maratIII

i want to get my moneys worth. so i called a couple of hobbie shops in miami and they all said savage sucks...everything sucked except teh tmaxxx they said that the txt-1 was the perfect-crap of monster truck. out of three hobbie shops only 1 prefered savage.
i called saying that i want something to "abuse" and that i dont have to worry about everytime i run i have to break/change parts. only 1 said savage was stronger the others said that savage is no good and that thetmaxxx is the best.
opinions????

crzy-svg-usr

they r pushing the maxx so they can sell u all the hopup parts u will buy to make it durable im not here to flame hte maxx or anythign but the maxx is fast savage isnt thats a given but you will be putting a lot of money into the maxx to make it as durable as the savage i have had both and got rid of the max 2 weeks after i bought it and got a savge trust me geta savage u wont b sorry

traxxasmaxx24

I have a T-maxx and yes it is nice but take a look at the Savage A-arms, thich, but, it is a 1/8th, so you will still break parts no matter what. But replacements are cheap.. Go with what you like, not us.

The Boss

Hi, let me tell you whats happened here where I am. Some of our club member work at some of our LHS, I was told by one of the guys that they have over 30 t maxx kits sitting in the back storage area of the HS and they are having a very hard time selling them now (they are NOT selling), the HS has very little stock on other truck kits for the reason that other kits are selling out faster, it has gottin to be known here localy that the tmax is NOT a good kit to buy compared to others. Our guy says the Savage is out selling the t maxx 4 to 1. the HS owner has told the employes they MUST push the t maxx over others, this has caused a BIG! problem with some of the guys working there and some of them have quit. This store has a very high employe turn over.

BTW, this one LHS HATES our 8scale nitro club very much www.nitroextreme.com because we don't talk and say nice things about the t maxx... fact is we don't bs about ANY kit, we are consumers and we want the best bang for our buck... the t maxx does not do this.

popa71

Ive owned both trucks and I have to tell you, those guys are full of crap. Any reputable hobby shop will probably sell the Maxx and the Savage. They will also tell you they sell the Maxx because everyone wants one and they sell the Savage because its the best truck out there. Ive used two gallons of fuel and I have not broken a part yet. The truck is tough and aftermarket support is great. Sounds like those shops you called are not serious about RC.

caseyddr

My Feedback: (13)

wow... a LHS in indy (i travel from here to indy alot) was also doing the same thing, except they were pushing all the MT's they had EXCEPT the Tmaxx. They had a huge pile jus stacked up, and they didn't even recommend them. They were telling ppl all the bonuses the Terra Crusher, Savage, and Dirt Demon had, then telling htem all the problems the Tmaxx had it was actually very funny!

caseyddr

My Feedback: (13)

Jus thought I'd call ya on the savage being the best truck? Uh... no :P

Cal-Torque

caseyddr, what are you saying? Are you agreeing that the TMaxx is a POS or what? Don't even even compare the TC to the Savage, and the DD? Jury's out on that truck... A lot of potential I guess, but no one seems to be buying them... There is obsolutely no question that the Savage .25 RTR is the best truck out there at it's price point. And, I do have/had most trucks currently available (including a TC), so I can say that.
Not trying to start a scrap, I'm just not clear on what your post meant...

caseyddr

My Feedback: (13)

nope by no means am I saying the TC is best, because i know its not It's my personal favorite though, because of size and brand, i am a tamiya fan by heart! Anyways, you want to go with my peronal opinion on what is best, I'd say the Ofna Dominator.

The Boss

Well as far as the Savage being the best kit out there, I don't know, there is LOTS of good 8scale stuff on the market now. I think honestly that some kits like the savage are best for new people coming into the hobby, there are other kits which are just as good (and maybe better) but may not be as good for a newbie to get right away because some kits may need more knowledge to get them running the way they are capable of. One thing is for sure... bang for the buck wise the Savage KILLS the maxx and thats no bull.

Cal-Torque

What I said was: "There is obsolutely no question that the Savage .25 RTR is the best truck out there at it's price point." There may be better/comparable kits out there, but not at $400... The Dominator is outstanding as well, but in the US, you're not going to get the Hyper 8 port 2-speed version at the same price point that we do (great price at our local shop). Although, it does look like NitroHouse is now shipping with the 2-speed at $459.95...don't mention the 8 vs 4 port though...
Casey, I agree that the TC is neat truck, but terribly underpowered. I really wish that they would have went with a big block on the new version. I think that Traxxas's "experiment" with the HO 2.5 was a flop, so I can't figure out why Tamiya went that route. It's unfortunate because they do make a hell of a product. PS I have 2 Doms; it's a good choice. Lately, I've been playng with a Titan with a Outlaw and WOW! The new XTM Mammoth should be interesting as well...big, wide, good motor, competitive price...

jerm2003

Dont know about the others but the tmaxx has a tendancy to break when running wide open and you hit a basketball pole with just one rear wheel or a tall curb with the front end. I am having a lot of trouble getting it to run but it is my first nitro and I just cant seem to get the carb adjusted right.

caseyddr

My Feedback: (13)

yes I agree Cal-Torque The Mammoth does look interesting, I don't know what I am goin to do soon when I look for a new truck. I might make my TC a .21, but then id have a godly EPIC .18 engine just lying around... I Might keep the TC smallblock and then get a BB MT... so many choices now though, and I don't like the whole mainstream idea... I do like the price of the dominator you listed though sounds fun...

maratIII

savage it is then.
thnx guys.
talkin to the HS guys gave me doubts but my doubts are cleared with people that actually battle with these rc everyday

maratIII

im so worried when i get to miami i wont find a savage .25 cus for 30 bucks more. powerful engine and a couple of flaws fixed, thats just great i know this one hobby shop that has one but they will not accept credit card by phone so im stuck!!!

badboy2

My Feedback: (13)

good choice

darkside212

My Feedback: (73)

Hi Marat III,
I'm not a hardcore monster truck racer. I bought my T-maxx to PLAY with and I must say it's so cool! I have ran about 3 gallons of gas through it and the most money I've ever spent on it was for a bulk head (a friend crashed it into a curb going pretty fast) and it only cost $7!!! for both sides.
I think the Savage looks like a sweet truck but the turn offs for me were: price, no reverse (unless you spent $40 above the kit price), no ez start, and speed. It's your call, but for me the T-maxx was the right choice.
Good Luck!!

Deandome

My Feedback: (1)

All this "Savage is the best truck...PERIOD" stuff is getting old. Maybe the SS and the 25 are great trucks, but they are BRAND NEW.

The Savage 21 was a piece of crap. It was probably 30% heavier than the T-Maxx, 25% slower than the T-Maxx, and it's gas tank would starve the engine whenever it became half empty. My LHS shipped all his 21s back to his distributor about 3 months ago because they WOULD NOT SELL!! He sold both models, didn't "push" anything, but he couldn't get Maxxes fast enough & he couldn't get RID of Savage 21s!!!

So the new SS & 25 models seem to be fine trucks. Good for HPI. But the T-Maxx is still a great, fast, nimble little beast, and I SERIOUSLY doubt that HPI will sell more Savages (SS & 25) in the coming year than Traxxas will sell T-Maxxes!!!

And the others like the TC, Thunder Tiger, Dominator, Mammoth, et al are little "boutique" trucks that seem to have been thrown together by companies to get a piece of the monster truck market. They have little/no aftermarket support, they seem to all be pretty top-heavy/unbalanced, and although they're big, I don't think their suspension parts look all that beefy. Need a new A-arm, turnbuckle, drive shaft for a T-Maxx or Savage? No problemo, go to most LHSs and/or ebay & you'll be able to choose between 3-6 different brands (and two materials, plastic & aluminum!). Need parts for your Ofna, Tamiya, XTM, etc.?? Good luck!!! And from what I've read, the Terra Crusher is a slow, unreliable POS, and that's from owners & former owners.

Other points in this ongoing discussion....

HUH??? The most powerful engine in it's class is "a flop"?? A motor that, although a bit fussy, can smoke many .21s & created the best selling truck of the last 2 years is a FLOP???? Get real!! It took me a while to get it tuned, but I got it right where I want it. And now I'm seeing reports about the Sirio having tuning & cooling problems, and even the brand new Fantom has a few quirks....ALL NITRO MOTORS ARE A BIT FUSSY!!!!

Another thing that keeps being said is that the only reason T-Maxxes get rave reviews & sell so well is that they ADVERTISE so much & that sways the objectivity of the magazines. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!!! In the last two RC Car Actions, I saw TWO Traxxas ads in each one (a full page for the 2.5 engine, and a spread for the Maxx). Ofna had, say, 4-8 pages total, Kyosho the same, ditto Duratrax. Tamiya has about the same # of ads as Traxxas. Is that why the Mad Force was on the cover last month? He(ck), Robinson Racing spends more on magazine ads than Traxxas!!!!!

Jeez, just when I get P.Oed at Traxxas (for reasons other than their product!!), I find myself once again defending them. Savage FINALLY has a few nice trucks, but many here act like they were king of the hills BEFORE the new releases, and that's just laughable. I would be torn choosing between a T-Maxx and a Savage 25, were I shopping now. But when I compared the Maxx to the SAvage 21, it was no contest.

Dean

caseyddr

My Feedback: (13)

Uh... the TC is the biggest MT on the market, it is the MOST BALANCED MT on the market, and it is one of the beefiest MT on the market. The Aftermarket support is there, its called GPM and integy. GPM makes about half the other advertisers pieces anyways!! Your key word is "they seem top heavy/unbalanced" Kuma has proven with a video that even though the tmaxx is way faster/lighter than the Terra Crusher, that the TC can easily stay with the tmaxx becuase it doesnt have to slow down in corners, know why? IT DOESNT FLIP OR ROLL OVER. Now lets talk about the dominator, probably the best race style MT available, proven at 3 maxx challenges in a row. How can you dispute that? The chassis layout is jus better than the tmaxx for racing! Now you mention the mammoth in your little pro traxxas post, yet this beast isnt even out. You nor anyone has any judgement or right to even compare it to anything right now. Now, parts availability, I have NO problem getting parts for my Tamiya, never have, never will. For one reason, my TC doesn't break anything. You don't have an ounce of experience with one of these trucks you have listed. I bet you once my I recieve my new tires to throw on my TC arrive, I'll be passing every single maxx and savage that have to slow down in the turns because they are 'top heavy'. Your knowledge of any MT has been proven to equal ZERO.

have a good day

migueloo

hey casey, you know deandome is full of bs, so why bother saying anything to him. my lhs sells way more savages than t-maxxes. i don't think that they have sold a maxx in the last couple of months. i think i was the last one to buy one.
all of the other trucks are slow because the manufacturers spend the time to make the car handle the abuse that people trow at it and making it handle well. the t-maxx can't handle. it's only made for speed. on other trucks, you only have to change the engine, and its fast already. but you can't make anything to the t-maxx to handle better.
other trucks like the tc, dominator, thunder tiger, kyosho, etc, don't sell that much because they don't advertise that much. if you look in a mag, there has to be like a t-maxx advertisement somewhere. on some there are even four pages of traxxas ads.

have you even seen their bs ads. "t-maxx #1 for a million reasons" well, that is full of bs

j-maxx

ive driven both of them this weekend t-maxx=speed handling lighter than savage ss savagess=wide turns slower than maxx more durable than maxx

Deandome

My Feedback: (1)

Oh just grow up!!

Kyosho, Tamiya, Ofna and Thunder Tiger ALL advertise in RCCA, and MOST (ofna, kyosho, Tamiya) have LOTS more pages than Traxxas (double or more, in page count).

They are NOT totally devoted to the MTs (TT's is!), but if Ofna, Tamiya & Kyosho don't have the ba**s to promote their products properly, maybe it's because they don't believe in them, or, more likely, it's because they realize they have slow selling dogs & they are coming out with new, improved models soon. The ad budgets of those companies DWARF that of Traxxas. Why don't they devote entire pages to their MTs? If your theory was correct, all these deep-pocketed RC titans woulda had to do is take out more ads as Traxxas was soaring up the sales charts. More ads=more sales, right??

WRONG!!!

You honestly think the overwhelming success of the T-Maxx is due to ADVERTISING (BTW, I sell magazine display advertising for a LIVING!)??? Maybe little kids see ads and go "Mommy mommy, I want THAT!!!", but most adults aren't gullible lemmings. When the original T-Maxx came out, there was NOTHING like it!! RTR, EZ Start, fast, sophisticated, unique design, etc. I read up on the Savage 21, Thunder Tiger & Terra Crusher (not the Titan) BEFORE plunking down my $400. I talked to 2 LHSs, and neither pushed me in any direction. Why did I choose the Maxx? The vast support network, "one button" starting (!!!) and speed, mostly.

THAT'S why myself & others went with the 2.5, too!! Pull starts? Painting a shell? Building a kit? That's what scares novices AWAY from the hobby!!

Oh, but that's the point. To offer another broad generalization, people who buy the "boutique" trucks (non-T-Maxx or Savage) don't WANT novices in their little geeky club. We pollute the tracks with our mass market POSs & just because we didn't have to save our allowance for 2 years to buy the damn thing, we somehow aren't worthy of being part of the hobby.

Well, we're here, we're gonna stay here, and we're going to pump so much money into this hobby that manufacturers are gonna cater to our whims & needs like you can't believe. If your lucky, some of that consumer-driven innovation (the new Picco .21 short-block, for example) will work it's way into your trucks, too.

caseyddr

My Feedback: (13)

Sigh, most ppl forget to look that Traxxas pays other companies to place the tmaxx in there ads. Dynamite or Megatech anyone? Point proven, there goes that one for ya dean!

but if you want to count pages of brand specific ads, Tamiya and Traxxas have the same amount of pages.

Cal-Torque

Deandome, if you're not going to be objective, don't bother posting.
What other trucks have you owned?
Cut the pro-TMaxx crap. It an OK truck at best. It's days as industry leader are over if Traxxas doesn't innovate. What could save it? Throw in the new .21, and improve the driveline (CVs all around) at the same price point... Why haven't they already? It's all about money! But, they were short-sighted in thinking that the rest of the industry would sit back and do nothing while they made a fortune.
Before you fire back some off-the-cuff response, buy some other MT, drive it hard for a few weeks, then share your wisdom with us.
"Boutique" trucks with no aftermarket support?? If you owned an XTM product, you would know that they have outstanding customer service, and instead of just making "hop ups" for your beloved TMaxx, they are now doing their own thing. I think that the Mammoth looks quite impressive, and may put XTM in the thick of this MT battle for marketshare. Why is their so much aftermarket support for the Maxx? It needed it, and as the best selling truck in it's time, why wouldn't small manufacturers try to make a quick buck?
I've owned 2 TMaxx's (old & new), so I'm not just making these comments as a die-hard Savage loyalist. It's just a better truck. PERIOD.

POJack

I love to argue over little toy trucks! I have both a savage ss and a T-crap, I mean T-Maxx 2.5...guess which one is better?