-JBLKING-

really?! i dont see how aftermarket is Junk, so i assume upgrade ability is at a minimum? I wouldnt see how i would maintain, upgrade, have quality parts available.

-JBLKING-

Out of EXC, Traxxas, Losi, HPI

What are some build characteristics (Designs they do often)
and which ones appear to be the most durable, simple, low maintenance?

SyCo_VeNoM

alum knuckles, c-hubs, shock towers, and rear carriers are the only things I'd recommend in aluminum
For example the DF-02 the front shock tower is really cheap so the aluminum one fixes it. The plastic steering parts kinda have slop in them aluminum one makes it more rigid, with the c-hubs, and knuckles (they also bring in the axle so the steel dogbones don't pop out)

Jammin CRT.5 I utterly totaled the stock C-hubs bought the STRC and issue went away (ofna sold one, but they charged an insane price for it)

Jammin x1 CR they put plastic chassis braces on that if you hit it just right can cause the chassis to tweak cause the plastic was too flexible. The CNC aluminum remove that from happening. (but in this case ofna does sell the part and included it in the high end kits just not on the cheaper RTR version)

HPI MT2 the stock knuckles are made out of suck a soft plastic the screw strips out if you look at it the wrong way. Again aluminum knuckle one fixes that

So no not all aluminum is worthless it just depends on the model. Hell even Integy has a decent piece (seriously only 1 the rest they sell is all junk, which is the rear HD carrier for the savage). Now aluminum A-arms, and a lot of other parts that should flex are 100% worthless, and actually in a lot of cases make the RC weaker cause it transfers the energy to the next weakest part.

-JBLKING-

So most of the stock chassis are dependable and only thing i should worry about is upgrade the steering and linkages.

SyCo_VeNoM

well the ECX from what I seen jang put them through in his test they held up very well. and I mean his reviews he literally drives them full throttle into a wall clipping tires,at full speed as well as running them on a track half assed flipping, and crashing them(to put it through its paces).

I know on his traxxas stampede review he said he kept breaking the front C-hub, and pin when he crashed it into the wall. He tried it I think 4 times, and broke it 4 times I think in the end he went and got the RPM part to fix it to carry on the beating of it. IMP for the price traxxas charges their RC's should have every RPM part on them out of the box seeing they need it (that statement comes from someone that owns 3 traxxas RC's)


As for that lack of aftermarket parts generally being for stronger RC's, its also goes for RC's that are not popular enough for RPM(and other aftermarket companies) to be bothered making parts for. MT2 (like I said earlier with its crap knuckles) a-arms can be quite weak. Someone contacted RPM to see if they would make a set of arms for it they said its not popular enough to bother.

IMO look up URC reviews on youtube to see if they have any for the vehicles that interest you. The reviews are no where near as skewed as reviews from say a magazine seeing the reviwer for URC buys all the RC's with his own cash, and from what I seen the reviews are done decently, and are pretty accurate for the RC's I've owned that he has done.

-JBLKING-

I studied some statistics and URC reviews

Phoenix XB Racer

The Slash is a very durable truck after you install RPM bearing carriers. The Blitz is the easiest of those 4 short course trucks to race out of the box.

-JBLKING-

Since the chassis are similar, do the Torment and Slash share many aftermarket parts?

SyCo_VeNoM

highly doubt they share any
I have a pile of RC's that have similar layouts, and the parts that are swappable are at almost 0.

-JBLKING-

the Blitz has a considerable amout of slop, there is an aluminum fix to that tho

-JBLKING-

think im going for the Traxxas Slash 2wd

The_Shark

Ok, Don't say i didn't warn you

-JBLKING-

Well what did you warn me about except being pricey?
And why did you choose team Losi in that previous post?

-JBLKING-

I havent heard much good about the Losi Strike. Losi as a company seams to be at the lower end of performance and quality.

-JBLKING-

Also was lookig at the Associated SC10, a racer purpose SCT vs the Traxxas Slash, a basher purpose SCT. Associated is higher end as well. Im just not diggin the kits ( want RTR ) and the 4wd.

So im considering between the HPI Blitz and the Slash.

The_Shark

you asked between these two, i then went on to say you should get a ECX and that is still my opinion, get over what is popular, get over all the "hop ups" and all that and focus on two things- is it durable? is it worth the money? the ECX is both these things- my hobby shop is so confident in these cars they started carrying the ECX line, and they sell EVERTHING.

i mean look at the traxxas slash chassis- lazy, look at the Torment chassis- some thought was actually put into it.

-JBLKING-

If its suppose to be obvious, im sorry i dont see it. Durability tests on both models are really high in success. I still dont see the edge that the ECX has.

-JBLKING-

I really cant make up my mind between the three with Traxxas, HPI, and ECX. HPI and Traxxas are the higher end brands and present more features and perks with their models. Ive heard the ECX Torment is very durable, but in Jang's tests, the Slash came out on top, the Torment lost an axle part. For the cheap price of the Torment, what immediate upgrades should i prioritize? im thinking a full metal gear trans since it has a plastic tranny (compared to HPI and Traxxas full metal Brushless ready trans), aluminum shocks, and some steering upgrades. I worry about the tranny tho.

-JBLKING-

I dont really like the Losi Strike, but what about the Losi XXX-SCT?

-JBLKING-

is Traxxas Ford F-150 SVT EXACTLY the same chassis as the Slash XL-5? I hear its basically the same.

-JBLKING-

I started a new thread to hopefully attract more comments on the models ive narrowed down

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_11071989/anchors_11071989/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#11071989