New to large scale ,some help please :)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
S

spiros

Member
Messages
17
Location
newcastle
Hi all

Although i'm not new to rc i'm a complete newbie when it comes to large scale models. I'm thinking of entering racing and need some advise.

A)Should i start with 4wd or 2wd ?
b) Which model , i'm thinking fg leo for 2wd or mcd for 4wd

Just to let you know though that i only raced 2wd alooong time ago so i cannot remember how difficult it was (or not). On the other hand 4wd is abit more expensive and i'm don't want to spend too much money.

Any suggestions ?

Many thanks
 
Do you have a ball park figure of how much you want to spend, this will give people an idea on what range of cars to suggest? :)
 
It's more of a matter of if it's worth it pushing my budget to buy a 4wd or get a 2wd model.

Budget wise since i'm in the UK it's not really relevant. For 2wd will not go more than the cost of a Leopard (ie. no elcon or LB) and for 4wd the only option is a MCD.
 
In that case which would you prefer to drive? Personally I'd probably go 4WD if I was going to race and hence an MCD for the money. :)
 
Sorry mate i haven't noticed you're from the Uk.

The leo or marder goes around £500 + £200 to run. The MCD is £670 + £200 to run. I know it's not that much of a difference but adding an extra tuned pipe on the mcd i'm pushing my budget quite abit.

The only experience i had with 1/10 2wd buggies was along ago and still remember the overturning even if you sneezed. 4wd is what i race(d) but the point and shoot driving is not much fun to me as well.

What i'm actually asking is if 2wd in 1/5 is as nerve breaking as it was to 1/10 buggies. In that case i might prefer to get skint but get a 4wd instead
 
Last edited:
most large scale were 2wd upto last year when 4wd exploded, i run an FGbaja 2wd and love it...i too was worried coming from nitro and losing 4wd and knew what nitro 2wd were like but largescale handle differently than the smaller nitros, it's a bit more difficult to master but is way more fun i find to drive once you have a good set up . most racing championships are still 2wd though I'm sure 4wd will have a world championship soon.
I just bought a rampage mt for general bashing in rougher terrain but i definitely won't be shelving my baja
 
Thanks for the answer mate, it's good you know where i'm coming from.
I may end up going for 2wd if things aren't as bad as 1/10 buggies, it will give me some breathing space (money wise) for tune ups, spares etc.

I'm thinking leo,baja or marder although leaning towards the leo. The only thing i'm worried about is spares avail. especially for the leo.

Any comments/ suggestions?

Thanks
 
hows the going just saw the post and said i would give you my opnion.

i think unless u buy something in the region of 2000pounds and competition the only racing you will be doing is racing to the wallet to buy upgrade parts,trust me im not trying to be negative all in all i have a competition beetle fg and if i have 10 tanks ran through it im lucky and another 400euro coming next week for parts that are broken (and are alloy) and my car has an easy life.

unless you pay the price now u wont get through two tanks of fuel without break ups on an mcd,my friend has just bought one and has it all stripped down within two days out of the box.

WELCOME TO REALITY OF RC ££££££££
 
Ouch, that's very worrying to be honest.

I've raced 1/8 nitro buggies and total cost never exceeded (except the £350 for chassis and £200 for engine) £250-300 per full season. And that's everything from tires to fuel and spares and rarely tune ups. 2K is quite a bit

Not to argue or anything but is this the general concesus on large scale ?
I thought they're abit more sturdy than they used to be and i've heard opinions that they can be even cheaper from nitros on the long run !
 
The monsters with the big wheels are hard on certain parts just because those big tires/tyres put alot of stress on components. If you're going to race a leopard is probably the one to get it's longer and wider than the baja and you can order it with options from hobbythek and they have every spare you can think of in stock http://www.rc-car-online-shop.de/lshop,showrub,26464,e,1231204536-11437,autos.fg.fg_buggy,,,,.htm
my baja handles awesome and is super quick and out the box was amazingly tough i bought the ht version that comes with alloy diff, engine mounts and a couple of other bits. alloy engine mounts, gearplate and diff are really all the necessary upgrades you need for the buggies with smaller wheels. I hit a sandbox wot in 2nd and only stripped a front upright and smacked a woodpile wot in 1st and did no damage at all...I've barrel rolled, endo'ed run into things and really had to replace few parts. I've upgraded over time to full alloy rear, uprights and shocks etc but these are preferences and not needed requirements. I kept the front plastic cos it's tough only replaced 2 lower arms after multiple owies they got sloppy on the pins. If i hadn't wanted all the alloy and hydros etc it would have cost very little to maintain.
And be assured to drive they don't resemble the 1/10 stuff at all that are super twitchy and pretty uncontrollable.
 
parts

welcome,

do the leoppard keep the parts plastic and get some spares for now.

they are fast like hell and handle great.

if you got money to spare gofor the MCD
2wd more fun for tricks and 4wd better control a bit slower but good for any season.
good luck
 
I've settled down on an Leopard or used l3 supercross. The leopard is brand new and £150 cheaper and 26cc engine while the LAUTERBACHER supercross is well used but packed with alloy and hydro brakes, 23cc engine only though. Which one you guys reckon ?

Thanks
 
If Racing is whart you aim for the leopard gives you most bang for the bucks.

if the races you wil atend inn are EFRA sactioned race there are so far only a 2WD class


The leopard don't need a lot of options parts to handel well. it runs great out of the box. the only options i would recomend is a Stainless steel diff tube, alloy gear carrier for the spur gear and a disk brea kit in the front.

Take a look at the servoes. what you prefer is up to you. i hate slow servoes spesialy at the steering. teh original Hitec ha 805 servo works great but the output shaft isa weak and breaks of easily.
use a Multiplex Rhino Digi 4 ore maybe two for the steerin.
if you instal a disk break kit in the front i wolud reconemd an extra break servo. use a servo that has at least 9 kg of holding power.
 
Thanks Crazy beetle.

I've actually took the plunge and bought a brand new Fg Leopard. Bought a hitec 805bb servo/

Crazy beetle, the leo comes with alloy diff already if not mistaken, why upgrade to stainless steel ?

Thanks
 
spiros said:
Thanks Crazy beetle.

I've actually took the plunge and bought a brand new Fg Leopard. Bought a hitec 805bb servo/

Crazy beetle, the leo comes with alloy diff already if not mistaken, why upgrade to stainless steel ?

Thanks
Click to expand...

The cover it coves with is a soft aluminum one. The first time you pull it off you may even end up opening it up like a sardine can. Mind you the stock covers are only $7CAD.

An 805 will work well, if it breaks them replace with a 5745 or a Rhino. I had a 805 on several FG's and only broke once at the spline in 3 years.

Once you get it just drive it until something breaks or strips. Replace the lower rear turnbuckles with 6103/04 (39mm)
 
spiros said:
Thanks Crazy beetle.

I've actually took the plunge and bought a brand new Fg Leopard. Bought a hitec 805bb servo/

Crazy beetle, the leo comes with alloy diff already if not mistaken, why upgrade to stainless steel ?

Thanks
Click to expand...

it hase a Alloy diff end it has and alloy diff tube.
change that to a diff tube made of stainless steel.
that diff tube can take a hell of lot more beating than the original one made of alloy.
the problem is småll stones that gets caugt betwen the chasssis and the diff. the stones pinch a hole in tje tube and the grease i the diff leakes out. thats leaves a big mess and the diff eventualy runs dry and breaks.
its a small exstra cost but saves you a lot of hassel you will get in a shoirt period of time.
i took me about 10 minuts to destroy the diff tube on my car.
 
Hi

Thanks for the reply and the site info, i'm going to try the car, have some fun and then pop to nook raceway to see.

That was my intention from the beginning, see if i like it and the car doesn't break all the time and then race. I only got the 805BB for £14 used so even if it breaks i'll through £3 for a replacement gear set.

Just a comment though. I don't know how much truth there is on large scale cars being fragile and brake all the time and need to spend ££££ on them (i'll soon find out!) but these comments and generalities put off people away from this hobby.

I know this as a fact, i'm 16 years on this hobby and the same thing happens on other classes as well ie nitro cars. I was racing buggies and i personally got a guy racing with me by not scaring him off and telling him more or less the minimum he will need to get started. He got almost put off by seeing guys spending £300 on a radio and £200 on servos and £350 on a modded racing engine and £500 on the newest chassis and people telling him he needs to change the £120 piston/sleeve every three gallons of fuel -because they're were running lean. He spent £500 altogether and raced and have fun.

There seems to be a large scale trend these days. It would not be a bad idea to put a sticky stating the basic facts and costs of getting into this class. It will make people more aware instead of affraid jumping into the hobby. Plus if they do know what costs involved and what the fuss will be they will not drop out and start slagging this hobby as being a money pit
 
Last edited:
Off-road Racing in LS is different depending on where you live. Europe has been doing it for a long time and have a great following. The US is into the "HPI Baja" more than most brands since it's so easy to get and inexpensive. Canada hasn't begun to have good races but that didn't stop me from getting a Elcon Cleon. :balloon:

Start with what you have and the guys in your area and local tracks will help you out.
 
Back
Top
✖
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks