Rb5 or ... RC10B4 ?
 

Hi.
I am doing a little research with the intention of dabbling with some Off-Roading.
Normally I indulge in Touring Cars so as you can imagine I know nothing about these cars.

Having convinced myself 2wd is more enjoyable the 4, my short list is now down to these two cars. I have almost come to a decision hence this tread in here, but so save disappointment I am hoping my answer can come from you guys.

I know both are probably as good as each other but is there anything I should know?

Thanks :thumbsup:

B4 is my answer,its the most popular 2wd so there are loads of set ups for it and if you break somthing at a raceday the shop there should have the bits if not someone else will.

I've ran one for ages and they reward even the most cack habded drivers ( eyethankewe ).

I run a zx5 4wd because I wanted a shaft drive car that took stick packs, I havent driven a b44 yet but when I get a go on one ( hi rob :wub ) my credit card may take a battering.

the zx5 is a good car but the b44 seems to be further advanced than it and as there are very few who run zx5's set ups arent as common sad realy as its a nice car to work on.

or buy one and convert it into a propper car
X6

get the rb5
built like a tank, very robust. spares are cheap and easily availalbe. It steers as aggressively as a B4, but has a rear end a stable as the Losi CR, best of both worlds. I'm quicker with the RB5 than my old B4. I wouldn't look back.

b4 im biased!hi jim,how you!?

Jim's description is spot on.

I used to run a B4 but since my switch to RB5 I have picked up not a tenth of a second but over a full second per lap ... as has everybody I know who has switched!!!

The B4 is a good car but requires a particular driving style .. if you don't drive that way the car will be a handful.

The RB5 is very neutral out of the box and can be tuned to be almost whatever you want it to be!!!!

No question in my mind, RB5 all the way!!!

having only driven the B4 i can not comment on the RB5. from watching them and seeing the drivers at the worlds in japan that had 3 cars (b4, RB5, X6) and choosing to run the B4, shows a pretty good example of how good the B4 is...........

as said....alot of drivers now have them...that is also another good example of how good the car is and allows you to have spares on hand....nothing worse than breaking a car and having to go home!!!

Lee

It all comes down to your reasons for buying a car - If it's for wanting help trackside pretty much wherever you go racing then a B4 has to win hands down PURELY down to the amount of people that run them (no offence to the RB-5 guys) but you can't argue that probably 90% of the 2wd cars you will see racing at just about any meeting will be B4's - So straight away you've got access to spares (even if there's no shop), set-up's and advice.

The RB-5 does look like a good car in the right hands, but there still just isn't many of them about and therefore even if spares are available from a shop it doesn't mean you'll be able to get them on the day unless there are others running the car that also happen to have a spare.... plus if there's nobody else with one (which can happen) you may find it hard to get the car right when all you want to do is drive the thing around and learn about off road.

I guess what i'm saying is that i think the RB-5 can be just as good and obviously suit some people more then the B4 does, but then the same goes with the B4 - Both cars are capable of doing well, it just depends how important it is to you that you can guarantee to get help trackside or not really?

B4 has inch and the RB5 is metric.
RB5 is a bit more expensive but spare parts are cheap.
i love my rb5 but it is your choise ... both are good and fast.

For me, the RB5 was an easier car to drive smoothly and it also survived some big crashes without a single breakage. The B4, whilst being a superb car, breaks relatively easily in my experience, particularly a-arms.
On a side note, everyone is excited about the new manufacturers producing cars for both 2 and 4wd yet all the recommendations are to go for what everyone else is running! Just because everyone else has one doesn't necessarily mean it is the right car for you. A well organised driver should have all the spares he/she would need already in their pit box. As for set-up advice, the way you want your car to behave is down to driver preferrence, the basic handling alterations will be the same whether you run a Losi, AE, Kyosho, X-Factory, Hotbodies or anything else. Whatever brand you choose, you will get the set-up right with patience and practice.

recently i've really smacked the wishbones about 3 times, they really don't break that easily, which is a shame cos i broke a chassis, a shock shaft, and bent a hinge pin instead :D the last one i broke i actually went at with a hammer to see how tough they were, i eventually got one bit of it to splinter away slightly after going a bit nuts on it :lol:

Depends on what you want....

B4 - Build as kit but, change springs and put right tyres on and you have a competative car. Great if you just want to put batteries in and race!

RB5 - Need to work more on the setup, but if you enjoy that kind of thing its very rewarding.

In my opinion (having raced B4's for 4 years and RB5 for 2 weeks!) the B4 is a stronger car, the latest FT version also requires very few hop-ups, maybe some castor blocks etc.

RB5 is a smoother more neatral handling car when you get it set-up right and its nice to run something a bit different. Also it needs a few more hop-ups, must haves are titanium turnbuckle set and carbide diff balls.

I would say go with the B4, just down to the fact that almost every modelshop stocks spares for them in-case yuo break it.;)

Thanks for all the advice lads.
...still non the wiser so anyone got a coin? :)

I had made my mind up on the Rb5 until I discovered the 2008 Factory release of the B4 at which point my brain went into meltdown.

Are the B4's still using imperial size fixings? I have all the metric sizes under the sun for my touring car so it may well be down to something as simple astool sizes. :rolleyes:

where are you going to race?, trackside spares can be an issue for some cars, obviously the b4 is supported by all shops and the rb5 by some.
john

If you can drive both ( I suspect this will be quite hard to achieve )

as for imperial tools ebay and £25 will sort you out

At the moment nowhere because the tourer takes up most of my spare time but I have two local options. Eden Park in the South East is reasonably close to me and my club; WKRCC has something in the pipeline with regards to offroading.
We are in the process of applying for permission for a permanent tarmac track and the idea is to build a multi purpose layout.

In the meantime it will be practise, practise, practise with one eye on the futere in the very conveinient park the other side of my back fence ;)

nope, B4 is still imperial!

try the RB5 just for something different. mine was awesome at Eden Park a couple of weeks back

So what car did Shawn opt for? Was it the right choice? I have been looking to get back into the off-road scene and was going to get a 4WD car. However, after visiting the local track it seems that most people / clubs prefer 2WD...

So I have also narrowed it down to either an Ultima RB5 or RC10 B4. But which is better? There's only one way to find out! FIGHT!!!!!! lol :lol:

can't fault my rb5:thumbsup: