mgalgs

So after a lifetime of wanting, I'm finally taking the plunge and getting a serious RC car. My only concern is that at this point in my life I barely have time to fix everything around the house, let alone tinker with an RC car. I do enjoy fixing things, and I realize that there will be some maintenance no matter what I choose, which is fine, but my main goal here is to drive the car, not fix it .

I plan on using it for casual backyard and trail bashing. I likely won't be going crazy and doing flips and whatnot, but I'd still like to plan for the occasional crash and tumble (running into a tree at top speed because I don't know how to drive it ).

So given my requirements, I've narrowed it down to two cars that I think seem like a good fit:

• Redcat Racing Earthquake 8E ($360)
• Arrma AR106005 Kraton 6S BLX ($499 + battery cost)

From what I've read, the Kraton is extremely durable, which is one of my main requirements. However, after battery cost it would be roughly $200 more than the Earthquake 8E. The Earthquake seems like a decent rig and is quite a bit cheaper, but I've read a lot of complaints about its quality and durability. So if the Kraton is going to keep my maintenance-to-driving ratio significantly lower than the Earthquake, I'd happily pay the extra $200 for the Kraton.

It's also worth noting that I'm basing all of this off of product reviews scattered around the internet, and I read such reviews with an astronomically large grain of salt (since I have personally been approached to astroturf a product on Amazon). So any candid personal experiences from you folks in this trusted forum would be appreciated .

Does anyone have experience with either of these cars as far as durability goes? What about parts availability? Am I putting too much importance on durability given my likely casual use of the car? Any other thoughts for a total beginner? I'm also open to suggestions of other cars.

Thanks a lot!

DieHarder

On a scale of one to ten, comparing the Kraton/Earthquake to other similar vehicles:

Kraton = 9 for looks, 4 for durability, 6 for performance, and 2 for parts availability (locally).

Earthquake = 9 for looks, 5 for durability, 5 for performance, and 3 for parts availability (locally).

Neither of those are really considered 'durable'. They are the type you buy if you want a wrench to run ratio of 2:1. Performance levels referring to the power systems they have are average or below, and not very many hobby shops carry parts for Redcat anymore. Arrma is a cheapy brand and isn't highly thought of in the hobby, thus I don't ever see parts for them at my LHSs. What are your must haves? Top of your budget?

Remember: Durable, Fast, Cheap - Pick two.

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

From what I've read on another forum the Kraton is pretty durable. The exception being the stock knuckle bearings not being sealed very well taking out the knuckles when they failed and the rear wing mount isn't the strongest. There were some early esc failures when run on 6s but everyone got them replaced under warrantee. Other than that it's been typical 1/8 buggy/truggy durability. Idk much about the Redcat but reviews on the clones it's based on say it doesn't have the same durability as other 1/8 scales.

Rc sites and even YouTube videos have a lot more info than Amazon reviews. Google Kraton Offical Thread, Kraton bashing video and similar to find out more info. There's also a Redcat section here on RCUniverse that may be more helpful.

mgalgs

Thanks for the responses, guys.

So I'd pick durable and cheap. My budget is $600 or less. Any suggestions on a good vehicle that would satisfy that?

collector1231

My Feedback: (1)

Sounds like a Traxxas Summit to me.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Traxxas-Summ...3D301243269384

EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

I'd disagree with the assessment of Arrma as a "cheapie" brand. They don't seem to be much different than some other Horizon Hobby brands. I would place them above Redcat. But that's based on what I've read, too. Over in the General RC Discussion forum here, is a review of the Arrma Talion, the stable-mate to the Kraton and the Typhon.

If you have a local hobby shop, they'll be able to order parts for Arrma. Or of course you can order yourself online.

My suggestion would be to go for the Kraton, order a set of front and rear suspension arms, maybe an extra wing mount. MOST importantly tho, look for an aftermarket front and rear bumper, like from T-Bone Racing or RPM. Racers don't really need them, since they're on a track, but the rest of us DO, if you want to keep damage to a minimum.

Example: My buddy and I bought Ofna/HoBao Hyper 10TT truggies. Aluminum chassis, shock towers, shocks, suspension mounts....a rugged looking truck. But the front and rear bumpers were puny. And we were breaking suspension arms almost every time we ran. Until we put on the T-Bone Racing bumpers. We've never broken a suspension arm due to a crash since.

Another way to minimize damage is, of course, not to hit stuff. But it is going to happen. Like with my backyard track, we're racing around trees, and trees bite. The way we dealt with that was to make crash barriers. We bought 10in safety cones at Sports Authority and a few of those blue foam sleeping pads for camping. Place the cones around the tree, and 10in-wide lengths of the foam pad wrapped around them and the tree. Bingo! Safety barrier. The cones direct impact energy UP while the foam gives a bit of cushion. They have saved us countless times.

So, 8th-scale truggy (already tough) + proper bumpers + crash barriers = Little-to-no damage.

One more heads up: RTR vehicles tend to have cheapo servos. So if the servo on the Kraton fails eventually, don't be surprised. Just replace it with a Hitec of appropriate spec and you'll be fine from there on.

DieHarder

I gave it a 4 for durability, inside the 'average' range. I doubt much would hold up in a 6S cartwheel though... It's average, not the best by any means, but better than quite a few similar models.
Rob - Arrma is cheap. Everything they sold before their newly released 1/8 vehicles were/are cheap. Nobody bought them, they sucked, poor customer support, etc. Now that they have a 1/8 platform that has good specs, they've paid their way to the cover of many RC mags, and are pushing their products hard. I personally would not normally invest very much ($500+ anyways) in a truck made by a company with such a rep. I'm not hating on Arrma, but when Thunder Tiger has better trucks at the same price, why take on something with a bad rep and average performance/quality? Everybody has an opinion, that's mine. I don't think hobbyists should direct newbies into a company of troubles...

mgalgs

So I ended up going with the Earthquake 8E and it's absolutely the coolest thing ever . To be fair, there's a good chance I'd be saying the same thing about the Arrma at this point...

I've had it for about a week and a half and have driven it 5 or 6 times. I'll report back here with a newbie report in a few months...

Thanks again to everyone for your advice!