mini or 1/18th-ish scale off road R/C cars?

Any experience? Seems like the Losi cars end up available most commonly at decent prices...

I have a small area next to the garage (15-18' square?) with too many pine/fir needles for anything to grow. I was thinking I'd make a little horseshoe-shaped track.

Seems like the micro or 1/36th scale stuff is so small it doesn't really even want to deal with dirt/bits of gravel, while 1/10 scale is much too big/fast for an area that size...

Anybody have any suggestions? Ever tried to use these little guys on dirt?

Something like this 1/18 Losi truck, or this 1/24 Losi stadium truck, a bit more scale-like?

I was thinking I'd get one and make sure it's not just dumb, and then probably get a second one so we can race while grilling...

No idea, it's been a loooong time, but I know that Traxxas is sponsoring NHRA and is US made. At least give them a look.

In reply to tuna55:

Will do... It's been a looooong time since I was up to speed on R/C stuff; back then Traxxas was maybe just a skosh better than Tamiya, but a lot can change in a couple of decades. Looks like they make something appropriate... The MSRP is pushing double the smaller Losi stadium truck, but my local hobby shop is listed as a dealer; maybe they're cheaper on the shelf.

I'm willing to pay something of a premium for something made here, but a couple hundred for some backyard silliness is, well, silly enough. At $400 a pair... Well, I should probably defer it all 'til the shop is done anyhow...

Bought a used Losi brushed motor 1/24 short course truck off eBay. It's fun to rip around the driveway while grilling. Haven't had a chance to try anywhere else. (tile, carpeted floors, etc.) It's a blast for what it is, just has a limited range of use. With hindsight, I'd lean toward the 1:18 Micro T instead.

It's gotten me hooked enough that now I'm wanting something more serious. Love the scale looks of the 1/18 & 1/10 short course trucks, but kinda leaning toward a Traxxas Stampede for cost and more flexibility for banging around the yard and driveway. Pep Boys had a 20% off coupon last weekend, but I misread the end date to use it...oopsie

...

You should be able to pick up a Mini-T with upgrades for cheap. Check CL or a local hobby shop for used stuff. Parts are cheap. They're fun. My brother had one with an early Castle Creations Mamba and a 2000MaH battery. It was a missile.

http://corvallis.craigslist.org/for/3830619093.html

http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/tag/3824573035.html

http://corvallis.craigslist.org/tag/3769826674.html

http://corvallis.craigslist.org/tag/3821109446.html

"Toyed" with these plenty as a kid in my mid-teens. Is the pavement smooth? Kyosho Mini-Zs are 1/28, pretty damn fast, have tons of cool bodies, and are great on a smooth blacktop surface. Or, you can throw foam interlocking tiles down and run them on that.

The 1/18 cars are cool too. Mini-Ts are cheap and plentiful. The RC18s are cool too.

Really, I'd throw a decent battery pack in one, and maybe a hotter DC motor. Once you start dumping money into 11+ Volt LI-Po packs, big brushless motors, etc. they become too fast for their own good and loose the appeal.

A few Mini-Zs with some cool bodies (I had a Gulf Mclaren F1 and a 575 GTC) with a mild motor, ball bearings, ball differential, and minor re-work on the suspension would be a blast.

Mazda787b wrote: Is the pavement smooth?

Whoops, didn't explain that part well, did I? Just vague references to pine needles and bits of gravel...

The area in question is actually all dirt, with some amount of small stones in it from having used it as the spot broken concrete went during the garage work... So anything on-road oriented (or too small) probably won't work...

I have a Team Associated 18MT. It rips. It kinda sounds like you'd do well with one of those.

I got one of those Radio Shack ProPulse deals, which was a Megatech MegaPro in a different box. 1/18 scale, plenty fast out of the box, came with a 2.4ghz radio and everything but the radio batteries to make it run. I thought they were a great entry level RC at just their price point of just north of $100. Everything was plastic, but it takes abuse well. When they clearanced all of their stock off, I bought titanium control arms, a couple better batteries, a few sets of tires, and a bunch of spares. Including the peak charger I bought to go with it, I think I've spent about $175 on it. Now that I have space to run it, I'll drag it out of the closet and get it working.

Just a better battery pack and a hotter brushed motor made the car too fast for its own good. Stick to handling upgrades if you do start hopping them up.

Oh, I forgot to mention that my buggy was practically a copy or the Associated RC18 series. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXARKH**&P=7

So you're saying the mamba brushless and lipo combo in my 18 MT was a bad decision?

In reply to mndsm:

As long as you have the room for the car to get to speed and have a decent surface, then no. To have something for bashing around a rocky, pine needle strewn area, I would tend to stay toward the "Miata" levels of power that you'd have with a stock-ish car.