Schumacher Cougar SV-Pro CF 2WD 1/10 Off Road Buggy Kit

This thing is an engineering work of art! After owning Losi, Associated, Kyosho and Traxxas this thing is mind blowing, from the shocks to the bearings to the plastic and carbon, the quality can't be touched by the others and the build was the most fun I've ever had working on an RC car. Put it this way, it's the first car a built where I didn't even need to touch the file set, everything was built to perfect tolerances. The engineering feels like a formula one car vs. a Ford pinto for the rest of the 2wd buggies out there. Or in other words, an Aston Martin DBS (the Schumacher) vs a Ford mustang (the B4) or a Camaro (xxx cr), in the end they can all be fast and really, the Ford or Chevy win more races, but man, for a few bucks more and some inconvenience of getting parts (mail order through these guys) why not own an Aston. I haven't had it out on a super blown out or loose track yet but in the local indoor dirt track it's amazing. The cornering speed is unbelievable, the tons of steering while being precise and not twitchy like my B4 can be. The thing that surprised me the most, is how much forward bite it has too while having all of the advantages of a mid-engine. It's definitely faster with a smooth precise driving style than a point and squirt style. Not necessarily for the beginner mainly due to parts availability which is the main draw back since it seems like A Main is the only one in the states that carries Schumacher. Also invest in the Ti turnbuckles (the purple ones) at least for the front camber links and offset ball cups as they are a little prone to bending/breaking in a good crash. Speaking of which I've taken some huge crashes with it and so far and it has prove super durable, the only (sort of) exception would seem to be those front turnbuckles but the wrecks that broke them were good enough to have easily broken any of my other cars I've had (SC-10, B4, B44, Slash 4x4, and even my 1/8th scale Kyosho Inferno VE which was made of Balsa wood). Also, check when you build if the layshaft (or idler, I can't remember which they call it... the internal plastic one) gear uses o-rings to "capture" the pin on the shaft or if the pin is already pressed in (the new version) as that's been the only other problem I've had since the o-rings can do what o-rings do, fail, if not you might want to pick up the revised part as well. Otherwise be aware that a big speedo might be tough to fit, (my Tekin RS was no problem but my Novak Kinetic did fit, but was really tight). While this car does look a bit complex compared the others and in some ways is, after you get to know it, you'll appreciate a lot of those things, i.e. getting the diff out is four screws and bam, the shocks can be moved around by removing one nut without taking off the shock, the CVD's look like something out of a 1/1 sports car, not the standard set screw, plastic cap, pin thing. So many things have been so well thought out on this thing! Oh another tip, the slipper adjustment can be a P.I.A. if your running the shocks in front of the rear axle but not if your running them behind. Drill out the cover hole so that you can adjust the slipper without having to pull the whole cover and wheel off. They do include a rubber cover to cover the hole you just drilled. I don't know why they didn't just do this to begin with but it seems like it's meant to do this since they give you the cover for the hole you just drilled. This and the (old style) o-ring to hold a gear on are the only complaints I could have other than availability of parts that I could have about this car. That said, I am 110% sold on this thing and I don't regret buying it as it's one of the finest RC cars I've ever owned or seen.

This kit is definitely worth the extra money. It is a 2wd buggy that handles and performs like a 4wd buggy. No kidding. It is the fastest and most adjustable buggy I've ever owned, which is saying a lot. The build quality is top notch and every component fits precisely. There is little to no slop anywhere on the car which is more than I can say for other manufacturer's entries. Chassis plates are very nicely machined carbon fiber, arms are a very stiff and durable carbon composite, lots of anodized aluminum, and indexed assemblies throughout. Schumacher got this one right! Best 2wd buggy on the market.

This is a good quality kit here. Handles great and is extremely durable.

An excellent build, goes together smoothly. One of the best Kit's I've ever had the pleasure to build. Every step is in a separate labeled bag. The diff design is strange so pay incredibly close attention to what you are doing. Check the exploded view for the orientation of the diff. Use plenty of thread lock.

The gearbox has a high spot at first but wears out after a couple packs, this is 100% normal. I've never felt smoother shocks, and the whole finish on this buggy is beautiful. I suggest using the extra screws that come with the servo mounting step to attack the swaybar. The ones in that step are a bit too short and can work out of the hole easily.

Make sure to pick up a couple different spurs because the size of the hole is larger then the associated/kyosho/losi ones. The slipper pads fit the associated spurs perfectly. To get the cougar to fit other spurs besides the schumacher ones, you can have a machinist mill down the lay-shaft so it fits in an associated spur. I had this done and it works perfectly.

I recommend this buggy to anyone.