Short course trucks are still hot for good reason, they have great scale looks and typically make solid bashers. Today we’ll be taking a close look at the latest short course truck from Losi, the XXX-SCT Brushless RTR with AVC. Is it fast? How much bashing can it take before breaking? Does it handle well? It is worth your hard earned cash?
From: Losi RC
Direct Link: XXX-SCT Brushless
Unboxing Pictures: BSRC Unboxes the XXX-SCT Brushless
Review By: Cubby
Pictures By: Tim Mohr
Specs:
RTR or Kit: RTR
Age: 14+
2wd or 4wd: 2wd
Electric or Gas: Electric
Waterproof: Yes
Scale: 1/10
Length: 21.65″
Width: 11.45″
Wheelbase: 12.95″
Motor: Dynamite 540 3300kV
Speed Controller: Dynamite 45 amp non-sensored brushless
Low Voltage Cut-off: Yes
Radio: Spektrum DX2E with AVC stability control
Differential: Gear type
Slipper Clutch: Yes
Driveshafts: CVA
Gear Ratio: 2.43:1
Shocks: Oil type, pre-load clamps, metal bodies
Servo Saver: In steering rack
Screws: Hex
Spur/Pinion Pitch: 48 pitch
Bearings: Yes
Tires: Losi Eclipse SCT
Battery: 2S 3000mAh LiPO for truck and 4 AA cells for transmitter
Part Number: #LOS03002
Top Speed (measured by BSRC): 35 mph on included battery
Runtime: 10 minutes on included battery
Warranty: “free from defects in materials and workmanship at the date of purchase”
Street Price: $349
Primary Competition: HPI Blitz Flux, Associated SC10 RS RTR, ARRMA Fury BLX, ECX Torment Brushless
What’s Needed To Complete: Nothing at all, everything you need comes in the box.
Build Quality: Everything was good out of the box. Screws were tight but not stripped, the pinion/spur mesh was spot on, and we didn’t find anything binding.
Test Drivers: Sam “The Noob”, Iron Mikeee, Robbie “Ricky Bobbie”, Tim “The Factory Guy”, and yours truly.
Test Venues: St Louis Dirtburners outdoor 8th scale off-road track, Minnie Ha Ha Park in Fenton Missouri, Belleville Illinois City Park, Arnold Missouri City Park, and of course our local friendly CostCo parking lot.
Set-up Notes: We ran the XXX-SCT bone stock but did not use the supplied battery charger. We opted to use a Hitec X1 Pro to charge the included LiPO battery.
Turning: The higher the bite of the surface, the better the XXX-SCT handled. On rough pavement and damp hard packed dirt the front would bite and turn in with authority while the rear would track smartly behind it. On low bite surfaces the XXX-SCT had some push at corner entry. Our favorite way of corning on loose dirt was by stabbing the brakes to plant the front and to help rotate the rear.
Jumping: Compared to most other 2wd SCTs the Losi is a good jumper. All of our testing was outdoors so we noticed a fair amount of parachute effect, but when there was no wind, the Losi was fairly easy to control in the air. A hard tap of the brakes would lightly lower the nose, while a hard stab of the gas would slowly rotate the nose upwards. Sideways landings were soaked up nicely, as were wood ramps jumps to concrete.
Bumps/Whoops: The Losi tends to be quite stable in the rough, but perhaps not quite as well behaved as a couple of the other trucks in its class. When pounding a rutted section on the track, or pinning it WFO through a loamy dirt area, the XXX-SCT remained relatively straight and controlled.
On-Road: No, the Losi was never designed for on-road use, but if you bash your truck will end up on pavement sooner or later. The good news with the XXX-SCT is that it is a total blast to drive on-road. Its copious power and grippy tires give it great speed on-road. It generally turned quite well on-road, although it would traction roll when turned quickly at speed.
Grass: The XXX-SCT gets around ok in short to medium grass, but in the tall stuff its low right height and race style tires hold it back.
Tires: Losi Eclipse SCT tires come stock on the truck and we found they gave their best traction on pavement and on hard packed dirt. They aren’t super soft like an uber race tire, nor are they too hard. The tires on our test truck showed very little wear after a dozen packs of testing, the only place they don’t do well is in deep loamy dirt and mud.
Power: Yes, there is a lot of power on tap. Low end yank off the line is impressive, it rips quickly through the mid-range, and the top end is every bit what the stock chassis can handle. When doing high speed passes we found the truck had more than enough power to wheelie at any speed. At the track we found if you had the traction to put the power down that you could easily clear any jump on the track. If you are disappointed with the power output of the XXX-SCT you are more sadistic than we are.
Radio: Included with the truck is one of the updated Spektrum DX2E radio systems. Range is more than enough for typical bashing and we didn’t experience glitching of any type. The ergonomics work well for most hands but we were not fans of the hard plastic covering that is used on the wheel.
Broken Parts: Being winter in the Midwest means two things- cold temps and plenty of moisture, we had both while testing the XXX-SCT. The coldest test day was 25 F, while the warmest of the bunch of 50. Even though the temps were not optimal our XXX-SCT held up well. The drivetrain was rock solid and the plastic held up well considering the temps. We did end up breaking the rear inner hinge pin mount and a rear hub when catching a pipe stake on a triple jump, but overall the truck held up well.
Misc Notes:
We did not experience any cogging on the truck, but like several Losi vehicles we have tested lately, it didn’t like to go into reverse. If you slam the trigger into reverse it will typically ignore the order, if you ease the trigger into reverse it will usually go.
Maybe we haven’t driven enough short course trucks lately, or maybe it was because it was so windy while we were testing, but it seemed like the XXX-SCT exhibited a lot of parachute effect.
The steering servo felt a bit slow to some of our testers but did get the job done.
We gave the truck some pretty extensive water testing and it came out smelling like a rose.
Those big bumpers on the XXX-SCT are great for slamming into things, which of course we did in abundance while testing.
The AVC system came in particularly handy on the XXX-SCT. Between it having mucho loco power and the big body wanting to lift the truck off the ground during wind gusts, the AVC helped make the truck much more drivable. Our noob drivers cranked up the AVC knob on the transmitter to almost 100%, while our experienced drivers typically dialed in around 50%. AVC on the XXX-SCT can take the truck from nearly undrivable on a slick surface to nearly perfectly in control.
Best Mod: A high quality waterproof servo would be high on our list, as would upgrade tires better suited to more general bashing conditions.
Summary:
A = Outstanding/Best in Class, B = Above Average, C = Average, D = Below Average, F = Horrific
Time To Bash: B With everything you need in the box, the XXX-SCT is very easy to go from tailgate to terra firma.
Workability: B The XXX-SCT uses a standard layout that is very easy to wrench on.
Car Show Rating: B Our Bash Crew really liked the black body and huge Losi graphics, but we would liked to have seen scale tread tires and wheel rings that matched the truck.
Bash-A-Bility: B Oh yes, we are big fans of the softer plastic used on the RTR version of the XXX-SCT. The truck can take some good hits, even in relatively cold weather.
Fun Factor: A Compared to its direct competition, the XXX-SCT is a blast to drive. It is overpowered (which is fantastic in our book), plus we could crank up the AVC when we wanted to put down the power on the slick surfaces. Its ability to wheelie at any speed was also great for putting smiles on our test drivers faces.
Handling: B Yes, the XXX platform has been around forever, but it was good handling back then and still works well today.
Value: B The XXX-SCT isn’t the cheapest truck in its category but it is a great all around package, thus making it a good value in our book.
Parts Availability: B You know we rarely award any vehicle better than a “C” in this category, but there is no denying how many XXX parts are still on the pegs at local hobby shops.
BigSquid Rating: B After dozens of packs and weeks of driving we found the XXX-SCT Brushless SCT to be a great basher. With loads of power and a very capable chassis (that rarely breaks), we can highly recommend the XXX-SCT to you.
