Good Quality off-Road 4x4 RC Car Brands?

wombat81 on 13/09/2020 - 21:49
Last edited 15/09/2020 - 10:51

Evening all. My son is nearly 13 and wants to save up for a decent quality RC car. He's had a few cheaper ones in the past and they never last long.
* He wants something that has a reasonable amount of power and torque so it can get up dirt hills etc.
* He also wants something pretty tough so that it can crash occasionally and not break straight away.
* He just wants to stick with lithium battery powered electric motors at this stage. Ethanol etc is too complex/expensive.
* He would prefer something on the smaller side, physically. Not tiny, but not huge like some RC trucks get.

He prepared to spend $200-300 for something good but I have no idea where to start. I feel like all the ones the toy shops carry are just low quality toys. Can anyone suggest some brands an/or models to look at?

Thanks

Edit: Thanks for the feedback. So he did a heap of research last night and has decided he wants something that is pretty general purpose. He really wants to be able to cruise around all sorts of terrain, not necessarily super fast, attempt to drive over rough, steep stuff etc. He doesn't want a rock crawler as such, but a reasonably capable 4x4 that can also cruise around a decent speed. He really likes the look of the Tamiya Unimog 425.

Can anyone comment on reliability, parts availability etc for the Tamiya trucks?

Thanks

Toys & Kids

Comments

  • brendanm on 13/09/2020 - 21:54
    +2

    Electric is better than nitro anyway, I used to run nitro many moons ago, brushless is now faster, quieter, easier etc.

    My big truggy is a Losi, great quality, easy to get parts etc. Little 1/10 my son uses is a Turnigy buggy, reasonable quality, as standard they use some cheaper bits like plastic chassis etc, being relatively popular hop up bits are common, I got an aluminium chassis for it which made all the difference.

    For $200-300 you will need to go second hand to get anything half reasonable. Check the RC tech Australian classifieds, gumtree can be ok as well.

    • wombat81 on 14/09/2020 - 09:09

      Thanks mate. Turnigy looks like a possibility.

  • tomclancy on 13/09/2020 - 23:13
    +1

    What cheaper ones has he had in the past that didn't last long?

    My 10yr old son and I both bought a WLtoys 10428 (comes in four different styles/colours) and they have been awesome - very fast [for us] and taken a beating. We take them to the local RC dirt tracks and they tackle it easily. The controllers have throttle trim so you can reduce the max speed on the fly - when we first had them we were running around 50% throttle but 6 months later and with more experience we run 70% throttle comfortably. On the RC dirt tracks at 100% throttle the cars will jump clear over two jumps at the same time. I would guess that they can run around half the speed of the high-end racers we sometimes see practising. Compared to some $30 Kmart buggys we have which run less than a tenth of the speed of high-end racers.

    They've had some pretty hectic accidents and they still keep going. Parts are available for them if they break. I would recommend getting spare batteries if you can because the 15mins runtime from a single battery is just never enough when you're having fun.

    Priced ~$150 from Banggood and other offshore sellers, closer to $200 from Australia. Check youtube reviews to see them in action. I can't recommend enough.

    • CrazyBargainCatcher on 14/09/2020 - 08:21
      +1

      You can only get spare parts from China. Which can take 1-2 months to arrive. Might be a deal breaker for op

      • wombat81 on 14/09/2020 - 09:11

        Cheers mate. That's probably not ideal but if the price is good I guess it's a compromise you have to consider.

    • wombat81 on 14/09/2020 - 09:10
      +1

      Thanks mate. I don't remember that brands that he's had before, but nothing over $120. I'll do a bit of research on WLtoys, but that sounds promising.

    • BreezyPalms on 22/10/2020 - 21:45

      Hi - sorry to revive an old thread, did you buy your WLtoys1 10428 from Bangood? Did you get spare batteries from Wltoys or the Zop ones?

      Thanks

      • tomclancy on 22/10/2020 - 22:47

        No probs. I bought them locally from a toy importer in western Sydney (via eBay).

        I didn't buy spare batteries. That's my only regret because they are just so much fun that after 15mins you want more

        • BreezyPalms on 23/10/2020 - 05:39
          +1

          Ok thanks, I bought one from Bangood after seeing your comment (assuming you used Bangood). Its already been a couple of weeks waiting for post…Hope it arrives soon!

          I also ordered 2x Zop batteries that are compatible with the car from Bangood ($40 for both delivered)… I will let you know if they are any good (assuming they arrive!)

  • Nugs on 14/09/2020 - 07:31
    +2

    HSP - worth looking into but you would need to up the budget a bit.
    We bought our then 12 year old one a few years ago based on internet research.
    Good combination of price, durability, spares, performance and price. I do recall that at the time there was one size (scale) that was considered better than others.
    You will need additional batteries and a 'proper' balancing charger
    .

    • wombat81 on 14/09/2020 - 09:13

      Thanks mate. There do seem to be a few HSP models within budget. Are you saying I should avoid the cheaper ones?

  • CrazyBargainCatcher on 14/09/2020 - 08:17
    +1

    I have a Wltoys a959b. Firstly, if this is your first rc car. I don’t recommend it, this is because it’s crazy fast (gps said 65 km), handlings not that great and once you crash it will take 1-2 months to get it up and working again. Try your local hobby shop. I can recommend RC Garage Hobby Shop in Boronia. I can recommend this buggy for $330 https://www.rcgarage.com/collections/buggies/products/riverh…
    Then upgrade with brushless and 2s lipo all in for about $350-370

    • wombat81 on 14/09/2020 - 09:19

      Cheers mate. Yeah it seems like there are better options than the WLToys models.

    • brendanm on 14/09/2020 - 10:04

      How would you get a brushless motor, speed controller and lipo for $20-40?

      • CrazyBargainCatcher on 14/09/2020 - 10:27

        Of Banggood they are about $30-35 for the motor and speed controller then $10-15 for the battery

  • Ocker on 14/09/2020 - 10:13
    +1

    Check out Tamiya brand RC cars, they are robust, reliable and have a full range of spare parts

    • wombat81 on 14/09/2020 - 10:31

      Thanks. Yeah, Tamiya is a brand I remember from childhood. I wasn't sure if there were better options these days. But I'll check them out.

  • wombat81 on 15/09/2020 - 10:46

    Thanks for the feedback. So he did a heap of research last night and has decided he wants something that is pretty general purpose. He really wants to be able to cruise around all sorts of terrain, not necessarily super fast, attempt to drive over rough, steep stuff etc. He doesn't want a rock crawler as such, but a reasonably capable 4x4 that can also cruise around a decent speed. He really likes the look of the Tamiya Unimog 425.

    Can anyone comment on reliability, parts availability etc for the Tamiya trucks?

    Thanks

    • sarakoth on 10/02/2021 - 14:31

      What did you end up getting wombat?

      I am also tossing up between cheaper WLToys vs HSP and others I have not heard of or Tamiya because they have been around for ages.

      • wombat81 on 10/02/2021 - 22:52

        Hey mate. The young fella is still saving and deciding but he's still pretty set on a Tamiya Unimog. They're impossible to get at the moment, though. He's going to wait a bit and see if stock becomes available.

        • sarakoth on 11/02/2021 - 03:02

          Yeah it seems I have bad timing for trying to get a good RC… most stuff is out of stock or super expensive. Thanks for responding though… there is crap load of choices…

  • wombat81 on 07/06/2021 - 16:39
    +1

    Just to update. I think I'm going to get him the Wltoys 144001 for his birthday. It has a metal chassis and looks solid. Only a brushed motor but a brushless upgrade is available. Lots of sister parts and upgrades are available on eBay and bangood. With a couple of lipos it should go well.

  • wombat81 on 16/06/2021 - 12:25
    +1

    Just to tie this thread up. I ended up getting the young fella a Wltoys 144001 for his birthday in a weeks time. I had to get one for myself too because, you know, it's not as much fun on your own ;)

    I did STACKS of research and basically decided that I wanted an entry level, hobby grade 4wd rc car. I wanted the cheaper end of the scale but I still wanted decent quality. I also wanted spare parts to be widely available. Finally I wanted it to be at least reasonably capable off road, since that's what my son had indicated he was most interested in.

    So I ended up with a WLtoys 144001 for these reasons:
    - It's hobby grade but cheap at around $100aud. Not in the same league as Turnigy, Losi etc, but in the same ball park as HSP etc.
    - It's reasonable quality. It has a metal floor/chassis, metal drive shaft, metal diffs, some metal steering and suspension components, oil filled shocks
    - Every part is replaceable and available through ebay/aliexpress/banggood. You get a full parts list in the box and while you may have to wait for delivery, you can get everything easily.
    - While it's not a crawler as such, it is 4wd and will be at least usable off road. The equivalent WLtoys crawler models seemed to be lower quality with more plastic parts.
    - It's a brushed motor, but it is reasonable easy to upgrade to brushless. Lots of bolt in kits are available. There seems to be lots of scope for mods and upgrades if he decides he's interested in that.

    This is the one I bought, from ebay. Australian stock. Fast postage. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/313312417342

    After a lot of research about lipo batteries and chargers I also bought this charger. It requires a 12v DC power supply but luckily I already have one that will do the job https://www.rcbits.com.au/content/isdt-q6-nano-200w-8a-1-6s-…

    I bought these lipo batteries. The cars do come with a battery, but you definitely want at least 2. There are lots of no-name chinese batteries around but all reports are that the quality is very variable, and you don't want to muck around with dodgy lipos. https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-2200mah-2s-30c-lipo-pack…

    Finally, the 144001 uses t-connectors for the lipos and the charger and batteries are XT60 connectors. I'll just get some plugs from Jaycar and solder up some adapters, but they are available from hobby shops, ebay etc too.

    I think it'll be a good intro to real rc for the young fella and he'll experience the repairing and maintenance and will be able to decide if he wants to get more seriously into it with higher quality cars.

    Thanks again for all the suggestions.

    • wombat81 on 10/08/2021 - 13:26
      +1

      Just a further update after 2 months of usage. We're both still really happy with the 144001. They are super fun for the price. My son's rear diff wore out and started slipping. Apparently that's pretty common since the stock metal is pretty soft. He also drives it harder than I do. We have hardened replacement gears on the way, Australian stock from ebay.

      I've upgraded to slightly bigger wheels to make it more capable off road. We've had a few bent dog bones, but they're easy to straighten. We've changed the oil in the shocks to proper shock oil. We've regreased the diffs a few times.

      As long as you're prepared to tinker and fix things when issues occur, these are great little cars for the price. But if you want something that just works out of the box or something for younger kids that you don't have to maintain, I don't think these are for you. They do take some work.

      My son is still looking at getting something more serious. At the moment he's keen on a Traxxis Slash, but they're not cheap. At least the 144001 has helped him decide if it's a hobby he's keen on.

  • john_conner on 30/04/2022 - 15:33

    Thanks for your updates, great info!

  • wombat81 on 30/04/2022 - 19:06
    +2

    Just another update. My son's 144001 is still going well. A few repairs and replacements here and there. The electronics died in both of our 144001s eventually. We decided to retire my car and use it as a parts car for him. He did a brushless upgrade which cost about $100 all up. You have to replace everything. The ESC, transmitter, reciever, servo and motor and you need a new spur gear. We followed this upgrade guide (Quadify is the 144001 guru) https://www.quadifyrc.com/rccarreviews/144001-brushless-upgr… It was an easy job. Everything pretty much dropped in. Since my son was more interested in bashing rather than speed we went for the lower kV motor option. It's still significantly faster than stock (which was already fast) but the acceleration and torque are now insane. It's way lighter than stock and battery life is way, way better - up to about 30 minutes on a 2200mah lipo depending on usage. He's wrapped with it.

    I bought a Flyhal fc600 to replace my car. It's a clone of a Hbx 16889a Pro and is brushless out of the box. It's a tank, virtually unbreakable and is a bashing machine. Great battery life too. It's a great little car but it doesn't handle as well as the 144001.

    I've seen that wltoys have recently released the 144010 which is a stock brushless version of the 144001. It's around the $200 mark which is similar to the Flyhal/Hbx. If your budget can stretch that far, is recommend those two cars for anyone in the market. If you want a super tough car that your kids won't be able to break, the Flyhal/Hbx is definitely the go. If you want something a bit more fragile but with better performance in mind, the 144010 would be worth a look.

    The 144001 is a great starter car of your can get it for $100, but the electronics won't last forever so you'll need to be prepared to upgrade.

    Cheers

    • bennos on 17/08/2022 - 21:01

      Where do you buy from? Bang good?

      • wombat81 on 17/08/2022 - 21:34

        Yes. AliExpress often carry them too.

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