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I've been watching tons of 1/18th scale off roaders come out over the last couple years, and drooling over all of them. Initially I was just gonna get me a Mini-T, cheap, readily available, and I used to have a XXT, good enough, but its looking like my tax return is gonna open up my options for me... So I want more!

My problem is my first reaction was to go for a Losi Mini LST. Dual motors, dual servos, FM sythesized radio, full bearings, big fat oil shocks, nearly exact copy of the big LST chassis, it would seem it can't be beat for just under $200, but then I read this thread through...
http://www.one18th.com/forums/showthrea ... e=11&pp=25

It would seem there's issues with defective wheel hexes, that causes the pins to bend, wheel slop, and even wheel breakage. This was back in November, and the Losi rep has since disappeared with no concrete answer.

The center diff has a problem with the the power transfering to the front wheel and the front wheels unloading when the car looses traction. If you lock the center diff, you'll shred the front and rear diffs. They had promised a spool and metal gear set to fix the problem back in November, and a agian no word as of yet on those either.

Another issue for me is that it is a bit longer than other 1/18th scale trucks so standard Mini-T bodies won't work, and you guys know I like to have some extra bodies to paint. Parma does make one cool body for it, so its not a big issue.

I'm still interested in the M-LST, I'm sure Losi will eventually come through, but I don't want to buy one if gonna be defective, and I'll have to wait, and even maybe dish out more cash for a fix. I've waited too long to get an 1/18th scale, I want one now.


What I'm looking for is a romper with race potential. I'm avoiding straight axles, and going for independent suspension, as I want a jumper, not a crawler. The Duratrax Mini Quake is looking pretty good, but I can't quite get over the Duratrax name, because I've bought some crap from them in the past, and they do not use standard gear pitch, so gearing options are limited. The Minizilla looks pretty good, but I kinda don't like how tall and narow it looks, don't know how much race potential it has. Seems like it'd flip and roll a lot. I don't care for Associated's RC18MT, I don't like how they just slapped the monster tires on the RC18T, and the body sits so low, with the fake suspension decal on the bottom. Seems like a kinda lame half assed attempt at a monster to me, but it probably would have the best race potential if I got it out to a track.

From a purely romper point of view the CEN Mini Madness is looking tempting with its standard 540 sized motor, standard servo, standard sized battery pack, Standard sized 2.2 wheels, and cheap price tag. It has the potential to be something really sick, but I don't like the 8 shock cantilever set up. Too many friction shocks to replace with oils shocks limit my budget.

I don't know, I'm all confused.

dont get the cen i'ts really a hunk of plastic. Getting over the duratrax name will be easy with the mini qauke my friend has the truck and its quite easy to hop-up and to make race worthy. From what i've heard the problems with the hexes on the M-LST have been resolved on the newer versions but the center spool is still defective on some. But the are new aluminum center spools out so that wont be much of a problem. But for under 100$ for Mini-ts at some dealers in can be just one more mini. The minizilla has quite some options ive seen some lowered for better C.O.G and foams on with a 540. I like the idea of the mini savage Look if you want a hardcore mini basher the minizilla is the way to go.

But im not the one with the cash feel free to buy whatever you like.

Hope i helped

mini-t - out the longest and lots of them out there so all the pros and cons are pretty much known. tons of cheap hop ups if you're into that. problem is why go 2wd when you can get 4?

rc18mt - yes, the implementation was lame, but still i think a truck you should consider. like the mini-t, it's been out for a while so it's a known entity; the good and the bad. even it its stock form, it's very quick and still can handle short grass. it's a toss between this truck and the mlst as far as which one i had the most "out of the box" fun with.

mini-zilla - replace the stock body with any 1/18th body and it will look a little less awkward, but the cg will still be higher than a truck with a single drive shaft. because of chassis set up, the zilla is more of a basher than racer.

mini-quake - it's a duratrax, enough said . the mini-quake was my first and last duratrax purchase. i had some technical problems with truck and their customer service absolutely stinks. i don't care how good a product you have, if you don't have the customer service to back it up you aren't getting my business. if you have to get this truck, at least get it direct from anderson and not duratrax.

mlst - losi did fix the hex problem, but the diffs still seem be be an issue for some. i've had mine since thanksgiving and other than replacing the hexes with the new parts that losi supplied, i haven't had to do anything to the truck. i'm running the stock motors with gp packs so i not stressing the truck as much those brushless/lipo dudes, but i still seem to have plenty of fun with it. go figure.

have you considered the xray m18mt?

http://www.teamxray.com/teamxray/produc ... ategoria=0

might be worthwhile looking into. looks to have a similar setup as the mini-quake, but then you can also convert it to an m18t for racing. if you would rather build than do the rtr thing then there's another plus. i pulled the trigger too soon on the regular m18t (if i had known when the mt version would be out, maybe i could have waited). anyway it was my first xray and everything you read about xray quality is true. everything from parts quality, parts fit, instructions, even packaging is top notch.

Losi ALWAYS has weak parts on a new production. Unless you want to dump some more cash into it, I would go with niether the fragile mini-t or the mlst. My suggestion for you?

The RC18MT.

I have been in love with it since I first saw it and it is a combo of the two losi trucks above with better quality, and you can't go wrong with assosiated.

I've owned the Mini T, and I just wasn't impressed. Sold it about 2 months later. takes a bit of hop ups to get it to the "fun" level.

I can agree with your thoughts on the RC18MT, but their RC18B is another story.

I currently own one, and I can say, this little fucker is the best bang for the buck straight out of the box. (that's out of the RCs I own, including nitros)

Bone stock, the buggy is faster than shit, and crawls like a champ. It'll climb a 5 in curb no prob.

Myself, and a guy I work with clocked it at about 30 mph. We were in his car, and I was hangin out the window driving along side up the beach.


Very cool truck.


Duratrax scared me off when I saw the wheels were held on with a screw...lol






silla

I own a MLST and YES, I have had a couple of small problems with it, but nothing major.

As soon as I found out about Losi offering the parts, I made the phone call and they were here in about a week.

The problems I've had are...

#1--I shattered one wheel from the axle out, like a spider crack. Very bad shattering. This was after about 20-30sec of running Lipo and a Mamba 6800 on a very smooth concrete surface.

Ran it out about 40-50 FT or so and it did one low intensity roll and ladded on its wheels, at slow speed. Like a dog rolling over. Nothing major.

Started back and the one wheel was all funky movin'. Got it back and checked it out and the wheel was broke.

I beleive that this would NOT have happened if I was running it stock.


#1a--Wobble in one wheel. 3 of 4 of the wheel were fine, right out of the box. One wheel had a slight wobble to it. I ran a couple of packs (2 one stock, one lipo) thru it and nothing happened.

This was fixed when I called Losi and asked for the parts bags. I asked for a new wheel. They sent me 2, with mounted tires.

Since then, I've cracked another.


2--I've had problems with the ball cups popping off at the servo's and wheels. IT happens at TOTALLY random times. Sometimes one would pop off one side while creeping around, and other times under some serious bashing.

Sometimes not at all. Even after a good ass kickin'.

The only fix I know for this is to install enclosed joints.


3--This one is more personal or opinion.

I have several Lipo packs and none of them fit into the MLST without me having to trim and cut some plastic away from the EP shelf. Then putting in some good Velcro. I think it sucks that they (RC companies) are so narrow minded to think that the only thing they're products are going to see, is stock equipment.


Other than that, I LOVE THIS TRUCK!! Get one, get the parts bags, and a few battery packs!! Then beat the shit out of it.


The other truck I'd suggest is the XRAY. Richh beat me too the reccomendation.

I know the next ride I buy new, IS going to be from XRAY. (I'm optimistic.) I just don't know which one. 1/10th AWD electric touring, 1/18th 4WD truck, or 1/18th AWD Nitro touring. I like the XRAY line from top to bottom.

Thanks for the info. Good to know Losi has fixed the hexes. Ya know, when reading that thread, I thought it was really cool that the Losi rep was there answering questions, but after reading that thread all the way through. I really wish he took the time to come back and annouce the fix, so potential buyers like me wouldn't be left with doubts.

Duratrax is definately out then. The Xray would be perfect, except it is $240 with electrics, and that doen't include the radio. Add a radio, and its out of my price range.

The Minizilla and RC18 are still considerations, depending if I lean towards bashing or racing. The m-LST is still #1 on my list, but I'm gathering the other trucks are a bit faster out of the box, and if I want a faster motor for the m-LST, I'll have to buy 2. I guess I'll have to call some tracks and look into the racing scene before I make my final decision.

You don't need to buy 2 motors.

Just one...

All you need

I have the 42 and the 68. The 68 is whats in the MLST now.

Check out Ebay or the forums for used ones. Buy'em, then send them to CC to have them checked out for free. If there is anything remotely wrong, they'll replace it, even if your not the original owner.

The Mamba line is worth EVERY penny!!




I bought my MLST on sale for $169 shipped at Ultimate Hobbies during the New Years day Only sale!! I don't think you'll find a sale price like that anywhere soon.

At One18th, there is always someone selling something at a good deal. Look into a used MLST or one that someone got either bored with or the person is just TOO LAZY to take apart and replace the free diff gears in.

A few weeks ago when I looked there were several around the $100-$150 range. Haven't been back since I got PO'ed at some A-hole and his no-paypal havin' ass.

while i will admit i am green as a leaf with 1/18, the mini inferno stadium truck seems to have a lot of potential (hell even if it isnt technically a 1/18). Its really more of a truggy than a stadium truck though. The larger size is a plus too, it's built solid, and with sealed front & rear diffs, oil shocks as standard.
Was messing with one on the 1/10 track here at my LHS, and its a great jumper, but would need a decent motor setup to make it a competitive racer.

A few things that attracted me to the AE18 line were.

Oil filled shocks
Full set of bearings through out
1100 mah sport pack, and charger
Adjustable ball diffs front, and rear
pretty damn fast.

These were the stock features, so it was truly RTR. It's also got a shit ton of parts, and supports.

My only gripe was/is, that it doesn't like sand very much. Chewed my rear diff, but replaced the whole thing for $6...




silla

payaso wrote:A few things that attracted me to the AE18 line were.

Oil filled shocks
Full set of bearings through out
1100 mah sport pack, and charger
Adjustable ball diffs front, and rear
pretty damn fast.

These were the stock features, so it was truly RTR. It's also got a shit ton of parts, and supports.

yep, value-wise, the associated line along with the mlst are hard to beat.

I've got a mini-t and with over $400 into it I still have issues so rule that one out completely.

I've seen rc18's of all sorts run and they appear to be the best out-of-the-box trucks.

If I didn't have such an on-road bug I'd probably get one myself!


not sure about the XRay, though. I have an m18 but that's no stock so I can't tell you much.

but I race at an indoor carpet track and I see the rc18 line take some massive beatings. My reccomendation.

My irrational gut instinct is saying, "I want the LST", but my rational practical thinking side is saying, "Go with the RC18T". Its faster out of the box, cheaper, and should be more reliable, I know Associated doesn't skimp on quality. I'm not sure how much I trust Losi since Horizon Hobbies has taken over.

This is gonna be a tough one.


EDIT:Actually no its not. I was just reading this review and watching the video at RCUniverse
http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/arti ... cle_id=632

I'm sold on the Losi.

The review seemed pretty fair and unbiased, as they mentioned the same issues that everyone else has, but they still raved over the performance. From what I can see in the video it can easily hold its own on a rough 1/10th scale offroad track, which is where I would more than likely racing it, if I took it racing.
And it airs out nicely... And dammit, I just want it!

really, i think you'll have tons of fun with either, they are both pretty capable.

if you are going to get a new one, i'd give ultimate hobbies a call on the mlst. they typically have the best prices, free ground shipping too.

No turning back now. I ordered me a mini LST from Ultimate Hobbies. Hopefully it wont take too long to come from the next state over.

You know, I was watching vids of the mini LST, and came across a vid of a Stampede. I really miss my ol' Stampede, and almost considered getting another, but I swore if I ever went 1/10th scale again I'd go nitro. So I'm hoping this will fill the gap in the meantime.