I<3RC

simple question for anyone that has seen one, driven one, has one, races one, is the cen matrix TR arena (truggy) any good? like how does it perform? is it quick? does it jump good? is it good stock? (besides the tires and wheels people) and overall on a scale of 1 to 10 how good is it? Oh and how durible is it?

I<3RC

Tell me everything you know people.

smokinu

iTrader: (82)

any truggy can be competitive if you put forth the effort to make it competitive,

hot bodies has been winning ALOT of races, and they were one of the MOST underrated truggies on the market.

cleblanc

iTrader: (49)

DO NOT BUY that truck. its a money pit. and in no way raceable. go with the hot bodies D8T. its a great racer right out of the box.

wriffwraff

I have a CEN Matrix TR Arena. It's a first generation truggy. It released in December of 2006 I believe. Having said that, if you're willing to hop up the chassis [BCE chassis], gearing, braces and other items, it can be competitive. If not, until CEN releases it's next generation truggy, it's pretty safe to say that you'd probably fare better with the current generation of truggies... HB, Losi or Mugen.

Note: The Kyosho STRR truggy is older than the HB, Losi and Mugen, so it's going to weigh a bit more than those truggies. However, it [still] might be a worthwhile option in the hands of the right driver. I say that b/c it captures some, if not most of the leading technology that you'd find on the latest releases of HB, Losi and Mugen.

I<3RC

well you see the problem with that is im 15 without a job and dont have freacking 500 dollars to spend on a damn kit then have to buy a reciver servos and raido thats an extra 200 then the engine another 300 so you see i cant really afford to buy the top of the line at the moment but next year when i start driving and get a job ill keep the hot bodies in mind for next year though thanks

I<3RC

im 15 man cant spend like 700 dollars i gota find something cheap that i can upgrade over time most likely

I<3RC

and for the people that dissagree with the CEN Matrix TR Arena. how about the hyper 7 TQ black edition RTR and remember people im on a budget

jmaxey51

iTrader: (7)

i had a Cen and it was the biggest waste of money ever! raced it once and it sucked. the tank is junk and it wont seal for nothing. but go with the jammin X2 RTR truggy and youll be set and they are less than 500 and they will not break. and the Cen is ok on the durability, the wing will break the first time you flip. but the jammin will not break, i had one and it never broke. and i never changed one part for like 6 months.

smokinu

iTrader: (82)

the x2 is a real great truck!

I<3RC

it does look like a really great truck not gonna lie... and i want it really bad now... i just might have to sell my xbox 360 haha

rast4man

iTrader: (27)

I have the TR Arena Factory Race Edition and it's incredible. I got it from my friend that is a Cen Team Driver and he won 2 nationals with it. Since I've owned it, it's been nothing but competitive. I've upgraded the chassis to a BCE and pretty much put as much aluminum on it as I could. It drives fantastic, jumps amazing and is a serious threat at the track.

I don't know what the problem with all these people complaining how they aren't durable and how they break and are money pits, etc. I haven't encountered that and the people I know and hang out with that drive them as well, have no problems. To each their own I guess. I've never had a problem and I've yet to break a part and the wing is perfectly fine.

Here's a pic of mine after a race and all cleaned up.

jmaxey51

iTrader: (7)

yeah thats the thing you have spend alot of money on upgrades to make it handle good, a box stock one wont turn for nothing, i liked the truggy but it wouldnt turn with every setup i tried. so i just didnt want to spend the money on it. but i have a buggy still and it hasnt needed many upgrade, mainly shock towers.

great looking truggy BTW. i like how they have all the red parts, looks cool.

Ruune

Dude, Gene's former ride is a far cry from the bone stock FRE. Trust me, I've been farther down that road than most. The next-gen one promises to be on-par with the ST-RR, but with better shocks and a bit lighter weight. Until then, if you're racing... look for something released in the past year or so.
Bit of advice... stay away from any RTR with plastic shock bodies. That includes the likes of AE and some others.

If you want a good, solid RTR foundation, check out the Losi 8ight-T 2.0 RTR. They have a $150 rebate right now, so they can be had for around $500 bones. That includes a spektrum DX3S with telemetry, sick starter box, and basically everything less fuel and battery charger. You'll need to play around with the setup to get it just right, but it can be done out of the box.

wriffwraff

Hey, you never stated how much you can afford to spend. What's your budget?

For the most part, this is an extraordinarily rewarding experience. However, one should be advised of the hyper-expense of this hobby. Ready to run or ready to race, you're going to spend thousands of dollars on parts, consumables and associated fees. Be prepared to spend thousands of hours of wrenching on your rig as well. I share this not to discourage, but to educate and caution you on the reality of ownership. Digest that and then pick your poison.

They look like toys, but [money+time] they're not. I mean, when you add up the total cost, which includes every single action and result to run this thing, I've probably spent at least $5000.00 since purchase back in March of 2007. Hey, and among countless other necessities, to this date, I still don't have a tent when I go to the track... totally unacceptable )

PS: I forgot to mention Ofna's X2CRT in my earlier post. The design of that truggy is just as good, if not better than most. For example, the fuel tank on that rig is the best design to date. Matter of fact, I run the X2CRT fuel tank and rear axles on my CEN rig b/c the design is superior. So, don't forget to check that one out. It's available as a kit or RTR.