Review: 1/14 Tacon Soar / LC Racing Buggy / EMB-1H

This RC car is a 1/14th scale buggy that is very similar to the Tacon Rally / EMB-WRC / Cavalry / EMB-DT. Many of the components are shared across the models.
The very few differences between Tacon an LC Racing that I have seen are, branding of the car and electronics. Battery connectors used (I solder deans anyways). Body paint schemes.
Ask questions about the vehicle in the comments below!
Instruction Manual (Parts): ibuyrc.com/manu...
Where to buy?
Amazon: www.amazon.com/...
NitroRCx: www.nitrorcx.co...
AtomikRC: No longer selling LC Racing products
Parts
Amazon is my new preferred method as I have amazon prime, so super fast shipping! Make sure you price check! Shipping gets expensive!
Amazon: www.amazon.com/...
NitroRCx Parts: www.nitrorcx.co...
AtomikRC: No longer selling LC Racing products
Batteries
All the batteries recommended will need an adapter or new lead connections on the car. I like deans connectors because they are easier for me and the children to disconnect from the car. When the car is bought from AtomikRC, a venom battery will work stock.
Traxxas 2200mah 2S lipo: www.amazon.com/...
Venom 2000mah 2S lipo: www.amazon.com/...
Turnigy 1700mah 2S lipo: www.hobbyking.c...
Music By: audiojungle.net...

[@idjc2621]

This was before it’s time... so much more popular now 👍🏾

[@martyshaw9143]

Great review and nice track! Picked one of these up off of ebay for a reasonable price and I'm excited for it to show up even more now.

[@GeckoGuy]

great review. now i kind of want one. id probably go with the monster truck. i already have an sct and buggy dromida

[@nsnowaert4690]

wrenching is my favorite part lol, awesome video thanks!

[@ricksprings]

Yep, I've busted rear spindle on 80% throttle drifting into curb....replaced w/ aluminum spindles & hubs front & rear. Broke front cvd coupling, replaced with dog-bone & hub.. worn a hub, wheels turn too sharp& bones will slip out.... turned down servo trim 👍🏾 holding so far... the durability, or lack thereof has surprised me....my sons reflex 14t has only broken a spur gear

[@GrotrianSeiler]

Great. Very good review. I just boyught one. I hope it comes with the newer spindles. Parts are hard to come by (it seems) and nitrorcx doesn't have the best reputation but we'll see. I was willing to take a chance as everyone says good things about this model with 2S power.

[@adamdean33333]

Great video and very informative! I just got my buggy yesterday and the 2s is on the way! I am brand new to the RC world, so asfar as replacement parts go, I don't know if my local hobby shops will carry parts for the Tacon. Are there other brands that will line up with the parts on the Tacon that they may carry, and if not, is there a brand on Amazon I can search under? I have looked for parts for the Tacon specifically on Amazon and have not been able to find much. Thanks!

[@GuyslacklusterRcReview]

awesome video!

[@havoc010101]

Great video!! Where do you purchase the carbon fiber shock tower mounts? Is it possible to source parts from the Losi Mini 8? Thanks again!

[@BlaineEhrhart]

havoc010101 I doubt you can switch many of the parts of the car with losi except common parts like wheels, ESC, bearings, and electronics. I use to get my parts at www.nitrorcx.com/25cparts.html And sometimes atomic on Amazon. It might help you to know this car is also known as the emb-1 Here are the part numbers www.rctech.net/forum/showpost.php?p=12890683&postcount=322

[@jacksonsandstrum7875]

I have had issues with the carbon shock towers literally splintering in half, but have had no issues with the spindles

[@todd92371]

Was wondering what are your runtimes with the batteries you discussed? Thanks

[@BlaineEhrhart]

Battery life can vary drastically between runs. Sometimes you are pushing the car harder, sometimes you are moseying around. Unless I tested the batteries outside of the cars there would be no way to compare them. You get anywhere from 15 minutes to 60 minutes on these batteries.

[@ricksprings]

Amazon sell the Tacon series. Wish I shopped around, RCX had them for &219..... got the Bulwalk from Amazon for $279

[@kamen25]

About to place an order myself for the brushless version. Any hop ups or spare parts you recommend I pick up right away?

[@EhrhartRacingRC]

Kamen. The video says it all. The diff covers were the weakest point for me so get some of those, maybe get a spare set of spindles, and a 2S battery. Enjoy!

[@RonBernardino]

nice video. how do you set low voltage cut off?

[@kwashb]

I want to buy the lc emb truggy. Can you tell me about which site to buy these LC racing vehicles

[@BlaineEhrhart]

www.nitrorcx.com/1elrctr6.html I think this is what you are looking for. Good luck!

[@arlettepadilla4054]

btw great review :-) :-

[@andrewharris4220]

do you have links for aluminum spindles and carbon fiber shock towers? thanks

[@EhrhartRacingRC]

Andy Harris www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&field-brandtextbin=LC%20Racing&linkCode=ur2&node=165793011&tag=ehrarc-20&linkId=SUBEITK2YO7BGWGX www.aliexpress.com/store/group/EMB-Parts-hopups/221792_250417997.html www.nitrorcx.com/25cparts.html You will see them listen on those parts pages. Aliexpress will take longer if you live in america obviously. I

[@charlybronson508]

do u no if there is any difference between the rtr and kit version any info would be great thanks

[@BlaineEhrhart]

Charly Bronson I don't. sorry! I would imagine they are the same

[@war_josh1550]

i had my first problem today.... i took it out for a street run like normal it felt way slower than usual. i could feel a big difference in speed. could it be my motor or battery....? i took it to the park and ran in the grass for a full pack the day before the problem occured . that was probably a really dumb move. maybe tht did something to the motor?

[@EhrhartRacingRC]

You probably broke one of the diffs. pick the car up and spin the front wheels in opposite directions and if you feel grinding or chunky ness it's the diff. do the same for the rear. battery is probably fine but it could be the motor over heated. or some bearings the car are bad and slowing the whole car down. start with the diffs. They aren't fragile but they still can't take all the beating forever. Best of luck.

[@war_josh1550]

I think it was the diff as i felt some grinding. Thank you very much for the help! As to fixing it....... would i order a diff set from nitrorcx?

[@EhrhartRacingRC]

Yeah, if I can remember right they have the prebuilt ones and the not prebuilt parts. You can do either depending on the amount of effort you want to put in. I would take it apart first and pull the diff that you think is bad out. Once you have, if you spin it opposite directions like you did before and it still has grinding then its definitely the diff. At that point you can take the diff apart, it probably exploded. I'm fairly positive you can buy just the gears that go inside the diff to replace it. There is oil or grease in there too that you will have to have if you rebuilt it yourself. I can't remember whats inside of it. Probably oil, oil is better.

[@war_josh1550]

+Ehrhart Racing RC ok thank you for the advice because im fairly new to the rc world

[@jacob1078]

you said a short couse truck would be more forgiving so what would be one you would recommend

[@EhrhartRacingRC]

+Jacob Kerr If you are a new driver (I assume you are since you are asking me which car to get), definitely the short course truck. It will take a better beating with the body. The body will take damage but a lot of people will tape the damage on the body. Not a lot of other parts that you can do that with. Both are fast, SCT will just drive a little better for new RCers.

[@jacob1078]

I am thanking about slash platinum what do you thank about that how is it for racing and bashing

[@EhrhartRacingRC]

I have the slash platinum and it is my favorite car. Excellent basher. Even better basher after you upgrade cvds to MIP and a-arms to rpm. It's an okay racer but I'm pretty sure there are better vehicles for that. I've raced the slash and did okay but I'm fairly sure the other vehicles were better. I'm sure if you geared it and tuned the suspension it would perform better but all the stuff I've done to the slash has been to make it a better basher. Oh and badlands tires from proline. Stock slash platinum of plenty fun though and way better than a 14th scale if you have the money. You can drive on so many more surfaces.

[@msaeger]

Does LC Racing / Tacon still make kits? The only place I am seeing kits for sale is on ebay.

[@BlaineEhrhart]

I don't think Tacon ever had a kit. But LC racing's kit is called the EMB-1HK. I think I only saw it on Ali Express.

[@rjsimkovich1785]

they sell them on nitrorcx.com here is the link www.nitrorcx.com/tacon.html

[@msaeger]

rj simkovich Those are all ready to run unless I am missing them. Let me know if I am!

[@arlettepadilla4054]

not to bother but do you think a turnigy 2.2 battery would fit

[@EhrhartRacingRC]

+Arlette Padilla I distninctly remember the turnigy 1.7 was a pretty good fit. would say if you want to do some customization then you would might be able to pull it off. Here is another review someone else did that goes over what batteries they tried and the dimensions of the battery area: www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1985219 Thanks for stopping by!

[@arlettepadilla4054]

would it put a lot of strain if I bought this and put the mt tires on?I was going to get the mt but is was sold out

[@BlaineEhrhart]

+Arlette Padilla I haven't tried the MT tires on this vehicle. It appears though that both vehicles are using the same spur and pinion so you might be fine. The length of this vehicle is shorter than the valor. You would probably be better converting one of the longer cars. A lot of people tell me that car isn't in stock, I wonder if when the last time it was in stock... Parts manuals (so you can see the difference): ibuyrc.com/manual/25C103-14.pdf ibuyrc.com/manual/25C102-14.pdf

[@arlettepadilla4054]

+Blaine Ehrhart ok I will probably get the sct and turn it into the mt thanks

[@franknapolitano9144]

How does the LC Racing 1/14 vehicles compare to the Losi 1/14 scale vehicles ?

[@EhrhartRacingRC]

Frank Napolitano I can compare the buggy not the truggy. The losi vehicle seemed to have more diff problems, that could be just because my brother was a crazy driver but out of us he is the better driver so I think it's a real issue. Other things, the losi is more expensive but generally you can find parts at the hobby store. Performance was the same. Both cars are awesome. If it were me I'd probably buy the tacon again over a losi. If they are your first vehicles and you have no patience to wait a week for parts I would get the losi. Any other specific questions?

[@franknapolitano9144]

Ehrhart Racing RC ... Thank You ! :>)

[@franknapolitano9144]

Ehrhart Racing RC ... I have read that the guy who designed the Losi Mini 8T also later developed the LC Racing LC-T Truggy with better upgrades such as hardened Pinion and Spur Gears and improved diffs.. is that true ?

[@BlaineEhrhart]

Frank Napolitano I would not be surprised if the tacon beats the losi in those areas. They have been working on the truggy for a good amount of time. I have the losi truggy and the issues you mentioned have been real for me. But I haven't driven the tacon truggy.

[@jacob1078]

I do not know if you want to do this or not but if you can can you do a review video of it

[@EhrhartRacingRC]

+Jacob Kerr I would but there are so many videos of them. There just weren't many videos of these excellent vehicles. I do have a bit of footage so maybe I'll put something together with my bashing it but probably not a breakdown of the vehicle like I do with these cars.

[@jacob1078]

ok

[@t2nate137]

Standard or metric hardware?

[@jacksonsandstrum7875]

Metric

[@garickj2145]

What is the length of the shocks?

[@BlaineEhrhart]

I don't have this rc car anymore so I don't know :(

[@jacob1078]

that would be great if you could

[@jvs00051]

FYI..I'm sourcing parts (also) from Ali Express & Asia Tees

[@EhrhartRacingRC]

Where are you in the world? How long does it take to get your parts from those places?

[@jvs00051]

Ehrhart Racing RC Northern CA. Can take up to 2 wks on delivery but ya gotta du what ya gott du!

[@gigi9467]

Anybody know how this compares to the ae reflex??

[@ricksprings]

They're both great truggies. I got Tacon truggy and 8yr old son the AE AE truggy. Run both on 2s and AE has been more durable, but I've bashed mine harder. I tone down his throttle to about #4 though. I installed my 2.0 buggy wheels/tires on the AE & it's in between a MT and race truggy! I'm a fan of AE, RC10T was my 1st rc car, and own all alloy T4... the tacon is good, I really love the size as I'm able to bash in my small backyard & race on small indoor tracks too. Either truggy, you won't be disappointed 👍🏾

[@jacob1078]

how fast does this go

[@EhrhartRacingRC]

+Jacob Kerr Fast enough. Stock with the nimh battery probably like 15-20mph. With 2S it's probably 20-25mph.

[@jacob1078]

I am either going to get the slash platinum ten scte or sc10