Tower Hobbies ST-15

For myself, I chose the Tower Hobbies ST-15.  As a starter kit, it was in RTR (Ready To Run) condition.  This means that the truck is basically assembled and comes with everything you need except fuel.  At $199, I thought that it was a good bargain and so far, I haven't been disappointed.  Although, I've learned a lot of things the hard way that Brandon's truck has gotten the benefit of.  I think mine's been broken 3 or 4 times and his hasn't broken once (except when I "t-boned" him in the side and broke the gas tank).  Unfortunately, all have been pretty much my fault and all have been minor things.  There's more info about the truck at the Tower Hobbies Website.

So much for "stock".  So far, I've added a tuned exhaust system, a 2 speed transmission, and a complete ball-bearing upgrade (the stock truck comes with brass bushings).  With a .15 motor and the 2 speed, it's a real screamer.  The only disappointment that I have is that the wheelbase is very narrow making larger tires an impossibility.  So, I've gone the other way and "slammed" it like a street truck with low profile street tires.  I also have a second set of dirt tires.  As we got some more run time, I'll get some more action pics of the trucks.

SOLD! on eBay so that I could get Brandon a car like mine.

Here's a shot of the engine with the tuned exhaust running down the side of the chassis.

The tower hobbies does use a plastic shock body

Here's a shot of the two-speed transmission.  Basically, there's a clutch housing inside the inner gearset and when the engine reaches a certain RPM, the arm catches the second gear.  It's kinda cool to hear it.