QotW: What's your favorite radio control car? | Japanese Nostalgic Car
We suspect that there’s a pretty large overlap between fans of old Japanese cars and radio control cars. After all, many of the best RC cars come from Japan, from iconic Tamiyas to new school HPIs, highly detailed Kyoshos to ready-to-run Nikkos. Plus, it’s just fun to tinker with mechanical things that mimic real cars, and there’s plenty of hop-up parts as well. It’s a great first step for those who aren’t old enough for a full-size car to get into all things automotive.
What’s your favorite radio control car?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s the best rig for a novice off-roader?“.
There was a wide array of answers this week, ranging from Ben‘s 1995 Corolla to Fred Langille‘s M11-AI Armored Personnel Carrier.
Readers were big on small Suzukis, as avalonbench advocated for the new Jimny for non-Ameicans, StreetSpirit suggested the Suzuki Vitara/Geo Tracker, and Negishi no Keibajo pitched the Suzuki Samurai.
But therein lay another problem. We’d feel kind of guilty trashing a Samurai or anything from Dillon‘s list of Hilux/4Runner, Rodeo/Passport, D21 Pathfinder, and Montero unless it was already a basketcase. That’s why we liked Franxou‘s Subaru Forester, Bryan Kitsune‘s ubiquitous Jeep, and Taylor C.‘s Nissan Xterra for guilt-free four-wheeling. Jim Klein said it all when recommending someone else’s SUV.
The winner this week came from Nismo Power, who gave an excellent explanation for why a 20-year old Nissan might just do the trick:
Any Nissan body-on-frame SUV/truck from 2005-2017. It’s very hard to beat the value they bring. They are very capable from factory with true low range, excellent 4×4 system, and rock solid reliable drive train and a novice off roader will be more than satisfied with the adventures you can take. You’re getting Toyota reliability at the price of domestic sedans. You can easily pick these up between 7k – 15k for a good vehicle that may not need a whole lot to take you off the beaten path. These aren’t so old that you can’t get parts for them or are close to end of life (due to rust and other factors) or don’t have modern creature comfort and electronics such as navigation, dvd players, etc. and aren’t so new that you have unnecessary driving aids that are constantly beeping in off road situations. Speaking of parts, Nissan body-on-frame SUVs/trucks from this period share a LARGE number of parts making them serviceable for at least another decade. They are very easy to work on as well. Aside from capability, most people forget that you use regular roads and highways to get to off road areas and older SUVs (pre 2005) that may be affordable just can’t get out of their own way with the underpowered engines they have, not to mention the weight of additional gear you carry.
Don’t get me wrong, these SUVs/trucks are also great for experienced off-roaders because you can easily build them up as you get more into the activity.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
