kidkrazy

I've just recently got back into the hobby and started where I left off running 10th scale electric. I see the wave has changed to gas and truly am interested in getting one within the next 2 months. I'm curious on what the experienced drivers think about 1/8th Ofna, Kyosho, or Mugen. Maybe someone that has experienced more than one company. I've just started looking into them and those 3 names keep coming up. I want something built to win and willing to pay for it. What do you guys suggest? Thanks...any info will help







KiDkRaZy

chris28

My Feedback: (2)

I have a t-maxx and it holds up really well but the crankshaft on my engine snapped now that my t-maxx is sitting in my garage I was also lookin into some of these companies. heres what I found:

Ofna- They go fast because they have ofna engines (duh!) I dont have one so I dont know how they hold up but with all that speed youre bound to break somthing pretty often.

Kyosho- They have a pretty low street price and the one that I was lookin at (ultima st) seemed like it held up pretty well from all of the reviews that I read. They dont go as fast as ofnas would go but a whole lot cheaper.

Mugen- I know nothing!

dagass

You can't go wrong with any of the 3 you chosen. Personally, I just picked up an Ofna hyper 7 PBS and love it! Ofna has a ton of aftermarket support and they are very competetive.

If I'm not mistaken, the Kyosho is at the top of the heap in racing circles BUT, they are quite expensive for a race quality MP7.5. As far as Mugen goes, they just released the MBX5 and from what I've read, it's a pretty nice ride. I'm sure you would be quite happy with any of them.

chris28

My Feedback: (2)

Race quality from kyosho is expensive, but I was just talkin about off-road bashing. The ultima st was the lowest priced stadium truck for $219 at tower hobbies.

dagass

You are absolutely correct about the Ultima ST being the least expensive stadium truck! I was just basing my response on his question regarding 1/8 scale vehicles from OFNA, Kyosho & Mugen. The Ultima ST is a 1/10 scale.

kidkrazy

Hey thanks for the advise. Yes I'm definitely looking into 8th scale. I'm looking at the Mugen MBX5 now....Still don't know much about the differences. I guess we're talking Chevy/Ford huh?

dagass

Buggies are so close nowadays that it basically boils down to 2 things. Personal opinion and parts availability. The buggies you're looking at are all very capable and very similar in ability. The biggest difference in competetion is the person driving it.

When I looked at buggies, I looked at the Kyosho 7.5 and Immediately ruled it out because of the price. I also looked at the Mugen but decided against it because my LHS doesn't carry many parts for it. Again, they're both exceptional buggies however they lost their attraction to me because of cost and replacement part availability.

The OFNA buggies are in the same league with the Kyosho and the Mugen and if I break something, I can get most of what I need at my LHS. For me, this is what made the most sense. If my LHS carried a lot of Mugen parts, I might have bought the Mugen. Whichever one you decide on, you will more than likely be very satisfied!

dagass

If you really want to know what the main differences are in the Buggies, there's a couple places you may want to check.

RCnitro.com buggy showdown: http://www.rcnitro.com/rn/articles/buggy_showd.asp

June 2003 of RC Nitro, you may still be able to find it at your LHS, if not, you can order it online. It has a huge spread on all of todays best buggies. All of the differences are explained.

Last but not least is TWF8. This website is all about buggies.
http://www.twf8.ws/new/home.htm

When searching for reviews on specific buggies, you will not see OFNA listed. Since OFNA doesn't actually make the buggies, you will find them under the true manufacturers names. The Hyper 7 series is listed under Ho Bao and the 9.5 series is listed under Hong Nor. OFNA just imports them.

Anyway, pretty much anything you ever wanted to know about 1/8 scale buggies can be found using these resources. Good luck!!!

kyokai2

I would have to dissagree about the Ofna being in the same league as the Kyosho or Mugen because the quality is not even close. I personnally run a Kanai 2 and have for about 6 months, no broken parts and nothing worn out yet and have close to 25 gallons and 4 different engines!!! I have seen guys with Ofnas that couldnt get through ONE day with out breaking something. If your looking for the best buggy out right now I would get the MBX 5 no doubt, and that is coming from a K-car fan. I believe that the Kanai 2 is still the best built and most durable racing buggy out but the Mugen is a better deal and parts are cheaper. Go with the MBX 5, Rex P5 and you will have one of the best setups right now. If you do decide to go with the Ofna buggies, get the 9.5 Pro its not bad for the price and handles pretty good.

ShOzz

my Ofna takes a serious beating,

other day was driving around and jumped this huge man made launch ramp and nose dived from about 15 feet in the air if not more.

would have snapped many of car in half. just kept on going like it was nothing.

same day, ran smack into a big ass hidden rock head on, , only damage was a bit of a scuff in the front bumber,. was amazed at the durabilty of my ultra mbx pro.

VecoRacer

You can also get a HARM BX-1 offroad, they are unbreakable and very fast. no screwing with glow plugs or nitro, just 2-cycle gasoline and you can drive 40-50 minutes. it goes about 90 Km/H
(i know it because i own one) and goes trough/over/under everything you want it to. the hop-ups are a bit expensive, but worth the money.

hope this helps you to.

ps the scale for this beast is 1:5, that means it's 77cm long and weighs about 9 kilos, but it's a real killer. i'll see if i can get some pics posted.

bigbadbowtie

I have an Ofna Ultra MBX Pro and race it weekly. Its a very good buggy for the price and takes one heck of a beating. Even though its one of Ofnas lower price buggies it seems to hang with the gammet of buggies at our track. Pretty much everything from MP 7.5's to high buck Mugens. Im sure with 2 like drivers the big money cars would win but at a club level it works great!!!!

345 shipped is not a bad price either.

NewHyper7

I would have to disagree with kyokai2. I run a Hyper 7 pro and have not had anything break on mine during bashing or racing. Nothing is worn out etc. and if I did, parts are very easy to find. I have had mine for about 6 months also. My friend runs a Kyosho 7.5 and I can keep up with his all day long. The driver is the key to any race.

Not sure if I have enough experience though, since I have not run through as many gallons of fuel that Kyokai2 has.

Kyokai 2 - how did you run that many gallons in 6 months? Man, I would love to be able to run my car that much.

bigbadbowtie

Here is my take on the whole mega-buck buggies. If you are a pro racer and even one who hits a few major races, a high dollar buggy may be your ticket. If you are a local club racer/backyard basher spend the money a decent kit or RTR and have fun.

As far as Ofna not being able to take a beating and hang with other buggies... I think you are WAY wrong.


I would base my choice on the fact that parts may be local as apposed to mail order. This would be a major factor and was when I made my choice.



PS I love it when I beat the big money buggies with my 350 dollar RTR.

BUGGIES_R_US

I agree. Kyokai is a more advanced driver than most of here I bet so him saying "this doesnt break" doesnt count! lol

I run an MBX4 with a Rossi Black magic and theres a guy with an MBX5 with a P5 (rex is a modder?). Were gonna have some serious action going and I thik I'll have to better at the controls to beat em eh?

But I'm a little more conservative with speed till I absolutely know I can do something crazy. (A skill you learn with real life cars where you cannot afford to make a mistake! lol. Street race? what?!).

If I were to go back I'd definitely buy my setup again.
I bought this kit for $375 shipped and I thought that it was a great deal. Parts have to be ordered but theyre still cheap. Just have to wait a bit.

You can build a very competitive Mugen MBX5 for around 1G from scratch. 525 kit 250 motor 50 pipe $175 Radio.

Ram

dagass

I agree with bigbadbowtie, if you're in the hobby to make money and take home trophys, then by all means buy the best money can buy. Most of us weekend warriors and occasional racers don't have the experience or technical knowledge to really exploit the advantages one buggy may have over another.

It's ok for someone to say that they think that the Kyosho is better than the Ofna or that the Ofna is better than the Mugen because in their own experience that may be true. It's only a personal opinion and opinions are rarely fact. That being said, to say that the Ofna's are not even close to the Mugens or Kyoshos sounds like a biased opinion to me.

What it all boils down to is doing research on the product and being happy with what you buy. If you make an informed decision that you're happy with, you just bought the best buggy money can buy.

VecoRacer

this you gotta get:



and then a litlle bit of hop-upping, and you're the man!

skydalimit

My Feedback: (1)

dude quit sayen that
THEY DONT RACE EM
he wants somethin he can race i think

kidkrazy

I think I'm going to go with the Mugen. My local shop seems to carry the parts and I haven't really heard anything bad about them. I'm looking at the MBX5, is this the newer version of the MBX 4? Or they different models of the same year?

kidkrazy

Also, this may be a dumb question...But what is the difference between the MBX 4 RR and the XR?

Kyoshokiller

MBX 5 is the upgraded version of the MBX 4. Dont know on the second question.

I think the problem with OFNA is they have gotten a bad rep. with their older and cheaper buggies. Kyosho has built high end buggies forever it seems. This is an educated guess but I think OFNA's gradually improved both the build quality and performance of their buggies. Alot of people that had experiance with a OFNA buggy 3-4 or more years ago might have a differant opinion than a recent purchaser.

Seems lately I hear mostly positives from people who actually own them. For the money theyre tough to beat.

Theyre all good.