Newby with a madrat!

[Barney448]

Hi All, complete newby here and was looking for some advice on setting up a Madrat that I've just bought from e-bay.

I was on a bit of a budget and the reviews for this buggy looked good and for just over 60 quid I bagged myself a mad rat in good condition with everything needed to take it out for a play!

However, before I start playing with my new toy I figured it will be sensible to give it a bit of an overhaul first and check all the suspension works smoothly and the screws are not loose or spun.

Now what I know about RC racing can be written on the back of a postage stamp but I'm aware this is a budget model and was wondering what I should be thinking about upgrading on the buggy in order to make it handle better? My intention is to play about with it at a park or bmx track first (basically anywhere that I can mock up a little track) but then I'd like to take it racing at a couple of local clubs when I'm more confident.

Being a newby I'm not to fussed about putting a powerful motor in there as it will probably just make it even harder to handle, so I'm thinking I should concentrate on getting the suspension and geometry right? It has already got the ballraces on all four corners, is it worth putting some better shocks on the buggy? does it matter what make of shock I should get as I've read that some people use shocks from an Associated B4 - do these shocks simply fit straight on to the madrat?

Apologies for the waffling e-mail and barrage of questions, any advice will be most appreciated.