FTX Zorro Brushless

Thanks to @Tomley RC for making me aware of this.

 

Very intriguing, I'll let you guys and gals pick over it....  Also known as the VRX Blast, and VRX sell it as a buggy etc.

Odd that it's a completely different platform to the brushed Zorro.

 

Which means, if you've converted your brushed Zorro to brushless... you still don't have a brushless Zorro. 

The electrics are mediocre at best so doing your own brushless conversion would at least be a better way to go I think.

 

also looks like the centre diff “floats” with the absence of screws to nail the top deck plates down. 

 

 

4 hours ago, Gaz! said:

also looks like the centre diff “floats” with the absence of screws to nail the top deck plates down. 

 

 

 

That's not the case, that photo just has the diff cover removed, to show it off... for some reason. 😐

 

On modelsport you can clearly see the whole thing does get screwed down.

Any info on what kv the can is? 

 

I quite like the look of it. Looks a darn sight more durable than the og Carnage and having an adjustable motor mount makes it more desirable than the Outlaw/Zorro chassis.

7 hours ago, Gaz! said:

The electrics are mediocre at best so doing your own brushless conversion would at least be a better way to go I think.

It’s a completely different car to the “brushed” version, this is the next generation - all new chassis, transmission and rear and. 

As noted, it's a 'new' chassis.  The original (and brushed version) is merely an Outlaw with a trophy truck shell.  This is a flat chassis (and still 2 piece!  FTX must like to sell upgrades).  To me it's an SCT but that's semantics.

 

There's bits to like, such as alu hinge pin braces, two piece adjustable motor mount and included lipo and charger.  There's also things that flag up to me as a long time FTX user - the two piece plastic chassis has in previous applications been a common fail point being one.  I wonder also on the split top brace - the front one attaches to the plastic diff support, and braces with the top cover to the motor mount and rear brace - that leaves a possibility for flex at the plastic diff support, which will move the centre diff/spur and chew spur gears.  Time will tell if that's the case - and if so it's not a difficult fix even if alu chassis / front diff support isn't available.  Interestingly the VRX Blast 2.0 as it's know by it's manufacturer, has been on sale quite awhile but there's not much info around about it from owners.

 

I'm also a tight, oft miserable, old fart and the price makes me stop.  Sub £200?  Sounds good (and it may settle there) but at launch it's £235 on a SRP of £260.  There's not much of a bump from that to options from what some would call more upmarket brands.

235 seems a bit pricey to me, based on historic FTX durability record (i know this is a different platform, but its still an FTX, well, a VRX..).  Knuckles/c-hubs look a bit on the 'light' side, not much meat on the arms either.  Shocks are those cheap china ones you can get a set on ebay for like 12 quid.

 

If it were me, and I was after a 4wd SCT, then (after exhausting the 2nd hand market) I'd just go with a brushed Senton, sell the leccy bits for 15 quid, and buy a HW 60a esc and ebay 3660 motor.  Yes, you'd be in for another 50 odd quid, but in the long run, I can pretty much guarantee it would be the more enjoyable (and cheaper) option.  Or, keep it even simpler, just pony up the extra 90 odd quid for the BL Senton.

 

Buy cheap (which its not really), buy twice. 

 

EDIT - this doesn't appear to be a rebranded VRX Blast after all, since that is just a BL version of the original Zorro, i.e live axle Trophy Truck, though no doubt it is a rebranded something...just not sure what quite yet.  I'll reserve full judgement until I've seen one properly ragged rather than just cruising around on flat ground.  

Edited August 18, 2021 by bertberr
add info

Well I think FTX have made a little cracker here and priced very well in the current market. I can see those monster sct already making a come back with this one 

 

I’d happily have one 👍

I'd love one too as the design looks solid. We all know ftx chassis are made of glass so i assume there will be after market alloy / carbon chassis.
If you can change the center diff for a spool easily and a home made one would be simple basing this on their other motor / drive lines, this chassis has a huge amount of potential to go very fast, fairly easily.
Electrics package isnt anything to rave about so if they do this in brushed i'd pick it up and put in a super powerful 1/8th system, diff housings look like they take the usual ftx diffs so will take the power, could be a very mean machine.
 

 

On 20/08/2021 at 15:13, Redback said:

I'd love one too as the design looks solid. We all know ftx chassis are made of glass so i assume there will be after market alloy / carbon chassis.
If you can change the center diff for a spool easily and a home made one would be simple basing this on their other motor / drive lines, this chassis has a huge amount of potential to go very fast, fairly easily.
Electrics package isnt anything to rave about so if they do this in brushed i'd pick it up and put in a super powerful 1/8th system, diff housings look like they take the usual ftx diffs so will take the power, could be a very mean machine.
 

 

Dunno which FTX models you've had but I've found mine to have quite resilient chassis. 

39 minutes ago, chewbacca said:

Dunno which FTX models you've had but I've found mine to have quite resilient chassis. 

The outlaw chassis is like glass.

48 minutes ago, Redback said:

The outlaw chassis is like glass.

All the Outlaw, Zorro, Carnage, Bugsta plastic chassis break at the bumper attachment because it’s a crap design with nowhere near enough meat - the Outlaw and mk1 Zorro break at the tail where the trailing arms attach, again bad design.  
 

I have also seen all four models break the front gearbox tab off in heavy frontal impacts, but that’s not completely unreasonable if I’m honest. 

5 hours ago, Redback said:

The outlaw chassis is like glass.

Ah. That's one I'll never have. 

3 minutes ago, chewbacca said:

Ah. That's one I'll never have. 

Alloy chassis is a tenner and totally transforms the car 👍

22 hours ago, walkbythesea said:

Alloy chassis is a tenner and totally transforms the car 👍

Is there now an adjustable motor mount for it?

38 minutes ago, chewbacca said:

Is there now an adjustable motor mount for it?

Not for the zorro (outlaw version) aka the brushed zorro, the new brushless zorro with a buggy style chassis has an adjustable motor mount but it would not function on the outlaw platform.

 

2 hours ago, Redback said:

Not for the zorro (outlaw version) aka the brushed zorro, the new brushless zorro with a buggy style chassis has an adjustable motor mount but it would not function on the outlaw platform.

 

I was talking about the Outlaw. I know the new version has one.

13 minutes ago, chewbacca said:

I was talking about the Outlaw. I know the new version has one.

Definitely not yet for the Outlaw

On 18/08/2021 at 17:06, bertberr said:

235 seems a bit pricey to me, based on historic FTX durability record (i know this is a different platform, but its still an FTX, well, a VRX..).  Knuckles/c-hubs look a bit on the 'light' side, not much meat on the arms either.  Shocks are those cheap china ones you can get a set on ebay for like 12 quid.

 

If it were me, and I was after a 4wd SCT, then (after exhausting the 2nd hand market) I'd just go with a brushed Senton, sell the leccy bits for 15 quid, and buy a HW 60a esc and ebay 3660 motor.  Yes, you'd be in for another 50 odd quid, but in the long run, I can pretty much guarantee it would be the more enjoyable (and cheaper) option.  Or, keep it even simpler, just pony up the extra 90 odd quid for the BL Senton.

 

Buy cheap (which its not really), buy twice. 

 

EDIT - this doesn't appear to be a rebranded VRX Blast after all, since that is just a BL version of the original Zorro, i.e live axle Trophy Truck, though no doubt it is a rebranded something...just not sure what quite yet.  I'll reserve full judgement until I've seen one properly ragged rather than just cruising around on flat ground.  

 

Chinese / English translation issues - depends how hard you look - some call it a Blast, some a Cobra Blast.  VRX RH820 - I'd not linked it originally as the price makes a mockery of the FTX .  They also list it as a 1/8 but it's clearly the same rig.

 

http://www.vrx-racing.com/en/detail.php?id=142

 

As for the FTX hate, yes they have niggles - all RC do - the plastic chassis being a common one throughout but easily and usually cheaply rectified.   There's a 2 piece all alu, or alu/carbon chassis for this too.  Fwiw i've beat on an upgraded outlaw for a long time with no recurring issues.

 

EDIT - upgrade options

 

UPGRADE options via aliexpress

 

 

 

 

 

So it one of these with short course wheels/tyres and a body, looks like they’ve been around for a while then .

 

 

 

42 minutes ago, tomr said:

So it one of these with short course wheels/tyres and a body, looks like they’ve been around for a while then .

 

 

 

 

yes, there's a buggy version too

2s & 3s Speed Runs coming next week... (recording this weekend if the weather plays nice!) 

Yeah I saw the truggy one on BG but can't see the SCT version - the BL Zorro type as opposed to the trophy truck one (Blast) anywhere?  

1 hour ago, bertberr said:

Yeah I saw the truggy one on BG but can't see the SCT version - the BL Zorro type as opposed to the trophy truck one (Blast) anywhere?  

Found it on aliexpress   https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33002998740.html