DescentBB

First of I should thank Ferno for getting me hooked on this with that video clip he posted

Anyways I've decided to get myself one of those R/C cars. So far I'm leaning towards a Buggy type 1/10 or preferably a 1/8 scale and knowing myself (always wanting the best within my budget) I'd probably go for a Nitro engine and/or a \"semi pro\" buggy if you can call it that.

The only problem is this stinking town I'm in, it doesn't have a decent hobby shop. So far my Internet and local search landed me with two ways of going.

Local:
The shops' name actually says it all, Woollies toy and baby shop lol.
Fine they’re the best I can do locally and the cars that I can get through them are the following:
http://tamiya.com/english/products/43514nitro/index.htm
http://tamiya.com/english/products/44044force/index.htm
http://tamiya.com/english/products/4352 ... /index.htm

Non-local:
About a 140km from this town is an CEN racing dealer and the one that caught my eye there is the
http://www.cenracing.com/cars/matrix/matrix.html

The Idea of the ARR car is appealing but the problem is whether it’s going to be a problem getting the parts for the car if something breaks because the dealer isn't in town. Fuel I can get Locally.

The problem with the local shop is that they don't know %#%#! As soon as I started taking about the % of Nitro the fuel had to have and the scales of the cars they got that blank stair on their faces that said everything I needed to know and I promptly said I'll check it out on the internet, thanks and good bay.

So locally I should be able to get what I need for those cars they stock if I spell it out for the people but I don't know how the quality actually compares between the Tamiya cars and the CEN cars.

To me the CEN car looks more like the types that is designed and build for club/pro racing. Ok comparing the two types might not be fair as the Matrix is a 1/8 and the Tamiya’s are 1/10. But hey what do I know right, I’m totally new in this.

I’m going to go to the city the beginning of June and I’ll check out the hobby shops there then as well but in the mean time does anyone have any comments / pointer for me on the above mentioned or something else I should be look at.

My main coal is to get a couple of people I know and let it grow from there to maybe start a club of our own here in town. So far I have mentioned it only once to a buddy of mine and ended up with at least 4 people that would be interested in it if I were to get it going and they would also get the same type of cars/buggies if need be. But if that doesn’t realize just to have fun with a couple of buddies with informal racing or so.

Thanks in advance.

I'd definately go with the CEN Matrix, it's a good mid-performance buggy, meaning there are both cheaper and more expensive 8th scale buggies out there. If parts are a problem, then I'd suggest when you first get the car, get spares of what will most likely break, these include the suspension arms, ball joint ends, hinge pins, shock shafts, and a screw kit so you can replace lost screws. Also, It would be a good idea to get yourself a good set of tools to work on the car for tearing it down for maintenence and cleanup duty, so look for a good set of hex drivers while your picking up the car as well. Since your also pretty set on getting a nitro powered car, don't forget the filter oil and the after-run oil for safely storing the engine, and some extra glow plugs, you'll need more than one when starting out with a brand new engine.

The hardest part about nitro engines is you have to endure the seemingly slow process of breaking in the engine, take your time with this, as it will determine just how much power you can get from the engine and how long it will last without a rebuild. Before you go and follow the manual's break in instructions, use thismethod instead.

A nitro vehicle will be a difficult first-timer vehicle, but many are able to keep at it with a bit of research and determination. I'd suggest you check this board out for tips and general talk about the hobby, I frequent it often to answer the odd question and get my news on what's new out of the factories.

Either way, your gonna have a blast with this hobby, and if you can get your friends into it, the more the merrier.

If you want to go into electric instead of nitro, try the 1:18 scale. It seems to strike a balance point between ultreacheap and expensive.

right now i have one of those 1:24 scale xmods with a few additions such as lithium batteries, a hybrid motor and ball bearings. I've moved from having minor components rattle off to actually breaking major components. I actually snapped the gears right off the driveshaft last night.