sad
 

Man I'm sad to see this as I was just going to post how much I loved my new viper vtx10

Nick is there anything in the works here. All along we have seen the same repeated message Viper will be back. Now that the company is on paper gone. Where does that leave the existing install base??

good question

Nick mentioned earlier that Maclan is not Viper. The new company is NOT Viper and we haven't heard anything more than that. I'd rather not speculate on what will happen with the existing products. I've got a bunch of them but they are all out of warranty.

Nick if Maclan is not Viper than when will we see the new Viper products and the Website come back online as you have indicate numerous times in this thread. I am fully invested in Viper running it exclusively in all my vehicles. I would like to know where the Company is and if I can expect to continue to be a customer or if I have to invest all over again in another brand ??

The passive aggressive rhetorical question?

I can not answer 100% for Nick but I can let u know what I have been told. As far as Nick posting on here about Viper coming back and to be on the lookout for new products, it was the plan to bring new products back under the Viper name. But the plan had to be altered and Viper will not be making any new products. As far as Viper products being covered under warranty, to my knowledge that is still being done. Again, to my knowledge, no Viper product will be eligible for a trade in on Maclan products.

Sometime business decisions that need to be made upset some people, but this is being done for the better. Viper came in as the underdog and did amazing well against the big dogs. We have learned (good and bad) from that, and will focus on making Maclan bigger and better than Viper to again take on the big dogs.

We feel your pain!! Trust me.....

It was not our intent to have to do this.. yes, it was time for next version of stuff. But some other business things happen in the process. We live and learn. I can safely say, most companies (r/c or not) would have simply closed down. We decided to re-invent ourselves, and do it better. We had good stuff, and we know we can do it better.

Any warranties that still apply to those products are honored by Hobby Authority Distribution - just as they have been for the last 5 years. Same process, same warranty.

As for trade in program. As our distribution has grown, we have added brands to the trade in program. Yes, Maclan products will be available for trade in just like G Force, and Xpert products are already on the trade in list.

There will be no new products sold or developed under that name. The ones that are will be covered via warranty as it applies. And trade in programs if its out of warranty to get a new product at a reduced price (see above).

If your a hobby shop that has stuff on the shelf and are worried about selling it - contact us, we can help you with solutions.

The products were designed to be as long lasting as any performance product can be (I have units that are 4 years old I still use). There is still product support and information as needed. Nothing says you have to go buy any new products if your current ones are working. But when you need new products, we think we have some good options. We appreciate each of you that has purchased our products (can't say that enough), and we have grown our business to try and support those who want high performance products, at affordable prices, with a high level of support and service.

2 years ago, if you went on our website we old one brand - we believed in the choice but were limited. 2 years later - we sell 10 (soon to be 11) brands -- motors, pit accessories, 1/10 and 1/8 on road cars, bodies, servos, high end accessories from brand that are in A Mains across the world at the highest levels. One small step backwards -- two steps forwards.

One quick question about the VST black edition motors: Are the rotors sintered or bonded? Thnks!

I am looking to use a Viper VTX10R BE in 1/12 1S lipo.

is there anything specifically I need to do to get this to work or would I be better off with an esc that has a built in booster like hobbywing offers?

As a side question seeing this new maclan brand, etc. which of the ESC brands going forward being sold under hobby distribution is considered the premier one for racing.

Basically, who will be the one that the drivers will actually be racing?

The VTX1 was a viper single cell esc. I am unsure if the 10r can run on 1s as well, it for sure does not have the booster to give electronics full voltage from a 1s battery. Nick may be able to answer for sure if it will work, but the usual way to get an ESC that is not 1s boosting is to pull the red wire out of the RX plug coming from esc, and either use a seperate booster to provide the RX/servo power. You can also use a receiver pack just like a nitro vehicle ( oval stock racers can prefer this as a boosted Esc draws more power that could be going to the motor)

Going forward Maclan is the premier brand. We will be racing it at tracks, expect success;)

VTX10R was never made to be compatible with those booster things - VTX1 was always the designed way to go with 1s. Why spend weight and energy trying to "fool" a 2s system, just run one designed for 1s.

Hobby Authority will continue to distribute multiple brands of products. Maclan Racing is our proprietary brand. Just like Horizon owns Orion, but sells Tekin and Novak.

Who will be racing our stuff.... same people who were racing our stuff before. 90% of the team stayed with us through the transition and they have been helping us develop the new products. In fact samples won the at Northwest Indoor Series and placed in 3 modified A Mains (2wd, 4wd and ST) at Horizon Championships last weekend.

Simple, I got an esc here that if I can reuse it in 1/12, why buy another that is effectively discontinued?

I got no problem putting a booster on it, just curious if it could run without thats all.