What's best for newbie scale or crawler?

[The_Know_It_All]

Newbie here I currently have a Traxxas rustler but know many things rc cars including crawlers and all types. About 12 and when I get bored I go here and look for rc car stuff. I was wondering what would be the best type of car for me, just out of curiosity. Thanks in advance

[Sgt.Ryan]

Welcome I'm a noob here as well. In my humble honest opinion I'd say the axial wraith is best, it's the best of both worlds. It's affordable it can crawl and go fast and has tons of upgrade potential. I have one and Im in love with it.

[bizarrefish]

Welcome, I'm a partial noob, was in the general RC sport camp during my early to late teens and now back in it again to get my little boys hooked. I went back with a B5M and a Yeti to get the best of both worlds. I would be tempted with a Wraith too when the boys are older so we can dedicate one to crawling (Wraith) and one for high speed off road bashing (Yeti).

[The_Know_It_All]

Ok thanks for the info now it's more between the wraith and the yeti or both Just now have to save because I'm just a kid:(

[olsenjb]

Originally Posted by The_Know_It_All

Newbie here I currently have a Traxxas rustler but know many things rc cars including crawlers and all types. About 12 and when I get bored I go here and look for rc car stuff. I was wondering what would be the best type of car for me, just out of curiosity. Thanks in advance

A lot depends on what you're wanting to do with it. Are you looking for a good crawler right out of the box? Are you looking for something that's strictly a crawler, or are you wanting something that can crawl and go fast? Are you wanting to compete or just mess around? How much do you want to spend?

[The_Know_It_All]

Tops about $500.00 just kind of looking for a slower crawler to climb up rocks with ease.

[johnnyh66]

Hello, I'm a noob too but would suggest a SCX10.

[snapon boy]

I love my scx10 deadbolt however if your on a budget I'd look very hard at the valtera asender.

[Stormin2u]

If it's scale your interested in the SCX10 IMO is the right choice simply because of all the highly competitive aftermarket parts that are available. I'm sure at some point the Ascender will have a similar war chest of hop-ups but it will take years to accomplish a menu that equals the SCX10. If your budget minded I would recommend a used SCX10 from the RCC For Sale section or ebay.

Norm

[olsenjb]

I'm a bit of a newbie too, but my only hesitation on an SCX10 for you would be that you said you wanted a "slow" crawler. It's my understanding that an SX10 isn't slow...you can crawl with it, but it's also pretty quick to run around. Some people like having a vehicle that can do both, but just something to think about. You can swap out the engine for something slower too if your budget would allow.

One more thought...if you want something slow, you might check out the Losi Night Crawler. Not as many after-market parts and upgrades as an Axial, but a good slow crawler out of the box for around $300.

[johnnyh66]

I guess I don't understand the "not slow" comments.
Generally these rigs are completely custom... I guess you could be bound by manufacturer specs... but why?

I've built all mine from used parts from the Classifieds section.
I prefer sensored brushless motors that are capable of creeping and screaming.

An SCX10 can be anything you want it to be...

[sdmf]

Rtr scx10 comes with a 27t brushed motor. If you use 2s its not fast at all, you could call it quick, as it gets to top speed in a short amount of time. The rtr ascender comes with a 35t, so slower top speed.

[olsenjb]

Listen to these guys that have much more experience than me. I'm basing my "slow" comments just on "out of the box" videos on YouTube. But I have no personal experience. I just personally already have a Traxxas RC to run around fast with, so I'm more interested in a slooowww crawler out of the box. But like these guys said, you can make the SCX10 anything you want.

[iihuntyii]

Hello and welcome.

Just some food for thought, Wraith and Yeti are both marketed as rock racers. Basically the Wraith leans more towards crawling and the Yeti more towards racing. Now the Wraith can be built into a decent crawler, but you'll probably want to go the kit route and add your own electronics. If you do go the Wraith route, there's some pretty good sticky threads in the Wraith forum. I've never had a Yeti, but based on you wanting scale and a slower vehicle, I don't know if that's the route.

I personally have an scx10 with mods and a stock Ascender. The SCX will take some mods to get the capability of the Ascender, but you can't go wrong with either IMO. SCX will have better market support for customizing and modifying, but the Ascender is pretty decent without many mods.

The more I think about it, if you're not competing and want a slow crawler that climbs easily, the Deadbolt or Wraith may be good choices. You'll want something with a 2.2 tire, as a larger tires will allow you to crawl over stuff easier.

...again, just food for thought.

[The_Know_It_All]

Ok how does the ax10 ridgecrest/deadbolt compare to a wraith do they have the same crawling capabilities compared to the wraith. Because the new ax10 have a lot of same parts like the ar60 axles and that kind of stuff.I don't know if I want a scx10 quite yet but would like to get a crawler more.

[Dostradamas]

New ax10 is less scale looking but about the same capabilities as the Wraith.

I would nail down scale or comp for now.

If scale for fun or competition?

If comp which class?
Look into the class specs & rules and it will help you decide what you need

[alexchen86]

Where's GCM's various awesome chassis in all of this?! Lol....well I guess not exactly newbie and not exactly a kit being that there are no axles or instructions.

But yeah heck depends on your budget. I've built 3 pretty capable Tamiya CC-01s....Indy front solid axle rear minor home brew stuff here and there cover it all up with a nice hardbody done right...can't get more scale than that for under $300-400 RTR.

Scx10 well sky is the limit on those. I've built 6 of them by now and none run the stock chassis anymore or stock anything really except axle housings. Starts off like a little $300 rig....next thing you know add on a nice hardbody like any of the Tamiya HighLift body sets plus paint, sanding, putty, lights, etc....just the body if done to full spec is an easy $120-$150....then with that heavier body you're going to have to redo the suspension links and shocks/tranny/electronics/universals to get it to perform the way a stock Honcho with a lightweight lexan body would be from day one RTR at half the price lol.

All in good fun though. Most expensive build I did was a fully modded Tamiya Tundra Higlift with the MFC speaker/vibration unit and every upgrade possible on that rig only available from Junfac. That thing took about half a year to build....probably cost me around $2300....sold for $1800

Here she was at my LHS at the time I didn't have the rubber mirrors on yet...
http://youtu.be/Q7-JYbYrwWc

[cobaltracer1986]

I have been in rc for about 20 years.. new to crawling tho. I went with an scx10. Iv beat it... lemme rephrase that.. iv abused it purposely and its still going very very strong after 3 months, nothing broken. It can go snail speed but also can get a little speed outta it if you want. Mine goes about jogging speed, i have a 6s mamba monster buggy to fuel my speex cravings, so 8mph is excellent for my scx10. It does hang right with the wraiths( i can usually outclimb em). The wraith is also excellent, my brother has a 5 year old heavily abused wraith that barely ever breaks, its only had hose baths its entire life. Still alive, beaten n brused n well.

If i were gonna go with a speedier better handling at speed crawler thats an all around animal id go wraith. Technical climbing, slower speeds n more of driver precision , scx10 all day

Imo stick with the popular brands that have been tested. Stay away from brands that are rare and far inbetween.. makes getting advice and parts way easier

[Wade]

The wraith is a decent crawler, but it is considered a "rock racer" sure you can slow it down , but to me that just defeats its purpose. The AX10 deadbolt will give you better crawling capabilities. It will allow more articulation of the axles due to the chassis design.

Out of the box

Wraith= rock racer
SCX10= scale crawler/trail rig
AX10= crawler

But they can all be changed to something else if you ever want to.

Cheers,
Wade

[k7zpj]

Originally Posted by The_Know_It_All

Newbie here I currently have a Traxxas rustler but know many things rc cars including crawlers and all types. About 12 and when I get bored I go here and look for rc car stuff. I was wondering what would be the best type of car for me, just out of curiosity. Thanks in advance

The best thing to do is to go to a place where people are running crawlers and see what you like best. In the PDX area High Rocks near Oregon City is a popular crawler spot. Also check out Forums - Oregon R/C Rock Crawlers

You can always ask around the LHS and they can usually point you to a crawler owner that would be willing to show you their rigs.