BILLYGUNN187

might be changing my mind...i was going to purchase a volcano epx pro and purchase a lipo battery and charger but i seen the avalanche on ebay for 299 dollars which is what ill be spending for the epx pro with the upgrades....so my question is which one should i purchase?? thank you in advance for the input

Dads like rc too

It's not really fair to try and compare the two, forget comparing apples to oranges, this is comparing apples to pizza. The Avalanche is part of Redcats pro series line. It comes with front CVD'S instead of dogbones, pretty decent shocks, 17mm hubs, plus a lot of little things the Volcano just can't compete with. It's a true 8th scale, big truck. Now that's not to say the Volcano pro isn't worth buying, it's a great truck for the price. I haven't had the Volcano but I had a nitro Tornado which was very similiar to the nitro Volcano and it never broke. A friend has the nitro Volcano and what he's done to that thing should be against the law. Maybe split the difference and look at the Earthquake 8e. I have a Caldera 10e I picked up for my son, which is kind of a shortened version of the Earthquake with one less battery. The Caldera is bulletproof. Do some more research, Redcat has a vehicle for every budget and intended use.

BILLYGUNN187

thanks for the info...really think i want to gowith thebigger scale.but not sure..hoping ill get more input in these forums to help with the decision..theres not many reviews i can find about the avalanche xte but the ones i find are very good...and in the begiinning i was looking at the volcano epx pro and caldera 10e but for some reason i was drawn to the avalanche xte..we will see, like i said hopefully i will get some other comments to help, but thanks i appreciate it.

nitrosportsandrunner

I cant speak to the durability of the avalanche XTE as I have not owned one.

I have owned the earthquake 8e. Its overall pretty tough, but does need a few things. The shock towers need to be upgraded to the alloy cus the flex too much. The diffs often need to be shimmed right out of the box. If you dont, they can fail within a few battery packs. If you do shim them, they hold up very well.
The esc's punch and brake settings need to be changed. More punch control, less braking force.
The stock servo is so-so. A metal geared unit is much better for the job. I also had to upgrade the drag link on me 8e.

That covers the 8e pretty well. with those upgrades and changes its a beast of a truck.

It certainly has more power than the volcano.

comparing costs. I would NEVER put all the upgrade parts availble for the volcano on it. IMO, the alloy arms are a waste of money. They are no more durable than the plastic one, and just get scratched up. Remember, you NEED somewhere on the chassis which can flex upon impact.
The upgrade cvd's are OK. But I found that shmming the dogbones with nitro fuel tubing in the drive cups makes them just a good as the cvd's.

where I would (and have) upgraded the volcano: The alloy wheel hubs, better servo, alloy body posts, nitro fuel tubing in the drive cups for the dogbones. Thats about it.

If you add the upgrades I did to my 8e to the cost of the model, you get close to $450. compare to the volcano with upgrades id do @ $280

And tho I have not owned one, Id imagine that the avalanche needs about the same amount of money that the 8e does. Its heavier than the earthquake and uses the same power system, so its likely to be a touch slower.

I have owned many many 1/10 scale models and a few 1/8's. I guess this is due mainly to the fact that 1/10 models cost less. But I have also found that in terms of driving there is little that 1/8's can do that 1/10s cant. Granted, the 1/8s do handle better. But unless you intend to race, I dont think the added cost is worth it.

my 8e sure could do some crazy flips tho:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNXz2igI2JY[/youtube]

BILLYGUNN187

thank you for the input nitro...i appreciate it