mattsauto

so as the subject says i'm thinking about getting an electric 1/8 truggy this winter for the spring. i've heard the x-ray is a good one but i'm looking for advice & input as i haven't done any research yet. so what do you experts think? thanks in advance for any input.

mattsauto

i am also looking to get a 1/16 or 1/24 scale electric to race for fun in my 3 bay shop on concrete floor this winter. any suggetions?

yakfish

My Feedback: (27)

I've never had an XRAY but I hear they are awesome and they are very high on my wish list. For truggies you can also look at Mugen, Kyosho, Losi, and Team Associated. I guess if your looking at XRAY price doesn't matter much?

For a small scale to mess around with take a look at the AE RC18 line of trucks

Foxy

The problem with certain high end cars (the Xray for example) is the overall expense. The 2009 specs Xray XT8 is a nitro car, it's not available electric, but RC Monster makes a beautiful conversion which turns it into a purpose designed electric, no compromises. However, that means: over 500 for the car, 200 for the conversion, 400 for good electrics (you can get the electrics for 200 if you are willing to put the cheap stuff in, but that would be sacrilege ), then you've got batteries on top, which are not cheap for truggies (6S singles or 3S in pairs, at least 5000mAh at 40C, ideally 50C or more).

In my own opinion (which is now quite well known here), a 6S truggy is the pinnacle of the surface (off-road) hobby. There is no more aggressive yet driveable car. It'll go over anything a monster truck can, despite a much lower CoG, and will traverse a track as fast as a buggy.

The most economical truggy to build I think, is the Hot Bodies D8T with a Tekno conversion (again the conversion is no compromise, full chassis swap, purposely designed for electric layout), with a discount you could pick those two items up for amainhobbies for about 400 on the nose. Motor and ESC can be had for minimum around $180 delivered, up to $400 delivered for hte top stuff, but to be honest, the cheaper stuff is perfectly good and can handle 6S all day long. A good servo is essential, expect to spend a little there.

As for minis, I'm not Traxxas fan, but the mini e-revo is a total mini-beast, it really is, I heartily recommend it. If it's a bit too rich for your blood (it is overpriced, no question), or if you wanted something that was a bit more interesting to build and would run even better, then you could go for a CRT .5 (only $75 for the kit at ofnawarehouse.com [X(]), and convert it to electric. With a 540 in it, it will spin the earth in the opposite direction.

yakfish

My Feedback: (27)

The intial cost of a new Xray built and converted is extremely high for most of us on here. A slightly more economical option would be to find something similar used. I just finished putting a Mugen MBX6T together for my uncle tonight. It has the RC monster conversion, Mamba Monster 2200 combo and is now ready to go for about $500. It is in excellent shape and is a beautifull kit. I have had 2 MBX5Ts and they are just about as nice and even less expensive due to being a previous model. So there are options to getting into something very nice without having to give up your firstborn. I have now put 3 brushless truggies together along with one brushless buggy. It amazes me what some people spend on a new Traxxas whatever when for the same or less money they could have had something of much higher quality for the same or even less money. But that is a topic for another thread!

Or it might make the days shorter depending on what direction that little truck is facing!!!!


I was just about to suggest the CRT.5 to sombody else tonight when I went to look nitrohouse no longer has them list and neither does Ofnas site. I hadn't thought to go look at ofnawarehouse but they do still have it listed. I wonder how long it will remain available?

mattsauto

thanks for insight guys. as far as the electric truggy goes i don't have to have an xray, i just would like a good quality. i now have the losi 8t 2.0 with lrp .28 nitro & love the truggy but would like to try electric one. maybe i will see what cost would be for conversion for an 8t. is there any quality 1/8 truggy electric rtr out there?

mattsauto

i was actually looking at that rc18. so they are decent car? i just wanna race it around on concrete floor in my shop during winter.

Foxy

Ready electric truggies are few and far between. There is a Serpent 811TE (serious money, but a great car), and the Team Associated RC8Te which is discontinued I believe, jump on one of those if you find one. Apart from that, the Tekno conversions (top notch quality full chassis replacement electric conversions are $100-$140 for almost any nitro truggy you can buy, which while it may sound expensive, is quite a bargain for what you get).

I still recommend the Hot Bodies with the Tekno conversion, great quality, capable of winning amains at any track with a quality conversion at a great price.

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ion-Truggy-Kit

plus

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...8T-42mm-Motors

You can get up to 50 bucks off that order with a discount code (pm me if you need it, I'll see what I've got), and it's one of the cheapest way to get a real pro car designed for electric. Try to avoid the conversions which are just motor and battery mounts, despite being economical and functional, you will never get the same performance as a car with a proper chassis swap designed for electric.

Foxy

Oh, and we're also waiting for the Thunder Tiger MT4 G3 to come back out after being updated. It is a monster truck, but really it's a truggy. Just change the body and tires and it's a very good electric truggy. Or keep it as a monster truck, whatever you want. The original versoin which you still may be able to find if you look hard enough, was 500 bucks ready to go on 6S. A really great car.

Foxy

The RC18 is not really a great car out of the box (needs upgrades for me to be 'satisfied' with it, let alone 'pleased'), but its fine for what you want to do. You might also want to take a look at another Xray model in this area, as it is by FAR the best mini on the market, 10 times the car that the RC18 is...check it out...

http://www.teamxray.com/teamxray/pro...7950bbcde64a8d

Feel the Xray quality without spending $1000.

I can post pics of my Xray truggy and my Xray mini if you'd like, I pimp them enough though, so I won't unless you want me to.

mattsauto

so foxy, the d8t kit & the electric conersion kit bought would be all i would need (besides batteries of course) to be running? if so that would be a good deal for a good truggy. also the mini, would that be good for indoor on concrete if i just got some onroad tires or would i need to change more? thanks for advice it is very appreciated.

Foxy

You'd still need electronics (consider $150ish for a speed control and motor, and another 50 for a good servo), and batteries. It's expensive but worth it.

Either of the 1/18th cars (the Xray or the Associated) would be fine on concrete on the stock tires. If it is very smooth concrete, Xray makes foam tires for the little beastie which would be ideal, but really there's no need, the mini pins with the xray are great.

mattsauto

ok thanks foxy. i'll be looking into that. & thanks to all for the info it is very appreciated.

The_Shark

OFNA...