JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)

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JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
Price: $544.99
Discontinued Online
This item is discontinued and no longer available for purchase. You may want to search our site for a similar item.

This is THE Car, from JQ Products! After years of testing and development, as well as months of waiting, THE Car is here!!! With a relentless passion for performance and a will that will not allow him to settle for 'good enough', Joseph Quagrine has done what many have said could not be accomplished. A one man army has designed, developed and produced a thoroughbred race chassis that can hold its own against a sea of vehicles backed by huge corporate teams. THE Car is a blend of unique and original features, incorporated with proven design concepts to provide you with a buggy that has the features you need to win. 

NOTE: This kit includes all the running changes that have been made during the year, including spur gears, differential cross pins, fuel tank posts, shock shafts and hinge pins, along with reformulated plastics, that have been designed to be more durable.

THE Details:

  • Lower Arms: The lower arms are interchangeable left to right, and are the shortest on the market. The reason for this is shorter arms make a car more responsive, and helps to maintain stability when it comes to things other than driver input. Short arms make the car track straight in bumps, and make it less sensitive to changes and surprising situations on the track.
  • Arm Holders: The design of THE Car utilizes a wide front arm holder, and short arms. These design features give THE Car excellent rough track handling and jumping characteristics, as well as the option to be driven with an aggressive driving style. THE Car tracks straight and will hold its line in rhythm sections and woops with a greater level of stability and a very linear feel.
  • C-Hubs: The C-Hub design is similar to what is used on the Losi XX-4. This design brings the point where the arm attaches to the hub inwards and also vertically closer to the wheel center, which makes the car more stable and less prone to flipping over. This also helps in rough track sections and when jumping, because as the suspension compresses, the wheels move more inwards and the suspension gets stiffer.
  • Rear Arms: The Rear Arms are short compared to other cars, because they are the same length as the front arms. The arm holders on the rear are medium width, and not as wide as the front. These short arms give THE Car more steering and help to make it fast.
  • Rear Hubs: The rear hubs allow the rear of the car to have the same offset as the front. To achieve this offset, the attachment is on the inside of the wheel center, not outside. This design provides you with a car that has superior corner speed, aggressive steering, with plenty of forward bite.
  • Rear Roll Center Adjustment: Another unique feature about the rear end geometry is the use of multiple vertical holes on the rear arms for adjusting the hubs, as well as multiple positions on the hubs. This is done so that the suspension travel and ride height will be unchanged regardless of which hole is used. The top hole provides more traction and forces the suspension to stiffen up more when compressed, the lower hole reduces traction, allowing the rear end to slide more. This design makes the rear end adjustable enough that anyone can find their preferred set up, no matter what their driving style is.
  • Steering Rack: The steering bell cranks are connected by an ackermann plate, and the steering links are connected directly to the bell cranks. The advantage of this design is the steering is more linear, and there is no point in the steering travel that the car feels like it steers more than at others. Three different length ackermann plates can be used to adjust the amount of overall steering, providing a variety of tuning options to suit any driving style.
  • Shocks: “Bigger isn't better, better is better.” A variety of shock sizes and lengths were tested, and a shock with a 14.5mm piston diameter proved to be superior for THE Car. This design feature provides excellent bump handling characteristics and the ability to soak up rough landings, as well as minimizing the sprung and un-sprung weight.
  • Radio Tray: The radio tray is designed so that it is easy to remove either servo, the transponder, or receiver battery, without removing anything other than the part you want to change, and the receiver or battery box lids! Its a design that focuses on simplicity and there are no small parts to lose and no small openings to route wires through.
  • Adjustable Weight Distribution: THE Car is designed so the center diff-mount, and engine can be moved forwards or backwards 8mm. The advantage of having this unique adjustment available, is that you can set up THE Car to perfectly suit any track condition! When the track has big jumps, hairpin turns, and technical sections you can move the weight forward. When the track is fast, with sweeping corners, and a rough, bumpy surface you can move the weight back. 
  • Center Differential Mount: The CNC machined aluminum center differential mount is a laydown design that was developed in 2006 and has many advantages over a standard plastic mount. It is a simple design with a small footprint that uses a single link for the brakes, allowing the mount to be moved forward or backwards with little effort. It is strong, stiff, and consistent when exposed to hot weather, heat from the engine, and friction from brakes. The design also allows the center differential to be removed without affecting the brake settings.
  • Universal Drive Shafts: Because of these design flaws associated with CVD drive shafts, universal drive shafts have been chosen for the front and rear of THE Car. With smooth rotating, light, reliable and easy to replace dog bones for the center.
  • Differentials: The differentials used for THE Car are a standard design, with a primary focus on durability and fluid capacity. These are important aspects, and in those area's they are as good or better than any other car. What sets THE Car apart from the others in this area is that the differentials are the lightest differentials of any car currently available!
  • Fuel Tank: THE fuel tank is a new generation type tank, with a clunk fuel pick up system. This allows the engine to keep a constant supply of fuel even when the car is upside down. Other features include fuel line clips that are attached to the tank body, 1cc and 2cc inserts for adjusting the volume, and a built in splash guard to help prevent fuel from getting on the brakes. The pressure line is not attached to the cap, instead it is attached to the fuel tank next to the cap to protect the pressure line from damage, allows for a smaller fuel access hole in the body, and also because the tank looks much cleaner.
  • No Slop Wheel Attachment: By making the hole in the drive shaft elongated towards the inside, the hex pin can now move inwards. This means, that when the grub screw in the axle is tightened, it forces the pin and the hex along with it inwards towards the wheel bearing. A crush spacer is added between the bearings to prevent the bearings from binding. Because there are a lot of variables in this area to get the tolerances right, 0.1mm shims have been included that need to be used in the event that after tightening the grub screw, the bearings tighten up. This is an area that requires attention when building THE Car.
  • Body & Wing: THE Wing has not been wind tunnel tested. It was designed to look cool and fast, be light, and in theory create down force, instead of acting as a weight, and air brake. The design was influenced by the wings found on airplanes, only upside down with a few tweaks to make it look cooler. THE Body was designed purely based on looks, to make it look like a car.

THE Features:

  • Narrow Layout: THE Car features one of the narrowest chassis ever seen on a 1/8 buggy. A narrow car is more nimble and fast compared to a wider one.
  • Central Engine Placement: The key to building a narrow car.
  • Revolutionary Adjustable Weight Distribution: Engine and Center Differential move 8mm forwards or back. The most useful tuning aid that can be changed based on track and driving style. Directly affects lap times in a big way.
  • Laydown Brake System: In order to make the weight distribution change easily, and make removal of the center differential easy, the lay down brake design was the way to go.
  • Simple Throttle/Brake Linkage: The simplest design on the market, because simple is always better.
  • Left/Right Weight Balance: Optimized left to right balance, because we turn both ways on our tracks.
  • Lightweight: Out of the box, THE Car weighs about 3240g. Because no matter what anyone says, a lighter car is faster, wears less, consumes less fuel and is easier on tires.
  • Servo Saver: THE Car features a "fail safe" servo saver that does not require thread lock. It will not work loose.
  • Radio Tray: The first un-complicated radio tray. The design allows for fast and easy servo changes, while leaving the tray in the car. Everything on the tray can be changed with the tray installed, and linkage intact.
  • Rear End Geometry: Distinctive rear end geometry design allows for great on power traction, acceleration and corner speed.
  • Rear Roll Center: New style roll-center adjustments on the rear.
  • EU/US Compatibility: Designed for European and American tracks and drivers. Designed to perform well on Euro style tracks and driving styles, where maximum corner speed is required, as well as US style tracks with big jumps and rough surfaces.
  • Shocks: 14.5mm threaded, hard-anodized shocks with 3.5mm shock shafts. Because bigger isn’t better, better is better! A variety of shock sizes were tested, and these were found to be the best for THE Car.
  • Shock Towers: THE Car is equipped with 5mm CNC aluminum Shock Towers as standard equipment and features the JQ Products trademark branding.
  • Arm Holders/Suspension Blocks: Hard Anodized CNC aluminum Arm Holders are included as standard equipment. They use inserts to tune the toe-in, anti-squat and kick-up.
  • Steering: Optimized steering geometry allows for maximum, yet linear steering, as well as reduced bump-steer. Steering = Corner speed = Fast Lap times = Wins. It’s all about steering.
  • Chassis Braces: THE Car uses molded composite front and rear chassis braces.
  • Clutch: THE Car includes a 3-shoe clutch system, with aluminum clutch shoes.
  • Chassis: THE Car includes a lightened aluminum 4mm hard-anodized chassis with ballast locations as standard equipment. Because THE Car is underweight when lightweight options are installed.
  • Steering Knuckles: CNC aluminum Steering Knuckles are included as standard equipment. Plastic or cast pot metal knuckles are for RTR's, even if they don’t break.
  • Fuel Tank: THE Car uses a clunk style fuel tank because we all crash, and it feeds fuel to the engine while upside down.

THE Specifications:
Vehicle: 1:8 Nitro 4WD
Width: 307mm
Wheelbase: 320-325mm
Weight: 3240g*
Internal Gear Ratio: 3.90:1

*THE Note: Weight measured with OS Speed, 2060 pipe, ProLine Rims, closed cell foam, Holeshot tires, LRP 1600 LiFe Receiver Pack.

Items Needed for Completion:

  • .21 Nitro Engine
  • Tuned Exhaust System
  • 2 Channel Radio System and 8 AA Batteries
  • High Torque Steering & Brake Servo's (2)
  • Receiver Battery
  • Tires, Wheels & Tire Glue
  • Silicone Shock Fluid
  • Silicone Differential Fluid
  • Glow Driver
  • Starter Box & Batteries
  • Nitro Fuel & Fuel Bottle
  • Paint for Polycarbonate Body
  • Charger for Receiver Pack & Starter Box Batteries

This product was added to our catalog on December 15, 2010

Anonymous
Sunday, Nov 7 2010 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
I was one of the guys who got a race THE Car at Thunder Alley and Revelation, one of the 2 biggest tracks with the largest jumps in the USA. THE Car handled amazing, and I will be the first person to buy it when it comes out. I want to address some of the comments posted....

1)" "The Car" sucks. SO does the name. Get real!"
No facts, just negativity.

2)"More overpriced CR@P from Europe. DOn't waste your money on this one folks, alot of design flaws, weak and very short A-arms that don't handle bumps and jumps as well as the competition."
$519 is overpriced? Have you looked at the Kyosho, Durango, Mugen, Xray, and Losi?
The Only design flaw I noticed was that it was kind of hard to get the rear end attached to the chassis, because of the dogbone.
A-arms are fine, I am holding a front a-arm from THE Car now, never had one break on me after a few hard crashes, and the quality is better than Losi. Since I do not want to explain the short a-arm concept again, I will just say that THE Car was faster in the rough section at Rev than any other car. Jumps great too. If you have any problem with this, I must ask you, have you ever driven it before?

3)"Unimpressed with what this race car has to offer. Wait a few years to make sure this company stays afloat."
Again, no facts, just negativity. I can assure you Joseph is a very smart person and will have no problem keeping JQ Products afloat. Once everybody gets their car December 1st and drives it, they will start to realize how good it actually is.

I cannot believe that people seem to be so negative about new cars that they haven't even driven before, yet they seem to know more than the designer about what will work and what will not.

This section should be for REVIEWS, not keyboard jockeys. If you haven't driven or raced THE Car, then you shouldn't be posting here.
Anonymous
Verified Owner
Saturday, Jan 1 2011 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
I like my new ride alot, I have had 0 issues so far. I have had Serpent, MBX-6, Losi, and D8 in the past and every time I get a new ride it seems like the companies have improved on whats out there. I loved my Serpent and was going to get a new one but so far this car is standing out and it is still new to me. Get some .9 clutch springs or your favorite clutch and that is the only thing you need to have a car that can win at any level. The 1.0 springs are just a bit punchy but not bad it felt like the mbx-6 clutch.
Pablo Escobar
Thursday, Oct 7 2010 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
I am one of the lucky ones who has actually driven the car....

A car that has been properly developed and tested shouldn't need much aftermarket support. THE Car includes CNC Shock Towers, Knuckles and Hinge Pin Blocks...what more could you want?

But I guarantee you, with the popularity of THE Car, once it hits the streets there will be plenty of aftermarket support.
Anonymous
Verified Owner
Monday, Mar 7 2011 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
This is an excellent car right out of the box. I've had Kyosho's, X-rays, Losi,and Hot bodies, and this car is right up there with all of them and the price is right. It has had,in my opinion some minor issues but Joseph will get these things squared away. The stock diff set up is unusal to me but I tried it and I like it. the accelleration is unreal, it jumps great. I did feel it had an off power push but the short ackerman seemed to fix that. For a first generation car i think it is ahead of the curve and you would be smart to consider this car if you are in the market for an 1/8 scale buggy. Nice job JQ.
Anonymous
Verified Owner
Wednesday, Jan 12 2011 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
The JQ Products THE Car is right up there with any kit on the market. They have admitted to problem, none of which my kit has had. On the first tank, my lap times were right with the the lap times i was producing with my Losi 8ight after a year of racing. On my second day of practice with the car, i was almost a second a lap faster.

The kit is high quality. It comes with a 2 Piece motor mount, CNC machined Knuckles out of the box; items that are normally option parts. The Chassis is a work of art, with multiple locations for Ballast to be attached to the car. The Center diff mount is pure genius, with the break linkage never needing to be touched to remove the diff.

My car at running weight, is 3219. That is with a Gold head Vspec, Hitec servos, Losi pipe, Protec RC lipo Receiver pack and KO Propo 409 receiver.
GUY DE COSTER
Friday, Dec 17 2010 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
I have almost finished the build and I build many....and I have to say it's a superb buggy.
I had some apprehension, but seems this buggy is very well designed. The precision seen on the bulkheads seems like from outer space, also the central mount is a masterpiece.
You get several precision cnc parts, play ajusting techniques are applied, you have to search your brain sometimes and take your time, because the thing is so dawn different, but everything fits nicely in the end..
If that buggy drives like it's build, it's gonna be a good summer
Anonymous
Verified Owner
Tuesday, Aug 9 2011 (about 12 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
This kit is the bomb! When together smooth, amain was hella cool about part replacement if you get bunk parts. I beat the piss out of this buggy to make sure it wouldn't break and now after 10 runs nothing broke. I used to run a mugen mbx-5rr and this thing blows it out of the water. One thing I will say is that customer support through amain is really good so if you do have a problem with it they help you asap. The stock set up works good out of the box. I would use 4k oil in the rear diff. Also use collars on the fuel tank spring to get more compression.

Final result= Best buggy for the money

Very easy to set up, I would recommend this buggy to agressive drivers that are steering & throttle nazi's
Anonymous
Thursday, Jun 2 2011 (about 12 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
I own the car now for about 2 months and I'm very satisfied with it. I own over 40 different RC Cars and compete in different classes. Last year I raced buggy class with an O'Donnell Z-01B and this year the JQ THE Car is my racing car.

The Car by JQ is more agile, faster, and more controlable than any of my other buggies (or truggies)

The JQ Car made me a better driver; my controll over the car is far better, the car reacts great on changes in set-up. The parts are of GOOD quality; sure something breaks sometimes, but certainly not more ofter then any other car. It is far more robust than my Kyosho MP777, O'Donnell Z-01B, Ishima M1.0R and Tamiya TFR801X.

The drivetrain is almost 'bullet-proof'; after 4~5 gallons of fuel no play or wear in the drivetrain. Gears look and feel like new.

All and All a highly recommendable product which you should try or buy!
felix martinez
Verified Owner
Saturday, Feb 12 2011 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
It drives amazing,but the plastics are not up to par yet.Plus are jumps awsome, accelerate hard, very stable at high speeds ,really fast on the corners, looks great,surprisingly good in the rough for a short arm design,amazing design,easy to work on. Minus are plastics are not up to par with other cars.Broking two front a arms at the same place at the lower shock mount hole.Sway bar links break all the time.Replaced with odonnell links no problem with them at all.Fuel tank sucks will not stop leaking at the top.The car is a work in progress.If you want a buggy that it will amazing you and live thru the growing pains this will be it. Amazing platfrom I would recommend this buggy but with caution
Anonymous
Wednesday, Oct 12 2011 (about 12 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
JQ THE CAR , is a great buggy im pretty new to 1/8 off road so im not the best driver yet lol but this thing is great it has heaps of steering handles the rough stuff very well, jumps great and is very easy to work on. Ive done 5 race meetings with it so far and haven't broken a thing WELL DONE JQ!!!
Team NinjaX
Friday, Aug 19 2011 (about 12 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
The best buggy !!!!!!
Easy to install and use, it embodies all the performance possible for buggy 1 / 8 nitro.
On my buggy I put the Novarrossi 4BTT TUNED who is also a good engine.
For my starter box I took the OFNA 1 / 8 and 1 / 10 off road starter box.

This is the best best best buggy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JQ Product THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous
Sunday, Jun 5 2011 (about 12 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
I have built many buggies in my day and I have enjoyed this hobby since 1982! This buggy is great! Dont let this one be your first build though. You may get lost but, if your a veteran like me you will have no problems. The quality is on par with all of the other "big companies" and I love the way she sets up. Set it up the way you know is best and you will be rewarded. I added some rear toe (3 degrees), used 35.5 weight in the front shocks and 43.5 in the rear shocks and this seems to be a great set up for me. The buggy is very balanced and has tons of steering, just the way I like it! I believed alot of the poor reviews but, bought one anyway. I am not sorry now! Use your skills and she will show you an a-main victory!!!
Christoforos Marinou
Tuesday, Mar 29 2011 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
jq the car is an unbelievable car..the best car tha i have ever drive. very stable car at high speed, excellent accelarasion, hub caster about 16 degress that produce very fast turns, the best car i have ever drive in big jumbs. i run it with diff oil 7000,5000,5000 and shock oil 500 front, 600 rear.os speed engine, 2060 exhaust.... 10 minutes fuel economy.i run in a race with fully warmy tyres for 30 minutes and car was very stable and i took the second prize!!!!iam really impress with that car!!!
Anonymous
Verified Owner
Thursday, Feb 24 2011 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
this kit is amazing. from the anodizing to the parts. i built this within 5 1/2 hours and ran into one small problem that many probably will, the rear diff when it was in the gearbox locked up so watch out for that. still trying to fix that. but i had all the parts as many complain about not getting them all. actually i had some leftover parts which was cool. but it is for pros as it is a pro buggy kit. i would reccommend this to anybody that has the experience to drive and build it. the build was very tough from the turnbuckles all the way to the plastic not being drilled enough, the plastic sometimes wouldnt even let the screws in but i reamed them with a body reamer and some with a dremel and the screws fit perfect. dont drill too much because you will never get the plastic back. overall the kit is very nice and is worth every penny that goes into it. And if JQ ever makes another product i will buy it within an instant.
Anonymous
Wednesday, Dec 29 2010 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
Purchased this kit from my LHS and everything about the build went perfectly. There are many tips included in the manual so READ the manual (the manual does have some humor in it as well). As you can see by many of the reviews recently it seems people buying this kit have not yet mastered the reading thing. These are probably people that need to stick to RTR's

Anytime you buy a kit there is the chance that something could be missing, I was lucky and had zero missing parts. My only issue was one of the paper diff gaskets was pretty beat up, after an email to JQ USA I had a full set of new gaskets in 2 days. I'd have to say that was better than I expected!!! On that note I race with a buddy that purchased a different companies kit that was just released around 2 weeks before I got my JQ kit.... He is still waiting on the parts to finish his build, and the car was $200 more.......

No person, or company is perfect, especially on a first release of a product.
Anonymous
Sunday, Dec 5 2010 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
This is the buggy to get!..don't listen to any B.S. I own a Mugen MBX6 and I love it but I will be
buying this just to prove to the little guy that you don't need a whole fleet of Buggies or Truggies
to make and put out one amazing car! The Car! FTW!
Anonymous
Monday, Nov 8 2010 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
sorry this isnt strictly a review, however ......

Ignoring the probability that JQ Products will go on to be very successful, what JQ has achieved this far is amazing by any standard. (designing, producing, marketing, selling and now driving his own car at the IFMAR 1/8th World Championships).

Why people get so worked up and abusive about someone I suspect they have never met ? and a product I suspect they have never seen ? let alone driven is beyond me.

JQ + THE car 4th fastest in second free practice at the worlds. Enough said I think.
Anonymous
Verified Owner
Thursday, Jun 2 2011 (about 12 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
The Car is awesome! It made me faster in the track and even faster in making it to the podium. It's light and nimble and great in our track that's full of bumps and ruts. It seems it just glides while other cars are having difficulty passing through those difficult areas in the track. It truly stands by its name that its fast in corners and has amazing acceleration. A close friend who just bought one called it " a rocket"! In our place where temperature sores to over 40 degrees Celsius, I never had a problem with parts breaking which made me say I made a mistake of buying so much of replacement parts that I can almost build another kit. Until now, I still run the same parts since I bought them the first time except of course for the rod ends. Thanks and well done JQ!
Anonymous
Friday, Feb 18 2011 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
Got my kit and put it together, very easy to build and fit and finish is second to none. Traded my Losi in for this and so far not regretting it one bit. But weather sucks here so I havent got to run it yet.
Anonymous
Sunday, Dec 26 2010 (about 13 years ago)
JQRacing "THE Car" 1/8 Competition Buggy Kit (w/THE Update!!!)
Hey TEX, believe me once you get this car on the track you will not mind that you had to add your own screws.....believe me,just run it first and then post your great review.

Have Fun, Fast and Smooth