Monkeezilla

I'm fairly new to this serious RC world, so help me decide between these four. I don't know a whole lot about the different suspensions, gearing, motors, etc so specifics about the four would be appreciated.

TA SC10 vs HPI Blitz vs Losi Strike vs Traxxas Slash

Which SCT is better? I understand that there will likely be differing opinions, but I'm trying to decide between the four of these which SCT would best suite me.

Which of these models needs more maintenance?

Which of these has more out of the box power?

Which of these is more durable?

Which of these have independant suspensions? (I couldn't find out online for the HPI or Losi)

What is better:4X4 or 2WD? Why?

and if any of you would like to add anything extra to your responses it would be greatly appreciated. I'm doing everything I can to learn about the products available on the market before I invest several hundred dollars into it.


Thanks,

TMB/Nick

markfos73

I own the TA 2wd SC10 and I love it. They are all probably pretty close in speed out of the box. (Read the fine print on gearing and new battery needed for the 30+ mph). From my experience, the Losi has better tires, the TA can be fine tuned easier and Traxxas has a lot of fans, especially with the bashers. I hear the improved Blitz is decent, but I have no experience with it.

jamestjr

either theblitz or the sc10 forsure, the losi strike is garbage but something to look at is there new truck the xxx-sct is i think the best out of the box without tuning but if u want something that u wanna work on and actually spend a little bit of time on i would say the sc10 forsure in a good way

Scottgir

First don't compare the Losi Strike, use the Losi XXX-SCT in your discussion. They are completely different vehicles. The Strike was like a bad version of the slash. The Losi XXX-SCT is based off Losi's race proven XXX platform.

Just to start with. They all have independent suspension.

Also are you bashing or racing or a mix? Also what trucks does your LHS support? yes you can order anything online but it stinks to sit there and wait a week to use your truck because of a small broken part (and you will break parts)

To answer your question for most power out of the box
Brushless models will be much faster out of the box than brushed motor models. Two come brushless RTR, the sc10 ($250) and the slash ($320). The other trucks (including models of the slash and SC10) come RTR brushed.

Best bang for your buck is the SC10 brushless.

If you're doing mostly racing. I'd recommend the Losi XXX-SCT, the SC10 or the Blitz. All 3 are VERY comparable in terms of out of the box.

If you're doing both bashing and racing, I'd put the blitz and XXX-sct at the top with the SC-10 just behind. The SC10, although durable, isn't QUITE as durable as the other 2.

If you're bashing, this is where the slash shines.

Don't get the wrong idea. Slashes can be competitive but their design (higher center of gravity) does put them a step behind the other 3 but the slash is built like a tank so it can take punishment.

Now you're going to get a lot of arguments with my statements. You're going to have slash fans screaming about the race viability of the slash and SC10 fans screaming about the durability of the SC10. The reality is they're both right. We're talking about an argument of degrees.

As a disclaimer. I've owned 3 of the 4 on this list. Haven't gotten a XXX-SCT so I can't speak first hand, only going by what friends who own them have said.

My opinion is get the one that fits your budget and your local LHS supports. Honestly if I was just starting out, and my LHS supported the SC10 brushless. That would be my choice. If you want a brushless RTR SCT, you're looking at over $300 except for the SC10.

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

XXX-SCT is best preassembled SCT. If you're getting a kit, get an SC10 FT or Kyosho SC-R (and then PROMPTLY put a gear diff in the SC-R)

Scottgir

And by my last statement of over $300. What I'm saying is the slash vxl is 320. The xxx-sct is 220 but you're spending money on a brushless combo and same with the blitz.

ilanstylz

My Feedback: (12)

Which SCT is better? I understand that there will likely be differing opinions, but I'm trying to decide between the four of these which SCT would best suite me.

There really is no overall one that is better then the other, each one has their own ups and downs...... For out of the box no mods/hopups the SC10 IMO for racing, for bashing out of the box is the slash/blitz..... However with changes added here and there each one can be a great racer or basher..... I wouldn't bother with the strike at all if you wanna consider losi in it the xxx-sct is the better choice....

Which of these models needs more maintenance? I've owned all except the strike and slash, to me the sc10 did but only because I used it 10x more then the others....

Which of these has more out of the box power? SC10 out of the ones I've owned only come with a brushed setup...

Which of these is more durable? Blitz out of the box , but I hear the slash is the best basher out of the box....

Which of these have independant suspensions? (I couldn't find out online for the HPI or Losi) Not sure....

What is better: 4X4 or 2WD? Why? 4x4 is better as far as easier to drive and turning etc..


Overall it depends on what your looking for, racing/bashing and how much your willing to spend, this hobby isn't cheap by all means so with the correct mods and hopups anyone could be great for racing or bashing....

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

No matter how you slice it, for any purpose, the Slash is an irrelevant truck. It is weaker than the Kyosho, SC10, and XXX-SCT, the electronics SUCK, and it drives like an ox cart.

ilanstylz

My Feedback: (12)

And you heard it from TBJ the man himself ;-) , I agree that the electronics suck out of the box on the slash......

john01374

Which needs more maintenance. Well that's really a toss up. They all require maintenance. The SC10 requires a good deal of maintenance to keep it running at it's peak. The Blitz and Slash are a little easier to work on. The Strike will require the most maintenance as it has the most amount of problems. In fact I believe they stopped selling it.

What is more durable. Slash hands down. It's the strongest of the SCT's but this does come at a penalty. It's also the hardest to make competitive for racing. The next down the list would be the Blitz, SC10 then Strike.

They all have independent suspension. Some works better than others but they all do a great job of keeping all 4 wheels on the ground.

2WD vs 4WD. That is a personal preference. The 4WD trucks are easier to drive and put the power down better. The 2WD trucks are simpler to work on and cheaper to maintain. Also cheaper to buy. In my personal opinion the 2WD trucks are more fun to drive.

Of the 4 trucks you listed I would choose either the Blitz or Slash depending on what you intend to do with the truck. The Slash is more of a basher that can be raced. Most tracks also have a SPEC slash class that is ONLY Slash's. The Blitz is a great do everything truck. it tough enough to be bashed but more than capable of taking first place at any club level track out there. In fact the Blitz one all but 3 Saturday night races at my local track last year. The newer SC10 is a pretty good truck as well but it's a pure racer and should not be bashed. It's also the hardest of the trucks listed to drive smoothly. And the there is the Strike. What can I say about the Strike. Well I believe Losi stopped selling it if that tells you anything. It was one of the worst cars to enter the world of RC. Stay away.

FahrtAutoRC

The 2WD Slash sucks, the 4X4 is great and all the others are fairly the same.

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

False. It is arguably the weakest of the SCTs. The XXX-SCT and Kyosho Ultima SC (and R variant) are both leaps and bounds stronger. The SC10 is also tougher than the Slash.

plasmaedge

Blitz is toughest.

Yamaha911

Me personally I'd stay away from the slash and the HPIBlitz. I'd try and stay with either the Team Associated SC10 or The Kyosho. The slash is just horrible for a track but I hear it is great for bashing. I don't know I'm not a basher. There are a few people that run the blitz at my local track and they all have suspension and diff issues every heat. Iown a SC10. The truck is awesome. The handling around corners is great, the try flies over jumps straight (as long as Ihit the face right), and when I do break something (though it's not often)it is very easy to work on. The kyosho is the same way. Ilittle more expensive to keep maintained but not by much. Ican not comment on the Losi XXX-SCT as Ihave not played with one.

UndercoverAddict

I own the Blitz and can say it's very durable. I don't race, but I do beat the hell out of mine. The steering is awful! No matter what you use it for, you will need to upgrade to the STRC steering rack... it's the cheapest steering upgrade. You will also need to upgrade the electronics. Don't get the ESE version; the plastic is really brittle compared to the RTR black plastic parts.

mercerbeef

The ESE is the race version of the blitz, the brittle plastic is made for lightening the weight of the truck.. compare the rtr to the ese and you'll feel the differance in weight. As for the steering issue, I must have lucked out cuz I had no problems with my rtr out of the box. AE has composite plastic also to lighten the weight of their race trucks. right?

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

AE's RTR and Factory Team kits both use the same plastics.

mercerbeef

so is it losi with the light weight stuff?

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

It's not light weight, it's just stiffer. AE and Losi both used to use graphite in their top-tier race kits, but as cars have gotten faster and started hitting stuff harder when they crash, they've done away with that in favor of a plastic that flexes more on impact.

Teknic

My Feedback: (1)

I'll confirm and 2nd this...I've broke more parts on my Slash then I care to mention and have yet to break a part on my XXX-SCT. Switching from my XXX-SCT to my Slash 4x4 is like going from a Ferrari to a 4wd School Bus and not the short kind.

Voodoo Steve

WoW, I've had a slash for a while now and it's always ran pretty good, does handle like a bus though, and I picked up a hardly used RTR losi strike yesterday for $80, and it came with a couple extra batts, a charger, decent radio, and a few extra parts.......i hear what you fellas are saying, but I kinda like it, faster than the slash, and handles much better too..... and it passed my brothers in law test.......they had it out and beat the crap out of it,  not even a whimper, and this morning the wife and I took the slash and strike out to my track  and had a blast!!..... both lasted almost the same amount of time, and crashing and banging with the wife was priceless!!!......I've driven a whole lot worse that many said were better........ 

Chucksolo69

Wow, another this vs this vs that thread. After all that, the end result is it is all OPINION and nothing more. There are some here who will get offended if you disagree with their "self-styled" expertise. The real answer is, drive them all and buy the one you think you like best. Saying the Slash is irrelevent is like saying Ford is irrelevent next to Chevy. The Slash is pretty much responsible for starting a whole new class of RC trucks, and you say it is "irrelevent?" Golly Gee, we'll just dismiss an entire line of vehicles based on someone's biased opinion. A statment like that just smacks of a "Ford is better than Chevy" mentality. To the OP, NO ONE can give you an unbiased opinion because, the people who put down the Traxxas or the Losi or the HPI may have gotten an sample of a truck that was made to below the usual standard. One guy says his Slash broke the first time he ran it (ran it into what?), the other says the Losi is junk, and so on and so on. Do yourself a favor and try them all yourself, you will NEVER get a full and unbiased opinion by posting this type of question on these or other forums.

Cutless009

My Feedback: (1)

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9five9

Like the advice given to me: Pick one and go for it. You'll love it. And you'll most likely find yourself on a thread like this, defending it against others who call it garbage.

markfos73

This place wouldn't be any fun without the debate