crispy_71

Let me start off by saying this is a hobby that i have zero experience with (all the cars i have built have been full sized). I have 2 boys ages 11 and 12 that have been playing with the inexpensive r/c's for several years (i.e. walmart and radio shack). Both are very mechanically inclined and often help me when i work on my automotive projects and are they currently showing a keen interest in the nitro powered r/c cars. I would like to encourage their interest and would like some recommendations on kits for their age group. What features should i look for, what should i avoid? I think I would like to probably start with an off-road kit. Thanx in advance for the advice.

Nathan9492

the new Savage X SS Kit is fantastic, its a monster truck and is VERY VERY dureable, and being a kit, u put it together urself
heres a link to one
[link]http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXMYA2&P=ML[/link]

I reccomend this car TO ANYONE thats just getting into the hobby.
VERY good car
Feel free to PM me any questions or anything u want to ask me
in this hobby, thers nothing called a 'stupid question'

Nathan

naynay12

Hi Harowong, where can i get a savage x or x ss ,i live in Australia,Melbourne.For no more then 600 au,or a good deal??
I can get a savage x for 630au,but still looking for a better deal.Thanks,and sorry for stealing your post,and Crispy im also thinking of getting my 12 year old son a savage. Thanks.

Nathan9492

YOu have PM nay nay

dannthenitroman

Order from towerhobbies, the aussie distrubuter is called Hobbies australia and the operate out of the store frontline hobbies in australia, you wont get a savage SS X from those guys in your 600 price range i think its closer to 850 and then you need radio gear. i say get a Rex X buggy, go to your local hobby shop and ask about it, the distributer is model engines if they ask, its a buggy with a reliable engine and very tough, id know i worked in a hobby shop 2 years and only had to fix one ever. and it just needed a tune, it was so battle scarred but not breakages and everything was tight i was very impressed for about 600 australian.

Vintage_Duff

yeh mate, i order my original savage SS kit from tower hobbies and they delived to australia in 7days which i was really impressed about.

i cant justify buying anythin RC besides fuel in australia as everything is so damn expensive

eg. Savage plastic spur gear. $4 US, they are $20 australia.

if u convert the $4 US it works out to be rougly $7 australian

dannthenitroman

australian hobby stores put anywhere from 1.6 to 2.2 on a markup, and thats on parts that are very expensive from the distributers.

pete8541

Crispy 71, If your boys are young you need to remember that the nitro cars and turcks require CONSTANT maintanance and things are going to get broke. You may end up dissapointed if you stick a ton of money in your trucks right off the start. A guy I know started his son off with a traxas staidum truck. I am not a traxas fan but I was very impressed with how much of a pounding this truck would take.

You may want to invest in a starter box or roto start because the pull starts can be tuff for kids. My son had to ton of trouble with his, he has had no problems since I got him a cheap starter box.

Tools are another issue, The guy with the Traxas is a mecanic and he trys to use the tools used on full size cars on the nitro truck and he is constantly stripping screws. "you don't need a 1/2 drive rachet to tighten the flywheel"

crispy_71

thanx harawong and pete. yeah, pete i didnt really want to start with a $500-600 starter for them especially if this turns into a "temporary" hobby for them. I do have alot of small "fine work" tools left from my years of building models and engine replicas.

chrobar

I think a good nitro for them would be an inexpensive one, and then if they want something better, they can buy a better one. I started off with a traxxas Nitro sport and it was a good beginner car, but now I'm looking for something to race. HPI came own with the Firestorm and I have a friend with it and he really likes it. It's super fast, too. Also very cheap for how well its made, and it feels tight and really durable. Check it out, IMO I wouldn't recommend the Savage X SS as a first nitro, but it is a very good truck.

nitrofan12

i agree with chrobar. a traxxas nitro sport is a great starter to nitro. try buying them a rtr. it would be easier to work with and is a great way to introduce the replacement and upgrade options to the vehicles.[8D]

125cchyperman

Well if you dont want something so expensive, and you want a KIT then how about a Team Losi AD2. It's a ST, smaller and it's a good kit more used for racing, but they can also be good bashers. You can get any size engine you want from .12 to a .18 without having do much if any mods to the truck. You can gety a O.S .18CVR for $99 (last time I checked) and that thing is awesome. Great power, easy to tune and very reliable, and once that engine is tuned it stays tuned for just about forever.

There great trucks and are KIT's also if you want you can look at the Team associated's GT2 (very similar to the AD series) and can also be bought in a KIT form. There good trucks that are just as good as the AD2. Here's a link to the xxx-nt AD2 Now remember that i the pics they have the engine in and the servo's in and the truck is together. But it is a KIT so you will have to put it together and you will have to buy your own engine and servo's for the truck. Now Losi also offers buggies and things of that nature also that are in kit forms. Just punch in Team Losi to the right of the search function and then hit go. And you can look at what they all have.

[link]http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=LOSA0846[/link]

Foxy

That's a competition kit, dude. They can get a decent RTR for that price. I also recommend the RTRs as a place to start. My personal recommendation would be a couple of these.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXFSK5&P=0
http://www.hpieurope.com/kit-info.ph...=10402&lang=en

They're good quality, cheap, everything included, and the kids'll still learn the really important thing of engine management and tuning. This car can be run on or off road, has a bunch of hop ups available, reliable mid range engine (no crashes at 50mph, these things do about 40 tops), faster engines can be bought as their skill improves, basically what I'm trying to say is you don;t lose anything at this stage buy going for RTRs, you can get 2 good ones cheap and only have to worry about ancillaries. I had one of these MTs (the previous model, not the MT2, the MT2 is an updated version) for ages and beat the hell out of it, before going eventually for a competition 1/8th buggy (the XB8).

Lastly, I have to ask if you've considered one of these...they are normally a bit on the steep side, at nearly $500 a pop, but this place is running a crazy discount, (I just spotted it while hunting for an example to show you), these little nitro cars are amazing, the kids will go nuts...

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ducts_id/10894

Xray cars are known for their high quality, $239 is an absolute steal, I don't understand how they can be offering them at that price [&:]

125cchyperman

If you read his post he says he wants a Kit so his kids can put them together and yeah I know it's a comp kit Dude but it's also a KIT in which he wants, and yeah it might cost a little but you know what you get what you pay for in this hobby also. If his kids want to go racing in the future they will have one of the best if not the best St's out on the market. And they will be able to fly with those things (driver skill will be needed though) and there both 4wd that you posted links to. If they want to race they might not be able to race with those 4wd trucks at there local track (if they do want to race in the future).

Foxy

I see what you're saying, I think both our points are valid. [8D]

My personal feeling would have been that competition can come later, but I understand what you're saying in that if they do decide they'll be well equpped.

crispy_71

Thanx guys. I will check around and do some research this week, let you know what I decide on. thanx again to everybody for their input.

hpi firestorm

if you are getting 2 then get 2 of these

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXPVD8&P=7

thats what i got and i really like it.

s7jstep1

for a starter, i would recommend an electric like a t/b4 or a xxxt or maybe a rusty. they are easier than the nitro because of no tuning, they are cheaper if you looking to buy two, and if they want insane speed they can go brushless(absolutely no maintenance) i love my brushless t4 as well as my revo. just my opinion[8D]

rc_racer69

so in my opinion

get a nitro sport

they are very relieable and pretty fast

it was my first nitro and i love it
they are 230 usd on towerhobbies

I swear by the nitro sport

great deal and better price

sketchy_larry

anything traxxas. i can run them now because i think ive moved past that, but the e-z star is a blessing for begining. make sure they have a place to run though. the back yard wont cut it unless its 50 ft by 75 ft and flat with now grass. lol. if theres no track, try a monster truck. little bigger, little easier to maintain. dont brake as much. heres an i dea dad, get one too. its more fun than you think and it will give you and your boys a chance to work together. just some advice. good luck and tell them to stay off the walls.

A1Viper

I don't know if you really want to be shopping nitro for a 12 yr. old beginning RCer. I had a Traxxas Stampede Electric for a while, and that truck ruled. The upgrades are nearly endless on the thing and it's not all that expensive. Stock it's maybe a little weak, but it doesn't take much to make it into an awesome truck. Just my 2 cents. I love my Savage 25, so if you are looking for nitro, the thing's a tank and would take a 12 yr. old's beating while learning to drive it.