Question about Traxxas <not flame baiting!>

[\Doc\]

Ok, this is truly not a flame-baiting post looking to bash Traxxas stuff,
but....................

Why does Traxxas refuse to release a vehicle with a big block as stock
equipment? The new 3.3 is still a smallblock. A low-compression, low
performance big block produces just as much oomph as a high-performance
smallblock but is much, much easier to tune, and seeing as how Traxxas
markets to newbs you'd think this would be in their thought process.

I mean c'mon now, motors are getting bigger and bigger as RTR equipment
(seen the new OFNA Mutilator Truggy with a stock .32?!) and the best they
can do is a 3.3cc (.20 cu/in)? Do they not notice that all of the serious
r/c'ers are dumping RD .23's and Picco .26's in them?

Someone in their R&D department needs to pay attention to what everyone else
is doing and what everyone else is buying and get on the friggin' ball!

I'm curious as to what others think?

Doc

[GTD]

On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 18:03:27 -0500, "\"Doc\"" <nospam@noway.com>
wrote:

>Ok, this is truly not a flame-baiting post looking to bash Traxxas stuff,
>but....................
>
>Why does Traxxas refuse to release a vehicle with a big block as stock
>equipment? The new 3.3 is still a smallblock. A low-compression, low
>performance big block produces just as much oomph as a high-performance
>smallblock but is much, much easier to tune, and seeing as how Traxxas
>markets to newbs you'd think this would be in their thought process.
>
>I mean c'mon now, motors are getting bigger and bigger as RTR equipment
>(seen the new OFNA Mutilator Truggy with a stock .32?!) and the best they
>can do is a 3.3cc (.20 cu/in)? Do they not notice that all of the serious
>r/c'ers are dumping RD .23's and Picco .26's in them?
>
>Someone in their R&D department needs to pay attention to what everyone else
>is doing and what everyone else is buying and get on the friggin' ball!
>
>I'm curious as to what others think?
>
>Doc
>
I would imagine that cost is the biggest part of it, , , those engines
are closing in on 1/2 the price of the whole package. That and I would
suspect they are leaving a little headroom for the noobs: Too much HP
would mean more broken parts for the noob that hasn't figured out how
to drive fast and not beat the machine to death.
just my .02c

[M78Ultra]

It's very simple...
IF they offered a big block, they would have to redesign all of their
models.
The models transmissions and drivetrains they currently have,simply cannot
hold up to the torque of a big block.
If you notice, a 2.5R and a 3.3 T-Maxx already have the Revo style tranny
which is a bit heavy dutier than the normal T-Maxx 2.5 tranny.
I would guess they have reached the threshold even with this tranny.
I know for fact that a normal 2.5 tranny can't even hold up to a lowly Ofna
P4 .21. It makes an almost instant shredded plastic mess.
The tranny can't handle it, nor can the cheap flexing differentials or cheap
plastic axles.

I also know that my buds Revo with a Sirio .18 eats the hell out of tranny
clutches. (Approximately 1 clutch per gallon)
It snubs the clutches on the end, and it will no longer shift. Is it worth
it? It is to him... (for some reason).

Traxxas doesn't give a damn about catering to the hobbyist, unless it comes
in the form of selling them cheap plastic parts over and over again.

""Doc"" <nospam@noway.com> wrote in message
news:qNednbJHXc-h3YbZRVn-qg@adelphia.com...
> Ok, this is truly not a flame-baiting post looking to bash Traxxas stuff,
> but....................
>
> Why does Traxxas refuse to release a vehicle with a big block as stock
> equipment? The new 3.3 is still a smallblock. A low-compression, low
> performance big block produces just as much oomph as a high-performance
> smallblock but is much, much easier to tune, and seeing as how Traxxas
> markets to newbs you'd think this would be in their thought process.
>
> I mean c'mon now, motors are getting bigger and bigger as RTR equipment
> (seen the new OFNA Mutilator Truggy with a stock .32?!) and the best they
> can do is a 3.3cc (.20 cu/in)? Do they not notice that all of the serious
> r/c'ers are dumping RD .23's and Picco .26's in them?
>
> Someone in their R&D department needs to pay attention to what everyone
else
> is doing and what everyone else is buying and get on the friggin' ball!
>
> I'm curious as to what others think?
>
> Doc
>
>

[Richard]

""Doc"" <nospam@noway.com> wrote in message
news:qNednbJHXc-h3YbZRVn-qg@adelphia.com...

> I'm curious as to what others think?
>
> Doc
>
>

Heres my 2 cents worth and something that I think is well worth noting in
this great search for reason why one brand is crap the other is just simply
the best.

All Traxxas nitro trucks and buggies are 1/10 scale but for some reason
people all around the world make a comparison between Traxxas trucks and
just about every other brand of 1/8 scale trucks on the market. They have
smaller motors, they're smaller in size blah blah blah..............

Naturally a 1/10 truck is going to be smaller than a 1/8 scale truck but you
rarely hear any one ever compare the size of a Traxxas Jato to a HPI Nitro
MT2.

When it comes to the real world, the Traxxas 1/10 scale trucks are the same
size or bigger than most 1/8 scale trucks on the market including that one
truck that is suppose to be the best. So does that make the Traxxas trucks
big for their classification or vice versa for the other brands of 1/8 scale
trucks?

Once again in the real world there is no comparison between Traxxas trucks
and any other brand of 1/8 scale trucks because they are in a completely
different class and probably one of the main reasons why Traxxas have stuck
with the small block mentality to keep their trucks in the 1/10 scale class.

Personally I don't think it really matters at this stage of the game if
Traxxas build a 1/8 scale Big Block truck because either way they go about
it consumers are still going to bag them out because their old products are
crap or their old trucks were slow, small.................. Will they win
over new consumers, probably but will the people who bagged them year after
year come to buy their big block truck, I doubt it.

Would you buy a Traxxas 1/8 scale .28 or .32 Big Block Monster Truck Doc?


Cheers
Richard

[\Doc\]

"Richard" <DK@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:441c28c2$1@quokka.wn.com.au...

> Heres my 2 cents worth and something that I think is well worth noting in
> this great search for reason why one brand is crap the other is just
> simply
> the best.

Like I said, this truly wasn't a flame bait! I never said Traxxas stuff was
crap, just wanted to see if any others had wondered the same thing I have
been wondering for some time.

> When it comes to the real world, the Traxxas 1/10 scale trucks are the
> same
> size or bigger than most 1/8 scale trucks on the market including that one
> truck that is suppose to be the best. So does that make the Traxxas
> trucks
> big for their classification or vice versa for the other brands of 1/8
> scale
> trucks?

BINGO! My point exactly. The T-Maxx and Revo are just about as big as a
Savage, MGT, LST, etc. so why don't they upgrade them to be competetive in
today's market? In the racing circuit, Unlimited Monster Truck includes all
scales and all motors and a T-Maxx just can't compete with the big-blocked
bruisers out there today.

> Personally I don't think it really matters at this stage of the game if
> Traxxas build a 1/8 scale Big Block truck because either way they go about
> it consumers are still going to bag them out because their old products
> are
> crap or their old trucks were slow, small.................. Will they win
> over new consumers, probably but will the people who bagged them year
> after
> year come to buy their big block truck, I doubt it.
>
> Would you buy a Traxxas 1/8 scale .28 or .32 Big Block Monster Truck Doc?

Honestly, if the new T-Maxx had a steel driveline, steel transmission gears,
a big-block .21+ AND was priced competitively, I would seriously consider
it. I like the handling characteristics of a Maxx much better than the
Savage, but the poor speeds, low torque and questionable durability keep me
from grabbing one. Note that all Traxxas bashers on here only complain
about one thing: durability.

Thanks for the input Richard!

Doc

[DanTXD]

""Doc"" <nospam@noway.com> wrote in message
news:qNednbJHXc-h3YbZRVn-qg@adelphia.com...
> Ok, this is truly not a flame-baiting post looking to bash Traxxas stuff,
> but....................
>
> Why does Traxxas refuse to release a vehicle with a big block as stock
> equipment? The new 3.3 is still a smallblock. A low-compression, low
> performance big block produces just as much oomph as a high-performance
> smallblock but is much, much easier to tune, and seeing as how Traxxas
> markets to newbs you'd think this would be in their thought process.
>
> I mean c'mon now, motors are getting bigger and bigger as RTR equipment
> (seen the new OFNA Mutilator Truggy with a stock .32?!) and the best they
> can do is a 3.3cc (.20 cu/in)? Do they not notice that all of the serious
> r/c'ers are dumping RD .23's and Picco .26's in them?
>
> Someone in their R&D department needs to pay attention to what everyone
> else is doing and what everyone else is buying and get on the friggin'
> ball!
>
> I'm curious as to what others think?
>

After the 2 days I've spent fighting with a TRX 2.5 - I'm not in a position
to comment in an unbias way :)


--
Dan

[Justin Mahn]

"Doc" wrote:
> "Richard" <DK@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:441c28c2$1@quokka.wn.com.au...
>
>
>>Heres my 2 cents worth and something that I think is well worth noting in
>>this great search for reason why one brand is crap the other is just
>>simply
>>the best.
>
>
> Like I said, this truly wasn't a flame bait! I never said Traxxas stuff was
> crap, just wanted to see if any others had wondered the same thing I have
> been wondering for some time.
>
>
>>When it comes to the real world, the Traxxas 1/10 scale trucks are the
>>same
>>size or bigger than most 1/8 scale trucks on the market including that one
>>truck that is suppose to be the best. So does that make the Traxxas
>>trucks
>>big for their classification or vice versa for the other brands of 1/8
>>scale
>>trucks?
>
>
> BINGO! My point exactly. The T-Maxx and Revo are just about as big as a
> Savage, MGT, LST, etc. so why don't they upgrade them to be competetive in
> today's market? In the racing circuit, Unlimited Monster Truck includes all
> scales and all motors and a T-Maxx just can't compete with the big-blocked
> bruisers out there today.
>
>
>>Personally I don't think it really matters at this stage of the game if
>>Traxxas build a 1/8 scale Big Block truck because either way they go about
>>it consumers are still going to bag them out because their old products
>>are
>>crap or their old trucks were slow, small.................. Will they win
>>over new consumers, probably but will the people who bagged them year
>>after
>>year come to buy their big block truck, I doubt it.
>>
>>Would you buy a Traxxas 1/8 scale .28 or .32 Big Block Monster Truck Doc?
>
>
> Honestly, if the new T-Maxx had a steel driveline, steel transmission gears,
> a big-block .21+ AND was priced competitively, I would seriously consider
> it. I like the handling characteristics of a Maxx much better than the
> Savage, but the poor speeds, low torque and questionable durability keep me
> from grabbing one. Note that all Traxxas bashers on here only complain
> about one thing: durability.
>
> Thanks for the input Richard!
>
> Doc
>
>

I'm going with the entry-level arguement. Traxxas knows that people
like to upgrage their models, and it greatly adds to the market to have
a truck that takes to hop-ups like cat to catnip. It's an all-around
monster truck that can be tuned to bash, or upgraded to race. It's not
trying to be the ultimate racer. Also, remember that the T-Maxx is the
oldest competitive chassis still selling today. It's only natural that
newer models would have refinements on the design.

I really hope you aren't comparing the T-Maxx's to the current line of
truggies. They really are in an entirely different segment.

Besides, they did update the T-Maxx. It's a Revo. And by including .20
sized motor, they get to stay with the lower weight requirements in RC
Pro races.

The Savage is what I consider the ultimate basher. They're tough as a
brick, and handle about as well on a slippery track. You can add the
LST to that category as well. I don't know why the Monster GT isn't
taking off. Maybe the stock stearing servo just isn't up to the task,
or they couldn't make the right price point. The TNX really isn't
taking off in the states, either.

Anyway, I'm happy with my Revo, and it's doing well in current races,
which is what I do. So have fun with your Savage, and I'll keep driving
with Team Traxxas.

--
Justin Mahn

[\Doc\]

"Justin Mahn" <justinmahn@cox.net> wrote in message
news:Eu2Tf.182558$WH.47680@dukeread01...

> Anyway, I'm happy with my Revo, and it's doing well in current races,
> which is what I do. So have fun with your Savage, and I'll keep driving
> with Team Traxxas.
>
> --
> Justin Mahn

I wouldn't race my Savage if my left nut depended on it, cause I'd lose my
nut! You're right, she handles like an aircraft carrier but can take much
abuse. Perfect for bashing, ill prepared for racing. I leave the racing to
my Sportwerks Mayhem ST and newly acquired Kyosho MP 7.5 Kanai III buggy for
that. You should see this thing, all carbon fiber and
titanium..........DROOL! Now all I need is a motor......................

Doc

[DanTXD]

"Justin Mahn" <justinmahn@cox.net> wrote in message
news:Eu2Tf.182558$WH.47680@dukeread01...
>
> I'm going with the entry-level arguement. Traxxas knows that people like
> to upgrage their models, and it greatly adds to the market to have a truck
> that takes to hop-ups like cat to catnip. It's an all-around monster
> truck that can be tuned to bash, or upgraded to race. It's not trying to
> be the ultimate racer. Also, remember that the T-Maxx is the oldest
> competitive chassis still selling today. It's only natural that newer
> models would have refinements on the design.
>
> I really hope you aren't comparing the T-Maxx's to the current line of
> truggies. They really are in an entirely different segment.
>
> Besides, they did update the T-Maxx. It's a Revo. And by including .20
> sized motor, they get to stay with the lower weight requirements in RC Pro
> races

I'd suggest T-Maxx and Revo were aimed at slightly different areas as well.
Revo is more race bread without a doubt, but you don't see many T-Maxx
racers, at least not here in the UK anyway. That's almost certainly because
if you want to race, you want to win, and a Revo is clearly a better tool
for the job. If I was racing I'd have a Revo, no doubt. People do, very
successfully, race Savage's but you have to chuck an awful lot of wonga at
it, virtually re-building it from scratch, to make it competitive.

> The Savage is what I consider the ultimate basher. They're tough as a
> brick, and handle about as well on a slippery track. You can add the LST
> to that category as well. I don't know why the Monster GT isn't taking
> off. Maybe the stock stearing servo just isn't up to the task, or they
> couldn't make the right price point. The TNX really isn't taking off in
> the states, either.

MGT as stock handles even worse than the Savage! Although the new Sav's
with Bonz aren't as bad, they don't roll over on the corners etc, they're
still pretty piss poor.

> Anyway, I'm happy with my Revo, and it's doing well in current races,
> which is what I do. So have fun with your Savage, and I'll keep driving
> with Team Traxxas.
>

And good luck to you :) A fair competition would be, we'll have a race
round a track, then have a jumping contest over some skate ramps, then have
another race without any fixing time and see who is quicker on the second
race ;-)

--
Dan

[looking]

I own a T-Maxx, bought it when they were very first available. My son was
11 at the time, and had pretty much given his tamiya beetle all it was
worth. Motors, Batteries, Home made Hop ups etc. He (we) had driven about
all the electrics around at the time, and both felt they lacked what we were
looking for. Having grown up around racing (Real cars not models, Mostly
NHRA) the alcohol/Nitro seemed like what we were craving. I was running a
Super Gas car on alky at the time, and we spent a LOT of time at the
dragstrips. The terrain we were looking to run on was a combination of
asphalt, grassy fields, dirt roads, and a few drainage ditch sized jumps.
The T-Maxx was the perfect vehicle for what we wanted. Some of its week
links showed rather quickly, and we had aluminum control arms and bulkheads
before they were commercially available. Bottom line is, the T was marketed
as a "Toy" not a racer, that's what we wanted, that's what we bought, and
that's what we got.

GERRY
"DanTXD" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:484fulFi127mU1@individual.net...
> "Justin Mahn" <justinmahn@cox.net> wrote in message
> news:Eu2Tf.182558$WH.47680@dukeread01...
>>
>> I'm going with the entry-level arguement. Traxxas knows that people like
>> to upgrage their models, and it greatly adds to the market to have a
>> truck that takes to hop-ups like cat to catnip. It's an all-around
>> monster truck that can be tuned to bash, or upgraded to race. It's not
>> trying to be the ultimate racer. Also, remember that the T-Maxx is the
>> oldest competitive chassis still selling today. It's only natural that
>> newer models would have refinements on the design.
>>
>> I really hope you aren't comparing the T-Maxx's to the current line of
>> truggies. They really are in an entirely different segment.
>>
>> Besides, they did update the T-Maxx. It's a Revo. And by including .20
>> sized motor, they get to stay with the lower weight requirements in RC
>> Pro races
>
> I'd suggest T-Maxx and Revo were aimed at slightly different areas as
> well. Revo is more race bread without a doubt, but you don't see many
> T-Maxx racers, at least not here in the UK anyway. That's almost
> certainly because if you want to race, you want to win, and a Revo is
> clearly a better tool for the job. If I was racing I'd have a Revo, no
> doubt. People do, very successfully, race Savage's but you have to chuck
> an awful lot of wonga at it, virtually re-building it from scratch, to
> make it competitive.
>
>> The Savage is what I consider the ultimate basher. They're tough as a
>> brick, and handle about as well on a slippery track. You can add the LST
>> to that category as well. I don't know why the Monster GT isn't taking
>> off. Maybe the stock stearing servo just isn't up to the task, or they
>> couldn't make the right price point. The TNX really isn't taking off in
>> the states, either.
>
> MGT as stock handles even worse than the Savage! Although the new Sav's
> with Bonz aren't as bad, they don't roll over on the corners etc, they're
> still pretty piss poor.
>
>> Anyway, I'm happy with my Revo, and it's doing well in current races,
>> which is what I do. So have fun with your Savage, and I'll keep driving
>> with Team Traxxas.
>>
>
> And good luck to you :) A fair competition would be, we'll have a race
> round a track, then have a jumping contest over some skate ramps, then
> have another race without any fixing time and see who is quicker on the
> second race ;-)
>
> --
> Dan
>

[Richard]

""Doc"" <nospam@noway.com> wrote in message
news:bOWdnRoz1MoEoYHZnZ2dnUVZ_sKdnZ2d@adelphia.com ...
>
> "Richard" <DK@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:441c28c2$1@quokka.wn.com.au...
>
> > Heres my 2 cents worth and something that I think is well worth noting
in
> > this great search for reason why one brand is crap the other is just
> > simply
> > the best.
>
> Like I said, this truly wasn't a flame bait! I never said Traxxas stuff
was
> crap, just wanted to see if any others had wondered the same thing I have
> been wondering for some time.

I too didnt say Traxxas was crap :-) You just assumed I meant Traxxas.

> > When it comes to the real world, the Traxxas 1/10 scale trucks are the
> > same
> > size or bigger than most 1/8 scale trucks on the market including that
one
> > truck that is suppose to be the best. So does that make the Traxxas
> > trucks
> > big for their classification or vice versa for the other brands of 1/8
> > scale
> > trucks?
>
> BINGO! My point exactly. The T-Maxx and Revo are just about as big as a
> Savage, MGT, LST, etc. so why don't they upgrade them to be competetive in

I think its more fair to say that the Savage, MGT, LST and the rest of the
1/8 trucks are all as small as the 1/10 scale Traxxas range.

> today's market? In the racing circuit, Unlimited Monster Truck includes
all
> scales and all motors and a T-Maxx just can't compete with the big-blocked
> bruisers out there today.
>
> > Personally I don't think it really matters at this stage of the game if
> > Traxxas build a 1/8 scale Big Block truck because either way they go
about
> > it consumers are still going to bag them out because their old products
> > are
> > crap or their old trucks were slow, small.................. Will they
win
> > over new consumers, probably but will the people who bagged them year
> > after
> > year come to buy their big block truck, I doubt it.
> >
> > Would you buy a Traxxas 1/8 scale .28 or .32 Big Block Monster Truck
Doc?
>
> Honestly, if the new T-Maxx had a steel driveline, steel transmission
gears,
> a big-block .21+ AND was priced competitively, I would seriously consider
> it. I like the handling characteristics of a Maxx much better than the
> Savage, but the poor speeds, low torque and questionable durability keep
me > from grabbing one. Note that all Traxxas bashers on here only complain
> about one thing: durability.
>
> Thanks for the input Richard!
>
> Doc
>

Sadly for the price we get nailed for Traxxas nitro trucks now in Oz, I
doubt I would buy another Traxxas truck. They sell for about 15 - 25% more
than just about every other brand of RC truck on the market here. At the
time of buying my Tmaxx (nearly 3 years ago) the only reason I got it was
because there was little if any support on the west coast of Oz for HPI
products. If there was any local support back then for HPI I would have
never owned a Traxxas truck as my first choice was the Savage.

Mind you if I had bought a Savage back then I probably wouldn't have taught
myself all the things I had forgotten about engine tuning, so I'm thankful
to Traxxas for that experience.


Cheers
Richard