cocoune
RC Newbie
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 11
Hi ! I'm 30 years old. I'm new to rc cars and want to buy my first one
I know that there is alot of threads on those 2 cars but I feel the need to ask some questions about costs etc.
I want to explain first why I dont buy the vxl or higher priced vehicules right away. I dont know if ill like the hobby, or take the time to enjoy it. So i dont want to pay to much to starts and i want to maybe upgrade. If i pay alot first buy, i wont really enjoy the modification side of the hobby.
But at the same time I see how upgrades can be a dangerous money pit. I can. But i feel i should put my money elswhere. No offense !
I was pretty ready to buy a gorgon. I want to go offroad, go in parks, rocks, sand, gravel, maybe jumps etc. Everybody seems to agree that the gorgon is better than the stempede 2wd. Thats why i thought it was a good choice. It looks like a lot of fun to drive and bash. Good stability and handling, good tires, good air control for a 2wd and looks really solid. I plan to put gorilla tape on the body if i get it.
So I went to my local shop to see if they had it. They have Arrma and Traxxas. I think theyve been around for 30+ years and have an amazing reputation in the area.
He didnt have it in stock and needed to order it. He admitted that he was not familliar with the Gorgon BUT. He talked with me for about 30mins. It was really cool and helped me alot for my research on youtube etc.
He basically wanted to be honest and warned me. Yea Traxxas is "overpriced" but you can't really go wrong if your a beginner. He knows brand who fit traaxas for less money. He saw sooooo many problems over the years with buget friendly cars and other brands. Models are discontinued and its impossible to buy parts after few years. Of course i wont touch chinese stuff because of that althought the omni terminator looks awesome but small..
He looked a bit and saw that the gorgon has a 2-1 esc/reciever and i understand now why combos sucks. So what he suggest for beginner is the stempede/rustler/slash. He didnt say that i should NOT buy the Gorgon but he tried to make sure i know the risks.
Whatever i get, i will buy lipos battery and charger. Its sad that the XL-5 without battery and charger are discontinued... I dont plan to go 3s for now. I want to inscrease runtime and torque (for offroad), not speed. 2s speed feel plenty enough for me. The last thing i remember are the toy grade rc cars i owned when i was a kid so everything is fast for me haha 3s would be easier to break stuff to. I know that longer runtime risk to overheat the motor etc and i need to be careful.
So right of the box. I will pay extra money for lipo. One model of Gorgon comes without battery/charger.
For the Gorgon, i planned to upgrade it when it breaks. I saw that the servo sucks on gorgon and traaxas (the slash looks like he has a different servo than rustler/stempede) so i know that ill need to replace it. Going brushless is where it sucks... I need to buy a motor/esc and because of the combo i need to buy a new transmitter and a reciever... Its alot of money... I feel its good for someone who has a few cars and already has motors esc transmitter reciever to put in it. I'm a beginner so i have nothing lol beside that. I dont really need to upgrade. Shocks etc seems fine. A fan maybe ? I dont know about the transmission and the more technical parts. I heard i may have a problem with the slipper clutch. So thats why I'm afraid with the Gorgon. Its the cost of changing the motor. I see the marketing trap and dont really like it. I dont want spektrum stuff because of that marketing move.
I feel a monster truck is what i need for what i want. Thats why i pass on the rustler. The vxl rustler is an other story but like i said at the begining, the price is to high and already fully upgraded.
So thats where the slash xl-5 comes (I'm open for the bl 2s). Its priced higher than the rustler. The traxxas price on my local shop are lower than the official traaxas price so thats nice. Rustler is 310 can$ on the site vs 280 $can in local shop.
The gorgon is like 2/3 of the slash price stock. But it dont have the 2 in 1 combo problem. Like the gorgon i want to upgrade the servo and the motor/esc when it breaks. But i dont have to change the transmitter/reciever when i replace the motor/esc. Maybe I'm wrong. But i feel like the low end motor etc are better on traxxas than other brands
What i like about the slash is that it looks big. Longer than gorgon, approx same wheelbase and width. I dont know for the gorgon but the cof in the slash is 3,5 " high. Its nice. I know ill have to pay for alluminum suspension caps and adjusting the suspension with spring/fluid because it rolls easily on the side. I'm 90% sure that i want to make a monster slash. Adding monster truck tires and maybe adding width on the front. Gorgon seems more offroad capable than the stock slash. Especially in the grass and when there is small obstacles.
The other thing i like on the slash is the HUGE platform. Alot of room for stuff and you can try to shift weight more in front/rear or sides. And the slash looks big lol less toyissh than the gorgon and the rustler. It feels more like a real car. The gorgon is beautiful tho.
So thats it. Sorry I'm a bit all over the place. Its really hard to choose for me. The pros and cons are really different for each model. Choosing between the gorgon and stempede was easy because its 2 comparable trucks with similar but different price. The stempede wheelie to much and tumble to much. The slash is good but i feel the need to upgrade it into a monster truck so its another cost. Higher price than rustler and stempede.
In resume. Whatever i choose. I need to buy lipos battery and a charger for more runtime. Do you have any suggestion ? Zee looks cheaps and good.
Gorgon : I'm gonna run it stock until things break. I'm scared when it comes to changing the motor. I dont want to turn a cheap rc car into a money pit. Parts availability in a few years also scares me. I dont think ill need to upgrade other parts than the electronics. Maybe the transmission, i dont know.
Slash xl5 : i feel that i want to buy monster truck tires, adjust the suspension and maybe adjust the front width. The truck would be twice the price of the gorgon if i do that. But going brushless in the slash looks like less money than going brushless in the gorgon. Better aftermarket parts. BUT. The way the traaxas looks it seem really hard NOT to upgrade it. You can upgrade so many parts I'm sacred to upgrade to much just for the fun of it and paying way to much.
Do someone has the 2 model and can help me ? Of course whats more fun ? The fun I have is still the most important thing.
The gorgon seems cool because its fun and cheap. But would it stay cheap in the long run and would i regret not buying the slash instead ? Slash price is higher right of the box and i want monster truck for the same fun and performance as the gorgon is it to much money ?
Thanks in advance !
I have a few other question :
What do you recommand for transmitter/reciever, servo, brusless motor and esc, lipo battery and charger ? Good price obviously.
Do they make good brushed more powerful motor ? Or brushless is the way to go ?
Whats the cheaper aftermarket parts ? Arrma or traxxas ?
What between the gorgon and the slash will cost me the most after i change the servo, motor and esc ? Will it performe similar or one should be better ?
It may look stupid but have u try to buy things from your hardware store ? I'm sure brands make sure its not happening but its basically screws, springs socwaaaay cheaper in hardware shop
Thanks for your responses and sorry if I'm all over the place lol
I know that there is alot of threads on those 2 cars but I feel the need to ask some questions about costs etc.
I want to explain first why I dont buy the vxl or higher priced vehicules right away. I dont know if ill like the hobby, or take the time to enjoy it. So i dont want to pay to much to starts and i want to maybe upgrade. If i pay alot first buy, i wont really enjoy the modification side of the hobby.
But at the same time I see how upgrades can be a dangerous money pit. I can. But i feel i should put my money elswhere. No offense !
I was pretty ready to buy a gorgon. I want to go offroad, go in parks, rocks, sand, gravel, maybe jumps etc. Everybody seems to agree that the gorgon is better than the stempede 2wd. Thats why i thought it was a good choice. It looks like a lot of fun to drive and bash. Good stability and handling, good tires, good air control for a 2wd and looks really solid. I plan to put gorilla tape on the body if i get it.
So I went to my local shop to see if they had it. They have Arrma and Traxxas. I think theyve been around for 30+ years and have an amazing reputation in the area.
He didnt have it in stock and needed to order it. He admitted that he was not familliar with the Gorgon BUT. He talked with me for about 30mins. It was really cool and helped me alot for my research on youtube etc.
He basically wanted to be honest and warned me. Yea Traxxas is "overpriced" but you can't really go wrong if your a beginner. He knows brand who fit traaxas for less money. He saw sooooo many problems over the years with buget friendly cars and other brands. Models are discontinued and its impossible to buy parts after few years. Of course i wont touch chinese stuff because of that althought the omni terminator looks awesome but small..
He looked a bit and saw that the gorgon has a 2-1 esc/reciever and i understand now why combos sucks. So what he suggest for beginner is the stempede/rustler/slash. He didnt say that i should NOT buy the Gorgon but he tried to make sure i know the risks.
Whatever i get, i will buy lipos battery and charger. Its sad that the XL-5 without battery and charger are discontinued... I dont plan to go 3s for now. I want to inscrease runtime and torque (for offroad), not speed. 2s speed feel plenty enough for me. The last thing i remember are the toy grade rc cars i owned when i was a kid so everything is fast for me haha 3s would be easier to break stuff to. I know that longer runtime risk to overheat the motor etc and i need to be careful.
So right of the box. I will pay extra money for lipo. One model of Gorgon comes without battery/charger.
For the Gorgon, i planned to upgrade it when it breaks. I saw that the servo sucks on gorgon and traaxas (the slash looks like he has a different servo than rustler/stempede) so i know that ill need to replace it. Going brushless is where it sucks... I need to buy a motor/esc and because of the combo i need to buy a new transmitter and a reciever... Its alot of money... I feel its good for someone who has a few cars and already has motors esc transmitter reciever to put in it. I'm a beginner so i have nothing lol beside that. I dont really need to upgrade. Shocks etc seems fine. A fan maybe ? I dont know about the transmission and the more technical parts. I heard i may have a problem with the slipper clutch. So thats why I'm afraid with the Gorgon. Its the cost of changing the motor. I see the marketing trap and dont really like it. I dont want spektrum stuff because of that marketing move.
I feel a monster truck is what i need for what i want. Thats why i pass on the rustler. The vxl rustler is an other story but like i said at the begining, the price is to high and already fully upgraded.
So thats where the slash xl-5 comes (I'm open for the bl 2s). Its priced higher than the rustler. The traxxas price on my local shop are lower than the official traaxas price so thats nice. Rustler is 310 can$ on the site vs 280 $can in local shop.
The gorgon is like 2/3 of the slash price stock. But it dont have the 2 in 1 combo problem. Like the gorgon i want to upgrade the servo and the motor/esc when it breaks. But i dont have to change the transmitter/reciever when i replace the motor/esc. Maybe I'm wrong. But i feel like the low end motor etc are better on traxxas than other brands
What i like about the slash is that it looks big. Longer than gorgon, approx same wheelbase and width. I dont know for the gorgon but the cof in the slash is 3,5 " high. Its nice. I know ill have to pay for alluminum suspension caps and adjusting the suspension with spring/fluid because it rolls easily on the side. I'm 90% sure that i want to make a monster slash. Adding monster truck tires and maybe adding width on the front. Gorgon seems more offroad capable than the stock slash. Especially in the grass and when there is small obstacles.
The other thing i like on the slash is the HUGE platform. Alot of room for stuff and you can try to shift weight more in front/rear or sides. And the slash looks big lol less toyissh than the gorgon and the rustler. It feels more like a real car. The gorgon is beautiful tho.
So thats it. Sorry I'm a bit all over the place. Its really hard to choose for me. The pros and cons are really different for each model. Choosing between the gorgon and stempede was easy because its 2 comparable trucks with similar but different price. The stempede wheelie to much and tumble to much. The slash is good but i feel the need to upgrade it into a monster truck so its another cost. Higher price than rustler and stempede.
In resume. Whatever i choose. I need to buy lipos battery and a charger for more runtime. Do you have any suggestion ? Zee looks cheaps and good.
Gorgon : I'm gonna run it stock until things break. I'm scared when it comes to changing the motor. I dont want to turn a cheap rc car into a money pit. Parts availability in a few years also scares me. I dont think ill need to upgrade other parts than the electronics. Maybe the transmission, i dont know.
Slash xl5 : i feel that i want to buy monster truck tires, adjust the suspension and maybe adjust the front width. The truck would be twice the price of the gorgon if i do that. But going brushless in the slash looks like less money than going brushless in the gorgon. Better aftermarket parts. BUT. The way the traaxas looks it seem really hard NOT to upgrade it. You can upgrade so many parts I'm sacred to upgrade to much just for the fun of it and paying way to much.
Do someone has the 2 model and can help me ? Of course whats more fun ? The fun I have is still the most important thing.
The gorgon seems cool because its fun and cheap. But would it stay cheap in the long run and would i regret not buying the slash instead ? Slash price is higher right of the box and i want monster truck for the same fun and performance as the gorgon is it to much money ?
Thanks in advance !
I have a few other question :
What do you recommand for transmitter/reciever, servo, brusless motor and esc, lipo battery and charger ? Good price obviously.
Do they make good brushed more powerful motor ? Or brushless is the way to go ?
Whats the cheaper aftermarket parts ? Arrma or traxxas ?
What between the gorgon and the slash will cost me the most after i change the servo, motor and esc ? Will it performe similar or one should be better ?
It may look stupid but have u try to buy things from your hardware store ? I'm sure brands make sure its not happening but its basically screws, springs socwaaaay cheaper in hardware shop
Thanks for your responses and sorry if I'm all over the place lol
got me all blurry vision!!!! That was the best attempt to real this novel!!! 
.Good luck.
