Where do I go from here...

[Paul Busby]

13 minutes ago, m4inbrain said:

It voids warranty on Arrmas too. And on Hobaos. And any other company that doesn't explicitly mentions "it's okay to change connectors", because otherwise it's considered a rewiring and rewiring voids warranty. In fact MSUK issues a blanket warning for their ESC resolder service, that it can void manufacturers warranty. 

 

 

 

Indeed, but the Traxxas connector is specifically very unique to their trucks. This was a consideration to me when I bought my first RC, and it's a consideration whenever I'm looking at them now. If I was buying a new Arrma now, they come with IC5 which is a pretty decent and relatively universal one, also used by Axial, Losi... and other "horizon" brand at least, not to mention the support from battery manufacturers. I'm sure there is a good range who offer batteries pre-supplied with IC5. If I was splashing out for a really nice RTR now, I would contemplate switching everything over from XT90 (which is what was on my Kraton 6s when I bought it, and so it has become my in-house standard) to IC5 to accommodate that warranty. In reality I would likely always look for a roller/slider and put in my own electronics so we don't need to have this discussion at all.

 

Traxxas connectors are for traxxas cars and you need traxxas batteries... with that comes compatibility and to a certain degree safety, but against it is cost and flexibility. I mean, It doesnt make sense to put a traxxas connector onto a non-traxxas car... if you ask me... so I wouldn't make that my "standard".

Edited April 16, 2021 by Paul Busby

[Ant.p]

On the granite, I can’t see a brushless version. Am I missing something? Would you not want to upgrade the motor to brushless? Change the esc at the same time? Or is the stock setup really good to go out of the box?

[Ant.p]

6 minutes ago, Ant.p said:

On the granite, I can’t see a brushless version. Am I missing something? Would you not want to upgrade the motor to brushless? Change the esc at the same time? Or is the stock setup really good to go out of the box?

Ignore that - found the brushless version! So next question is, would I go brushed so I can then choose my preferred motor, or is the stock brushless decent?

[Ant.p]

What about this all new Vorteks? Would it be worth waiting for it?

[m4inbrain]

14 minutes ago, Ant.p said:

Ignore that - found the brushless version! So next question is, would I go brushed so I can then choose my preferred motor, or is the stock brushless decent?

 

You'd go straight brushless. It's decent stock - if it's anything like a Typhon 3s, it's not a straight swap either (i think motor mount and something else my mate mentioned). 

[m4inbrain]

Just now, Ant.p said:

What about this all new Vorteks? Would it be worth waiting for it?

 

Overpriced as hell, but very decent radio. Personally i don't like the design nor the "niche" the truck fills though. 

[Gadzooks]

Hi, I have recently bought a Corally Punisher, having had many cars over the years, my first car as a teenager was a Marui Ninja, giving my age away...I'd say Team  Corally are certainly a more fragile car compared to, say, an Arrma Kraton, especially in the rear suspension area. 6S is a quick car, just don't expect to be able to run down a battery unless you treat it very, very carefully. I'm nervous to jump mine, its that fragile...unless you land absolutely perfectly every time, the weak, composite plastic will snap. Corally needs to address the quality issues in its spare parts unless they have done it deliberately to keep you paying for spares...which is possible but a very short term outlook for any business. I wouldn't recommend them, personally. 

[Ant.p]

1 hour ago, Gadzooks said:

Hi, I have recently bought a Corally Punisher, having had many cars over the years, my first car as a teenager was a Marui Ninja, giving my age away...I'd say Team  Corally are certainly a more fragile car compared to, say, an Arrma Kraton, especially in the rear suspension area. 6S is a quick car, just don't expect to be able to run down a battery unless you treat it very, very carefully. I'm nervous to jump mine, its that fragile...unless you land absolutely perfectly every time, the weak, composite plastic will snap. Corally needs to address the quality issues in its spare parts unless they have done it deliberately to keep you paying for spares...which is possible but a very short term outlook for any business. I wouldn't recommend them, personally. 

I have the same problem with the FTX Carnage’s I currently have. I’ve learnt to only take one battery out with each car! Not really fit for purpose.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Ant.p

[Clayton01]

If your budget stretches that far I would go for the arrma kraton 6s.

[Gadzooks]

Just for additional proof that Corally is crap...this was from a low speed roll on grass, the metal pin remained straight. Bit of a joke really, snapped along the mould line. 

[Ant.p]

I’m now in a position to bite the bullet. Based purely on a majority vote, I’m now looking at the arrma granite or notorious. I’m not sure if it’s worth going to 1/8 or if I should stick at 1/10?! 🤷🏼‍♂️
 

To make things worse, I’m not 100% sure either is the right choice. This model will likely be with me for sometime so it’s not something I want to rush into. Having said that I can’t wait!!

 

just to confirm, I’m after being able to do stunts, on most terrain and it needs to be tough. Anymore thoughts from you guys would be appreciated, thanks 🙏🏻 

 

 

[m4inbrain]

Either Granite or Outcast/Notorious (same truck, different shell) are good choices. 

 

Granite is obviously cheaper, but the Outcast is "the deep end" - so if the truck has to stay with you, i'd argue that getting a 6s truck (and potentially running it 4s for a while) is the better choice over the long term. You'll end up with a 6s truck eventually anyway, so might as well skip the truck that you'd be replacing entirely and go straight to the truck that you'd end up with. 

 

Imho, anyway.

[Ant.p]

8 hours ago, m4inbrain said:

Either Granite or Outcast/Notorious (same truck, different shell) are good choices. 

 

Granite is obviously cheaper, but the Outcast is "the deep end" - so if the truck has to stay with you, i'd argue that getting a 6s truck (and potentially running it 4s for a while) is the better choice over the long term. You'll end up with a 6s truck eventually anyway, so might as well skip the truck that you'd be replacing entirely and go straight to the truck that you'd end up with. 

 

Imho, anyway.

Makes sense. I have to admit I was leaning towards 1/8 6 s just for a bigger change.

[Ant.p]

Is there a notorious v5 owners thread or similar? I’ve just done a search and can’t find anything. Was wondering what I may need/want to do to the car out the box if anything. I’m hoping to pick mine up before the weekend if I can get to the shop before it closes one day... 😁

[Paul Busby]

11 hours ago, Ant.p said:

Is there a notorious v5 owners thread or similar? I’ve just done a search and can’t find anything. Was wondering what I may need/want to do to the car out the box if anything. I’m hoping to pick mine up before the weekend if I can get to the shop before it closes one day... 😁

All the Arrma 6s cars are pretty similar really, so you can also look through threads related to Kraton/Typhon/Mojave to get ideas.

Personally I would suggest not dong too much out the box, just enjoy the car the way it was designed. It's a decent truck and they're relatively tough... just don't try and "Kevin Talbot" your car... as outside the XMaxx and Maxx, there really isn't any cars that can take THAT kind of punishment without mods.

 

You can do jumps and whizz about fields etc just fine, then when you break something, perhaps think about upgrades at that point. Don't be tempted to do the "alloy everything" path though, be selective. Sometimes things break because you made a mistake, not because the car needs an upgrade.

[Ant.p]

Thanks, @Paul Busby. That’s good to know, and you would hope that they’re robust with a price tag like that. Hard to resist the shiny upgrades though, they do look pretty!

[m4inbrain]

15 minutes ago, Ant.p said:

Thanks, @Paul Busby. That’s good to know, and you would hope that they’re robust with a price tag like that. Hard to resist the shiny upgrades though, they do look pretty!

 

They are, reasonably. 

 

If you just bash like a normal person, they're pretty stout. Once you start sending them like Talbot or Duperbash, they just throw their hands in the air. Of course, any RC can break on a borked landing (goes for Maxx and X-Maxx too, snapping suspension arms on the X-Maxx or driveshafts on the Maxx), but generally they're good. And, Paul is correct, don't just immediately throw hundreds of monies at it - drive it out of the box, upgrade as you break. If it doesn't break, it also doesn't need upgrading. 

 

I would also add, that not always the expensive shiny metal part is the correct replacement part. Either that part breaks as easily (or easier) - or, more likely, you push the  point of failure further down the RC. Something always has to give, if you replace the parts that usually give with parts that don't - something else will. Always. That's why i get the heebie jeebies seeing people running X-Maxx with alloy suspension arms. All that does is making sure that on the next borked landing instead of breaking the $12 arm, you either bend the £20 arm, or more likely, you rip the hinge pin out of the tub chassis, which means that the tub will need replacement.

 

Sometimes good composite is just flat out better - and that's me eating my own words here, because just two years ago i was convinced that plastic on an RC is a sign of flimsy. Polar opposite now.

[Clayton01]

I can vouch for arrma my Kraton 6s is a beast and takes a good bashing I jump mine and allsorts and its not let me down so far, like said by Paul above it's when you start going daft like Talbot that they start breaking but anything would we what he does to them.

Also straight out of the box on the Kraton they're was nothing i needed to add really, except a wheelie bar which you will definitely need lol, totally worth the high price tag in my opnion.

[Ant.p]

48 minutes ago, Clayton01 said:

I can vouch for arrma my Kraton 6s is a beast and takes a good bashing I jump mine and allsorts and its not let me down so far, like said by Paul above it's when you start going daft like Talbot that they start breaking but anything would we what he does to them.

Also straight out of the box on the Kraton they're was nothing i needed to add really, except a wheelie bar which you will definitely need lol, totally worth the high price tag in my opnion.

Wheelie bar is a good idea and I’m sure essential with all that power, but if I’m not mistaken, the notorious comes with one as standard? Either that or I’ve been looking at the wrong car 🤣

[Clayton01]

11 minutes ago, Ant.p said:

Wheelie bar is a good idea and I’m sure essential with all that power, but if I’m not mistaken, the notorious comes with one as standard? Either that or I’ve been looking at the wrong car 🤣

Yeah I think your right the Notorious does, god knows why the Kraton doesn't then 😠

[froggy8]

On 22/04/2021 at 16:18, Ant.p said:

Wheelie bar is a good idea and I’m sure essential with all that power, but if I’m not mistaken, the notorious comes with one as standard? Either that or I’ve been looking at the wrong car 🤣

did you get the granite at the end?

[Ant.p]

2 hours ago, froggy8 said:

did you get the granite at the end?

Hi there. Opted for a notorious in the end. I’ve since realised I should have forked out for the EXB version as I’ve slowly replaced the weaker parts from the BLX which have failed. The two most expensive being the diffs (all 3) and chassis. The wheels were replaced as I didn’t check the wheel nuts before a bash, so that could have been avoided. It’s possibly my favourite RC at the moment, it handles all terrain, and is tough as old boots.

[Kpowell911]

On 09/11/2021 at 16:15, Ant.p said:

Hi there. Opted for a notorious in the end. I’ve since realised I should have forked out for the EXB version as I’ve slowly replaced the weaker parts from the BLX which have failed. The two most expensive being the diffs (all 3) and chassis. The wheels were replaced as I didn’t check the wheel nuts before a bash, so that could have been avoided. It’s possibly my favourite RC at the moment, it handles all terrain, and is tough as old boots.

In all fairness my EXB needed loadsa upgrades anyway sooo

[Ant.p]

4 hours ago, Kpowell911 said:

In all fairness my EXB needed loadsa upgrades anyway sooo

But they are tougher than the BLX models. The diffs in my notorious were made of butter. The EXB diffs are way stronger.
 

Depends on how hard and where you bash I guess. Think I’ve been taking it easier since damage has been done, so maybe not a fair comparison of durability. Haven’t had any issues with mine for a while now though which is good!