Guys, B is definitely overkill, I have one (it's A979) and I would love to try the A version. I was thinking that it would be definitely more controllable and this video confirmed it to me. BUT - I still thinks that it's better to have the B version because if you can manage the throttle, you can control the car pretty well and you still have the power when you need it (really lot of power). When it comes to the operating characteristics, it really heats. Motor and ESC (I burned one). The power have it's price and all parts are more abused. So if you want to have it more casual, go for the A.
Yeah, definitely overkill but can be quite fun. I don’t have the necessary throttle control so I prefer the standard. The A-version is a bit too slow though, with the LiFe battery. And the heat issue, amount of torque and limited run time with the B-version is a bit too ridiculous 🙂 But yeah, can still be quite fun 😂
@@NordicRC Try B with different wheels. I think A959 wheela don't have to much grip. Monster wheels on A979 are better. But you can try even bigger wheels for 1/12 cars, it may improve the controls.
Same buggy , you gonna upgrade to brushless any way , so save yourself the money 💰 & get the A959 , that brushed motor ain’t gonna last long anyway ! 😂
Yeah, the compacted sand was simply perfect for the standard edition. Handled really great and no issues. And yes, I believe you're right, if this was too much for the A959-B, 5 minutes in grass or rougher surfaces would have fried it. Could be fun to get a temp-gun and and try it out :-) I think the A959-B is good for crazy-fast 1/18the scale on road speed runs, but the A959 is actually a very enjoyable fast and managable off road buggy. thanks for watching, my friend.
Y'know just because a car CAN go CRAZYINSANEFAST doesn't mean you HAVE to. With the bigger motor you can probably run on grass at the regular one's top speed and it'll do fine.
Yeah, exactly, bro. It just seems so perfect with the 390. I was quite surprised of the difference. Not too fast and not too slow and very controllable. I think the A959-B is good for crazy on road speed runs and that kind of fun. The A959 is good for actual everyday running, off road and on road :-)
i have a couple of the little trucks (different wheels and shell is all) and i agree the b is faster but less controllable ......i am currently upgrading one so will post back here if that improves the handling or no
Nice! That would be wonderful! A little extra control at high speed would make the A959-B a little more fun :-) Thanks and thanks for watching, dooksb4u!
In my opinion the a959 with 390 motor is a blast to drive good power manageable fast the a959b is alot faster but somewhat harder to control at speed with the 540 motor but myself the extra power is awsome when controlled u can also do tire upgrades to the a959b from the a979 monster truck it helps alot on the 959 but the truck the wheels dont help much truck is a beast just out of control at speed
Yeah, I feel the same. The B-version is for crazy uncontrollable fun and the standard version is for controllable fun. Both fun I think, but as an everyday driver I would actually choose the standard version. Runs really well, good run time and the ESC/motor doesn't get too hot.
Well, that was a lot of fun to watch Mikael - but I bet you had more fun driving the little buggies on the beach! Great job with the whole package, driving, videoing and editing, all first-class! I must agree that I am with you, the B seems just a little overkill, plus the heat issue, maybe pushing the limits? Both look great packages, shame you cant get the standard car with the nice upgrades like the steel drivetrain. Both look like a real bargain - thanks to you I am very tempted to get one! All the best, mate, Mark...
Thanks for watching, mark! Yeah, a lot of fun filming, and maybe a bit too much time editing :-) The A959 standard is a real pleasure to run. I think the new A959 standard edition as seen here actually comes with almost the same drivetrain as the A959-B, except for the diff cups/joints. But I will soon open them up and see what the differences inside is. And yes, a real bargain for the money. I can understand why these are so popular.
Thanks, Steve. Yeah, I was pretty surprised how agile, well behaved and controllable the A959 where, having struggled controlling the A959-B for many other runs :-) Lighter, much more run time, a cool motor, plenty of speed, good performance and manageble even at top speed and full acceleration. So, the A959 is a real runner, off road and on road. The A959-B is for crazy fun speed :-)
Probably the B would provide the same fun as the A if throttle is constantly been managed conservatively. But I also think that having that extra edge just for the fun of getting over the verge of overpower is not worth the extra weight. The 390 seems to be the ideal balance. Thanks for helping me choose! Now the doubt is: 959 / 969 / 979? Will there be a full range comparative video ? 🤔 or... am I too demanding? 😅
Yeah, I think you are right, but I often find it hard to keep that throttle-finger under control :-) I am quite used to accelerating slowly, and slowing down in turns etc., but it's just so hard7too tempprting not to give it full throttle once you get it up in speed. And that's where it becomes un-managable. So you described it perfectly, the 390 is more than enough and as an extra bonus the weight is reduced and one gets a much longer run time. And I do enjoy running a car where I do not have to worry constantly about accelerating too fast or not giving it full throttle. Ha ha, that could be cool. All the A9X9s in one video :-) I'm afraid I don't have an A979 anymore. And never tried the A969. But it could be fun some time in the future to line them all up - but I have limited storage space for RCs, and my Tamiyas fill up the most :-) Hope someone else will do it for us. Could be fun. I have some plans with some other A959s for this series though, and already got one more, an old standard version, to compare it with this one, the new A959.
If you could find an ESC and rx combination that fit nicely in the space (i've seen a few that might manage it) you could swap over to something like the FlySky i6/i10/etc and use dual rates to hard limit your throttle input. Would solve a ton of problems. I've got a momentary flip switch I'd use for "boost" mode which would just unlock my throttle again and "boost" me. Some tuning and you could have your first setting be idiot-proof (hand it off to a kid who doesnt know how to handle that much speed yet) and the booster setting for fun time... not like you could boost into a turn anyway, right? Would just spin/flip.
Yeah, great fun, Richard, especially the A959 that is actually controllable :-) I think it would be great at high speed, some sort of gyro or "TSM" system. To start with, it would be nice with some adjustable turnbuckles so one could get a little toe-in, maybe that would help it a little going straight.
Great vid Mikael. Lovely shots at the beach. I was expecting a step 7 of repairing the cars which is normally what happens ! Looks like these do pretty well on the beach and so cheap that you probably don't worry about them getting ruined by sand and salt. I can't believe that the quick one goes 43mph! The Tamiyas I have with 2S lipo and 3500kv brushless go between about 30mph and 36mph depending on gearing and they look really quick. My Firestorm on 3S got to 52mph and it looked amazingly quick but I did end up breaking it :-( Anyway it looks like you are getting your moneys worth out of these. Especially as you got them for free ! Good work mate :-)
He he, thanks, Pete. No step 7 yet with these ones. If one can avoid the curbs and trees they, for the money, are pretty durable. 70 kph is the specifications, which with these kind of cars never really hold up. But in a couple of earlier speed run videos I got it up to 58 kph, which is more than fast enough for this one. But yeah, a couple of my Brushless Tamiyas also run between 40-50 kph so 58 kph with such a little one as this feels incredibly fast. Crazy uncontrollable fast, but still fun. The standard edition is much more managable and better for the everyday run I think. Yeah, it’s a lot of fun trying these cars out :-) Thanks for watching, my friend :-)
NSNick No, sorry. I’ve never tried contacting a company. I just enjoy making RC videos and then they contact me. But most of my RC’s (Tamiya) I buy myself.
Thanks! Yeah, waiting for a pack of upgrades too for a new upgrade series. Would love to make them go a little more straight too, but first up will be ball bearings and metal gears. Thanks for the comment and support, bro!
Love your videos mate, great production. I have a question about the differences between the 2 cars. I'd like to know if there are any gearing ratio differences between them? Essentially I want to know if I can put the smaller motor in the B version and have it run the same speed as when in the original version. I'd prefer the metal diff cups and larger stock battery but the slower speed and longer run time. Also do you know of good drop in replacement batteries for these cars? Preferably as large as is sensible to stick in there.
Thanks, Danny! You can check out my other videos with the A959 and A959-B. Got a complete disassembly of them both where you can see the gearing differences and other stuff. If you want to convert your B-version to the standard I'm afraid you need more stiff than the motor: Besides the smaller 390 motor you need a 390 motor mount, new pinion gear and spur gear (because yes, there is a massive gear ratio difference between the two). I haven't really found (or been looking too much) for replacement batteries. The other smaller ones I got (even other 1500 mah) are still bigger than the stock 1500 mah. But with the 1500 mah and the 390 motor and lower gearing one could get a descent amount of run time. Or better yet, get more 1500 mah stock batteries, run them one by one and let the motor cool down between the runs.
@@NordicRC Thank you for the reply. I watched your other video and it did indeed answer my questions in detail. Can the motor mounts be easily modified to accommodate the different size motor? Have you tried swapping out spur and pinions between models? I have ordered a pair of the original versions. I might order a B version too and see what difference the gearing swap makes myself. Thanks again for the great content.
How have both models held up? It's been 1 year since this vid was made. I was going to buy a 959b but now you got me thinking maybe I should buy the other one. I heard the B model has steel running gear vs the old one only plastic.
They have all held up great. I got a video in this series with an "autopsy" of both. These units both has plastic gears, but I've heard other people opening up other B-models that have metal gears. So I guess one don't know what one get's when ordering a B-version. There seem to be different production batches of them. Got a new series (in nine parts) already, upgrading a standard A959. That one broke down after a metal drive line upgrade. Never found the reason.
I'm still on the fence over which one I'd buy. There doesn't seem to be much point in the power of the B if it's too unstable, perhaps it's the short wheelbase. However, I would have to respray the "Headphones" body. 🤮😂 I'm looking forward to seeing the mechanical differences. If there's more metal internals in the B, it would make sense to buy that and limit the power or, in my case, learn throttle control. 😁
I still haven't learned throttle control so the standard A959 was more fun and controllable for me :-) There are lots of bodies available seperately. So one could just run the A959-B with a standard red or blue body or others available. Yeah, looking forward opening these up. Looking at other videos, I suspect it will only be a difference of a pinion size. But we shall see. I think the diff joints of plastic on the A959 can do the job just fine with the 390 motor.
I think that the original a959 is better. The control is easier to handle. I have the a959, and for the price, the a959 is really fast enough for a smaller scale!
B all day long. It just puts a smile on your face . I brought one for my 8 year old now I've just purchased another 2 one for me and one for my other son. Seriously bonkers fun love it !!!!!!
Hi mate, and thank you for your video review. What about lipo not stock for WLTOYS A959-B (for long lasting run) and what about FULL METAL (alluminium) UPGRADE? Is it usefull? Chassis? Thank you
Thank you very much for watching, Luka. I haven't found any non-stock LiPo's above 1500 mah that will fit the stock chassis, but maybe they are out there. I'm gonna do a full step-by-step upgrade series of the A959 here very soon. Starting with the basics (metal diff, ball bearings etc.). Probably gonna do some metal parts later. Upgrading to alloy is super fun and can be a fun project in itself, so for the project itself, I recommend it. But performance wise, the truth is that flexible plastic sometimes is the best choice for weight reasons and durability.
Uhh, very different, so it’s hard to say. For complete beginners I would recommend the 12428, because of it’s size and the lower top speed. Much more versatile. But I wouldn’t recommend jumping the 12428, it broke on my first jumps.
nothing short of fantastic :-D spectacular video on the beach :-D unfortunately I live in the mountains so I sand the dream :-( continue like this you are a great :-)
Thanks a lot for watching, Simon! This beach is a long way from my home, and well, salty beach sand is merciless when it comes to the RC metal parts. But it was fun :-) Thanks a lot for the feedback, Simon.
Sounds good you got that A979-B under control. Would love a video about that :-) I think I was too impatient with it, so I don't have it anymore. Have to make some hard choices now and then, since I don't have enough space for all the RCs I'm trying out.
Does the A959 have a Low Voltage Cutoff (lipo cutoff) on the ESC ? Or do we have to add a buzzer to avoid getting below 3.2V /Cell (and kill the battery)
If you think the b is over kill, you should look at mine, 360 amp ESC -8 turm modified tourqe tuned 540 can- cooling fans on the ESC and motor with heat sink- new steering linkages-oill filled shocks-i custom chopped the body so the cooling fan on the ESC can look out the window and chopped the rear side of the body so the cooling fan can cool the motor more better I can tell you it is fast as lighting with a super charger I will never be able to pull full throttle its not normal any more
@@NordicRC thanks, i'm just asking because i wanna try drive my A959-B on the beach for some videos but i don't wanna lose my car so hope if it broke i can still buy a replacement or upgrade the motor. Thanks anyway
I think if I was to get only one 1/18 scale rc and it was one of these I'd get the regular version but since I already have a "normal" 1/18 RC, it's a LaTrax (actually I have two). I will get the B, the reason is that usually a ridiculously overpowered RC car costs over $400 and I just don't have that kind of money. But this is cheaper than my LaTrax and goes way faster than my Traxxas Rustler. And even if the regular has better handling because it weighs less I already have a LaTrax and it handles great. So I think if you're just getting one RC car get the regular one but I'm getting the B.
Hello again, I just ran my RC a959 in sand, and sand got everywhere in the motor and chassis, I wiped it down, but sand is still stuck in it, any tips? Since it is not waterproof, it’s hard to clean
I just used a brush. Usually it takes care of sand, but it takes some time. When running in sand on the beach there's always a risk of getting sand in the gears and salt water on the metal parts. So goo d maintenance is the key.
Hey I have a question about both really what happens if you drive them out on a wet day when there are puddles or even at the beach when theres shallow pools can these both glide over them or will the water do damage and they'll break?
@@NordicRC thanks so is there anyway of waterproofing parts? E.g coating with hot glue. The parts that you can actually do that too without stopping movement of course?
Thanks, Matthew! Yeah, love them both too 🙂 Just got a couple of A969 and A979 in the mail today. Looking forward trying out those too. Thanks a lot for watching, bro.
Nice! They are actually going well at the beach. Love these little beasts. And OMG the B verision is just TOO fast! I think that is a little too much power for such a small car. Definitely recommend the standard verision if you want a little bit more controll over it. But if you want to go crazy! Get the other one. Greate video!😁👍🏻
Hey again, I ran my a959 in sand, and now, whenever I press the forward or reverse trigger, the buggy makes a clicking noise, it moves, but it clicks a lot. It sounds like maybe a gear Broke or something, have any ideas what it is?
Yeah, you probably got sand in the gears or/and a gear broken. You can always open it up and check it. Some times though, these ones "click" (if something get's stuck inside) but it usually dissapears again very quickly. But if it doesn't, only way is to open it up and see for yourself.
Nordic RC Visions yeah, I opened it up, and almost forgot how to put it back together, I tried to clean it. I got most of the big sand pieces out, also, how can I clean the Pinion and spur gear in the a959? I put wd40 on the two white gears in the back tough. I have heard that I’m not unposed to use wd40? Can you do another video in this series actually showing you opening and cleaning the buggy?
Br1aNn8 Yeah, I will open them up in a future video, but I’m not sure I will clean them in that video if they do not need cleaning. The gears should be maintained like any other RC. Check the gears for wear and tear (replace if you have to), clean and degrease the gears, wash the inside of the gearbox, and grease the gears (use silicone or ceramic grease or other gear grease - WD40 are just for outer metal parts, to prevent rust etc.).
Yes it does 🙂 General rule: Don’t run RC’s on sand unless prepared to do a lot of cleaning and maintenance. And like here in the video, it’s even worse with salty sand by the Ocean. But fun ... untill cleaning starts 😂
just lucked out, scored an A979 (390 power) from Amazon 30 bucks shipping included, ball bearings for the outers and 12 mm hex mounts on the way, for giggles a set of disc rims and drift tires that will narrow it up a bit, already have slightly taller+narrower rally tires to slap onto it after the 12 mm hex's arrive too. for a chassis this small, 390 power is really more than enough to scramble, 540 is beyond crazy for these.
That seems like a great score! And yeah, for the everyday run the 390 is plenty for this. Apart from some fun speed tests (where the crazy speed of the A959-B can prove fun) I definitely prefer the standard edition.
@@TalenTCasuaL It means the same as you wrote "if press trigger small then car goes slower" :-) So yes, how much you pull/press the throttle trigger is fully proportional to how fast your vehicle goes. Same with steering.
Yeah, modern phones actually work really good when there is good lighting (sun). I think the new iPhones and Samsung phones would work even better. I sometimes film with the Galaxy S9, and it has even better quality than this :-)
In thin video I use the iPhone SE. It’s the same camera as the iPhone 6. It does 4K in 30 fps. Thanks for watching my videos and the kind feedback, Brian!
Water, soap, oil, brush, cloth and a lot of time. Depends on what it was driving in. Check out Part 3 of this series where I clean them quickly after this beach run.
Hi ! Yeah, I agree, it's all up to what one wants personally. One isn't better than the other. And speed can be fun and so the B-version is the way to go :-)
This car may be fine to us on sand but. Most people do not live on a beach if you try to us at your local football field it's low ground clearance is insufficient unless the grass has just been cut it just sits with its wheels spinning if you try to use in a paved environment the high-speed coupled with its fragile plastic wheels means that the wheels break off the kerb stone or wall it hits My model broke after only 10 minites of road us This review is misleading
Really sorry (and strange) you feel that way. Too bad about your car. Never run your RC’s near walls or curbs if you don’t want to break them and repair them. Got tons of videos with these cars, the A959/A969/A979. On gravel. On pavement. On grass. In jumps. And all cars have a high risk braking when crashing them into walls and curbs. It’s a known fact. Especially small cheap ones. I almost never ever run my RC’s in streets with curbs etc.
I have had 2 Nikko 9.v slot in battery rc cars for fifteen years they came with metal wheels they have been used hundred times plus and have hit walls and kerbs at least a thousand times plus. They may not be super fast bu they are fit for purpose to use in an urban envionment this A5955 b is ridiculous and the wheels break the first kerb and grounds out on a football pitch so how can it be fit for purpose.?????? Wl toys need to make this model with larger wheels with metal hubs then it will be an OK car as a reviewer you should have picked this up yourself before recommend it to other users as it stand the car in its present form is only good on sand and dried out mud.
Ha ha ha, good luck finding a channel where you dictate where people should run their cars and the only good activity is running their cars into curbs like you do and no cars without metal hubs are allowed ... so ridiculous ... This is just my hobby and I (and every other channel I know) run our cars where we want to. Please find another channel.
Hola bandona como andan que coche rc sera bueno con un presupuesto 1000 que tenga calidad se que no es mucho presupuesto pero es para el regalo de navidad de mi hermano y quiero darle algo que no sea tan chafa como lo que venden en supermercado
I had the a979a it uncontrollable at the track now HYBRID032494 (on RU-vid) sent me a969a for free to fix up maybe it will be more controllable at the track because it has smaller tires
