Many
of the RC community own or know someone who owns a Slash,
so most of this review will be familiar territory.
What
make this slash different? The obvious difference is the
Robby Gordon Dakar race truck body. This great looking body
is modeled after a hummer style vehicle and is dressed with
SPEED energy drink sponsor logos. You can get this body
in orange or black. I personally like the black. Harsh lines
and sharp corners give this body a "tough" look.
I rear spoiler is mounted to the body with four counter
sunk screws. Orange trim on the rims offer the perfect balance
of color to complete the look.
The
Slash comes with many accessories including needed tools.
Allen wrenches, flat wrenches, and socket tools are included
for working on and tweaking the Slash. A decal sheet of
Traxxas logos allows you to customize the already trimmed
body. Four body washers protect the beautifully designed
hummer body and four spare clips ensure it will stay in
place. Foam blocks are used in the battery tray to change
weight distribution and a 7-cell NiMH battery pack along
with wall charger allow you juice up your Slash. Traxxas
also included an optional 23 tooth high speed pinion gear
and optional 86 tooth spur gear. Four spare screws and two
plastic trees of shock tuning parts are also included.
An
easy to understand instruction manual covers all that is
need to know to operate your Slash successfully.
So,
what else is different about this Slash? You'll have to
keep reading to find out.
Chassis, Wheels, Tires, & Suspension
The modified tub chassis on the Robby Gordon
edition Slash is the same structural design as other 2wd
Slashes but uses black plastic. This eliminates having to
dye that gray plastic on your own. The high sitting chassis
offers 3.5 inches of ground clearance and will keep the
actual pan from bottoming out.
The hummer style body dips in on the side
panels so the plastic bumper gaurds found on the other slash
chassis sides are not needed. The same heavy duty front
and rear bumpers are used for ultimate crash protection.
The new Robby Gordon body is modeled after
the hummer and requires longer body posts. Adjustable body
posts are used front and rear.
Classic five spoke rims with faux bead lock
orange rings are used for that scale race truck look and
finish off the look nicely. The inside of the rim is larger
than the outside to allow for suspension components to clear
while offering that scale look. Rubber sealed ball bearings
are used through out the entire for smooth operation.
The Traxxas spec tires have a directional
tread pattern with a realistic scale appearance. The tire
compound is medium to firm and should provide great wear
characteristics.
The Slash uses a lower H-arm and upper adjustable
link suspension. The beefy suspension arms offer two shock
mounting options in the front and five positions in the
rear. An anti squat wedge is used under the rear suspension
mounting blocks.
Wheel camber is easily adjusted using the
provided tools to tune the Slash to any track or surface.
The coil over oil filled ultra shocks are
ultra smooth. Factory dampening coupled with the included
spring rates give the Slash suspension a plush smooth feel.
The front and rear shock towers do not provide additional
shock mounting options.
All plastic seems to be of high quality
and neat finish.
Drive
train
The drive train is where the Slash shines.
Ultra smooth all metal internal gears make it easy to upgrade
to a brushless power system. The gear box is easily accessible
and uses full ball bearings to support the heavy duty metal
gears. Four hardened steel planetary gears inside the differential
are smothered in grease and offer smooth dispersion of power.
A heavier grease or silicone could be used but I'm going
to test it in stock form. A piece of tape is used to seal
the bottom of the gear box where it mounts to the chassis.
The aluminum chassis covers this area so I don't anticipate
any problems.
The 90 tooth 48 pitch plastic spur gear
is mounted to a Revo spec slipper clutch with semi metallic
slipper pads and aluminum construction. The spur gear can
be removed without changing the slipper clutch setting.
This makes gear changes a snap. The 19 tooth pinion gear
and slipper assembly are protected from debris with a plastic
gear cover. A small removable rubber insert allows slipper
adjustments without removing the gear cover.
Plastic telescoping drive shafts with universal
joints at both ends are used to deliver power to the rear
wheels. It is important to periodically clean the telescoping
surfaces of the drive shafts for continued smooth operation.
Electronics
The new TQ 2.4Ghz radio is an improvement
over the older system. Although the TQ is Traxxas' beginner
model, it does what is needed to operate the Slash. The
transmitter solidly binds to the receiver and is easy to
set up. The completely internal transmitter antenna is a
good touch and gives the radio a sleek look and feel. Four
AA batteries are need to power the transmitter.
The 3 channel TQ 2.4GHz receiver is housed
in a water tight radio box and has two "channel 1"
outputs for use in vehicles with dual steering servos. A
bind button is found on the face of the receiver for quick
binding to the transmitter.
A Traxxas digital high torque 2075 waterproof
steering servo offers high speed and plenty of power for
steering the Traxxas Slash. A servo saver horn protects
the servos gears from jarring damage and a bell crank steering
system ensures the wheels will point where you steer them.
The waterproof XL5 brushed electronic speed
controller is mounted to the rear of the chassis with two
screws. The XL5 can handle 4-8 cell NiMH batteries and has
a built in low voltage cut off for 2S LiPo use. A green
light indicates the ESC is ready for LiPo use and a red
light indicates it is ready for NiMH packs.
A 7 cell 3000 mAh NiMH stick pack is included
along with a wall charger for repeated use.
The Titan 12T 550 brushed motor provides
power to the rear wheels and an internal fan helps to keep
things cool.
Performance
& Handling:
The 2wd Slash may not be the best handling
or the fastest RC vehicle out there, but it is the truck
that started the short course truck excitement in the RC
world and deserves some recognition. That being said, I
had much fun driving the Slash around the track.
Stability and Cornering
As many already know, the Slash is a bit
top heavy and on high grip surfaces tends to roll while
cornering. High speed cornering on pavement and moist packed
dirt is a good recipe for rolling over.
Normal to low grip surfaces such as dry
dirt allows the Slash to slide while keeping all four tires
planted on the ground.
Even with the high center of gravity, the
Slash is an enjoyable truck to drive. The large amount of
chassis roll aids in traction and looks as the full scale
Robby Gordon Dakar race truck.
Pavement
The scale looking medium compound Slash
tires coupled with the soft suspension provided more side
bite than expected. Keeping the amazing looking body scratch-free
is a bit difficult while making high speed U-turns. While
the body roll seems excessive on pavement, it is much needed
on looser surfaces
Grass
Running through grass is easy. The Slash's
extra ground clearance keeps drag to a minimum and allows
the truck to easily roll over sticks and other small obstacles.
Dirt
Dirt is where this truck truly belongs!
The soft suspension helps this truck hook up in the dirt.
There is a good balance of grip and rear slide. It takes
a little getting used to cut a consistent line. As you can
see during the filming of the video, I wasn't there yet.
The Slash was much fun driving around the
local track, even if I couldn't clear the triple. The Slash
has proven to be durable and after several triple attempts
and many face plants into the third jump, the Slash came
out in one piece. The Slash did clear every other jump on
the track and looked good doing it.
After I recorded the video, I went back
to the track wanting to perfect my line. The track surface
was much dryer which allowed for more on-throttle cornering.
I ended up settling for a double/single on the back triple
which had me letting off the throttle four feet before the
launch ramp. The truck settled on the second exit slope
and handled the third jump nicely.
The corner at the end of the front straight
had less traction allowing the rear of the Slash to swing
around, unlike in the video with a moist track surface.
This made a much smoother corner.
When I first went to the track, video crew
and all, I must say I was a little frustrated with my ability
to consistently drive a decent groove around the track.
There is slightly more weight up top than the original Slash
resulting in roll overs. This is mainly caused by the bigger
and heavier body. Jumping was inconsistent and cornering
was more of the same. I was still able to get adequate video
and photos, but left unsatisfied and new I was going to
have to come back when I was able to focus more on driving
and less on filming.
I went back to the track the next day by
myself not having to worry about film rate, f-stops, exposure,
and camera focusing, I was able to relax and just have fun.
The Slash is a truck meant to be fun. It was then I was
able to learn the truck's characteristics and watch how
it reacted to different parts of the track. I then started
to get comfortable with the truck and ended up liking how
it behaved. The dryer track also played a roll in it but
I really enjoyed myself the second time out and the truck
seemed much more predictable. Jumps were more level, corners
became less wild, and the overall drivability went way up.
I could see the diff was needing some heavier silicone and
a little weight was needed in the nose. I put a 2s LiPo
in the truck and using the included foam block, I pushed
the LiPo to the front of the battery tray. Adding a small
amount of weight to the nose provided the perfect balance
for slightly nose down jumping.
Jumping the Robby Gordon Slash requires
a little pre-thought. The large body catches much air and
the tire mass provides little if any pitch control. I found
completely letting off the throttle before hitting the jump
provided the best results.
Smoothness of electronics
Throttle is smooth and braking is consistent.
The steering servo works reliably with no glitches or snags.
Overall I would say the electronics are smooth.
Overall Handling
Overall the Robby Gordon Dakar edition 2wd
Slash was a pleasure to drive. The key to this truck is
just having fun. There were a few obstacles to over come
such as roll and parachuting, but it is definitely a truck
you can get comfortable with and find much enjoyment.
VIDEO:
See
the Robby Gordon Dakar edition Slash 2wd Truck in action!
This truck includes the same 2wd Slash chassis
that started the RC electric SCT race class. A few changes
include black chassis, lack of side guards, long adjustable
body posts, and an awesome looking Hummer style Dakar body.
The truck handles like any other slash with
a little added body roll from the added body weight. It
does, however, look much better! The new body style is AWESOME!
I had a couple local guys call it a brick, which I can see
their point, but how much does aerodynamics really matter
with a brushed RC vehicle? I think the appearance greatly
outweighs any possible loss of aerodynamic performance.
The Slash did well on all surfaces with
many roll-overs on pavement. It's obvious the slash has
a higher center of gravity than many other SCTs but it handled
surprisingly well. I would have to say the Slash it most
at home in the dirt. Oh, did I mention IT LOOKS AWESOME!
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The comments, observations and conclusions made in this review are solely with respect to the particular item the editor reviewed and may not apply generally to similar products by the manufacturer. We cannot be responsible for any manufacturer defects in workmanship or other deficiencies in products like the one featured in the review.
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