Thanks Guys,

You mention getting different body shells. Where do you get them from? The ones with the links are limited, is there somewhere else you;d look?

Also, are the wheels interchangeable?

Still trying to work out which one to buy. Would like to order tonight so we can go out at the weekend!

[lashy]

if I were looking to buy a trf502 where would i get one from? cant find any???

[WBChunks]

I went for a Mad monkey in the end, will start building it up this week

Also ordered a clear shell from Eric, will most likely do something very simple in terms of paint.