Kyosho Ultima RB6.6 ReadySet 1/10 2WD Electric Buggy w/Syncro 2.4GHz Radio

Got this car to start racing in 2wd buggy. My main classes are 1/8 Nitro buggy and 1/8 Electric buggy. I wanted to try 2wd buggy and this was the cheapest option.

Both my 1/8s are also Kyoshos but they are pro kits so I knew the Readyset RB6.6 would not be comparable from the start. What I was interested in was to see if it was a good enough package to get someone into competitive racing. Short answer is yes but it needs work.

Electronics - 3.5/5
Out of the box it comes with a respectable ESC and motor. Motor is fast enough to be competitive on smaller tracks but it runs very hot. The ESC is nice but it would be better if it was brushless ready. Servo is just fast enough to make it drivable but the servo saver has to go. Both will require upgrades if you are used to driving cars with faster and more responsive steering. Radio system is surprisingly good. I reckon it is good enough to race with. Comes with end point adjustments for throttle and steering and you can even adjust your trigger from a 50/50 to a 70/30 position.

Tyres - 1/5
Great for bashing but not good for anything else. Swap it out asap.

Fit and finish -4/5
Love the fit and finish of Kyosho vehicles and this RTR carries on the DNA of Kyosho build quality. Comes with nylon nuts on some parts, I have switched them out with metal ones. Shocks are plastic but are smooth and I haven't had any fail on me despite having some bad crashes. Also it shares most of the parts with its pro-kit counterpart so upgrades aren't too hard to find.

Drivability - 4/5
I've driven the RB6.6 prokit and this one drives similar. That's a very good thing. It has the same geometry and shares the same parts so you would expect it to have similar driving characteristics. Jumps good and drives well. Fast and nimble once you put on the right tyres and fix the servo/servo-saver issue.

Value - 5/5
A cheap investment that will allow you to race or bash immediately. No upgrades needed if you're bashing or starting out racing. Once you want more out of the car, you can always upgrade it with prokit parts though I haven't found this to be a necessity. Put in the electronics that your class requires and you should be able to race it well. I have no illusions about this being better than the pro kits. All I am saying is this is a surprisingly good package to get you racing for the price.

Overall - 3.5/5
This car hits all the marks for what it is advertised. An RTR that will allow you to abuse it without feeling too bad as it is priced reasonably but it also allows you to put in on the track and race competitively. Would have given it a four if it came with better tyres and a brushless ready system.

Things to note if you want to race it.
Shocks needed to be rebuilt out of the box as some were not even half filled.
Gear diff was bone dry so you would need to fill it up with oil.

All around good looking product,I was a little disappointed I did not receive the tools that the box states it comes with but I can make do without.

Overall, a very good kit for the price.
Excellent to get started in either backyard bashing and even some racing.

Pros:
- Excellent quality
- Good value
- Highly modular, you can install any RB6.6 parts and make it race-capable with a few upgrades
- Motor is way fast
- Transmitter is awesome
- Very durable

Cons:
- Rear tires are useless
- Motor is way fast, making handling a challenge with the bad rear tires!
- Servo´s plastic gears will fail sooner rather than later
- Little support in understanding tuning changes and set up recommendations

I've had my RB6.6 Readyset for a few weeks now and I'm liking it so far. It is very durable on my big outdoor 8th scale track and can handle the rough stuff very well. The stock rear tires are not good so I got some prolines and the handling is much better now. I will keep the stock tires for pavement runs. I don't mind the brushed system, but the stock gearing is way too high. My motor temperatures were creeping up to almost 200 after a couple of runs, so I re-geared to a 19 tooth pinion. Now the temps are 150-160 on the motor and 130-145 on the ESC. Plenty of speed to make everything on the track except for a big triple. I'll keep the brushed system for a while if the motors last longer than a few runs. If not, I'll put in the Hobbywing Justock 10.5 brushless combo that I have here. Stock servo is holding up fine to my surprise. Radio is good...I actually like the radio more than my Futaba! I like the knobs right on top with no menus to have to go through. No problems with the car or the materials. The plastic is nice, not too flexible, but doesn't seem brittle. Hex hardware is very nice. Metal parts seem to be high quality. Body and wing are durable and look nice. This is one of my top 3 best R/C purchases in the 12 years that I have been doing this.

I have owned well over 20 rc cars including 6 current RC buggies. I purchased this for my son to introduce him to the sport but unfortunately it's been a massive disappointment.

I haven't been able to drive it enough to properly assess it. The only thing that was obvious from the beginning was that the tyres aren't great for low traction. Actually at a guess I doubt they would be much good anywhere. Dissapointing but solvable.

The real issue are the shocks. The shocks come undone the first time you drive it. Then they continue to come undone.... every time you drive it. You wont get more than 3 or 4 minutes into a run before the left hand side shocks (usually the rear but sometimes the front as well) undo the cap from the body. This leads to a shock rebuild.

My son doesn't want to drive anymore because of it and I've had to buy another car as a replacement. Car sits on a shelf as a reminder of the mistake I made.

After all the great things I heard about Kyosho this was a real let down. I get RTR is compromised but.... it should look at least work.