Why buy an AMP instead of a Ruckus?

BookBoy

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Hi all,

I’m completely new to this world (if you don’t count the Tamiya Fox in my garage that hasn’t run for over 20 years) and thinking about getting an RC truck for my 9 year old son for Christmas. Maybe one for myself too, so we can double the fun.

I looked at the AMP which is what my local hobby shop recommended for $250 here in Australia. He pointed out the charger is a slow charger so we’d want to look at a better one for around $50. Also an extra battery for about another $50. I’m presuming I may be able to do cheaper online once I know what I’m looking for.

However, I notice the brushed Ruckus sells for $300 with LiPo and 2hr charger. So I could get a Ruckus with LiPo including fast charger for around the same price as an AMP plus fast charger.

Why not just go for the Ruckus? Am I missing something here?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks :)
 
Different style of car and chassis, but yeah, in your case the Ruckus (or another 2WD model that comes with lipos and a "decent" charger like the Torment or Circuit) makes more sense at this price.
 
I don't know much about the Amp, but I love my Ruckus. My understanding is the Ruckus is bigger than the Amp. I have already upgraded to a brushless motor and speed control and higher capacity lipo batteries.

The Amp comes with an all-in-one speed controller and receiver. That means it requires purchasing both a speed controller and receiver in order to upgrade.
 
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I have both. The Ruckus is much bigger, has a very high center of gravity, so it's less "competitive" but better offroad.
The Amp comes also as a kit though, and that's great for kids who like to build things, plus you get to choose the color when you paint it.
 
Thanks for all the feedback folks. I don’t see this truck being raced, it’s just to play around with on a mix of gravel, grass, dirt, and sealed car parks.

The build kit option with the AMP is a great bonus too and if I go for the AMP will definitely do that.

I might do a bit of research figuring our batteries/chargers Are suitable to get a reliastic price of AMP + extra charger + extra battery.
 
Hi all,

I’m completely new to this world (if you don’t count the Tamiya Fox in my garage that hasn’t run for over 20 years) and thinking about getting an RC truck for my 9 year old son for Christmas. Maybe one for myself too, so we can double the fun.

I looked at the AMP which is what my local hobby shop recommended for $250 here in Australia. He pointed out the charger is a slow charger so we’d want to look at a better one for around $50. Also an extra battery for about another $50. I’m presuming I may be able to do cheaper online once I know what I’m looking for.

However, I notice the brushed Ruckus sells for $300 with LiPo and 2hr charger. So I could get a Ruckus with LiPo including fast charger for around the same price as an AMP plus fast charger.

Why not just go for the Ruckus? Am I missing something here?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks :)
 
Bookbag, I love my ECX AMP, it was my first real 1/10 rc car/truck. Since I've owned it I have upgraded it to a 4700KV Castle Brushless motor and al metal gearing and lights. I have installed plastic drawer handles on body to keep from tearing up the body as I do a lot of street racing. I have 17 rc cars/trucks 18 now as I just bought an ECX RUCKUS and upgraded it to a 5700kv Castle Brushless motor and all metal gearing. I really like the truck so far and it hasn't flipped yet but it sure likes doing wheelies. You walk enjoy both trucks. Upgrading them just makes them a better truck and upgrading the suspension makes them even handle much better. Have fun!
 

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Bookboy -

While the Ruckus battery and charger ARE better than the AMP ones, you will still be wanting better batteries and chargers very soon - regardless of which RTR you buy.

I had that same (or similar) 10w charger with my Torment Brushless - it was OK, but in about a month, it gave up the ghost, and I was charger shopping. The 2+ hour charge time was OK - better than the 'overnight' charger with the AMP, but still, not great. I ended up with a 2 channel, 50w charger - I could charge 2 batteries at once, and have them done in an hour. This was great for play time with the kids!

For batteries - for your son for the first few runs, there is nothing wrong with Nimh. yes, the truck will be slower, but he needs to learn to drive. Even if you get the small Lipo with the Ruckus, run time will be short, and you will quickly be looking to get higher MAH battery packs.

When it is time to go shopping, for a charger, I would look for a 2-channel 50w (or better) charger, with full lipo modes - by full, I mean charge, balance charge, discharge, and storage modes. (The dynamite charger I started with only did balance charge, no discharge or storage modes)

For lipo batteries, look for 'ROAR' packs, 20c or better, and 4000mah and higher. I tend to buy my batteries mostly from Hobbyking, with some recently from SMC-Racing.
 
Bookboy -

While the Ruckus battery and charger ARE better than the AMP ones, you will still be wanting better batteries and chargers very soon - regardless of which RTR you buy.

I had that same (or similar) 10w charger with my Torment Brushless - it was OK, but in about a month, it gave up the ghost, and I was charger shopping. The 2+ hour charge time was OK - better than the 'overnight' charger with the AMP, but still, not great. I ended up with a 2 channel, 50w charger - I could charge 2 batteries at once, and have them done in an hour. This was great for play time with the kids!

For batteries - for your son for the first few runs, there is nothing wrong with Nimh. yes, the truck will be slower, but he needs to learn to drive. Even if you get the small Lipo with the Ruckus, run time will be short, and you will quickly be looking to get higher MAH battery packs.

When it is time to go shopping, for a charger, I would look for a 2-channel 50w (or better) charger, with full lipo modes - by full, I mean charge, balance charge, discharge, and storage modes. (The dynamite charger I started with only did balance charge, no discharge or storage modes)

For lipo batteries, look for 'ROAR' packs, 20c or better, and 4000mah and higher. I tend to buy my batteries mostly from Hobbyking, with some recently from SMC-Racing.

True, I was thinking of the brushless Ruckus which has a better battery/charger (3000mAh 2S 20C LiPo Battery, and 20W LiPo AC Balance Charger so 1-1.5 hour charge time). The one of the brushed Ruckus is still better than the Amp, but not that big of a deal indeed.

Don't agree with you on the ROAR part though, who cares, it's only important for racing.
 
A ROAR battery does not imply a "race quality" battery, just that the overall size and max voltage for the pack is in line with ROAR rules. There are a lot of really cheap packs with ROAR stickers on them. My ROAR comment is more about battery size. Some of the non-ROAR packs are extra long, or extra thick. I bought a pair of 4s packs for my Arrma's that were non-ROAR packs, and they were too long for my battery tray. I also have a zippy compact 2s 4000mah pack that I bought with an odd size to fit the battery tray in my old Losi XXCR (Designed for NiCad's, square ROAR packs are too tall for it) - it is extra thin, but extra long, and will not fit in my Torment.

Buying a ROAR pack will mean you know it will fit the battery tray.

Edit - Although, now that I think about it, the Torment/Ruckus have that t-brace that goes over the battery - the tail of that t-brace does not fit under the rear of the battery compartment with some of my ROAR packs. I have converted my Torment to velco battery straps.
 
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Thanks for all the responses everyone.

I’m still undecided so went to visit the hobby store again hoping to make up my mind between AMP and Ruckus. But the guy I spoke to this time pushed me towards an FTX Carnage 4WD for the same price as the AMP. He was selling it as a better option due to the 4WD and metal shocks (?) but for some reason I have the feeling it is going to be lower quality than the ECX. I guess I’ve got more research to do and reviews to read.

Who knew buying an RC car would be so hard!
 
Thanks for all the responses everyone.

I’m still undecided so went to visit the hobby store again hoping to make up my mind between AMP and Ruckus. But the guy I spoke to this time pushed me towards an FTX Carnage 4WD for the same price as the AMP. He was selling it as a better option due to the 4WD and metal shocks (?) but for some reason I have the feeling it is going to be lower quality than the ECX. I guess I’ve got more research to do and reviews to read.

Who knew buying an RC car would be so hard!

They break easily, but are cheap and spares are easy to find, that seems to be the consensus on them.
I'd never buy a cheap 4WD, too many points of failure. I also find 2WD to be more fun to drive but that's an unpopular opinion.
 
Have you considered building the kit yourself? That would be the deal breaker for me for the Ruckus. You get to build the Amp yourself and paint it whatever color you want. Besides, you get tools, albeit not very good ones, but still...tools.
 
I would definitely get the build kit if I had settled on the AMP because it would be a good excercise to build it with my son.
 
I’m not sure that getting the tools is really a factor though. By the time I buy paint it’s going to cost more than a RTR
 
But for that $50 extra I get LiPo and a truck that is better off road, as far as I understand.
You're probably right about the Ruckus being better off road than the Amp. It all depends on what is more important for you and your son. For me, the experience of building the kit is an important part of the fun.
 
9yo sounds a bit young for a kit tbh. Depends on the kid of course, but their attention span is... not that good.
 

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