Best buggy for a new racer?

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breakin2

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I'm planning on racing 1/8 this summer after racing 1/10 nitro truck and 1/10 electric buggy (to a lesser degree). I already bought a 777 Special 1 because I wanted to go right for the best. However, I heard that it is a bit twitchy and I'm afraid it may be tough for me to control with this being my first foray into the 1/8 class.

Should I keep it or is there another top of the line buggy that may be more forgivable for a new racer to the class? I haven't built the 777, so I should have no problem selling it.
 
something that has the word 'hyper' in it.

-Ult

oh geez u have something already. tough call. maybe some others can chime in.
 
XRAY XB8!!!!!! I love it and would recommend it to anyone
 
Its twitchy with the 20 deg hubs, and certain other aspects of the stock setup, so I have read. It can be setup to not be so twitchy. My honest opinion is if you can afford the best, and you have the best, keep the best. Never ever downgrade or downsize regardless of what we are talking about :) Thats like having 300 HP and deciding to detune the engine a bit, know what I'm sayin?
 
you have a good starting point...if your local hobby shop has the parts ..etc...keep it....if not sell it and get an xb8....lol...j/k.....you have a nice buggy there and setup is 95% of the game....so if you are doubting it before ya put it together i think you should build it ...try it out...then decide....it will still sell ....being a new kit and all
 
I started out my first buggy racer ever with a HB Lightning 2 Pro and I loved it for my first time being on a track. I do need to get better driving and handling skills but for the 2005 season I am moving up to a Kyosho K2
 
Just walk into a Hobby shop blind folded and just point to one and walk out with it. Their aint really no sorry buggys out now. About 5-8yrs ago it was a little harder, but you can't go wrong with any of the buggies out now. Sure someone is going to tell you _____ sucks but turn around and someone will say other wise. It all depends on how much you want to spend.
 
Not a big fan of OFNA

Just do us both a favor and stay away from the :spit: Ofnal Ultra LX Comp. I had one for 2 weeks and couldn't keep a screw in the thing and broke 2 fuel tanks. Needless to say not a big ofna fan. I dumped after 2 weeks for 40 bucks less than I bought it for.

I currently have a HB Lightning with almost all of the pro parts on it but as said above the lightning 2 PRO would be a good choice also. One of the guys at my local track has one and he loves it Yes he also kicks some a__ with it too.. Keep in mind your parts avalibility?? Support you local hobby shops and they will take care of you........... :smoke:
 
Dude keep your 777 Special. Just get used to it with some slicks on it so you wont wear your tires down and go into a wide open empty parking lot. It will be the best thing you can do IMO.
 
.... well sence ur racing.. u can always set it up to be more stable... it maybe a little twitchy.. that can always be solved with some set up.. throw in a decent engine.. S5 will be a good match for that for a beginer too... do yourself a favor and put some nice servos and an FM radio with EPA..
 
Yeah, I have a lot of good equipment from racing 1/10. I have an M8 and Airtronics 357 and 358 servos. What set-ups would you guys recommend to stabilize the 777?
 
777s seem pretty good straigh out of the box, if you want to tame it down a bit run less toe out on the front and more toe in on the rear, learn to drive in not throw it around and youll do fine with the 777, i wouldnt be selling it to buy a xb8, youll lose to much money on it !!!!!!!!
 
swore I'd never post on another "best buggy" thread... sigh oh well

breakin2, if you bought the buggy already just keep it. Being that you're a new racer, you'll mainly be trying to keep it between the pipes. Don't let someone else's review of the buggy scare you. Maybe you're havin regrets only because you're drooling over the xb8. Truth be told, the finer points of buggy design and setup tuning are lost on the folks that are just learning to race (myself included).

Stick with the kyosho. There will always be a new buggy to drule over. (PS I drive mugen :cheers: )
 
well..u dont know if it will be too twitchy for you... so just try out various set ups..
 
I think your best bet would be to get any solid buggy that is race proven. I would also suggest you get it in kit form. A lot of time when you purchase RC's in kit form it comes with hop ups that the RTR does not include. Plus you get the old adage of "if you build it from scratch you will always be able to fix it when it breaks” You can always upgrade as you go along. Parts availability is also a major concern for some. I know a certain someone that did not have a very good experience dealing with Ofna as far as building the kit and trying to purchase parts. Just a few thoughts to think about, when purchasing RC’s in general. Good Luck during the race season.

sLY
 
NJRC said:
I started out my first buggy racer ever with a HB Lightning 2 Pro and I loved it for my first time being on a track. I do need to get better driving and handling skills but for the 2005 season I am moving up to a Kyosho K2


Want to sell your HB Pro 2???
 
I just got an OFNA 9.5 pro w/ all the graphite parts for 200 bucks no engine...it was like new......it's my first buggy so I'm still getting used to how cool they are on the track but from what I've seen and tried I like the MBX-5 and the XB8...everyone w/ the 777 I tried had weird setups....they all seem to want the ass to slide and then hook up w/ the front.....very little push from the back so it seemed sluggish out of the hole.......but that's all personal preference setup stuff....do yourself a favor and get a buttload of different diff fluids, shock oils and springs so you can try all the setups your buggy has to offer.......
 
Thank you all for replies. I'm probably going to keep the 777. It's a long winter and I really can't run anything up here, so it's just something that I bounce around in my head as I wait for Spring to arrive.
 
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