Hi my name is Bruin and I own a Helion Dominus 10r. I still have my stock 1800 mah battery in it and I read your latest lipo shootout. You had the Gens Ace 5800 2s lipo ranked first and I was interested in buying one. I have looked all over the internet and I can’t find any sites that sell them and if they do they are out of stock. Do you know where I could find one or any hobby shops that have them in stock?

I live in Rexburg, Idaho and they just got rid of the nearest Hobbytown USA to me in Idaho Falls so I pretty much have to order everything online now. If you could please reply I would greatly appreciate it. I would also accept any advice like a diffferent/better lipo I should get or any upgrades etc… Thanks

Cubby- Yo hey Bruin, sounds like you are having the same problem a lot of people are, not being able to find the Gens Ace pack they want in stock.

I’ve often said the biggest problem Gens Ace has is keeping their packs in stock. They put out a decent battery at a reasonable price point, but they’ve got a lot to learn about inventory management. So what should be your plan of action? Buy from someone else that has their act together and keeps their product in proper supply.

So what’s an affordable Lipo that is easier to actually lay your hands on? Venom. Venom has come a long ways with the quality of their batteries in recent years, and while they may not have won one of our shootouts, they are solid packs that will make your Helion M U C H faster than the included Ni-MH battery. Oh and even more importantly, it’s typically pretty easy to lay hands on one that suits your needs. Venom is carried by both of the “big two”, Hobbico and Horizon, so whether you are buying from an LHS (sucks to hear you lost yours) or buying on-line, the chances of finding what you need is much greater.

Squid Live #16
I don’t watch the show. it’s a bad timing kind of thing… but I did watch the re-run of #16 (couldn’t sleep and had nothing better to do). Thought I’d send a few comments, just to let you know, it didn’t lull me back to sleep, and that the nonsense is at least somewhat entertaining.

First off that Red Cat S-tryk-r, interesting idea for a rc vehicle, glad they finally got it to market, but couldn’t they have had somebody with some art or industrial design capability at least give them some clues about how something like this should look. Come on now, I mean – one word: UGLY! make that two words: STUPID UGLY! They can do good looking, you didn’t mention the Pagani Huayra, but it is a RedCat so I understand. Now belt drive is cool, it smooths out the shock to the drive train, yea it’s going to be a nightmare to work on but that’s just something that you would have to live with for a Canam style bike. Your only other option for a three wheeler would be a Mardave sidecar racer (spec racer – lame) or some Vaterra you guys are done bashing with (change that, the Vaterra would probably only have one wheel left).

As to bashing with a Corally… problem is after getting things good and wet the sand kicked up by the paddles tends to pack up on the belt and pulleys and before you know it the belt is all stretched out, corners rounded off and the belt starts slipping.

TS

Cubby- Hey now TS, interesting email ya sent in.

Ya, our G+ shows can be interesting at times. At the very least they give us a bit of a chance to hang out face to face. While I may go on and on about meeting up in the uber BSRC offices, the staff is actually all over the place so we don’t really get to see each other that much. We meet up here and there for reviews and shootouts, we also meet up for trade shows and bash events, otherwise the work done here is via UPS and the net. Any time I get to give Brian or Adam crap I consider to be a good time.

I’m not a fan of RedCat. Every time I’ve been exposed to a RedCat vehicle first hand it was with a pile of soon to be rubble, and they haven’t been what I’d call “cordial” to us by any means, so what is there for me to like? That doesn’t mean that times have changed and their new gear is actually worth owning, and that doesn’t mean that they’ve decided to overlook the negatively I’ve written about them and want to hold out their hand to start over, who knows. What I do know is we don’t get any of their product for review, so even if it is quality gear we have no way of knowing it. And… I do know we’ve extended our hand by covering their booths at trade shows and by posting some of their press releases.

With that said, I like their S-TRYK-R. In fact several of the BSRC Bash Crew do. Why? It’s a matter of this- we’ve owned hundreds of cars over the years and are attracted to something completely new and different because we are bored of the “norm”. The S-TRYK-R might be a POS, but we’d actually put up with that if it was so different to own that it was a “new” experience for us.

YOUR Cub Reporter

For performance- the RedCat is driven by a full time 4wd belt system and comes with brushless power. A 2.4 GHz radio system and Lipo battery (with charger) also come standard. Size wise, the Huayra has a wheelbase of 277mm and a width of 210mm.

Street price for the RedCat is $299 and they are available right now. Hit up the official RedCat Website for more information.

Here is a special TGIF “not so mystery link” for our friend and one of the coolest guys in rc, Stephen Bess.

The wait is over and the S-TRYK-R is now for sale. There are two versions- brushed and brushless, and they are both shipping right now. The S-TRYK-R uses belts to power all three of its wheels, which should make it quite unique to drive. Here are some of the other specifications-

* Includes 2.4 GHz radio system
* Forward and Reverse
* Full time 3 Wheel Belt Drive
* Length- 368mm
* Width- 216mm
* Height- 135mm
* Wheelbase- 285mm
* Ground Clearance- 9mm
* Shocks- Aluminum Capped Oil Filled
* Includes 7.2v Ni-MH (brushed) or 7.4v Lipo (brushless PRO) with Charger
* Brushed motor on standard edition, 4500kv brushless on PRO model

Street pricing for the brushed S-TRYK-R is $199, while the brushless PRO model goes for $299. For more information hit up the official RedCat Website.

Looking for more RedCat news? Hit up THIS link right here on BigSquidRC.

Just wondering if the king shocks with piggyback shocks will fit on red cat racing volcano s30
Paul B.

Cubby- Hey what’s up Pauly, shoot Brian your snail mail address and we’ll send you some BSRC stickers to put on your rig.

To be perfectly honest, like I rarely am, I have no idea if scale King Off-Road shocks with faux reservoirs will fit on your RedCat Volcano S30 monster truck, nor will I go to the effort to find out. I do know this- the King shocks are intended for use on scale crawlers, which are typically a much different beast than your nitro monster truck, and I don’t have an Volcano S30 sitting here to look at and see if there is any chance that they might fit.

I will also say that while I have seen a Volcano S30 in person, I’ve never driven one, seen one driven, or held one in my hands. The RedCat crew doesn’t really talk to us, probably because of some of the things we’ve said about their products. But… seeing as how we could help them sell a lot of trucks it should probably be a necessary evil for them. We have multiple staffers here that own and enjoy running their RedCat products, but we’ve also tested some of their gear that did not work well. Any which way, they should at least respect us for posting exactly what we experienced with their products, for better or for worse, instead of posting worthless kiss ass reviews that don’t do anyone any good. We certainly do not have anything against RedCat, in fact we would “like” to like them because they are a basher company.

Wanted to alert you to something that should be of interest to your readers. I purchased a Savage Flux HP and the wheel comes off under power. Because the wheels use threads that are the same direction the effect is that under power one wheel tightens the nut and one loosens the nut. A good design by HPI would be a reverse thread on one of the wheels. I get around 3 minutes of run time before the wheel falls off. I contacted HPI and they said it’s a common problem and one they are aware of. In fact, Scott in their customer service department acknowledged the problem (says he has the same problem on his truck) and agreed a reverse thread would be a better design. HPI’s stupid solution is to red loctite the wheels. But as BSRC knows red loctite is supposed to be heated up to loosen and since the nut is against plastic heating up the nut will melt the plastic wheel.

I think your readers should know about this exceeding poor design and that HPI makes no effort to help customers or fix problems they are aware of.

Thanks and keep up the good work. I purchased a Flux HP partly on your review of it. Do you have any better solutions for the problem?

Jerry H.

Cubby- What’s up Jerry? You’ve got some BSRC stickers coming your way, send us your snail mail.

So you contend that HPI has a poor design on their Savage Flux because the nuts on all four wheels are threaded the same direction. Yes, it is true that the nuts on one side of the truck will tend to tighten themselves, while the nuts on the other side will tend to loosen, this is due to rotation forces on the direction of the threading.

However, as much as I hate sticking up for HPI… if it can be said that is a poor design on HPI’s part, it could also be said it is a poor design on 99% of every rc car ever put out by any brand. The threading is like that on nearly every rc ever sold, not just on your HPI Savage.

So why do they use the same threads on both sides when using opposite threading on one side of the truck would fix the problem? Because it really isn’t a problem. Not on your Savage, nor on any other rc.

Every vehicle I own has the same threading as your HPI Savage Flux and I haven’t tossed a wheel in years. And why is that? No, I don’t use red Loctite, nor do I even own any, but I have learned from the past to really tighten down my wheel nuts, all four of them, and to check them often. There are very few parts on an rc car that really need to tightened down hard, but wheel nuts are one of them.

So.. to fix the problem of your wheels coming off I’d recommend this-

1. Tighten down your wheel nuts harder. Tighten down as hard as you can or until they start binding (on 8th scale buggies I can usually tighten down with full force).
2. If they are still coming off- apply blue Loctite and let it dry fully on the axle before putting on the nut.
3. If they are still coming off- use nuts with serrated edges on the surface that mates to the wheel.

FYI to any noobs that might be reading this, do not use red Loctite on anything in rc unless you never intend on taking it apart again, ever. Sometimes you can get it loose, sometimes you can’t, and the times you can’t are sure to make for an ugly day of wrenching.

Thank you, you’re welcome, and have a nice day.

That’s it from the uber well lit and ridiculously posh offices of BigSquidRC for this week. Submit your questions to Cubby at BigSquidRC dot com. If you letter makes the front page you’ll get free stickers, if for some strange reason I select yours as “letter of the week” you’ll totally own a new BSRC t-shirt.

YOUR Cub Reporter

RedCat is also showing two scale looking buggies. One is called the Sandstorm while the other has yet to be named, but is 4wd, sports a plastic chassis, and is brushless powered. Keep an eye on RedCats Official Website for more information.

Interested in more RedCat news here on BigSquidRC? Check it out HERE.

Unfortunately… if you were at LA you also would have seen two of the sports finest riders get seriously injured (and some inappropriate behavior by Feld to keep the audience “pumped up” while the two downed riders were being carted off the track after the race was red flagged). On the first lap of the 450 main Ryan Morais and Trey Canard had a burly accident over the first triple, the worst I’ve ever seen at a Supercross. Ryan suffered fractures to his C1, C2, C6, C7, T1, jaw and ribs. Trey fractured his T10 and T12 and is said to be having surgery on Thursday. Both are reported to have feeling and movement in their extremities, but give’em a prayer if you can, they can use it. Injuries to those guys (and thousands of others each year) in full scale racing should also serve as a remind to all of us that we are indeed just racing toy cars and there is Never an instance to flip out on the drivers stand for ANY reason. If guys that put their lives on the line every time the gate drops can maintain their composure through rough days at the track, guys that have virtually nothing on the line should be all smiles and kittens, no matter how many times the local hack us out.

On a different note…

I heard Jeff’s 0/10 score on his RedCat review ignited some real “intense talk” on some of the message boards. Hey, that’s what the net is for, everybody expressing their opinion, good, bad, smart, dumb, or straight-up ugly. I haven’t read any of the threads dedicated to his review, heck, I have yet to read his review, LOL, all I know is what I heard about his testing around the office- the truck broke ALL THE FREAK’N time. Jeff would drive it, it would break, he’d wait for parts, then drive it a few more minutes and it would break again, and the ugly cycle would continue. I kept riding Jeff’s a$$ to post the review weeks ago after it broke the first few times, but Jeff insisted on giving it more time hoping the early breakage was just flukes (unfortunately they were not). Craig tested a couple RedCats that didn’t break a lot, but the unit Jeff performed like it was molded out of glass. BSRC doesn’t get paid a penny extra if a product is awesome or if it sucks, we are just here to report what happens when we drive’em, love it for hate it, that’s how it works around here.

Speaking of reviews… I hear this weeks Tuesday review is a recent Losi release, and that Brian, “Wrench” Bill and “3D” Bill absolutely, positively, gave it one of the most severe tests (read- unnecessary beatings) in the history of BSRC. Humm…. that should be fun to read, I am looking forward to that one myself.

I am not a fan of unboxing videos, most are simply way too long (read- BORING) and I just don’t have the time to waste. Brian isn’t a big fan of unboxing vids either, so that’s why we normally just do pics- you can view’em in a few seconds and get on with your day. Well… somebody (read- me!) came up with a wacky idea for an unboxing vid for the new Duratrax DXR8-E electric 8th scale “race” buggy. Look for it on Tues or Weds, LOL, it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.

In product news….

Remember KO Propo? Ya, the company that used to put out popular high end transmitters? The KO name dipped out of the spotlight for a couple years, but they are back with an all new high end transmitter called the EX-1 K.I.Y. featuring a modular “customize it yourself” system. You can set the wheel high or low, you can adjust the angle of the display, there are both right and left hand versions, and you can even elect to use a stick for steering instead of a wheel. The styling is definitely for the Borg crowd, but I dig how it looks much better than their older EX-10 Eurus (which is looking quite dated now days). It’s sweet seeing some new competition for the uber transmitter crown, which at this point means going up against the Futaba 4PKS and Spektrum DX3R Pro. Also good to see I don’t have to attach my cell phone to it to use the uber features.

Speaking of cell phones on transmitters… Traxxas began shipping their XO-1 “supercar” to hobby shops last week. We’ll probably get ours sometime around October, that’s how much pull we have over at Traxxas, LOL. Does Traxxas just hate us that much, or do they know all we are going to do is jump it off the roof of the nearest 3 story building? Humm… I wonder…

Novak released info on some new rotors for their brushless motors that use Samarium Cobalt magnets instead of Neodymium. The Cobalt magnets can take higher temps than Neo, good news for you guys that like gearing your motors to the moon. If you are a basher the scoop is this- they are less prone to be damaged by heat, but aren’t quite as strong as the Neo units that typically come in brushless motors. If you are constantly overheating your motor and ruining your magnet/rotor, you’ll want to look into the new Novak rotors.

The good guys (and gals!) over at Pro Line announced Square Fuzzy tires are coming back with a vengeance ! Oh the sweet memories of races gone by where Square Fuzzies were absolutely glued to the track, can’t wait to lay my hands on some of the new ones.

Yes, that’s it for this week! Support your hobby, local hobby shops, tracks and bash spots!

YOUR Cub Reporter

A couple of Redcat Racing‘s vehicles have appeared in the review section here on Big Squid over the last few months.  And they’ve gotten positive numbers and comments from those that have tested them.  It was because of those reviews that I decided to purchase a Redcat Monsoon XTE, which is a 1/8 scale brushless truggy.  I first saw this truck at the IHobby 2011 expo and was somewhat impressed by what I had seen.  So that got me thinking that perhaps Redcat’s products have changed for the better.  Maybe they’ve learned something from their rather durable and well built large scale cars and applied that to their new line of smaller stuff.  Possibly, Redcat has made a good kit.  I’ve been trying to review this truck for quite a while now, after many false starts and nagging issues.  There comes a time when one has to stop and say “I’ve been fooled.”

Disclosure: I paid for this truck out of my own pocket and bought it from a third-party retailer.  Redcat did not send the Monsoon XTE to be reviewed by us and while they may have been aware of us reviewing it, I never identified myself to Redcat as a Big Squid RC contributor.  All customer service calls and orders were made as a normal customer.

Specs:

• Age: 15+
• Length: 550mm
• Width: 440mm
• Height: 198mm
• Wheelbase: 370mm
• Ground Clearance: 42mm
• Weight: Slightly over 10 pounds with batteries
• Chassis: 6061 Aluminum
• Drive train: 4 wheel drive, 3 sealed gear diffs
• Shocks: Oil filled Metal Shocks
• Radio: 2.4GHz Radio System
• Motor: 1755kV Brushless
• ESC: 80 amp, 4S
• MSRP: $459.99
• Street Price: ~$400

What’s in the box:
The truck is 99% assembled, you just need to put the wheels on and thread the antenna through the tube.  A no-frills, rather cheap feeling 2.4 GHz radio system is included.  It works well enough but I dumped it in favor of my Futaba 4PK after the first couple runs.  You’ll also find a small parts and tools bag.  Two unbranded 2S, 30C, 3600 mAh LiPo batteries and a slow balance charger pretty much round out the package.  The manual isn’t specific to this model and includes generic instructions for all of the types of vehicles Redcat makes.  It’s kind of odd finding nitro engine break-in procedures in a manual included with an electric vehicle.

Build quality:
Hit and miss might be an apt description of the Monsoon XTE’s build quality.  Some things that were done on this truck at the factory were good and proper.  Others were rather puzzling as to how they could have messed it up.  The nicer items included properly set gear mesh between the pinion and spur gear, fully filled shocks that didn’t leak, preload spacers installed to give a good ride height, thread locker on all the metal-to-metal screws that I checked and neatly managed wiring.  A few of the issues included a lower cap on one shock that was overtightened and stripped, a missing shim in the rear differential that would later cause problems and an overtightened screw that had stripped the threads out of a plastic part.

The sealed differentials showed evidence of receiving at least a little grease to keeps things running smooth but no diff fluid was present, though there was no sign of leaking on the chassis or in the box.  I filled them and they are still full after a few runs so the seals and bearings are doing their job.

Overall build quality was unsatisfactory for my kit.  I generally give manufacturers the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their product assembly.  Just because mine wasn’t assembled perfectly, that doesn’t mean that every product that comes off the line is the same.  If you decide to purchase a Monsoon XTE, your experience may differ, but I highly suggest you give it a good inspection before driving it.

Performance testing:
The brushless system in the Monsoon XTE is overflowing with power.  The included LiPos pack enough punch to keep up with the energy sucking brushless system.  This truck just wants to go fast.  Braking is also very strong and easy to control.  The Monsoon flies well off jumps and is very responsive to throttle and brake inputs throughout it’s hang-time, despite it’s 10+ pounds weight.  It does have a bit of under-steer.  The stock suspension setup is plush, very plush.  Lifting the Monsoon just a foot off the ground and dropping it results in a VERY slow rebound and settling.  That would be fine if this were a Cadillac.  But it’s not, it’s purportedly a racing truggy.  Some stiffer springs at minimum are necessary if you plan on racing with the Monsoon XTE.  Stiffer sway bars would probably help as well, as the stock ones don’t seem to do much of anything.  Though with that super soft suspension it is pretty fun to drive in the really rough stuff and, other than bottoming out off every jump, makes for a decent bashing setup.

Durability testing:
Nothing that I’ve done to this truck would be considered extreme, even if you were to dismiss our ridiculously high standard of extreme and go with a more sane definition.  The rather light beating the Monsoon XTE was subjected to could be compared to pretty much any normal day at any track.  A couple bad landings, a few traction rolls, and some wrecks among other vehicles.  About the only qualified Big Squid test I was able to do was a high jump off a 15′ roof.  I didn’t drive it full speed into a wall or tumble it down stairs or fling it around a skate park.  I didn’t have a chance to.

On my very first outing I had a bad landing and snapped a rear suspension arm only five minutes into the first battery.  Also, remember that missing shim in the differential I mentioned above?  It caused a major problem, after just that one short run the diff’s spider gears were stripped and the truck wouldn’t move at more than a snail’s pace along with making a huge amount of grinding noise.

After repairing the a-arm, replacing the diff gears and making sure a proper size shim was installed I got back to it.  But it wasn’t long before the stock servo died without any hint as to reason.  It just went to full right lock and stuck there.  Strike two.  I put in a warranty claim on the servo and Redcat replaced it without any fuss, though the servo was out of stock at the time, so I had to wait… and wait… and wait.  While I was waiting for the replacement servo to arrive I decided to buy a much more suitable servo for the Monsoon.  The stock servo provides about 125 oz/in of torque which, in a massive truck like this, just isn’t enough.  I installed a Hitec HS-7955 which offers 333 oz/in at 6v.  Much better.

With the servo issue solved I went on back to our private bash park and started over again.  This third run proved to be the final straw.  It only lasted 25 minutes.  I hit a few jumps, did a few donuts, nothing extreme.  Suddenly I heard another terrible grinding sound.  It turned out that I had somehow broken a front axle.  I didn’t have a replacement but I decided to carry on anyway.  Soon after a rear shock shaft broke and I’m still not quite sure why.  I didn’t have any really bad landings, I didn’t seriously wreck it, it just seemed to snap from the rough, rutted and rocky terrain.

I figured now would be the time to toss the Monsoon on to the 15′ roof and jump it off, before anything else broke and I didn’t get a chance at all.  Surprisingly, this didn’t cause anything to break, the Monsoon flew flat after a slight throttle blip to level it out, landed smooth on the flat ground and drove away.  It wasn’t long after that, hitting just a regular jump and having a decent landing, that the front hub decided to snap.  And that’s when I decided to throw in the towel.

List of broken parts:
From beginning to end, all the Monsoon did was break.  Keep in mind all of this happened in the total span of less than three full battery packs, about an hour of run time.

• Rear lower arm
• Rear diff spider gears
• Front universal drive shaft
• Rear wing
• Front hub
• Shock shaft
• Servo

Customer service:
To Redcat’s credit, every time I contacted customer service or technical support, the representatives I spoke with were kind, courteous and knowledgeable.  They were able to identify parts I was explaining to them and provide proper part numbers for easy ordering.  They were able to help diagnose issues and explain the best way to resolve them.  The warranty replacement I went through was handled with no fuss, they apologized and replaced the part.  Nearly every order I placed through Redcat’s website was packed and shipped from their warehouse the same day I placed the order.  As far as customer service goes, Redcat Racing is tops.  If only their product matched their service.

Best mod under $5:
The high amp bullet style battery connectors that come stock are nice and will pass a lot of juice without any problems, but they aren’t really standard in the RC world.  I swapped them for some Deans’ connectors.  Traxxas connectors would work just as well.

Best mod over $5:
A different truck.  If you’re adamant about having a Monsoon XTE, a high torque servo such as the Hitec HS-7955 will do a much better job of swinging those massive wheels left and right.

Bottom Line:
I won’t be fooled again.

As with all of our stuff, if you see us at a bash, stop by and check out the vehicles we have with us. We may let you take a test drive, and at the very least get you some stickers!

5th scale monster trucks are the biggest, baddest boys in the rc world. I’ve been giving the Redcat Rampage MT a good old fashioned BigSquid torture test for the last few weeks. How did it hold up? Read on to find out.

From: Redcat Racing
Direct Link: Rampage MT

Where to Buy: http://www.redcatracing.com or your local dealer.

Review by: Craig (Crazy ramp builder guy)
Photos by: Craig

Specs- –

RTR or Kit: ARR (almost ready to run if clear body), RTR if painted
Age: 14+
2wd or 4wd: 4wd
Electric or Gas: Gas
Scale: 1/5th
Length: 740 mm
Height: 350 mm
Width: 600 mm
Wheelbase: 516 mm
Weight: 33.4 lbs dry
Ground Clearance: 72 mm
Engine: 30 cc HY 2 stroke
Radio: Redcat DSM-2C 2.4 GHz
Steering Servo: 2 x 416 oz/inch
Throttle Servo: 125 oz/inch
Receiver Battery: 2200 mah (charger included)
Transmission: Single speed
Differentials: Oil filled
Driveshafts: Steel
Screws: Hex heads
Shocks: Metal bodies, Oil filled
Chassis: 4 mm Aluminum 6061T6
Brakes: Dual disc
Fuel Tank: 700 cc
Tires: Redcat monster chevrons
Waterproof: No
Street Price: $800

Primary Competition- MCD Sport Monster Truck, Losi 5ive-T, HPI 5T

What’s In The Box: Rolling chassis, 4 tires and wheels pre-assembled, 2200 mah Ni-Mh receiver pack with charger, fail-safe, Redcat DSM-2C 2.4GHz radio system, body (clear or painted) and tools.

Break-in: The manual that comes in the box says to run 2 stroke oil 20:1- 25:1 for the first 8 hours then 30:1 or so. It also says for the first 4 hours to never allow the engine to run more than 5000 rpm. I don’t know what the rpm range of a 30cc HY motor was so I called Redcat’s customer service and asked them. They told me they recommend running 4 full tanks at ¼ throttle or less to beak the engine in, a task that took about 7 hours. I think waiting an hour to charge my batteries is too long. Having a 2 stroke running for 7 hours on my porch was NO FUN for me or my neighbors. Redcat’s customer service also recommended running 25:1 for as long as you own the truck.

Test Drivers: Craig, Cameron

Test locations: We have been monster trucking everything in sight, my Rustler and Bandit are like speed bumps. We have run it in parking lots, bash spots, in my yard, and we ran over to LargescaleRC “Scrap yard play day” to run on a 5th scale dirt off road track and oval/ figure 8.

Looks: This thing is awesome, it’s huge. It makes the 8th scale trucks look small. The body on the Rampage is modeled after the 2011 extended cab Chevy. The wheels are true beadlocks. The wheel are a black 5 wishbone design with chrome beadlock rings. The tires are a split chevron design like the Pro-line Masher, they are MASSIVE- about 8” tall and 5 ½” wide.

Power: 30cc HY two-stroke engine. I’m running 93 octane and AMSOIL Saber PRO Synthetic two stroke oil. I’m a brushless power junky and have never run nitro or gas before. I had problems keeping the Rampage engine tuned. The tune seems to change a lot during driving. Most of the people I talk to say to put a Walbro carb on and change the mix ratio to fix this problem. The Walbro carb will also smooth it out and make more power. Off the line this power is soft. The top end is not what I think it should be. I plan to put a Walbro wt-813 carb, RB Innovation Hyper charger and CPI Racing tuned pipe on it to improve the power. The guys I have met that run 5th scale say that will give me about 2 – 2 1/2 horsepower over stock. The stock setup is around 3 ½ – 3 ¾ hp. I will post reviews of all the upgrades as soon as I get them on. I just saw the RB Innovation direct injection nitrous system. I’m going to put that on my list for Santa.

Jumping: We jumped it off a 18” tall, long jump style wood ramp and were flat landing on grass. Then we hit the dirt jumps on the off-road track at Largescalerc’s scrap yard over and over with no problems. The Rampage is hard to control in the air. I decided to push it by hitting an 8′ long, 3’ tall, long jump style wood ramp. The 35 lbs Rampage MT didn’t like the drop from 8 foot+ high in the air landing on its nose.

Durability: I’ve been running over everything I can find- curbs, grass, concrete, asphalt, dirt jumps, small wood jumps, and other RC trucks. I haven’t broken any chassis or driveline parts. I did have 2 motor mount screws come out the first day of driving it around. The body did get cracked, and I managed to tweak the chassis between the motor and the throttle servo, making the throttle stick enough that it keeps moving unless I hold full brakes. This happened after I nosed it in from 8 feet+ in the air. Before Brian or I get emails I Know jumping a 35lb monster truck 8”+ feet in air and landing it on its nose is probably not something Redcat was thinking about when they designed the Rampage MT, but I’m the Crazy ramp builder guy and this is BigSquidRC, so above and beyond torture is expected during our testing.

Overall: I really like the Rampage MT. It’s 4wd, it’s loud, it’s huge, and it scares the “RACERS” with their T4′s and XXXT’s when I pull out on the track, LOL!!!!! The stock radio is very basic and easy to use. The transmitter is a little bottom heavy with the 8 AA batteries but it does have a charging jack if you like to use rechargeable. We haven’t had anything break, but the body has cracked and we lost 2 motor mount screws. The engine tuning thing is a little annoying but maybe I can get it worked out.

Value: $799 from Redcat or $730 from most dealers is great for a 5th 4wd monster truck. The MCD Sport Monster Truck is priced at $1200, the Horizon/Losi Racing 5IVE-T is at $1600, and the HPI 5T sits at $1300 (and its only 2wd), I’d say the Redcat is a good value.

As with all of our stuff, if you see us at a bash, stop by and check out the vehicles we have with us. We may let you take a test drive, and at the very least get you some stickers!

SUMMARY

Time To Bash – 5.0/10 – The break-in blows.

Workability – 9.0/10 – The chassis layout is simple. Everything is huge so there no small screws to drop and roll out of sight.

Car Show Rating – 9.0/10 – Chevy body, huge tires, chrome bead lock rings.

Bash-A-Bility – 7.5/10 – It’s not waterproof. It doesn’t like big jumps to flat landings.

Fun Factor – 8.0/10 – I don’t like engine tuning but everything else is Awesome!!!

Handling – 7.0/10 – It’s a 5th scale monster truck. It might have 2 x 416 oz steering servos but don’t expect it to cut a tight corner.

Power- 6/10 – Soft low end power and mediocre top end.

Big Squid Rating – 7.3/10 - The Rampage MT is fun to drive, it looks awesome, it’s huge, and you can easily wake-up your neighbors on Sunday morning with its loud exhaust note.

Please help – looking for a recommendation – most durable fast RC truck – for my 20 year old son to race his 80 year old Grandpa – durability – off road, sand, rocks etc. is much more important than name brand or paint job. Looking to spend less than $150 on each, will buy one for each of them. Both live near the ocean. Want more than we can purchase at a “big box” store. Thanks, Merry Christmas!

Anita

Cubby- Well hey now Anita. Aren’t you the coolest woman ever by hit’n up the number one rc news/review site on the net to find the perfect Christmas present for your son and your dad. Kudos to you and Santa had better be hook’n you up.

So the criteria are…

1. Gotta cost less than 150 clams each.
2. Gotta be a truck.
3. Willing to sacrifice some looks for durability.

Here ya go Anita, here’s my top 3 picks based on what you are looking for…

3. Speed Passion RS2 Stadium Truck- Street price $100-$120. Direct link HERE. Our BigSquidRC review the truck can be found HERE

Up sides- Fastest truck at the price point, quite durable, drives well, and has a Star Trek inspired transmitter.
Downsides- Local hobby shops are unlikely to keep parts in stock for this truck. Does not come with batteries or a charger.

2. ECX Ruckus Monster Truck- Street price $130. Direct link HERE. Our BigSquidRC review can be found HERE.

Up sides- Larger tires will work better in sand, very durable, and lots of fun to drive. Comes with everything in the box you need to actually drive the truck.
Downsides- Not the best parts support at local hobby shops, stock motor doesn’t last long.

1. And my number 1 pick is… Duratrax Evader EXT2 Stadium Truck- Street price $120. Direct link HERE. And our BigSquidRC review can be found HERE.

Up sides- Decent parts support at local hobby shops, drives well, has good power and quite durable.
Downsides- Does not come with batteries or a battery charger.

So take a look at the links and our reviews, then pull the trigger. All three of those trucks are hobby grade and a huge leap in performance over what is sold in Wally World, and most importantly, all three will put a huge smile on the face of those receiving them.

Merry Christmas to you as well!

Hello Squid Folk,

Hope all is well under the sea. I have a question for Cubby. I need a brushless system for my Losi XXX-SCT. I don’t have a lot to spend, I’ve been considering the Duratrax Element 3800kv combo, it comes with the Deans plug pre-installed, or the Castle Sidewider SCT, also a 3800kv system, but no plug. But now I read the review of the Speed Passion Citrix Short Course system, 3600kv. The Speed Passion is the least expensive, but may involve the most soldering (a task I hate). Which of these would be my best option. I use my truck for bashing and for occasional novice class racing.

Also, I must agree on the awesomeness of the Axial EXO, if an RTR doesn’t come soon, that could be my first real kit build.

Thanks,
Adam
Eagle Mountain, Utah

Cubby- Yo what’s up Adam?

I’ve been driving our test XXX-SCT a ton, mainly indoors on carpet and on clay-doh type tracks, and I gotta say it freak’n hauls. Hope you are liking yours as much as I am liking ours (I think I was supposed to return it to our guy at Losi, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.. LOL). It’s not the best “bash” machine out there, but it’s dern near magical on a high grip surfaces.

First off about your soldering. When I was 8 years old my lil’ “boom box” quit working and I decided I was going to give a shot at fixing it. I took out the screws and suddenly had the guts of my radio in my hands. I noticed the wire going to the speaker had come off, sweet, so all I needed to do was solder it back on. No biggie I thought, I’d just ask my dad to solder it back on for me, he was a wiz at that type of stuff, so it shouldn’t have been a big deal. So I ask my dad “Can you solder this wire back on for me?”. Without saying a word my dad went out to the garage then come back with his old trusty soldering iron (the big gun type with a trigger.. LOL) and some solder. He promptly put them on the kitchen table and left. And he didn’t come back for 4 hours. LOL. So that day I taught myself to solder. I was smart enough to not learn on the item I actually wanted to fix, so I went to the garage and got a few pieces of wires, then spent the next hour trying to make two wires into just one. LOL. Soldering does take practice but it’s not rocket science, anyone can do. Seriously.

To digress- you may hate soldering, but it really is easy, it just takes practice. And if you intend on staying in the rc hobby it’s a skill that you must possess. Period. And… it’s a skill you will use in everyday life. So bite the bullet, get out your iron, get out some scrap pieces of wires, then practice till you can solder two pieces of wire into one piece (that won’t come apart when you yank HARD on them).

Btw, I can tell you dozens of stories of “high end” factory racers that have had wires come off during a race. Even I make a bad solder joint from time to time and come to a dead stop half way during a race. The worst that can happen because of a poor solder joint on a speedo/motor/battery is the wire coming off, it’s no biggie, seriously.

The Speed Passion Cirtix system will require some soldering. It will require you cut off the crap battery plug it comes with and put on a real one, so there is 2 solder joints. It comes with a 3 way connector for the motor wires, so there is 3 solder joints to the connector, and 3 more at the motor, so you are looking at 8 solder joints total. All of them are easy to get to and easy to do. There are dozens (hundreds?) of “how to solder” videos on YouTube should you need a bit more confidence. But I’m the type that would just lock you in a room with an iron, some solder and the Speed Passion system, and I wouldn’t let you out until it was all soldered up.

To really digress, the Speed Passion system is affordable and ultra smooth. The Castle and Duratrax systems aren’t as smooth, but can put out a lot more power. I think your buying decision boils down to this- if your current driving skills aren’t so good or if you plan on racing a lot, the Speed Passion system is a great one to learn on and/or race with. If you are looking to jump over your house or pull a mile long wheelie, you’ll want the Castle or Duratrax.

Cubby,
Why are you always recommending Traxxas connectors? Are you on commission or something?
Mark E.

Cubby- No, unfortunately I am not on commission from Traxxas (hint, hint, Peter). And I recommend them because they kick a$$. You are a moron if you don’t use them. Duh.

Keep reading! We have a bunch more questions and answers, our mail boxes were over flowing this week!!!

My 12 year old grandson wants to move up from the toy RC trucks to a more
durable, faster model.. I’ve read a few of your reviews but need more
specific help.

We live in Arizona and he would like a truck that can go over rough desert terrain and jumps rapidly with dependability. I’ve considered the Evader DT and Ext2 b/c of the manufacture warranty and the price. But I’ve also heard good things about Exceed and a few of the other brands. Much of the terminology is new to me but I’ve been learning and know that I want to buy him an entry level(but fast) battery powered RC car or truck rather than a nitro or gas model. I’ll save those for later if his interest remains by next Christmas

Thanks much for you help.

Kelly B.

Cubby- Yo hey what’s up Kelly?

You and I are tight right? Remember the summer we spent in Ibiza? Remember that one night at Pure inside Caesars (with the triplets!! Woot Woot!)? Or I’m not even going to bring up Oslo. LOL

Well friends don’t let friends buy Exceed product.

Wait a minute, now that I think about it, I really have no idea who you are. But that doesn’t really matter because even strangers don’t let other strangers buy Exceed. Seriously.

So your buying criteria are…

1. Fast
2. Electric
3. Entry level
4. Good jumper
5. Dependable

I think you are staring straight at the Speed Passion RS2 I mentioned in another answer this week. It’s electric, it’s entry level, and it’s crazy fast for the hundred dollar price point. Merry Christmas to you, and write back in and let us know how it goes.

Hello I read a random forum that said the Revo VXL is a good little Basher so I bought a revo vxl and had it for a little more than a month but it breaks constantly – before I was able to even start bashing with it brand new out of the box the battery wouldn’t hold a charge and the servo would stick, Traxxas cust service is awesome though and sent me the new parts fast and without any hassle – when I did start bashing with it taking mild jumps and doing some cart wheels on my not so glorious landings – nothing 2 crazy

I have broke and replaced most of the plastic parts in the front of it including A arms, push/tie rods, ball cups, and the cheap plastic rims – I decided to put aluminum push/tie rods on it after the continual breakage of the plastic ones but one bent and one snapped in the front end within a few short sessions. The forum post I read was completely wrong this truck is not made for bashing. So im out to find something bigger and better – This site has some of the best reviews and info on different trucks but I gotta ask if I were going to fork out $500 to $800 to get something I could beat the piss outa (any scale) what would you recommend?
Miller Sun

Cubby- So you destroy your 16th scale Revo VXL on a regular basis? You sound like our kinda guy.

To get to an actual answer…

If you asked 5 guys around the ridiculously lavish BSRC offices what they’d recommend for you most likely you’d get 5 different answers. But you asked me, so here’s mine.

You didn’t have the best luck with your Traxxas, so lets try another brand, let’s go with Thunder Tiger this time around. The new Thunder Tigers aren’t like the old ones, the new ones are designed well, are fairly rock solid, and have good parts support via Great Planes. So… drumroll…. I’m gonna say go with the Thunder Tiger MT4-G3. It’s huge, it’s fast, and it takes a good beating. If you are serious about bashing it’s a great machine to beat on. It jumps well, it’s fast on 4S (and just plain stupid on 6), and it spits lil’ tenth scale trucks out the back like gravel. It’s not cheap at close to $550, but it is gnarly. Click HERE for our review, and have a nice day.

Hey guys, I am getting back into the RC world. Its been a long time and I am getting the redcat shredder xb. What do you guys think of it? And can you do a review? I took your advice and will be getting the high-tech 4x charger and switching to the deans connectors. ThanksThanks

James C.

Cubby- So you are wanting to get a RedCat Shredder XB (a 6th scale electric buggy) and think we should review one.

Wanna hear a little story? Craig “The Crazy Ramp Builder Guy” bought 2 RedCats a couple months ago and reviewed them for BSRC. One truck worked great, the worked ok but had a few issues here and there. However… Jeff has been attempting to review a RedCat product for several weeks. Problem is- he has had the truck for 2 months but has only run it for half a pack because it keeps breaking so much. He’ll drive it for 30 seconds then it breaks. Then he orders parts, fixes it, then drives it for another 30 seconds before it breaks again. It’s a viscous circle. Jeff refuses to review the truck because he’s driven it for a total of less than one battery pack. Yet… I think he needs to do the review because he’s had it for two months and it’s just a pile. Our readers need/deserve to know that. Jeff does have a point that he probably shouldn’t do a review on a truck he’s driven for less than 5 minutes, but I have my point that consumers need to know when a truck breaks constantly and is a POS.

Anywhos… what do I think of the Shredder XB? I’ve never driven one, nor seen one run, so I can not give you a good first hand opinion. All I’m gonna say is there are lot of Really good choices out there at the $500 price point that aren’t made by RedCat. Choices that are already known to be rock solid, have great parts support, and lots of hop-up options.

Oh and… while we are on the briefest of speaking terms with RedCat, they never give us anything to review (Craig reviewed trucks he bought). Maybe that’s because they aren’t feel’n the love for BigSquid, maybe it’s because the reviews might not be so favorable. Who knows, but I wouldn’t hold your breathe for any RedCat reviews any time soon.

YOUR Cub Reporter

This just arrived on my doorstep, courtesy of the fine folks in the big, brown trucks. It’s Redcat Racing‘s latest vehicle, a Monsoon XTE, 1/8 scale brushless truggy. I thought I’d share some photos and info with all of you.

Inside the box you’ll find the big Monsoon XTE, nearly 100% assembled. You just need to put the wheels on and thread the antenna through the tube. A no-frills 2.4 GHz transmitter is included, along with two unbranded 2S LiPo batteries and a balance charger for those batteries. A small parts bag is also included, with a few shock clips and a couple other small replacement parts. The only tool in the box is a hex wrench for installing the wheels. You’ll also find the usual assortment of instruction manuals, parts catalogs, and other paperwork.

My first impression of the Monsoon XTE is that it’s a very substantial truck. The thick, aluminum chassis and numerous braces, along with the bulky a-arms and massive shock towers lead me to believe that this is going to be a tough truck. A ton of material has gone into it. But, just because something is made of a lot of materials, that doesn’t mean that those materials are high quality. So to test those materials we will be getting our bash on at the Big Squid RC Institute for Bashing — Rocky Mountain Region, test park, located in a highly secret location between many military installations. Our test park (which is rumored to be built over a UFO crash site and once served as an Army artillery range) is purpose built for bashing, featuring a whole lot humongous jumps, a giant table top/pyramid, and many, many roofs of varying heights to drive off. Not to mention open space galore for long jumps and fast speed runs.

Anyhow, have a look at the rest of the photos and keep an eye out for a full review, coming in the next few weeks. For more info about the Monsoon XTE, check out the Redcat Racing website.