Ecx circuit vs Amp vs Traxxas latrax teton.

Jlhii

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Hey, so I'm basically brand new to Rc and looking on the low end of hobby grade. Those have been the ones I see most. I care most about availability/ease of getting parts, durability, and overall bang for your buck. Anyone have thoughts on what might be best?
 
It depends on where you will be driving, the Teton is basically on-road or dirt and gravel only no grass you will burn it up fast. If you plan to run on grass at all I would get the Circuit over the Amp all day every day, the Amp has a 2 in 1 esc/receiver, those units are normally not that great, they are glitchy, lacking in features and power.
 
It depends on where you will be driving, the Teton is basically on-road or dirt and gravel only no grass you will burn it up fast. If you plan to run on grass at all I would get the Circuit over the Amp all day every day, the Amp has a 2 in 1 esc/receiver, those units are normally not that great, they are glitchy, lacking in features and power.
I usually am on gravel and grass both. Do you have any suggestions of better options like the ruckus or something completely different or do you think (in that range of course) the circuit is pretty good?
 
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I love both Ruckus we have, but ECX is a discontinued brand. Even for very popular models like the 1/10 2wd lineup, parts are getting fewer and fewer. I’ve had to go to some pretty extreme lengths to keep our 4WD 1/10 running and not a shelf ornament.

I’d look into a Slash. It’s the fox body Mustang of the RC world. Been around forever, everyone has parts and knowledge for it, Swiss Army knife you can build it to suit what you’re going to do and change it at will
 
M
I love both Ruckus we have, but ECX is a discontinued brand. Even for very popular models like the 1/10 2wd lineup, parts are getting fewer and fewer. I’ve had to go to some pretty extreme lengths to keep our 4WD 1/10 running and not a shelf ornament.

I’d look into a Slash. It’s the fox body Mustang of the RC world. Been around forever, everyone has parts and knowledge for it, Swiss Army knife you can build it to suit what you’re going to do and change it at will
Thanks! I've seen those. Is one particular model better etc? I've heard that the durability of those sucks. Am I wrong? Like I said, I have no idea. Haha Just what I read.
 
M

Thanks! I've seen those. Is one particular model better etc? I've heard that the durability of those sucks. Am I wrong? Like I said, I have no idea. Haha Just what I read.

For those doing non-competition stuff, I actually think they are a very good value per $ buy, but that's just my personal opinion. Reliability is a really vague and subjective quality and has to do with a lot of factors, the most important of which is the mechanic/driver. You can take the most robust and hearty piece of equipment on Earth and give it to an irresponsible owner who abuses it, won't take accountability for that, and then say it's unreliable and the equipment's fault. There's an old saying to the effect of "only a bad mechanic blames his tools."

Someone could view my thread about our 2WD Ruckus and view the rate I break parts and say "what an unreliable piece of junk." But from my perspective, it was built to be a $149.99 entry level RTR that did 14-15mph across my lawn. At those speeds it didn't crash very much, it didn't jump very far, it didn't roll very much, it didn't get a lot of heat put in it. I could go run it for 15 minutes once a day every day and replace a part once a month. Now, at 50mph, losing traction when turning could mean a 25ft end over end tumble. It flies 25+ feet through the air landing from 5+ feet high. Soaking up uneven terrain of the lawn doing those speeds is hard even on upgraded long travel suspension. The motor builds a lot of heat from that stress and the drivetrain takes a lot of abuse from that big motor putting out power and sticky tires really gripping hard. I think it's very reasonable that I need bigger, tougher, more expensive parts to handle those stresses and they get broken/replaced at a more frequent rate.

All RC require maintenance and wear items - bearings, clutches, bolts torqued, clerances checked, things lubed. If you're the kind of person who mildly upgrades his stuff and cleans it after each run and blows it out and inspects everything and stays up to date on maintenance, 90% of the stuff out there is going to be just fine for you. If you're like a lot of these people on youtube and the forums that absolutely kicks the snot out of his stuff and tries to keep it running by cutting every corner and trying to never spend a cent...of course you're going to have a pile of junk held together with zip ties and hopes and prayers. You can take one look at an owners RC when he takes the body off - how much rust is on the bolt heads, how many zip ties are there, how many broken suspension plastics are wire tied or super glued back together, how much play is in the wheels, does it look dirty and dusty like its been sitting in a desert - and know what kind of owner it is - those will be the guys to bash brands and give any excuse in the book it's all anything or anyone's fault but them. You can also tell those of us that come from motorsport/competition background - you can play hard and go full send but also respect and maintain your equipment.
 
For those doing non-competition stuff, I actually think they are a very good value per $ buy, but that's just my personal opinion. Reliability is a really vague and subjective quality and has to do with a lot of factors, the most important of which is the mechanic/driver. You can take the most robust and hearty piece of equipment on Earth and give it to an irresponsible owner who abuses it, won't take accountability for that, and then say it's unreliable and the equipment's fault. There's an old saying to the effect of "only a bad mechanic blames his tools."

Someone could view my thread about our 2WD Ruckus and view the rate I break parts and say "what an unreliable piece of junk." But from my perspective, it was built to be a $149.99 entry level RTR that did 14-15mph across my lawn. At those speeds it didn't crash very much, it didn't jump very far, it didn't roll very much, it didn't get a lot of heat put in it. I could go run it for 15 minutes once a day every day and replace a part once a month. Now, at 50mph, losing traction when turning could mean a 25ft end over end tumble. It flies 25+ feet through the air landing from 5+ feet high. Soaking up uneven terrain of the lawn doing those speeds is hard even on upgraded long travel suspension. The motor builds a lot of heat from that stress and the drivetrain takes a lot of abuse from that big motor putting out power and sticky tires really gripping hard. I think it's very reasonable that I need bigger, tougher, more expensive parts to handle those stresses and they get broken/replaced at a more frequent rate.

All RC require maintenance and wear items - bearings, clutches, bolts torqued, clerances checked, things lubed. If you're the kind of person who mildly upgrades his stuff and cleans it after each run and blows it out and inspects everything and stays up to date on maintenance, 90% of the stuff out there is going to be just fine for you. If you're like a lot of these people on youtube and the forums that absolutely kicks the snot out of his stuff and tries to keep it running by cutting every corner and trying to never spend a cent...of course you're going to have a pile of junk held together with zip ties and hopes and prayers. You can take one look at an owners RC when he takes the body off - how much rust is on the bolt heads, how many zip ties are there, how many broken suspension plastics are wire tied or super glued back together, how much play is in the wheels, does it look dirty and dusty like its been sitting in a desert - and know what kind of owner it is - those will be the guys to bash brands and give any excuse in the book it's all anything or anyone's fault but them. You can also tell those of us that come from motorsport/competition background - you can play hard and go full send but also respect and maintain your equipment.
Yeah. I'm kind of the "let's go fast, do donuts, drifting and stuff" guy, but like taking it apart and cleaning it. I mean, it's like a real car, you can have the junker clunking down the road or the one with 500,000 miles on it. But I am curious. People always say blow it out and clean it. Does that mean strip it down after every use? And when it comes to the slash, there's like 5 of them. Is there one to go for /skip specifically or is it just kind of higher the price the better the model but any would do sort of thing? 2wd vs 4wd etc.?
 
Yeah. I'm kind of the "let's go fast, do donuts, drifting and stuff" guy, but like taking it apart and cleaning it. I mean, it's like a real car, you can have the junker clunking down the road or the one with 500,000 miles on it. But I am curious. People always say blow it out and clean it. Does that mean strip it down after every use? And when it comes to the slash, there's like 5 of them. Is there one to go for /skip specifically or is it just kind of higher the price the better the model but any would do sort of thing? 2wd vs 4wd etc.?

Are we talking like Arrma Infraction fast or like 40-50mph fast? 2wd is easiest to do donuts especially if the diff just has normal grease in it. The Slash is not really a good drifter out of the box, the 2wd you will just end up doing donuts and the 4wd will just dig in too much and roll over. You might get the 4wd to drift if you are on loose gravel or sand.

If you go 2wd I would go with the VXL model with the new trans in it https://traxxas.com/products/models/electric/58076-74slash-vxl-tsm
If 4wd I would go Slash Ultimate https://traxxas.com/products/models/electric/slash-4x4-ultimate literally the only things I would do to the 4x4 is add the center diff from the Hoss, add the Tekno Big Bore center driveshaft, change the tires to some Proline Badlands and buy a clear body.
 
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Are we talking like Arrma Infraction fast or like 40-50mph fast? 2wd is easiest to do donuts especially if the diff just has normal grease in it. The Slash is not really a good drifter out of the box, the 2wd you will just end up doing donuts and the 4wd will just dig in too much and roll over. You might get the 4wd to drift if you are on loose gravel or sand.

If you go 2wd I would go with the VXL model with the new trans in it https://traxxas.com/products/models/electric/58076-74slash-vxl-tsm
If 4wd I would go Slash Ultimate https://traxxas.com/products/models/electric/slash-4x4-ultimate literally the only things I would do to the 4x4 is add the center diff from the Hoss, add the Tekno Big Bore center driveshaft, change the tires to some Proline Badlands and buy a clear body.

What he said. If you're like me and you like to upgrade a lot of parts, I'd really just buy a used 4x4 on eBay that's got some of the legwork done already. Even the chassis you're probably going to swap at some point so unless you're that guy that just NEEDS the new car smell, save yourself a bucket of money. You could even go for a roller/slider (non running) if you plan on a specific ESC/motor swap.

By blow it out I mean just a cheap air compressor. Take the body off and blow everything out, all the loose dirt and grime and grass. That stuff eats up drivetrain parts eventually and I just don't appreciate that crap all over my work surface. I don't do a full tear down but I do a really good look over while I'm blowing it out for cracked plastics and loose bolts, especially if a specific area took a big hit.
 
Are we talking like Arrma Infraction fast or like 40-50mph fast? 2wd is easiest to do donuts especially if the diff just has normal grease in it. The Slash is not really a good drifter out of the box, the 2wd you will just end up doing donuts and the 4wd will just dig in too much and roll over. You might get the 4wd to drift if you are on loose gravel or sand.

If you go 2wd I would go with the VXL model with the new trans in it https://traxxas.com/products/models/electric/58076-74slash-vxl-tsm
If 4wd I would go Slash Ultimate https://traxxas.com/products/models/electric/slash-4x4-ultimate literally the only things I would do to the 4x4 is add the center diff from the Hoss, add the Tekno Big Bore center driveshaft, change the tires to some Proline Badlands and buy a clear body.
At the risk of sounding like that cheap guy, would buying a cheaper slash (229) and upgrading the parts like the transmission and going brushless later work just as well?
 
What he said. If you're like me and you like to upgrade a lot of parts, I'd really just buy a used 4x4 on eBay that's got some of the legwork done already. Even the chassis you're probably going to swap at some point so unless you're that guy that just NEEDS the new car smell, save yourself a bucket of money. You could even go for a roller/slider (non running) if you plan on a specific ESC/motor swap.

By blow it out I mean just a cheap air compressor. Take the body off and blow everything out, all the loose dirt and grime and grass. That stuff eats up drivetrain parts eventually and I just don't appreciate that crap all over my work surface. I don't do a full tear down but I do a really good look over while I'm blowing it out for cracked plastics and loose bolts, especially if a specific area took a big hit.
I've been looking but my only concern with that. I'm very new. Knowing what's good, bad, what parts to change and how...not there yet. 🤷‍♂️ I'm working on it but still. Any advice would be great though
 
At the risk of sounding like that cheap guy, would buying a cheaper slash (229) and upgrading the parts like the transmission and going brushless later work just as well?
Yes, but it can cost more in the long run doing it that way. I lucked out with my Stamped and my Slashpede 4x4 I paid $160 for the both of them but have spent a lot more than that getting them where I want them.
 
Yes, but it can cost more in the long run doing it that way. I lucked out with my Stamped and my Slashpede 4x4 I paid $160 for the both of them but have spent a lot more than that getting them where I want them.
I'd love to find a deal like that! But even so, if I did end up with the lower one, what parts/labor would it take to make it identical to the vxl (or close) if you know without a lot of looking. The thing is, I have a lower per month budget. 🤷‍♂️ 400+ is a bit much for my liking while I'm so new.
 
Yes, but it can cost more in the long run doing it that way. I lucked out with my Stamped and my Slashpede 4x4 I paid $160 for the both of them but have spent a lot more than that getting them where I want them.
And Ni-mah vs lipo. Not sure how that works with brushed, not brushed, escs etc as I'll have to think about all that.
 
Yes, but it can cost more in the long run doing it that way. I lucked out with my Stamped and my Slashpede 4x4 I paid $160 for the both of them but have spent a lot more than that getting them where I want them.

Even if both were rollers that’s a steal you got. Pricing in the off season versus pricing in the season for RC is craaaaasazy different
 
I was looking for the trans for my Stampede and the best price I found for everything that is needed is $89.94 before shipping.
About $60 for a rebranded Hobbywing ebay esc.
About $30 for an eBay motor.
About $20 for the turnbuckles and camber links.

Lipo over nimh, nimh is old dated tech and they just do not make sense to use it todays world.
 
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Even if both were rollers that’s a steal you got. Pricing in the off season versus pricing in the season for RC is craaaaasazy different
Nope paid $45 for the 2wd Stampede and it came with literally everything. All I had to do was charge the battery guy even left he batteries in the remote. The Stampede 4x4 was $115 and all I had to do was toss a battery in it and it ran but was in dire need of a rebuild.
The 2pede https://www.rctalk.com/forum/threads/rebuilding-the-2pede.130112/
The Slashpede 4x4 https://www.rctalk.com/forum/threads/stampede-4x4-vxl.123205/
 
I was looking for the trans for my Stampede and the best price I found for everything that is needed is $89.94 before shipping.
About $60 for a rebranded Hobbywing ebay esc.
About $30 for an eBay motor.
About $20 for the turnbuckles and camber links.

Lipo over nimh, nimh is old dated tech and they just do not make sense to use it todays world.
Where those prices for the slash or talking about your stampede? Even if I bought the lower one, would I have to modify it to use lipo out of box?
 
Where those prices for the slash or talking about your stampede? Even if I bought the lower one, would I have to modify it to use lipo out of box?
Only a few differences between the Slash and Stampede, mainly chassis, wheels, tires, bumpers and body, they share a vast majority of their parts. Nope the manual shows you how to change the esc from NIMH mode to Lipo mode.
 

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