Andrew Smolnik

Matrix5


Matrix5-B – Street Price $850
Matrix5-T – Street Price $899


CEN Racing’s 1/5th scale gas / petrol powered RC Vehicles are 4wd and offer superior performance and handling. The newly developed 1/5th scale cars by CEN Racing are equipped with 4 ultra big bore threaded aluminum oil filled shocks that absorb rough terrain while maintaining balance and control. This 1/5th scale has proven to be one of the largest, most powerful gas powered r/c cars in market!

This 1/5th scale R/C vehicle by CEN Racing is offered in Monster Truck, Trophy Truck, or Buggy form. The vehicle is fully equipped with precision ball bearings for an ultra smooth drive-train which is powered by a huge 30cc gasoline powered 2 stroke-engine that uses ordinary gasoline with 2 stroke oil mixed in. Stopping this massive vehicle which reaches speeds of up to 50mph is easy with the dual disc high temp breaking system.

CEN Racing’s 1/5th scale is equipped with a fully adjustable suspension, along with camber and toe in adjustments. It comes fully assembled and Ready To Run including FM Digital electronics. The massive 8 inch wheels and tires are pre-glued and ready to rock. The body shell comes fully painted and decaled as well!

This 1/5th scale gasoline powered vehicle will offer hours of fun without hassle and is perfect for any leisure off-roading activity!


Specs:

-4WD Transmission
-Powerful CN 30CC engine
-One metal gear including steering servo
-CVD flexible bevel shaft
-28kgs & 10kgs servos
-DX-pro FM radio
-All metal gear front or rear diff
-4mm stiffened anodized aluminum 6061 T6 chassis
-Universal joint cup suspension system
-Adjustable with double wishbones
-Full ball bearing
-4 step gear reduction system
-4 full aluminum oil-pressure shock absorbers
-650cc huge fuel tank capacity support full of up to 50min +
-Dual disc brake system

dc2 man

thats nice
it has a similar mcd structure type platform,correct?

does it come with body shell?

avconslt

My Feedback: (22)

It looks a lot like an FS Mars 1/5 Buggy?

Richard

IloveMYxt2

That looks like a home made rc. Nothing against homemade rc's but this things ugly and pathetic looking. I wonder how long that wing will last if you bash it.

And why does it look incomplete?

[:'(]

Sherv

My Feedback: (1)

If this is indeed an FS racing model rebranded... Then shame on CEN. I have seen a few CEN Nitros and they seem decent but FS Racing... I'm sorry they are just terrible. From design up they are terrible. They look like cheap toys and the suspension geometry/travel is terrible. For me 1/5th needs realistic suspension travel/setup. FGs are nice but I can't stand how rigid they look (the MTs) but the MCD Baja and MT have such beautiful suspension.

Andrew Smolnik

IloveMYxt2,

Sorry to hear that you are not attracted to the Matrix 5. The flourescent anodizing may not appeal to everyone, but it is different and looks very nice to some. We will also offer optional colors. There is no body on the vehicle so perhaps that is why it looks incomplete to you. Have fun with your XT2. ; )


Sherv,

CEN Racing is an OEM manufacturer. We produce products for many r/c companies world-wide. Although the Matrix 5 resembles other 5th scale vehicles, we have redesigned many attributes on the vehicle to make it a better product. I can assure you that the CEN Matrix 5 meets the strict quality requirments for the CEN Racing brand of vehicles. We look forward to releasing the Matrix 5 to the 5th scale community. ; )

Thanks for your comments guys. They will arrive next week and will have a street price of apx $850 RTR. ; )

Sherv

My Feedback: (1)

Andrew will there be a race roller model? I ask because CN motors have a history of bearing failure.

Andrew Smolnik

Sherv,

Not immediately. Perhaps after we release the RTR versions. We've tested a wide range of engines, and we are using the most reliable engine possible with cost in mind. With the necessary care regarding the air filter etc, the engine lasts a very long time and is very stable. After installing an upgrade pipe, I was incredibly impressed with the power out put and stability of the engine.

dc2 man

sorry i need to repost this..

mbe301

Was the change in the front suspension to increase turning radius? (hope so)
How long for parts/upgrades/hop-ups are available?
Any more pictures?

dc2 man

andrew

firstly i have 7 largescale veiches and years of experience under my belt,so two things strike me on this model.

1/ why does the car (if even cen have such a great reputation) resemble a direct mcd copy or fs racing,it clearly is a clone,why couldnt cen produce something them selves unique given there track record of great r/c production?

2/ why use the cn engine when everybody i have ever heard about running them have experienced failures? including a company i have tested a car for nutech, they have tried these engines & have also experienced failures so they will not even look at one any more.

its a nice looking machine but seriously do customers need another rebadged version of an mcd/fs at a similar price,i dont see any sense in it.

blackrain

hopefully when it release rcuniverse will do a full video review and complete breakdown

46u

My Feedback: (3)

So they have a CN engine?[:'(]

SAVAGEJIM

Andrew, firstly, before I begin, I want to say that Genka Trading Corp has done a good job in making some of the finest off road RCs on the market. The one RC I can definitely speak from first hand experience is my Cenchain GST 7.7 truck. It is a damn hard truck and I personally rank it the toughest 8th scale classed monster truck on the market.

Another good truck built on the same chassis is the Nemesis (well, its current incarnation, the GSR). If I want a truck chassis that is sound for racing and can almost guaranty that you never DNF, I would choose the GSR for racing in the MT class.

From some of my friends who race buggies back home, they sing praises about the Matrix nitro buggies. And so influential are these Matrix fans that the local RC stores in their area actually started to put Cenchain parts on the shelves. These are all signs that your RCs, at least the GST/GST and Matrix nitro from what I know, are great RCs and at the very least, no less than decent.

My concerns are in line with several others above. I say this not to bash, but to speak up in a constructive manner. You mentioned that Genka is an OEM. Either Genka or Cenchain itself. This means that Genka owns the factories and therefore makes the pieces and/or the whole RCs themselves instead of buying from factories that are owned by someone else.

Since Genka is an OEM, That indicates to all of us that you own the factories and you make all of your RCs yourselves, which is a good thing because that means you have direct control over the production and materials quality. Too many other RC companies only buy RCs from factories they do not own and alot of times, design and materials quality is compromised because the factories in several cases could care less so long as the RC company continues to pay them.

Also, being that Genka is an OEM, this also indicates to us that you make these RCs for FS, in which case FS never made an RC themselves, they only sent the plans to your factories and FS paid you for all of their RCs. And I am sure that Genka has made RCs for more than just FS, but anyone else who wants the same RC but to put it under their badge so long as they pay genka for the factory services. This is only my deduction based on what you said. Please let me know if my deductions are wrongly presumed.

As for the engine, does Genka also own the factories that make the CN engines for FS? If so, I personally have faith in that you guys will step up quality of your CN engines (well, "CN" is the FS badge name, I do not know what Genka will call this engine under its own badge). So long as you apply the same quality standards as you do for the other Cenchain RCs, namely like seen on the GST and GSR, I have faith that you can make the "CN" engine as reliable, and as good in quality of no less than Chang Yang (CY) engine, which are proabably the most prolific gasser RC engine on the market. I urge you not to go with any quality standard less than CY engines, especially if Genka owns the factories that make the CN engines for FS.

One of the biggest things that will make the success of your new gasser, even though it is the same RC you make for FS, is making it available at the local RC stores, making it widely available as far as parts go, and also a very strong point, customer service.
I am not saying this to criticize, I am saying this to be constructive to improve Cenchain and Genka; your USA customer service needs to step it up because they are rather arrogant and dont seem to want to help.
To improve this and also to advance Genka in the US, please follow the customer service example as established by Traxxas. Cut the customers some breaks (not too much, but show them Cenchain is on their side), and Cenchain will become a name brand in rank with Traxxas, Losi, AE, and HPI.

Andrew Smolnik

mbe301,

Yes we redesigned the suspension arms and various other suspension qualities to improved the durability and function. ; )



SAVAGEJIM,

Thanks for your informative post. Yes Cenchain / Genka Trading Corp owns its own factories in China and Taiwan, and yes we produce parts, cars, and even assemble RTR vehicles for many popular brands within the r/c industry. With respect to our valued customers, I cannot reveal the brand names as this would be bad business practice. But I can tell you that our OEM products are in just about every hobby shop in the United States.

Because we produce a wide range of hobby products doesn't mean that even we outsource for certain items. We've outsourced nitro engines in our RTR vehicles in the past, simply because some engines producers are good at what they do. Some of the worlds leading engine manufacturer's (hobby industry) are very good at producing user friendly products, yet you would never see a racer use the engines. There are different categories of engines, and it can be difficult to product product for the every-day consumer that is affordable and reliable. I personally use / Race O.S. Engines. If I had my way, I'd have a Vspec in every RTR Matrix we produce. But of course, selling an RTR for $750 would no be feasable.

Our 1/5th scale may resemble current 5th scale vehicles that are currently in the market. However, we know that necessities of our customers and it comes with the CEN Product. We will ensure that our (CEN Racing's) 5th scale vehicles utilize reliable engines and durable parts with excellent parts support. With CEN Racing, our customers will also recieve extremely considerate customer service unlike some brands available today. All at a very affordable price. We see the market oppurtunity in 1/5th scale gas, so we are excited to be a part of it.

I also plan to race in the 4wd 1/5th scale class, and aid in the growth of the racing market for that class.

Hope I clarified some of your questions and/or concerns. ; )

Our Matrix 5 will arrive here in the states next week! Were looking forward to it.

dc2 man

any body pics?

FShopups

Hi Andrew
Great to hear CEN is making a 1/5th scale and even better its based on our beloved FS. I notice the front and rear suspension is different and there is no fuel tank to roll bar supports? How have they addressed the problem with the diffs?
The FS racing differentials are very prone to breaking 'out of the box'
Have you seen what we are doing with the FS racing 1/5th scales? look here http://www.fshopups.com/conkitzero.htm
Hopefully with CEN on board we can give some proper feedback and problems will be addressed.

I wonder how the rest of the world react now?? So do the clone haters consider this a clone? will it be able to race at the LargescaleRC track??

I would find it real funny if all those guys started to sell this CEN 1/5th.
Now all of a sudden its ok...

Have said it before 'the invasion is coming'
regards
FShopups
fsmt4wd

blackrain

how long before you guys get some vids on the Cen website

Andrew Smolnik

DC2man,

Yeah here you go. Pic with body on. (proto-type vehicle)



FShopups,

Yes we understand that there will be "clone haters" as you put it. But we are confident that our customers, will see the true value in our product and brand. Aside from a reliable product, our customer service, parts availability, and dedication to the customer is part of every purchase through CEN Racing.

We have always listened to our customers inquiries and recommendation regarding our product and we certainly do not plan to stop. ; )

Thanks for the comments, they are very much appreciated. We've not had any problems with our differentials during the testing phases, therefore I am confident that there are no differential problems. However, I will research your link and bring it up at the next production meeting. Thanks very much.

Andrew Smolnik

Blackrain,

Actually workin on that very soon. We've been getting rain this week, so perhaps next week. ; )

blackrain

The buggy looks sweet and if its anything like my nemesis im shore it will be rock solid, toughest nitro truck i have ever owned. Any pics of the chassie and drive line or internal differential gears

Andrew Smolnik

Here is a pic of the Stadium truck with upgrade pipe. ; )

dc2 man

[quote]ORIGINAL: Andrew Smolnik

DC2man,

Yeah here you go. Pic with body on. (proto-type vehicle)





now thats a gorgeous machine
i would like to see a review of one of these.

Sherv

My Feedback: (1)

I have to admit... Seeing the pictures posted have caught my attention... More details would be lovely and I can not wait to see a video in action and a forum members experience with one. I admit the body design/paint is simple.. but looks very nice! simple and nice! Nice choices on the green! Almost like a mint and lime green. Looking forward to more info!

FSbaja305ccONB

It's basiccaly a FS racing car with some mods : slight bend in the front rollcage downtubes , different suspension arms/hubs , no braces between tank en shocktower.

Known problems will probably just be the same as the original MCD's and it's FS clone cars like : gearplate and center diff mounts.

Personally i'm interested in the new suspension set-up Cen uses , the only real innovation on the car.