Maverick Quantum RX - long term review.

[Lilredmachine]

I'm aware that there are a couple of threads on this particular car already, but wanted to note down some points in my experience of this cracking little bargain of a larger scale rally car. Especially in honour of it now being available for the quite frankly unbelievable price of just £220-£230 brand new from various retailers (Modelsport in particular obviously 😁)

 

I've had mine for around 5 months, and in that time I have bashed it, raced it at the local track in the 1/8th buggy B heats (they're an adventurous sort, always up for a laugh) broken it, fixed it, modified it and broken it again. 

 

Good points: 

 

A capable and relatively tough chassis - I haven't managed to break any arms or hubs or really damage the general structure in any way shape or form. A lot of this has to do with the fact that the body does a great job of protecting the wheels from taking bad knocks, and the bumpers are good and beefy, with the rear taking the form of a natty looking defuser.

 

A great brushless system for the money - this thing positively howls on 4s, and 3s is more than capable of being entertaining. A rebadged Hobbywing 120a esc and 36-74 2250kv motor mean the relatively lightweight chassis scoots well, and in turn the electronics stay pretty cool during pack after pack action. Power delivery is decidedly unapologetic as well, a welcome change in a budget RC whereas most others have a soft, wet feeling launch to protect often under specced ESCs and delicate drivetrains.

 

Price - Self evident! As a package it's a steal. 

 

Looks - love the wheels, bright colours and shouty defuser. It's also huge compared to anything else rally shaped. One point to note, it's around 20mm narrower than a 1/8th buggy, so doesn't suffer too much from the *wide load* effect most rally bodies for 1/8th buggies do. Obviously this is to taste, but it's hard to deny effort was made with this car. 

 

Working on it - honestly not bad, with only 9 screws to remove to have the motor/ mount/centre diff in your hand. Oil changes are a cinch. Front/rear diff access is also good, with the diff housings splitting front to back and not requiring removal of the shock towers etc. Hex hardware all round is another plus point, and not guaranteed on a budget RC. 

 

Bad points:

 

Bodyshell - being supported only at the front and rear on relatively tall body posts means it can bend awkwardly and crack in the middle under the windscreen during a roof landing. I highly recommend protecting the shell with the usual shoegoo/drywall tape trick before using. On a pretty cheap RC car, replacing it at around £65 is a pretty big pill to swallow. It's also a very divisive design, I very much like it and it reflects the present over-inflated crazy hatchback look in the WRC. However I have heard plenty of people say that they do not like it, so your personal opinion rules all. One thing I will say though is that the wing, wing mirrors and other little detail bits are all still attached! 

 

Radio gear, specifically the servo - Standard complaint on all RTRs, move along, nothing to see here. The stock smaller rally wheels help with this though, but still, you'll want to fling something better in it. 

 

Suspension - Big old minus point here. It's advertised as a 4s car, but the 1/10th size shocks struggle with the weight of such a setup. It really needs a set of beefy front 1/8th buggy all round to be sorted. Hence why mine now has that setup. It also does not come with sway bars which would really help the handling out, and I'm not sure there are any aftermarket options for them either. Even so, I was able to place it 2nd/1st/2nd in the B heats of the 1/8th buggy class at the local track with the standard setup with just oli changes in the diffs and a decent servo, so it isn't like it handles like a total pig. Crazy heavy shock oil (like 80wt) can help the stock shocks deal with life a bit better.

 

Stock tyres - Again, an RTR trope. They look great, but don't expect much if any grip on most surfaces. Rally tyres need to be a jack of all, master of none kind of deal but the stock tyres kind of miss the mark a bit. I think this is due more to a harder compound rather than anything else, but they are a bit too hard I think. 

 

Hinge pins - This car eats hinge pins. They are on road 1/10th scale sized, and though I've never had to stop running the car due to it, they will bend very easily causing the arms to bind up and the suspension to stop moving freely. Keep a stock on hand and swap them every now and then to keep it limber. 

 

Bearings - Again, a cheap RTR thing, you will want to replace the metal shielded bearings with some good quality rubber shielded bearings. I did mine soon after purchase and numerous bearings were already gritty and resistant to smooth movement. 

 

Despite these moans, it all adds up to a great package for the money, particularly when other brushless 1/8th rally cars are more than twice the price and represent a huge chunk of change to outlay for a niche market vehicle. Considering that you may not/can't use a rally car on as many surfaces as a monster truck (for example) it isn't something you buy as an only RC car, so north of 400 quid isn't usually really an amount of money people pay for a not-a-primary use RC. This money makes it worth a shout absolutely, and everyone should have one lurking in the house/garage/shed/boot of the car for a bit of fast and sideways fun. 

 

 

So, sorry for the long post, and if you made it this far thanks for reading. I really cannot recommend this car enough for the crazy money it is at the moment. If you use it on road/gravel style and don't subject it to an SRS level 1/8th buggy track like I did you may not come across some of the problems I had, but I'm honestly not complaining for the beating I have given it over the last 5 months or so. 

 

 

 

 

[Yorkshireman]

A very informative personal review that mate...thank you very much for taking the time to post this. I've often considered buying one of these myself, I maybe one step closer now ! 👍

[Lilredmachine]

3 minutes ago, Yorkshireman said:

A very informative personal review that mate...thank you very much for taking the time to post this. I've often considered buying one of these myself, I maybe one step closer now ! 👍

 

Thanks Yorkshireman, there's a fair amount more I could say but it's already very long. 😂 It's a good platform and the issues are easily modded out apart from the hinge pins, which don't take long to change and are (like all the parts actually) pretty cheap. I know the car to plump for in this segment is the WR8, but I wasn't sure if I'd like a rally setup and dropping that kind of coin wasn't appealing on a whim.

 

To be honest I kind of fancy picking up the R version for some car park hammering as well. 🤔 They are also cheap at the moment. 

[Eighteen O Five]

Great review! I'd love to know more about your shocks! 

 

I also have a RX Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/groups/2108057109384358/?ref=share

[Lilredmachine]

7 minutes ago, Eighteen O Five said:

Great review! I'd love to know more about your shocks! 

 

I also have a RX Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/groups/2108057109384358/?ref=share

Thanks mate! Facebook group looks cool, immediately saw the Vorza sway bar mod on there and took notes. 😂

 

The shocks are just front 1/8th buggy shocks. The chassis pics are from when I was testing the giant bore shocks from a Hobao on the rear but they are a bit too big and interfere with the rear body posts, hence why they aren't fitted in the pic. The front shocks from an older team c/ansmann 1/8th buggy are a smaller body but still vastly superior in damping and strength to the stock shocks, and fit perfectly fine with the rear body posts in place. Stroke is good for the arms and length at about 105mm is comparable to stock. 

 

if you do go that route I'd recommend the aluminium shock towers though, the stockers just flex like mad with the fat shocks on. 😂

 

[Mac Legge]

I found some sway bars to fit my R. 

 

Hpi vorza bars fit nicely with some minor mods. Can I post Facebook links in here? 

[Lilredmachine]

2 hours ago, Mac Legge said:

I found some sway bars to fit my R. 

 

Hpi vorza bars fit nicely with some minor mods. Can I post Facebook links in here? 

Have no idea on the links,  but I've seen the post on Facebook thanks to Eighteens link. I'll get the parts together for the fit, that and the 1/8th shocks should make it a proper weapon. 

 

I'm going to design a new rear body post mount for 3d printing that will allow for the fat shocks without interference. So if anyone needs a set let me know. 

[Mac Legge]

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/ugatg9GSvYdWVHrT/

 

I have just recently posted this, made the world of difference on my R bud. 

 

I only fitted a front one so far, I am going  to fit the rear aswell I think tho after some diff oil testing. 

 

 

Edit ** My bad 😅😅😅 I missed where you said "Thanks mate! Facebook group looks cool, immediately saw the Vorza sway bar mod on there and took notes. 😂" 

 

Enjoy the results lol 😅

Edited March 4 by Mac Legge

[GWtaylor]

Hi i have some hobao shocks lying aro7nd and wouldn’t mind fitting them if you get chance to 3d print a new rear body post in be interested please