hey guys just new here, would like to ask anybody who could help me find my first kit, i want a mini cooper and wondering how much would it cause me for the whole set including battery and transmitter...and where i can buy this kit??? help please thanks

hi simon welcome to the forum !!!!!!!

i suggest you check toys&us in shk zayed road they still have rtr kits from tamiya and thunder tiger

and hobbie zone in deira near mitsubishi showroom they hpi sprint 2 rtr

@speedyadik thanks bro for the info, and do you have any idea how much would it cause me for rtr kits, battery, and transmitter....appreciate it

the rtr from hpi is 1 thou up i guess
and if you visit toys&us maybe u can get a tamiya xb for a thousand or lower than that just bring 1500 and u can choose which kit u like ...plus the battery and charger sold separately

thank u again....try it tomorrow....i was there last thursday at the parking lot near move n pik, i was watching some guys race their mini cooper and met andy n eric...thanks for the help

Hey Simon,

If you are looking for a mini, I am not sure that there is any stock here in the UAE at the moment, but at my last look, I think there was one in HObby Center. It was a kit version that the shop has built up and they are not the cheapest in town. I reckon they would want about AED500 for it....without any other equipment.

There is a lot to learn about the hobby, and you should bear the following in mind.

There are different technologies for batteries, chargers and radio gear. What they cost is proportional to what they deliver.

Radio gear has spread spektrum technology, in a nutshell this means that no two are ever on the frequency and you will not get interference, but it is more expensive. The older AM and FM technologies are cheap, but you will always have to check to see that no one else is on your frequency, otherwise you will have a runaway car....and damages.

Batteries are either Nimh or Lipo. In short, the Nimh is cheaper but wont give you decent runtimes, and they are tempramental. Lipo is the newer technology, it requires some special attention to care, charging and discharging. In return they offer you better power, and better runtimes. They also require special chargers.

My recomendation is to get the best that you can afford now. It will pay off in the long run and if you replace a car, you can always remove the electronics from the old one and put it in the new.

I reckon the advise on about AED1500 is about correct for a decent start price. And whatever you cannot get locally, you can buy on the net, or from the JJ driftshop here.

Good luck.

hi cathurga, even i would like to get into the mini's and am thinking of getting an M03 swift similar to the one you have there. i believe its almost a RTR compared to the M05 pro as it is too professional for me to assemble it myself. Am new to electric cars and still learning from the drift guys. Please advise on which one to go for..thanks guys..

Welcome to the forums Sir Simon.
May you enjoy your stay. +D

Hi dxbdude...

Sorry for the late reply, been a little busy...

The swift is on an M-03M chassis, one of the most common and one that a lot of people race. One of the reasons for its popularity is that you get a lot of good parts with the kit, namely bearings, lightweight front hubs and I believe toe-in rear uprights. I dont think they make an RTR or XB version of the swift, but I am open to correction. The swift also has the older friction shocks which are a lot nicer than the newer pogo style shocks.
The M-05 mini cooper is also a good kit, but you dont get the 'good hopups. The M-05 pro has nice hopups, but no bodykit.

Whichever way you go, I would recommend getting a kit an building it, I say this because you will learn a lot just building it, and understanding how it ticks. For a starter kit, I say go for the swift. With it, I would recommend the following from the get-go.
4 x 1150 bearings (gearbox) and 2 x 850 bearings (gearbox) With those in it, you are GOOD TO GO! :-)
I have bearings in those sizes, if you need some, I sell them at AED7 each, so no big cost there.
If you can afford it, 3Racing make some decent M-chassis shocks, they are priced at about US$19 a set

Additionally, all the mini kits (except the PRO versions) all come with speed controllers. And they are all beginner kits, just follow the instructions and you are golden

thanks mate...u r a star...