RobG

If it is just for bashing then get the Bandit VXL. If it is for racing get the B4. In a straight line the speed will be about the same with the same motor, battery etc.. (depends on gearing of course). You can bash a B4 but they will not be quite as tough. Also a B4 has a ball differential which gives better track performance when cornering and accelerating etc... but also requires rebuilding from time to time and so overall the B4 will be more high maintenance to keep it in top form. You can't realy race a Bandit VXL, I am not sure if there is any BRCA rule that says you can't but it just wouldn't be competitive on a technical circuit. Also, think about what sort of bashing you will be doing? I wouldn't take a B4 up a skate park as landing on concrete from 12 feet etc... is asking for trouble but the VXL will take the abuse better (providing you have the upgaded shock caps). If you are thinking more about just taking it up the local park / back yard and maybe making your own course up or just speed run driving then the B4 will be fine. I have a b4 and a Rustler (Stadium version of bandit) by the way. Rob

What about people that work night shifts! etc.. etc..

I am not aware of any general laws. I beleive there are some areas with specific by-laws though such as the forrest you mention. I can understand neighbours getting annoyed if your running nitro's in the street but out in a field!! Apart from a few cheeky kids asking to have a go with my car I haven't had any trouble touch wood. I have met dog owners who have been more than happy for me to wear the dog out with a bit of car chasing action

Hi there! It realy depends what is most important to you? The e-savage is 4WD and will be better at the rough stuff and generally a bit tougher. Both The Stampedes are 2WD. The VXL Stampede will be the fastest by a long way if you add LIPO's. The XL5 Stampede offers good value but will be more costly to upgrade if you want to go faster in the future. Also The stock motor in the XL5 will only last about 20 runs. As a keen RC enthusiast I will always suggest you get the best you can afford. The extra's you get with the VXL make it FAR superior to the XL5. I might also suggest you consider the Traxxas E-maxx RTR (£249) which now comes 'water proof' which in the recent weather we have been having is a bonus! I am not sure if you understand about "Brushless" motors and whether that is important to you? The VXL is the only Brushless RTR Monster truck I can think of at the moment. Hope this has helped you with your decision, it is best to be as well informed as possible. Rob

I put some shorter springs in the front which helped to lower it. After turning the wheelie bar upside down, so the wheelie bar wheels practically touched the floor, the front wheels finally stayed planted to the ground. I ran it with the shell off. Still only managed 57.5mph though (GPS). I tried a few runs and reset the GPS, on the 2nd run I got 57.4mph so figure I have probably hit the top speed with the 19/87 gearing. I am sure 60mph is within reach with the Mamba 5700. I will invest in a 21T pinion as the next one up I have is 23T which is probably a bit too much for now. I hit a curb slowing down at about 30mph and managed to pop a dog bone out - unfortunately the part is lost so new part on order. Amazingly none of the plastic parts actually cracked, so it must have flexed just enough to ping the dog bone out. Was gonna post some pics but thought I'd wait untill I've broke 60mph. Look forward to your next attempt Sean! Rob

You will need to upgrade to ball bearings if you upgrade to the super stock motor anyway. I am not an expert on Touring cars, but I imagine you would get about 30mph with the right gearing. On the stock 540 I doubt it does over 20mph. Sorry I don't know about that ESC in the pic. PS> Look at fusionhobbies.com for cheap motors. They do the Super Stock RZ for £26.50.

I really like the Tamiya superstock 23T motors. Loads of torque! Will be a significant improvement over the silver can (about twice as fast!). You can run the 23T on the standard Tamiya TEU-101BK ESC as well (although it gets a little hot).

Can any one tell me if the Tamiya Madbull transmission is the same as the Hornet/Grass Hoppper/Lunch Box etc... ?? Cheers, Rob

Its on the 360 as well. I have a 360. I got my hopes up it might be out by March but I guess they would have given us a date for that by now....

Any one else getting excited about GTA IV yet? I've just been playing San Andreas again to warm up! Been trying to jump the 'vortex' hovercraft off the mountain but not quite managed it yet Read some good things about it on the Gamespot forums. The previews look cool as well

Shame you cant buy the VXL Velenion motor seperately I bet that will work well with the Mamba ESC. I guess if I go much lower than 3500 I will need 4S+ to get the speed though? Trouble is I have paid out the best part of £200 for a decent 2S and 3S LIPO and so ideally want to try and do something with the 3S. If I geared to say a 14 pinion I am sure it would run 45mph all day but obviously to reach 55mph+ you have to gear it on the high side and hence the temps issues.

I currently have two mamba max systems - the 5700 and the 7700. At the moment my 5700 is in my e-firestorm. Basically the motors just run too hot!! I want my brushless car to do 60mph which the MM5700 / 3S Lipo is capable of but it is too hot after about 5-10 mins. Basically it is getting frustrating having 30 mins in the battery but only having 5-10 mins max before the motor is so hot I have to stop and wait for it to cool down. The MM ESC is fine and never thermals, but since there is no sensor on the mamba motors you have to be vigilant to watch the temps. I use the too hot to touch for a couple of seconds rule which isn't very scientiific but I haven't got around to buying a temp gauge yet. I think I may have already over heated the motor as it smelt a bit funny one time when it got really hot although seems to work OK still. I don't think I am geared too high: 19T pinion 87 Spur (transmission ratio 2.6) running on tarmac. I don't really want to mess about with fans etc... and there is no room to fit a heat sink on the motor either. What I want is a sensorless motor that is compatible with my MM ESC that will deliver the 60mph performance on 3S Lipo but with out getting too hot after 5-10 mins. I think I need a lower Kv motor? Can some one recomend a motor for me? Where can I get it from? Thanks! Rob

Thanks, I wasn't sure about that. Rob

I knew the motors weren't BRCA legal due mainly to rotor length I beleive. Any reason why the Mamba Max ESC is not BRCA legal or is it just the fact that its not on the approved list?

I don't doubt that Castle make very good ESC's but in a couple of years time when every electric RTR comes as a brushless option then who is going to buy the after market Mamba systems? May be the racer's who buy kit cars but in the UK at least not many racers use MM - may be that is a different story in the U.S as obviosly the U.K is peanuts compared to the U.S market. By the way I have just thought that the FTX Fury comes with a Mamba ESC (1/16th scale) so may be they will team up with someone for 1/10 in the future. It will be interesting to see how things develop and very good now that brushless is becoming more affordable.

I am an old skool Gran Turismo fan from PS1 / PS2 and Forza seems to be more in that mould. PGR seems very slick and shiny at first but I am pretty hardcore with my driving games so the glitz and glamour ware's pretty thin after a few races.

Put a 3S lipo in it and your gf will be safer with the Hyper 7

Whats best Forza 2 or PGR4? I love Forza 2 as I think the physics model is better than PGR3 but dont know whether to get PGR4??

I might be wrong but aren't Associatted already kind of teamed up with LRP? (not sure where I've got that idea from can someone confirm?)

I have used Max amps and B-P-P.com for LIPO's. Maxamps charges for delivery + you will get hit by customs. B-P-P works out better value as its free shipping and they help you out on the packaging description "Warranty Return /Toy" and it has got through customs twice for me

I really like the fact that it comes as brushless and even has a wheelie bar as standard. Its good to see Traxxas getting some competition though! I wonder how long before HPI bring out the Brushless e-firestorm. Then we will have a nice range of brushless stadiums to choose from. I can't help thinking that Castle (mamba max) will start losing out on a lot of business if it doesn't 'team up' with someone soon as it seems to be the way to go to offer brushless as standard rather than after market.

Looks Great!! I wonder how it compares to my mambified e-firestorm.... Its brilliant that there is now a decent choice for electric stadium trucks

I have recently had the 'dilema' of choosing a new car. If money was no object I would have gone for Petrol 2.0 turbo or something but in the end I went for a frugal 1.9 cdti. The money I save on fuel can then be spent on rc!! Having a fast car is just frustrating on the commute to work these days anyway as you hardly ever get to use the extra speed/power.

The LIPO's I have are the same length as a normal 6-cell pack and so fit OK, although because I have 7.4 8000 & 11.1 5000 the screws are a little short to clip the cover on. I have the Futaba 2.4Ghz stick control and am over the moon with it! For 2wd off road most racers don't go lower than 6.5 turn brushless. If you order from Wheelspin models I would advise you phone up an ask for the stock status. I am still waiting for two orders which are now 2-3 months delayed from wheelspin. If they have the stock you shouldn't have any problems with them. If they don't have the stock they will charge you first while you wait however. For LIPO's also look at robotbirds.com (UK) and b-p-p.com (usa). Maxamps are good as well but you will likely get stung by customs. (PS> I am not sure about BRCA compliance for these LIPO's)

Hi and welcome to the forum! I am afraid I am no expert on Nitro's but there are plenty of people that are on this forum. Out of interest have you considered electric? Some newbies go straight for Nitro without realising that electric cars can go faster than Nitro that's all....