You’ve spent a lot of money on your transmitter, spending a little more to make sure it’s protected is a good idea.

The crew over at A Main Hobbies have a new universal transmitter hard case for your uber radio. You buy the case then select the proper insert that is specifically cut out for your model of transmitter. Is the ProTek radio case tough? Does it hold up? More importantly, is it worth your hard earned cash? Lets find out…

From: ProTek R/C
Direct Link: ProTek Radio Case

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Street Price: $49 for the case, $15 for the insert

What Is It?: It’s a hard case with soft foam insert used to store and protect your transmitter. Inserts are available for dozens of different transmitters.

What’s In The Box: A hard transmitter case and keys. The foam insert comes separately and is cut for the individual model that you select.

Test Drivers: Cubby, Brian, Tim and Iron Mike

Test Venues: Leisure Hours in Joliet IL, DirtBurners in St Louis MO, several bash spots.

Review Platform: We selected the ProTek part #PTK-8165 for Futaba 4PK series radios for the insert. Roughly half of the BigSquidRC Bash Crew use a Futaba 4PK series transmitter on their personal gear so it was an easy choice.

Installation: It takes about a minute to remove the pre-cut area for the transmitter and put the insert into the hard case. We experienced no issues getting the case set-up.

Durability: Remember that old Samsonite commercial where the gorilla throws the luggage around? Ok, us old farts remember it, for you younger guys a quick search on YouTube will hook you up. Anyways, we threw the ProTek case around like it owed us money. We dropped the case from a height of 5 feet three times and tossed it at a cement wall twice. The ProTek case came away a bit tweaked, but nothing a little elbow grease couldn’t bend back

Also… shorter drivers often stand on top of their transmitter cases while on the drivers stand, this gives them a few extra inches of height for a better view of the track. We put Iron Mike on top of the ProTek case to see how it would hold up. Iron Mike is no lightweight, he weighs in at 240+ lbs, and he felt the ProTek case was sturdy enough for him to stand on. And no, he didn’t cave it with his massive girth.

Misc Notes:

The handle, while quite usable, felt a bit on the cheap side.

The ProTek case is lockable, but the locks are easy defeated.

The radios we used for the review, all Futaba 4PK series units, are fairly wide, requiring a deep case. The ProTek was plenty deep to handle the Futaba.

ROAR legal Lipo batteries slide right in some of the pre-cut holes in the insert.

There are plenty of extra pre-cut spaces in the insert for other gear like servos, receivers, etc.

Summary:

Time to Bash: A It takes all of 2 minutes to pop out the pre-cut foam pieces and get the case ready for action.

Car Show Rating: B The BSRC Bash Crew liked the looks of the ProTek case.

Bash-A-Bility: B We were quite rough with the ProTek case but only managed to tweak it.

Value: C The ProTek case comes in at the same price point as the Futaba brand case. The Futaba feels a bit better constructed, while the ProTek is set-up to simply pop in a new insert if you change radios.

BigSquid Rating: B ProTek has a good radio case here. It takes a good beating, looks good, and is easy to change over to another model if needed.

We reviewed the TrakPower 10.5 MS Series system a few weeks and found out it was indeed a high quality product. Today we’ll be taking a closer look at the 8.5 turn version. Is it a lot faster than the 10.5? Is it the best sensored system money can buy? Hit the “read more” button and lets find out…

From: TrakPower
Direct Link: MS Series 8.5 System

Reviewed by: Cubby
Pics by: Cubby

Part #: TKPC6025
Street Price: $260

Speedo Specs:

Waterproof: No
Motor Limit: 2.5 turn (on 2S)
Input Voltage: 3S Lipo max
Rated current: 100 amps cont.
Low Voltage Cut-off: Yes
BEC: 6 volts, 3 amps
Motor Connectors: Direct solder
Battery Connector: None
Reverse: Yes, programmable
Sensored- Yes
Weight: 55 grams
Dimensions: 24 x 33 x 36mm
Wiring: 12 AWG
Blinky mode: Yes
Programming: Manual
Fan- No

Motor Specs:

Size: 540
Sensored: Yes
Turn: 8.5
Max Voltage: 3S Lipo
Shaft Diameter: 3.175mm
Dimensions: 35.9mm x 52.4mm
Weight: 175 grams
Top Speed (measured by BSRC): 38 mph

What’s In The Box: Speedo, motor, double sided tape, wires, sensor wire, sensor clip (clamp), and instructions.

Direct competitors: 8.5 sensored systems from Viper, Novak, LRP, and Tekin.

Build Quality: Both speedo and motor felt, and looked, of very high quality.

Test Drivers: Cubby, Brian, Jason and Iron Mike

Test Venues: RC Outlaws in Collinsville IL, Leisure Hours in Joliet Illinois, baseball diamond, cul-de-sac, and a grassy backyard

Set-up Notes: We installed the TrakPower 8.5 system in an Associated B4 buggy. A Futaba 3PKS was used for signal, a Hitec servo was used for the steering duties, and we used a Pro-Match 2S 5000 mah Lipo for power. Our B4 was geared stock spur (81) and a 25 tooth Robinson pinion. We changed two speedo settings- we cranked in 20 degrees of timing and added reverse.

Ease of Use: The instructions were brief yet informative and easy to understand. Programming is done manually on the Trakpower, and both calibration and setting changes were quite easy. The Trakpower is set-up for the racing crowd so it requires the end user to solder up all the wires. This takes some time, but is the way to go if you are looking for a perfect install.

Drivability/Feel/Powerband: Just like the 10.5 TrakPower system we reviewed a few weeks ago, the 8.5 system had an impressively smooth powerband. From a dead stop the Trakpower 8.5 took off without a hitch every time, then pulled smoothly through the rpm range. There was no massive low end hit like some non-sensored systems, it was the type of smooth power where the more trigger you gave it, the more power you got, with nothing unexpected in between. If you are looking for an exceptionally smooth and easy to drive brushless system, the TrakPower is it.

Thermalling: We did manage to thermal out the speedo one time. The ambient temp was around 70 degrees Fahrenheit and we were driving the low slung B4 in relatively tall grass. After we dropped two teeth and backed off the timing we could no longer thermal the speedo out.

Cogging: Even when attempting to get it to cog, we experienced none.

Power: With the TrakPower 8.5 system in a light, low rotating mass B4 buggy, and with relatively tall gearing (with a bit of timing kicked in), the system had impressive power. For instance, when driving for the radar gun to get a top speed reading our buggy could wheelie on demand at pretty much any speed. For an 8.5 sensored system that is some serious power. At the baseball diamond our TrakPower 8.5 buggy had more power than our buggy could put down on the loose dirt. On a hard packed track the TrakPower allowed our buggy to easily make every jump on the track. No, the 8.5 TrakPower doesn’t put out the huge wattage figures of some non-sensored systems on high cell counts, but for a sensored system, it put out more than enough power to do all sorts of fun stuff with.

Brakes: The brakes were just as smooth as the powerband. If you gave the TrakPower a little trigger you got a little bit of brakes, if you gave it a lot, you got a lot of brakes. Very predictable, yet more than strong enough to get the job done.

Fit: One thing I forgot to complain about in the TrakPower 10.5 review was the length of the sensor wire. In both our 10.5 install (in a Pro-Line Pro 2) and with the 8.5 system (installed in an Associated B4) the sensor wire was barely long enough. Yes, it was long enough to work, but not so long as to allow us to mount the speedo in any position we wanted to. The motor wires were plenty long for any application, but with a short sensor wire it makes the longer motor wires moot.

As far as the actual speedo and motor were concerned, they mounted up without issue. The speedo has a relatively small footprint and the motor is a standard 540.

Summary:

Time To Bash: C The TrakPower is easy to program but soldering up all the connections can take some time.

Car Show Rating: B The BSRC Bash Crew liked the “murdered out” black look of the Trakpower system. Black is all the rage now days and the Trakpower system looks good when mounted in a car.

Bash-A-Bility: B We experienced no day ending issues, but it did thermal out on us while driving in grass. When we geared it properly we experienced no issues.

Fun Factor: B The TrakPower 8.5 system shows what “mod” power is all. It isn’t slow and sedate like a 17.5 or mild brushed set-up, it’s legit fast and capable of pulling wheelies at nearly any speed. It has the type of power that one yank of the trigger can put a smile on your face.

Drivability: A Our testers have spent hours talking about just how impressively smooth the TrakPower system is. To date we have to say it is the smoothest, most drivable that we’ve ever tested. The combination of the speedo programming and the way the motor puts out its power results in a HOF smooth powerband.

Power: B For a sensored system the TrakPower 8.5 puts out impressive power. No, it’s not in the same league as some of the non-sensored systems on the market, but the TrakPower 8.5 has good yank that is easily controlled.

Value: B When we tested the TrakPower 10.5 system a few weeks ago it had decent power, but not the type that was really impressive. The 8.5 had more power on tap, enough to do wheelies on command at pretty much any speed, and that’s the point where you get a really good taste of what brushless power is all about. Combine the impressive power with perhaps the smoothest power delivery that money can buy, the $260 price point becomes a good value.

BigSquid Rating: B The TrakPower MS Series 8.5 system had good power with exceptionally smooth power delivery. Is it the best high-end sensored system on the market? I think only a shootout can answer that question for sure, but we were extremely impressed by the TrakPower 8.5 and recommend it to you.

In the last 5 years there has been an explosion in the 8th scale buggy tire market. One of the more affordable choices comes from Duratrax, where they have a complete line of reasonably priced tires and pre-mounts. We’ve been bashing and thrashing two sets of Duratrax Equalizer Pre-Mounts (one in C3 (super soft) compound and one in C2 (soft) compound) for a few weeks now. Are they worth your cash to bash with? Come on, let’s find out…

From: Duratrax
Direct Link: Equalizer Pre-Mounts 8th Buggy

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Specs:

Part number: #DTXC3644 (C2 white) and # DTXC3645 (C3 white)
Fits- 8th scale buggies on both front and rear.
Street Price: $18 per pair

What’s Needed To Complete Install: Not much. Remove your wheel nuts and pop’em right on.

Build Quality: Glue job looked well done. Tires and rims both looked (and felt) of good quality.

Test Drivers: Cubby, Brian, Tim, Ryan and Iron Mike

Test Venues: Leisure Hours indoor track in Joliet Illinois, St Louis Dirtburners, a backyard, and a cul-de-sac.

Set-up Notes: For testing we threw the Equalizers on a Hot Bodies VE8 buggy. Speedo was a Castle Monster, motor was a Castle 2650, radio system was a Futaba 3PKS, Hitec handled the steering duties, and we used 4S worth of MaxAmps Lipo power to energize the beast.

Performance-

Street: While you might be tempted, resist the urge to run the Equalizers on pavement. They will give some outstanding grip on the street, but they will wear out extremely quickly due to their soft composition and tread design. These tires were designed for dirt, use them there. If you do a lot of street running invest in a set of Duratrax Bandito’s (their 8th scale buggy street treads).

Grass: The Equalizers didn’t offer the traction of AKA Moto’s or Pro-Line Badland’s on grass, but they did quite well on the green stuff. The Equalizers provided decent forward grip and a certain amount of slip when looking for sidebite that kept our buggy from constantly traction when cornering. Overall, very usable in grass.

Dirt: The Equalizers are really intended for use on a prepped dirt surface. On a hard, damp, clay surface like the indoor track at Leisure Hours, they were quite drivable, but didn’t offer the pure mechanical grip of smaller pinned tires. A loamy outdoor track was where the Equalizers really stood out. When the pins could do a bit of penetration, like in the fluff or on a loose/loamy track, the Equalizers felt really dialed offering a lot of traction.

Btw, if you’ve never felt a set of C3 compound Duratrax tires, they feel nearly as soft and sticky as the softest compounds from the big names.

Summary:

Time To Bash: A It literally takes 2 minutes to mount up the Equalizers. This is one of the fastest improvements you can make to your 8th scale buggy.

Car Show Rating: C The Duratrax tires have lettering on the sidewall. Some of the staff really liked the look, while others prefer a more traditional look. The rims were standard white dishes.

Bash-A-Bility: B We experienced no “major” issues with the Equalizer pre-mounts- we didn’t break any rims, nor did we rip/explode any of the tires. However, because they were molded in fairly soft compounds (extremely soft in the case of the C3′s) we experienced relatively fast wear rates. Had they have been molded in a harder/longer wearing compound they would have received an “A”.

Performance: C There are better bashing tires on the market and better track tires. However, the Equalizers weren’t far off the pace in either category.

Value: B The Duratrax pre-mounts cost much less than just the tires from a “premium” brand, yet they still give good performance. That represents a very good value to us.

BigSquid Rating: B- Are the Duratrax Equalizer pre-mounts worth your cash? They are soft on the wallet yet give good traction on grass and in the dirt. We found them to be quality units and a very affordable option when driving on prepped dirt surfaces.

You don’t see a lot of sensored 10.5 brushless systems being used by hardcore bashers. Why? Because they typically don’t have the yank needed for the bashing crowd. Today we’ll be taking an in depth look at the latest sensored system from TrakPower, their MS Series 10.5, to see if it is bash worthy or if it should be left for track use only. Let’s jump right in shall we?

From: TrakPower
Direct Link: MS Series Brushless Racing System

Reviewed by: Cubby
Pics by: Cubby

Part Number: TKPC6035
Street Price: $260

Speedo Specs:

Waterproof: No
Motor Limit: 2.5 turn (on 2S)
Input Voltage: 3S Lipo max
Rated current: 100 amps cont.
Low Voltage Cut-off: Yes
BEC: 6 volts, 3 amps
Motor Connectors: Direct solder
Battery Connector: None
Reverse: Yes, programmable
Sensored- Yes
Weight: 55 grams
Dimensions: 24 x 33 x 36mm
Wiring: 12 AWG
Blinky mode: Yes
Programming: Manual
Fan- No

Motor Specs:

Size: 540
Sensored: Yes
Turn: 10.5
Max Voltage: 3S Lipo
Shaft Diameter: 3.175mm
Dimensions: 35.9mm x 52.4mm
Weight: 175 grams
Top Speed (measured by BSRC): 34 mph

What’s In The Box: Speedo, motor, double sided tape, wires, sensor wire, sensor clip (clamp), and instructions.

Direct competitors: 10.5 sensored systems from Viper, Novak, LRP, and Tekin.

Build Quality: Very nice from top to bottom.

Test Drivers: Cubby, Brian, and Iron Mike

Test Venues: Leisure Hours in Joliet Illinois, local city park, cul-de-sac, and a grassy backyard

Set-up Notes: We used the 10.5 TrakPower system in our Pro-Line Pro-2 short course truck. A Futaba 4PK Super R was used for control, and a Hitec servo was enlisted to point the front wheels. Also of note, we only used 3S Lipo power during testing. We used a 20 tooth Robinson pinion on the stock Pro-Line spur gear. All speedo settings were left stock except for the addition of reverse.

Ease of Use: The TrakPower is intended for the racing crowd so it requires some soldering to get up and going. If you are a hobbyist and don’t know how to solder, don’t use that as an excuse to skip the TrakPower, you need to learn how to solder if you plan on staying in the hobby. On the programming side of things the TrakPower uses a pretty standard calibration and programming set-up. The instructions are well written and make calibration and programming changes a breeze. Yes, setting changes could be easier if done via a programming card or a laptop, but lugging those around can be a hassle. As is, programming the TrakPower manually works just fine.

Drivability/Feel/Powerband: This category is where the TrakPower really shines. From a dead stop it is smooth as butter on a hot summers day. There is simply no hint of a lurch or lugging from a dead stop, it just takes off smoothly. From there, there is no “hit” through the rest of the powerband. The power simply builds smoothly through the entire rpm range. We only drove the TrakPower on 3S, which typically makes any powerband hit even harder, and the TrakPower remained exceptionally smooth. The incredibly smooth powerband made the TrakPower exceptionally easy to drive, especially compared to non-sensored units that can hit like a freight train on higher cell counts. To boil it down, the TrakPower is perhaps the smoothest driving brushless system we’ve ever driven, bar none.

Thermalling: We didn’t have any issues with thermalling and our motor temps stayed quite low despite being run on 3S. But… I must note that conservative gearing and low ambient temps certainly helped keep the motor temps low. The TrakPower 10.5 system was never run in an ambient over 50 degrees Fahrenheit and we never saw a motor temp over 115 degrees. Of course you can expect much higher motor temps in warmer ambient conditions (and/or with higher gearing).

Cogging: We experienced no cogging whatsoever with the TrakPower system.

Power: The TrakPower 10.5 on 3S had plenty of power for big roost, wheelies, and making every jump on the track. However, it is a sensored 10.5 system, meaning it simply does not have the “insane” power that some of the other high cell count non-sensored systems have. Yes, the TrakPower has more than enough power to have a great time, but no, it doesn’t have the insane/undrivable power of some of the non-sensored systems on the market.

Brakes: On a loose dirt surface the brakes on our TrakPower Pro-Line truck were nearly perfect right out of the box. Of note was their progression, they were quite soft at small trigger input and progressively got much stronger. Other brushless systems seem to offer too little or way too much brake with no progression in between, but the TrakPower was not like that. Rolling on the brakes on a slick surface brought our 2wd SCT to a very controllable stop. On high bite surfaces the TrakPower had lots of braking power on tap, bringing our truck to a halt on a dime if needed.

Fit: The TrakPower speedo has a small footprint and doesn’t have a heatsink or fan on top, thus making it relatively small. The TrakPower left tons of extra room in our Pro-Line SCT, and it should be an easy install in most any vehicle. The motor was a standard 540, meaning it should bolt right up in any “normal” 10th scale vehicle.

Summary:

Time To Bash: C Programming is very easy but you’ll need to solder up all the battery and motor wires.

Car Show Rating: B The speedo sports the popular murdered out/wrap look while the motor is black with an anodized blue ring. Overall a good looking system.

Bash-A-Bility:A We subjected the TrakPower system to high g-forces by hucking our truck off of huge skate park ramps and landing on concrete. We also drove it with the speedo flopping around inside the truck (the double sided tape had let go). Finally, we only drove the system on 3S, its maximum rated cell-count. After giving it our all we’ve had absolutely no issues with the TrakPower system.

Fun Factor:B While the TrakPower system didn’t have the insane power of a non-sensored system, it did do something we’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing before- a very drivable 3S powerband. There was plenty of power instantly on tap, and more importantly, we could actually control it. That was quite fun in our eyes.

Drivability:A As mentioned above, the TrakPower MS Series brushless system just might be the smoothest, most drivable brushless system on the market. Absolutely top notch.

Power:C Compared to a stock brushed system the TrakPower will blow your mind with power. Compared to another 10.5 it is right on point. But… compared to some of the non-sensored/high cell count systems on the market the TP 10.5 isn’t in the same league for pure power.

Value:C The TrakPower comes in right at, or below, the price point of other popular 10.5 racing systems. Compared to some of the more powerful non-sensored systems, the TrakPower is typically more expensive, but the non-sensored systems don’t have the buttery smooth powerband.

BigSquid Rating:B The TrakPower MS Series 10.5 boils down to this- are you looking for blow-your-tires-off-the-rim power, or are you looking for solid power with fantastic control? If you are looking for tire shredding power the TrakPower system is not for you. If you are looking for an exceptionally easy to drive system with plenty of smile producing power, then the TrakPower is definitely worth your cash.

The battery charger wars have been raging hard lately and one of the hottest new chargers on the market is the Venom Medion Dual 10 amp. The Medion comes not only with all the “standard” features that a high end charger would include, but it “one-ups” the pack by having built in speakers. Are the speakers just a gimmick? Does the Venom provide a quality charge to your battery? And most importantly, is it worth your hard earned cash? Let’s find out shall we…

From: Venom
Direct Link: Medion Dual Charger

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Street Price: $199

Specs:

Input Voltage: 11.0-18.0V
Circuit Power: 200W max charge x 2, 25W max discharge x 2
Charge Current: 0.1-10.0A x 2
Discharge Current: 0.1-5.0A x 2
Cell Balancing: Yes
Current Drain for LiPo Balance: 200mAh/cell
Alarm Voltage: Lower than 10V or grerater than 18V
Weight: 3lbs 10oz
Dimensions: 11.8 x 5.9 x 3.35″
Max Cell Ni-MH: 18
Max Cell Lithium: 6S
USB: Yes
Fan: Yes
Temp probe: Included
Requires: 11-18V DC Power Supply (300 watt or greater recommended)
Warranty: “Venom warrants this product to be free of material and workmanship defects when new. Venom will at its sole discretion repair or replace components free of charge within 90 days from date of purchase or within 30 days for all electronic components.”

Primary Competition: Hitec Ultima X2, TrakPower VR-1, Hyperion 720iDUO3

What’s In The Box: Charger, LED light, audio cable, balance boards, various wiring, instructions

Build Quality: The chassis of the Medion is constructed out of metal and feels rock solid. Wiring looked to be of good quality.

Testers: Cubby, Brian, Tim, and Iron Mike

Set-up Notes: We used the Venom Medion off a TrakPower DPS power supply and charged a variety of Pro-Match and TrakPower Lipo batteries with it.

Ease of Use: We did not have to crack out the manual to use the Venom. Yes, it took a few minutes to get acquainted with the menu, but for the most part it was easy sailing.

Power: 200 watts x two channels is quite robust. No, that is not the most power available on the market, but having the ability to charge two packs at 10 amps each is quite respectable.

On track: To test how packs charged on the Venom felt on the track we used our Castle powered Pro-Line Pro-2 truck. Some of the packs were Trakpower, while others were Pro-Match, and we only used the balance mode on the Venom. We also charged the packs on our reference charger for comparison purposes. Driving the Lipo’s after they were charged on the Venom proved that it does indeed provide very high quality charges. Low end snap was very robust and the voltage on the top-end seemed top notch. To boil it down, packs charged on the Venom felt downright awesome when used in our test truck.

Broken Parts/Issues: We submitted the Medion to our normal thrashing- meaning we purposely dropped it, stood on it, etc, and it still works fine today.

As far as “issues” go, the audio cable that came with the Medion did not work properly. The supplied cable would only yield left channel audio when pushed all the way in, but would do stereo if left about half way out. When we used one of our own audio cables there was no issue.

During our “2C fast charge” testing we saw inconsistent results. Meaning? Our reference charger would roughly take the same amount of time to charge a pack and then the pack would yield roughly the same results under a load. On fast charge with the Venom the differences in charge times would vary up to 10 minutes in length, and the packs performance under load would vary up to 600 mah. This is a wider spread than we’ve seen in our previous testing. We did not notice this issue when balance charging with the Venom.

Performance/Quality of charge testing- All performance bench testing was done with a Pro-Match 2S 5000 mah Lipo. We compared the Venom against our “reference” charger, a Hyperion 720iNet3. For complete testing criteria just shoot us an email or read one of our recent charger reviews.

Quality Of 2C Fast Charge

Speed of 2C Fast Charge (time to charge up a pack)-

Reference Charger: Run #1- 40 minutes 44 seconds, Run #3- 40 minutes 31 seconds
Venom Medion: Run #2- 57 minutes 48 seconds, Run #4- 60 minutes 58 seconds

Output voltage-

Reference Charger (run #1, tested 4662 mah, 9:21 runtime)

2 minutes- 7.343 volts
4 minutes- 7.136 v
6 minutes- 7.005 v
8 minutes- 6.879 v

Venom Medion (run #2, tested 4561 mah, 9:10 runtime)

2 minutes- 7.312 volts
4 minutes- 7.117 v
6 minutes- 6.996 v
8 minutes- 6.853 v

Reference Charger (run #3, tested 4687 mah, 9:25 runtime)

2 minutes- 7.363 volts
4 minutes- 7.152 v
6 minutes- 7.020 v
8 minutes- 6.899 v

Venom Medion (run #4, tested 4637 mah, 9:18 runtime)

2 minutes- 7.286 volts
4 minutes- 7.100 v
6 minutes- 6.981 v
8 minutes- 6.855 v

Conclusions 2C Fast Charge- As I always note- our sample size is extremely small and therefore not scientific. From our limited amount of data it would appear that the Venom takes much longer to do a “fast 2C” charge, up to 20 minutes longer, and even though it took longer to charge, the quality of charge was not as good as our reference. Voltage was lower on the pack when charged by the Venom and the runtime was shorter. Based on our limited data it would appear our reference battery charger produced a faster and higher quality 2C fast charge.

Quality of 2C Balance Charge

Speed of 2C Balance Charge (time to charge up a pack)-

Reference Charger: Run #1- 35 minutes 46 seconds, Run #3- 35 minutes 53 seconds
Venom Medion: Run #2- 48 minutes 52 seconds, Run #4- 52 minutes 55 seconds

Reference Charger (run #1, tested 4712 mah, 9:27 runtime)

2 minutes- 7.333 volts
4 minutes- 7.125 v
6 minutes- 6.993 v
8 minutes- 6.878 v

Venom Medion (run #2, tested 4879 mah, 9:47 runtime)

2 minutes- 7.405 volts
4 minutes- 7.174 v
6 minutes- 7.025 v
8 minutes- 6.923 v

Reference Charger (run #3, tested 4595 mah, 9:13 runtime)

2 minutes- 7.287 volts
4 minutes- 7.094 v
6 minutes- 6.975 v
8 minutes- 6.839 v

Venom Medion (run #4, tested 4870 mah, 9:46 runtime)

2 minutes- 7.366 volts
4 minutes- 7.142 v
6 minutes- 6.999 v
8 minutes- 6.896 v

Conclusions 2C Balance Charge- The Venom Medion took longer to perform a 2C balance charge (by roughly 15 minutes), but it appeared to give a higher quality charge than our reference. The pack provided both longer runtimes and higher voltages after being 2C balance charged on the Venom.

Misc Notes:

Some of our testers really liked the included USB/LED light, but I didn’t think it provided enough light. I’m an old fart who needs a ton of light to see anything very well so I preferred using a higher powered pit light. However, I must say the provided LED is much better than nothing in a pinch, and it takes up virtually no space on your pit table or in your pit box.

Everyone at the track thought the Venom looked pretty cool, it drew a lot of attention.

The audio quality of the included speakers was about the same as those in a laptop computer, but the Medion could provide more volume. Are the speakers worth having in the battery charger? One of our testers lugs around this huge boombox when he goes bashing or to a track. This particular tester really liked having speakers in the Venom charger, it saved him time, space and energy. Personally, I think having them is very convenient.

The tilted display on the Venom was easy to read and showed all the pertinent info you need.

The Medion yielded some of the highest quality balance charges we’ve seen compared to our reference charger, very impressive. You could literally have a tenth of of a volt more juice on tap simply by using the Medion charger. To some people this may not matter, but to others a tenth of a volt under load is a huge deal.

Downsides:

We would have liked to have seen a volume control on the charger. It would just be more convenient that way.

We would have liked to have seen a second USB output. The Medion comes with one, but if you have the LED light plugged in you’ll need another one to charge your cell phone with.

A 2C non-balance fast charge time of over 60 minutes is simply too long, and yielded poor voltage and runtime numbers compared to our reference. What does this mean to you? Don’t use the “fast charge” mode unless you have to.

Summary:

Time To Bash: C The Venom comes with a plethora of wires to help get you going on nearly any type of charge duty, but it takes a while getting used to the menu and charge times were on the slow side.

Car Show Rating: B The Venom Medion definitely turned heads in the pits. The red anodized chassis and speakers make for a cool looking charger.

Bash-A-Bility: A We beat on the Medion and ran it full tilt on both channels without letting out any of the magic smoke.

Power: B At 200 watts per channel the Medion is no lightweight.

Value: B The Medion has built in speakers and even comes with an LED pit light adding to its value rating.

BigSquid Rating: B The Venom Medion gets a rock solid B for an overall rating. The Medion is capable of very high quality charges (in balance mode) which should make it a top pick for people looking to get the very best performance out of their Lipo packs. For others, it’s a nice unit because it saves so much space- you get a dual charger, speakers, and a pit light in a relatively small package.

If you are into the rc hobby to stay there are a few items that you use all the time where spending the extra money on a high end item is worth it. For example, a good transmitter will last for years and be worth every extra penny. On that same note, if you are a serious hobbyist you need a good 12 volt power supply. A good power supply is well worth the extra cash as the years pass by.

When TrakPower introduced their new VR-1 Battery Charger they also introduced a mating power supply called the DPS 12v 25 amp. When we reviewed the VR-1 the DPS worked as a perfect mate for it, since then we’ve been running the tar out of it on a variety of other battery chargers to see how it stacks up. Let’s get on to the review shall we?

From: TrakPower
Direct Link: DPS Power Supply

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Specs-

Input Voltage: AC 100V-240V, 50-60Hz
DC Output Voltage: 12V
DC Output Current: 25A maximum
USB Output: 5V, 500mA
Power Control: Rear-mounted illuminated rocker switch
Cooling: 40 x 40 x 20mm fan
Output Connections: 3 sets of 4mm banana output jacks
Overload Protection: built-in current limiter
Case Size: 6.0 x 7.0 x 2.0 in
Weight: 38.8 oz
Warranty: 1 year limited
Part #TKPP5505
Street Price: $99

Primary Competition: Venom PS350, Hitec ePowerBox 30, LRP Competition 20 amp, and multiple others.

What’s In The Box: Power supply, power cord, manual and wire with banana plugs.

Build Quality: Solid metal case, large, nicely done on/off switch, very nice all around.

Testers: Cubby, Brian, Tim, and Iron Mike

Set-up Notes: While we primarily used the DPS with the TrakPower VR-1 battery charger, we also used it with a Radient Origin, a pair of Hyperion 720iNet3′s and a pair of Duratrax ICE’s.

Ease of Use: Super easy, plug the DPS into a wall outlet then plug in your battery charger (or chargers) via 4mm banana plugs. The DPS also easily mounts right below the TrakPower VR-1 Race Charger.

Power: The DPS is rated for 25 amps maximum, but we pushed it much farther than that on multiple occasions. If you are planning on using the DPS only with the TrakPower VR-1 you are dialed, it has more than enough yank. The 25 amps the DPS provides is more than enough for most applications, but if you do a lot of very high current or high cell count charging the DPS might not have enough power for those applications.

Broken Parts/Issues: The DPS got our usual drop test from our pit table, about a 27″ drop, to concrete with no issues afterwards. Ok, it did have a slight dent on the corner, but worked to perfection.

We also stress tested the DPS by putting a pair of Hyperion chargers on it, each charging a 2S Lipo at 15 amps (about a 252 watt load). The DPS handled the pair of Hyperions at 15 amp each with no issue. We measured a maximum case temp of 95 degrees Fahrenheit (67 ambient) and the lowest we saw the voltage drop was 11.7. Very impressive, rock solid power supply. We’ve seen other “25 amp” power supplies shut down (even burn up) on that load.

Misc Notes:

The UBS port comes in amazingly handy, we used it on a bunch of different electronics.

The output lights are neat and function properly.

The DPS looks very trick, definitely not a run of the mill power supply.

The DPS has 3 pairs of outputs, which is much nicer than most power supplies that have just one or two.

The way the TrakPower VR-1 charger mates to the DPS is very sano.

Downsides:

While the fan wasn’t the loudest we’ve heard (far from it), it wasn’t the quietest either. If we could make one improvement on the DPS it would be a quieter fan.

SUMMARY

Time To Bash: A It doesn’t get any faster than this, plug it into the wall, plug your charger in, flip the switch and you are dialed. It takes about a minute to hook it up, that’s pretty fast for anything in the rc world.

Car Show Rating: A The TrakPower DPS has the distinction of being the best looking power supply on the market. From it’s black “murdered out” paint to its variable output lights, it’s very trick.

Bash-A-Bility: A We dropped it off a pit table to concrete and rocked it with a pair of chargers at 15 amps with absolutely no issues afterwards.

Power: B At 25 amps the DPS is no lightweight, but there are units on the market with more raw power.

Value: B It looks great, it has three pairs of 4mm bullet outputs, it has output lights, and it has a very handy USB output, all for about $100. When looking around at its competition the DPS typically has more features and/or more power, thus making it a good value in our eyes.

Big Squid Rating: A- Good power, great features, and very trick looking, if you want the best 25 amp power supply on the market the TrakPower DPS is it.

Every day more and more people make the jump into the wonderful world of hobby grade rc’s. Most of these people end up walking out the hobby shop door with a RTR and low-end Ni-MH battery. New people to the hobby don’t really need some high-zoot uber charger, they need a charger that is easy to use with enough power to get the job done. Today we are taking a closer look at such a charger, the Radient Origin. Is the Origin easy for a noob to use? Can it stand up to the day-to-day beating of a basher? Most importantly, is it worth the cash? Read on and find out…

From: Radient
Direct Link: Origin Battery Charger

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Specs-

AC Input: 100-240v
DC Input: 12-15v
Battery Type: Ni-MH and NiCd
Max charge rate: 4 amps
Charge rates: 1, 2, 3, or 4 amps
Maximum cell count: 8 cells
Interal Power Supply: 35 watts
Connectors: Tamiya, mini/micro adapter
Dimensions: 150x70x40mm
Weight: 300 grams
Street Price: $35

Primary Competition: Duratrax Onyx 100 and Dynamite Prophet Plus II

What’s In The Box: The Charger, mini-micro adapter, and instruction manual.

Build Quality: The case is constructed entirely out of plastic but had a decent feel to it.

Testers: Cubby, Brian, Iron Mike

Set-up Notes: As we didn’t have any packs laying around with Tamiya connectors still on them, we ended up using a Tamiya to Traxxas adapter. While the Origin can be run off AC power we elected to power it DC style off a TrakPower DPS 25 amp power supply.

Ease of Use: Exceptionally easy. None of our testers had to refer to the manual to perform a successful charge, however, if you are truly a noob I would highly recommend reading the instructions from front to back. The Origin has one light on the front and just one button. The instructions in brief are printed right by the button. Press once for a 1 amp charge, again for a 2 amp, etc. To start the charge simply hold the button down. The light is red while charging, green when finished, thus making it very easy to use.

Power: 4 amps is the maximum charge rate of the Origin. That might not sound like much at all, but when used in context that is a decent charge rate. For example, the only Ni-MH batteries we had laying around the office were some RTR batteries from ECX. These were 1800 mah 6 cell Ni-MH packs. A 2 amp charge rate was just above a 1C rate, giving us slightly under 1 hour charge times. Had we elected to turn up the charge rate to 4 amps that would have resulted in charge times of less than 30 minutes (just above 2C). I would not recommend you charging RTR Ni-MH packs faster than 1C, but the moral of the story is that Origin has more than enough power for most low-end RTR batteries.

Broken Parts/Issues: We put Iron Mike in charge of beating on the Origin and he did a great job. He dropped it from the drivers stand, stood on top of it (Mike weighs around 180 lbs) and would throw it at us when we least expected it, giving us no chance to actually catch it before it crashed to the ground. The Origin still lives today, working just fine. It looks much rougher around the edges, but proved quite durable for us.

Perhaps the biggest thing that kills chargers is time/heat. We have used the Origin for roughly 50 charges thus far with no issues.

Misc Notes:

The instruction manual was easy to understand and well written with the noob in mind.

The Origin has two foam strips on its top. The manual states this area can be used as a “storage tray” when the charger is not in use. We used it as rather handy parts tray all the time.

The Origin is quite small, which we REALLY like. It fits easy in a toolbox and takes up very little space on your table or tailgate.

Downsides:

We would like to have seen more options for connectors included in the box. Yes, the stock Tamiya connector is the best choice for this particular application, but having more choices in the box would be even better.

SUMMARY

Time To Bash: C If you are using Tamiya connectors you are dialed, if not get ready to do some soldering or to buy an adapter.

Car Show Rating: C Clean but very basic look.

Bash-A-Bility: A We went above and beyond to destroy the Origin and it still works fine today.

Power: C More than enough power to quickly charge low-end Ni-MH batteries, but the exact same power as its direct competition.

Value: B The Origin is a few bucks more than the Duratrax, a few bucks less than the Dynamite, and all have similar specs. It earns a B here because of its form factor and storage tray, offering a little bit more for the money.

Big Squid Rating: B- If you are looking for a reliable and simple to use Ni-MH charger the Radient Origin is a solid choice.

Our readers asked for it, and we finally finished it! Our second 2.4GHz Transmitter Shootout is ready for your viewing pleasure!
We’d like to thank the following companies for the radios that participated this time around. These are links directly to the products we tested. We appreciate all their support very much. If there is anything we didn’t cover in the shootout that you are curious about, or if you just need some more details, head on over to their sites via the links below.

These are the radios that took part in our second shootout.
Spektrum DX3C

Futaba 3PM-X

Turnigy GTX3

Futaba 3PRKA

Turnigy 3XS

If you are in the market for a new radio, and don’t have the time or access to a bunch of different radios to try, we hope that this article will help you make a decision. You can basically treat this as a short and to the point review of each radio.

Now head on over to the Transmitter Shootout 2 and get started!

TrakPower is becoming one of the most respected names in the rc biz via putting out high quality gear for both the racing and basher crowds. Today we’ll be taking a look at their top shelf battery charger, the VR-1 Dual Channel, to see if it indeed is one of the elite chargers on the market. Does the VR-1 give a quality charge? Is it easy to use? And most importantly, is it worth your cash? Read on…

From: TrakPower
Direct Link: VR-1 Dual Charger

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Street Price: $199

Specs:

Display: Backlit 21 x 8 character 128×64 graphic LCD
Input voltage: 11-15 volts DC
Heat Sensor: Can be used, but not included
Connectors: Deans
USB Charge port: No
Internal Power Supply: None
Max Charge Rate: Up to 20 amps port 1, 6 amp max port 2
Max Cell Count: 6S Lipo, 14 cell Ni-MH
Cell Chemistries Supported: NiCd, NiMH, LiPo, Li-Ion, LiFe, and Pb
Model Memory: Yes, up to 40 models
Discharge Mode: 10 amps max
Dimensions: 7″ x 6.1″ x 2.56″
Weight: 34.2 oz
Battery storage mode: Yes
Balance Charger: Yes
Balance Plug: JST-XH
AC/DC: DC only
Fan: Yes, 3 of them
Warranty: Limited 5 years

Primary Competition: Dual Port, high output DC chargers

What’s In The Box: Charger, instructions, quick reference flowcharts, various wiring, balancing boards

Build Quality: Nicely constructed chassis, membrane push buttons felt good, knob felt like it was directly off the ICE.

Test Drivers: Cubby, Brian, Tim, and Iron Mike

Set-up Notes: We ran the VR-1 bone stock, we even used the included Deans connector. To power the VR-1 we used its mating TrakPower DPS 25 amp power supply. We used Pro-Match 2S 5000 mah Lipo’s for both bench and drive testing.

Ease of Use: The VR-1 can come across as a bit overwhelming the first time you turn it on, but the majority of our testers were able to perform proper charges without the consultation of the manual. The TrakPower can do a lot of different functions, and it does take a few minutes to get used to the way the menu is laid out. However, one of our testers (read- Iron Mike) had to refer to the manual, and even then he still had a tough time performing a proper charge on the proper channel.

Power: The TrakPower VR-1 has got some serious yank to it. 20 amps on port 1 is some serious juice, and while you are busy charging a 2S 5000 mah Lipo at 4C on port 1 you can charge another pack at up to 6 amps on port 2.

On track: Packs charged with the TrakPower felt rock solid on the track. After charging a Lipo on “some chargers” you can tell they feel a bit soft when you drive with them, but not so with the TrakPower. Our Lipo’s that came off the TrakPower always felt strong with tons of punch.

Broken Parts/Issues: The VR-1 worked exactly as it should and we didn’t experience any issues. No overheating, no loose connections, it worked reliably for us. We ran the TrakPower at full tilt for a half dozen charges with no issues, and it lived through our normal “knock it off the pit table to concrete” tests just fine.

Quality Of 2C Fast Charge:

What benefits can you see from a better quality charge? Two things- longer run-times and higher voltage. Years ago it was a big deal to buy a charger that was said to give a better charge than another brand. With the advent of Lipo batteries it seems like everyone has forgotten that yes it is still possible for one charger to do a better job of charging than another. We’ve seen it first hand- we’ve seen chargers that simply would not fully charge a Lipo, and we’ve seen chargers that said 8.40 volts on their screen, but when tested by a multi-meter it showed a significantly lower voltage. The only way to find out if a charger is truly giving you a good charge is to test it first hand, and that’s what we did with the TrakPower VR-1.

We did four discharges to determine the quality of fast charge, runs 1 and 3 after using our reference Hyperion 720 iNet3, runs 2 and 4 after using the TrakPower VR-1.

Here is how we conducted the tests-

1. At the start of the day we fully charged a Pro-Match 2S 5000 mah Lipo battery. The Pro-Match we used for this test that had roughly 80 cycles on it.
2. Immediately after the pack was fully charged, we discharged the pack at 30 amps to 3 volts per cell on our West Mountain CBA. This was a sort of warm up and we did not keep the graph of the discharge on this run.
3. After the pack returned to ambient temp (71 F in this case) I immediately fast charged (not balance charged) the battery on a Hyperion 720iNet3 at a 2C (10 amp) charge rate.
4. Immediately after the pack was fully charged it was then discharged at 30 amps to 3 volts per cell on our West Mountain CBA and we saved the graph. This was the first “run” saved for comparison purposes.
5. The pack was allowed to cool to room temp, then immediately fast charged (not balance charged) with the TrakPower VR-1 at 2C (10 amps).
6. Immediately after the pack was fully charged it was once again discharged on the West Mountain at 30 amps making for the second “run” for comparison purposes.
7. Once the pack had reached ambient temp it was immediately charged on the Hyperion then discharged for a third “run”.
8. We did one final cycle using the TrakPower for the charge.

We used 2C charge rates because that’s what we use in the field. We chose a 30 amp discharge as it represents a 6C (10 minute) discharge, roughly the type of run-time we’d expect to get out in the field. Charging was done in “fast charge” mode without balance charging, just like we would do in the field. All 5 charges and discharges were conducted on the same day in the most consistent manner possible.

Run #1 was charged by the Hyperion and resulted in a tested capacity of 4729 mah, with a 9 minute 30 second long discharge. Run #3 charged by the Hyperion resulted in a tested capacity of 4720 mah and a 9 minute 29 second long discharge.

Run #2 was charged by the TrakPower and resulted in a tested capacity of 4612 mah with a 9 minute 16 second runtime. Run #4 charged by the TrakPower resulted in a tested capacity of 4612 mah and a 9 minute 16 second run-time. (Yes, not a typo, the exact same capacity and run-times were produced on both runs, although the output voltages were slightly different)

To boil it down, nothing in our review can be considered a “scientific” trial by any means, a measly 4 discharges are not nearly enough to declare something as fact. We did these tests just to get a general idea if the quality of 2C fast charge from the TrakPower was in the ballpark or not.

Did the TrakPower or the Hyperion give the better quality fast charge? In this case it was the Hyperion, but it was close. After charging on the Hyperion, our test pack yielded slightly longer run-times, and slightly higher voltages then when fast charged on the TrakPower.

Runtimes- The Hyperion yielded discharge times of 9:30 on the first pass and 9:29 on its last pass. Both run-times for the TrakPower were 9:16, that’s up to 14 seconds less than the Hyperion.

Output voltage-

Hyperion 720 iNet3 (run #1)

2 minutes- 7.389 volts
4 minutes- 7.175 v
6 minutes- 7.039 v
8 minutes- 6.930 v

TrakPower (run #2)

2 minutes- 7.373 volts
4 minutes- 7.161 v
6 minutes- 7.031 v
8 minutes- 6.904 v

Hyperion 720 iNet3 (run #3)

2 minutes- 7.415 volts
4 minutes- 7.195 v
6 minutes- 7.054 v
8 minutes- 6.941 v

TrakPower (run #4)

2 minutes- 7.416 volts
4 minutes- 7.193 v
6 minutes- 7.056 v
8 minutes- 6.924 v

Speed of Quick Charge-

How long did it take the TrakPower to fully charge our Pro-Match 2S 5000 at a 2C rate in fast charge mode compared to our reference Hyperion?

In “fast charge” mode we recorded these charge times with the TrakPower- first 2C fast charge (run #2): 32 minutes and 04 seconds, second 2C fast charge (run #4) took: 31 minutes and 46 seconds. When using the Hyperion- first 2C fast charge (run #1): 42 minutes and 30 seconds, second 2C fast charge (run #3) took: 41 minutes and 36 seconds.

Based on this paltry amount of testing, the Trakpower saves around 10 minutes of charge time at a slight loss of voltage output and a loss of about 14 seconds run-time. Not a bad trade off if you ask me, especially if your friends are already out in the cul-de-sac driving and you forgot to pre-charge some packs before you showed up.

Quality of 2C Balance Charge-

How did the TrakPower stack up when doing a full 2C balance charge against our reference Hyperion? We did another 4 runs on the West Mountain in the same manner as above, but this time we used the highest quality charge each unit could provide.

Runtimes- After being balance charged on the TrakPower the Pro-Match pack ran for 9:36 at 4778 mah (run #2) and 9:34 at 4762 mah (run #4) on the 30 amp discharge. The results for the Hyperion were 9:26 runtimes at 4695 mah (run #1 and #3) for both dis-charges. As the numbers show the pack produced longer runtimes when 2C balance charged by the TrakPower VR-1, up to 10 seconds longer.

Output Voltage after 2C Balance Charge-

Hyperion (run #1)

2 minutes- 7.349 volts
4 minutes- 7.145 v
6 minutes- 7.020 v
8 minutes- 6.906 v

TrakPower (run #2)

2 minutes- 7.388 volts
4 minutes- 7.172 v
6 minutes- 7.034 v
8 minutes- 6.928 v

Hyperion (run #3)

2 minutes- 7.372 volts
4 minutes- 7.158 v
6 minutes- 7.025 v
8 minutes- 6.908 v

TrakPower (run #4)

2 minutes- 7.403 volts
4 minutes- 7.182 v
6 minutes- 7.041 v
8 minutes- 6.931 v

When looking at the discharge curves and at the voltage data above, the test pack produced higher output voltage when charged with the TrakPower VR-1 than when charged on our reference charger. Combine the higher voltage with the longer runtimes and the TrakPower provided an overall superior 2C balance charge than our reference charger.

2C Balance Charge Times- Because the amount of time it takes to balance charge a Lipo depends so much on the state of balance of the pack, it’s very hard to compare charge times. The pack we used for testing tends to consistently stay well balanced, so very little balancing had to be performed by the chargers. So while I wouldn’t recommend you really compare these numbers, here they are. 2C Balance charge times- Trakpower 38:59 (run #2) and 41:28 (run #4). 2C Balance charge times- Hyperion 39:46 (run #1) and 39:23 (run #3).

Misc Notes:

The VR-1 & DPS combo was a head turner in the pits. These two were made for each other and both performed like pro’s.

The VR-1 uses 3 fans to help keep it cool, thankfully they are relatively quiet.

The tones at the end of the charge were quite reasonable to listen to and were not irritating. Loud enough to hear, yet didn’t get on your nerves.

Downsides:

We were not a fan of one channel being more powerful than the other. On channel 1 you can charge at up to 20 amps, while on channel 2 at only 6 amps. Most of the packs we take bashing are pretty much the same size. We actually had more power than we probably needed on channel 1 and not enough on channel 2 for the packs we were charging (2S 5000 mah Lipo’s that we like to charge at between 2-3C).

The design of the VR-1 has a large footprint, and while that wasn’t really an issue with us because we keep such well organized pit tables (LOL) a smaller footprint would leave more room for wrenching. We ended up using the VR-1 on a vertical charge stand with the power supply under our pit table. The power supply mounted down below knocked down noise levels while using the VR-1 on the more vertical charger stand saved space.

Summary:

A = Outstanding/Best in Class, B = Above Average, C = Average, D = Below Average, F = Horrific

Time To Bash: C The VR-1′s fast charge function and high amperage charge rates make it one of the fastest chargers on the market. However, the VR-1′s menu, knob and buttons can take a while to master.

Car Show Rating: A Everyone was feeling the love for the murdered-out/custom wrapped look of the TrakPower.

Bash-A-Bility: A We put the VR-1 through the wringer and it walked away with no issues.

Power: B 20 amps on channel 1 plus an additional 6 amps on channel 2 is a lot of power for most users.

Value: B There are other premium chargers on the market at right around the same price point that do not have the power or produce the same quality of charge as the TrakPower, thus making the VR-1 a good value in our eyes.

BigSquid Rating: B+ The VR-1 is a solid piece of equipment. Looking to save some time? The VR-1′s fast charge is one of the quickest on the market. Looking for an extremely high quality charge? Put the VR-1 in balance charge mode and hit the track with more voltage and run-time than the other guys. The VR-1 looks great and charges even better, we highly recommend it.

Pro-Line Racing keeps introducing more upgrade parts for the immensely popular Traxxas Slash platform. Today we’ll be taking a look at some of their newest performance parts to determine if they live up to Pro-Line’s legendary reputation and if they are worth your time and money. Come on, lets take a closer look…

From: Pro-Line Racing

Direct Link: Slash Pro-2 Performance Parts

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Parts Tested:

* 6095-00 Pro-2 front bumper and bulkhead ($9)
* 6096-00 Pro-2 hinge pin set ($22)
* 6100-00 4mm serrated wheel lock nuts ($8)
* 6099-00 Pro-2 ProTrak axle kit ($36)
* 6098-00 & 6097-00 Pro-2 clamping wheel hexes ($11 per pair)

Test Drivers: Cubby, Brian, Tim, Iron Mike

Test Venues: RC Outlaws in Collinsville IL, DirtBurners in St Louis Missouri, backyard and a city park

Review Platform: We used our Pro-Line modified Traxxas Slash for the review. Our Slash doesn’t have many stock parts on it anymore- it sports the Pro-Line chassis kit, ProTrak suspension kit and Pro-Line shocks. A Castle brushless motor and speedo was used, the servo was from Hitec, a 3S Dynamite Lipo provided the juice, and a Futaba 4PK Super-R controlled the beast.

Installation: All the new Pro-Line gear bolted up without issue. There weren’t many stock Traxxas parts left on our Pro-2, so we were mainly bolting up Pro-Line parts to other Pro-Line parts. We did not experience any binding or need to modify any parts for a proper fit. To bolt the right side outdrive on (the spur side) we drilled a small hole in the rear of the battery box to make for easier hex wrench access (shown in third picture of gallery 2). All in all it took around 2 hours to switch out all the parts.

Durability: The highest ambient temperature our Pro-2 saw during testing was 48 degrees Fahrenheit, the coldest test drive was conducted at 12 degrees. We did manage to break one of the few stock Traxxas parts that remained on our truck, but didn’t break any of the new Pro-Line parts, even in the extra cold weather.

Issues: We did not come across any issues while testing the Pro-Line performance parts.

Misc Notes:

Pro-2 front bumper and bulkhead- The Pro-Line front bumper saved some weight and was smartly designed to absorb frontal impacts.

Pro-2 hinge pin set- Stock Traxxas hinge pins are made out of butter and like to work their way loose. The Pro-Line hinge pins are arguably the best $22 you can spend on your Slash and I can’t recommend them highly enough.

4mm serrated wheel lock nuts- Yes, these look trick but they aren’t just a bling part, their heavier serration makes them much harder to come off.

Pro-2 ProTrak axle kit- If you’ve never pretzel’ed out or ripped up a set of stock Traxxas drive-shafts then you’ve never put much power in your Slash. The Pro-Line units are nicely done, heavy duty, and felt exceptionally smooth when built. Oh and, they come with rings to keep the pins from backing out as well.

Pro-2 clamping wheel hexes- Bolted up to perfection and looked the part of a high-end after-market part.

Summary:

Time to Bash: A You are looking at a couple hours to bolt up all these option parts but the Pro-Line gear fits with perfection. No time was wasted trimming or mod’ing any of the parts to make them fit.

Car Show Rating: B Some of the Pro-Line parts (like the wheel hexes and nuts) are extremely bling’ish, while others (front bumper and CVD’s) are better looking than stock but not all anodized out like a true bling part would be. Still, good looking stuff from PL.

Bash-A-Bility: A All our review parts held up to a good beating with no breakage. It must be noted all our testing occurred in cold weather, an even tougher test than usual.

Value: B Lets take a look at some numbers. A stock Traxxas front bumper is $9, an RPM front bumper is $12, and the Pro-Line goes for $10. MIP CVD’s for the Slash go for $34, and the Pro-Line set goes for $38. Pricing for the Pro-Line gear is right in the mix and they offer arguably superior performance to anything else on the market.

BigSquidRC Rating: A- We found all the Pro-Line Pro-2 performance parts to be of excellent quality and well worth the cash to bash.