I have a ECX Torment that I am modding, and would like to know what kind of shocks/shock oil I should get for asphalt bashing. I already put in a brushless system, a metal transmission, and some street shoes. I would prefer is the shocks were 20-35 buck for eah front or rear set. ( total cost of 70 bucks or less).
Marcus F.

Cubby- Yo hey Marcus, thanks for the email, shoot me or Brian your snail mail so we can get ya out a big ole’ sticker pack.
I see that you have two options-
1. Install new uber shocks
2. Retain the stockers and tune them up

For going route #1- buy new Pro-Line Powerstroke shocks. These are slightly out of your budget but worth the extra cash. They’re tough, look awesome, and work like butter. Start by installing Associated 40 weight oil front and rear and ditching the stock two-stage springs. I say this because a straight rate spring will work better for on-road use, so install Losi “blue” springs front and rear. That should be a good baseline, then tune from there for your driving style and grip levels.

Route #2- Install Associated 70 weight oil in the front and 50 weight in the rear. Keep the stock rear springs, but go with Associated “red” springs in the front. This should be a good baseline for running on pavement or other high grip surfaces.

Whether you go route #1 or #2- Set ride height to arms slightly below level front, and bones slightly below level rear. This helps keep your CG down while still having more than enough travel to soak up road joints and the occasional rock. This is also fine for small jumps like curbs and such. Install washers to limit down travel under the shock pistons. You don’t need a bunch of down-travel when driving on-road, when you limit some out your truck will stay lower and be faster in the corners. Start with 5mm of spacers under each piston and go from there. Have fun, go fast, send pictures of your beast when you are done.

I have the Vaterra Glamis Uno. I read your review and I found it accurate. At the end you gave workability a D, which I find fair, but there was nothing difficult about setting gear mesh. It you meant taking off the cover, just unscrew it, and the bar that makes it impossible to remove, there is a screw in that bar, just to the right before shock. Once removed you can pivot that bar out and then take the cover off. Great review though, it’s an amazing buggy and worth the price.
Sean M

Cubby- Well ya of course our review was accurate, we aren’t the dinosaur media. LOL But seriously, thanks for the props. And… while you may think adjusting the pinion/spur mesh is great fun, it’s way more time consuming than on a typical buggy/truck. Adjusting mesh is one of the core mechanical jobs on an rc car, it should be easy, not a 5 step process. Understandably, for every upside (scale looks, great handling) there has to be a downside (work-a-bility). Building an rc car from the ground up is a huge series of compromises, and quite frankly I think Vaterra went the right way with the Glamis. I think what they gained in scale appearance and driving prowess was worth the extra wrenching time.

Overall, for bashing purposes, the Glamis Uno is the star of the Vaterra line-up. The Glamis has scale attributes without the downside
of lugging around a huge SCT body, and the stock power system has more than enough yank to do crazy stuff with. On top of all that, it is arguably the best driving 2wd we’ve ever tested. We fight over who gets to drive our review unit, it has a few downsides, but how it drives more than makes up for it.

Moto fast guy Jeff Alessi is a big fan of rc and he’s racing over in Italy right now on a very trick Honda 350 (you read that right, 350). Here’s to sending the 801 some good luck and we hope he races his way back into shape to win some motos. It would be freak’n awesome to see the 801 with a good ride back here in the states next season.

On to the rc world…

The biggest news from last week? For old school rc’ers it would be the announcement that Team Associated is going to re-release the original RC10 Gold Tub buggy. Sounds like an awesome idea right? Right?

Yes, it has great idea written all over it, but I’m just not sold on it. You see, myself and several of my racing buddies have said for years that we were going to buy old gold tubs, get them up and going, and race them vintage style. Sadly we never have, mainly because there just wasn’t much motivation there. We’ve all already owned several of them back in the day and none of us have the spare time to get one up and going. Plus, there are just too many cool new cars to snatch up and drive. So while old school rc racers might be the prime targets to buy the re-release, if we haven’t found the motivation to buy one over the last twenty years, I’m quite sure we can find a better way to spend $250. Because so many were sold originally, Gold Tubs have been easily found on E-Pay and Craigslist at bargain prices for years, yet none of us have actually cut the check. Ya sure, the Gold Tub was the best of its kind back in the day, and ya sure, they bring back a lot of memories, but is that really worth $250 today? Not to me or my “racer” buddies. I hate to even mention my basher friends, they could really care less about a Gold Tub.

So… collectors should snap up the RC10 re-release right? I don’t think so. You see hardcore collectors want the real deal, the original nearly 30 yr old buggy, not a flip’n “re-release”. The collector I talked to was ticked off and cursing AE because now the market is going to be flooded with all the new buggies and parts, thus screwing up the market on the old buggies as well. So ya, I think you can scratch the true collectors off the list of potential buyers.

How about those guys out there already racing vintage? Just how fair is it that someone can go out and buy brand new parts when the other guys are spending weeks or months scouring E-Pay, Craiglist, and forums trying to find the parts to keep their old Kyosho or Losi up and going? How fair is it that somebody can show up with a brand new and fresh buggy and race against equipment that has been driven to death for years? Ya, if you are “that dude” that shows up with a brand new re-release Gold Tub to a vintage event expect to catch a lot of crap.

Maybe noobs want to relive the past and see what driving a historic car like the Gold Tub is all about? They must be curious right? Yes, I believe that every noob would benefit from a good solid taste of vintage rc to help them appreciated how good today’s product is, but how many are actually willing to pay $250 for that chance? Would a noob rather have an old school Gold Tub or an ECX Boost that drives better, is much more durable, comes RTR, and only costs $149? Ya, just how many noobs are willing to pay nearly twice as much for something that isn’t as good just to get a perspective on the past? I suspect not very many…

To boil it down, ya, re-releasing the Gold Tub sounds like a great idea on paper. However, it just goes to show that AE is fading into the past, not charging into the future. When AE’s biggest news this year is a vehicle from 30 years ago, something is dreadfully wrong. AE has a truly iconic past, they should let it stand, proudly as it deserves to be. Instead they take the “easy” way out to make a few quick bucks selling a re-release. The hard way is to put their resources into making brand new uber products to replace their terribly aged current platforms (hint hint B4/T4/SC10), but I guess they just aren’t up that challenge anymore……….

On a different note…

Don’t forget to check out our review of the Vaterra Glamis that goes up later today, our G+ Live show on Wednesday night, and our daily news up on the front page. Also, you can find the BigSquidRC Bash crew at the Stadium Super Truck event in St Louis this Saturday, and bashing with the St Louis Drag Club on Sunday. Shoot us an email if you want more information on how to meet up with us, to bash, or to just say hello.

Until next week, support your local hobby shops and bash spots.

YOUR Cub Reporter

Now ECX has announced a permanent price drop on their 10th scale vehicles. While prices from other manufactures are going up, ECX is out to save you some cash. The new prices are $149 for the Boost Buggy and the Circuit Stadium Truck, while $169 is the price point for the Torment SCT and the Ruckus Monster Truck. For more information on everything ECX hit THIS LINK for their official website.

How about checking out more ECX News right here on BigSquidRC.

Hey Big Squid,
It’s Luke L from Florida. I was just wondering what would be a good starter car forCompetition grade Rc racing. I’d like to know if you know of any good cars for a dirt (actually clay) track. I’m willing to spend about $100-$200 and possibly go a bit over my limit.

They use buggy, Truck, and short course I believe. Here is a link www.newredhobbies.com . (I’m thinking of short course but, I don’t know too much about Rc cars) Also short course is allowed in all category’s so it seems dominant.

Cubby- Yo hey Luke, congrats homie, I have selected your email as “Letter of the Month” and thus you are entitled to an uber BigSquidRC t-shirt. Hit Brian up with your snail mail and he’ll get one on the way to ya.
So what’s a the best “competition grade” vehicle for $100-200? Wow, that’s a pretty tight budget there, but you do have some options. While not “competition grade”, I would recommend the ECX Torment SCT to stay in your price range. Sticker price on the Torment is only $190 and would be a decent truck to get your feet wet with. It’s not going to break any lap records, but it handles well, can take a good beating, and most importantly- is affordable to try out. If you race it for a while and decide this hobby is for you then you can really break open the coffers.
I’m also going to recommend one more vehicle to you, the Durango DESC210 RTR. Why would I recommend it to you? The Durango RTR is much more a race vehicle, and in RTR trim, the thing is a bashing beast. I spent an afternoon ramming it full speed into trees, ditches, off roofs, and broke literally nothing. Being a noob racer you are going to hit a lot pipes (and HARD) and the DESC210 RTR is going to allow you to have some huge slams without a bunch of wrenching afterwards.
However, there are three downsides to the Durango. The first being price, the second being its motor, and the third being its tires. Durango just dropped the pricing on the DESC210 RTR to $290, so it’s a bit over your budget, but if you can break out some extra cash it will be worth it down the road. Also, the included motor is a 17.5 sensored unit. Ya, I know all the local race morons are ga-ga over 17.5′s, but to me they are the dumbest thing ever created by man. The 17.5 “stock” brushless class basically makes you gear a motor to death to keep up. Bluntly- that is incredibly dumb. I’d recommend bolting in a lower turn motor for some real power that lasts. Lastly, the stock tires work fine on certain surfaces, but not well on prepped tracks. Pro-Line has numerous tires alternatives that will give you the grip you need to actually compete (and be easier to drive on a track). Of course these upgrades are going to put a hit on your wallet, but the Durango with proper tires and motor is an animal on the track and well worth the moolah. Best of luck and let us know what you end up buying. Don’t forget the pics!

Cubby
What is your honest opinion of Traxxas product right now? Is it as good as everyone says it is?
Big fan and thanks,
Adam R.

Cubby- I just love loaded questions like this one, so sure, I’ll answer it. I mean that’s what I get paid to do right? You didn’t ask me what I thought of Traxxas as a company, you state “Traxxas product”, so here it goes… If I had to give a one word reply it would be “dated”, “neglected”, or even perhaps “overpriced”. Ya sure, they’ve got some newer platforms like the Rally/Slash 4×4, the drag car and the XO-1, but a large part of their product line-up was engineered back in the mid-90′s. IMO the real meat of their products, vehicles like the Pede, Rustler, and Maxx’s, are overdue for a ground up overhaul.

But… Traxxas obviously has some upsides- their customer service and parts availability top the list. If you get a new truck and it’s messed up Traxxas customer service has a great reputation for bending over backwards to make it right. Even more importantly, when you do end up breaking your new truck most local hobby shops stock a prodigious amount of Traxxas parts. Even the little mom and pop shops that carry more Dungeons and Dragons than rc typically have at least the bare essentials of Traxxas parts on hand, and that can’t be said about any other brand. Finally, the quality control on most Traxxas parts is good, certainly on par with some of the brands known for “racing” gear. Ya sure, the knucklehead racing crowd loves to talk about what crap quality all Traxxas product is, but to say that means they’ve never compared parts next to each other without bias. Ya sure, the racer dude may have paid twice as much for brand XYZ so he thinks he needs to justify the extra price by throwing Traxxas under the bus, but if you do an honest evaluation most Traxxas parts stack up just as good as some of the racer brands. Is Traxxas as good as everyone says it is? Now that’s a hard one. I’ve only got two choices for an answer, yes or no, so I think I’m going to go with “No”. Here’s why- the competition has caught up and passed Traxxas in many product categories. For instance, lets look at the Stampede, perhaps the biggest seller Traxxas has ever produced. The Pede finished last in our 2wd MT shootout last year. The Pede is still
a good truck, but the competition has put out better trucks that are priced lower. Sadly that is the story for much of the Traxxas product line-up, there are now better and less expensive alternatives to be had.

* New bodies/colors
* Spektrum DX2E 2.4GHz transmitters
* Waterproof Spektrum SR201 receivers
* Waterproof Dynamite 15T Tazer ESC
* Heavy duty drive-shafts
* Dynamite 15 turn motors for the Ruckus and Torment
* Dynamite 20 turn motors for the Boost and Circuit

The ECX’s are some of the most popular bashers on the market, the new updates should make them even better. Hit up the official ECX Website for more information.

Stamp it, another week in the books. How about trying your luck on a BigSquidRC TGIF Mystery Link?

We just posted the ECX Revenge Review. While going through some video footage, we caught this accidental wall slam that seemed like something we should share. Usually we do this stuff on purpose, this one was out of the blue, got lucky, and caught it. Enjoy!

That’s one of those slams that just makes you cringe. For the record, I believe Adam or I were driving in the first two test laps you see, and then we handed the transmitter over to Wrench.

First up- we are still looking for an account rep (or two, or three). The job involves being a kick a$$ guy (or gal) and taking care of our advertisers. If you know what’s up in the hobby shoot Brian an email. If you can’t figure out his email address chances are you can’t handle the job. LOL

Second up- Wavy Davi gave up the red plate last night in Daytona, “sigh”. 2013 was a breakout year for Millisaps in the big boy class but it seems a couple of injuries have thrown a monkey wrench into his plans for supercross domination. Lets hope RV2 doesn’t win out and make the rest of the season a bore. Btw, it was sure refreshing to see bright red Honda logo’s at Daytona instead of the Monster claws plastered everywhere.

Third up- The Formula 1 season is officially here! 6 days, 4 hours, 17 minutes and 51 seconds till the tone goes off in Australia for the first GP of the season. Alonso FTW, bank it! And… it should be interesting to see how the tv coverage on NBC Sports stacks up to previous years when it was on Speed and ESPN.

Fourth up- Don’t forget our Google + LIVE Show this Wednesday night. Last week Brian was wacked out of his gourd on Red Bull and Pez and couldn’t make the show, so this week expect something extra special from him. But seriously, we always seem to say something that ticks off half the rc community each week, so it can’t be all bad. Mark it down on your calender for 9 pm CST every Weds night from here on out.

Fifth up- The BIG news of the week is that BigSquidRC March Bashness is under way! If you are a new reader- March Bashness is the ultimate contest where you guys select the top bashers of the year, then just like in the basketball version, we do bracket style eliminations (based on your voting) to determine which is America’s favorite bash vehicle. Voting for the initial “Sweet 16″ is going on right now, click THIS link to get all the info on how to place your vote.

Hands down, March Bashness causes the most smack talk around the BigSquidRC offices. Brian has his favorites, Jeff has his, Bill always gets in his two cents, Craig lets it fly on his picks, Adam gets quite adamant about his fav, and of course I live to state the 82 reasons why my top bash-mobile is better than theirs. Here is a quick Cubby break-down on how I see March Bashness stacking up-

Axial- Axial doesn’t have a dedicated “racer” in its line-up, every vehicle they make can be considered a legit bash-mobile. Perhaps leading the pack for Axial would be the EXO and their new Jeep Wrangler.

ARRMA- The ARRMA Granite took home our “Basher of the Year” award (which was voted on by the staff here) for 2012, so it has got to be considered a serious player in March Bashness. The rest of their line are also bash-mobiles, so perhaps another one (or two) of the vehicles might be in the starting sweet 16. The ARRMA brand has been picking up momentum among the bash main-streamers, and it’s well known ARRMA is the “basher line from Durango”, so the odds of an ARRMA doing well in March Bashness look pretty darn good.

ECX- Mainstays like the Torment and the Ruckus have really taken off with the bash crowd, I would expect to see at least one go deep into the tournament. One of the new 8th scale buggies from ECX might also make it into the show.

Duratrax- Duratrax is known for their bash-mobiles, but they haven’t had many new releases the last few months.

Traxxas- There is no doubt Traxxas is the sales leader at local hobby shops and one of the highest regarded brands in the entire bashing world. Traxxas has several vehicles that should be capable of making it deep into the tourney. Their new LCG 4×4 Slash and Rally Car might very well be players in the big show.

HPI- Arguably the second biggest name in the bash world is HPI, and once again they have a half dozen vehicles that are enormously popular among the bash crowd. Their 5th scalers have an insane cult following, as does their Savage series of monster trucks. Will the Block Rally Car make the show? We’ll find out in just a few days.

Helion- The crew from Firelands Group took home a controversial win with their Helion Dominus last year. For 2013 they’ve got a new truggy and a monster truck on the way, but with the depth of the field it will be incredibly hard for them to repeat again this year.

Thunder Tiger- Just a few scant years ago Thunder Tiger was looked down on like their cars were made by Tyco. Now days, things are a lot different. Some key changes in their product line-up combined with a much improved marketing plan have resulted in a whole lot of happy Thunder Tiger owners out there. It is also a brand that many Traxxas haters have fled to. I would have to think their MT4-G3 and eMTA monster trucks will be in the hunt, as well as the truggy they released last fall.

Associated- Ummm… while their parent company is looking so good among the basher crowd, Associated has focused on re-hashing old platforms for the race crowd and fell off the face of the bashing planet. Certainly AE is still considered a good name in the racer game, but it is increasingly rare to see anyone actually bashing an Associated product.

Vaterra- The newest kid on the basher block is Vaterra. We’ve only gotten the chance to bash their little scalers and both of them took a pretty good beating. I would think their biggest threat to take home the March Bashness title would be their Twin Hammers crawler/basher, but I’ve yet to drive one, so I have no idea if it’s worth owning or not.

Losi- The 5th scale Losi 5T is a well regarded bash machine, as is their SCTE 4wd short course truck. Who knows, a Losi might just surprise some of us and make it deep into the bracket.

RedCat- There are a Bunch (an insane amount actually) of RedCats sold each year. Will they get enough votes from their hardcore army to make it into the show? RedCat has yet to place a vehicle into our sweet 16, will this be the year the RedCat faithful put a rig into the big show?

There are a bunch of vehicles I haven’t mentioned that might very well make it deep into the voting. I feel like I was only scratching the surface, there are simply a ton of great bash machines on the market right now. Everyone on the BSRC crew hopes that you take the time out of your busy day to vote for your favorites, wear your brand loyalty proudly, and show not just the other readers of BigSquidRC which machine is your favorite, but show the entire industry what machines are hitting the mark with the bash crowd. We don’t do the voting to try and spam you or get your email address or phone number, we do it simply because we want to learn exactly which bash vehicles are the best ones in YOUR eyes. This is entirely your vote guys, we hope you have a blast with it.

And on to…

Sixth up- Last week I asked for you guys to shoot me proof that the class action suit against ROAR actually exists. We have yet to receive anything from anyone other than the original PR. Are the courts just that slow down in Florida or….. Ya guys, if you can dig up some concrete proof the the suit is legit shoot it to us so I can post what an idiot I am for even having questioned it.

Seventh up- Adam “The Intern” has a new job around here- he’s the head of our New BSRC Tumblr Page. Look for a post on our front page early in the week with a link so you can check it out. Tumblr is the big player of social media with the “young” crowd and Adam has tons of cool pics and things to share with the sub-20 crowd. If you are “young” (in body, or at heart) and looking for something more your style, checking out the BSRC Tumblr page should be a must.

That’s it for this week folks, support your local hobby shops and bash spots when ya can.

YOUR Cub Reporter

The RC world was very surprised when ECX announced they were going to have two 8th scale buggies added to their lineup! It just wasn’t something we expected from the brand. We were very excited to get our hands on both Revenge versions. This review is of the electric version. Did it live up to our expectations? Was it a good representation of the ECX brand? Keep reading to find out..

Review By: Adam the intern  

Specs:
Type: 4WD electric buggy
Scale: 1/8
Length: 19.1 in (485mm)
Width: 12.1 (309mm)
Wheelbase: 12.7 in (323mm)
Weight: 6.7 lb (3039 g)
Chassis: 3mm plate 6061-T6 aluminum
Suspension: Independent
Drivetrain: 4WD
Tire Type: All-terrain
Motor or Engine: 550 4-pole non-sensored brushless
Radio: Spektrum DX2E
Wheel Size: 3.21 in (81.5mm)
Kit/RTR: RTR
Shock Type: 12mm aluminum oil-filled.

Primary Competition: Other RTR 1/8th scale buggies.

 What’s Needed To Complete: Your choice of a battery and charger, out of the box the car can handle up to 3s but in order to get the full power of the esc on 4s you will have to upgrade the motor.   

Test Drivers: Brian, Wrench, and Adam.

Test Venues: Leisure Hours Raceway, parking lots, and a couple of parks.

Set-up Notes:  The buggy came completely ready to go and had no problems out of the box. We installed a 3s Dynamite Speedpack Lipo and everything went smooth.

Turning: The steering on the buggy is a little bit too slow so at the track it defiantly takes some getting used to when you first start to drive the car. We checked to see if there was anything that was too tight in the steering and everything was smooth. Although it was slow the servo took some punishment and didn’t have any problems.

Jumping: The buggy did great at the track and handled jumps well. It ended up being slightly nose heavy but when we slid the battery towards the back more it evened out the weight and it stayed nice and level in the air. We took the car off some bigger jumps in an effort to test its limits and it survived a few 30ft. jumps and is still in perfect drivable condition.

Bumps/Whoops: There were no problems gliding over anything that got in its way on and off the track. Even got the chance to hit some parking lot speed bumps which was a lot of fun.

Off-Road: The Revenge handled off-road surfaces very nicely, for an 1/8th scale buggy the suspension had plenty of travel and took everything that we threw at it. The car had enough power to clear a two lane street without a ramp and continued to impress on and off the track.

Tires: The buggy has Speedtreads Watch Dog tires which surprised me especially in the snow and on ice! They were able to perform like off-road tires when needed and still got the buggy around the track with very good traction.

Power: Honestly when I saw that the buggy ran on 3s I wasn’t sure if it was going to have enough power to push around a heavy 1/8th scale platform. I was very surprised when I pulled the trigger and it had no problem breaking the tires loose! The Dynamite Fuze 2500Kv Sensorless Brushless Motor has plenty of power to handle the buggy.

Radio: The Spektrum DX2E transmitter performed great. I liked how soft the trigger was, a lot of these new RTRs from other companies have super stiff controls on their remotes and it just makes it feel cheap! ECX made a good choice to put a quality Spektrum radio in the Revenge.

Broken Parts: For this section I only encountered one break! The shocks. We broke a front shock and a rear shock. The end of the shock shaft broke off inside the tie rod end leaving no threads to put on a new one. Both shocks broke the same exact way so it could be that the shock shafts themselves are a little brittle. Other than that nothing broke and this thing got put through some serious punishment!

Misc Notes: The car is fully water-proof which is very nice because its not always nice out and its never a good day when you cant run your car because of the weather!

Best Mod Under $5: Some better shock shafts would really fix the only weak spot I was able to find on the buggy.

Best Mod Over $5: The only thing that would need to be changed is the steering servo its just too slow to use on a track.

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

Time To Bash:  C  Everything was included but the battery and charger.

Workability: C The Revenge has a very nice easy to work on platform. Everything went smooth when changing out the shocks and nothing stripped or was hard to get to. 

Car Show Rating: B This buggy looks awesome! The paint scheme and white lettering on the sidewalls of the tires really makes it stand out!

Bash-A-Bility: C The only problem was the shock shafts. If that were fixed, this car would take everything you throw at it.

Fun Factor: B The fact that its waterproof really adds to the fun that you can have with the Revenge. Being able to run in all weather conditions is very important when your a basher.

Handling: C The steering isn’t bad when your bashing in the backyard but when it’s out on the track it needs to be sped up, or you are going to miss some turns.

Value: B The price isn’t bad for the quality of the car its very durable and a lot of fun to bash or race on the track. 

Big Squid Rating: C+ This car defiantly puts up with some abuse and with some minor mods could be a very bullet proof basher!

The Driven app is Free and you can download it at THIS link from iTunes. Hit up THIS link for the Horizon Hobby website.

Have you read our latest Vaterra review? If not, you can read it HERE.

Check out THIS link for the official TLR website, click right HERE for the official ECX website, and hit THIS up for all our Nuremberg show coverage.