Looking for some feedback on either the HPI Venture SBK kit, Axial SCX10II builders kit, Element RC trail kit

[ljp83141]

I've been looking into building and trying scale crawling, It's an area of this hobby i haven't explored yet but from what I've seen in both this forum and on YouTube it looks like a lot of fun.

 

For the chassis, I have a budget of around £250 in my head.

 

Preferably i would prefer a kit rather than a RTR

 

so far the three chassis I have in mind are...

 

HPI Venture SBK kit : https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwjN5d-52p77AhUV7O0KHVNwBR8YABAJGgJkZw&sig=AOD64_0ath2ZtZd63l5ai9C3bz-OUON8rA&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiUptm52p77AhVPecAKHXc5Df4Q9aACKAB6BAgCEBE&adurl=

 

Axial SCX10II builders kit : https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwid2bqd3577AhWGtO0KHdS5CdoYABANGgJkZw&sig=AOD64_3I5c1gTaGoofrekdJ8VNSlONTcwA&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjnwLSd3577AhXJhFwKHVdWA8IQww8oAnoECAIQDQ&adurl=

 

Element RC trail kit : https://www.applianceelectronics.co.uk/viewproduct/19572/element-rc-trail-truck-builders-kit-2-el40114-

 

Does anyone have any real world experience they can share on these three chassis, mainly any issues, tweaks, upgrades etc.

 

Or, are there any other kits you would recommend instead of these three.

 

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by ljp83141

[Redback]

Cant go wrong with the element kits, the shocks are butterly smooth, transmission can be overdriven and is very smooth and quiet. Dont think it will dissapoint.



No experience with the others but im sure Axial and HPI fans will speak up.
Good places in the midlands to run would be Habberly Valley, Burton Dasset, Bradgate Park.

[m4inbrain]

Out of those three, the Element RC kit is by quite a margin the best one, but if you can stretch to it, i'd go with a TRX4 Sport kit. 

[ljp83141]

28 minutes ago, m4inbrain said:

Out of those three, the Element RC kit is by quite a margin the best one, but if you can stretch to it, i'd go with a TRX4 Sport kit. 

Interesting I forgot about the trx4. That one is a little out of my budget but I’ll keep it in mind. 

[m4inbrain]

4 hours ago, ljp83141 said:

Interesting I forgot about the trx4. That one is a little out of my budget but I’ll keep it in mind. 

 

It's a bit steeper than the Element kit etc, but it's still the best "low budget" kit out there at around £300 (i think there's one for £308 on Amazon). If you can't stretch to it, the Element is good too - but if there's the option, go for the TRX4 Sport kit.

 

edit: gives you the option for toys later down the line as well, like the 2speed or lockable diffs - can all be retrofitted, and while some people love to hate on portals, fact of the matter is that portals are a huge advantage.

Edited November 9, 2022 by m4inbrain

[Shergar]

As above, the TRX-4 sport kit is bomb proof - a bit more cash, but you get a fully shell thrown in too. Coupled to a Hobbywing 1080 and a Holmes motor your under £400 (!) easily.

[Redback]

I 2nd the trx4 for being bomb proof and portals are great for the trails, the only weak point is the amount of portal bearings to deal with when you get wet / rusty and the load they take means you do have to replace them often.
The element i have submarined and never replaced a bearing and much less off them.

Glug glug.

[Redback]

Edit: Element have announced new axles with updated diffs with machined gears and bigger pinion bearings for the solid axles, the diffs can be a bit cheesy under strong brushless power when reversing.
Maybe hold out getting a element kit as im sure these will be in the next release.

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2022 by Redback

[ljp83141]

22 hours ago, Redback said:

I 2nd the trx4 for being bomb proof and portals are great for the trails, the only weak point is the amount of portal bearings to deal with when you get wet / rusty and the load they take means you do have to replace them often.
The element i have submarined and never replaced a bearing and much less off them.

Glug glug.

🤣

 

I wonder, how quickly was the camera dropped to rescue it🤔

Edited November 10, 2022 by ljp83141

[Redback]

New enduro, with the new axles. I love inner fenders, nice to see them this time.

That being said i would not touch this rig with some one elses 10 foot pole, full of bushings, plastic shocks, simply gross cost cutting. Get the older v2 builders kits that have propper hardware.

Edited November 9, 2022 by Redback

[ljp83141]

I think I need to do some more thinking before deciding on a specific model. 🤔 

 

Cheers everyone for your insights and suggestions, it’s been really helpful👍.

[Lone-wolf]

11 hours ago, Redback said:

Edit: Element have announced new axles with updated diffs with machined gears and bigger pinion bearings for the solid axles, the diffs can be a bit cheesy under strong brushless power when reversing.
Maybe hold out getting a element kit as im sure these will be in the next release.

 

 

 

There is a new element rig coming out with these axles and looks pretty good

[Daddyroo]

11 hours ago, Redback said:

New enduro, with the new axles. I love inner fenders, nice to see them this time.

That being said i would not touch this rig with some one elses 10 foot pole, full of bushings, plastic shocks, simply gross cost cutting. Get the older v2 builders kits that have propper hardware.

Seems to come with steel wheels, wonder if along with the plastic shocks it's a move to lower the C of G to improve performance 

[ljp83141]

15 hours ago, Redback said:

That being said i would not touch this rig with some one elses 10 foot pole, full of bushings, plastic shocks, simply gross cost cutting.

How much would bronze bushings really effect performance? 
 

I understand the difference between bearings and bushings and that bushings create more drag and resistance which on paper would perform worse.  
 

But in reality, would that actually have any noticeable impact on the performance of a 1/10 crawler 🤔. They wouldn’t be at max rpm all the time unlike a basher, for example.

 

plastic bodied shocks don’t sound like a horrible idea as long as the plastics are a good quality composite.
 

It’s a shame it’s not offered in a clear shell to paint however you want.

Edited November 10, 2022 by ljp83141

[lorrylemming]

Price is going to be everything on this new SE model, hopefully around £250 but probably more like £290

[Redback]

5 hours ago, ljp83141 said:

How much would bronze bushings really effect performance?

I understand the difference between bearings and bushings and that bushings create more drag and resistance which on paper would perform worse. 

But in reality, would that actually have any noticeable impact on the performance of a 1/10 crawler 🤔. They wouldn’t be at max rpm all the time unlike a basher, for example.

plastic bodied shocks don’t sound like a horrible idea as long as the plastics are a good quality composite.

You can't maintain bushings like bearings, for casual trailing i'm sure they are fine and one 1/18 were the weight is low its ok.
Dust and dirt will grind into the bushing, wearing it away ruining the bushing and axle 2 replacements when it would usally be a single bearing. Same with if the transmission output a massive bushing, bearings arnt that expensive.
However for example if you want to upgrade to improve performance, it usually means adding weight and there for stress on the drive line, bearings handle this better also increased runtime due too less friction.
Maybe you want to upgrade to a brushless system or do harder crawling your not set to do this without high expense stiffening the driveline with metal links etc, the older kits are better value for money.
Every experience i have had with plastic or cheap shocks is bad, you really pay for what you get here and whilst element are known for good shocks the best way to reduce cg is flip them.
Pric e will be a big pinch point and this too me seems cheap, if its sub 200 its in the right spot, if its over that the gatekeeper or enduro are far better quality and bang for your buck.

Edited November 10, 2022 by Redback

[tomr]

11 hours ago, Daddyroo said:

Seems to come with steel wheels, wonder if along with the plastic shocks it's a move to lower the C of G to improve performance 

The wheels are plastic according to the video bud 👍🏻