[email protected]

Hi... I am fairly new to the hobby, and recently I bought a RedCat Blackout that I have been terribly disappointed with it's durability. This post is not to bash RedCat, but to determine what I should get going forward that will not break the bank, and will not need to be repaired every time I use it. I do not race, nor do I plan to race in the near future. We setup a course in our backyards to run. The course is a mix of terrain (grass, pavement, rocks, tire ruts, tree roots, and some 2"-3" high man-made jumps. We use cones to mark the turns, and we do our best to stay on the course.

I purchased the RedCat as a brushed model, and have since upgraded the motor and ESC to make it a brushless model, so if I could use those in the new car, that'd be great. The RedCatis a 1/10 scale car, so staying with that scale would be best. I am looking to keep it under $200.... but my biggest concern is durability... We don't try and crash our cars, but I can't be repairing after every session like I do with the RedCat. I have been toying with the idea of going with the Traxxas Bandit or Traxxas Rustler... but from the looks of the pictures, they look like they may not be all that durable.

Interested in hearing any suggestions the forum can offer.

Thanks

bill_delong

Traxxas would be the worst direction to go IMO, if anything the Blackout is at worst, equal durability with Traxxas, but I personally feel it's a pinch more durable.

The biggest struggle you're going to have is that your budget is not in line with your demands... would you be willing to buy used?

I would encourage you to consider buying a used Tekno SCT410 or Losi TEN-SCTE.... yes these are race grade designs, but they are based on 1/8 platforms and are considered the the toughest designs in the industry. I would try to steer you more toward Tekno if possible because they support legacy cars all the way back to the original release... any legacy parts that are discontinued have been replaced with upgraded designs that are forward compatible so you'll never worry about not having part support down the road. As a bonus, Tekno offers a lifetime 50% warranty for any broken.worn parts mailed into them with no questions asked

I am not the seller of this rig, but here is an example of a SCT410 that might be worth bidding on:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/tekno-sct41...MAAOSwscda07~1

I've seen some pretty good deals on RCTech too, some for as low as $150.

Idea is that you can swap all your electronics over to the new car to keep your costs down... if you spend a little more money on Tekno up front, it will save you a lot more money down the road when compared to just about any other brand on the market.

If you're hard set on buying new, then consider the ARRMA Senton as a compromise, it's definitely a step up in durability from RedCat, but still no where near as durable as Tekno:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-ARRMA-1...QAAOSwKQ9Z93NG

[email protected]

Thank you for the info.... I will definitely take all of that into consideration.... I know my original post said I want to stay 1/10.... but I am also considering going to 1/14.... My buddy has the 1/14 Tacon ST.... and it's pretty durable... any thoughts on that - if I decide to step down to 1/14??

bill_delong

I never had much luck with anything smaller than 1/10, especially if you plan to bash as hard as you do with jumps and such.

I have heard a lot of good things about Tacon but it will need upgrades which will quickly put you over budget. If anything, it sounds like you need to go the other direction and should be saving up for a 1/8 design.

If it were me, I'd keep the RedCat and dial back the EPA so it's topping out around 20-25mph and that will significantly increase your durability... if you want to do some speed runs, then turn up the EPA to 100% when you know there's no risk of crashing into anything.... then once you can afford a Tekno or Losi, then make the purchase to upgrade later.

RustyUs

Opting to go the 2wd route is a big plus. That will cut costs considerably.

A 1/10 scale 2wd short course truck, or stadium truck is where I would be looking to have the best chance at staying close to budget. Going the 1/14 scale route would really limit the terrain you would be able to drive on, and potentially, IMO, a weaker RC platform.

bill_delong

I agree that -$200 budget is more in line with a 2WD platform, but the OP already has a halfway decent 4WD, problem is that he's upgraded the power beyond what the manufacturer had designed... going with pretty much any 2WD option will net the same disappointment... for the speed/performance/durability he wants, pretty much 1/8 race grade is what it's gonna take to meet his demands. Only problem is having champagne taste on a beer budget leaving the best practical solution to find a quality used vehicle

[email protected]

Thank you... All of this is really helpful. Let me explain my reasoning for upgrading the power plant. I purchased the brushed model RedCat because it fit my budget, and was supposedly upgradable to brushless. My original intent was to run it with the brushed motor for a couple of years before upgrading, but when I went to do the regular maintenance on the brushed motor, it took me 5+hours, and I ended up removing everything except the front suspension components from the car, just to get to the motor.... I contacted RedCat to see if removing that much of the car was correct (because it didn't seem right to me), and they confirmed that "it might be necessary to disassemble a decent amount of the car to get to the motor"...So... at that point I made the decision to move to the virtually maintenance free brushless motor. I have since learned (from experience) that I can probably get to the motor in about half the time, and by removing about half of the parts that I removed the first time I took out the motor.

Also, when I bought my Blackout, I also bought the SCT model for my son... I left his as brushed, and we still have durability issues with his.... I know that you say I have a half-way decent 4WD platform, but based on my experiences with these 2 cars, I have to disagree. After doing a bunch of research about a month ago, I learned that the RedCat Blackouts are built on the BSD platform, and other RedCat models, like the Volcano are built on the HSP platform. I have also read that cars built on the BSD platform are far less durable than those built on the HSP platform... So, I wonder if my RedCat problems are more platform based, rather than brand based. This is why I started my post with "I am not here to bash RedCat".

bill_delong

yeah, I think RedCat is more of a distributor than an OEM.... similar to what OFNA once was, these types of companies will partner with various OEM's and rebrand products under their own label even though the OEM is not listed.

RedCat recently introduced the TR-SC10E which appears to be a rebrand of the HongNor Jammin, where HongNor retired a couple years ago and this was a very popular basher to entry level race grade at the time.

Generally speaking, you need to pay a premium to get more durable designs that are considered "bullet proof".

Igottabeme

2wd drive can be a lot of fun. The fish tails, the wheelies (brushless), the bit of unpredictictablity in turns (oversteer, understeer) one diff to worry about instead of two. The problem with two wheel drive under $200 is that most come with plastic diffs (ECX Traxxas for example). Going brushless you would have to buy metal diffs so extra cost. Traxxas 2wd come with bushings instead of bearings in the carriers.

I got a Rustler and really do not know what to do with it. Its fun but not as fun as my HPI Firestorm thats all stock (plastics) except for a rpm bumper. With the Rustler I keep thinking of things I want to buy to make it better with the Firestorm I am happy with the way it is stock. Traxxas vehicles are not bad and the aftermarket is huge. People upgrade the crap out them because they can and turn them into money pits.

Got a Redcat Volcano and the plastics are the worst I have seen. A lot of the other parts are not that much better either (the diffs have been ok). I cringe whenever I think I am about to hit something. The Blackout and the Volcano are on the low end price wise for Redcat and the lack of quality on some parts show it. I agree with Bill about keeping them brushed seem to do ok that way but that should be expected going slower (but brushless sure is more fun).

Got a ECX circuit the turning radius is horrible but the plastics have been tough and its brushless. ECX might be a brand you should check out the 2wds (Ruckus, Torment) aren't bad but they do have plastic diffs and the metal diff upgrade is $30.

Bill had a good idea about getting a quality used roller since you have your own electronics.

I got a suggestion for you saw a couple of new Arrma Granite 4X4 rollers on Ebay
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Arrma-GRANI...sAAOSwNFVay7Bk
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Arrma-GRANI...UAAOSwn~Ral0ot

I have smaller scale rcs and most end up into some kind of jacked up monster truck for more ground clearance. Small scale is fun in smaller spaces where 1/10 and 1/8 don't have room to open them up for speed.

[email protected]

Thanks....as I said earlier, my buddy has the 1/14 Tacon SCT... ground clearance doesn't seem to be an issue with it, and it seems to hold up very well, durability wise. I understand that I wont be able to use any of my electronics or anything from my RedCat, but if I can get the durability I am looking for, it would be worth it for me... At this point, I just want to be able to run my car two days in a row, without having to do repairs in between...

I am going to take all of this into consideration... I appreciate everyone's comments, and value any more input anyone has....

Zoodles95

Going to be tough to get durability with your budget. One of my Traxxas Stampede 4X4 VXL is very durable now but I have sunk a ton of cash onto it.

Going to try a used Arrma Outcast and even then I will be putting some upgrades into it like an aluminum servo mount and chassis brace to address the weak points.

The Arrma Kraton has a good reputation for being very reliable out of the box. Check it out and consider finding a used one.

[email protected]

The next car I buy doesn't have to be completely indestructible... I just want to get more than 20 minutes out of it before having to repair it... I understand that working on the cars is part of the hobby... and I am OK with that... I am ok with things breaking from crashes, or failed landings.... what I am not OK with is having to repair the car every single time I run it....

Zoodles95

Are you breaking the same parts more or less? For instance, with the Traxxas Stampede, Rustler etc they all tend to lose the plastic shock caps so an easy way to rectify that is to put aluminum shock caps on. Then they all tend to break the stock plastic axles once you start running them in 3S. Now it starts to get expensive. Want to never break an axle again? Then MIPS XDuty is the answer but lots of $$$$... Less expensive options can hold up fairly well like the Tekno ones, Integy, Proline etc. Just the same though by the time you beef up these things you could already be into a 1/8 Arrma RC which is stronger out of the box.

At any rate... Why not upgrade your existing RC and rectify the weak points? One of my Stampedes is really stout on stock 3S brushless power. I can drive the snot out of it and it just needs a cleaning and is ready to go for more. Took some doing to get it to that point. If I upgrade the motor and ESC and try to run 4S or higher power I will likely start breaking stuff again.

Perhaps things like an RPM bumper, RPM A arms, steel axles, aluminum shock caps (if these parts exist for your truck) could get you through some bash sessions instead of having to keep fixing it with parts that were likely only designed for lower speed brushed duty.

[email protected]

I'm just trying to gather opinions on this.... What are everyone's thoughts on the 1/10 Exceed Rally SCT??

RustyUs

That platform is used by Redcat, HSP, and Exceed. I'm pretty sure the chassis has many looks to it.
It's been used as a drifter, touring car, buggy, monster truck, and short course truck. Not saying it's a bad RC. Look at/read all the reviews you can. IMO, the way you rip and tear around, you'll be in the same boat as the Blackout.

Zombotomy

try finding used online. i really like hpi. always found them to be very durable.

Carloss9400

Try some of the Chinese RC cars, and you will be surprised how durable they are!!!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ag294U0rj84" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

seagull369

I totally agree with Bill on the reliability issues with Traxxas. I have both a Rustler and a T-Maxx (both stock) and they really can't take much abuse (especially the T-Maxx). A real shame considering the parts for their cars (even old models) are among the most widely available out there.

If you don't mind going the used route and aren't in a rush, you can find some real steals on Craigslist and Facebook (under Marketplace) if you're patient- and handy fixing them- you'll score an even better deal if a car happens to need some work.

I've heard good things about HPI cars in terms of bashability, particularly their Savage line. That's a 1/8 scale (aside from the xl octane), so I know it's bigger than you are looking for. I'm not sure what the story is with HPI the company itself these days, Heard they went out of business, then got bought by someone else, so finding parts for one of their existing cars down the road might be difficult (much the same story when Hobbico got bought up by Horizon Hobbies), If you stick with one of their more popular models, you can be pretty much be assured you'll have the parts you need for quite a while.

Regarding Redcat, not all their stuff is bad, though you might have to pay through the nose with to get it. I have one of their 1/5 scale weed wacker-powered cars (I think it lists for something like $600) and it really is pretty darn durable,

poppy2226

When it comes to this hobby, the best thing to do is to get a cheap brushed electric model so that you know if you are going to like this or not.
I originally bought an rc car with my friend so that we could race but he ended up giving me the car instead because he got tired of riding his car around lol. I suppose that happens a lot wiht rc cars.