gagallagher04401

My Feedback: (20)

Any one know anything about the Redcat Racing Vortex EXP PRO Brushless (RTR) Short course truck.

It looks almost identical to the traxxas Slash. but it is brushless, which is awesome. The price is not high, so is it junk?

Does anyone have one, and or run one?

Would slash parts fit it?

All the info I can get would be great to help me sway me on getting one or not.

Thanks
George

rclugnut10

My Feedback: (1)

i'd say junk cuz its redcat, imo the slash is a VERY solid beginner platform and you'd be better off upgrading with stuff you choose than saying hey this comes with great stuff day 1 then 6 mo later you say i want more speed ohh snap the speedo's getting maxxed out damn i paid $50 (idk the exact #) extra for something that was only good for 6 mo... does that make any sense and you'll have no issue getting parts for traxxas everybody and their brother has them

the lug

gagallagher04401

My Feedback: (20)

I was thinking the slash parts could replace the junk parts when they break on the redcat.

Doable? or not possable?

04DarkShadowGT

No totally different under the body. The redcat one is 4wd, slash 2wd, no parts aside from maybe wheels/tires are interchangeable.

I would suggest not going with a redcat, I have in the past and would never again.

pede_187

I had a Redcat Volcano which is built off a smilar platform as the vortex. To be honest, it's alright, but it's just not a whole lot of run to run and all. All in all, I think you'd be better off with like a slash or something. And no, slash parts won't work. Some HPI RS4/MT2 parts may work.

neyou86

My Feedback: (2)

redcat isnt a terrible companny but they are not great. not much parts support, ok customer service, u will have to orded parts everytime u break it. still thinking redcat? i would lean towards a slash. they are very durable

Druss

You can find a used slash w/ brushless for around $250 now a days, usually come with a bat or two and some parts too.

TIGER76

Go with the slash built by traxxas plenty of hopups,spare parts everywhere,good customer service cant go wrong

john01374

Let me say that when it comes to my bashers I'm a traxxas guy. I own 3 Slash's, 3 pedes and couple of bandits and I don't even know how many rusty's. I also have about 45 other cars by different MFG's. I had a chance to run one of these Vortex brushless trucks a few weeks back. I was handed the controller and told to go for it. I beat the truck pretty bad and nothing broke. A couple of weeks after that I was at a local track just outside of chicago. They rent Redcats and I watched a bunch of total newbies beat the crap out of some redcat touring cars without hurting anything. To say the least I was impressed so......

About 4 weeks ago I picked up a Vortex EXP. The price was right and I wanted to see what Redcat was all about. I was around back when Traxxas was considered Junk so I decided to give the new guy a try. I've only had a chance to run the truck 5 or 6 times because of other projects but each run was on a 2S 5000 Lipo so the truck has about 4 hrs of run time on it. I've not been gentle and the truck has taken a few hard hits. So far I haven't broken anything but the spur and pinion are starting to look worn and need to be replaced. So far everything has worked great.

Now... Would I take this truck to the skate park and bash it like a Pede. NO I wouldn't but most people don't do that.. So far it's been a great truck. Fast, handles pretty well etc etc. No it's not Traxxas tough but I don't think Redcat is a company to be avoided and i'm happy with truck.

BTW there is nothing interchangeable with the slash. The Vortex is truly 1/10th scale where the Slash is closer to 1/8th scale.

Lilredmachine

Well, would you look at that. Someone who actually owns one. Now this thread's worth a crap.

It's pretty simple, don't have one, don't post on whether it's good or not. Because you don't know.

04DarkShadowGT

I posted because I have had a redcat in the past, in fact one very similar and as I said I would never buy another one. But regardless of if someone had one or not, whats it to you if they give their opinion.

gagallagher04401

My Feedback: (20)

John

What is its stock speed?

I have a bunch of 3S 20C 1800mah Lipo batteries would they work in the truck? or are they to small mah?

On one battery you got 4hrs of run time?

electricrcdude

I own a Redcat Tornado, and they are really not that bad. The only reason I will not buy another one is because of the parts support. Originally, a LHS carried the brand, and therefore the parts, but they went out of business, so I bought a E-Firestorm.

john01374

I'd guess the stock speed to be in the low to mid 30's on a 2s lipo. The 1800 mah packs would give you very short run times. I got about 35 to 40 mins of mixed bashing on a 2s 5000 pack. The truck has a total of about 4 hrs of total run time on it but thay was 5 or 6 packs

ludeman

Well I have one but it was the brushed version that I put a VXL in. Let me tell ya what will break and often.....
Spur gear is big and Exposed so it gets chewed up if taken off road. Keep it on the street and that not a problem. Ah but it's not a street truck is it. Also the pinion is made from the some of the softest brass I have ever seen. Just know you have to replace the spur and pinion at the same time.
Dogbones are made of inferior steel and bend easy. Seems to happen more on hard cornering than jumping. Out drives are crap and will snap...too often.
Center dogbone(driveshaft) likes to snap as well. Finally, the tires when new are actually damn good. The problem is after about 3 weeks the foam breaks down completely and you are left with perfect tread on flat tires.

Maybe they beefed up some of the parts but from what I see of it does not look to be.

John is right about it handling well and it has sweet steel diffs that are butter smooth.
I will sum it up by saying this truck is fun, fun, fun but breaks, breaks, breaks

Get the Slash
You will save more money in the end!

john01374

ludeman - We should compare the two trucks. I'd like to see if there are really that many differences between the brushed and brushless version. I can tell you right now that the pinion is not brass.

ludeman

Hi John,
So your pinion is not brass? That's good. I notice it comes with aluminum shocks and towers that's about all I can see that is different.

Here is what happened to my pinion [&:] Sorry for the huge pic's



Stub Axle likes to snap [:@]


Do you have this kind of drive shaft? The pins ware out and the tips like to snap off. The shrink wrap ones last a little longer but still do it.


My dog bones were crap! Maybe they use new ones now that are made out of real steel not pot metal


This is what will continually happen to your spur


Here is the supper sweet Diff!


Here is what she looked like when running "SUOR POWER"


ESC Cooled with an ATI video card fan[8D]


VXL power

pede_187

Hey Ludeman, I have a fix to your stub axle problem. I found that those broke quite often on my redcat and I know one set of the HPI stub axles work (just need to use different hex's or drill the stock ones out). I don't know the exact part number but I could probably find out for you. I think it's from the RS4 or MT2 or something.

rhm-zooom

pede_187 I would be interested in that info please.I have a redcat tsunami nitro and a tsunami electric with a novak xbr 10.5 .No problems with either really.Ive had the nitro for about 2yrs. ludman it looks like your mesh must have been tight to wear that far into the pinion. robertson racing and novak both make pinions that will fit.they are .6mod 48p metric

ludeman

Yep rhm-zooom, got the robertson pinion on the Velineon That is what the Velineon did to the stock pinion. No it was not to tight it was 3s Lipo's ha ha

gagallagher04401

My Feedback: (20)

Any one have an experience with these brushless vehicles?

http://www.raidentech.com/bl.html

Around the same price as the Redcat. More options though.

Thanks

ludeman

Same thing!

mdst1960

I have 3 of them one is a brushed motor version and I think they are a great value. They are 1/10th scale but are quite a bit smaller in lenght than a slash I have a piture so you can see the size differance. Not many parts will interchange with a Slash, so far I have put Slash Tires on them just to see how it looks but since the Vortex is 4WD and such a smaller length thats all I know of that will fit. Out of the box it's very fast and corners real well due to the 4WD but it does not have much for ground clearence so real rough and steep inclines will give you some problems. Also the Spur and Piston gears are out in the open so small rocks or pebbles can get stuck in there and are a major ***** to get out, And it's not waterproof at all so stay out of mud and puddles, But all in all I have lots of fun with them and they are a good price considering it's Brushless and 4WD stock. And you can put a Lipo battery in it with out resetting the ESC just put it in and she will go about 42MPH with a 7.2 Lipo

jongillis

My second RC was a Redcat Vortex EPX PRO. $175 delivered. Is brushless, many aluminum upgrades, came RTR with a 2000mah NiMh. I have had a blast with it owned it for about 2 months. Maybe 10 hours on truck. I get a good 25 minutes with mixed park running. That being said...

I did break the right front hub carrier by slamming it into a cement curb at about 25 mph, my fault. I replaced with blue aluminum for $12.99. I am reliving my childhood and am an amateur at best so I kinda expect some bad crashes.

AND

Parts support is sloppy at best. I have purchased from them and they ship pretty quick and I did not think the price was unreasonable. The biggest problem is they do not list the Vortex EPX PRO specifically either in the manual that comes with it nor on their web site. I had several emails with them and still got one wrong part.

My first RC car was a 1/18 Pro-Pulse from Radi* Sha*k, I know, but it was also RTR for $80, came with spare parts and some upgrades. Fun. AND a great way for me to test the waters with RC and not spend $300.

That being said I do not feel bad for the purchase. It was enough to let me know whether to pursue a better quality, more widely available, more expensive, RC vehicle.

IMO

blackyz250

Hey Man,

If your looking for a place that has parts all the time and no they don't drop ship from the Redcat then check outhttp://www.nitrodeals.com I was in need of several parts and they had themall in stock plus had it shipped in a few days which was awesome. I evenspoke to the owner (Mike)personally great guyand knows his ****.

I have several redcats and i bash the crap out of them and there still hang stong. Yeah, thing r going to break but, that just means your having a great time!!!


Tony