1/16 Summit VXL or 1/16 Grave Digger? I need help!

[kurtkabut]

Hey guys, now that my 6yo son has gathered some rc hobbygrade experience (he drives pretty good), he's ready for the real stuff.
I'm gonna buy him either a 1/16 Grave digger rtr or a 1/16 summit vxl rtr.
Terrain will be mostly grass, dirt, forest, some schoolyard.

which one would you buy, and WHY?
Thanks in advance for your answers!

[Bloody_Wheels]

IMO I would go with the Summit VXL. You can put in in training mode so it will be slower, but when he gets older, he can grow into it and it will be plenty fast. Also its 4WD compared to the Digger. You can make the Digger 4WD though. I just bought my son a VXL Mini Revo (MERV). Its in training mode and he drives really good at that speed. Plus its fun for me when I put 2 battery packs in it. Fast little guy. Oh and the VXL gets a better radio also, the 2.4 with no antenna sticking out to bend on the transmitter

[dcfox]

Summit VXL does have a small transmitter antenna(at least mine does)...a folding one that's about 3" tall.

[Bloody_Wheels]

Summit VXL does have a small transmitter antenna(at least mine does)...a folding one that's about 3" tall.

The TQ does have a little antenna. The new TQI Has no antenna at all.

[kurtkabut]

Thanks guys, that really helps me. Me, i prefer the small Summit aswell. @ Bloody wheels @dcfox, Are you happy with the merv/mini summit, and what batteries do you use?

[dcfox]

Ok...mine came with the TQ not the TQi

[Bloody_Wheels]

Thanks guys, that really helps me. Me, i prefer the small Summit aswell. @ Bloody wheels @dcfox, Are you happy with the merv/mini summit, and what batteries do you use?

I am very happy with this truck. I bought it for my son, but I may have to get another for me lol. We are using the stock style series 1 batteries. We have 3 of those. If I buy another one, I will go to lipo.

[kurtkabut]

How long can you run with a stock battery?

[pavmentsurfer]

I just bought 3 of the MIni Diggers because they were only $160 shipped each. Im converting one to 2.4 and 4X4 for my daughter and have been selling off the other 2. IMO, the Brushless summit is the better value for sure. And, if you want the digger look, you can alwasy just buy the body and bumpers later on.

[Jimmie Neutron]

How long can you run with a stock battery?

10-15 minutes.

[robl45]

my son is 3 years and 7 months. He has had the truck for less than a month and he is already out of training mode. I would get the brushless summit. The stock battery sucks. maybe 10 minutes of run time and not that exciting. When using that battery, I wasn't sure if I got it out of training mode. When using a 2s lipo, it works like it should.

You can always buy the body and wheels and bumpers to make it a grave digger if your son would like that. I just did that.

[dcfox]

I just got to drive mine for the first time today(ran through one stock battery)...and love it.
Can't wait to get out and try it with a Lipo.

[jrmbtr]

I just bought 3 of the MIni Diggers because they were only $160 shipped each. Im converting one to 2.4 and 4X4 for my daughter and have been selling off the other 2.

Funny...I ran into your lot on eBay.

[CHKMATE ELUDER]

I agree, the summit is a better value, I got my son a digger just to get into the hobby and by the time I upgraded the radio and 4x4 it cost more and it's still brushed, had to replace the ecs and servo after 5 weeks due to a faulty servo, no warranty, I would have replaced it with a brushless setup but I'm not a R/C guy and didn't even know I could at the time, I've been reading here just to make sure I know I'm spending money wisely from now on, it came time to get my 6 year old daughter one and rather than another digger I went with a Merv, it should be here any day in the mail so I don't know how it works yet.

[kurtkabut]

Hey thanks for all your answers, so it's a summit then for him (/us ). I'm gonna buy another stock battery, and i read that the wall charger takes several hours to load, so i'll buy a charger aswell.

[robl45]

get lipo batteries, buying another stock nimh battery is a waste of money. And get a decent charger. Stay away from the 50 watt chargers.

[kurtkabut]

Thanks guys, you really helped me out!

[kurtkabut]

Hey guys, bought a mini summit vxl today, just came back from the first run! Money good spent, the car is awesome! And even in training mode with stock battery pretty fast! Thanks again for all your precious information!

[dcfox]

Hey guys, bought a mini summit vxl today, just came back from the first run! Money good spent, the car is awesome! And even in training mode with stock battery pretty fast! Thanks again for all your precious information!

Wait till you try it in Sport mode with a Lipo. WOW!!!
I don't know how you could even control the thing with dual Lipo batteries.