Here we go folks, here’s our review of the Rlaarlo 1/8 Dragon Scale Knight 4WD Brushless RTR. Rlaarlo has made a huge splash in the American RC market in recent years. Their rock crawlers, as well as other products, have proven to be not only good looking, but also very reliable. Their latest release, the 8th scale DSK RTR buggy, promises to be the best basher on the market, period. Does it live up to the promises? Is it a viable racer, even in RTR form? Kick the tires and light the fires, lets get on with the full review below.
From: Rlaarlo
Direct Link: Rlaarlo 1/8 Dragon Scale Knight 4WD RTR Brushless Buggy
Review By: Cubby
Pictures By: T-Money
Specs-
RTR or Kit: RTR
Age: 14+
2wd or 4wd: 4wd
Shaft or Belt: Shaft
Electric or Gas: Electric
Scale: 1/8
Width (measured by BSRC): 12.2″
Wheelbase (measured by BSRC): 13.0″
Motor: Brushless 4274-2050Kv
Speed Controller: 6S 180 amp brushless
Low Voltage Cut-off: Yes
Radio: 2.4GHz
Differential: 3 gear diffs
Driveshafts:
Shocks: Oil filled, threaded, aluminum bodies
Screws: Hex
Battery: Not included
Street Price: $499
Build Quality: After cracking the box open, we passed the DSK around the room and didn’t find any fault with its build quality. The shocks felt good with no leakage, the diffs felt dialed, and everything looked and felt as it should.
Test Drivers: Your ever so witty Cub Reporter, Hawaiian Chris, Iron Mikeee, and T-$$$.
Test Venues: We are lucky to have the iconic St Louis Dirtburners outdoor 1/8th off-road track at our disposal during the week for testing. This track has hosted numerous big races and has had many IFMAR world champions spin laps on it. While Dirtburners was the perfect venue for track testing, we also went to some of our local parks to get a feel for it on the bashing side.
Set-up Notes: Per our normal, we tested the DSK bone stock. We did a small amount of pre-load adjustment on the shocks to accommodate for the weight of the 4S LiPo batteries that we used, which were MaxAmps. Once we had the buggy bones level front and rear, popped in some AAs to the transmitter, and charged up a couple 4S packs, we were dialed for testing. We did not do any testing on 6S, even though the power system is 6S capable.
Turning: Ya know, we could post that it had a bit too much steering and not be lying. We could also post that it had a bit of push going into corners, also without lying. You see, the LiPo packs we used weren’t as long as the stock battery box, so we could easily adjust the steering by where we positioned the battery. If we slid the pack all the way to the front, the buggy had a ton of steering and left the rear a bit loose. If we slid the pack all the way to the back, the front had a bit of push, while the rear was quite planted. The moral of our story here is, simply by moving the battery forwards of backwards, we could achieve about any type of steering we wished, bone stock.
When driving on our local racetrack, we tended to run the battery all the way forward, giving us loads of bite up front. For bashing, we tended to run the battery back a bit, to help prevent traction rolling and to give the buggy a bit more front end lightness when pounding rough sections. A lot of buggies react like this, but we feel like the DSK had nearly a perfect amount of adjustment in this manner. Some of our drivers love a lot of front grip, while some of our other test drivers prefer a buggy with a bit of push going into corners. We want you to know that no matter what your driving style is, you’ll be able to get dialed-in pretty quickly with the DSK.
Jumping: Oh yes, the DSK is an absolute beast for jumping. Right off the start of our review process, we had Hawaiian Chris hit some jumps at the track to get some pictures in the bank. We’ve reviewed cars in the past that broke easily, so we tend to go super soft at the start of testing. However, on one of the first jumps we ever did with the DSK, the combo of big power and lots of traction on the track, resulted in Hawaiian Chris turning a double-double section, into one enormous quad! The other local racers at the track were a bit alarmed to say the least, but every single one of them was blown away with what the bone stock DSK was doing out on the track.
So just how did the DSK actually do while in the air? Like most 8th scaled buggies, it jumped really well. It is 4wd with a center diff, which made the buggy a real pleasure to air-out. Bringing up the nose was no problem thanks to its big brushless power, and dropping the nose was very easy with a tap of the brakes. Take offs were generally a pleasure, even on rough ramp faces, with landings being soaked up in good nature via it’s shocks.
Bumps/Whoops: Our local track was actually quite smooth during our test days. Dirtburners tends to be extremely rough after big races, but while we were doing testing, it was in good condition. To really test how the DSK handled the gnarly stuff we hit a local park that is well known for rough stretches. After putting a few packs through the DSK and hitting the worst bumps we could find, we found the DSK was an absolute beast in the rough. The DSK generally stayed flat and level, allowing us to really throttle through the nasty sections. Are there better buggies through the rough stuff? Well, we actually tested it right next to one of our older bashing buggies that is generally considered to be the best and the DSK did every bit as well. The main take away here is the DSK can go through the rough stuff with the best of the best without giving any quarter.
On-Road: A lot of people choose 8th scaled buggies for pavement bashing because of their speed and durability. The DSK proved it is definitely solid on both counts. The stock brushless system has plenty of yank for cul-de-sac bashing, and it’s about as tough as they come. We’ve yet to reach the “tire” category here in the review, but the only downside to the DSK on pavement was a bit of traction rolling that was caused by the somewhat edgy stock off-road tires.
Grass: We found the DSK to be an absolute unit in the grass. 4wd, big power, and tires that worked really well in grass, made it loads of fun to drive in grassy areas. Once again, the DSK would traction roll from time to time because of the stock tires, but in a straight line it was just an animal. If the main area you bash is grass, you will love the DSK.
Tires: Ok, we’ve finally made it to the “tire” area of the review and the stock kicks were great in some areas, and not so good in others. On the up side, they had really good traction in a straight line. Not just on pavement, not just on grass or dirt, but pretty much everywhere. On the downside, their outer edge wasn’t quite rounded enough, so we saw traction rolling on most surfaces. The only exception was on the slicker parts (hardpacked with dust on top) of the off-road track we tested at. While the DSK as a whole is a great buggy, changing tires is one of the few mods that we would recommend right off the bat.
Power: Oh, you are the kind of driver that likes big power? Ya, that’s us too and the DSK did not disappoint. It’s got more than enough power to have fun speed running, plus it’s got more than enough power for off-road racing, even at a very high level. We only drove the DSK on 4S, but that was more than enough for our needs, no matter where we were testing at. If all you do is speed runs, yes, you’ll definitely want to consider installing more wattage, but for 90%+ of “normal” drivers, the stock power system is plenty.
Radio: We didn’t really notice the transmitter much, which is a good thing. It worked easily enough for us and we never noticed any glitching at all. On the downside, every time we tapped the brakes, they tended to stay on until we gave the transmitter another trigger input. It wasn’t terribly bad, but still it was something that kept us from driving the buggy as hard as we wanted to.
Broken Parts: As noted earlier in our review, we didn’t take it easy on the DSK, even on the very first pack. We basically drove it like we stole it from the very first pull of the trigger. After considerable abuse, we were pretty amazed at how few problems the buggy had. After some really full-send jumping, the rear shocks lost a lot of their damping. We’ve yet to tear them apart to see what really happened, but for the amount of abuse we put the DSK through, we have to say the DSK is the most durable 8th scaled buggy we’ve ever reviewed, and we’ve tested some incredibly tough rigs. The Dirtburners track is the kind that is known for getting really hardpacked during the week and can destroy 8th scalers left and right, yet the DSK walked away from track testing in one whole piece. We lawn darted the new quad Hawaiian Chris created a couple of times with no issue, something we don’t think we could have done with any other 8th scaled buggy at that particular track. After numerous packs of driving it like escaped mental patients, even we are amazed that the DSK is still together. Insert long slow clapping here, as the DSK overperformed on durability, something we rarely see.
Misc Notes:
The body on the DSK is attached via both clips and Velcro. When doing hardcore bashing, two methods of keeping a body secure is better than just one.
We were pretty amazed just how cool the motor was during our testing period. No, we didn’t test on super hot days, but the average ambient temp was around 72 degrees Fahrenheit. The brushless motor puts out loads of power, but is geared properly and comes with a fan to keep it from getting too hot. There are lots of RTR 8th scale buggies on the market where the motor runs wayyy too hot, that just isn’t an issue on the DSK.
A clamping aluminum servo horn comes standard. Nice touch, as that’s usually one of the first upgrades on many RTRs.
The aluminum chassis not only looks amazing, but is also totally up for hardcore bashing.
Inside the box you’ll also find a very nice aluminum wheel nut wrench. Sweet!
Also inside the box you’ll find everything needed to switch over to a dual battery pack set-up. If you don’t like the stock single pack set-up, thanks to the supplied parts, you can easily convert it over to side by side packs.
Thank you Rlaarlo for supplying a large paper manual! Yes, we are old school, but having a paper manual is just easier for some folks than squinting at a small phone display.
We’ve worked with a lot of people in the rc industry over the last 2 decades, but Rlaarlo just might be the nicest. As many of you consumers already know, Rlaarlo is setting a new standard for communication with their car owners and business partners. Way to crush it on the customer service side Rlaarlo!
Summary: Yes, the Rlaarlo Dark Scale Knight is the BEST 1/8th scaled buggy that money can buy. Nope, it doesn’t have a huge price point, what it does have is incredibly passionate people behind the product. Our DSK held up to hardcore bashing better than any other 1/8th scale buggy we’ve ever tested. Plus, it can put in fast laps just like a full race buggy. If you are in the market for a new hardcore bash-mobile, or a weekend 1/8th racer, your money is best spent on the Rlaarlo DSK.
