Offroad RC beginner

Hi everyone! I am a beginner in RC and I'm very interested to start this hobby.  I wanted to play offroad, mainly on sand, beach.  Is buggy a good choice? or Trucks like Wild Willy or Lunch Box are better?  I'm looking at the tamiya kits like the sand viper, desert gator, and the frog. Are they any good on the beach? I'm also interested in the 1/18 mini frog too, but not sure if it's good on the beach in terms of performance. Thankyou very much and appreciate your inputs.

i prefer buggy

原帖由 whiterocket 於 2006-10-15 03:53 發表
Hi everyone! I am a beginner in RC and I'm very interested to start this hobby.  I wanted to play offroad, mainly on sand, beach.  Is buggy a good choice? or Trucks like Wild Willy or Lunch Box are ...

If you plan to run on a beach you need something quite powerful and has a high ground clearance, theres actually nothing designed for sand. wild willys and lunchboxes are great fun to play with on dirt or tarmac, but not sure if they can handle the sand. a buggy (like Tamy Dark Impact 4wd buggy, desert gator 2WD, Sand viper 2WD) will struggly to get over the soft sand dunes, but should be ok if the sand is more packed and are generally qutie flexible in terms of surface. the 4WD truck 'monster blaze' could be something you can consider as it is higher and more powerful (twin motor) but its not very popular. its your choice really

You can also consider the Twin Detonator. So funny and cheap.

Thanks so much for the advise everyone. I have few more questions,

Is 4WD better than 2WD on sand?

And how does the Tam Tech Gear Sport Tuned Motor compare to the stock 540 motor that comes with many tamiya kits?

原帖由 whiterocket 於 2006-10-15 15:10 發表
Thanks so much for the advise everyone. I have few more questions,

Is 4WD better than 2WD on sand?

And how does the Tam Tech Gear Sport Tuned Motor compare to the stock 540 motor that co ...

It's exactly 4WD than 2WD, but the conclusion if you really like to play on the beach is "YOU NEED A CAR 1:8 onward" Forget abotu any thing smaller than that.

原帖由 whiterocket 於 2006-10-15 15:10 發表
Thanks so much for the advise everyone. I have few more questions,

Is 4WD better than 2WD on sand?

And how does the Tam Tech Gear Sport Tuned Motor compare to the stock 540 motor that co ...

If you want to play on beach/sand, a 4WD would be much better. If possible, a 1:8 gas power big foot is a good choice. Don't try to play the 1:18 on sand. It is too small when running on it.

Oh, i get it. The beach tha I'm going to doesn't have very thick sand. So, I suppose I'll ok with a 4WD buggy. So, what is the big difference between the DF-02 and  DF-03 chasis? I like the look of the DF-02 with body better cuz the DF-03's front bumper blocks the body alot for example the Dark Impact.  But is the Dark Impact a very goog performance car for a beginner. And is there big difference between 2WD and 4WD cars on-road? Thankyou so much guys, the information I get from you are very helpful.

4WD means all four of the wheels can turn, so it gets better traction on road or off-road. 2WD generally means a lighter, less rotating mass vehicle (but only evident in on-road, not so much in off road) this is because all that 4WD traction is needed to get you going on the rough stuff. the DT-02 is generally a 2WD version of the DF-03 so it should be slightly cheaper...but if it weren't for the costs i'd definately go for the DF-03

EDIT: DT-02 is 2WD, DF-02 is 4WD

[ 本帖最後由 PRiNCe 於 2006-10-15 22:34 編輯 ]

As far as I know, DF02 is also a 4WD. Both DF02 and DF03 are 4WD buggies. You may consider DF02 is a simple buggy that is designed for the beginner.

原帖由 ryancmlam 於 2006-10-15 22:23 發表
As far as I know, DF02 is also a 4WD. Both DF02 and DF03 are 4WD buggies. You may consider DF02 is a simple buggy that is designed for the beginner.

Oh SHxT  yes you are right....i got confused with the 2wd DT-02 (desert gator and sand viper) sorry

DF-02 4wd Rising storm, gravel hound etc.

DF-03 4wd Dark Impact

DT-02 2wd Desert gator, sand viper

Mr Whiterocket,

If you "sololy" play at the beach, my opinion would be the Hot Hobbies E-zilla/ HPI E-Savage because of the huge ground clearance and big foot design.  However, the price is about double of what you are mentioning above (DF03/DF02)  
OR, if you want to go smaller 1:18, you can give the Hot Hobbies Mini Zilla a try or the Anderson MRX4 because those are the "Small guys" of the big footers but at the beach, it's absolutely no fun to see such a small car running around.  My 1st recommandation would still be the E-zilla/E-Savage (they both the same truck with different name on it)  
I have a DF03 and my suggestion is keep that off the beach and keep it with the track.  It's not built for the sand at all....  
If you want to go Gas powered (GP) get a Savage or LST2  without a doublt..
Hope the above information helps.