ASK Cubby, 03.19.2014, Version- You Provide the Questions, I Provide the Nonsense
“New rig purchase
Hey Cubby,
Not sure if this is where my question should go to? So here it goes!
First I want to say I love your site! Has helped out tremendously! The layout is awesome as well! Ok on to my question! I’ve been into RC fun probably my whole life, but really into it about 5 yrs. I own a fully upgraded pede’ 4×4 vxl, and a Merv! Both I luv and are great to bash! I’m in the market for something different, I had my eye on two and wanted an honest real opinion, not a HS trying to sell me something . Was looking at the new 1/10 Losi SCTE 4×4 coming out in may and the Axial Yeti 1/10 (blue body) I’ve heard mixed reviews on the yeti as it’s slow, not durable etc. Needs a ton of upgrades out the box! I wanted something 4×4, brushless,lipo ready, and with nice upgraded stuff already, like how the losi SCTE has. Dont plan on racing, maybe a track run on rare occasions? Something in the 500$ limit range with readily parts available down the road. I’m an adult so I take care of my stuff! Ha!
Ty very much for your time! I really appreciate it! And if this isn’t the correct place for this email sorry!
Regards
Mike S.”
Cubby- Congrats on hit’n the big time Mike, we will gladly ship you a BSRC sticker pack should you email us your snail mail address.
Thanks for the props Mikeee, glad we could be of some help to you.
So… you want to know which one to buy, one of the Troy Lee Designs Losi SCTEs or an Axial Yeti. Here is how I see it…
Being a moto guy, a TLD SCTE is extra trick. It comes with AVC, which isn’t at its best in a 4wd, but it will still be amazing. Speaking of amazing, the SCTE handles great on the track, while still being a top notch basher. And… it will be significantly different than the other trucks you’ve owned. The one downside of the SCTE? It is a short course truck with a large body that will lead to some parachute effect when hitting jumps on a windy day.
About the Yeti- it is one of the, if not the single hottest, release in recent years. It is also quite different than what you’ve owned before and it is a very capable basher. Its claim to fame is its scale authentic looks and its solid rear axle which can come in real handy if you ever decide to go on a trail drive. It is plenty fast on 3S, and while it might have a couple of weak spots, part of the fun of owning a scale type vehicle is mod’ing it out.
I am also going to throw one more vehicle out there to ya, an 8th scale buggy. They are great handling, most are rock reliable, and with their bigger power systems they get some massive airtime.
Don’t be a stranger and be sure to let us know what you ended up with.
“Dromida Review
Hi Cubby,
I saw the Dromida BX4.18 at my LHS, but I resisted the urge to buy until I did a little research. Not many people have much bad to say about it, and to be honest I thought the B- you gave it was a bit harsh considering that it was a recommended buy and your “go to” car. However, based on your review, I picked one up.
A few years ago I was strictly a heli guy. I mainly flew big gassers with the Zenoah G-230 engines (same engine that goes in 1/5th HPI Buggies), but I did have a love of micro electrics too. Then I switched to planks for the more relaxed flying style, and the less expensive crashes. I flew a few ARFs but now enjoy building my planes from sticks and plans. So I do have years of RC experience under my belt. The Dromida was my first car ever. I bought it for the price point mainly. I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy cars, so I didn’t want to lay out a ton of cash, just in case cars weren’t my thing.
I was pleasantly surprised. Right out the box this car was fun. I have rounded curbs in my driveway and I must have jumped it 1000 times. Tough as nails. However the one thing that bothered me was the brushed motor and speed. I have a lot of experience with micro helicopter brushed motors, and most of those needed replacing after an hour or so of airtime, and they lacked power lacked power.
I converted my BX to brushless a few days ago. However I didn’t use the Hop Up kit provided by Hobbico. I installed a Castle Micro Mamba, and 0808 5300KV motor. I also changed the servo to a Hyperion GS11GCB. It was an old digital heli tail servo I had laying around, and the servo saver fit. I also am using a FlySky GTB3 tx and rx. Like you guys, I wasn’t getting the range out of the stock radio that this car deserves. I’m using a EletriFly 3S 30C 1300 Lipo (I have a couple that I rotate). I pull about 900 mah off in about 15 minutes. The car screams. I drove it on a combination of pavement (driveway and asphalt), rocks and dirt. My son was teasing me for playing with cars until he saw the speed and ask to drive it. He’s 26 and he’s had the Wal-Mart electrics before and got over them quick, but he’s addicted now.
So here are my thoughts:
– The motor mount is not universal. With helis, I could mount any electric motor I chose to use as long as it was efficient to do so. Why not here? You’ll need to fabricate a mount of your own, or hang your motor with one bolt and some threadlock. You can use two bolts, but you can’t get the gear mesh correct. It’s either too loose or too tight.
– The wheels did not last two days on brushless power, and I don’t just mean the tires, I mean the wheels. The two front wheels are broken or cracked on the inside. The rubber is another story. In two days of casual bashing, I now have slicks and very little traction. I can literally 360 on a dime in my driveway (before I broke the wheels. The sad part is they aren’t 12 mm hex and you have to buy an upgrade so you can use other wheels. Which I’ve done, I’m just waiting on the brown truck. I’ve purchased the Hex adaptor and RC18TB wheels (I also picked up a RC18TB kit and I’m going to build my own, but that’s another story).
– I’ve broken a dog bone, chewed up the inside of the axle and watched
as a wheel rolled down the street.– The plastic shocks quit working and one bent.
The good news?:
Luckily my LHS carries spare parts, and I ordered spares from Tower a few days ago. I replaced the the dogbones, axles, and shocks with aluminum, and they were working fine until I broke the wheels. I’ve decided to spend $27 dollars on direct fit Dromida 5300KV motor, $6 bucks on the 12mm Hex adapter, $20 bucks on a set of RC18TB mounted tires,$8 dollars on the Dromida brushless rx, and $50 bucks on a Castle Micro Sidewinder ESC, and give it as a gift to my son that doesn’t really have the time to break it. It was fun out of the box. It’s great to dink around with as a newbie, and a great addiction starter, but I don’t think it transitions well to more power and the hop up kits should not be recommended.
Thanks for your initial review. Other than the B minus, I thought it was fair. I just wanted to follow up with some thoughts.
Rob S.”
Cubby- Yo hey Rob, congrats on making it to ASK Cubby, give us a snail mail so we can ship ya some stickers.
First off- wow, now that’s a long email. Forgive me for not reading it all, after all I am busy doing things like busting out fast runs on Mad Skills 2, sniping Hublots on eBay, and coming up with marketing strategies for clueless rc companies.
So… you didn’t like our “B-” grade on a Dromida review that we did, then you go into your thoughts on the Dromida BX you picked up. Yes, indeed, we do use various Dromida vehicles on nearly a daily basis, they rarely break (in stock form) and are great little bash machines. The Dromida line has also been a good seller, hence the reason many hobby shops carry plenty of spare parts. The parts are cheap and many fit across the entire line, making it super easy for hobby shops to stock spare parts.
About running a 20mm Castle Creations motor in the Dromida, I just happened to install one a few weeks ago for a project we are working on. I installed a 4200kV unit that had different hole patterns tapped into the motor. One of the bolt patterns was a perfect fit for the Dromida’s motor mount so using both screws was not an issue. Also, I don’t remember having any problem setting the gear mesh. I may have used a drill to elongate one of the mounting holes, but like I said it has been a few weeks and I may have done that to another car, who knows.
That’s it, I am done for this week. Be sure to get your vote in on our March Bashness Contest and feel free to shoot me an email, Cubby at BigSquidRC dot com. Until next week, have fun, go fast, turn left, and any letter that hits the big time will get its author a free BSRC sticker pack. Furthermore, if your letter is declared as the best of the month, you’ll win a free BSRC t-shirt.
YOUR Cub Reporter
