Intro
Losi 8ight-T
Xray XT8
Hyper ST Pro
Hong Nor X1 CRT
Mugen MBX5-T
Kyosho ST-R
Revo Derived Truggy(RDT)
Conclusion

Kyosho ST-R

Overview

Kyosho have a long and well established name in the RC world and were the first major manufacturer to introduce a dedicated 1:8 scale truggy into the market (albeit eight months after the CRT launched). Based on the Inferno MP777 buggy which has won seven world championship titles, there were high expectations on this kit from the moment it launched. It shares many of the features found on the 777 buggy, be this good or bad, there’s no questioning the quality of Kyosho parts but they don’t shout bling. The screws used throughout resemble something you used in woodwork class and all the aluminium parts looked stamped rather than machined but you don’t ever hear of them breaking so it’s not all bad. The 3mm 7075 chassis is the shortest among this lot making the truggy much more ‘square’ which does reduce its steering capabilities, although the new extended chassis on the ST-RR is meant to change all that but we don’t have one of those to test. There’re some nice parts on the kit but there are no captured hinge pins, it has cast aluminium steering knuckles and spare parts are some of the most expensive; for example, a new pair of CVDs are £30 compared to £20 for the CRT. In fact you need to spend around £150 on after-market parts to bring it up to the same spec as the Mugen truggy but this isn’t as bad now that the retail price of the ST-R has dropped to a sensible level. At the end of the day the ST-R has gained some impressive results with Elliot Boots picking up TQ in round three of the truggy nationals, although that was the new ST-RR version.

dan's view

I nearly wet myself getting hold of the ST-R when it first came out and then promptly spent a load more cash to make sure I had solid chassis braces, machined aluminium steering knuckles and captured hinge pins all round. Unfortunately this didn’t really improve my driving but the kit looked damn good! Over a year and several other kits later, I think the ST-R offers the Marmite effect in that you either love it or hate it once you own one. There’re scores of Kyosho fans out there that will swear by it but at the same time there are plenty who have owned the kit and moved on because they suffered from too many problems. You can’t argue that it requires more maintenance and precise setting up than most kits; if you don’t do this you run the risk of stripping diff gears or bending drive shafts, all of which are expensive to replace. Personally I really like the look of the ST-R with its fat curvy body shell and spoked wheels. I do feel it looks like a real racing machine that is more than capable of performing if it’s properly set up!

julio's view

The ST-R seemed to be in a class of its own when it was first released. The driving style seemed to be a lot more precise and unforgiving although extremely capable. It was narrower and a bit shorter than the rest and at the time had phenomenal steering, but not currently. I actually rate it in the lower half of the truggies when it comes to steering these days. For the money you spend you get very little in the form of hop-ups, the parts are expensive and you have to spend quite a bit to get it specked up to its rivals. This truggy is not suited to beginners and would best benefit experienced racers. I’m sure a lot of Kyosho fans will disagree but the problems with crown and pinions stripping, drive shafts bending or popping out are just too common to be ignored, yet some people swear to be trouble free. Shimming a diff is very simple, but not on this thing. Let’s hope the ST-RR sorts out this issue; if it has, then the truggy will be back to the top with the rest of them.

Gung Ho Pro says

With the new extended chassis it’s a lot more stable, steering is good although again not as good as the Hyper ST, and perhaps fractionally less than the Losi and Xray.