Just starting out

[mike]

Hi Guys, I'm thinking of having a go at 10th off road so can anyone give me a heads up about a good all round 2WD car (inc money you'd pay for good 2nd hand/new car) and associated bits to go with it please.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

[jim76]

for 2wd the most popular car is the B4 by a mile. As a beginner you could opt for the ready to run B4 package which includes radio gear, speedo, motor etc. Think this goes for around £170.

but to be honest if you are getting into the hobby for the first time you want to think about brushless motors as these are zero maintenance and make life much easier.

You should be able to pick up a second hand B4 with some spares for £80 or less (slightly more for the factory team version which isn;t really necessary). a second hand brushless system will probably set you back around £120, or you could by one of the budget models for that sort of price new, but these don't support the faster motors as your ability improves.

As an alternative to the B4, the Kyosho RB5 is a great car. It is far easier to drive than a B4 which will aid a beginner, spares are also very cheap and easily availalbe. Due to kyosho not running a UK team, the car hasn't proved a huge hit on the national circuit and hence the second hand value is quite low for such a good car.

in terms of batteries, this will depend on where you race. The sport will be moving to Lipo's in a fairly big way over the next 12 months if they are voted in for next years BRCA events. If your club will allow lipos for normal weekly races then this will be the way forward for you as they are far easier to look after than current NiMH cells. Some clubs don;t allow them though, so best check first.
a lipo battery will set you back around £60 but you can get away with just one, where as you would need min 3 packs of NiMH.
A charger will set you back around £50 for a basic model, but again you maybe able to pick up cheaper second hand models on ebay etc.

[Mike Hudson]

Hi Mike,
A good all round 2wd car to start with would be an associated B4, it's most popular at current and spares are almost always available at most tracks and you should be able to get setup tips from people at the club how to set it up well, To get started a new B4 cost's around £160 and good second hand ones can be picked up for around £100 with spares I will be selling one myself in couple of weeks and most of the electrics needed also let me know if interested, spares you will most likely need would be front wishbones, front and rear shock towers, Rear wishbones and front caster blocks and front C-hubs. Do you need just the car or all the electrics aswell?

[Mike Hudson]

Originally Posted by jim76

As an alternative to the B4, the Kyosho RB5 is a great car. It is far easier to drive than a B4 which will aid a beginner, spares are also very cheap and easily availalbe.

You can't say the kyosho is easier to drive than a B4, i run neither car myself at current but i don't see how it would be easier to drive everyone is different! There are so very little who run the RB5 i've only ever seen 2 in my life! If anything the B4 would be more simple as so many people run them that you will have all the knowledge around you if help is needed and spares are always available trackside 99% of the time where as kyosho spares arn't as easy to come across and neither will trackside setup knowledge of them.

[jim76]

the Rb5 is a far more stable car to drive. i have owned both so can give an informed comment. As i said the reason they didn't take off was because kyosho didn't push them in the uk. The B4 can be a bit too twitchy and loose at the back where as the RB5 doesn't suffer this problem, yet retains the positive steering of the B4.
you may not get spares trackside for the RB5 but they are freely available from any UK shop. And as for set up, you have the huge resource that is oople, or you just ask someone with set up knowledge as the general camber, springs, oil, roll centre changes will make the same change to each car, instead of just blindly copying someones set up with no idea if it will work for you (far too many racers do this)

[Kopite]

please don't start all this again

[Lee]

You cant beat a good anti B4/losi/kyosho thread

[mike]

Thanks for the info guys, it looks like it might be a B4 for me then unless a kyosho with load of spares is available. I'd probably only be running at Bury, Batley and Southport club meetings anyway as I have a lot going on with largescale onroad/offroad nationals and efra meetings but things change and we'll have to see where things end up.

Thanks again.

Mike

[Jez]

both cars are good.plenty of xxxcr s around at crazy prices.i carry general spares for b4 and rb5.and guess which tracks i go to?

[mike]

Hey Jez, I'd guess at Batley? I might pop over on sunday so give me a nudge if you're there, I'll be in a purple transit.

Mike

[Jez]

hey mike with the purple van.im the fat 1 in grey pick up.be good to see new faces.come and have a brew and a chat and ill try and guide you in the right direction-no obligation.see you sunday.best check here that meeting is not cancelled before you set off.thanks jeremy.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by Jez

best check here that meeting is not cancelled before you set off.thanks jeremy.

Meetings should always go ahead as advertised on the website, but as Jeremy said, if the weather on the day is too bad, the cancellation will be detailed on here before 9am.

[notlawnomis]

Oscar, do you usually have a starter heat running, was thinking about coming down on Sunday and bringing Josh my son down to 'have a go' with his B4. Just want to make sure he'll get a run before i drag him down!!

Cheers
Simon

[mike]

Originally Posted by notlawnomis

Oscar, do you usually have a starter heat running, was thinking about coming down on Sunday and bringing Josh my son down to 'have a go' with his B4. Just want to make sure he'll get a run before i drag him down!!

Cheers
Simon

I would hope every club does this to bring the little guys into the hobby .

Mike

[Oscar]

Everyone is more than welcome.
Just state he is a beginner at the time of booking in, and he will be put into the appropriate heat