Airbus 9e

Traxxas has been junk since The Cat.....My T-Maxx was trouble almost from break-in.....I shoulda bought a Savage. My brother inlaw put 11 gallons thru his before lack of attention killed the motor, then we stuck an old Duratrax Torq .21 in it and gave it to my 7 year old nephew. It's him with a Savage, my brother inlaw has a new Savage 4.6, and me with my Aftershock.....and i win every race.......

ElectricGuy007

I usually just stick with brands I'm used to. Tamiya, Associated, Kyosho, HPI, and I'm fairly new to losi.
I started with a traxxas, they were/used to be junk, but they have updated thier cars to better suit people.
OMG the slash has to be the toughest RC I've ever seen, they just raced slash oval last night and it's always
a joy to watch 7-8 slashes beat the living heck outa each other. But you think to yourself, do I wanna
be involved in something like that?

Airbus 9e

The thing is with the Slash....They have to get thru all that lexan before you hiot anything mechanical....The bodies take all the abuse, which is good because bodies are relatively cheep....

AMOUREDTANK

Holy crap one thing i've noticed you can talk about any brand basically and no one will bash you theyll just be like oh ya and go on with there lives. When you bring traxxas into any convo people really get upset. Traxxas is the best!, traxxas sucks!, i hate traxxas!, i love traxxas!, your  mom goes to college! Traxxas is a definately problem topic people really take criticism to heart. Wow anyhoo

I am definately not brand loyal. I come on here see what you all think read reviews and if its a better vehicle i'll get it if not i wont. I have an ae 18t now and my next rc so far may be a traxxas, a losi, another ae, or a tamiya. All just depends on the quality of the product. And as people have argued just because a company makes one thing good doesn't mean every product will be the same quality.

Access

Every part of the hobby has a brand like that. Aircraft has parkzone, helis have e-flite, and boats, cars, and trucks have Traxxas. Basically the inherent controversy is b'cos of their role, in releasing the "ready-to-go" vehicles that you don't need to build or kit up. It turns the hobby from something of an exclusive club to one where joe public can walk into a store, buy something, and be running that thing with only minimal prep the next day. Sometimes this transformation is ongoing (in current time), or sometimes it has already largely taken place. Commercially, this can be a very profitable thing, the brand becomes huge relative to the others. But b'cos it has a transformative effect on the hobby, who can enter it, what they need to do to enter it, what they know when they enter it, etc., people can get very much tied up in the drama and "territory" of the hobby and all that. Though to people who are into a lot of things, it's been happening or already happened everywhere, so it's nothing new and venting on some forum is a waste of effort, I mean drama never changed anything in real life.

suburban_hooligan

you deserve an award for that line dude!

Steve.

The one brand I am fiercely loyal to is Futaba. Since 1990 I have purchased the best Futaba radios and receivers available and have never regretted it. I have owned every 3 channel radio since the 3PB (still in use) and have never had a prolem. My son uses a 3PJS circa 1998 that still works perfectly and I currently have two 3PKS. Futaba radios are the best radios made, but that's just my opinion.

Kyosho, HPI, Losi, Associated, and OFNA are all brands I would buy again without reservation. I will never buy another Duratrax or CEN again, cheap quality plus poor service will never earn my loyalty. Speaking of loyalty, I'm loyal to my LHS because I want him to be there many more years. My local shop meets or beats mail order most of the time, treats me right, and works hard to earn my business.

AMOUREDTANK

Well thank you st dragn wagen. If only the had RCUniverse awards...LOL Ya i just couldn't believe it but oh well everybody's different. I guess traxxas people are just more emotional.

We Are Ninja

QFT. The first car Iever bought was an HPI. Ilearned how to build and tuneHPI cars. Over time, I bought several. The fact that alot of their early RS4's used so many of the same parts was awesome. They're pretty much all Iown, now.

Itried an E-Maxx, and while I don't have anything negative about the truck, I quickly discovered Iwasn't a monster truck guy. I sold it soon after. I alsotried a couple of TC3's and did chassis conversions. I didn't like (actually, Ihated) working on the Associated cars so I sold them too.

Now, I'd be hard-pressed to buy something that wasn't from HPI or their "competition" arm, Hot Bodies, because Ilike how their stuff goes together, Ilike their hop-ups, and I like the aftermarket support (especially from overseas).</p>

supertib

I think too many people get way to caught up into the whole brand loyalty thing... Honestly companies like HPI and traxxas build good entry level vehicles that are meant to get new people into the hobby......However in the grand scheme of things they are low quality, low level products as compared to the higher end brands like Mugen,XRay, some AE and some Losi and jammin........ I see way too many people buy their first RC from a company like HPI and Traxxass and get completely hung up on the brand and never venture any further....The bad part about this is that these are not really high quality products and that person is really missing out on owning a much better product because they are blinded by brand loyalty...... You honestly wouldn't ever get me to purchase a HPI or Traxxass, I have been there and done that and moved onto bigger and better things and I could never bring myself to buying any of their products ever again.... By me owning Muggen's ,Jammin's, X-Ray's ,Hyper's, Losi's I have seen how much better quality these products are as opposed to HPI and I wouldn't ever waste a nickel buying any low end products ever again... Honestly if anyone actually thinks HPI builds a high quality product they need to check out a company like Mugen, the difference is night and day..Unfortunately people seem to get so brand loyal they will refuse to buy anything but their brand and it truly closes the doors to them owning much better gear.. For all the reason's they stick to the entry level companies are all the reasons why I will never own one of them again.... When you actually experience what some of these other companies offer it doesn't take long to realize the entry level companies are really nothing special in any way shape or form...... That being said my current favorite brand is Mugen, but i am always buying other top brands just in case...I will never, ever be so stupid as to just stick to one brand again, and the last brands I ever purchase is HPI or Traxxass, to me they are the bottom of the barrel and not much better then Duratrax...great for getting started, but definitely not for much more......

FieroMan121

My Feedback: (2)

i dont have any major brand loyalty, i have a prefrence for vintage traxxas cars (grey plastic is where i draw the line) and team associated but ive owned cars from a few brands and aside from losi, which i dont like just because, but other than that i dont have a real dislike for any brand

On2_n_On4

Im loyal to customer service, parts availability, nitro and gas

We Are Ninja

I agree that HPIhas slipped down on the totem pole since I've been away from the hobby. Ten years ago, they seemed more competition-oriented. Now they seem a little more basher-friendly. Hot Bodies appears to be carrying their "harder-core" torch now. That said, your sentiment is the reason I would continue to buy HPI (Aside from the fact that some of my older cars are quite formidable...). Just to see people's faces when they getman-handled by someone with an an "entry-level" car.

Access

I think every vehicle has to stand on its own, regardless of brand. It's the people who are caught up in a specific brand or brands and cannot accept that another brand not on 'their list' can make a vehicle worth owning/racing/bashing/whatever that are wrong. Or that just b'cos a vehicle is of a brand on their list it must rock. In reality a brand is just a label snapped on the vehicle after the fact, the vehicles are designed by people. Those people shift over time, they get better (or worse) at design, they aren't always the same team as the last, they have to meet different requirements in their designs (created by marketing or management), and so on.

For HPI I think it's just a company adapting to the free market. There's a lot more profit to be made in basher-type RTR trucks like the rustler or bash-racer's like the slash. Also, most racing today is centered around local clubs rather than 'the nats' or 'pros' where everyone has to race the absolute best stuff out there.

supertib

Well I can definitely agree that driver skill can overcome a machines deficiencies .. And i can understand the pride in winning with a underdog machine...However I also got to say that in the 4 years I have been racing I have yet to ever be manhandled by any HPI product, nor I have ever seen a HPI on any podium of any of the races I have attended, usually they are on the table being fixxed, or in the buy and sell being sold... I race Mugen and several of my Buddies had hellfires and never once did they ever beat me...they were lucky to finish a race without breaking let alone actually winning a race.. And quite honestly I am not into this for impressing other people I don't care what anyone thinks.. I run the high end gear because I am too lazy to want to do any wrenching, higher end rigs break alot less and require less maintenance and hoppups.. I am sure with enough driver skill anything can happen, but unfortunately to this day the only thing i see winning at the clubs and nationals are the newest top end rigs... Usually the budget or outdated rigs are broken down well before any of the races are finished.. No amount of driver skill is going to make any difference if the rig is broken into pieces... With buying a product like Mugen I get peace of mind knowing that the chances of breaking are extremely slim and if I do poorly at a race it is because of my lack of driving skill.....To me quality of the product is extremely important, I hate wrenching, I hate breaking and even more so I hate spending a fortune on hoppups........ I played the hoppup game with my T-Maxx, Revo and Savage's, and I refuse to go back to it ..I would have left the hobby if I didn't get into the higher end brands .. I am serious ..I know many people who outright gave up on the hobby because of these brands and their constant breaking and need of hoppups.. the constant expense and downtime ruined the hobby for them

kaiser01

i've been in and out of this hobby for 25 years.

in the begining it was tamiya only, then i got into racing and raced losi for years.

now i'm back into rc for the fun factor only (racing isn't fun to me anymore, too many guys think they are pros on the club level)
so now i'm back to tamiya 100% because i like kits and thier cars are fun to build.

there are cars out there that interest me but they are all rtr's and i refuse to buy rtr's. plus now tamiya is re releasing all the cool cars from the past, makes me feel like a kid again. lol

i am dead loyal to futaba. i have never owned another brand of radio and never will. i was tempted by ko propo a few times tough.

quietnas1

Again as mentioned before I am not brand loyal. But down time leaaving a bad taste in my mouth? Heck no. I love down time. I try not to break but if something does break on any of my vehicles then I get to work wrenching right away. Heck wrenching is part of the hobby. You can't get in to this hobby and think that you will never have to wrench on your vehicle. Even when things don't break I still tear my cars down once every 2 months for a good cleaning and maintenance. If I run in dirt I just may break the whole car down that same day to clean it. Its what makes this hobby fun to me. We don't drive Wal-Mart brand vehicles that never need maintenance. Currently I own an RC10GT, TRAXXAS JATO. HPI RS4 2, and by this Christmas an HPI SAVAGE. And yes I break them all down for a good cleaning if if things don't break. Its all part of the hobby.

warheadforever

It is every thing to me.

MCSRacing

My Feedback: (2)

i've been loyal to associated for 22 years .... i have owned almost every decent brand there is and was .... my second choice has always been Kyosho, the quality is second to none, just part availability can be a problem though

IloveMYxt2

I've owned CEN, Traxxas, Losi, Himoto, HPI, XTM, and Duratrax. I wouldnt say I am very brand loyal. I do have preferences though. Go HPI!

FieroMan121

My Feedback: (2)

same here, every 2 weeks i break um down and clean them out!

We Are Ninja

IMO,having tobuy the absolute latest and greatest to stay competitive wouldscare more people away from the hobby than a broken A-Arm,but that's a necessary evil at the highest level of competition...

That would explain our differences in opinion. The wrenching and the customizing and the modifiying( via hopups) are what drew me to the hobby. I love turning wrenches on my car and I enjoy the hunt for hop-ups (especially for older cars that are discontinued or out of production).

supertib

I know several people who feel the same way as you do...they really enjoy the wrenching, and some of them even enjoy restoring vintage RC's as well..... I can definitely respect that !

Myself I love driving and testing engines, but I absolutely hate wrenching ! partially because i am too busy modding motors, as well because of my engines I don't really have the space to wrench much...not to mention I must keep my work area extremely clean to prevent dirt from getting into my engines....... I have one of my buddies do all my wrenching, i just mod the engines and show up to drive LOL !

SAVAGEJIM

I cannot agree more here. And I personally blame all of these ultra cheap-o shoddily made RCs that are supposedly "beginner" RCs being massively dumped into the RC market.

And you are right about HPI going down in quality, especially since they went to the cheaper Taiwanese plastics. But I dont necessarily blame just HPI for doing that, I blame the ultra cheap-o RCs that were dumped onto the market thus forcing HPI, AE, Traxxas, and Losi in many cases to begin to cut corners. The cheap-o RCs hit the scene with so many unfair market advantages and the mainstreams unfortunately started to go down too.

Now, as for the race grade RCs, I am glad they have not sacrificed their standards, and I am talking about Mugen, XRay, Serpent. I have yet to see these RCs begin to outsource their manufacturing and use the cheaper materials.

What really bothers me is there are people with the ultra cheap-o RCs who dare to claim that their dirt cheap rides can hang with any quality RC. And of course, they also say "skill wins the race" but you are right, you can be Adam Drake, but if your RC is busted, a DNF is DNF no matter who you are.

OvalRacer99

This thread has been an interesting read, lots of good opinions and great discussion without any bashing. Good job guys!!
I will have to admit that I am majorly brand loyal, I race Team Associated cars, Novak ESC's, and Airtronics radio gear simply because that is what works for me. I believe they are better, someone else may not, but thats fine, everybody has an opinion. I refuse to bash any other brands because i have no experence with them. I also don't believe everything I hear. It is way to common for a person to have a problem with one product from brand xxx and then bash the crap out of them. One bad item doesn't make the hole line bad.
I also choose brands by what my local hobby shop offers, I recently purchased a 1/8th scale truggy from XTM for that reason. We will see how it performs and base my opinion on that.

Again, great read, thanks guys!!!