Returnee with a few questions

[Chrissy Boy]

Hi guys, i am returning to the sport and 1/10 buggys in particular after a break of way to many years and i just have a couple of questions for you all. I am being realistic in so far as i dont expect to be challenging for any titles straight off the bat, therefore i wont be spending an absolute fortune on equipment, having said that i dont really want to be trailing around at the back so i am looking at the intermediate part of the market, the car i am leaning toward is the Cyber10b. Is this a sensible option, what are the spares like, can it hold its own at club level against more expensive cars, do any of you race one? Thanks for your advice, Chris.

[Neil Skull]

If you are on a budget i would say go second hand.
No point in buying stuff that is not competitive.

But make sure you get from someone you trust!!

[Smartalec]

As Neil said, go for good quality second hand stuff from reliable sources. Personally i've never heard of a Cyber10b (doesn't make it bad) so I can't comment on what it's like but I certainly don't know anyone who's got one.
There's normally a few good bargains in the For Sale section on here, if you're not sure of the seller there will always be someone who can tell you if they are genuine or not.
Hope that helps

[sosidge]

I wrote a long reply to your question last night... so long that I think it crashed oople temporarily...

Briefly...

- I would buy new for your return to the sport. Second hand cars can be bargains or moneypits. At least with a new car you know who is responsible for anything that goes wrong!
- I'd be wary of the Cyber, simply because of parts availability. You don't generally see them on shop shelves, and HPI/HB are gaining quite a bad reputation for parts supply in general these days. There is a post in the wanted section today from someone who wants Cyber parts but can't find them anywhere.
- Mid-range cars (Cyber, Tamiya DB-01) are a bit of a false economy because by the time you fit a couple of essential upgrades (better shocks, slipper clutch) they are the same price as a full race kit. The Ansmann car has a good spec but is a bit of a gamble because they are not an established manufacturer (yet).
- Back on the issue of parts, buy a car that you can get the parts for easily. Nothing more frustrating than missing a race meeting (or three) for the sake of a £5 part. I sold my Yokomo B-MAX4 for for this very reason.

[JCJC]

Originally Posted by Smartalec

Personally i've never heard of a Cyber10b

So out of touch Alec its a HotBodies D4 rejigged for a stick pack & plastic, parts for HB buggies are hard to find. (tho I thought I saw a nice D4 in the for sale section the other day).

Chris,
I would go for Associated, B4, B4.1 or B44, every other racer has one, lots of advice, good chance someone track side has spare parts when you break that bit you ain't got, good resale value etc. Get down to where you are going to race and see what's what, there is lots to catch up on - electrics etc.

If you want a cheaper car look at the madrats, they seem to have a following and spares are easy to find I believe.

[F1END]

I was in this position just over a year ago, and opted for a Tamiya DB01. Good car, for the money, but I was so annoyed when the hopped up DB01R came out a few months later.

Anyway, as sosidge said, if you opt for an entry level car like that, by the time you have fitted a slipper clutch, proper shocks, alloy suspension mounts, full metal diffs, etc. you could have bought 511 (if you can find one).

Looking back knowing what I know now, I'd have probably gone for a b44. Slightly more money to start with, but it doesn't need much spending on it to make it competitive.

I wanted to get a new car, as then I could get to know it from the ground up when building it.

The other advice I'd give is definitely go brushless/lipo right from the start. I didn't, as I didn't know much about it, was more familiar with brushed set-ups, and thought I'd save money... but I just ended up wasting more.

[Nick Goodall]

I think the best advice for anyone starting out again is just to go for a 2wd car, probably the B4 simply as it's been around so long, everyone knows it, has spares, or knows how to set it up.

The cost and ease of running can't be beaten with 2wd, the diff will hardly ever need to be touched, the shocks are easy to work on and the car generally works the same everywhere on the same setup.

Tyres aren't so expensive as fronts don't wear out as quick as they will on a 4wd for obvious reasons.... Parts are dead cheap and easy to get.

Also as it's 2wd, you don't need any particularly fast motors or top spec lipo's, just a 7.5 and a couple of cheap or older lipo's will do you absolutely fine as power is neve an issue.

It's a bit of a no brainer to me :-)

[Si Coe]

Agreed go 2wd to start with, its cheaper and generally the more common class too.
Furthermore if you are starting from total scratch, the B4.1 Brushless has to be a good starting point. Fitted with UK specific tyres, its pretty competitive from the box - not the greatest brushless system, or radio, but good enough for club use.

[Chrissy Boy]

Cheers for the advice guys, much appreciated. I am popping down to my local club this weekend to see whats what, looking at the results so far 4wd seems to be the more popular class with a Durango leading the way. Thanks again, Chris.