LOSI, once a brand for racers only, is now a company known as much for great bash machines. Over the last few weeks we’ve been driving, jumping, crashing, and generally abusing the Tenacity MT Monster Truck. It is a pure basher with big tires, 4wd, and AVC stability control. It even comes with a FPV camera mount. What did the BigSquidRC Bash Crew think of it? Can it take a beating? How well does it jump? Keep on reading to find what we thought of the LOSI Tenacity MT bash machine from Horizon Hobby…
From: LOSI
Direct Link: Tenacity MT Monster Truck
Review By: Thomas Wielgomas
Photography By: Thomas Wielgomas
Specs:
RTR or Kit: RTR
Age: 14+
2wd or 4wd: 4wd
Shaft or Belt: Shaft
Electric or Gas: Electric
Waterproof: Yes
Scale: 1/10th
Length: 20″ or 51cm
Width: 13.2″ or 33.5cm
Wheelbase: 13″ or 33cm
Weight: 5.3 lb
Motor: Dynamite Fuze 550 sized, 3800kV
Speed Controller: Dynamite Fuze 130A brushless
Low Voltage Cut-off: Yes
Servo: Spektrum S605
Radio: Spektrum DX2E 2.4GHz with AVC stability control
Differential: 3 gear style diffs
Slipper Clutch: No
Driveshafts: CVD style front & rear, bones in center
Shocks: 12mm, oil filled, plastic bodies & caps
Servo Saver: In steering rack
Screws: Hex hardware
Spur/Pinion Pitch: 1.0 Module
Bearings: Yes, sealed
Tires: LOSI, off-road tread
Battery: Not included
Part Number: #LOS03012T1
Warranty: “Horizon Hobby warranties the product to be free of defects at the date of purchase.”
Bashing Specs:
Front wheel travel: 2.4″ – 6cm
Rear wheel travel: 2.7″ – 7cm
Wheelie on demand: Sometimes
Backflip off ramps: Yes
Stability Control: Yes, Spectrum AVC
Sound Module: No
Self-Righting: No
FPV: camera mount included
Top Speed (measured by BSRC on 2S 5000): 28 mph or 45 km/h
Runtime (measured by BSRC on 2S 5000): 10 minutes
Street Price: $399
Primary Competition: The Tenacity MT faces some major competition like the Traxxas Stampede 4×4, the ECX Ruckus 4×4, the Proline Pro MT 4×4, and the Arrma Granite 4×4 BLX, to name just a few.
What’s Needed To Complete: You will need to supply a 2 or 3S LiPo battery and a charger.
Build Quality: We found a couple of loose screws on our review sample. One of them was a nut tightening the bolt that keeps lower end of the c-hub in place. It would have peen a pain in the butt to loose it, because most people do not have a spare lying around. It might have been due to the fact that it was a review sample, so just make sure all your crews are tight, before you go out bashing. The wheel nuts were tight and the tires were well glued. The gear mesh was spot on, the shocks were well built and not leaking. LOSI even used velcro tape to attach the body to the chassis in order to keep some dirt out.
Test Drivers: Our Germany crew, Thomas a.k.a. Tommy Chong, Kai and André were the people responsible for torturing our test unit.
Test Venues: Some local bash spots, a construction area, a large parking lot, a skatepark and a puddle.
Set-up Notes: Just like in all of our reviews, we tried to test the LOSI box stock. Our sample came installed with a 12T pinion and was already set up for 3s power. Usually it sports a 14T pinion for 2s operation. Thus it was a little on the slow side on 2s (28 mph), but on 3s it turned into a beast with lots of speed. We used a Traxxas 3S 25c 5000mAh pack and a Yuki Brainergy 2S 6000mAh 45C unit for our review. Battery charging duties were handled by a SkyRC D100V2.
Turning: Just like a real race machine, the LOSI had a ton of steering. The stock tires did a good job keeping it’s front wheels on track in corners. The rear was quite loose in turns, making it easy to “point and shoot” around tight corners. The aggressive cornering of the Tenacity MT is great for seasoned drivers but can make the truck hard to handle for first timers.
Jumping: Because the Tenacity MT runs a center diff, it is easier to jump than some of the other trucks in its class. It responds well on trigger inputs in the air, but not as abrupt as a truck with no center diff. You can compare the air control with that of a 1/8 scale buggy. To make it flip more easily you need to replace the center diff oil with a thicker one. The suspension did a great job on landings, and the general geometry of the suspension borrowed from the Losi 8ight racing platform seemed to do a great job of launching the truck straight off of jump faces. The LOSI really is a pleasure to jump and is generally easy to keep level while airborne.
Bumps/Whoops: The LOSI Tenacity MT is a really well handling truck over rough terrain. It pounded over bumps like some of it’s bigger scale brothers and it did not seem to be impressed by them. The suspension geometry and settings are top notch for gnarly terrain.
On-Road: Even though a Monster Truck’s terrain is off-road, the Tenacity MT also did a great job on-road. The truck has a low center of gravity for a monster truck and a long wheelbase, making it a lot of fun when driven on pavement. Of course it can and sometimes does traction roll when cornered hard at speed, but once you learn to ease into corners it can be driven quite aggressively without flipping. The AVC does a great job on the Tenacity MT, especially on pavement. If you do a lot of driving on pavement, the LOSI will impress you with great performance.
Grass: The LOSI is an animal in grass. The tires are well suited for grass running, while it’s 4wd and gnarly power system make it rocket over/through normal height grass. Just watch the motor temp when running in grass, especially with the stock 14T gearing.
Tires: The stock tires did a great job for RTR units. Soft, open cell foam comes inside and we found that they were best suited for running in loam, but still had decent grip on pavement. We really liked how they worked in grass and loved how they rocked on water. Yes, the stockers did awesome when hydroplaning a puddle. It was not a lake and we do not recommend trying them out on one, but they easily made the truck hover over water. Awesome!
Power: No worries here, the LOSI Tenacity MT has great power right out of the box. The speedo feels a little soft right off the bottom with a short delay on trigger input, but rips through the mid-range and has tremendous power on top. On 3S it turns into a true monster. The ESC even supports 4S operation, but you will need to swap the motor if you do not want it to end up burning.
Radio: The LOSI comes with the Spektrum DX2E which we found to be a solid RTR unit. We didn’t experience any glitching and it had more range than we needed during our testing. The reason the Tenacity MT comes with the DX2E is to help run AVC electronic stability control, which we rarely use in 4wd vehicles, but found it extremely handy on this one. With the loose rear end on the LOSI, the AVC was able to immediately calm down its handling, thus making it easy for even noobs to drive. Back in the early days of AVC, the stability control would limit turning radius, but we didn’t feel that was the case on this truck. Even with the AVC turned way up it could still make tight corners.
Durability: If you want to be one of the best trucks in this product category, you better be extremely tough. The body is a beauty but seemed a bit on the thin side. The first landing on its roof left a 6 inch long crack across the hood. Temperatures were in their 90s, so they were not responsible. Granted it did land upside-down on pavement, but from a truck at this price point, you’d expect a much more durable body. Then again, it did what bodies are there for – it protected the stuff underneath. So do yourself a favour and tape the body or better shoe goo it, before you go out for the first time to hit the bash spots. The rest took a pretty good beating and came back to ask for more. In the end we did break a few parts here and there, but less than we expected.
Misc Notes:
The Tenacity MT comes with a paper manual with a fully exploded parts layout. This makes it easy to get part numbers when you break or wear something out.
The Tenacity MT comes with a bottom loading battery tray. It keeps the Lipo in a safe place, but you may still need to take the body off in order to plug the cables. You can reach up and under, but it’s not easy. The best way to get the battery tray open is to use a coin.
The Tenacity MT does not come with adjustable turnbuckles which makes it easy to not to screw up camber or toe and they are actually fine for bashing.
The Tenacity MT comes with a steel drivetrain. We really liked that fact, because it holds up much better against all the brushless power system.
The slight delay in throttle right off the bottom was sometimes a little bit annoying. It is possible to program a better punch into the ESC though. Consult the included manual for instructions on how to do so. We also like the fact that the car came with an oversized speedo. It gives you the possibility to run an 1/8-scale motor at 4s. The pitch 1.0 module also helps not to strip any gears.
Best Mods: Tape or shoe goo the body, you will not regret it. Install the included 12T pinion if it does not already come equipped with it. If you want to make it flip more while catching air, you might want to put a thicker silicone oil into the middle diff.
Summary:
A = Outstanding/Best in Class, B = Above Average, C = Average, D = Below Average, F = Horrific
Time To Bash: B If you want the body to withstand hard landings on its roof, you better tape or shoe goo it. Also make sure that all the screws are tight. These two things should be considered for most bashers though. Generally, it takes very little time to take the Tenacity MT from the box to the bash spot. Pop in the included AA batteries for the transmitter, slide in a fully charged LiPo, and you are ready to do some extreme bashing.
Workability: B+ The Tenacity MT uses a relatively open layout with hex hardware that we found easy to work on.
Car Show Rating: B Our review drivers all found the Tenacity MT to be an attractive truck. Especially the body has a sharp look.
Bash-A-Bility: B Our test truck was quite tough. The BigSquidRC Bash Crew pounded on the truck for weeks with very few broken parts. The steels drivetrain is a big plus in it’s class.
Fun Factor: A Bashing the Tenacity MT is a ton of fun. Especially on 3s it has su much power and great overall handling that is will put a big smile on your face.
Handling: B+ The Tenacity MT handles really well on a wide variety of surfaces and is right on par, if not better, than a lot of its competitors.
Value: B+ There might be cheaper Monster Trucks, but a lot of the Tenacity MT competitors are higher priced. Overall this truck has a great “bang for the buck” in its class. You get a whole lotta truck for what you pay.
Parts Availability: C Parts for the Tenacity MT are easily available on-line but you won’t find them at every local hobby shop.
BigSquid Rating: B+ The LOSI Tenacity MT is a fantastic bash truck. It has great handling and the type of power that “extreme” bashers will appreciate. It gave us hours of fun, and after a beating it came back and asked for more. This is what a great monster truck should be like.
