Help me take right decision!

[leontheprof]

Greetings to all!

 

A little background, first of all i am an off road guy. i had no interest in on road rc, until recently a friend of mine brought his HPI sprint 2 with him and started drifting all over the parking lot. Now i think i'm kinda hooked. I want one.  So i did my research and i am between 2 models.  First, i  want to make clear that i dont want a competition level rc, since on road is not my type and of course we dont have a track for this kind of playing.  We will play on tarmac and in parking lots..Just to make fun.  So i dont want to to invest heavily.  Second,  for some reason i'm not fancy at all with belt driven rc's.

So now i am between 

1. Maverick Strada DC

2. HPI RS4 Sport 3 

 

I know both cars are entry lvl, and i believe that the HPI has better quality and better parts support. That beeing said the Strada is about 100€ cheaper, has tons of cheap alloy hop  ups (HSP, HIMOTO) and has (as a hop up) one way diff, witch is essential as my friend says,

On the other hand, HPI is more expensive, has zero adjustability until you start upgrading and the hop ups are way more expensive. And it doesn't have one way diff as a hop up.   But its HPI   and not a chinese brand! 

Both rc parts will be ordered online since none of my LHS supports them. 

So please give me your opinions on this on this one, for both causal drifting and  touring play! Thanks a lot!

[Oh How Original]

Just so you know, Maverick is HPI... Most HPI stuff is also made in China.

I can't comment on those particular models, but I thought I'd point those things out as it might make your decision a little easier.

Something else to note, but often, a drifter won't work well as a touring car and vice versa.

Drifters tend to benefit from some CS (countersteer) which means the rear wheels spin a little faster than the fronts.

This won't work well in touring cars lol, so that's also something to consider  

[Gaz!]

Tamiya tt01 or a tt02 would work well.

 

it doesnt “need” a one way front diff, it does help though along with a locked rear diff.

with some nice oil filled shocks and adjustable camber and your good to go.

50/50 drifting is acceptable too, if you find you get into it then a “cs” or “rwd” could be the way forward whilst still keeping a bit of value and having a nicely detailed shell. Much better than the maverick offerings.

a brushed set-up will work too if budget doesn’t cover a brushless set up.

 

in fact their is a lovely Tamiya tt02 skyline in the sales area that would tick the boxes.

[leontheprof]

I checked about this chassis(tt-02), its very popular but seems to need some $$ to be acceptable. Plastic diffs, no ball bearings, plastic shaft! And my friend keeps telling about sprint 2, i''m now started thinking if this is the right choice!  Let's say i accept ta belt driven chassis, is this way better for my needs? What i want is casual drifting, not in dedicated track, and  a bit of touring with the right settings and tweaks. 

[300bhp/ton]

2 hours ago, leontheprof said:

I checked about this chassis(tt-02), its very popular but seems to need some $$ to be acceptable. Plastic diffs, no ball bearings, plastic shaft! And my friend keeps telling about sprint 2, i''m now started thinking if this is the right choice!  Let's say i accept ta belt driven chassis, is this way better for my needs? What i want is casual drifting, not in dedicated track, and  a bit of touring with the right settings and tweaks. 

If you aren’t happy with Sprint go for it.

 

That said I can see the issue with the TT02. You don’t need to upgrade it to drive it. Although for the cost of bearings I’d always go for those. 

 

Hobby king offer some budget AWD platforms too, which might be worth a look. 

[leontheprof]

Well, i found a second hand sprint 2 (stock brushed electrics) for 100 Euros with 2 bodies in excellent contition. I think it was a good deal to refuse. Maybe the belt is good after all.  

Thanks again for your help!

 

[RCbutcher]

I like the sprint 2 with flux or even goolrc combo they fly. 

 

Try to find a spare rear belt atleast the rear diff is open and small stones can get stuck inside against the belt. People cut extra material out so any stones can fall out the rear instead. Mayb mesh the chassis hole under the motor keep stones from hitting it. 

 

It has a plastic chassis but alloy upgrade is available and for £30 transforms the looks but will beef up the chassis significantly too. 

 

Ive seen guys saying they hit crazy speeds with these just changing the gearing std elecs. Flux 5700kv mine had but im not sure if the rtr was 4600kv or 4000kv. Goolrc have a 3800kv i think is the highest kv for that can. Above that its the finned can crap. 

Edited March 13, 2018 by RCbutcher