B4 Buying Advice Please

[bertberr]

Hi, I'm looking to start 1:10 elec off road racing as a beginner, and will be visiting my nearest track in March (Tiverton) when I'll hopefully get some more advice, but in the meantime can anyone help with these questions?

Looking at either new RTR or second hand kits, but I can't work out what the difference is between the B4 RS RTR - http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpecification&ItemID=25206 and the B4.1 RTR - http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpecification&ItemID=35111 ???

From what I can see the 4.1 has a 3 channel radio (not sure why you need this in a buggy) and a different ESC, but what else is different / which is better?

How would these compare to a second hand B4 off the bay that may be a few years old? I've seen them for between £60 and £100 second hand, with the higher priced cars usually including esc / motor / servo etc. I think the earlier (pre 2008?) cars had a graphite chassis that isn't supposed to be as good as plastic, so this may be a good reason to go new RTR, but any other issues I need to consider when buying second hand?

Cheers
BB

[bertberr]

Morning all, no views on the differences here? Come on, I need some expert guidance here!!! Cheers BB

[Col]

If you've got no previous experience with racing buy a rtr but be prepared to be totally thrashed speed-wise.
If you've raced any other class before then get a secondhand one - you'll only have to upgrade everything on the rtr anyway.

[tony6187]

the difference between the rs and 4.1 are basically the electrics.the shock towers on the 4.1 are slightly different but not a major change.the electrics in the rs were not the best(plastic gear servo,brushed motor which was rubbish) .the 4.1comes in 2 versions,brushed and brushless.they both have 2.4ghz transmitters and metal geared servos.personally id go for the brushless version (although it would need to be upgraded as your driving skills improved) at club level the rtr b4 is fine,i have run an rs and ft and really not found much difference(been racing on/off for nearly 20 years)found the rs very easy to drive with the stock setup with blue front springs and silver rears.the ft is sharper to drive but thats mostly setup changes.hope this helps

[sparrow.2]

Don't forget the 4.1 also has a geared diff as opposed to a ball diff in the old RS.

[tony6187]

Don't forget the 4.1 also has a geared diff as opposed to a ball diff in the old RS.
cheers was forgetting about that:blush:

[bertberr]

OK, thanks for that, I take it then that the RS is the older RTR version and the 4.1 the newer one, that will probably replace the RS in due course?

So, for about £15 more the 4.1 looks a better bet with 2.4ghz instead of 27mhz, metal gear servo, sealed gear diff and a slightly different body (or is that just my eyes???).

Or, if the stock brushed motor, 17T Reedy I think, is that bad, then maybe a 2nd hand B4 with some spares and either with upgraded elec's like BL motor / esc etc or minus elec's allowing me to fit what everyone else is likely to be using at the club...???

Tell me, what do most people run in B4's for racing? Is it 6.5 BL or thereabouts or are many still raced with hot brushed motors?

[coolcars782]

At Trccc we have 3 members running the novak velocity 6.5r combo with the gtb, i think 3 with lrp and couple running nosram, i dont know about the others.

The track is quite tight and medium grip, so most of us run 6.5's and a couple with 7.5's. I run the novak 6.5r and its perfect i think, the 5.5 i had was just a bit to fast for the track.

Hope that helps


Carl

[j.m.]

You could always just get the AE team b4 kit, not the factory team.

Brushed is going out b/ brushless is more economical in the long run, more efficient, and more powerful.
As for the motor choice, see what everybody else at your track is running.

Jon

[blue_pinky]

If you've got little or no experience then a 6.5 may be tooo fast to begin with!

I started with a 10.5 brushless in a B4 and found it to be great place to start. When I put lipo in it for the first time I even backed off the top end on my transmitter to limit it and gradually turned it back on as I improved.

Much crashing, breaking stuff and loosing races to begin with but slowly improved. A few years on and I'm now running a 7.5 in an X6 (converted B4) and it works great for me!

I ran with a 10.5 once at Tiverton, and was easily as quick as the pack in the tight, flat infield section, and only lost out on top end on the main straight and steep gradient sections.

6.5 and 7.5 seem to be a popular choice for the top and more experienced guys, but plenty of people run lesser motors 8.5/10.5...for newbie's slower is definately quicker!!!

Hope it helps and enjoy, Tiverton is a great fun track, a lot of 2wd's, inparticular B4's (it was when I was there at least!) and good mix of abilities! You shold enjoy it :thumbsup:

[coolcars782]

Some stuff i found on ebay - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Team-Associated-RC10-B4-including-Spares-and-Tyres_W0QQitemZ290404962004QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_T oysGames_RadioControlled_JN?hash=item439d7c0ed4#ht _500wt_975

and

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TEAM-ASSOCIATED-B4-USED-ONCE-1-10-RC-RWD-BUGGY_W0QQitemZ290404973974QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_T oysGames_RadioControlled_JN?hash=item439d7c3d96#ht _500wt_975

[bertberr]

Jesus, you could build another three buggy's out of that first one... :D

I've already seen the second one you linked - looks like an RS RTR, not sure I like the "only used once"... the suspicious part of me says "why???!!!"

Thanks to everyone who's come back to me on this, I'm a little clearer now on the options available to me, decision time soon... :woot: