best truggy?
 

Hey guys new to the site!

I am thinking of buying a truggy, what seems to be the most popular and the best supported truggy on the market?

Personally, I think a LSP with some mods is one of the best truggies available, but it gets costly. If your looking for something thats great out of the box, I'd go for a Mugen MBX5T Prospec or a Xray XT8.

hey squee, what are the basic mods you'll need to do to make a lsp very race-ready?

Granted you start with a LSP-R and go brushless, there is a ST-R arm convertion that basically changes the way the truck drives. It consist of HB buggy towers, ST-R arms and driveshafts, ST-R c-hubs, Mugen tie rods, the factory LSP knuckles, different springs, pistons, and swaybars. That right there eliminates alot of the usual mods like converting to 17mm hubs (ST-R shafts are 17mm, so no need to convert anything with the ST-R setup). That in combination with a few of the usual hopups like CF rear brace, HB CNC buggy front brace or two if you have room, and a few other things like the HB GTX heavy duty diff cases and doubled up ackerman plates. Thats mostly it.

I like the Kyosho M777. Not saying it's the best, but great right out of the box with a nice O.S. motor.

Thanks for the replys! Question though whats an LSP?

HotBodies Lightning StadiumPro

I'm gonna have to chime in and recommend an 8ight-T over the LSP. I've owned both and the 8T is far more durable(imo). In addition, the off-center drive train lends itself perfectly to a well balanced conversion.

My vote would be the XT8. I was thinking of the 8ight-t at first but really liked the precision of the XT8 and durability. Although I haven't driven it yet - still working on the conversion!

What kinda of duability issues? Like I've said, the LSP is great WITH modifications. For the initial price, there really nice.

My issues were mostly front a-arm and Diff stripping. If I ran plastic a-arms, they broke; If I ran aluminum a-arms, the pins and retainers bent or broke. I couldn't tell you how many diff. gears and pinions I went through, but It was a lot. The only drive train issue I've had on my mostly stock 8ight-T after almost a year of racing was the front cvd pins sliding out but a little lock-tite and heat shrink solved that problem. It has the original a-arms on it and I haven't even ever shimmed the diffs. Just change the fluids and drive. I'm not saying the LSP is a bad truck, especially considering the price. But if you spend the money on the modifications needed to make it a little more durable, you've spent what you would have(or close anyway) on an 8T. Of coarse, it's only my opinion.........

Yea, I understand what your saying. The diffs and arms are easy fixes. The ST-R conversion fixes the arm problem. The aluminum LSP arms are nice, but they will cause other things to break if your hard on it. Kingheadz holders would have probably solved your problem since there WAY stronger than the stock ones, even the stock CNC ones on the Pro-R. The plastic arms are just plain horrible. They flex WAY to much. The ST-R conversion solves both problems. As far as diffs, it really depends on the gears you buy. The original hardened gears (before HPI bought HB) almost never give out unless there not shimmed. The Kyosho gears are easier to get since the original HB gears are almost impossible to find. The Kyosho gears would have solved the problems you had.

Like I said, its a great truck after a few modifications. Granted you will probably spend just as much on the LSP-R and the parts to do the mods as a nice new 8T cost, but from what I've been told, it will out perform it.

Thanks for the info, has anyone tried any of the OFNA truggys?

Have you considered a Thunder Tiger ST-1? I saw in RCDriver that the price has been reduced to $369, which is an incredibly good deal! Plus, they are just about unbreakable, and Mike is currently developing a motor mount for it. It'll be in his store in a few weeks.

gotta agree with sower. mine hasnt been run yet either.... but damn is it beutifull:intello::lol::party:

No I have not seen the the thunder tiger st1 i will check it out!

so far i like the Xray truggy it seems like a well built truck.

were do you guys purchase your trucks? (besides tower hobbies)
i have been out of rc cars for years, so i am not familiar with the good websites! (been doing fast electric boats for awhile)

Mike can get just about anything.

I've got the Thunder Tiger ST-1 Pro.
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ducts_id/12858 Mine was from my LHS and I haven't looked on-line for a cheaper price.
The RTR is $290 at A Main Hobbies http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ducts_id/17281 There's 3 colours I think. $369 is the combo deal I think, which you won't need for brushless (I didn't look at exactly what you get though).
It seems pretty tough so far, and most people seem to say that about them, except for the stock body, which is weaker than most. I don't know if they're the best race car though. Some people seem to like them for racing, others find some of the other truggies give them better lap times. Sounds like it depends on driving style a bit.
Sounds good that Mike's making a mount for it, I had to hand make mine. The guy at my LHS that I bought my ST-1 from also has one and he races 2 wheel drive 1/10th mod truck at the same track as me. He's looking at converting his ST-1 to race as well so I'll let him know about the mount. We could have up to 7 or 8 brushless truggies at our track in the next couple of months :yipi:

Damn that's cheap! I wish they had been so cheap last year. Anyway, I've already got a mount for mine, but it's above the diff, and I'd like to try one of Mike's with the motor beside the diff.

thanks for the link, tower still has the st1 for over 700 bucks

Ok guys I have a few truggys narrowed down, the Xray, thuder tiger, and the losi 8T, now which one do you guys think will be around for awhile? I would hate to buy one and and have it discontinued in few months.

8ightT

Xray.

Xray

8ight T is the way to go!

Yep and Mike makes the best motor mount...and RC Productions makes a very nice custom battery tray for $65. It comes ready to bolt in with Gorillamaxx Velcro strap.

While it's nice for people to back up their "home team" in their selections - maybe it would be helpful if someone had a comparison of the two? The 8ight-T vs. the XT8. Some more tangible reasons why some people feel one is better than the other?

For me, the reason I went with the XT8 was that the dimensions were basically the same as the 8ight-T but the durability seemed better as well as the fit and finish. What about some others? Why did you choose the XT8 or the 8ight-T?

Just read on an "European" web site that the Xray have a bad tendency to "explode diffs":oh:
Don't know if it's only on the old TQ model or the new EC have the same problems, but ....... this make to "re-think" my choice.

I race against against several nitro XT8s and I'll be the first one to tell you that it probably handles better overall than my 8T. My unpractical reason for staying with the Losi is brand loyalty due to years of good service from other Losi products. My more practical reason is that the off-center drive train makes a very well balanced conversion with a very low center of gravity very easy to complete as well as the truck being the most durable 1/8th scale I've ever owned, buggy or truggy.

One thing, albeit small is that it uses SAE hardware and not metric...Ever other manufacturer uses metric...Well, almost all...I think Losi and AE are two of the only ones that don't.

there WAS a bad batch of diff gears floating around, but when thay released the new batch i didn't hear any more about it. i have not broken a single item on my XT8 yet, not even during 50mph crashes at the oval track. i don't think there is a "best" truggy. all of the high end trucks have their pros and cons. everything coms with some sort of compomise. pick the one you want and make it the best that you can.

I'am not able to make a choice between a truggy or a buggy and between Mugen or X-Ray.:oh:

For me, it would be Mugen buggy.

it's my first choice:yes:

Does any one have a link to this ST-R conversion

i would have to say the 8ight T all the way. the parts like the a arms or just over built they are super thick. the hinge pins are 4 or 5 mills thick. the shock shafts are 4 mills thick. the standed for shock shafts are 3 mills but now you see more brands going with 3.5 mills. i think the losi just drives better. plus parts for losi are way easy to get i find more hobby shops can get parts for losi then x-ray.

When you say the 8ight-T drives better, can you give more info? Have you tested or owned the XT8 or some of the others?

I've never driven the XT8 or the 8ight-T but have seen many of the 8ight-T's at our track. They're pretty nice, but haven't proven as durable as the CRT from what I've seen at the races. They definietly handle better than the CRT though.

Anyone seen the new ST-RR? Seems like that's another option to throw into the "best" category. Although I don't like how narrow it is when I see the specs.

i've only conversion built and driven the 8-T roller but i have no complaints so far...

track only use and mainly in open practice sessions and in 5-7 min. qualifiers...

i had to tone it down from it's origional 1515 1Y/F [4s-2p] 14 tooth pinion set up...

it was just too hot a set-up for our local [medium size, tight lay-out] track...

went with a 1515 1.5Y/F and NeuEnergy [5s] set-up lowering the peak rpm's by aprox. 5000 and amp draw by 30-40 amps making it easier control and giving us longer run times...

Ron

Thanks for the great info Ron. I'll be going to the Neu lipos too . . . I'll be running a NeuEnergy 6s 3900 in my XT8 this spring. Just ordered it last week. Now if only the CC and Tekin ESC's would hit the market I could get this thing built and provide my own testing feedback!!

i'm not holding by breath for Castle:lol: to get off the pot!

i'm running a MGM 16016 with twin cooling fans and it's doing very well so far...

the fans brought the esc temps down by 25 degrees to the 125 degree range where they level out and hold...

see the avatar pic above...

Ron