First truck

[branch.terry@gmail.com]

Hello all!!
I am just getting into RC trucks and was wondering what you would
recommed as a good first vehicle. Right now I am leaning towards the
T-Maxx, but from reading the post here I am starting to question that.
Any and all advice is greatly appriciated.

TB

[DanTXD]

<branch.terry@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1138296248.569814.303560@o13g2000cwo.googlegr oups.com...
> Hello all!!
> I am just getting into RC trucks and was wondering what you would
> recommed as a good first vehicle. Right now I am leaning towards the
> T-Maxx, but from reading the post here I am starting to question that.
> Any and all advice is greatly appriciated.
>
> TB
>

Firstly - welcome :) You'll love the hobby - your wallet won't...

Secondly - all RC owners recommend their own truck - that's just how it
works :) I have a Savage, I would strongly recommend it because they are
very, very good. They take a hell of a beating, there are many options and
upgrades available. However, a T-Maxx is cheaper, and with a few mods can
be pretty tough, but i still here a lot of horror stories about
transmissions going and things - and I personally don't think the 2.5r is a
suitable engine for a newbie, as they can be a pig to tune. That said, lots
of people have them and love them. The Revo is a very good package as well,
very tough. Again though, I'm not a fan of the engine. The new LST2 is
getting very good reviews everywhere as well. Also, the MGT/MTA4 is very
highly regarded in a lot of places. Basically, for me the choice would be
in this order, with 1 being my fav -

1. Savage X when it comes out
2. Savage 4.6 kit (although you may not be confident with a kit if you're
new to RC)
3. LST2 - I have heard nothing bad
4. MTA4/MGT .28 - hear lots of favourable reviews - but my mate had one and
I didn't like it, handling was very poor and after he bolted a load of alloy
on, it kept breaking (but i'm blaming the alloy sending force to places that
shouldn't feel it).
5. Revo - Again, good trucks, but not really for me.
6. T-Maxx - probably the weakest, and oldest design. But, cheap now.

--
Dan

[ubu760]

Savage

[ubu760]

Savage

[ubu760]

Savage

[M78Ultra]

Having owned a T-Maxx and a Savage...(T-Maxx is gone, but the Savage is
still here!)
Hands down, no contest..get a Savage!
Just say NO to Traxxas
Don't do Traxxas
The root of all evil is Traxxas


<branch.terry@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1138296248.569814.303560@o13g2000cwo.googlegr oups.com...
> Hello all!!
> I am just getting into RC trucks and was wondering what you would
> recommed as a good first vehicle. Right now I am leaning towards the
> T-Maxx, but from reading the post here I am starting to question that.
> Any and all advice is greatly appriciated.
>
> TB
>

[M78Ultra]

Well, I assumed he meant Monster Truck since he said T-Maxx.
Stadium Trucks are a whole different thing. =)
If I had the cash to burn, I don't think I could resist getting an HPI
Hellfire. (even though I havent seen any reviews on it..I would chance it)
Ofcourse most nitro Stadium Trucks aren't that far from being, or are a
Truggy/Buggy, which leads to many more options........

BTW, I bet a Savage can run over a sitting Mayhem, and a Mayhem can't run
over a sitting Savage... so there!
<snicker> =)

""Doc"" <nospam@noway.com> wrote in message
news:DeCdnctA5_fkE0TeRVn-pQ@adelphia.com...

> In all honesty (I'm gunna get reamed for this) I'd take the Mayhem ST over
> the Savage any day. Faster, handles better, easier to tune, easier to
work
> on, flies better and much much easier to work on.
>
> Traxxas sucks.
>
> Doc
>
>

[Richard]

<branch.terry@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1138296248.569814.303560@o13g2000cwo.googlegr oups.com...
> Hello all!!
> I am just getting into RC trucks and was wondering what you would
> recommed as a good first vehicle. Right now I am leaning towards the
> T-Maxx, but from reading the post here I am starting to question that.
> Any and all advice is greatly appriciated.
>
> TB
>

If your a great problem solver then buy a traxxas, if you like to work on
your trucks more than you drive them buy a traxxas if you want to race your
truck buy a traxxas revo, but if you want a pure bread basher buy a SAVAGE.

My 1st nitro truck was the traxxas tmaxx but the only reason I bought it at
the time was because of the lack of support locally for HPI products other
wise my first truck would have been a Savage.

I now own both and wouldn't (couldn't) sell my tmaxx only because I couldn't
get 1/8th of what I paid for it. If I had a choice of starting all over
again knowing what I do now I would have gone the Savage from the very
beginning.

One thing that should influence you is how available parts are for what ever
truck you buy because you are going to need them. Suspension arms and spur
gears, will get damaged sooner than later and you don't want to be waiting a
week or more for parts to arrive.

If you do buy a Savage kit or RTR get a with roto-start.



Cheers
Richard

[DanTXD]

"M78Ultra" <M78Ultra@REMOVEtriad.rr.com> wrote in message
news:f9iCf.41245$Kp.17466@southeast.rr.com...
> Well, I assumed he meant Monster Truck since he said T-Maxx.
> Stadium Trucks are a whole different thing. =)
> If I had the cash to burn, I don't think I could resist getting an HPI
> Hellfire. (even though I havent seen any reviews on it..I would chance it)
> Ofcourse most nitro Stadium Trucks aren't that far from being, or are a
> Truggy/Buggy, which leads to many more options........
>

http://images.domino.org/albums/album33/hellfire_take2.wmv

http://www.maxbashing.com/forum/index.php?s=8c81e3590583bd9df5bff0fdf115418c&act=ST&f=26&t=24383&st=75

Check it out ;)

--
Dan

[Techpriest]

For my first nitro I bought a T-Maxx. I sold it a few weeks later.
My next nitro will be a 1/8 buggy or a Savage.

You said first truck. Did you mean first nitro truck or first RC
vehicle?

If you mean first RC I would personally suggest you look at electric.
Charge battery, plug in battery, turn on, go! If it does not go you
will get to learn valuable trouble-shooting skills. Learning about
radios, servos, and all the little whatzits in the truck is bad enough
without also having to tune a motor. Nitro vehicles have to be
manually tuned to adjust for air temperature. They have to be broken
in when new. They have more before run and after run prep. They have
more routine maintanence. Going from electric to nitro I had a lot to
learn and was glad I already had the electronics down. Starting with
an electric will also let you get some basic driving skills down in a
slower vehicle.

I wish they would offer that advice at my local shop. Some guy with a
tax refund wanting his first RC comes in and wants the biggest,
fastest, thing in the store so they sell him a Revo. A few weeks later
there it is on the counter, for sale used. They made a big sale, but
lost a repeat customer and probably lost him from the hobby forever.

[TLB]

Thanks for all the feed back...keep it coming the more I know the
better I spend my $$.

This is not my first RC - mind you my last RC was a plane and 10+ years
ago. I have no problems with the extra time that is going to be
involved with the set up and running of a nitro engine and radio
system. Besides I will never be able to convince the wife that I need
to get 2 trucks!!

As for local RC shop....the nearest one is about 250 miles away, so
everything I buy will be mail/online and I will depend on forum like
this for when I get really stuck.

Thanks
Terry

[M78Ultra]

Thanks Dan!
Looks pretty decent there. Looks to be pretty peppy and easy to jump.
Doesn't appear though to be as fast as I would have thought.
However, I think the track conditions there don't show its ability real
well.
I would like to see it in action on a bigger dry dirt track.
Thanks for the link!

"DanTXD" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:43ujakF1puc0bU1@individual.net...
> "M78Ultra" <M78Ultra@REMOVEtriad.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:f9iCf.41245$Kp.17466@southeast.rr.com...
> > Well, I assumed he meant Monster Truck since he said T-Maxx.
> > Stadium Trucks are a whole different thing. =)
> > If I had the cash to burn, I don't think I could resist getting an HPI
> > Hellfire. (even though I havent seen any reviews on it..I would chance
it)
> > Ofcourse most nitro Stadium Trucks aren't that far from being, or are a
> > Truggy/Buggy, which leads to many more options........
> >
>
> http://images.domino.org/albums/album33/hellfire_take2.wmv
>
>
http://www.maxbashing.com/forum/index.php?s=8c81e3590583bd9df5bff0fdf115418c&act=ST&f=26&t=24383&st=75
>
> Check it out ;)
>
> --
> Dan
>
>

[DanTXD]

"M78Ultra" <M78Ultra@REMOVEtriad.rr.com> wrote in message
news:jbrCf.42480$Kp.13244@southeast.rr.com...
> Thanks Dan!
> Looks pretty decent there. Looks to be pretty peppy and easy to jump.
> Doesn't appear though to be as fast as I would have thought.
> However, I think the track conditions there don't show its ability real
> well.
> I would like to see it in action on a bigger dry dirt track.
> Thanks for the link!
>

It was running breakin settings there I beleive, you'll notice after he
brings it in for a tweak its running a lot quicker towards the end, and is
still VERY smokey at the low end, which will be hurting it a lot on a track
like that.

--
Dan

[\Doc\]

"M78Ultra" <M78Ultra@REMOVEtriad.rr.com> wrote in message
news:f9iCf.41245$Kp.17466@southeast.rr.com...
> Well, I assumed he meant Monster Truck since he said T-Maxx.
> Stadium Trucks are a whole different thing. =)
> If I had the cash to burn, I don't think I could resist getting an HPI
> Hellfire. (even though I havent seen any reviews on it..I would chance it)
> Ofcourse most nitro Stadium Trucks aren't that far from being, or are a
> Truggy/Buggy, which leads to many more options........
>
> BTW, I bet a Savage can run over a sitting Mayhem, and a Mayhem can't run
> over a sitting Savage... so there!
> <snicker> =)

Now now! Actually, even my buds T-Maxx can run over the Mayhem ST as it's
pretty low-slung. The Mayhem can't run over another vehicle the way I
currently have the suspension set up. However, you have to catch it first
and it's outrun everything that it's ever faced..............

Doc

[jackpot]

Get a REVO

[DanTXD]

"jackpot" <Neil.Darragh@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1138607093.406033.157740@z14g2000cwz.googlegr oups.com...
> Get a REVO
>

A concise, well thought out and detailed reply.

--
Dan

[\Doc\]

"jackpot" <Neil.Darragh@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1138607093.406033.157740@z14g2000cwz.googlegr oups.com...
> Get a REVO

I've killed one with my Savage and two with my Mayhem ST.

Next.

Doc

[jackpot]

HPI fanboys all over the place here, i doubt its the best place for
some un-biased advice

Maybe take a look at some reviews here;

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/index.cfm?article_type=review

[M78Ultra]

Un-biasedly, my Savage outruns my buds Revo with a .18 Sirio and Sirio
Pipe...
It cost less too!
*note: A Revo with a Sirio .18 will eat (blunt/snub it so it won't shift)
the stock Revo transmission clutch out about every 1 gallon of fuel!
(typical of Traxxas to not withstand anything more than stock for any period
of time)

"jackpot" <Neil.Darragh@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1138671222.126428.95780@g44g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> HPI fanboys all over the place here, i doubt its the best place for
> some un-biased advice
>
> Maybe take a look at some reviews here;
>
> http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/index.cfm?article_type=review
>

[DanTXD]

"jackpot" <Neil.Darragh@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1138671222.126428.95780@g44g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> HPI fanboys all over the place here, i doubt its the best place for
> some un-biased advice
>
> Maybe take a look at some reviews here;
>
> http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/index.cfm?article_type=review
>

I dunno about RCU reviews - they said the Genesis was good - and let's face
it - it's just not is it. They're good writers no doubt, but the tests are
always done over the course of 1 day - that's not enough for an RC, new ones
are always good for the first little while, they need to be reviewed over
the course of a few gallons really, or at least a race weekend or something,
really give them some hammer and see if there is any issues.

Also, no one said the Revo was a bad truck - I actually recommended it up
there somewhere. Its a very good truck for a beginner, with the ezstart,
quick charger, built in 6v etc, almost totally ready run bar fuel and a 7.2v
battery. Personally, I prefer my Savage, but the Revo is a very capable
machine in its own right, i'm just not a fan of the 2.5R engine, and I like
the extra modding options having a Sav gives me.

--
Dan

[jackpot]

Well you might like to do as much as possible to "mod" the handling on
the savage because lets be honest... its pretty piss weak.

[DanTXD]

"jackpot" <Neil.Darragh@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1138950663.077135.90130@g43g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> Well you might like to do as much as possible to "mod" the handling on
> the savage because lets be honest... its pretty piss weak.
>

I can't be bothered to argue with you. Run along now little fanboy.

--
Dan

[\Doc\]

"jackpot" <Neil.Darragh@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1138950663.077135.90130@g43g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> Well you might like to do as much as possible to "mod" the handling on
> the savage because lets be honest... its pretty piss weak.

On a stock S-25 with the stock tires yes, the manouverability sucks big
time. It's caused by the tires actually, too heavy and too much sidewall
roll. The Savages with the Dirt Bonz tires (K4.6, LE) do not have this
problem. My truck was an understeering pig with the stock tires, much much
better with the Bonz.

Doc

[mike]

One thing I'll say in favour of the MTA4 / MGT is that of the monsters I've
looked at, it appears to be easily the simplest one to work on. There is
tons of space on the chassis for getting to stuff, and it all looks very
straightforward. I think this is something which is rarely considered by new
guys.

MIKE

"DanTXD" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:43shssF1p63q8U1@individual.net...
> <branch.terry@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1138296248.569814.303560@o13g2000cwo.googlegr oups.com...
>> Hello all!!
>> I am just getting into RC trucks and was wondering what you would
>> recommed as a good first vehicle. Right now I am leaning towards the
>> T-Maxx, but from reading the post here I am starting to question that.
>> Any and all advice is greatly appriciated.
>>
>> TB
>>
>
> Firstly - welcome :) You'll love the hobby - your wallet won't...
>
> Secondly - all RC owners recommend their own truck - that's just how it
> works :) I have a Savage, I would strongly recommend it because they are
> very, very good. They take a hell of a beating, there are many options
> and upgrades available. However, a T-Maxx is cheaper, and with a few mods
> can be pretty tough, but i still here a lot of horror stories about
> transmissions going and things - and I personally don't think the 2.5r is
> a suitable engine for a newbie, as they can be a pig to tune. That said,
> lots of people have them and love them. The Revo is a very good package
> as well, very tough. Again though, I'm not a fan of the engine. The new
> LST2 is getting very good reviews everywhere as well. Also, the MGT/MTA4
> is very highly regarded in a lot of places. Basically, for me the choice
> would be in this order, with 1 being my fav -
>
> 1. Savage X when it comes out
> 2. Savage 4.6 kit (although you may not be confident with a kit if you're
> new to RC)
> 3. LST2 - I have heard nothing bad
> 4. MTA4/MGT .28 - hear lots of favourable reviews - but my mate had one
> and I didn't like it, handling was very poor and after he bolted a load of
> alloy on, it kept breaking (but i'm blaming the alloy sending force to
> places that shouldn't feel it).
> 5. Revo - Again, good trucks, but not really for me.
> 6. T-Maxx - probably the weakest, and oldest design. But, cheap now.
>
> --
> Dan
>