Best 1/25th scale rally/touring RC 2021?

[Pingster]

Hey guys i have a few Losi 1/24 micro Rallys and they race amazingly well. But sadly some have broken and i cant get spares to fix them TT.

 

What is the best handleing 1/24th right now. I prefer handling, consistant cornering over speed.

 

Also i prefer cars that are out of the box "upgraded" rather than having to spend loads of money after unboxing. For example i love my LC Racing EMB1. Sadly they dont make a 1/24 scale.

 

I already have Mini Z buggys... but annoying when i added rally bodies to they drove in a very odd way which i disliked.

 

Thanks!

[Lone-wolf]

Carisma do a Mk1 escort in 1/24th dont know if its any good

[Pingster]

I watched a few videos and was dissaponted some pplz swapped out the shocked as they are friction. And also swapped out the radio gear. That made me think its not worth it for the upgrades it needs. 

 

The WLtoys A242 1/24 4WD looks pretty good?

[BigGinge]

There is this one in the for sale section, not complete but (without knowing much amount these) looks pretty amazing. 
 

Slightly different price range to the A242 mind. 

[EvilR]

That BZ3 above is mine, I run a 1/28 scale racing club in Letchworth.

 

It started out as Mini-Z’s which are a good starting point (mainly RWD, their AWD platforms are a little lacking for racing, but great drifters) 

 

You can still be competitive with an RWD Mini-Z but the likes of Atomic, GL Racing and to an extent PN have raised the bar.

 

The BZ3 is a complete car just needs an Rx of choice fitted but that is jumping in at the deep end! 
 

In some ways it’s harder in others it’s not! 
 

This is brief and not 100% but to give an idea, Mini-Z’s you mainly swap parts to adjust and set up ie you want more camber you take out the -1 knuckles and replace with -2 now this is easy for a novice but can get expensive as you need the extra parts, plus they are like Traxxas with the chassis Integrating into the suspension etc so you can have issue with certain plastic parts wearing out and the whole chassis being compromised.

 

Then you have your Atomics and GL’s these depending on config are either scaled down 1/10 touring or pan cars, occasional parts do get swapped out to change setting like camber but the majority of it is normal spring load adjusters, droop screws, turnbuckles etc another bonus is rebuilding I’ll use an AWD as an example on the Mini-Z AWD (MA-03) the front diff sits in the chassis and after taking out to service a few times the screw holes in the chassis start to wear and once gone it’s either a bodge to get it to fix or a new chassis were as on the GLA the diff houses screw onto the chassis and can be completely replace for around £7-8 

 

As for power source Mini-Z are AAA power unless you do a lipo conversion or use certain lipo AAA 

 

All the other are 2S lipo which most of us are already geared up to charge lipo’s.

basically I’m saying go Mini-Z if you want a simple solution but you want to upgrade and tweak then look at the true 1/28 RC’s 

 

If you are near Letchworth give me a PM and you are more then welcome to pop by.

 

There’s not much in the way of racing after 1/28 as it’s then really GT12 etc 

 

We run a 12m x 8m track currently which around 10s lap times 

 

Here’s our track 

[EvilR]

[EvilR]

[Pingster]

On 24/07/2021 at 10:46, Jack Reacher said:

Carisma do a Mk1 escort in 1/24th dont know if its any good

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

Nice cars and lovelt track! However the car is more than i am looking for. I have to buy x3 affordable cars with parts that wont get discontinued likes my micro  losi rally TT.

 

I wanted the carisma but when i found out it had friction damps i decided to skip it as the oiled filled upgrades cost a bomb!

 

Next two up seem to be the WLTOYS 242 no drifting ver. But ive read it has horible sterring deadzone. Is that still an issue or have they fixed it? I also hear WLToys have awwful quality control and are considered "EMB" cheap cloners... 

 

Then theres the HPI Maverick Ion RX 1:18, bigger than i want.... but its affordable has metal gear upgrades, from review handles well. Yet i read it has very oversensitive steering which makes it hard to drive in a stright line? Also annoyingly the extra size could make it less raceable on my decking surface which is only 7x7m. 1/24ths race on it beautifly.

 

Gosh this is difficult 😕

 

Edited July 25, 2021 by Pingster

[EvilR]

Why not a Mini-Z MA-02 its sold mainly as a drift platform but with some decent tyres it will be good to go? 
 

A few of these 

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/443127

[Pingster]

32 minutes ago, EvilR said:

Why not a Mini-Z MA-02 its sold mainly as a drift platform but with some decent tyres it will be good to go? 
 

A few of these 

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/443127

Actaully you are right.... the mini Z's and getting them back running again maybe the way to go. When i first bought them i had to import them from Japan. As you pointed out UK companies have them now... which is awesome and the cars are not so expensive and the performace is fantastic! Thanks for the reminder!

Edited July 25, 2021 by Pingster

[EvilR]

Really what parts do you find are failing often? 
 

[Pingster]

9 minutes ago, EvilR said:

Really what parts do you find are failing often? 
 

Some of you may have a simular experience. But at my age 45.... my mates are too darn cheap to play RC.... so i end up buying 4 cars so the lads can borrow one.... 6yrs ago i let them have a go with my 2s powered minis Z buggys and after less than 20mins they snapped two of them in half when hitting curbs!

 

I now 3d Print throttle limiters when i let friends learn how to drive so this happens less often. Maybe it was not so much the cost but the time it took to order the parts from japan then the time to fix them up.....

[EvilR]

The buggies are more fragile! 
 

The ready set MA-02 is pretty solid and as for parts there’s a couple of good UK stockist and most of the time in some of the more weaker areas an aftermarket alum part is on par price wise to the Kyosho stock plastic.

 

I think I’ve got a used MA-02 somewhere I could let you have to test!

[EvilR]

Also to add the later Mini-Z’s have a training mode (reduced power) on the Tx’s 

[Pingster]

On 25/07/2021 at 16:02, EvilR said:

The buggies are more fragile! 
 

The ready set MA-02 is pretty solid and as for parts there’s a couple of good UK stockist and most of the time in some of the more weaker areas an aftermarket alum part is on par price wise to the Kyosho stock plastic.

 

I think I’ve got a used MA-02 somewhere I could let you have to test!

Thats so kind og you to offer me a test of your MA-02. Sadly i live in London and thats a long way from you?

[Pingster]

An update to my situation.

 

After members here kindly  suggested Mini Z's, i dug out my Mini Z Inferno Buggy. 3D Printed some body conversion kits and mounted the Losi Micro Rally body to them. 

 

The cars are already converted to take 2S lipo. Interesting with the stock motor... the cars would auto shut down due to overheating, Even tho i have the alu heatplate and motor mounts.

I remebered that i had a Kyosho "Mini-Z X-Speed V Motor MDW002P", whacked that in and yes! No overheating even after a 25min practice session. This really suprised me as the new motor is way faster than the stock so i would have thought it would get hotter? Yet it runs cooler? I wounder if using a smaller pinon on the stock, using the smallest pinon would reduce the heat even further?

I found the Stock Mini Z inferno tires lacked grip on my decking, resulting ina driving style that needs super throttle control. The back end slips out in a really challengeing way. The Losi Micro Rallys felt almost on rails compared to this. Then i tried the tires of a Carisma GT24 on the Mini-z and result, Amazing grip, yet the cars still a hudge satisfying challenge to race.

 

Mini-z + Losi Micro Rally Body = 1/24th rally with consisatnly good compontents and has the durabily of the protective shell which the buggy lacked. Persoanlly i prefer this scale over the 1/48 MA-02? I have a feeling the MA-02's would not be happy racing on decking with the grooves?

 

But this begs the question? why does Kyosho not have a Mini-z rally RTR?? Would save us so much money and hassle. 

 

I hope this thread hekps others in my position,

 

Ping 😄

 

 

 

 

[Pingster]

Another quick update. Ive had people over for some racing with the Mini -Z to Rally mod and they absolytely love it! Before that we raced the Losi Micro 1/24, we loved them.... now ppl comment how they cant take the Losi  seriously because they handle in such a "on rails/arcadey" manner. 

 

The modded mini-z's on decking handle in a relastic manner, they look almost like real rally cars watched from above.  Slipping and sliding around corners in such a fun manner. If anyone is interested in seeing  photos or having my 3D models ill try uploading them here.

Edited August 4, 2021 by Pingster