Any advice on Truck choices?

[Smokey]

Hi all,

I have a friend who is trying to decide on a truck to get. He has narrowed the field down to:

1. Associated MGT
2. Losi LST
3. HPI Savage
4. others not listed he should look at?

I have a Savge myself so he gets to drive it so he knows what that is like but none of our friends have either of the 2 other trucks so any pros, cons, experiences would help him a great deal.

He has decided to go for a true truck and not really interested in truggies so much but I'm sure he would like to hear any advice or experiences you guys might have with those too.

A mutual friend of ours has a Revo and while he likes that tuck I think he's a bit sour on the Traxxas brand because he has a T-Maxx that has almost been a hobby-killer for him. with all the problems with it and the fact that you have to replace everything with hop-ups just to bash it without breaking let alone any kind of racing.

You guys gotta great site and I really have gotten allot of good info from here so I trust you guys and gals opinions and thanks in advance.

[thenewguy821]

Of the three you listed, I would say the LST. There are/were a few issues with some parts being a little on the weak side, but Losi is working them out. 2 pair of suspension arms is between $7 and $10 dollars, Aluminum diff housings are $10-$13. I blew a CVD at the track Saturday, and just got off the phone with Losi. They are sending out the upgraded CVD's for me.

Overall, with the radio, the LST is the best value of the trucks listed as well.

[Michowski]

ya that lst is a great truck. Ive never seen a truck that big move so fast on a track. Some minor bugs but thats easily fixable. And the revo is nothing like a stock t-maxx. It as strong as a savage for bashing and a great racer. Its been all revo's in the top spots by us for mt racing. Either way cant go wrong. And what exactly is he looking for? racing, bashing, both?

[DO-U-MAXX]

I would either check out the LST or the Mammoth. Both are nice trucks but yes the LST does have the better radio. You can upgrade the radio obviously but the mammoth is closer to a truggy with a center diff/slipper setup. there is a $200 difference between the two but the mammoth seems to be pretty nice.

[Mr. Tune]

How big does he want to go in size? Even though all those trucks listed are 1/8 scale, the MGT and LST are both noticably larger than the savage in size.

How much of a beginner is your friend? Getting a savage would be a nice idea if he were very very new to rc. Since you already own one, troubleshooting problems would become easier.

Other wise, pick up an LST. If I had the cash, I'd buy one in a heart beat.

[cemeb4dk]

The Savage hands down if he is just going to bash and play around. Plenty tough enough most hobby shops have all the spare parts and there are now many hop ups. Plus you have one, and it is always good to have friends with the same truck to share spare parts with. If he was going to possibly race I would check into the LSt or the XTM Mammoth. I'm not sure about product support in this area for either truck. I would think Al's would have Losi parts. I am not a revo or traxxas fan, and that s just me. The revo looks nice, but its still got that crappy 2.5 motor, and brittle traxxas parts.

[Smokey]

Newguy: Thanks for your input. He already has that radio so I don't know that is a major point to him but it is an important part of the deal cause it justifies the price. Getting a $200 radio makes the $600 price a little more understandable. That price tag is the only reason that the Losi didn't make my list when I was getting my truck(I got a wife, 2yr old twins, house etc so $600 bucks is a fortune).

Mostly bashing . He has raced RC before though with his RC10 and I know he liked that but from what I understand he really just wants it for bashing, I think he dosen't want to get into the money pit that racing can be. I'm kind of like that too. I got the Savage because it was built like a brick sh*thouse and the excellent parts support in the area for anything HPI.

[Smokey]

Thanks for all the input guys. This exectly what I was hoping for. He did mention the Mamoth too and it is a great truck but again the parts support is uncertain while the Losi, HPI, and AE have a great presence around here.

Does anyone knows for sure if any of the LHS's stock XTM parts for the Mammoth?

He is not new to RC in general but Nitro is fairly new to him. He catches on quick and with his electrc experiance behind him I would call him experianced. I don't think the size would be an issue to him at all as far as I can tell I think he has the same idea as me "the bigger the better"

The Revo is nice I was impressed with it but I think his gripe might be with Traxxas in general. He has that T-maxx it's not stock by far in fact it is an original 1.5 with a bunch of aluminum stuff on it and the epic .18, mip CVD's, and a bunch of other upgrades. It is just a pain in general. He rebuilt it and replaced alot of stuff in it (bearings, diffs, etc) all of a sudden a couple of tanks go by and one of his diffs blow and bearings and now from a fairly mild crash with my savage his aluminum arm BENDS! Plus anytime you go to do anything on it you have to pull apart half the damn truck to get at almost any part of it.

[thenewguy821]

There is a hobby shop on 111th and SouthWest Highway that carries some parts for the Mammoth. They have a mammoth on display there, and I was looking at it. I was originally flipping between the Mammoth and Savage, and picked up the Savage since the Mammoth was out of stock when I went to buy. When I saw the Mammoth on display, I looked it over pretty good, and was glad I picked up the Savage. The Mammoth suspension is way to springy, real soft, and very little dampening. This may be an issue with bashing, as we tend to aim for the bigger jumps... I'm happy with both my Savage and the LST.

I guess I am directing you more towards the LST, because as more trucks get sold, the parts support will have to follow.

[rocco79]

I love my savage . Ive had it for almost two years and (Knock on wood) I havent broken anything in the suspention. I have the original lowers, uppers, c hubs, carriers and shock towers. The truck is just tough, theres no other way to descibe it. I had a run away with mine right after i broke in my sh.25 it hit a brick building at about 40 mph wide open, The tvp's were trashed but that was IT!!!! That some serious durability!!!!!! As for racing .... All i can say is its worth a shot, I cant say that a savage driven by me,no matter how built it may be will ever beat a revo religiously but it sure fun trying to get a heavy truck like a savage to become a racer. Sites like savage-central.com have tons of threads on how too fine tune a durable basher into a worthy racer. Every hobby shop seems too have a good supply of replacement parts on hand just incase you dont end up as lucky as i have been with my savage.

[Smokey]

Rocco I agree with you... I love my Savage it is serious TOUGH my friend really likes it too and he is leaning that way the last time I spoke to him, but still undecided. I'm not sure what they are but I think he has personal preferences that will ultimatly drive the decision. I know he likes the LST alot too I personally think if he drove it he'd probably buy it judging by the LST owners comments and the ppl that have seen them go on a track. It's too bad you can't test drive these things like you do with real cars..

But I want to thank all you guys for your input I think overall it did bring out alot of pro's and cons about the different trucks. By my count it's a horse race between the Savage and LST and the LST is winning at least judging by the responses. But it's a tough choice and again I want to thank you guys for your help and input. In my opinion if $$$ was not a factor I would have gotten the LST too (it is LOSI after all) but $$$ is a concern so we'll see what happens. Thanks all. Some of the nicest ppl I have met were ppl I met through this hobby and this exemplifies it.

The way I think about it is that all the trucks mentioned are really good choices none of them have any major flaws which will undoubtetly make his choice that much harder.

And to muddy the issue some more there is the 2 new trucks that have just come out from CEN and Trinity (of all ppl) that kind of look like Savage clones too which to me says "imitation is the best compliment" but they are hardly proven so we'll see.

Thanks guys

[thenewguy821]

Just another thing in Losi's favor. I blew a CVD axle at Leisure Saturday. Losi is aware of the problem with them. They just didn't take into consideration the power of the motor, and the output power to the wheels. (How many 14 lb. trucks are out there that you can flip on it's back, from a standstill, with a stock engine?)

I called Losi, told them I blew out 2 CVD's, without hesitation, they asked for my address, and said they are shipping replacement CVD's today.... Gotta love good customer relations.

[Smokey]

Right on. Like I siad "IT IS a LOSI" a great company with excelent products.....