# help me choose a 1/8 electric



## LowBlueRanger (Oct 12, 2008)

I think I'm ready to add an 8th scale e-buggy to the garage. I am starting to get a little tired of traxxas stuff, and I'm ready to try something else. I'm also going to try my hand in racing this year. Seems like a great group of people out there.

I just dont know where to start, I'm liking the looks of the rc8be. I want the parts to be easy to get my hands on, so this one seems pretty common. On 4s of course. Any help to steer me in the right direction would be appreciated, I plan on buying a kit next month.

I plan on selling my brushless revo to fund most of this. So should I keep the MMM and 2200kv combo from the revo, or just sell all of that and get a different motor/esc combo? I plan on using 4s.


----------



## tebone626 (Apr 25, 2010)

the rc8be is a good choice. everybody has there favorites. i have only raced the rc8be, so its hard for me to say its better than any of the other kits out there. 
i would keep the mmm and the 2200, they will work great in whatever car you decide to go with.


----------



## captkidd (Jan 4, 2011)

I just got into the 1/8 scale e buggy too, I got a used hot bodies ve8 and love it ! parts are easy to get from amain hobbies.


----------



## LowBlueRanger (Oct 12, 2008)

I guess I'll sell the revo as a roller on craigslist, and keep the mmm and 2200. Its been a very durable system. As far as servos, I have a few hitec 5645's laying around, would that get the job done, or should I go for something stronger and faster?

Also, what batteries are you guys running?


----------



## tebone626 (Apr 25, 2010)

i run the Zippy, and max amp batteries. i also run the the hobbico servos, with no problems.


----------



## jasonwipf (Feb 23, 2009)

The associated is a fine car. I'm partial to the MBX6E being a Mugen guy. There are tons of mugen guys out there and parts are not hard to come by. Mugens are very durable and easy to adjust and tune. Get a Tekin rx8 esc/1900kv motor combo, Castle esc/1800kv motor combo or you can use your Castle esc/2200kv combo but just tone down the power in your Radio since its uber powerful. Currently Turnigy nano-tech batteries have been the best punch for the $ we have seen out there. 

Most any major brand of car is good in the right hands, just boils down to can I get parts when needed and are there people (I trust with tuning advice) to give me tuning advice about this model when I need that too. Mugen, X-ray, Assoc, HB and Losi Have guys at most races you can ask tuning stuff here in the houston area it will boil down to parts availability and car quality after that.


----------



## GoFaster (May 4, 2005)

I have the RC8BE and I run both the 1800 and 2200. I like the 2200 way better. I will definately tell you that it's not for everybody though. I think I'm using a 15T pinion on the 2200.

Any 4S battery 30C or better or (2) 2S batteries will work. You will need to verify the dimensions of the battery to make sure it will fit in the associated battery tray.

I've had mixed results with my associated. It's really fast and fairly durable. The weak link for me has been the steering rod ends. The wheels actually cut in to them at full lock and it will make them weaker and fail eventually. I've fixed it up with some other car parts and some JOTO engineering.


----------



## GoFaster (May 4, 2005)

Oh, and never use the radio to turn down your speed control. Use your finger. It is also advised by Castle Creations not do this.


----------



## B4Maz (Aug 9, 2009)

LowBlueRanger said:


> I just dont know where to start, I'm liking the looks of the rc8be. I want the parts to be easy to get my hands on, so this one seems pretty common. On 4s of course. Any help to steer me in the right direction would be appreciated, I plan on buying a kit next month.
> 
> So should I keep the MMM and 2200kv combo from the revo, or just sell all of that and get a different motor/esc combo? I plan on using 4s.


I run a RC8Be and I like it. A lot of guys around here run Mugen and is also a good car. There is good parts availability for each car. You can find a cheap RC8b roller as a parts car. Thats what Ive done. You never know what youre giong to break, and instead of stocking up on a bunch of brand new individual components its better to just buy a whole used car and have everything you need in case you break anything.

The 2200 will work fine. Just play with the gearing until you get it where you need it. Probably a 15-16 pinion and 46 spur. I run a 1800 castle with a 19/46 gearing and runs fine on most tracks.

There is a great video on Neobuggy with Robert Batlle. He is a pro RC driver from Spain. He ran a RC8B for a long time and did very well at the worlds in 2010. He just switched to running Mugen. He said that the Mugen is smoother than the Associated. Its not a faster car, but you can be more consistent.


----------



## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

I share his opinion on the RC8BE vs. MBX6E. The RC8BE can be very fast (sometimes faster than the Mugen) but is less consistent. This is also shown in the price.....$400 vs. $500.

Although I don't currently have a complete back-up car, I second Nick's suggestion. Whatever car you get, just find you a complete used car for back-up parts. It can be a totalled worn out car, but just needs to be complete so that there is literally no part you can break at the track and not have what you need to finish the race day. You can find a used RC8BE for $150'ish, where as just buying the plastics for that car new and in individual packs would cost you that much or more.


----------



## B4Maz (Aug 9, 2009)

LowBlueRanger said:


> As far as servos, I have a few hitec 5645's laying around, would that get the job done, or should I go for something stronger and faster?
> 
> Also, what batteries are you guys running?


That servo should work fine. I run one with similar toque but faster. I like mine 0.10s or less.

I run Thunder Power 4s 5000 packs. But those are expensive. You can get cheaper ones from zippy. I heard these Gen Ace ones are pretty good.


----------



## jasonwipf (Feb 23, 2009)

GoFaster said:


> Oh, and never use the radio to turn down your speed control. Use your finger. It is also advised by Castle Creations not do this.


I've heard that too but never understood why? Does anyone know?


----------



## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

I have done exactly the opposite of that and never had an problems for almost 3 1/2 years now. I have no idea why they recommend that.


----------



## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

Same here........I do the exact opposite and have told a million people to do the same and no-one has ever had a problem.

I would assume that is a kind of "blanket" statement they say so that people who don't understand setting your travel and calibrating the ESC don't screw it up.


----------



## jasonwipf (Feb 23, 2009)

I'm talking about turning the throttle endpoint down to control the speed of fast motors. Thats paramount to not pulling your trigger finger all the way in so ya, i'm not sure how that could hurt anything. 

I presume "opposite" you mean turning the endpoints to their maximum? I did notice in my 2wd slash with velieron system that when I did that it seemed to have more punch sure but at 150 it would make the lipo cut off engage after 1-2 minutes of run time and the battery was fine. When I adjusted it back to 100 (default) that problem disappeared. That was my only negative experience with it.


----------



## skrub (Jan 5, 2011)

Well like my bro said, capt kidd, I to also have a ve8 and love it. In the last race at river track alot of people broke control arms alot, but the ve8 control arms are rock solid and I never broke one. The only thing I broke was a rear outer hing pin on the front quads. Other then that I love it. Its your choice on what you want but for the money its a great buy. Good luck, and race hard.


----------



## LowBlueRanger (Oct 12, 2008)

Thanks for all the help guys. I think thats a great idea, getting a second roller for parts. I never used the radio to tone down the mmm, I just used the castle link and adjusted it on my laptop. I'm pretty good with my throttle finger. Running the erevo on 4s will teach you a thing about throttle control if you want to keep it on all 4's.

I've ran zippy packs in the revo with pretty good luck, but they show there quality after a few months imo. I havent tried the nano packs yet, but have heard a lot about them. I also plan to run 2x 2s packs, and try to find some that I can use in my slash as well.

I'll be tearing the revo down tonight and onto craigslist she goes. Anyone interested in a e revo roller? I just gotta figure out what they go for.

Another off the wall question. Are you guys mounting the MMM with servo tape? With some of these local tracks, I dont see how well that would hold up.


----------



## skrub (Jan 5, 2011)

I use 3m double sided sticky tape. The clear kind


----------



## LowBlueRanger (Oct 12, 2008)

I've used that before, very strong stuff.


----------



## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

Gotta use a Traxxas ESC hold-down or large ziptie to keep the case from coming apart. Otherwise the case will come apart and components will come off the board.


----------



## sfleuriet (Nov 12, 2008)

Traxxas #5626


----------



## LowBlueRanger (Oct 12, 2008)

I might have a buyer for the e-revo roller so I might be getting my kit very soon. I just have another question. I was told the traxxas 2200kv motor is a little too large diameter wise, to fit in the rc8e. Some people say I'll have to grind down the motor fins a little for it to clear. Anyone ever have to do that?


----------



## Travis Stovall (Mar 22, 2011)

The 2200kv will fit just fine with no modifications. I run an RC8BE with 2200. I ran a 14 tooth pinion at Indy in Dallas and the small pinion did put the motor very close to the rear chassis brace. I have found that anywhere from a 16t to an 18t works very well at the tracks around Houston.


----------

