By RC Car Staff  With three new 1/8-scale buggies on the market, it seemed the time
was ripe for a full-out, competition-only buggy shootout. Being avid
buggy racers, we jumped at the opportunity to build and race three of
the top buggies on the market for a full week at KZ Speedway in Sun
Valley, California. Same engines, same servos, same fuel, same
everything except for the buggies themselves. Comparing and ranking the
three best buggies on the market isn’t an easy task, and we already
know that many of you won’t agree with our choices. Regardless, we ran
these cars into the ground, changed setups, burned over eight gallons
of fuel and spent a full week at the track to get our results.
We installed only the finest equipment we could find in our test
buggies. Here’s what we used to outfit all three cars for our shootout.
1.) Pro-Line Crowd Pleazer 2.0 bodies,
#3214-00 (MP777 SP2); #3192-00 (Mugen); #3232-00 (Losi). $28/each
BODZ Custom Paintjobs; www.bodzrc.com
Pro-Line yellow Wabash 1/8 buggy wheel, #2671-02. $14/pair
Pro-Line yellow High Downforce buggy wing, #6032-02. $16/each
Pro-Line Crime Fighter M2 buggy tire, #9014-01. $23/pair
Pro-Line Hi-Flow fuel bottle, #6117-00. $13
2.) Sirio S21 Kanai EVO3 STI, $399/each
3.) Werks Racing Fuel, 30% nitro. #WRX6030. $30/gallon
Sirio Flanged Buggy Exhaust Evo3, #S21200102. $55/each
4.) JR Racing Digital Servos; Z9000T throttle & Z9000S steering. $115/each
5.) Spektrum Pro M11 & KO/Z1 module/receiver set,
#SPM1012 & SPM1013, $179.99
6.) Team Orion 5-cell Marathon
1600mAh pack, #12227. $25/each
7.) Sirio 3-chamber 2014 tuned pipe, #S21 200118. $69/each
HOW WE TESTED
We did everything we could to make this
three-car shootout as fair and even as possible for each car. First, we
outfitted each buggy with the exact same running gear (see Test Gear
for all the details). We then took the cars out, broke them in and had
a company rep come out and spend a full day helping us tune each buggy
in to the track as perfectly as possible. The reps who participated
were Kris Moore, President and racer for Mugen Seiki USA; Paul and Cody
King, A-Team sponsored drivers for Kyosho America; and Travis Amezcua,
TQ of the 2006 ROAR 1/8 Buggy Nationals and multi-national champion for
Team Losi.
Next, we spent four days running as much fuel as possible from
sun-up to sun-down through each car, with the three drivers rotating at
regular intervals between cars. We kept notes after each session and
each day, and made tuning changes to fit our specific driving styles as
suggested by each company rep. We then set up a full day of timed
“qualifier” runs where we recorded lap times and each driver raced each
car a total of five times with recorded lap times.
We’re confident that we executed the most thorough shootout to date.
Why? By the end of the shootout, each driver had driven just over one
full gallon of fuel per car. That’s nine gallons of fuel burned over
the week, with over 15 sets of tires used. Whew!
Team Losi 8ight
Broken parts None
Overall average lap time 47.4
for all drivers (seconds)
Average per driver
Stephen 43.39
Collin 46.96
Nick 50.2
Fastest Lap 41.5
The 8ight is incredible on many levels. After reviewing the 8ight in
our December 2006 issue, we said that it had “sent a shockwave through
the 1/8 buggy world” and drivers “may need some time to get used to the
8ight’s softer suspension setup.” Our shootout confirmed both points.
Overall, the Losi scored the highest (by far) in virtually every
objective performance category. It out-accelerates all other buggies on
the market. It jumps farther and easier than the other buggies. It has
more steering than most racers know what to do with. It’s light, well
balanced, and is a precision instrument on the track.
And yet, the precision with which the 8ight drives is one of its
flaws when driven hard. We readily admit that we are not drivers of the
Adam Drake or Travis Amezcua caliber, but between the three of us, we
represent a very strong percentage of the “average club racers” out
there. And in all three drivers’ hands, the Losi 8ight put down some of
the fastest and slowest lap times of the entire week. Collin said
several times, “Wow, this car is freaky fast!” only to follow up a few
minutes later with, “Wow, I just crashed five times.” Stephen drove the
fastest single five-minute run of the week with the Losi, yet two of
his other runs were by far his slowest due to crashes and loose driving
lines. Although Nick thought he was fastest with the 8ight, his lap
times showed otherwise. Overall, the three drivers walked away from
almost each run saying the car felt fast, but loose. The lap times
proved we were right: the Losi turned a 41.5 second fastest lap of the
week, while averaging 47.4 second laps. Even though the car felt
incredibly fast, its lap times proved otherwise for the three drivers.
The 8ight uses every square inch of lane width on the track as well, as
it seems to drift more through corners and feel looser than the other
two cars. It’s tough to get the 8ight upset, yet it always feels like
it’s floating rather than holding a tight solid line unless you’re
really on your game.
The 8ight is an amazing car. It sets the bar in 1/8 buggy racing on
many levels. Its acceleration, jumping, balance and overall driving
feel is unparalleled, and it’s a very durable car. Generally speaking,
however, we could not get it to drive lap after lap with the same
consistency as the other cars in this test. It’s an excellent value at
$599, but when it’s all said and done, consistency is what racing is
all about, from qualifying to long mains. The other two buggies are
simply more “dumb-proof” than the 8ight, which means they can be driven
harder without getting loose. On certain tracks with high traction,
we’d choose the Losi, but when compared with the others in this group,
the 8ight simply isn’t as consistent or as easy to drive for the
average guy (like us) as the others are across all track surfaces. We
love the 8ight’s design and its incredible performance aspects, but in
the end we just weren’t consistent enough with the car.
Kyosho Inferno 777WC
Broken parts Front steering knuckle,
front caster block, rear toe
block, clutch bell bearing
Overall average lap time 48.0
for all drivers (seconds)
Average per driver
Stephen 45.92
Collin 51.68
Nick 46.75
Fastest Lap 40.90
So how do you rank the current IFMAR World Champion second place?
It’s tough, because the 777WC is a proven winner and an excellent
performer as shown by our testing. As our test lap times prove, the
777WC was easy for all three test drivers to drive, and all three
drivers felt confident with the car from day one all the way until the
end. After Kyosho’s Paul King tore down our car, rebuilt it to his
specs and put a pro-level setup on the car, our 777WC car was dialed.
All of us liked the confidence with which it drove.
The Kyosho does everything well, even though it doesn’t have one
particular performance advantage that clearly stands out above the
others. On the large Sun Valley test track, the Kyosho holds its lines
and steers smoothly off power. We felt that the car pushed slightly
on-power, but this push also allowed us to get harder on the throttle
without spinning out. Collin and Nick liked the three-degree rear toe
plate on the Kyosho because of the extra traction it provided, while
Stephen liked the 2.5-degree rear plate because it allowed the car to
turn better and feel less twitchy through bumps and ruts. The Kyosho
flies well and lands with security, though it doesn’t have the
rocket-ship acceleration or jumping distance of the 8ight. Our lap
times were very solid, but not quite as fast across the board as we
were with the Mugen. Only Nick had a faster single run with the Kyosho
than the other cars. Generally speaking, the WC was a tick off the pace
compared to the Mugen, as proven by its statistics: a 40.9-second
fastest lap of the week, with an average of 48.0 seconds due to a very
bad single run that bumped its times down.
Both Collin and Stephen
have raced Kyosho cars for a long time, and had never experienced the
kind of durability problems they did in the shootout. Before the
shootout, we’d have ranked the Kyosho as one of the most durable cars
on the market. However, quite a few parts broke or had issues during
testing (see list below). To be fair, our test car did have two nights
of club racing on it at Hot Rods, but it was in perfect shape and was
completely rebuilt by Paul King before our testing began, so it’s tough
to pin-point the reasons behind the breakage. The three test drivers
drove all three buggies equally as hard, but the Kyosho definitely
suffered the worst fate in terms of breakage.
Finally, we must point out that the Kyosho does include a slew of
high quality parts, but falls short in comparison to the Mugen buggy’s
list of features. The WC’s ACRE brake pads are incredible (we gave them
a ten out of ten in braking), and although the WC’s cast steering
knuckles, titanium/steel Phillips head screws, turnbuckle-style chassis
braces, E-clip style hinge pins and solid center diff mount are all
perfectly functional on the racetrack, they don’t have the factory
bling or functionality of the Mugen’s CNC braces and rear hubs, full
hex-head steel screw kit, captured hinge-pins, split center diff mount,
included Pro-Line tires or carrying bag the X5R arrives packaged inside
of. Kyosho’s WC kit builds perfectly and includes high quality parts,
but it just doesn’t match the Mugen X5R’s standard list of features.
Kyosho has its reasons for including these items, but the average RC
guy wants more bling than the WC includes.
Mugen Seiki MBX-5R
Broken parts Stripped front lower
arm pivot ball threads.
Overall average lap time 45.7
for all drivers (seconds)
Average per driver
Stephen 43.9
Collin 45.7
Nick 47.7
Fastest Lap 40.1
Price wise, the MBX-5R takes the cake for most expensive in this
shootout. At an average street price of around $670, the Mugen comes in
at around $70 more than the Losi, which is the least expensive of the
group. You get a lot for that extra dough, though; the Mugen’s features
list is bursting with race-quality items. CNC rear hubs, CNC chassis
braces, a full metric screw kit, carbon fiber radio tray and steering
plate, titanium turnbuckle linkages, captured hinge-pins, machined diff
gears, Pro-Line tires, a Mugen carrying bag and a split center diff
mount (which makes maintenance a breeze) all add up to several hundred
dollars worth of hop-ups that come stock in the bag. Value wise, the
Mugen isn’t the cheapest but it is clearly the best-equipped buggy you
can buy for the dollar.
Our lap times prove beyond doubt what we felt during testing—that
the X5R is consistent, easy to drive and confidence-inspiring. The
Mugen’s lap times smoked the other two cars, in every category
possible: its fastest single lap of 40.1 seconds and average lap time
of 45.7 are both tops in the shootout. Once Kris Moore had set up the
X5R to our tastes, which by the way required only a slight ride height
and downtravel adjustment compared to the box stock setup, we simply
ran the car tank after tank after tank. We did strip a lower front arm
on the X5R once, due to a high-speed off-camber landing that popped the
lower pivot ball out of the arm. That was the lone casualty, however,
and the car held up well from that point onward.
Like the Kyosho, the X5R doesn’t have a long list of performance
traits that are class leaders like the Losi. The Mugen steers well, has
plenty of stability and jumps well, but it does require considerably
more throttle to clear large jump sections compared to the 8ight. The
Mugen did, however, have the highest rough-track score during our
testing due to its absurd down travel suspension throw and long shocks.
It shoots through rough sections smoothly and keeps its composure
unless you really geek-up the throttle inputs. We also scored the X5R
highest in “confidence factor,” because we all agreed that driving the
Mugen felt easier, more predictable and less twitchy than the other
buggies. Finally, it scored highest on jumping/landing stability
because it soaked up gnarly landings like a sponge and didn’t get
tossed around when you miffed the landing jump. Unlike the Losi, the
Mugen is the most “dumb-proof” car in this test, which is probably why
all three of our drivers did so well with it. With the Mugen, you grip
it and rip it.
The Mugen is simply the best overall car of this group. It’s just
slightly the most expensive, but it includes by far the most option
parts of the three cars. The X5R carries lots of corner speed, it jumps
well, accelerates well and was the most consistent car in all three
drivers’ hands over five days of testing and during our timed lap day.
If that kind of performance and driver confidence doesn’t seal the
deal, we don’t know what does. We’re sure that some of you will
disagree, but according to a full week of testing, wrenching, building
and driving, we confidently pick the Mugen MBX-5R as R/C Car’s choice
for the best overall buggy on the market.
Where’s the other buggy?
You’re probably wondering why the
Jammin’ X1CR FT buggy didn’t duke it out with the other buggies in this
shootout. We originally planned to have a four-buggy shootout, but when
we offered Jammin’ a spot to compete in our shootout, they declined.
Simple as that
Scoring charts
The three test drivers scored each
car based on eight subjective factors and two objective lap-time based
factors, with a total of 100 points. The objective lap time scores were
weighted, with the fastest car receiving full points, and the other two
cars scored based upon their lap times compared the fastest time. All
three driver scorecards were added and averaged, for the final score
sheet listed below.
Lap Times
Losi-Kyosho -Mugen
8ight 777WC MBX-5R
Stephen Average: 45.3- 45.9 -43.9
Collin Average: 46.9- 51.68 -45.7
Nick Average 50.2- 46.75 -47.7
Overall average all drivers: 47.4 -48.0- 45.7
________________________________________________________
Shootout SCORE CARD
Losi -Kyosho- Mugen
Subjective Scores
Acceleration (10)- 9.7- 8 8
Braking (10) 9- 9.8 -8.8
On-power steering (5) 4.6- 4 -4.3
Off-power steering (5) 4.9- 4- 4
Jumping ability (5) 5- 4.5- 4
Jump/land stability (5) 3.8- 4.4- 4.6
Bumpy track performance (5) 4 -4.3 -4.9
Confidence factor (10) 6 -8.7- 9.5
Ease of maintenance (5) 3.5- 4.5 -4.9
Durability (10) 10 -8 -9
Objective Scores
Average Lap Time (20) 18.3- 17.7 -20
Fastest Lap Time (10) 8.2- 9.4- 10
Total Score (100) 87- 87.3- 92
Conclusion
We’d like to thank all of
the companies who helped us put our shootout together. Kyosho America,
Paul and Cody King, Sirio Engines, Mugen Seiki USA, Kris Moore, Team
Losi, Travis Amezcua, JR Racing servos, Doug Summers at BODZ Custom
Paintjobs,Werks Racing Fuel, Spektrum, Pro-Line bodies and tires, Jimmy
Babcock of Hot Rod Hobbies for running our timed practice runs, and
Richard at KZ Speedway in Sun Valley, California for track use. Ranking
the three best 1/8 buggies is like ranking the three best sports cars
in the world, or the three best episodes of South Park; there will
never be a public consensus, and all three can win on any given day. We
don’t expect everyone to agree with us, but after a full week of
testing, nine gallons of fuel burned, dozens of sets of tires and
countless track hours, it’s our confident opinion that the Mugen MBX-5R
is the best overall buggy on the market. o
Kyosho 777 WC
Street Price $660
Length 19.68 in (500mm)
Width 12.09 in (307mm)
Height 7.45 in (189mm)
Wheelbase 13.78 in (350mm)
Mugen MBX-5R
Street Price: $679
Length 480mm
Width 308mm
Height 182mm
Wheel Base 324-330mm
Team Losi 8ight
Street Price $599
Width 12.13 in (308mm.)
Wheelbase 12.64-12.8 in (321-325mm.)
Length 19.5 in (495mm.)
Weight 7.62 lb (3458g)
SOURCES
• Airtronics, 1185 Stanford Ct., Anaheim, CA 92805 • (949) 978-1895; fax (949) 978-1540
• BODZ Custom Paintjobs; www.bodzrc.com
• JR Racing, distributed by Horizon Hobby Distributors, Inc., 4105 Fieldstone Rd., Champaign, IL 61821 • (217) 355-9511
• Kyosho America, 20322 Valencia Circle, Lake Forest, CA 92630-8158 • (949) 454-8854; fax (949) 454-8881
• Mugen Seiki Racing Ltd., 20914 Bake Pkwy., Suite 106, Lake Forest, CA 92630 • (949) 707-5607; fax (949) 707-5614
• Pro-Line, P.O. Box 456, Beaumont, CA 92223 • (951) 849-9781
• Spektrum DSM, distributed by Horizon Hobby Distributors, Inc., 4105 Fieldstone Rd., Champaign, IL 61821 • (217) 355-9511
•
Sirio, exclusively imported by Kyosho America, 20322 Valencia Circle,
Lake Forest, CA 92630-8158 • (949) 454-8854; fax (949) 454-8881
• Team Losi, Inc., 4710 E. Guasti Rd., Ontario, CA • (909) 390-9595
• Team Orion, 22601 LaPalma Ave., Suite 103, Yorba Linda, CA 92887 • (714) 694-2812; fax (714) 694-2815
• Werks Racing, 2814 Aiello Drive Unit B, San Jose, CA 95111 • (408) 365-1000
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