Racer's, lets talk about the new breeds of 2wd buggies...

[kaiser]

i know, i know....this is a vintage site....

lots of us race modern buggies though and i know i value the opinions on this board much more then that "other" forum.

my rc10b4.728568 is getting old and tired. she's a first gen factory team b4 (i think it was new in 2005? lol) that i have done alot of upgrading to.
everything is .2 spec except i still use bearing fronts and pin drive rear. i did that mainly because i do race alot of vintage and that way all my wheels and tires can be swapped between old and new cars.

i don't buy new race cars often, as you can tell. now that ae has gone metric i don't feel so bad looking at other brands.

i did mess around with the atomik v2mr last season, it did fine in rear motor. but it's discontinued and it's tough to setup in mid motor and not worth my time anymore.

so my short list of possible b4 replacements is:

b5m (not really making me lust for it.)
serpent srx mm
hobbypro prs1 (interesting)
kyosho rb6 (so much $$)

and the current leader, in my mind, the yokomo yz-2.

most of the tracks i run on are high bite, with the exception of one outdoor track that gets very dusty (might just run a goldie on that one, or my jrx2)

i'm really digging the look and advancements that the yoke has to offer. but i have never owned a yoke of anyk kind.

what are you guys seeing out there in your respective regions?
anyone see a yz-2 on the track yet?

the b4 is going to go to my son, he'll be 6 this summer and is ready to start making laps.

[RC104ever]

I'm an AE loyalist so my vote is B5M personally!

Is there anything specific that you are looking for in a buggy?

[RC10th]

YZ-2 is designed for carpet for the worlds but should work on high bite. I've never run anything other then Associated.

Why not run a mid mount RC10, NIX10M is competative and you'd have spare parts.

[kaiser]

i think i'm just looking for something different.

i'm a ae fan boy, don't get me wrong. i'd run a goldie all the time if i could....well i guess i can. lol

i know the yz2 was developed for high bite, but there are a few guys out there running them on med bite with success.
the bmax line is on it's way out. odds are the next 4wd will be a yz-something.

anyhoo....i digress

nix10m is tempting....gotta rethink this. it would be pretty cool to try the nix10m. then again i like mm with the 4gear trans....

choices and confusion, my favorite things.

[slotcarrod]

I know I bleed blue blood, so this may be a little biased! I have crashed my B5M and B5R so many times with no breakage! If this was my B4.2 I would be picking up parts off the track everywhere. My B5's run very well as do others at the track. I have seen the Kyosho shatter from the smallest crash but handles well. Can't say anything about the Yok as there is only one here, and the guy shows up to races once in a blue moon. Serpent looks like a good choice as well they are fast and strong. Don't overlook the Losi!.... Did I just say that?

You also need to look at parts support. Who has the most support at your local shop/shops? Nothing worse than needing a part and have to wait, or miss a race day!

This is what I want next! http://www.teamassociated.com/cars_and_trucks/RC10B5M/Factory_Lite/

[ca-rj]

I'm currently racing a B4.2 and make the A-main every week. It's a great car. My replacement car will be a YZ-2. Yes, it was deigned for high bite tracks, but there are people already successfully running them on medium bike tracks. I don't see why there is any reason that it couldn't be setup for any track conditions and do well.

[ca-rj]

Oh and running a B5/B5M is boring. EVERYONE runs one.

[Mark Westerfield]

The B5M is actually a really good car. But if you want something different, then buy whichever one your interested in.

[kaiser]

as much as i want to be different, it looks like the b5m will be my next 2wd.

if it's tougher then my first gen factory team b4 i'll be suprised as that car was an absolute tank, carbon parts and all.

one question to the guys running the b5m, what parts would you install off the bat? like any of the "hard plastics".
ti turnbuckles will be installed at the build, anything else?

i wish there was a FT version...

thanks for the input guys, it's greatly appreciated.

[Lonestar]

I can only speak for the RB6, which is the one I've ran for the past 2 seasons, and it has served me well. Before that I had a Durango (I hated it) and a variety of B4's (RM) . I don't know why the RB6 has this breakage reputation, there's a lot of them around here and they always ride past the chequered flag.

Couple of downsides of the RB6: both (standard) ball diff and (optional and expensive) gear diff are utter sh!te without a lot of work - it took me a while to get the gear diff the way I wanted it, I've given up on the ball one.... Plus spares and hop ups are ridiculously expensives.

But the car handles like a dream in box form, but RM and MM. It sports the best shocks in the business. And it's super robust (despite what ppl say) and you can get great used deals on one.

the Yz2 will certainly be an amazing platform, but in typical yokomo platform they will release a new version every 6 mths. Plus it's about as expensive as the RB6, and seems to be a platform dedicated to hi-grip. I think it's a bit early to jump on that bandwagon...

My 2 cents

Paul

[slotcarrod]

as much as i want to be different, it looks like the b5m will be my next 2wd.

if it's tougher then my first gen factory team b4 i'll be suprised as that car was an absolute tank, carbon parts and all.

one question to the guys running the b5m, what parts would you install off the bat? like any of the "hard plastics".
ti turnbuckles will be installed at the build, anything else?

i wish there was a FT version...

thanks for the input guys, it's greatly appreciated.

Just B5R flat front arms and front tower, also the B5R rear arms. Try to buy the Factory Lite version btw!

[kaiser]

isn't the 3 gear trans less then optimal on a mid motor?

[slotcarrod]

isn't the 3 gear trans less then optimal on a mid motor?

I have yet to get my 3 gear, but the few guys I talked to say it's better. However Steve Hartson told me he liked the 4 gear better for mod. The parts are cheap enough that you could have both 3 and 4 gear conversions to try anyway. The FT parts and sweet milled chassis is the biggest reason for wanting the FL B5M.

[kaiser]

i hear ya.

hopefully it's available when my tax $$ comes in. the regular one is on backorder anyway.

[alien3t]

Most likely stuck in the West Coast port shut down and strike for the backorder fills. San Pedro/La port is a few months backed up. So they are playing catch up right now. (supposedly the T5M's are sitting out there now which is paid for and i am waiting for)