toughest 1/18

[Sammus]

Howdy.. I'm sick of my pathetic weak mini lst diff spider gears. Unless someone can make me some steel gears for the thing I want to get something more durable.. What are the other MT/ST minis out there like?

So far I only really know of the vendetta ST, mini quake, rc18mt (I would just get the factory team 18t and the MT wheels, thats the only real difference), or the trinity now, mini inferno st.

I like the inferno st with its hardened steel diff gear option, but getting parts is a hassle, a lot of sites I've seen them on say they're discontinued... not something I want to start to get into

Are any of these others able to take serious brushless power? I have got the the point where I really dont like team losi anymore, I'm sick of persisting with their absolutely sh!t customer service and poorly designed minis.

[Dafni]

Well, I keep a small 1/18 offroad track in my backyard, have seen many small scale RC cars taking all kind of abuse there and I have to tell you that the AE RC18s are by far the toughest. They just keep going. Out of all my own RCs the RC18s require the least wrenching, and they get BY FAR the most wheel time (a track in the backyard can do this )

Just get the MIP super diffs and their CVDs and yo should be set. If you drive mad overkill brushless setups the diffs like to go from time to time, but that's nothing like the Losis. On my own RC18 the diffs last a couple months, with almost everyday driving in summer.

Just now, after 2 years, we see some servos going bad. But most have heavily modified (or even glued) servo safers.

Another thing I'd suggest is the Driven Productions gearcover, and their draglink. The gearcover is a must for offroad. And the drag link is a must anyway.

Those 4 mentioned upgrades will make them bulletproof.

Forget about the Vendetta/Shark... those people are always wrenching here. And the Kyosho is just a stupid design... plus parts may be hard to get and are often expensive. The HB Minizilla is a joke, IMO. MQ could be nice too, just never seen them much racing here. Same goes for the Trinity, never ever saw one, can't comment on them.

I vote for AE on that one. And of course the XRay is nice too... just a bit too nice for our harsh offroading. If you drive indoors, get the XRay.

Daf

[Sammus]

Awesome replay, just what I was after cheers :)

Is there any non-ball diff options for the 18t series? Any more info on the XRay? I would drive it in and outdoors, nothing too dirty though, generally a fairly well groomed home track as well. Youtube doesnt like my videos much (chops down the quality a lot), but heres the first few lap attempts on the first build of our track if your interested http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfCfql0Tixo fairly small now, plenty of room to expand though.

[Dafni]

Cheers

I will have to check out your vid when I am home... no Youtube at work
Hey, those tracks don't need to be big to have some good fun. Ours is pretty small too. Most times we race one-on-one, or play tag or whatever

Well, the ball diff is just fine in the RC18... does a good job. No other option that I am aware of.

The XRay is real nice, very similar to the RC18 in design. COmes with a steel spur, but on the other hand the gears are exposed, and no gear cover that I know of.

And yeah, I have been there, even well groomed dirt tracks will send dirt/stones into your open spur/pinion... just gives a funky sound, but still, with the gearcover on, those RC18 are real quiet. And the spurs live forever.

I considered the XRay for myself too, but it would be a shame for that nice carbon chassis on our track. Never liked CF anyway... you can check out the XRay line-up at teamxray.com

Have a good one

Daf

[dirt101]

I used to have an rc18 and I jumped it off the fridge(dont ask) once and it didnt break. from then on I believed in the truck and NEVER broke on me. went through 2 motors and 2 speed controls and never had a problem with it.

I cant say much about the drivetrain as I was only using a 17t and a 6 cell. but with these light 1/18 it doesnt take a whole lot of power to make them go fast. I was happy with that much power and I own a VXL rusty with a 3s.

I have a heavlily modified RC18 and I would assemble the MIP super diffs in my spare time, so when I would strip one I had another to slap in. I tried differnt lubes in the diffs and Lithium grease being one of the better ones, its alo very important to make sure they have been shimmed properly

[tashpop]

i've had 3 of the rc18's, all modified. very fun once you get everything settled in to handle power. i just got a xray m18t and its looking like a nicer truck already. big thing i noticed is the steering seems quicker and more precise. i haven't picked up a bl motor yet or i could give feedback on power handling. i've heard the diffs handle brushless as is with no upgrade. i already have esc and battery waiting.

[VintageMA]

Originally Posted by tashpop

i've had 3 of the rc18's, all modified. very fun once you get everything settled in to handle power. i just got a xray m18t and its looking like a nicer truck already. big thing i noticed is the steering seems quicker and more precise. i haven't picked up a bl motor yet or i could give feedback on power handling. i've heard the diffs handle brushless as is with no upgrade. i already have esc and battery waiting.

I 2nd the xray m18t or m18t pro - awesome 1/18. I not been able to break a single part on it in over a year - stock.

Had a rc18 and although good, just like most other 1/18's out there you had to put a lot of extra money and work into it to make it handle decently. Out of the box the xray is super solid. Easier than the rc18 to work on, steering design is simply genius for a mini and rock solid servo saver.

I've had the RC18 ($300 extra into it), Mini-T ($200 extra into it), mLST ($800 extra into it and still a piece of sh*t) and the M18T is exponentially better (only upgrades - metal CVDs for the M18T for BL power and didn't really need them) - check out the m18t pro - all carbon fiber, cf driveshaft, hudy spring steel cvds - this thing is so light you don't even need rediculous power to make it go fast either.

[rschoi_75]

I wouldn't cross off the Vendetta off the list too quickly. Once you factor in upgrades, I actually think that they are some of the toughest 1/18th's around. They only need cvd's and one ball diff in the rear to handle brushless. I have a Neu 1105/2Y in my vendetta, and the buggy handles it with no problems. Daf, I'm not sure what your friends are doing wrong, but I haven't had to wrench on my detta for months. I just clean it and replace bearings and tires from time to time. I actually have had a harder time wrenching on my rc18t's since you have to upgrade sooooo many things to get it up to par. I agree, that they are tough trucks, but they need a lot of fine tuning to handle brushless power reliably.

On another note, I also have a few xray's and I can confidently say these are my favorite 1/18th trucks. Tashpop is correct, the diffs can handle brushless power with no issues. You don't need to shim them, or get different outdrives. The steering set-up is arguably the best of any mini. Its tight, responsive, and no bump steer to speak of. Honestly, the only thing the truck needs are alloy cvd's (if you get the pro, they are included). And if you don't want the c.f. chassis, just get the standard kits.

Another decent option would be the new XTM Rage (sold by Jamara in Europe). It has a very strong drivetrain using open gear diffs. They can handle 3s lipos in stock form. The only downside is that there are no upgrades available yet, and it needs alloy knuckles.
Lastly, I wouldn't consider a MQ anymore since they are on their way out. Its a great truck, but parts availability may become an issue in the next year or so. These are getting phased out in favor of the Vendetta ST (both made by Anderson Racing in Taiwan).

In the end, these are the trucks I would recommend:
- Xray M18MT or M18T Pro (both highly recommended)
- Vendetta ST
- XTM Rage

[dadgummit]

I also have the M18t pro with a mild brushless system and it is one of the most precise rc's I have ever used. I bash it on pavement and indoors and have yet to break anything at all. I have no hop-ups except for a Castle 1/18 ESC, an AON motor and wheels + tires from X-ray's M18MT. It fits Thunderpower 2100 mah lipo's with no modification so it has crazy long run time.

The only downside with the M18T Pro is the exposed spur+ pinion which is why I am planning on building an Anderson MB4t which is exactly the same as the Vendetta ST but in kit form. I like building these almost as much as driving them. I already have a Neu 1105 on the way and am torn between using a Mamba micro pro (Which I hear is nothing more than a 1/18 sidewinder in a plastic case-w-heatsink and the 1/10 scale sidewinder. they are almost the same price and the 1/10 scale SW handles like 60 or 70 amps instead of 35.

Also in my opinion I would stay away from the mini lst series (2, baja, raminator, etc). It is too heavy and complicated to be reliable. it is nothing but a money pit that is down as much as it is up. And as heavy as it is it can only accept a 24mm motor which are barely big enough to efficently move that beast.

[lincpimp]

I owned almost every mini at one time, and found that the MQ SE model was the best. I have not had an Xray. I may have to buy one. MLst and the Mini t were junk, not good for brushless. I had good success with the vendetta buggy, and the MQ. I have had a few rc18t and they hold up well, save for the diffs. Sounds like the Xray is the best bet.

[dadgummit]

I totally agree that the Mini quake is AWESOME but it is in the process of being discontinued and that may mean that parts may get scarce in a year or so. Anderson (the manufacturer of Duratrax's 1/18th's) sells a mq that is even better than the MQ SE that Durtrax never decided to distribute. It is only like $185, when you consider all of the hopups that is cheap!!

The Vendetta seems to be about as good (Beter in some ways not as good in others) and should be around for a while as it was recently re-designed. I should have one in a couple of weeks (as soon as the kits are back in stock in Asia). I will post some pics and info on the build.

[rschoi_75]

Oh... another thing I forgot to mention. The m18t pro can accept larger 28mm motors where as the original m18t can't (unless you buy the pro motor mount base). Max diameter for the normal m18t/mt motor mount is 24mm. So the pro opens up a lot more options in motors like neu 11 series, medusa 28's, and the ammo 28's. Duratrax/Anderson mini's are the only other ones that accept 28mm motors without mods.

And yes, I will agree that the MQ SE rocks. I still drive mine after over 3 years of owning it, and its still a blast to run. If anyone does decide to get one... keep a close eye on tower's clearance sales. They usually have fire sales on cvd's, ball diffs, and other parts every three months or so. If you're lucky, you can score cvd's for $10 and ball diffs for around $12-13 a pop. My parts box is overflowing with parts because I intend to run my quake for a long time to come. And when dtx finally decides to stop supporting it, the truck will have a well deserved place on my "vintage keeper" shelf.

[dadgummit]

Man I couldn't imagine a 28mm motor on a M18t pro. I guess that could be a good platform for top speed competitions. You could probably overgear it pretty bad and still keep the temps down just because it weighs nothing.... Hmmmm I have a neu 1105 2.5y coming Lets see:
Differential Ratio: 2.5
Transmission Ratio: 1
Other Ratio: 1
Spur Tooth Count: 54
Pinion Tooth Count: 20
Total Voltage: 11.1
Motor KV: 4000
Tire Diameter (inches): 2.75
Tire Ballooning (inches): 0
Motor Current Draw: 0
Motor coil Ω: 0
Spur/Pinion Ratio: 2.7 : 1
Total Ratio: 6.75 : 1
Tire Circumference (inches): 8.64 inches (219.44 mm)
Total Motor Speed: 44400 RPM
Vehicle Speed: 53.81 mph (86.44 km/h)
Effective Speed Rate: 4.85 mph/V (7.79 kmh/V)
Estimated Adjusted Speed: 50 mph (80 km/h) - 7% loss
Effective KV Value: 4000

Nice!!

[Sammus]

Lol this is the part I don't like about forums... now I want to buy everything lol.

So basically the choice now is the rc18t FT kit (with big wheels for any monster action) or one of the xray kits. I already have a BL system for it (a very old school mamba 25 with a nice heatsink on it, cant even get it warm on 3s in the mlst lol...)... I've played with dtx a lot in the past and not sure I want to go back to them, other than that they also sound like a viable choice. I dont really like 8 shock setups much, really doesnt seem necessary on any car, especially a mini. Id prefer something thats designed to perform well and be durable, not just to look like an 8th scale :) So I am leaning toward the rc18t...

I nearly bought a mini inferno a few days ago, lol glad I didnt now.

Also I cant find the xtm rage anywhere, ill have to look harder. I like to stick to amain or tower cuz they have awesome international shipping, especially tower since they have killer discount codes too :)