Truggy Shootout
Yes we attempt to ask everyone's favourite question, just what is best! With five of the MB Team and a new Gung Ho Pro (our tame Pro driver) testing six top kits and a seventh wild card in the form of Cabbie's Revo Derived Truggy we evaluate each kits, pass comments, score them in five categories and finally let you know in which order we would buy them!<more>
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MaxBashing Truggy Shootout
Intro
Losi 8ight-T
Xray XT8
Hyper ST Pro
Hong Nor X1 CRT
Mugen MBX5-T
Kyosho ST-R
Revo Derived Truggy(RDT)
Conclusion
Losi 8ight-T
Xray XT8
Hyper ST Pro
Hong Nor X1 CRT
Mugen MBX5-T
Kyosho ST-R
Revo Derived Truggy(RDT)
Conclusion
Conclusion
Scores on the doors…
After a heavy session at the track the only thing left for the MB Team to do was to hit the pub and discuss the finer points of each kit. Whilst doing this we scored each kit in different areas out of 5 (with 5 being the best). A special mention at this point goes to Leggie who works at Apex Models as he joined us to give the hobby shop perspective on things…Price Durability Handling Quality Desirability Total
Losi 4 3.5 4.5 4 4.5 20.5
Durability knocked down with some reports of easy wearing and increased slop in things like the A-arms, and early problems with the steering servo saver. Also expensive spare parts but the kit comes packed with extra parts which saves on costs of buying tune up bits like different springs and sway barsPrice Durability Handling Quality Desirability Total
Xray 3 4.5 4 4.5 4.5 20.5
Initial cost and price of spares let this down. The normal Xray quality is very obvious making it highly desirable, but lack of aluminium hinge pin retainers and not having some captured hinge pins are a let downPrice Durability Handling Quality Desirability Total
Hobao 4 4.5 4.5 4 3 20
HoBao is a good stable brand but not one that holds a lot of prestige despite its recent success in the UK Truggy Pro series. Is perhaps more for the club person than the show off, although as the steering is by far the best, it could catch the newbie out at firstPrice Durability Handling Quality Desirability Total
CRT 4.5 4 3.5 3.5 3 18.5
Like the HoBao it's quite common and doesn't have a real high desirability, does offer excellent value for money and is possibly the best kit for a newbie to pick up and run with but as they improve they may find it hard to get more out of the kitPrice Durability Handling Quality Desirability Total
Mugen 3 4 3.5 4 3 17.5
Possibly the most underrated, it’s actually a very good contender but is severely let down by its initial price although it does come with more bling parts than any other. Spares prices and availability are also an issue and it doesn't have quite the same desirability simply because there are a real lack of good Pro team drivers out there showcasing the kitPrice Durability Handling Quality Desirability Total
Kyosho 2.5 2.5 4 3 4 16
Kyosho have always had a certain prestige to them but this truggy just doesn’t show the same durability as their buggies. Price of spare parts are also a big issue and some of the parts used just don't come across as top quality although they perform well, but you need to spend around £150 on extra parts to give it the same specs as the likes of the Mugen and Losi kitsPrice Durability Handling Quality Desirability Total
RDT 3 2 3 4.5 3 15.5
Amazing bit of engineering and a hard kit to judge, guess that's why it’s a wild card! Was unfortunately the only kit to break in testing, this was Revo parts in both cases though, would you buy this over a Hyper ST or CRT though? We're not sure. Can perhaps be more related to a MuggyGung Ho Pro Lap Times
Kit Time Engine Fuel TyresLosi 39.80 Go 21 Byron Race 25% PL BowTie MTR
Hyper ST 39.91 Werks B7 Pro Werks 25% PL BowTie MT
XT8 40.42 OS Vspec / Falcon 28 Byron Race 25% PL BowTie MTR
ST-R 40.87 Falcon 28 Byron Race 25% PL BowTie MT
CRT 41.06 Werks B7 Pro Werks 25% PL BowTie MTR
MBX5T 41.21 Nosram 21 O’Donnell’s 25% GRP Grips
RDT 42.91 Ported Picco 27 O’Donnell’s 25% HoBao Tri Spikes
What would the MB Team buy?
Marcus Matt Nobby Julio Dan TotalLosi 1 1 1 2 2 7
XT8 2 2 2 3 1 10
Hyper ST 2 3 4 1 3 13
CRT 4 4 3 4 5 20
MBX5T 5 5 5 5 4 24
ST-R 6 6 6 6 6 30
RDT 7 7 7 7 7 35
In Conclusion
Well if you’ve read it all and looked between the lines you can’t miss the fact that we, the MB Team, are happy to award the Losi 8ight-T as the best truggy around at the moment. That doesn’t mean it’s a runaway winner though, in fact for most of us it was a tough call between the Losi and the Xray, and if we weren’t such a vain bunch the Hyper would be well in the mix too. Despite being the granddaddy of the bunch, the CRT still gave us all pause for thought and if you’re looking to get into the truggy scene this is still probably the best kit to get started with because it’s just so easy to get out there and drive well. The Mugen shouldn’t be ignored but it just doesn’t do it for us at the club level and offers no top team drivers to charm us. The Kyosho ST-R is a bit of an enigma and hampered in this review by the fact that four out the five of us have been there and done that and are now happier with different kits but the new ST-RR version promises to be a whole different story and it would have been very interesting to see how it faired. The RDT is still a work in progress but deserves recognition for the feat achieved in its creation.Where are they now?
• Hannibal – Contrary to some reports he didn’t die in 1994, but instead is living in a green hippy commune somewhere in the Welsh valleys as a tree hugger who sells his own weaved baskets and embroidery at a local market.• Murdoch – Still confined to a mental asylum, kept company by padded walls and a bunch of imaginary friends, one of whom is stalking him!
• Face – The years have been kind to him and he is still held in high respect within the modelling industry, mainly because he can build up a series of Airfix kits without gluing his fingers together.
• BA- Works for a parenting helpline and gives classes for parents with rebellious offspring. This involves scaring the daylights out of them until they behave, threatening to get them whilst they sleep if they’re naughty again!
• Amy – Nobody knows and quite frankly nobody cares!
But all of them are ready for the next time someone has a problem that nobody else can help them with, and if they’re lucky enough to find them, the MB team will return!
