Back Again (again!) Recommendations Please :)

[windmill84]

Hi all,

 

I used to be a regular on here many, many moons ago...! The last time I posted (2012 I think?!) I was asking for recommendations, but unfortunately it never went anywhere due to certain circumstances, but that's another story!!

 

Basically I'm trying to get back into the fold again and have been doing a bit of research on what I want/need again. I'm after a truggy or a truck for bashing/running around a big open field etc. Been looking on Modelsport as that's where I got my stuff from before. I was looking at:

 

Arrma Kraton 1/8 BLX £749 - (not heard of this Arrma brand before/wasn't around when I was involved, are they any good? (Top end of budget))

Arrma Kraton 1/8 V5 BLX £529 - cheaper, is there much difference between the two?

Corally Kagama XP £539 - again, don't know much about this brand

Corally Sketer 1/10 £389

HPI Vorza Truggy £499/£439 - What's the difference between the 'S' model and standard? I was familiar with the Vorza back in the day, but never got my hands on one

HPI Savage X Flux V2 £474 - Are they still as good as they were back in the day?

 

Had quite a few Traxxas models back in the day, but looks like the prices have shot up quite a bit since then! Could anyone offer some advice on the above mentioned models, or point me to some other things I should be considering? Ideally I want something (1/8?) that doesn't break on the first run and then have to wait a few days for spares to arrive lol. Is it still a requirement to upgrade all suspension arms to 'RPM' parts? I remember I broke a lot of those back in the day until I upgraded to those... 😉

 

Oh also, what's a decent charger these days? I imagine they've moved on a bit over the past 15/20 years! I was thinking about the SkyRC T200 Duo?

 

This time I will definitely be getting something as it's my 40th in November and I'm treating myself. I don't care what she says!!

 

Apologies for the long post, thanks in advance for anyone kind enough to respond 🙂

[300bhp/ton]

I can't really comment on the above cars, as I haven't run them. Tbh they are all a lot pricier than the type I normally look at. However, this is no reason to not go for them if they are in your budget.

 

Probably worth bearing in mind that these big powerful vehicles all require big powerful and more expensive batteries too. And likewise for parts etc.

 

I know the modern trend (if you watch Youtube) is to bash the hell out of your RC's to beyond the point of breaking them. But this isn't me, I tend to try and take better care and have no real desire to try and get them 30 feet or more airborne to see if they survive the landing.

 

I do agree long grass is better with larger tyres and bigger vehicles. Smaller RC's struggle on such terrain.

 

As for the above, I'd have thought any would be good. Just take your pick.

 

Charger wise, you will want something that can charge the batteries your model requires in a timely fashion. Again, I don't think there really are particularly bad chargers out there. I've been using an iMax B6AC for years. But it can only charge at a max of 5amps. so if you have large capacity batteries of high voltage, you'll want something to charge them in sensible time scales.

 

I would say, I think you can have a lot of RC fun for a whole heap less money if you wanted. Although it depends on your exact use and if you are running it with other people and cars.

[Stormbringer]

Hi and welcome back

The Team Corally stuff is good as good if not better than Arrma imo 

[windmill84]

2 hours ago, 300bhp/ton said:

I can't really comment on the above cars, as I haven't run them. Tbh they are all a lot pricier than the type I normally look at. However, this is no reason to not go for them if they are in your budget.

 

Probably worth bearing in mind that these big powerful vehicles all require big powerful and more expensive batteries too. And likewise for parts etc.

 

I know the modern trend (if you watch Youtube) is to bash the hell out of your RC's to beyond the point of breaking them. But this isn't me, I tend to try and take better care and have no real desire to try and get them 30 feet or more airborne to see if they survive the landing.

 

I do agree long grass is better with larger tyres and bigger vehicles. Smaller RC's struggle on such terrain.

 

As for the above, I'd have thought any would be good. Just take your pick.

 

Charger wise, you will want something that can charge the batteries your model requires in a timely fashion. Again, I don't think there really are particularly bad chargers out there. I've been using an iMax B6AC for years. But it can only charge at a max of 5amps. so if you have large capacity batteries of high voltage, you'll want something to charge them in sensible time scales.

 

I would say, I think you can have a lot of RC fun for a whole heap less money if you wanted. Although it depends on your exact use and if you are running it with other people and cars.

 

 Re-reading my post back, I realised I said "Back in the day" a lot, apologies for that! 😂

 

I have a reasonable budget to play with, but I'd rather spend a bit less TBH, but there is also that fun factor of having the biggest/best thing you can afford (for me anyway, I understand not everyone is like that!) If you could recommend me something a bit cheaper that would be good 🙂 Yeah I remember batteries being expensive as well. Hobbyking used to be a good site, is that still used much?

 

I don't really want to bash the hell out of whatever I get straight away, but it would be nice to be able to do a few jumps/accidental crashes without breaking it first go haha. I remember my first stock Rustler VXL, first run/drive about I hit a tennis court net post and broke it within the first 5 minutes, I was so annoyed/disappointed!

 

Ahh I remember those old B6's "back in the day!" 😉 I'm impressed yours is still going 🙂

 

Initially I'll just be running by myself, might meet up with others in the future.

 

1 hour ago, Stormbringer said:

Hi and welcome back

The Team Corally stuff is good as good if not better than Arrma imo 

 

OK thanks for the tip, I'll take a look and do some research into Corally 🙂

Edited October 9 by windmill84

[Partydaz]

Thumbs up on the team corally bashers 👍 , the 4s stuff is good I have had a syncro 4 since start of summer and absolutely abused it 😅 its gotten to the point I have the same trust in it to not break as my Traxxas Maxx truck 😃.

 

Syncro 4 centre drive shafts have seen better days and the centre drive cups are worn to high heaven only weakness I can see but wear n tear I suppose always upgrades to get 😃 & the 6s Kagama is a beast super fun and takes a beating like its nothing.

 

If after totally tank mode Traxxas Maxx 4s is good, handles like a monster truck if that's your thing but it rarely breaks only wears bits down from use, had mine for over 2 1/12 years and I only upgraded parts because I fancied a change. It has its weak points like all rc cars but nothing silly that costs the earth. You can get one 2nd hand off ebay and save a packet.  

[wolfie1]

I have recently come to own an arrma truck, they may seem like better value to buy to begin with but parts are way more expensive than traxxas maxx spares for example and the maxx takes more of a beating, as far as team corally i have no experience, hpi stuff well i was a big fan of them but parts are harder to get hold of so dont really do much with mine these days. I do have an xmaxx and it is awesome best rc i have ever owned but its size is a plus and a minus at the same time you can run it on so many surfaces but you need a large area to run

Edited October 9 by wolfie1

[m4inbrain]

13 hours ago, windmill84 said:

 

Arrma Kraton 1/8 BLX £749 - (not heard of this Arrma brand before/wasn't around when I was involved, are they any good? (Top end of budget))

Arrma Kraton 1/8 V5 BLX £529 - cheaper, is there much difference between the two?

Corally Kagama XP £539 - again, don't know much about this brand

Corally Sketer 1/10 £389

HPI Vorza Truggy £499/£439 - What's the difference between the 'S' model and standard? I was familiar with the Vorza back in the day, but never got my hands on one

HPI Savage X Flux V2 £474 - Are they still as good as they were back in the day?

 

 

For starters, welcome back. 

 

For the list, i have owned most of these at one point in time or another, apart from the Sketer and Forza (but i had another Corally similar to the Sketer, and another HPI Truggy). 

 

Lets start from the beginning, don't go to Hobbyking. While reasonable in regards to batteries, there are better options out there now (notably CNHL) for the same price/cheaper. Their RCs are mediocre at best if one is generous, by now pretty overpriced and of course, basically no spares to be had. 

 

For the rigs on the list. The £749 Kraton is a so called EXB. That's what Arrma calls their "tougher" variants. Having owned that particular vehicle (while my neighbour had a normal V5), not worth it. They break just as much as a V5, except you now also have to deal with chocolate diffs. If you can, i'd go for a used V4. That's probably the most "refined" variant.

 

Kagama, is okay. I was a bit disappointed seeing that there wasn't that much different to their original Kraton competitor, the Kronos. 

 

The Sketer i didn't like, i'll be blunt. I thought it was way too heavy for a dinky rig like that, and indeed, one of our club members broke it basically every time we went out. 

 

HPI Vorza - long in the tooth now. Too expensive for what it is. It's not bad per se, but it's HPI. Middle of the line quality. 

 

Savage Flux: nah. Just nah. I used to love the Savage like 20 years ago, but there's just so much better designed stuff out there now, it's just not worth it. 

 

There's two rigs in this list missing that i'd take over any of the ones listed, any day of the week. 

 

Traxxas Maxx, and Hobao Hyper MT 2/plus. The Maxx is a bit expensive initially (as all Traxxas stuff), but spares are cheap, and the rig is well designed (the only one here with actual engineering in the chassis). Traxxas, regardless of how much hate they (rightfully) get, still do the best plastics in the hobby. I had two, just sold them because in the end, i still picked the X-Maxx over those.

 

And lastly, Hyper MT 2. Granted, that one i know the least about, but i know it's not an Arrma so it doesn't come with their awful stock electrics (people like to give Traxxas fire for the VXL systems, but Spektrum crap is just as bad), but a rebranded hobbywing ESC. I've only heard good stuff about it, would be my next rig if i still needed a basher. 

 

Objectively, the best fun basher out there is probably the X-Maxx. Only rig that i've kept over the years. Now.. You do pay through the nose for it of course, but it's a tough truck, with awesome presence. It's not fast as such (cornering - straight line it goes like stink), but there's nothing that comes even close to it when it comes to making you feel awesome. Maybe a Raminator, one of our club members has one, but that's a pipe dream lol. 

 

If you don't want to/can't stretch to the X-Maxx (and i can't blame you either way), i'd personally go with the Maxx. Yeah, not a 6s rig (out of the box) but still plenty fast. 

 

Brings me to another thing.. Why (almost) all 6s rigs? Having owned a few 4s rigs now (Outcast 4s V2/Maxx), they're  just as fast, cheaper to repair/run, and usually are also tougher due to less metal on the chassis (plastic tubs don't bend). If there's no particular aversion, i would probably make it a toss-up between Kraton/Outcast 4s and Maxx. 

 

On an entirely unrelated note, i also got an almost mint Outcast 4s V2 for sale, cheapish. 😁

On a more serious note, my genuine vote goes to the Maxx. 

[300bhp/ton]

Just to throw out some other options as an alternative point of view. Not that I have any first hand experience, but at this sort of price range they appeal to me. As how something looks also plays a part of it for me.

 

Axial RBX10 Ryft

 

Losi LMT 4WD Solid Axle Monster Truck

 

Custom Clod Buster build from the Clodshop:

 

[m4inbrain]

Stay away from the Ryft. It's awful in every conceivable way. It doesn't have an actual niche. It's too flimsy to rockbounce, it's too low/incapable of crawling, it doesn't have enough power/wheel weight (rotation) for bashing.. It's just bad. And extremely flimsy. With awful stock electrics. From experience. I'd almost call it worse than a Lasernut. 

 

The LMT is great, loved mine - but, it isn't really a great basher. The body will tear in the first outing, and cornering in a solid axle rig is.. questionable. The LMT is something for someone who actually wants a monster truck. A "real" monster truck, as opposed to X-Maxx etc which are, quintessentially, lifted Truggies. 

 

I have no experience with the Clodbuster, so i can't comment. But it isn't a great option for someone who looks for something Truggy-ish, i can say that much. While LMT and Clodbuster are cool, none of these three rigs will do Truggy things. 

[windmill84]

20 hours ago, Partydaz said:

Thumbs up on the team corally bashers 👍 , the 4s stuff is good I have had a syncro 4 since start of summer and absolutely abused it 😅 its gotten to the point I have the same trust in it to not break as my Traxxas Maxx truck 😃.

 

Syncro 4 centre drive shafts have seen better days and the centre drive cups are worn to high heaven only weakness I can see but wear n tear I suppose always upgrades to get 😃 & the 6s Kagama is a beast super fun and takes a beating like its nothing.

 

If after totally tank mode Traxxas Maxx 4s is good, handles like a monster truck if that's your thing but it rarely breaks only wears bits down from use, had mine for over 2 1/12 years and I only upgraded parts because I fancied a change. It has its weak points like all rc cars but nothing silly that costs the earth. You can get one 2nd hand off ebay and save a packet.  

 

That's pretty high praise for Corally then if you trust it as much as the Maxx not to break! I can't seem to find the Maxx 4S for sale new anywhere, seems like it's the 'Wide Maxx' now? I'll take a look on ebay, that's a good shout. I know it's silly, and I could save a whole bunch of money 2nd hand, but ideally I wanted something 'new new' for my first purchase if that makes sense. I'll definitely take a look though as there might be something that is too good to resist 🙂

 

14 hours ago, wolfie1 said:

I have recently come to own an arrma truck, they may seem like better value to buy to begin with but parts are way more expensive than traxxas maxx spares for example and the maxx takes more of a beating, as far as team corally i have no experience, hpi stuff well i was a big fan of them but parts are harder to get hold of so dont really do much with mine these days. I do have an xmaxx and it is awesome best rc i have ever owned but its size is a plus and a minus at the same time you can run it on so many surfaces but you need a large area to run

 

That's good advice RE spares costs and availability, thank you 🙂 while it seems like a good idea to buy a 'cheaper' model initially, I have to take into account the cost and availability of the spares too, so I will bear that in mind.

 

13 hours ago, m4inbrain said:

 

For starters, welcome back. 

 

For the list, i have owned most of these at one point in time or another, apart from the Sketer and Forza (but i had another Corally similar to the Sketer, and another HPI Truggy). 

 

Lets start from the beginning, don't go to Hobbyking. While reasonable in regards to batteries, there are better options out there now (notably CNHL) for the same price/cheaper. Their RCs are mediocre at best if one is generous, by now pretty overpriced and of course, basically no spares to be had. 

 

For the rigs on the list. The £749 Kraton is a so called EXB. That's what Arrma calls their "tougher" variants. Having owned that particular vehicle (while my neighbour had a normal V5), not worth it. They break just as much as a V5, except you now also have to deal with chocolate diffs. If you can, i'd go for a used V4. That's probably the most "refined" variant.

 

Kagama, is okay. I was a bit disappointed seeing that there wasn't that much different to their original Kraton competitor, the Kronos. 

 

The Sketer i didn't like, i'll be blunt. I thought it was way too heavy for a dinky rig like that, and indeed, one of our club members broke it basically every time we went out. 

 

HPI Vorza - long in the tooth now. Too expensive for what it is. It's not bad per se, but it's HPI. Middle of the line quality. 

 

Savage Flux: nah. Just nah. I used to love the Savage like 20 years ago, but there's just so much better designed stuff out there now, it's just not worth it. 

 

There's two rigs in this list missing that i'd take over any of the ones listed, any day of the week. 

 

Traxxas Maxx, and Hobao Hyper MT 2/plus. The Maxx is a bit expensive initially (as all Traxxas stuff), but spares are cheap, and the rig is well designed (the only one here with actual engineering in the chassis). Traxxas, regardless of how much hate they (rightfully) get, still do the best plastics in the hobby. I had two, just sold them because in the end, i still picked the X-Maxx over those.

 

And lastly, Hyper MT 2. Granted, that one i know the least about, but i know it's not an Arrma so it doesn't come with their awful stock electrics (people like to give Traxxas fire for the VXL systems, but Spektrum crap is just as bad), but a rebranded hobbywing ESC. I've only heard good stuff about it, would be my next rig if i still needed a basher. 

 

Objectively, the best fun basher out there is probably the X-Maxx. Only rig that i've kept over the years. Now.. You do pay through the nose for it of course, but it's a tough truck, with awesome presence. It's not fast as such (cornering - straight line it goes like stink), but there's nothing that comes even close to it when it comes to making you feel awesome. Maybe a Raminator, one of our club members has one, but that's a pipe dream lol. 

 

If you don't want to/can't stretch to the X-Maxx (and i can't blame you either way), i'd personally go with the Maxx. Yeah, not a 6s rig (out of the box) but still plenty fast. 

 

Brings me to another thing.. Why (almost) all 6s rigs? Having owned a few 4s rigs now (Outcast 4s V2/Maxx), they're  just as fast, cheaper to repair/run, and usually are also tougher due to less metal on the chassis (plastic tubs don't bend). If there's no particular aversion, i would probably make it a toss-up between Kraton/Outcast 4s and Maxx. 

 

On an entirely unrelated note, i also got an almost mint Outcast 4s V2 for sale, cheapish. 😁

On a more serious note, my genuine vote goes to the Maxx. 

 

Firstly, wow, thank you very much for the detailed response and recommendations, I'm very grateful, this was the kind of advice I was after 🙂

 

RE Hobbyking, yeah I wasn't going to get any models from them, I just meant I used to use them for batteries sometimes as at the time they were quite well rated and was wondering if that was still the case. Thanks for the tip on CNHL, I'll look in to that. Sorry for the 'Noob' question... but is that an acronym, or can I just google it and it'll be obvious what you're referring to?! (haven't had a chance to google it yet! haha) Edit: I've now googled it and found the answer 😉 thanks again.

 

It seems like everyone is raving about the Traxxas Maxx or X Maxx... I wasn't really planning to spend 1k+ on an RC car, but it looks like that's the way I'm being pushed currently 😂😂 Does anyone rate the Wide Maxx as a cheaper alternative to the X Maxx?

 

The HoBao Hyper MT Plus looks great! But it's out of stock/supplier order, along with all the parts that I may need as well, so that might be a no go unfortunately 😞 Also, it has an aluminium chassis, isn't that bad? because there's less flex in it? Plastic flexes and can bend back, whereas if the chassis gets bent, it stays bent in aluminium lol. (Not that I intend to go bashing that hard straight off the bat!!)

 

RE "Why 6S?" Well, TBH I was probably just going to get some 4S batteries to get me back into it again and get used to handling etc, then move up to 6S (or at least be able to have 6S capability out of the box) when I was ready/comfortable, if that makes sense? The X Maxx is 8S OOTB 😮 The other reason I was looking at the 6S models is, they are BIG hahaha. I want something with a bit of presence, I'll get a 1/10 1/16 for the daughter 😉 

 

Hahaha subtle for sale plug there I noticed! 😉 I did actually see that earlier while I was looking round the site, looks good, but as I mentioned earlier I'd prefer to get something new first for me. Perhaps I could get yours in the future for the daughter... 😉

 

11 hours ago, 300bhp/ton said:

Just to throw out some other options as an alternative point of view. Not that I have any first hand experience, but at this sort of price range they appeal to me. As how something looks also plays a part of it for me.

 

Axial RBX10 Ryft

 

Losi LMT 4WD Solid Axle Monster Truck

 

Custom Clod Buster build from the Clodshop:

 

 

Thanks for the alternatives, while they do look awesome (and they really do!) I'll have to agree with M4 on this as they're not really what I'm after currently. Thanks though for the ideas 🙂

 

 

 

 

It's so funny reading all your replies, seems I'm easily swayed by a single person's view hahaha. One person says "X is good, you should get that" so I'm convinced, another says "Nah, X is no good, you want Y!", OK I'll go for Y then. Then another comes along and says "Nah don't bother with X or Y, what you want is Z!!!" Looks like whoever posts last will convince me on what to get....! 😂😂😂 (perhaps my brain is broken lol 😕)

 

Looking forward to some more replies/advice/recommendations when you get the chance. Thanks again 🙂

 

 

Edit: Apologies, I've just realised that the WideMaxx IS the new Maxx! 🤦‍♂️ Shame it's 1/10 scale.... 

Edited October 10 by windmill84

[Darren Frosty]

Corally parts are cheaper than Arrma.

[m4inbrain]

2 hours ago, windmill84 said:

Edit: Apologies, I've just realised that the WideMaxx IS the new Maxx! 🤦‍♂️ Shame it's 1/10 scale.... 

 

Here's a great tip: don't look at the scale part. Compare the Widemaxx actual size with, for example, the Notorious V5 (which i'd take over the Kraton, btw). 

 

The Maxx is the same size as a 1/8th Kraton. 

[Partydaz]

Aye the Maxx is bigger than a normal 1/10th , It looks massive to some of the 1/10th stuff that get about the track by me 😅

[windmill84]

Thanks M4 and Daz, I did look at the size of it after foolishly posting that it was only a 1/10.... it's nearly 60cm long 😮 

 

Looks like I'll be getting one of those then, watch this space 😉 Anyone got an opinion on the Traxxas Sledge?

 

'Quick' question about the Traxxas batteries, what's with the extra mini cables that go into the connector? Can I use 'normal' batteries (lipos) to connect to the ESC on the model? Sorry for the question, but it's been a while and without having the actual model or batteries/charger in front of me it's hard to go by the pictures

[m4inbrain]

13 minutes ago, windmill84 said:

Thanks M4 and Daz, I did look at the size of it after foolishly posting that it was only a 1/10.... it's nearly 60cm long 😮 

 

Looks like I'll be getting one of those then, watch this space 😉 Anyone got an opinion on the Traxxas Sledge?

 

'Quick' question about the Traxxas batteries, what's with the extra mini cables that go into the connector? Can I use 'normal' batteries (lipos) to connect to the ESC on the model? Sorry for the question, but it's been a while and without having the actual model or batteries/charger in front of me it's hard to go by the pictures

 

The Sledge is.. difficult. I kind of want one, but i do know that there's flaws. Particularly, the price. Like most Traxxas stuff, they charge too much for it. I haven't heard too much awfulness in regards to the rig itself. 

 

As for the batteries - don't. Don't go for Traxxas batteries, for starters. The Traxxas connector in itself is awful. I'm not sure what you mean by "extra mini cable", there usually is just positive and negative coming out of them. IC5 connectors have an additional cable coming out, which is for the SMART stuff (battery monitoring etc). 

 

You can run any connector on any RC, as long as you make sure that they're rated for the correct amps. On the Maxx/Sledge, you can't run XT60 connectors for example, they're too small (would melt). 

 

In general, most RCs require soldering skills - either sooner or later. Traxxas rigs require it sooner - you want to unbox your Maxx, open the lid, and snip the TRX connector out there, and solder an XT90 in. That goes for any Traxxas vehicle. I personally dislike IC5, so i do the same thing for all Arrma/Horizon Hobby (the parent company, Axial etc are part of that too) RCs as well.

 

edit: misread, thought you were talking about a small extra cable on the rig. On the battery, it's just "their version" of a balance connector (integrated into the plug - if you look at a normal CNHL pack, they have two connectors, power plug and balance plug). It's to ensure that you're forced to buy a Traxxas charger, because you can't really connect the balance connector of a traxxas pack to a normal charger.

Edited October 10 by m4inbrain

[Lone-wolf]

4 hours ago, windmill84 said:

 

That's pretty high praise for Corally then if you trust it as much as the Maxx not to break! I can't seem to find the Maxx 4S for sale new anywhere, seems like it's the 'Wide Maxx' now? I'll take a look on ebay, that's a good shout. I know it's silly, and I could save a whole bunch of money 2nd hand, but ideally I wanted something 'new new' for my first purchase if that makes sense. I'll definitely take a look though as there might be something that is too good to resist 🙂

 

 

That's good advice RE spares costs and availability, thank you 🙂 while it seems like a good idea to buy a 'cheaper' model initially, I have to take into account the cost and availability of the spares too, so I will bear that in mind.

 

 

Firstly, wow, thank you very much for the detailed response and recommendations, I'm very grateful, this was the kind of advice I was after 🙂

 

RE Hobbyking, yeah I wasn't going to get any models from them, I just meant I used to use them for batteries sometimes as at the time they were quite well rated and was wondering if that was still the case. Thanks for the tip on CNHL, I'll look in to that. Sorry for the 'Noob' question... but is that an acronym, or can I just google it and it'll be obvious what you're referring to?! (haven't had a chance to google it yet! haha) Edit: I've now googled it and found the answer 😉 thanks again.

 

It seems like everyone is raving about the Traxxas Maxx or X Maxx... I wasn't really planning to spend 1k+ on an RC car, but it looks like that's the way I'm being pushed currently 😂😂 Does anyone rate the Wide Maxx as a cheaper alternative to the X Maxx?

 

The HoBao Hyper MT Plus looks great! But it's out of stock/supplier order, along with all the parts that I may need as well, so that might be a no go unfortunately 😞 Also, it has an aluminium chassis, isn't that bad? because there's less flex in it? Plastic flexes and can bend back, whereas if the chassis gets bent, it stays bent in aluminium lol. (Not that I intend to go bashing that hard straight off the bat!!)

 

RE "Why 6S?" Well, TBH I was probably just going to get some 4S batteries to get me back into it again and get used to handling etc, then move up to 6S (or at least be able to have 6S capability out of the box) when I was ready/comfortable, if that makes sense? The X Maxx is 8S OOTB 😮 The other reason I was looking at the 6S models is, they are BIG hahaha. I want something with a bit of presence, I'll get a 1/10 1/16 for the daughter 😉 

 

Hahaha subtle for sale plug there I noticed! 😉 I did actually see that earlier while I was looking round the site, looks good, but as I mentioned earlier I'd prefer to get something new first for me. Perhaps I could get yours in the future for the daughter... 😉

 

 

Thanks for the alternatives, while they do look awesome (and they really do!) I'll have to agree with M4 on this as they're not really what I'm after currently. Thanks though for the ideas 🙂

 

 

 

 

It's so funny reading all your replies, seems I'm easily swayed by a single person's view hahaha. One person says "X is good, you should get that" so I'm convinced, another says "Nah, X is no good, you want Y!", OK I'll go for Y then. Then another comes along and says "Nah don't bother with X or Y, what you want is Z!!!" Looks like whoever posts last will convince me on what to get....! 😂😂😂 (perhaps my brain is broken lol 😕)

 

Looking forward to some more replies/advice/recommendations when you get the chance. Thanks again 🙂

 

 

Edit: Apologies, I've just realised that the WideMaxx IS the new Maxx! 🤦‍♂️ Shame it's 1/10 scale.... 

M4 has given some very good and well thought out advice on a lot of points, he knows what he is talking about

[m4inbrain]

1 minute ago, Lone-wolf said:

M4 has given some very good and well thought out advice on a lot of points, he knows what he is talking about

 

 

😁

[Partydaz]

As a person who got into the hobby with the traxxas charger / lipo combo, the chargers and lipos are not worth the money you can charge the lipos on normal chargers if need be but you need an adaptor.

 

Bit of time researching lipo basics and chargers will net you better kit and more lipos because traxxas ones are silly cash 😲. It can be a bugger finding lipos that fit some traxxas cars, I had a right game finding lipos for the Traxxas UDR and revo 2.0 🙈.

 

Also chopping off the traxxas plugs off your new traxxas esc will void the warranty of the esc 😬 but thats if you care about that stuff 😆, you could use adaptors but I have found them hit and miss and now just whack XT90 on all my kit 😃 .

Edited October 10 by Partydaz
missed words

[m4inbrain]

Adapters work, just not a huge fan of it. If you can get a quality one, or are capable of soldering it properly yourself, fair game - i've seen some proper botched stuff, wouldn't trust them unless i make them myself. 

 

I only ever had one ESC go poof, and that was (ironically) in the X-Maxx. They're known to go. Warranty in that case didn't matter because A: why would i want another ESC of the one that just blew up and B: nobody else wants them either - so it never mattered to me. 

If the ESC goes bad, you get a Max8 and forever sleep peacefully. That's just par for the course in the hobby - at least in my opinion. 

[Gaz!]

15 minutes ago, Partydaz said:

 

Also chopping off the traxxas plugs off your new traxxas esc will void the warranty of the esc 😬 but thats if you care about that stuff 😆, you could use adaptors but I have found them hit and miss and now just whack XT90 on all my kit 😃 .

 

Now you say that but i did have one replaced (a few years ago), spoke to the shop explains why I’d changed the old 2 wire Traxxas connector to a Losi ec3 and it got sorted, a fresh replacement direct from Traxxas, with another stock connector fitted.

 

that was as i say a few years ago and back then it was just a 2 wire connection, however nowadays they have the multi wire connectors making them trickier to put your preferred connector on, i ended up having to buy 2 adapter leads to go from Traxxas to ec5’s. And yes the batteries aren’t the worst but massively overpriced. I got mine in a deal with the X-maxx otherwise I wouldn’t have bought them. There’s plenty of choice battery wise now, just have a look round, im fairly sure that there will be many threads recommending the best alternative brands for Li-po batteries.

[windmill84]

Had a quick skim of the replies so far, will reply properly tomorrow once I've digested the info. Thanks again to M4 for the detailed info, I'm appreciating the effort you're putting in 🙂

 

Have a good evening all

[wolfie1]

When i am saying maxx my apologies i am meaning the widemaxx

[Partydaz]

4 hours ago, Gaz! said:

 

Now you say that but i did have one replaced (a few years ago), spoke to the shop explains why I’d changed the old 2 wire Traxxas connector to a Losi ec3 and it got sorted, a fresh replacement direct from Traxxas, with another stock connector fitted.

 

that was as i say a few years ago and back then it was just a 2 wire connection, however nowadays they have the multi wire connectors making them trickier to put your preferred connector on, i ended up having to buy 2 adapter leads to go from Traxxas to ec5’s. And yes the batteries aren’t the worst but massively overpriced. I got mine in a deal with the X-maxx otherwise I wouldn’t have bought them. There’s plenty of choice battery wise now, just have a look round, im fairly sure that there will be many threads recommending the best alternative brands for Li-po batteries.

I did have one go bad out of the standard year warranty and remembered that traxxas did a Life time warranty thing for the lipos so sent them a email explaining about my bad lipo and asked about the life time warranty. 

 

What I got back from traxxas was that it only covers USA customers...booooo 🙃. Still got the poor lipo in my sand pit awaiting disposable now it's fully discharged. 

[windmill84]

20 hours ago, m4inbrain said:

 

The Sledge is.. difficult. I kind of want one, but i do know that there's flaws. Particularly, the price. Like most Traxxas stuff, they charge too much for it. I haven't heard too much awfulness in regards to the rig itself. 

 

As for the batteries - don't. Don't go for Traxxas batteries, for starters. The Traxxas connector in itself is awful. I'm not sure what you mean by "extra mini cable", there usually is just positive and negative coming out of them. IC5 connectors have an additional cable coming out, which is for the SMART stuff (battery monitoring etc). 

 

You can run any connector on any RC, as long as you make sure that they're rated for the correct amps. On the Maxx/Sledge, you can't run XT60 connectors for example, they're too small (would melt). 

 

In general, most RCs require soldering skills - either sooner or later. Traxxas rigs require it sooner - you want to unbox your Maxx, open the lid, and snip the TRX connector out there, and solder an XT90 in. That goes for any Traxxas vehicle. I personally dislike IC5, so i do the same thing for all Arrma/Horizon Hobby (the parent company, Axial etc are part of that too) RCs as well.

 

edit: misread, thought you were talking about a small extra cable on the rig. On the battery, it's just "their version" of a balance connector (integrated into the plug - if you look at a normal CNHL pack, they have two connectors, power plug and balance plug). It's to ensure that you're forced to buy a Traxxas charger, because you can't really connect the balance connector of a traxxas pack to a normal charger.

 

Is the Sledge the replacement for the E-Revo? It looks pretty cool, not had a chance to do anymore research on it yet though - will probably just end up with the Maxx for now TBH.

 

Yeah I wasn't planning to get Traxxas batteries, I was just wondering what the extra wires were and if I could use normal lipos to connect to the ESC, cos the TRX connectors on the rig look different/wider. What's the problem with TRX connectors? I used to use them quite a bit 'back in the day' lol.

 

I used to be alright at soldering, but as with anything RC it's been a while since I've done any, so would need to practice a bit to rebuild my confidence with changing the ESC connectors straight away. Will probably go with adaptors for now - hopefully that'll be OK.

 

Yeah I don't want a Traxxas charger or batteries, too limiting cos I know I'll be getting other stuff in the future 🙂

 

19 hours ago, Partydaz said:

As a person who got into the hobby with the traxxas charger / lipo combo, the chargers and lipos are not worth the money you can charge the lipos on normal chargers if need be but you need an adaptor.

 

Bit of time researching lipo basics and chargers will net you better kit and more lipos because traxxas ones are silly cash 😲. It can be a bugger finding lipos that fit some traxxas cars, I had a right game finding lipos for the Traxxas UDR and revo 2.0 🙈.

 

Also chopping off the traxxas plugs off your new traxxas esc will void the warranty of the esc 😬 but thats if you care about that stuff 😆, you could use adaptors but I have found them hit and miss and now just whack XT90 on all my kit 😃 .

 

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely be refreshing my memory on lipos and chargers over the coming days/weeks, got a bit of time before November before I buy anything 🙂

 

Haha yeah, not sure I want to be chopping them off straight away lol. Will see how I get on with adaptors for the time being

 

18 hours ago, m4inbrain said:

Adapters work, just not a huge fan of it. If you can get a quality one, or are capable of soldering it properly yourself, fair game - i've seen some proper botched stuff, wouldn't trust them unless i make them myself. 

 

I only ever had one ESC go poof, and that was (ironically) in the X-Maxx. They're known to go. Warranty in that case didn't matter because A: why would i want another ESC of the one that just blew up and B: nobody else wants them either - so it never mattered to me. 

If the ESC goes bad, you get a Max8 and forever sleep peacefully. That's just par for the course in the hobby - at least in my opinion. 

 

Makes sense RE it going pop, you wouldn't want another would you lol. 

 

Thanks for the tip on the Max8, good to know that's what the replacement of choice is.

 

 

 

Again, thanks guys for the advice/tips, It can be difficult to know who to trust/who has good advice after being off here for so long. For all I know you could all be a "Simon"... (anyone remember him?!) but, I'm not getting those vibes here, so that's good 😄 Gaz I remember you from the old days 😄

[m4inbrain]

3 minutes ago, windmill84 said:

Is the Sledge the replacement for the E-Revo? It looks pretty cool, not had a chance to do anymore research on it yet though - will probably just end up with the Maxx for now TBH.

 

Yeah I wasn't planning to get Traxxas batteries, I was just wondering what the extra wires were and if I could use normal lipos to connect to the ESC, cos the TRX connectors on the rig look different/wider. What's the problem with TRX connectors? I used to use them quite a bit 'back in the day' lol.

 

I used to be alright at soldering, but as with anything RC it's been a while since I've done any, so would need to practice a bit to rebuild my confidence with changing the ESC connectors straight away. Will probably go with adaptors for now - hopefully that'll be OK.

 

You could argue it's the replacement, yeah. If i'm not mistaken (i'm not 100% certain, so you'd need to confirm yourself), the E-Revo is now a 1/16th rig. 

 

The main issue with TRX connectors is that they're not compatible with normal chargers, without hassle - and vice versa. Of course, there's the price on top - you can get much better packs for much, much less money. You could use a normal LiPo with a TRX connector to connect to their ESCs, but again, i'd just resolder it to your connector of choice. The hobby is relentless, you'll not stick with just one RC eventually.

 

Bullet connectors like the XT90s etc are so simple to solder that, if you've ever held a soldering iron, it's childs play. I'd get two pairs of connectors (one to play with), and just get over it. 😉

 

8 minutes ago, windmill84 said:

Makes sense RE it going pop, you wouldn't want another would you lol. 

 

Thanks for the tip on the Max8, good to know that's what the replacement of choice is.

 

Yeah, the Max8 has basically an unblemished record to the point where people generally assume user error first if one goes wrong. They're as bulletproof as ESCs come, and with OTA programmers etc they're convenient too. Not like there's many options left anyway, Castle is usually overpriced (and are less reliable), reserved for mostly "hardcore applications" (like speed running) due to a less strict/invasive amp/temp limiter. Max8 etc are built "safer", but you can wring more power out of a Castle system at the expense of safety. 

 

Noticed yesterday that there's a Mini Maxx coming, so i'll be having another Maxx (even if a tiny one lol) too, to put next to the big boi.