23LikesTraxxas Slash or Arrma Kraton
02-01-2019 | 06:40 PM
#16
Tech Initiate
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 38
From: Earth
So I have some alternative advice. If you think you are going to be even a a little bit interested in the hobby, don't buy anything RTR. It might seem like way too much to build a kit as your first venture but in that case, buy a used model built from a kit.
I have been in RC for about 8 years. Mostly helicopters and planes but started playing around with 4x4 trucks and buggies about 2 years ago because we built an informal track at one of my flying clubs.
First I bought a low end RTR (Tower Hobbies 4x4 Short Course Truck) which they promptly discontinued leaving a bunch of us without parts support.
Then I researched things and bought a used serpent cobra 1/8 buggy for like $300. That turned out to be a great deal.
Then I was impatient and bought another, higher-end RTR (Losi TEN-SCBE). I really like that buggy but I learned my main point about RTR vs kits.
Main point about RTR: The parts quality is always lower in RTR than in a current kit. You will learn more by building a kit and you will know how it went together when you need to fix it.
Most recently I bought and built a Losi 8ight E 4.0 and it has been amazing.
The two choices your mentioned seem very different as one is 1/10th scale SCT and the other is 1/8 Monster truck. I will say that most of the guys in my flying club buy RTR. There were a lot of Slash 4x4's and recently they have all bought 6S Talion Truggies. My answer is to going to to build a Tekno 1/8 Truggy. My Losi 8ight beats all those Talions but it is smaller and lighter so I don't like it when they crash into me. Most of Slashes are all broken after colliding with the Talions.
I looked into the 6S thing a few weeks ago. I believe it is mostly marketing hype as most guys actually racing in those classes are using 4S. True you can get insane speeds with 6S paired with a 2200kV motor but the speed is not necessarily usable on a track.
Just something to chew on....
I have been in RC for about 8 years. Mostly helicopters and planes but started playing around with 4x4 trucks and buggies about 2 years ago because we built an informal track at one of my flying clubs.
First I bought a low end RTR (Tower Hobbies 4x4 Short Course Truck) which they promptly discontinued leaving a bunch of us without parts support.
Then I researched things and bought a used serpent cobra 1/8 buggy for like $300. That turned out to be a great deal.
Then I was impatient and bought another, higher-end RTR (Losi TEN-SCBE). I really like that buggy but I learned my main point about RTR vs kits.
Main point about RTR: The parts quality is always lower in RTR than in a current kit. You will learn more by building a kit and you will know how it went together when you need to fix it.
Most recently I bought and built a Losi 8ight E 4.0 and it has been amazing.
The two choices your mentioned seem very different as one is 1/10th scale SCT and the other is 1/8 Monster truck. I will say that most of the guys in my flying club buy RTR. There were a lot of Slash 4x4's and recently they have all bought 6S Talion Truggies. My answer is to going to to build a Tekno 1/8 Truggy. My Losi 8ight beats all those Talions but it is smaller and lighter so I don't like it when they crash into me. Most of Slashes are all broken after colliding with the Talions.
I looked into the 6S thing a few weeks ago. I believe it is mostly marketing hype as most guys actually racing in those classes are using 4S. True you can get insane speeds with 6S paired with a 2200kV motor but the speed is not necessarily usable on a track.
Just something to chew on....
02-01-2019 | 06:55 PM
#17
I dont own a Traxxas nor will i ever purchase one. Though i bought my son an Arrma truck and that thing rips! It goes through everything with ease and takes a beating from a fearless 8 year old. I would surely recommend Arrma
02-03-2019 | 05:48 PM
#19
Tech Master
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 1,076
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Arrma (at least before the buy out) was bucking the trend of RTR's being lesser quality. There's a V3 Kraton because the company upgraded weak points that the users discovered, twice. Losi has gone the other direction lately with their RTR's. You used to be able to get an RTR SCTE that was good quality. Not much was different from the race kit. Now they don't have much in common.
02-03-2019 | 07:39 PM
#20
Tech Apprentice
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 66
Arrma (at least before the buy out) was bucking the trend of RTR's being lesser quality. There's a V3 Kraton because the company upgraded weak points that the users discovered, twice. Losi has gone the other direction lately with their RTR's. You used to be able to get an RTR SCTE that was good quality. Not much was different from the race kit. Now they don't have much in common.
02-07-2019 | 07:10 PM
#21
Tech Rookie
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 14
Arrma Kraton for sure.. Shim the diffs, get the aluminum servo mount and make a tower to tower brace.. After that just your normal replace/upgrade as you break things.. Its a beast.. Hands down a beast. They rip and as long as you turn down the throttle till you get use to it on 6s you should be fine. Only other thing I see happen to them is the stock bearings. If you water blast them then they will go out on you kinda quick. While running it ya might wanna get some bearings. I haven't seen hardly any other rc take such a beating when set up right.. The tekno et48.3 and on the smaller side the proline Mt are both tough as nails also.. But same deal they need a little aftermarket love to be send it ready. For the price though is I'm not sure you can beat a v3 kraton.. No matter what you choose just know in my opinion those 3 are pretty high up on the gettin it down scale.
02-12-2019 | 09:59 PM
#22
Tech Apprentice
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 64
Arrma Kraton for sure.. Shim the diffs, get the aluminum servo mount and make a tower to tower brace.. After that just your normal replace/upgrade as you break things.. Its a beast.. Hands down a beast. They rip and as long as you turn down the throttle till you get use to it on 6s you should be fine. Only other thing I see happen to them is the stock bearings. If you water blast them then they will go out on you kinda quick. While running it ya might wanna get some bearings. I haven't seen hardly any other rc take such a beating when set up right.. The tekno et48.3 and on the smaller side the proline Mt are both tough as nails also.. But same deal they need a little aftermarket love to be send it ready. For the price though is I'm not sure you can beat a v3 kraton.. No matter what you choose just know in my opinion those 3 are pretty high up on the gettin it down scale.
All you guys are trying to help and doing a great job trying to help him not make the mistake we all made at some point.... BUT.... he is new. He has no business buying a Losi 8ight slider because he will need to figure everything on his own and that’s how we lose people in the hobby.
If you have a friend in RC who is experienced get a quality used high end car/truck for less or equal to a new RTR, however if you had such person I doubt the original post would have existed, so do yourself a BIG favor and get the Arrma Kraton or Talion. ME? If I were you I’d get the 3S typhon and sell it once you are ready to upgrade. Right now Arrmas are super hot and hold decent resale value, so you won’t get hurt too bad unless you destroy the car. It’s fast, takes cheaper 3s batteries, has a 2 year warranty, and is tough enough. You can also get parts super cheap on eBay from the sellers who chop shop kits to sell parts online. It costs $299.00 retail and you can possibly get a better price with a coupon or savers plan but I’m not sure. Check YouTube for videos and get an RC that can help you grow or grow with you.
02-15-2019 | 01:34 PM
#23
Is something up with Arrma recently? I noticed it seems like it was hard to find the 1/8 scales on tower and even on their website. Unless I didn't look hard enough, something just seems different.
02-17-2019 | 05:12 PM
#25
Tech Adept
iTrader: (5)
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 221
A solid truck instead of the Slash would be an SC10 or a ProSC. The new ProSC is pretty much a rear motor SC5M. Great durability and very easy to work on and can be somewhat competitively raced as well if you want to give it a shot at the track.
02-18-2019 | 07:20 PM
#27
Tech Apprentice
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 66
Because they are pretty close in price. Because of this, the Kraton is a no-brainer. Or if the OP even wants to save some money get one of the 3s BLX Arrma vehicles. But in the end that might be more expensive because the natural tendency is to want to go bigger from there lol.
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