OneMoreSuicide

Anyone own a stampede XL-5?.. I was looking at it and I really like that truck.,.. only thing is that its electric.. I remember electric r/c's my parents would get me from the local walmart for my b-day or something and they always got real sluggish when the batteries began to die.. Can anyone describe the characteristics of a modern electric monster and how the truck drives.. mostly with the stampede in mind?

Bria1

Any electric is going to slow down as the batteries drain down. Get a higher capacity battery like a 4200 mah and your run time should be pretty good. Most electrics start out strong, drop in power just slightly and pretty well maintain that until the pack starts to dump. When the pack dumps you'll see the power drop off pretty fast. At this point it is a good idea to stop running it so you don't overheat the batteries, and because it is boring to run it like that.

JUCD VPR

I have the Stampede Xl-5, it's a good little truck. Add an 8 cell battery and it wakes up! Pretty darn fast with an 8 cell batt. Are you on a budget or something?
Just curious because if your not and can afford 300 bucks, get the e-savage!

HerrSavage

I had the E-zilla, and though I ended up selling it cuz electric just isn't for me, it was a good quality truck, and with decent bats, really pretty fast. The E-Savage should be better(couple of improvements I think..) Electrics can be even faster than nitros, but in the end they just don't get my pulse up like nitros..

If I were going to get another electric though, it would definitely be the E-Savage..

OneMoreSuicide

no.. im not on a budget but i dont want to spen alot on an electric without knowing if i will enjoy it

HerrSavage

That's exactly why I would recommend the E-Savage. Everything else(iin its class..) either requires mods more or less right away to be fast and/or tough, or just isn't as tough as a Savage - i.e will require money being thrown at it. The E-Savage is fast AND tough right out of the box - no questions. If you bought it and didn't like it, just resell it. That's exactly what I did. I wouldn't say that I didn't like the E-zilla in particular - I just didn't like electric in general. It lacks the thrill for me that nitro has. It does have certain benefits though - you can run in the neighborhood without pissing off neighbors, it's cleaner and simpler, etc.. So either just buy it and find out for yourself, or find a friend who'll let you drive his..

Instead of the E-Savage though, if you want something smallish, fun and fast - and for a RIDICULOUS price, if I were in the States I'd take a look at the nitro Hot Bodies Lightning GT10. Just a random suggestion - but it's at ultimatehobbies.com for $200 with free shipping. That's just an unbelievable price...

http://www.ultimatehobbies.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=HBS66511!1007&csurl=%2Fistar%2Easp%3Fa%3D29%26search%3Dhot%252A% 2Bbodies%252A%26view%3Dhot%2Bbodies%26submit%2Ex%3 D0%26submit%2Ey%3D0%26

JUCD VPR

Definately buy the E-Savage then! You will not be disappointed. TRUST ME!

Rocenante

I've never owned a nitro MT, and teh Stampede XL-5 is the only electric MT I've ever run (well, the only hobby grade. I had a pricey Nikko truck several years ago, before I got into the hobby) And I have to admit that it's the most fun I've had with r/c. IF the budget had allowed it, I would have gotten an e-savage or an Emaxx, but I'm not the least bit disappointed with the purchase.

As far as the power goes, yeah they get sluggish when the battery dies. I'm using 3600mah batts and get somewhere between 12 and 20 minutes depending on how long I go WOT.

oct6454

the stampede xl5 was my first car when ibecame interested in the sport i thought nitro was the way to go but as soon as i ran the stampede i realized how much different radio shack : walmart :target you get the point. I would go for the stampede if itd your first car youll have the time of your life. And you can get a stock stampede brand new for $180 ad a battery say a 30$ battery then your choice of charger. I would say buy the stampede.

sweendog1969

you cannot i repeat cannot compare retail store garbage to even the bone stockest stampede with an electronic speed controller. A stampede is always the better bet. I purchased the original stampede and installed the electronic speed controll and it was and still is a blast. It is way more durable than the toy store garbage. Plus if you do break it (only shocks for me) you can repair or upgrade it. I would recommend the stampede for its overall durability,easy of repair,and sonic boom capabilities (lithium). Or if you want to piss the neighbors off get a nitro stampede,or rustler (i've got one and its crazy fast), or a tmaxx if they fixed that weak tranny.


p.s. buy a cheapo retail rc and put a nasty hobby battery pack in it.