What happened to Tenth Technology?

[300bhp/ton]

Are they gone? Pretty sure they turned into Xtreme Racing or something. But that was a few years ago. 

 

The Pred was such an awesome looking buggy. Or does it still live on in another guise somewhere?

[XV Pilot]

One of the many RC brands lost to the mists of time I suspect. They were never a large operation even at their peak, which was a good few years ago.

 

The concept of inboard pushrod operated shocks on an off-roader continues to be used on other models however, most notably those made by Traxxas, who allegedly had the cheek to try to patent the arrangement themselves and sue others for using it, even though they didn't come up with it. But that is perhaps a discussion for another thread...

Edited February 14, 2018 by XV Pilot

[heavyleftthumb]

at the time i was lead to believe the Tenth technology predator was a weapon int he right hands. lots of carbon and at the time newer ideas and thinking. id love one of there older stadium trucks. but i reckon they are like hens teeth now

 

[XV Pilot]

It was a formidable race weapon, but a fragile one. It was said to "win or die trying, usually the latter".

[Tug]

On 13/02/2018 at 16:01, XV Pilot said:

One of the many RC brands lost to the mists of time I suspect. They were never a large operation even at their peak, which was a good few years ago.

 

The concept of inboard pushrod operated shocks on an off-roader continues to be used on other models however, most notably those made by Traxxas, who allegedly had the cheek to try to patent the arrangement themselves and sue others for using it, even though they didn't come up with it. But that is perhaps a discussion for another thread...

 

This is what I initially thought, but apparently it was the cantilever that was the issue, the Arrma design was near identical to the Revo/Summit cantilever. I haven't read too much of it, it hurts my head trying to dissect the legal jargon, but that's the jist of it. In the last few years Traxxas have launched approximately 68 lawsuits! I think they really will try to get a patent on RC cars in general one of these days! It looks like they've done it with wheelie-bars, regardless of who's making them or for which model! Utter madness! 

[Tug]

A guy at the club I raced at had a Predator Ten, I can't remember if it was particularly quick, but it wasn't invincible in terms of strength, he did break it a few times. 

[horatio]

I had a Tenth Technology Predator in the early 00's and it was fair to say it was very quick. Like - it would out accelerate anything and had such a low centre of gravity, go around corners faster than any other buggy. 

 

In fact I'm pretty certain that on smooth astro or carpet tracks, the Predator of yester-year would beat anything there currently is on the market today. 

 

Sadly, the Pred had some issues. One of them was how fragile it was. If you clipped a track marking, or if another racer muscled you with a typical Yokomo or Losi - your Pred would be left strewn all over the track. 

 

Likewise, if you jumped too aggressively or didn't set your slipper clutch up right, you'd shed teeth off your input and crown gear inside the front/rear transmissions.

 

Taking out the diffs and replacing the said gears was part of normal Pred ownership. But, here was the deal breaker for me - the cases screwed into the composite tub.

 

Sooo, when these holes stripped, which they inevitably did, you either had to modify the chassis and cases with new countersunk bolts and lock nuts - or have a supply of (very expensive) tub chassis. Not a problem if you were sponsored by Tenth Technology, but prohibitively expensive if you were a privateer. 

 

It was a no compromise car. It was super fast, but compared to the ultra tough cars you see today, the Predator was a proper fussy, high maintenance diva of a car. Lots of fun though. 

Edited May 6, 2022 by horatio

[Merdaci]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226445242355?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=8j11u_vxt1y&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=8j11u_vxt1y&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[horatio]

2 hours ago, Merdaci said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226445242355?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=8j11u_vxt1y&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=8j11u_vxt1y&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Awesomeness. 😍

[wolfie1]

Apex models, i wonder whatever happened to them

[horatio]

5 minutes ago, wolfie1 said:

Apex models, i wonder whatever happened to them

Good question. They were a company I dealt with a lot at one point. 

 

I only ever had one bad experience from them, but it was a rogue member of staff over the phone. Otherwise, they had been consistently excellent to deal with. At some point in 2018 'poof' - gone. I think the last time I ordered anything from them was back in 2009. Parts for a Jammin X1 CRT. 😎 Great Truggy!