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!

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.

There are sale items from Team Durango, TrakPower, Axial, Duratrax, Futaba, and a whole bunch of more manufactures, hit THIS LINK to view some of the specials or view the video below for more information.

Want to read our last Axial review? If so, hit THIS LINK.

With the new Thunder Tiger Desperado being a RTR, there is no need to waste hours building a boat, it’s ready to jam right out of the box. For size the Desperado has a length of 27.2 in, a beam of 7.3 in, a height of 6.1 in, and it weighs in at 2.7 lbs.

The Desperado Jr also comes with a bunch of features that everyone is looking for-

* Water cooled outrunner brushless motor
* 2.4 GHz Ace radio system
* One piece ABS hull
* A magnetic hatch
* Rudder flexes out of the way when hitting objects
* Part #TTRB5026 (green) and #TTRB5027 (blue)

Expect a street price of $250 and a release date of late March. Check out THIS link for more Thunder Tiger news right here on BigSquidRC.

From the moment it was announced we have been wanting to get our hands on the Thunder Tiger e-MTA! Well we now have one in our possession, and it was time to get it out of the box! Enjoy the pictures!

Keep reading (or click through) for even more photos!

That battery compartment looks like a tight squeeze, but we will find out soon what we can jam in there.

Looking for more Thunder Tiger news here on BigSquidRC? Click Here for more.

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

* Powerful brushless motor included
* Precision CNC-machined aluminum flybarless rotor head
* One-piece carbon main frame with a slim profile
* Lightweight, rigid one-piece metal main rotor hub
* Metal tail blade grips, with dual radial bearings and one thrust bearing
* Large battery bay that accommodates 8-12S LiPo batteries
* 120° CCPM control system
* Torque tube-driven tail
* Titanium turnbuckle pitch linkages
* V2 carbon fiber main blades included
* Main Rotor Diameter: 53 in (1345 mm)
* Main Rotor Blade Length: 23.6 in (600 mm)
* Tail Rotor Blade Length: 3.74 in (95 mm)
* Length: 47.25 in (1200 mm)
* Weight w/o batteries: 6.06 lb (2748 g)
* Part #TTRE0055

The Titan X50EF has a street price of $580 and you can get more information on the Thunder Tiger Website. Hit up THIS link to view more air news right here on BigSquidRC.

* State-of-the-art Ace Cougar GP3 2.4GHz radio system
* ABS blow-molded deep vee hull that’s preassembled and pre-painted
* Powered by a water-cooled OBL29/20-15M brushless motor and BLC-40M ESC
* On-board gear is easily accessed under a quick-release hatch
* Comes with a wooden display stand
* Part #TTRB5023 (for yellow) and #TTRB5024 (or green)

Street price for the Outlaw Jr is $250 and they are expected to start hitting hobby shops in early March. Hit up the official Thunder Tiger Website for more information.

TGIF, we hope you have a great bashing weekend, how about a TGIF Mystery Link?

We just got word that the Thunder Tiger eMTA 8th Scale Brushless Monster Truck is heading to the USA! Woo Hoo! We have had our fingers crossed about this one for a while. We posted a bunch of details HERE about it, then even a video of it in action HERE!

Looks like it’s going to run around $499. Stay tuned for more news on this truck when we get our hands on it!
Stock Numbers are:
TTRD8111 for Red
TTRD8112 for Yellow
TTRD8113 for Blue

Might want to start saving up for some 6S Lipos!

Need more Thunder Tiger News hit that link for all the latest from Big Squid RC.

When you buy qualifying Thunder Tiger boats through the end of April, you can get merchandise certificates ranging from $10 to $30. The boats included in this promo are the Victoria Yacht, Naulantia 1M Yacht, ETNZ 1M Yacht, Volans Trimaran Yacht, and the Neptune Static Diving Submarine.

On the helicopter side of the promo you can get a free Lipo battery with the purchase of a qualifying Mini Titan. The free battery is a 3S 11.1 volt 2200 mah pack, normally a $29 value. The helis included in this promo are the kit and ARF versions of the Mini Titan E325V2, plus the Mini Titan E325S. This promo also runs through the end of April.

To get more information on these promo’s simply click over to the official Thunder Tiger America Website.

For more Thunder Tiger news check out THIS link right here on BigSquidRC.