Hey all, this week’s first ‘Ask Cubby’ letter is a LONG one, so I decided not to put it in the normal ‘hand written’ font thing because it takes up too much space, and a little difficult to read something of this length like that. Anyway, here we go… our first letter is from Dave, enjoy!

“Touching an old base regarding Cubbie’s LiPo discharge article from 5/2010 Hey guys, keeping ‘em flat on all four?

My guess – they won’t even start an econobox commuter car. It drives home the point better than “numbers on paper”.
Just a thought guys…keep ‘em coming.
Dave B.
BTW – please be careful if you try it….”

Cubby- Yo what’s up Dave, shoot Brian your snail mail for an uber BSRC sticker set. Long email with a lot of points involved, so I’ll start from the top.

You contend that battery “ratings are often times flat-out lies”. To you it might look that way, but here’s how it goes down behind the scenes. When Happy Flower Lipo Company wants to source a bunch of batteries they approach an Asian manufacture. This Asian manufacture typically has many different “lines” or “levels” of cells, and they typically group them by “C” rating. Happy Flower then selects the cells they want and cuts the huge check.

From what I’ve seen first hand in the industry, the “C” rating from the Asian manufactures is typically based on the design of the cell, not on its output. For instance, a 1000 mah cell that is said to be 100 “C” would be built with internals calculated to handle 100 amps, not tested to handle 100 amps.

Now when you Dave, get a pack in hand and it’s a 100 “C” pack, you may not be aware of this fact, you might think the “C” rating is based on being able to do 100 “C” in your car, but I do not know of any re-sellers that base the “C” rating on their packs this way. I might very well be wrong, if some manufacture out there does indeed base their “C” rating on actual bench/car tested output please complain to Brian that I lied and I’ll gladly post the correct info.

Next point, you say that there is no rc battery on the market that can “sustain a 65C load”. I’m assuming you stated this based on no testing and are just chucking it out there as an opinion, which is totally your right to do. My input here is that cells have come a long ways the last 5 years. I haven’t tested any cells at 65C on the bench, but based on the temps and voltage levels we’ve seen at lower discharge levels, I would not be surprised to see a pack that could live at a relatively insane current level. 3 years ago? No way in hell, but now days there are some damn solid cells/packs on the market.

We have equipment (West Mountain CBA w/amp) capable of testing a 1S 1000 mah pack at 120C continuous discharge. Back in the day I knew such testing was a waste of time as packs would routinely die on 20C loads, but I should find some time and see just what kind of continuous load modern cells can actually live under. I think the
result might very well surprise you and I.

About jump starting a car with a Lipo, there are a number of videos out there, including one we did a couple of years ago. We easily jump started a 6 cylinder Ford Taurus with a 3S Lipo. The 3S Lipo didn’t get hot and lived to power our rc cars for many cycles afterwards. Also, I don’t remember for sure what connector we used (we may have just soldered on clips), but we were using the stock wire that came with the pack.

In closing- Lipo batteries used to be the limiting factor in rc cars power system, but not so now days. In most typical applications Lipo’s stay cool, last a bunch of cycles, and do not dip to crazy low voltages. These facts tend to make the advertised “C” rating moot. Yes, I agree with you that the “C” ratings are mis-leading and don’t really convey much (if any) useful information to a potential buyer, and yes, there needs to be a better “rating” system. If I owned Happy Flower Lipo Company my packs would be labeled with their cell count, their cell configuration, their typical 1C capacity, and their typical output voltage under a 10C load. Sure, a noob can look at two packs and instantly think that a 65 “C” pack is better than a 20 “C” pack, but they have no idea what “C” is. Noobs just know “higher is better”, something we’ve proven to not always be the case with our shootouts. With my “Cubby Rating System (CRS LOL)” of listing voltage at 10C, a noob could also instantly see that one 2S pack rated at 7.45 volts is “better” than a pack rated at 7.38 volts, and he’d have at least a rough idea of what the numbers actually mean.

I have a xp1200 esc from my sc10 4×4 rtr and a 540sl 6100kv motor (not the micro) the specs on the esc say that it can handle the 6100kv motor would this be a good combo for a 2wd truck on a 2s lipo and will the esc really handle it.

Glen B.

Cubby- Yo what’s up Glen, thanks for the email. I have absolutely zero experience with the XP line of Associated RTR speedo’s, so I’m totally gonna wing it here. Enjoy!

In theory… ya, the XP SC1200 speedo should work fine in a 2wd 10th scale truck. It comes stock in the 4×4 SC10 RTR that is considerably more load for a speedo than a 2wd would be.

Can the XP SC1200 handle a 6100 kv motor? Its specs says it can and my pure guess is that you shouldn’t have an issue if you keep your 2wd truck geared appropriately. If you gear for 120 mph I’ll promise you that you’ll have issues (read- a fire).

Cubby’s helpful hint of the week- Using a 6100 kv motor is great for speed no doubt, your truck should be a rocket with such a high kv motor, but it is especially important to keep an eye on motor/battery/speedo temps if you want your equipment to live. Start with a small pinion and monitor temps as you gear taller. And… don’t go out and run for 12 minutes then check the temps, check every couple minutes during the run before things get too hot. The speedo should protect itself from overheating, but you don’t want to see temps over 140 F on either the motor or the battery. Also keep in mind that the taller (bigger pinions) you gear, the faster you’ll go, but the less runtime you’ll get. Have fun, go fast, and shoot us a massive wheelie pic of your truck when you get it going.

YOUR Cub Reporter

8th scale buggies are known for being great bash machines. For big brushless power the 835E comes with a 2200kV motor and 120 amp Onyx speed controller. A 2.4 GHz radio system is standard and removes any worries of radio conflicts, while big bore shocks help soak up the nasty stuff. Throw in some grey anodized parts for bling factor and the Duratrax 835E is ready to turn heads and go big at your local bash spot.

The 835E is available in 3 color choices- black, white and yellow. The part number is #DTXD78** and its street price is only $399. Expect the new 835E to hit hobby shop shelves in mid June. For more information on everything Duratrax click THIS LINK for their official website.

The work week is nearly over, thank goodness it’s Friday! Check out a BigSquidRC TGIF Mystery Link.

When I heard there was a new truck in the office based on the basher of the year truck, I jumped on it!
At first look, the Thunder Tiger ST4 G3 looks tough. It uses a popular style body in the industry right now. The laid back cab and embellished front fenders makes it look like it is moving while standing still. Knobby tires and a truggy wing add a hint of the race-ability. So does the ST4 G3 live up to our expectations? Keep reading to find out..

From: Thunder Tiger
Direct Link: Thunder Tiger ST4 G3

Review By: Wrench (aka Bill)

Specs:

RTR or Kit: RTR/ARTR
Length: 588mm (23.14″)
Width: 400mm (15.75″)
Height: 196mm (7.71″)
Wheelbase: 360mm~365mm (13.75″-14.37″)
FR/RR Track: 335mm~345mm/340mm (13.2″-14.37″)
Weight: 3800g w/o Battery(8.37lbs.)
Ground Clearance: 48mm (1.88″)
Price: $479
Needed to run
AA Batteries x6 for transmitter
2x 2S Lipo with deans plugs or 4S Lipo.

Under the body you will see the familiar chassis of the MT4 G3. The 2000 KV motor with 80A Brushless ESC is powerful enough to pull the front wheels off the ground until the center diff brings them back to Earth. While testing, the tires offered a lot of grip on grass and blacktop, but lacked on the track would get a little loose. In the air, the truck can be controlled and corrected at will. It was easy to put the nose of the vehicle at any angle you wanted making landings a breeze. Taking corners with the supplied 8kg full metal steering servo was never an issue. There is more power in this truck than most people would know what to do with. At the track we were dishing out the pain, mostly on other vehicles we were running over at high speeds.. check out the one shot of the soon to be dead short course…

BUILD QUALITY: While testing, I did run into a few problems. On the first run, the rear shock caps came off on some rather small bumps. I was able to fix this problem with some sleeves I made out of ¾” conduit. Then I found the rear dog bones were slightly to short and would pop out of place under power. A quick adjustment of the camber links fixed the problem, and kept them securely in the truck.

Primary Competition: Traxxas Brushless E-Revo, HPI Trophy Truggy Flux.

TEST VENUES: Open fields, parking lots, Leisure Hours Raceway (indoor track), and a Local dirt oval.

SET UP: The truck was tested stock and with some slight mods to fix the issues I talked about previously.

TURNING: The ST4 G3 turns great. The steering servo has plenty of power to turn the wheels lock to lock. Under power there was a slight push on the track, but this is something that could be fixed with proper track tires. With high speed turns, you will find the usual push, but the truck did not roll over. It was great the way it’s low center of gravity and wide stance kept it planted to the ground.

JUMPING: The Thunder Tiger handles the big air great. I did have the usual chassis slap you find with all truggies. The four oversized oil-filled shock absorbers with 16mm Diameter Pistons did a great job absorbing the force of the impacts, and the wing helped keep it level in the air.

ON-Road- This is a track truck, but being bashers, we had to run on some blacktop. The tires gave out a lot of noise while turning. There was some slight body roll, but you have to expect that from a truck. We were still able to keep the tires planted and had a blast hitting the street ramps.

GRASS: The ST4 G3 is a blast in short grass. The brushless power and 4WD just eat it up! With a center diff, it will not hold a wheelie long, but it will pull the front wheels off the ground when you grab the trigger at any time.

POWER: I tested the ST4 G3 with a Track Power 4s 6800mah 70c battery. The BLC-80C ESC and Ripper IBL40 2000kv have more than enough power to shred the tires off of a lesser truck. If it wasn’t for the center diff, the truck would be on it’s lid with a full trigger pull. The top end did feel a little soft, like it ran out of gear. This could be attributed to it being more of a track truck. The power it puts down on the low end will pull you out of a corner fast.

RADIO: The COUGAR P3 2.4GHz transmitter is standard equipment with most Thunder Tiger vehicles. It is a good RTR 2.4 radio. All the end points and trims are set with dials. The trigger and wheel are in their traditional positions and it also has a fold over antenna. It takes 6 AA batteries, which is a little different than most of the 4 or 8 we usually see.

Broken Parts Although nothing really broke, the problems with the shock caps did require leaving our test spot to go back to the shop to fix. The dog bone problem was fixable in the field. We beat this one up good. At the track we were jumping front double and LEAVING the track slamming the pavement, bleachers and or garbage cans, and this was done more than a few times… on purpose.

Best mod under $5 Home made shock cap collars.

Best mod over $5 For racers it would have to be a good set of tires. The supplied tires are great for bashing, but lack traction on the track.

Summary:

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

Time To Bash: C You’ll need to supply a LiPo, but Charging batteries and installing AA batteries are all you have to do.

Workability: B The work I had to do was easy to get to and took little effort or time to do.

Car Show Rating: B The body style and racy look are always a head turner.

Bash-A-Bility: C Once the shock and dog bone problem were fixed, the truck took a hell of a beating, but we did have to make some small mods to get it there. So long term, it’s a good basher, but out of the box, you may need to do a little work to get there.

Fun Factor: B It’s always fun when a truck can handle the big air with ease!

Handling: C Bashing handling is great, but on the track the tires hurt the handling.

Value: B A 1/8th scale truck that you can beat on and take to the track for some fun with this much power is a good value for sure!

Parts Availability: C Parts are readily available on-line but it might be a while before most local hobby shops build up any stock.

BigSquid Rating: B- The biggest thing that brought this ratting down was the out of the box issues. It is a truck that can take a great beating and come back for more! Everyone should have a electric 1/8th scale truck that can handle some big batteries, and to have one you can bash and fly at a track is a big plus!

Some of the highlights of the Cobra Be RTR are – waterproof speed controller, 2.4 GHz radio gear, metal gear servo, big bore shocks, aluminum shock towers, 7075 aluminum chassis, and 1850kv brushless motor. Part number for the new buggy is #600006 and you can get more information over on the Serpent Website.

Check out THIS LINK for more Serpent news right here on BigSquidRC.

The new part number is #6401-F111 and it has a street price of around $590. The latest edition of the Thunder Tiger MT4-G3 should be hitting hobby shop shelves in late May.

Hit THIS LINK for all the information on the new MT-G3 at the Thunder Tiger website, and check out THIS LINK for more Thunder Tiger news right here on BigSquidRC.

Some of the features on the RC10B4.2 Race Spec include- digital metal gear steering servo, 3300kv brushless motor, 2.4 GHz radio system, and water resistant speed control and receiver box. The part number for B4.2 RS is #9042 and the street price is $249. Hit up THIS LINK for more details and information.

Spin the wheel and take a chance on a BigSquidRC TGIF Mystery Link.

The new part number is #7039 and the street price is $260. Hit up THIS LINK to view more specifications over on the Team Associated website.

We have a lot more Associated news right HERE on BigSquidRC.

tech question…..im currently awaiting delivery of an hpi mini trophy truck …. my intent is to build a 4wi suspention rock crawler/trail rig i have misc. parts from an axial scx10 i bought used and beat more than sunk money into ..but anywho i want to use either the whole locked diff or the locker block in it in the rear only diff on the hpi would you know if it will fit? i want to run a vxl3s esc to the brushed motor statistically the vxl claims it will run a brushed motor my question is will it burn up the brushes faster than stock esc in the trophy truck?
Tim H. (via Facebook)

Cubby- Yo hey Tim, what’s up and thanks for the questions. How about last one first. Will a Traxxas VXL-3S speed controller burn up brushes faster than the stock HPI Mini Trophy Truck speedo? Yes, there might be a slight difference in brush wear between the two speedos, but I’ve never personally performed such tests, so I can’t say first hand if there truly is or not. If there was a difference I’d guess it would be very, very small. However, I will say this, if you are truly concerned about brush wear- take the extra hour and properly water dip (read seat/break-in) the brushes. Properly seated brushes yield much longer motor life, that I can assure you from first hand testing. And… if you ask a dozen people the proper way to seat brushes you’ll probably get a dozen different answers. My personal “standard method” (which came from Jammin’ Jim S) is dipping the motor in water while applying a low voltage load until you notice the color of the water starting to change. This can take anywhere between 10-45 minutes depending on the motor and voltage used.
Now, about your first question. If I read it properly, it sounds like you are making one heck of a unique trail truck. It sounds like you are making a trail/scaler machine (with a locked rear diff) out of an HPI Mini Trophy Truck. Good for you, unique projects are great fun. Will the locked rear diff parts from an Axial SCX10 fit in the Mini-Trophy truck? I have absolutely zero clue, nor am I going to tear two trucks apart to find out. You have both trucks in hand (or will soon), give it a try and let us know. If they aren’t compatible there is always the old standby of JB Weld to lock that rear diff solid as a rock. Good luck, and shoot us pics/vid of that beast when you are done.

I am pretty sure someone has emailed about SMC Lipos, but if not, I am. I have owned a few SMC 2s packs and just ordered some more and I have had really good luck. I have also followed the SMC Lipo Battery Lipo thread on rctech.net and there are a lot of good things being said about them. The reason I am sending this email is because I think they sell and produce a better battery than the gensace 5800 that won the lipo shootout. Their batteries are also less expensive. Now before you jump to conclusions, I have owned many gensace lipos and I really do like them, I just think these smc lipos have an edge. Anyway’s, it would be nice to see SMC lipos in your next lipo shootout. Also, if there isn’t a shootout planned in the near future, I think posting a link about these batteries would be helpful to the bashing community. Good batteries at a cheap price are hard to find sometimes.
P.S. – I really do enjoy your site!
DMW

Cubby- Yo hey DMW, shoot Brian your snail mail for a free BSRC sticker pack. Hopefully you are as good of a spokesman for BSRC as you are for SMC Batteries. We haven’t reviewed any SMC batteries for a while so I have no clue if they are any good now days or not. I don’t know if we’ve contacted them lately, but I’ll put Brian and Kevin (our new ad rep guy) on it to see if they are up for a solid third party review. If they are truly after a piece of the enormous basher market maybe they’ll hook up with us and advertise. Btw… we do have a couple of Lipo reviews coming up in the very near future, two packs from A Main Hobbies/ProTek. We started the review process a couple of weeks ago, maybe one of the reviews will be ready in the next week or so. Not to spill any beans, but what we’ve learned about their packs should make for some interesting reading for you guys. Lastly on the Lipo topic- I have been awfully impressed with the last Pro-Match Lipo we reviewed. No, it doesn’t put out the most voltage we’ve ever seen on the West Mountain, however it has done something I consider to be more impressive- it has put up with crazy amounts of abuse (for over a hundred cycles) and still puts out solid numbers while always stayed well balanced. The pack I’m talking about is their 2S 5000 mah pack that we’ve used for numerous truck and charger reviews. We’ve subjected that pack to multiple runs at 60 amps on the West Mountain, we’ve charged it at 20 amps (multiple times in a row with no cool down period), and run it in high draw 8th scalers, yet today, after over 100 cycles, it performs like a champ. That is truly the most impressive thing a Lipo can do in my eyes- to withstand hard use and still last.

Monster trucks are the weapon of choice for a true basher, their large tires give them plenty of ground clearance for grass driving and driving over large clods of dirt. One of the latest entries in this product categories comes from Helion, a division of Firelands Group and an exclusive product at HobbyTown USA. We’ve been trying to destroy the new Helion Invictus 10MT for weeks now. Did we succeed? Read on…

From: Helion RC
Direct Link: Invictus 10MT
Unboxing Pictures: Unboxing the Invictus

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Specs:

RTR or Kit: RTR
Age: 14+
2wd or 4wd: 4wd
Shaft or Belt: Shaft
Electric or Gas: Electric
Waterproof: Yes
Scale: 1/10th
Length: 16.61″
Width: 13.27″
Wheelbase: 10.83″
Motor: Radient brushless, 540, 3500kv
Speed Controller: Non-sensored brushless, Radient Reaktor
Low Voltage Cut-off: Yes
Radio: Helion HRS-3.1, 2.4 GHz, 3 chan
Differential: 2 gear diffs
Slipper Clutch: No
Driveshafts: Bones
Shocks: Plastic bodies, oil filled
Servo Saver: Horn type
Screws: Phillips
Spur/Pinion Pitch: 32 pitch
Bearings: Yes
Tires: Helion chevron pattern, foam inserts
Battery: 8 cell, 1800 mah Ni-MH
Part Number: HLNA0248
Top Speed (measured by BSRC w/ 2S Lipo): 26 mph
Warranty: 90 days limited
Street Price: $290

Primary Competition: Traxxas Stampede 4×4

What’s Needed To Complete: Four AA batteries

Build Quality: We saw no leaking shocks, nothing was binding, no excessive flash, camber/toe settings were in the ballpark, everything appeared to have been assembled correctly.

Test Drivers: Cubby, Brian, Tim, Sam the Noob, and Iron Mike

Test Venues: RC Outlaws in Collinsville IL, Cliff Cave Park in Oakville MO, CostCo parking lot, and a backyard.

Set-up Notes: We ran the Invictus bone stock initially, then went to a 2S 6500 mah MaxAmps lipo with Traxxas connector adapter later in testing. We used a Hyperion 720iNet3 to charge both the stock pack and the MaxAmps.

Turning: Just like the rest of the Helion line-up the Invictus has a LOT of steering, in fact too much on high bite surfaces, and so much the truck is hard to drive in a straight line. The front end is overly planted making the rear very loose. In a typical corner the Invictus plants hard at turn-in and the rear starts sliding around.

Jumping: The Invictus is a backflip machine. Leave the gas pounded off a jump face and the Invictus loves to backflip, even on small jumps. If you are coming from 2wd or from 4wd with a center diff, the Invictus is lots of fun to backflip but for normal jumping the lack of a center diff makes the truck ultra sensitive to trigger input. A slight stab of the brakes on a 2wd barely nudges the front end down, on the Invictus a little brake drops the front like a brick. Otherwise, due to the large tires and decent suspension take offs and landings are a joy. The big tires and all the travel can soak up crazy amounts of airtime. For example, when jumping off a second story roof the suspension/tire combo soaked up the ultra high impact landings arguably better than many other vehicle we’ve recently tested.

Bumps/Whoops: The Invictus is a beast in the gnarly stuff. Once again those large diameter tires and ample wheel travel can soak up some very rough terrain. We found the spring and damping rates worked well with the chassis, just point it and pin it, it will blast through the chop like a champ.

On-Road: Overall, the over-steer of the Invictus makes it hard to drive on-road and in the corners the rear end likes to slide out. It certainly soaks up pot-holes and road-joints very well, but generally it was hard to drive. There is an upside, the Invictus can be made into a much better on-road machine with a few simple changes.

Grass: The Invictus drives quite well in grass. It has decent ground clearance and those chevron tires give just about the right amount of side-bite.

Tires: Obviously the stock tires are chevrons so they look scale (which is very cool in our book). For actual rc driving they weren’t bad. They give very good bite in mud and they are manufactured from a compound that lives a long time but isn’t rock hard. For their intended use on a monster truck the stock tires hit the mark quite well. The foams were right in the ballpark, not too soft nor too hard.

Power: The included Radient Reactor brushless system has decent overall power. It provides enough power to wheelie, backflip, and throw crazy roost. However… the stock power system cogs like crazy and it runs really hot. The Invictus is overgeared out of the box, and the stock battery pack is not capable of putting out enough current to quench its demands.

Even by simply holding the Invictus up in the air and hitting the gas it cogs and takes a long time to hit max rpm (and it gets worse when the wheels are actually on the ground). Stock, the power system just isn’t set-up for a vehicle of the rotating mass of the Invictus.

We did drive the Invictus multiple times with the stock set-up, meaning stock gearing and battery. The 8 cell Ni-MH ended up running even hotter than the motor (more on this later), proving the stock pack just isn’t up to the task it is being asked to do. When switching over to a lipo (that we know first hand can handle some pretty insane current demands), it still cogged more than we’d like to see, indicating that it was over geared or the brushless system just wasn’t up to the demands of the rotating mass involved.

To get down to what the truck actually drove like, all stock it coggs a lot and often times took a while to get moving (in both forward or reverse). Once actually moving, after its soft low end programming, for sure it had good yank. It had decent top end (although it couldn’t pull its entire gearing) and had enough mid-rang snap to make big jumps, blast up hills, etc. Going to a quality Lipo cut most of the issues out, still some cogging, but a lot more mid-range yank.

To boil it down, yes, you can drive the Invictus with the stock battery and gearing, but I would highly recommend dropping as many teeth on the pinion as will mesh up, and going directly to a quality 2S Lipo.

Radio: The stock Helion radio had great range and weight distribution. The trigger was of a decent size and was nicely located in relation to the grip and wheel. The wheel had a decent foam on it and all the spring rates felt perfect. Overall, a decent and very usable RTR transmitter.

Broken Parts: We did not break one part on the Helion Invictus, even after crazy/stupid abuse. However, we did have some issues. The first thing we do with a new test vehicle is do a mph test. That takes about 2 minutes then we start taking pictures. While we are taking pics we are somewhat cautious to not break the vehicle. So… halfway through the first pack while taking pictures the Invictus spit out one of its front driveshafts. Our local HobbyTown USA didn’t have one in stock yet, so it was a day-ender. We hate day-enders, especially when we didn’t even crash or abuse a vehicle and it happens. Because it might take a while to get a replacement (They are at local Hobby Towns now, but we got our truck early) we dug through our parts box and found an Axial 96mm shaft that was just slightly shorter than the one the Invictus spit out. The Axial bone was much thicker than the Helion part, so we had to bust out the Dremel and do some mod’ing. An hour later the Axial bone would fit in the Helion’s outdrives. When we put the front bones back in we tightend up the pillow balls to make sure they couldn’t accidentally pop out again.

We then went on with our normal testing and didn’t break anything. The Helion lived through some massive crashes, deep water dives, and generally proved tough as nails. If a test vehicle lives through normal testing we start doing stupid stuff. The first “stupid” test was to huck the Invictus off a second story roof. We did that (3 times) to grass with absolutely no broken parts. We then flat landed to pavement from two stories up and ended up bending the center driveshaft bad enough that we will need to replace it.

Misc Notes:

The Helion motor runs hot, but the battery runs even hotter. The hottest day we drove the Invictus on was 70 degrees Fahrenheit, yet we saw motor temps over 160 degrees and over 165 on the battery. The battery got so hot its heat shrink shrunk, the high temps have us concerned about the stock battery life.

The Invictus is very waterproof. We had it over its roof in water multiple times with no ill effects. Kudos to Helion on how waterproof the Invictus is.

The speedo fan was quite loud, but things get hot, and it apparently needs it.

We didn’t notice this out of the box but after a bunch of runs the rear hubs had developed a lot of slop, causing a wobble in the rear tires under power.

We had a lower front shock screw back out. No biggie, but something to keep an eye on.

The clear pinion/spur cover looks neat and helps keep the nasties out of your gears.

We measured run-time at 9 minutes. The stock pack is listed at 1800 mah, but we measured it just over 2000 during a 1C discharge. 9 minutes run-time sounds like a long time to an old schooler, but feels quite short compared to the “norm” now days. When we popped in a 6500 mah MaxAmps it would run longer than we felt like driving it for.

The stock body clips are of a nice design. Sadly they are a bit too thin and bend easily (then disappear).

We’ve been blown away by the packaging from other manufactures lately, the artwork on the Helion box is a bit disappointing.

See the two neat little flags on the back of the body? Look fast, because they won’t last there long.

The red anodized pieces that come stock on the Invictus look cool.

The drivetrain on the Invictus rolled exceptionally free. This is a good thing, it means nothing is binding, giving you longer runtimes and more performance.

The stock servo is quite slow. Normally that is a bad thing, but on the Invictus it helps take some of the bite out of the trucks over-steer.

I was getting the truck ready for the first top speed testing when I realized there were no AA batteries for the transmitter in the box. I dug through the box and searched all over for them, I simply couldn’t find them. I then called Brian and chewed him out for “stealing the AA’s” out of the Helion box. Brian is quite the practical joker, and he owes me about a hundred pranks, so I thought the missing AA’s were his idea. I was wrong, the Helion comes with everything you need to get running except AA batteries. Helion, can ya please just drop in some cheap AA’s? Thanks in advance!

Best Mod Under $5: A new pinion, any pinion smaller than the stock.

Best Mod Over $5: A high quality Lipo battery.

Summary:

Time To Bash: C We didn’t use the included charger. Why? Because the manual says it takes “4-5 hours” to fully charge the pack. That is forever in the RTR bashing world. If you are using an aftermarket charger you can hit the track in about an hour.

Workability: B Good layout but we are not fans of Phillips hardware.

Car Show Rating: C Scale looking tires with good looking rims couldn’t overcome the body and graphics. We were just not feeling it on this one.

Bash-A-Bility: B Having a “day ender” on the first pack isn’t good, but at the end of testing we didn’t end up breaking any parts. This leads to some serious potential!

Fun Factor: C We had a blast running the Invictus through water holes, over mulch piles, and across a rough field, but the cogging and over-steer held back its fun factor score.

Handling: C The Invictus had its upsides- great suspension and ground clearance, and it’s downsides- too much steering and too touchy to trigger inputs while jumping.

Value: C The Invictus is $290, the Stampede 4×4 is $430, that’s a $130 difference. The problem is that it will probably cost you over $130 to catch up the the Stampede in electronics quality.

Parts Availability: C Our local HobbyTown USA didn’t have the front bone we needed to get going early in testing, but we knew we had the truck before it actually shipped! Helion parts are only available from a HobbyTown USA location, and as of this writing, they do have the parts in stock.

BigSquid Rating: C+ You have to admire the Invictus for taking the best we could dish out without breaking any parts, and with a few mods it can be an epic basher. However, out of the box its power system, over-steer and dog-bone issues keep it from hitting the mark.

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.