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Duratrax 1/18 scale Vendetta Touring Car 4WD RTR Review
By Michael Heer
Mar 05, 2009, 03:16 PM
Introduction
The Vendetta TC 4WD is a carpet racer, and unlike the earlier Vendetta cars, it is neither designed nor intended for off road operation. It was designed for racing on flat surfaces.
Kit Contents
Kit Includes:
Kit requires:
Features
Before I buy something, I love to find out as much as I can about the product. This is true about a new car, a refrigerator or an RC product. I always consider the source of the information when I am researching a product, and for the new Vendetta Touring Car the only information I could find was from Duratrax. The following pictures and information come directly from Duratrax, and that these features were not individually tested unless so noted in the test driving portion of this review.
Assembly
The Vendetta came fully assembled so all I needed to do was run the receiver antenna wire through the supplied tube and install it. I added a charged battery pack to the touring car and 8 alkaline batteries to the transmitter, and my Vendetta was ready to run. But there are a number of adjustments that can be made to the suspension system to set it up to perform best for a given track and/or surface. The manual covers these points so that even the first time racer can get an idea of what it is about.
Adding Decals
Completition
There is an on/off switch next to the ESC. To access it, the body must be off. I connected the battery pack, turned on the switch, confirmed everything was working correctly with the transmitter and then secured the body in place.
Driving
The Basics
The transmitter is on the 27MHz band, and mine came on orange. The transmitter has a dial to allow for adjustment to the steering. It took a couple of forward runs to make a slight adjustment to get the car to track straight (forward or backward) without any need to touch the steering wheel. The steering wheel allowed me to drive my car to the left or the right. While I am still better with a stick controlled transmitter I have gotten much better with the steering wheel the last couple of years. The car has forward, brake and reverse, all of which are controlled with the trigger control on the transmitter. Pull the trigger inwards, and the car accelerates forward. Release, and the car coasts to a stop. Push outward while moving forward, and the car brakes. Keep pushing outward, and in a second it will go backward. With the car in neutral and stopped on the trigger with a stopped car push out on the trigger and it immediately starts going backward. Using the brake won't accidentally put you in reverse! With a fresh battery back acceleration with this four wheel drive touring car is very impressive.
Racing
I squeezed the trigger and accelerate down the straightaway. Then I would push out on the trigger, braking just slightly and momentarily, and turn the wheel to the left. The rear of the car would slide slightly to the right as the front went to the left. I pulled the throttle in slightly to accelerate and then maintained a medium speed. I made a quick left and right through the S turns. Then I pulled the trigger in all the way for the straightaway. I eased off the throttle (but didn’t brake) and entered the far turn from the right side of the track and eased into the left turn while slightly accelerating. I eased off and slid a bit entering the final left turn for the home stretch. I accelerated hard again half way into the turn and through the start/finish line. I love to run the Vendetta on carpet! Indoors I seldom get it up to top speed for more then a fraction of a second. It is all about properly planning for and entering the turns while using the brake only as necessary. The Vendetta tracks well and handles predictably on carpet. The brake can be very helpful when used only slightly and only when necessary. In racing, I only use reverse when I have truly screwed up and have to get back on course on the track. Outdoors, the racing is on smooth level pavement. The track is longer and wider and the speeds are higher. The speed, the fun and the mistakes are all bigger outside.
Tune Ups and Optional Parts
Pinion Gear
The Vendetta comes with a 20 tooth pinion gear. Higher top speeds can be obtained by installing a larger pinion gear with more teeth. This will supply higher top speed but less torque, and it will use up the battery a little faster. On a longer course with wider curves, a larger pinion gear may improve performance. On a shorter course with sharp turns where acceleration is more critical, the standard pinion gear works well. I have tried the larger pinion gear, but for indoor racing the standard gear gives me over all better performance.
Shock Springs
The Vendetta Touring Car comes with the yellow medium set of springs. They recommend the white soft set of springs (which I have not tried) for low traction on bumpy tracks, the firm spring for high traction and the green for smooth tracks. I have driven a friend’s car with a higher ride and green springs, and it handled well on carpet and on the very smooth on which he races. My pavement isn't as smooth so I am sticking with the standard yellow springs.
Ride Height Adjustment
Since shooting the video, I have learned to adjust the ride height of my Vendetta depending on the surface. Indoors, I go for a low adjustment and outside, a high adjustment. To get the high ride I adjust the load on the shock springs by turning the threaded collars. To lower it back down I just reverse the process. I see some difference with the higher setting outside, but I especially hear a difference in less ground contact by the car and body.
Front And/Or Rear Shock Adjustment
The front shock has two adjustment holes on each side and top to bottom. Having the tops of the shocks on the outer mounting increases steering reaction but decreases the front traction. Outdoors I use the inner setting, and indoors I prefer the outer setting. Indoors, the course is tighter, and the turning and setting up for turns is more critical. The lower anchor point has an even greater effect on the handling. Here, the outer position gives more steering control but less traction. I keep it on the outside setting. The rear shock adjustments are the same as to steering, but the traction most effected is in the rear. In this case I go with the inside setting on the bottom and outside setting on top.
Additional Items that Can be Tuned
For the more experienced driver, the weight of the oil in the shock can be changed from the standard 30 weight. The front track width, the camber and the caster can also be adjusted. Finally, the droop can be adjusted. The droop is the distance the chassis lifts from the ride height until the wheels come off the ground. Besides the springs, droop is a way to control weight transfer of the chassis. The manual recommends more droop for bumpy surfaces.
Conclusion
Is this for a Beginner?
A beginner can grow quickly in skill with this car indoors or on flat surfaces.
Photo Gallery/Video
To Sum UpThe Vendetta Touring Car is a sweet little four wheel drive racer. She’s designed to race on indoor/outdoor carpeting, and at that she really excels. It’s very fun to operate on a smooth paved parking lot, and it’s so quiet that I get no complaints from the neighbors. Because she handles so well and is very quick, I have beaten some brushless off roaders on our little street track. It’s a very fun car to drive, and the tuning adjustments that I have tried have made a difference that I can see, and in one case, hear.
Pluses
Minuses
Last edited by Angela H; Mar 05, 2009 at 03:16 PM.. |
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Mar 05, 2009, 10:04 PM
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#2 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Eureka,Ca
Posts: 469
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Great review Mike,it looks like a sweet car.
Tim |
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Mar 06, 2009, 05:06 PM
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#3 |
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TREX 500 with JR9303 : )
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Posts: 360
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Nice review... I think this might be what I've been looking for
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Mar 06, 2009, 06:00 PM
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#4 |
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Dr. Dave
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Howard County, MO
Posts: 861
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Mike, great job. Not sure of this was the first look at the church parking lot, but you have to admit the assembly hall has come in handy.
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Mar 06, 2009, 07:02 PM
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#5 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Stockton, Ca. USA
Posts: 6,627
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Hi Guys:
The church hall is my indoor flying field and has been used for carpet racing now several times. Only had a portion of the room available for test driving the car that day. I will be there one night this weekend with some helicopters and my Vapor. Big news is tomorrow morning and Sunday are both supposed to be nice. I hope to go through a lot of battery packs this weekend. Have a play rehearsal this Sunday and the car will be raced by a friend afterwards. We are having a lot of fun with it! Mike |
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Mar 10, 2009, 01:14 PM
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#6 |
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Founder of the EDF20 club!
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,876
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It sounds like the body is rubbing the ground in the videos. You should do something about that, it is probably slowing down the car a bit.
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Mar 10, 2009, 02:27 PM
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#7 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Stockton, Ca. USA
Posts: 6,627
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It was and that was corrected. I had lowered it too much the day the videos were shot. Mike
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Mar 20, 2009, 07:34 PM
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#8 |
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Omnipote
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 607
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Nice review.
Does anyone know if the HPI RS4 1:18 bodies will fit it? I prefer their scale bodies and it looks like this Duratrax is too wide. I've seen this car in my LHS and it does look very nice. |
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Mar 23, 2009, 04:56 PM
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#9 |
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RCGroups Admin Deluxe
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 4,243
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Mike
I have the whole Vendetta line sitting here with me. Thanks to Hobbico and DuraMax for donating them to be used at the RCCars.com demo track at the ETOC this year. I have a lot of excess antenna coming out of my tube. Did you have the same? Should I just let it hang out of the tube or let the excess live inside the car? |
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Mar 23, 2009, 08:50 PM
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#10 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Stockton, Ca. USA
Posts: 6,627
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Hi Jim:
I leave it out side at the top and there isn't really that much of it. If you are going to be inside with short range you can have the excess in the car just don't let the antenna cross over itself. Side by side is ok but going over really can shorten the range, even on a car or truck. Have fun making sure they all work properly.  I'm sure they will. MikePS: that was very nice of Hobbico/Durtrax. I'm currently testing a Futaba 2.4 GHz system with my Durtrax Nitro 1/8th scale truck and the the antennas are very short.
Last edited by Michael Heer; Mar 23, 2009 at 09:44 PM. |
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Mar 31, 2009, 09:36 PM
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#11 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 323
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why is it so small and costs so much, thats a bad deal to me!
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Apr 13, 2009, 10:36 AM
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#12 |
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RCGroups Admin Deluxe
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 4,243
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That's a lot of quality for a low price. I had the whole Vendetta line at our RCCars.com Indoor track and over 600 people drove the cars. They are still in good running condition and handled the task well. I think these cars rock.
http://www.rccars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3178 |
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Apr 29, 2009, 01:32 PM
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#13 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Stockton, Ca. USA
Posts: 6,627
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I agree with Jim that this car it is a good deal. Handles well and handling is truely adjustable so that you can see a difference in performance. A hobby grade car for carpet racing with good speed and they are a hoot to race.
But 1Jet14 if you judge value by size there is a department store going out of business here in Stockton that has some very large "Indy" cars on sale for about $50.00. They are slow and the wheels are hard plastic and they slide on any smooth surface but they are big... Mike H
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Apr 29, 2009, 01:38 PM
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#14 | |
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Founder of the EDF20 club!
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,876
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