For my purposes - mild modified in a shortcourse 2wd truck, 2S Lipo, properly geared.... do I really need a Mamba? I was ready to get the Sidewinder SCT combo, but then I see many complaints on the ESC and how people upgrade to the Mamba.

From a technical angle, isn't the Mamba just a "heavier duty" Sidewinder, capable of 3s (and maybe 4s in the latest model)? I'll never use that capability, so the extra $ seems like kind of a waste for me.

Am I missing something here?

Assuming you plan to run the 1410 3800kv motor, the MMP is a much better option than the Sidewinder

Sidewinder is borderline when you push that motor hard

What is properly geared exactly ?

Cheers

Short course trucks are bigger, heavier, have more aero drag, etc, than the previous 1/10 scale vehicles that the Sidewinder was likely designed for.

OK, thanks guys. I just think they need to re-vamp their advertising. I mean it's the Sidewinder Short Course Truck, right?

Applications:
2WD SCT trucks on 2S
4WD SCT trucks on 2S

Max recommended vehicle weight = 6.5 pounds.

But I'll go with experience versus words on a page for sure.

Thanks again!

The new Sidewinder V2 is a good ESC, much better than the original. I used one in my son's SC10 but ended up putting it in his on road sedan. The MMP does a much better job in an off roader in my opinion. We both use them in our SC10s and bash them hard with no issues. Plus you can run a sensored motor if you plan on racing stock classes.

Thanks for the additional comments, Steve. Swung by a LHS tonight, and they had just put a Mamba Max Pro in the case. Price was pretty good, and I have a 10% coupon for the store, so I snapped it up