ARRMA Kraton EXB - Extreme Bash Roller Speed Truck

[Fly In My Soup]

On 04/07/2020 at 15:29, .AJ. said:

@Fly In My Soupis a bit more clued up on the factory set ups in Asia, but from what I’ve worked out ZTW, Surpass and Hobbystar all come from the same factory or at least the same manufacturing group 

 

Yes mate 

 

ZTW either produce for or are trading as (for ESC, servo... not inc motors) 

 

Jeti, hyperion, hacker, powerhd, hobby King, Turnigy, skytoro, gens ace, Hobby lobby, mystery, black mantis, hobbywing, there's a lot more too I've forgot... 

 

There's only a small number of oem esc suppliers out east... Sunpadow, feishan, ZTW, aixyo and a couple more..... 

 

The only true oem suppliers now are the smaller European firms, tp, kontronik, schulz etc etc

[BashingBrian]

My current Kraton is modded to the hill, probably into 4 digits I don't dare add it all up 🤣 but I'm still going to buy the EXB..!! ( may turn old Kraton into a Notorious )

I'm also going to put a high end esc/motor combo in it..🤪 to me this is Arrma's flagship vehicle so it deserves high end electronics..

 

In my opinion it's still going to need upgrades which I don't mind, someone has already stated RCdude81 has broken a rear brace and diff case already..!!

But come on people, who of us bashes like RCdude81 🤣 watching his vid I'm surprised more wasn't broken..!!

 

As for the aftermarket suppliers like M2C, CRCU, etc I really don't think it will impact their business all that much and my reasoning is people like to mod stuff it's that simple 😉

Also some of the new parts on the EXB aren't as tough as some of the parts M2C make, for example the hinge pin blocks are now thin steel rather than thin chinesium alloy and CRCU and M2C both make far superior versions of said parts..

 

At the end of the day the EXB will be the best Kraton to date, and the best thing about Arrma is they listen to fans and criticism of their products which in the end we all benefit from....

 

Oh and don't forget early next year they have big revisions of the 4s lineup too, to look forward to. And if the EXB sells well you know they'll release EXB versions of all the 6s lineup..!!

Edited July 6, 2020 by BashingBrian

[mydoddy69]

9 hours ago, BashingBrian said:

My current Kraton is modded to the hill, probably into 4 digits I don't dare add it all up 🤣 but I'm still going to buy the EXB..!! ( may turn old Kraton into a Notorious )

I'm also going to put a high end esc/motor combo in it..🤪 to me this is Arrma's flagship vehicle so it deserves high end electronics..

 

In my opinion it's still going to need upgrades which I don't mind, someone has already stated RCdude81 has broken a rear brace and diff case already..!!

But come on people, who of us bashes like RCdude81 🤣 watching his vid I'm surprised more wasn't broken..!!

 

As for the aftermarket suppliers like M2C, CRCU, etc I really don't think it will impact their business all that much and my reasoning is people like to mod stuff it's that simple 😉

Also some of the new parts on the EXB aren't as tough as some of the parts M2C make, for example the hinge pin blocks are now thin steel rather than thin chinesium alloy and CRCU and M2C both make far superior versions of said parts..

 

At the end of the day the EXB will be the best Kraton to date, and the best thing about Arrma is they listen to fans and criticism of their products which in the end we all benefit from....

 

Oh and don't forget early next year they have big revisions of the 4s lineup too, to look forward to. And if the EXB sells well you know they'll release EXB versions of all the 6s lineup..!!

Sorry fella you spent 4 figures  on a kraton to then buy another your probably need to mod and spend 4 figures on sorry fella but the only thing that springs to mind after reading this and wetting my self laughing was SUCKER 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

 

 

[m4inbrain]

On 06/07/2020 at 09:49, babylon said:

I never asked the question should you spend that sort of money on a motor, I asked do you need to, Still don't think you do, Electronics and ESC and Motors have moved on, The cars they are put in, Haven't.

Again, Spend your money on what you want, I have no idea why I bought another CRT RTR yesterday, I'v already got 2 used and 2 new Truggys sitting on a shelf, The only person I have to justify it to is myself, And you know what, I can't, I can't honestly sit here and say I needed it, In truth it was a wast of money, And if I stuck a 200 quid motor in my CRT, I'd feel the same.

 

No, of course we shouldn't. We're in the middle of a recession, with a lot of uncertainty as to what's gonna happen to the country in the next 12-24 months or so, so realistically, it's incredibly stupid to spend big (or at all, even) on something so unnecessary as RC stuff. Especially considering that most people here have at least £2000-£3000 worth of stuff in the garage already anyway. But i want to. I like having nice things, i work hard, do my chores, care for my wife - every now and then i reward myself, and that means getting nice stuff. Of course a 4092 Rocket will do the trick as well (in fact, i have one ordered too), it'll move the RC well enough. It's objectively idiotic to buy a £1200 buggy - but i wanted one. Same with this. The way i run most of my RCs, i don't need anything anywhere near as tough as this (if the hype is to believed). I'd probably never break or bend a normal Kraton. I've sold a 3 year old XXL2E to a forum member here (Simmyoto), which has an anodised bottom plate - which had a single scratch. It was basically brand new.  

 

This isn't a necessity. Neither the motor/esc, nor the truck itself. It's a luxury that i treat myself with. I stopped smoking through vaping, i've bought myself a £300 vaping device. Not because my prior £50 one didn't do the job - because i wanted a nice one. Hell, i just ordered a santoku knife that set me back.. i don't even want to say it. More than the Max6 cost me. Not because my amazon special cheapie doesn't cut me veggies anymore, but because it just makes the experience of cutting vegetables more enjoyable to me.

 

On 06/07/2020 at 09:49, babylon said:

I do relieve we are talking about a 1/8 Truggy are we not, A Truggy built and developed for 2020, Using the lightest and and strongest Alloy you can reasonably get hold off, As I said, People have been happily throwing about all sorts of Monster truck conversions, Truggys and Buggys for years with 80 and 150amp ESC connected to all sorts of motors and sizes, With 2000KV being the absolute sweet spot, Savages that could easily do an on the spot back flips,  But for some reason this new Kraton needs a 160amp ESC and a motor the size of a coke can.

 

 

No, not really. They're not using the lightest materials - the truck weighs 10lbs. Without electrics. If you look at something like the Mugen Seiki MBX8TE, that has a shipping weight of 8lbs. That includes box etc pp. The EXB isn't built light, it's built (allegedly) tough. It's not a racing truck despite being priced like one. In fact, the EXB weighs the same as a Kraton v4 with electrics. 

 

While you're not wrong: no, people haven't converted stuff to 6s bonkers stuff for many years - very few enthusiasts did, but the vast majority was stuck with 4s. I remember vividly the surprise when people realised that there's RCs that you can run on 6s without blowing it up multiple times a week. Hell, my XXL2E came with a castle 90A esc too. Which was woefully inadequate for the truck - letting off blue smoke for anyone who dared running it on 6s. If the diffs/slipper didn't explode first - despite being advertised as 6s ready. 

 

A 150A ESC is indeed enough, even today. A Max6 is a 160A ESC. Duperbash is running his EXB now with a Max8 because the Spektrum Firma didn't do it for him, also with a 4092 1730kv can. I just like having some overhead, so i don't run the electrics close to blowing the lid off. It doesn't need a Max6, i just don't want to take the risk - especially since there's just 20 bucks difference between the Max6 and Max8. In regards to the motor, again, not wrong: 2000kv for a normal truggy is still the sweet spot. A 1650/1730kv motor is more efficient though, and a 4985 is just a torque monster, leading to an entirely different driving experience. I personally would rather run a 1650 on 20t, than a 2000 on 18t. 

 

The reason why people throw MMX8S and 1717 in the EXB is because they intend to actually run it on 8s. I won't, but it'll be guaranteed fun to watch videos of it. 

 

Quintessentially, you can run it on a 2000kv max8 combo if you so desire, it'll probably work just fine (i say probably because i don't know for sure). It's not a necessity to go big, but a choice. 

Edited July 8, 2020 by m4inbrain

[fnknan]

4 hours ago, m4inbrain said:

people haven't converted stuff to 6s bonkers stuff for many years - very few enthusiasts did, but the vast majority was stuck with 4s. I remember vividly the surprise when people realised that there's RCs that you can run on 6s without blowing it up multiple times a week

Nah people have been running 6s for well over a decade. The mamba monster came out in 2008 and that was an extremely popular esc that many people ran on 6s. That's only about 2 years after lipos became popular in cars. It was came as standard in the brushless e'revo for a long time. So I wouldn't say that's valid. 

Edited July 8, 2020 by fnknan

[m4inbrain]

I have a different impression. Maybe i remember it wrong, but it was nowhere near "widespread". It wasn't even waterproof out of the box, and a 6s pack basically cost an arm and a leg. Probably shouldn't have said "very few", but arguing that it was even remotely anywhere near as common as it is today (6s RCs) is as wrong.

 

 

[Tug]

1 hour ago, fnknan said:

Nah people have been running 6s for well over a decade. The mamba monster came out in 2008 and that was an extremely popular esc that many people ran on 6s. That's only about 2 years after lipos became popular in cars. It was came as standard in the brushless e'revo for a long time. So I wouldn't say that's valid. 

 

Yeah, it must be ten years by now. I was spanking cars with 6S a long time back, had to tone it down to 4S because the cars I had couldn't take it. Spent years running 2200 motors geared up on 4S for 40+ m.p.h. This worked, but did stress the power-caps because of the Volt sag. 

 

Chandler Bing: "Could we be any more off topic"? 😉

[fnknan]

16 minutes ago, m4inbrain said:

I have a different impression. Maybe i remember it wrong, but it was nowhere near "widespread". It wasn't even waterproof out of the box, and a 6s pack basically cost an arm and a leg. Probably shouldn't have said "very few", but arguing that it was even remotely anywhere near as common as it is today (6s RCs) is as wrong.

 

 

Yeah I definitely wouldnt say it was nearly as common. But it's not like it was unfathomable like you said some people thought it was. Most of the big names in the RC electronics industry had 6s escs by 2010. They were very expensive though.

 

I'm not sure waterproofing would put many people off certain electronics. I'd never put my RCs anywhere near water for their own good lmao. Even if all the electronics were waterproof.

[m4inbrain]

Just now, fnknan said:

Yeah I definitely wouldnt say it was nearly as common. But it's not like it was unfathomable like you said some people thought it was. Most of the big names in the RC electronics industry had 6s escs by 2010. They were very expensive though.

 

I'm not sure waterproofing would put many people off certain electronics. I'd never put my RCs anywhere near water for their own good lmao. Even if all the electronics were waterproof.

 

I live in south wales, it rains here roughly 300 days a year. Especially on a basher, being waterproof is one of the main points (for me). 

 

I don't think i'd have bought any of my RCs if they weren't waterproof. And i corrected myself. 

 

In regards to off topic, watch the reaction to BashingBrians post, and then wonder why that might be. It's hard to discuss the truck/plans objectively when every time you lay said plan out, some arse acts like a 12 year old fortnite gamer. 

[fnknan]

7 minutes ago, m4inbrain said:

I live in south wales, it rains here roughly 300 days a year. Especially on a basher, being waterproof is one of the main points (for me).

Fair enough. I only ever run them when they're dry. After all, only the electronics are waterproof, not the actual cars, and I don't wanna do a service after every run.

[mydoddy69]

2 minutes ago, m4inbrain said:

 

I live in south wales, it rains here roughly 300 days a year. Especially on a basher, being waterproof is one of the main points (for me). 

 

I don't think i'd have bought any of my RCs if they weren't waterproof. And i corrected myself. 

 

In regards to off topic, watch the reaction to BashingBrians post, and then wonder why that might be. It's hard to discuss the truck/plans objectively when every time you lay said plan out, some arse acts like a 12 year old fortnite gamer. 

 Bit hard to take any thread serious when it’s off topic and folks are talking utter crap

 

I remember the days when a bit of light hearted banter was except able ! 

Maybe you need a few chill pills and to take that stick out your butt 👍

 

[m4inbrain]

2 minutes ago, mydoddy69 said:

 Bit hard to take any thread serious when it’s off topic and folks are talking utter crap

 

I remember the days when a bit of light hearted banter was except able ! 

Maybe you need a few chill pills and to take that stick out your butt 👍

 

 

Maybe i do. Maybe you need to stop acting like a toxic arse. If we both do that, it'll be like Lala-Land here. Deal?

[babylon]

Well I just had a look back through my profile, And I got my first XERun Combo, The 80amp version, Back in  February 2010, And I know I got the 150amp esc the next month.

7 hours ago, m4inbrain said:

No, not really. They're not using the lightest materials - the truck weighs 10lbs. Without electrics

 

 I had a look and it's advertised as 9lbs 10oz, And the 6s RTR is rated at 10lbs 11oz, That really only makes the BLX about 6oz heavier than the standard 6s like for like.

What I am more shocked at is how they have managed to make a line of trucks so heavy, I had a little look just out of intrest, How is it that the  Notorious RTR is rated at 11lbs 6oz, Yet a Hong Nor CRT wearing a set of Big Joe's, twin steering servo and a home made alloy battery tray can weigh.

 

That's just shocking.

[Nick]

Hey guys, I'm all for people having the freedom to express their opinions but if you don't agree with someone else - take it or leave it, lets not start getting confrontational.  There's been some strong opinions and it's created good discussion.

 

On 04/07/2020 at 22:28, RCbutcher said:

Wait what. Nick the Sirius motors was you? 

 

Thats crazy cool if so.

 

It was yeah. Short lived though, it was a limited amount of motors they had left over.

[m4inbrain]

1 hour ago, babylon said:

Well I just had a look back through my profile, And I got my first XERun Combo, The 80amp version, Back in  February 2010, And I know I got the 150amp esc the next month.

 

 I had a look and it's advertised as 9lbs 10oz, And the 6s RTR is rated at 10lbs 11oz, That really only makes the BLX about 6oz heavier than the standard 6s like for like.

What I am more shocked at is how they have managed to make a line of trucks so heavy, I had a little look just out of intrest, How is it that the  Notorious RTR is rated at 11lbs 6oz, Yet a Hong Nor CRT wearing a set of Big Joe's, twin steering servo and a home made alloy battery tray can weigh.

 

That's just shocking.

 

Well, i don't know how to work with ounces.

 

The Kraton v4 is 4.85kg RTR, the EXB is 4.37 without electrics. Paired with a Max8 (173g) and a 2200kv motor (418g), comes up to 4.92kg. Despite "more expensive stuff", it's heavier. Not by much (with this setup, looks different with a Max6 combo), but still - my point was that the money didn't go into making it lighter, because in that case they wouldn't have used so much metal - or different (more expensive) materials like titanium etc. The point of the exercise with the EXB is making it "tougher". 

 

Though admittedly, i had a look around, both EXB and Kraton are still considerably lighter than an E-Revo 2.0 - i thought Kratons are the heaviest truggies out there. 

 

But: yes. Generally, Kratons are pretty heavy, and the reason for that is really simple. Look at how people drive them. Not me, of course - as i said, i'd probably never break or bend a normal Kraton even, or any other 6s truck (at least not through my driving) - but there's not many RCs out there that get driven the way people abuse Kratons. That "toughness" has to come from somewhere. Case in point: the first Kraton weighed 8.8lbs, (http://www.rcdriver.com/arrma-kraton). That's, what, 20% lighter, compared to the v4?

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by m4inbrain

[Kpowell911]

On 02/07/2020 at 19:49, .AJ. said:

£429 on MS 👍 

 

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/index.php?product_id=1331329

This isnt great news for me...

[Kpowell911]

On 08/07/2020 at 05:09, m4inbrain said:

 

While you're not wrong: no, people haven't converted stuff to 6s bonkers stuff for many years - very few enthusiasts did, but the vast majority was stuck with 4s. I remember vividly the surprise when people realised that there's RCs that you can run on 6s without blowing it up multiple times a week. Hell, my XXL2E came with a castle 90A esc too. Which was woefully inadequate for the truck - letting off blue smoke for anyone who dared running it on 6s. If the diffs/slipper didn't explode first - despite being advertised as 6s ready. 

 

Ive agreed with every single comment youve made in this thread, but not this part? I seem to remember 6s being the norm way before 4s? Heck, im old enough to admit my first 1/8th  brushless system ran on 16 cell nimh! Haha!

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by Guns

[mydoddy69]

So they’ve been out a while but they seem to be having issues with exploding rear diffs ? Guess what though Jason Dearden has the answer you need to buy more parts for it 😂😂.  Guess where from yep you got it Arrma 😂😂. FAIL 

[Tug]

It's a new design, it's gonna have teething issues. A few vids out there explaining how and where to shim them. 

[mydoddy69]

39 minutes ago, Tug said:

It's a new design, it's gonna have teething issues. A few vids out there explaining how and where to shim them. 

 No sorry it’s not a new design this is meant to be the ultimate version of a truck that’s been around a while infact it’s on its forth version this being its fifth so teething issues just isn’t the expectable 

[Tug]

The diff is a new limited slip design, no?

 

33 minutes ago, mydoddy69 said:

 No sorry it’s not a new design this is meant to be the ultimate version of a truck that’s been around a while infact it’s on its forth version this being its fifth so teething issues just isn’t the expectable 

 

[mydoddy69]

3 hours ago, Tug said:

The diff is a new limited slip design, no?

 

 

The diff is a new design to Arrma yes granted but it’s not NEW yet again Arrma pumped out a product untested by the looks of it and yet again folks make excuses to defend there cock up, any other brand folks would be jumping up and down spiting feathers 😂

[Tug]

11 minutes ago, mydoddy69 said:

The diff is a new design to Arrma yes granted but it’s not NEW yet again Arrma pumped out a product untested by the looks of it and yet again folks make excuses to defend there cock up, any other brand folks would be jumping up and down spiting feathers 😂

 

Look on the bright side, it's yet another parade for you to urinate on. 

[mydoddy69]

1 hour ago, Tug said:

 

Look on the bright side, it's yet another parade for you to urinate on. 

There there wipe your eyes and pull your big boy pants up not sure why your getting so worked up about it it’s not like you designed it or work for them, I’ve merely reported what I’ve found out that some folks might not know and yet again it’s another screw up by Arrma  so chill out ! 

[Tug]

This is hilarious, you're the only one worked up, I couldn't give a monkey's. 

 

Have Arrma dropped the ball? I don't think so, most reviews seem to praise the car, diff failures don't appear to be that common, but as I'm no Arrma fan, I wouldn't know.