ORIGINAL: wriffwraff

cen matrix tr arena suggestions: a [longer and lightweight] chassis b/c the matrix is about a lb heavier than the competition, stiffer springs and bigger shocks, 17 MM hubs instead of uncommon 23 MM; the wing mount breaks all too frequently [beef up the wing mounts and braces], the ready to run engines are too much of an issue [perhaps discontinue the rtr and focus on the FRE, if the rtr is unrealistic], discontinue the skyion electronics on the rtr [the electronics proved to be a very poor offering], the diameter of the center gear is too big [it chews up servo wire and fuel line], re-engineer the fuel tank and the fuel tank lid to hold pressure and to stay closed during roll-overs, re-engineer and re-route the air filter and the filter neck [the draw-bridge-like chassis braces probably would have to be removed to accomplish that], re-engineer the upper arms [the upper arms, front and rear, needs strenghtening], re-engineer the access of the center diff cos' it's way too difficult to access and reassemble, lower the body and-or body mounts of the truggy [ the body profile is way too high], engineer some side chassis guards [dirt is everywhere and expensive aftermarket pipes take a beating w/o side guards], cvd or captured drive train front and rear, replace all e-clips with threaded rods and nuts, all bolts and linkages should be threaded and bolted up, the steering throw is too wide [this truggy turns way too wide], smoother diff gears and drive train [truggy pushes way wide in turns and accelerates wildly down the straights ], tweak the balance of the truck a bit more [ jumps are decent, however, the truggy is not consistent or fast on the track... you really have to work to go fast on a track], fit and finish is a bit sloppy [ ex: even the body mounting posts are awkward and sit at an angle. the lower and upper shock mounts are incompatible with the upper and lower mounts. the suspension is incompatible with most regular sized zero offset wheels. the overall fit and finish of the truggy is just not there], the servo saver [offer the aluminum saver in the kit and invert it like mugen or make it friendlier], the owners manual and all of the reference materials could be better [ex: the engine mouting screws are listed and-or specified incorrectly], the reference materials have typo's and misspellings [ ex: the box that my rtr came in has typo's ]. the red hop ups costs way too much... as far as cen aluminum goes, i could only stomach the servo saver and the turnbuckles. that alone is almost 100.00 added to the intial cost of the truck. owners have to run out immediately and get those two items b/c the stock versions are problematic right out of the box. so, truth be told, the cen truggy, rtr or fre, was never " honestly " affordable or competitive out of the box. more work and more investment and it could happen though. until then, there are other offerings that appear to be superior in fit, finish and value.

please note: despite the challenges, i still love my cen matrix truggy b/c it's my first nitro RC. i don't ever plan to part with it. however, i plan to race next season, so i've decided to purchase the mugen mbx5t standard truggy come sring 2008 [sm=49_49.gif] the only shortcoming i see with the standard mugen truggy kit are the e-clips. i'll replace em' with the threaded rods and nylon nuts that are reserved for the prospect kit. i mean, the prospect kit is cool, but i think an e-clipless mugen standard truggy would be a more responsible choice, if you know what i mean my friend [sm=49_49.gif]