Kraton Aussie RC Kraton V4 review in.

[nino]

It's here and it's fair, I think

 

[Lazy Bushman]

Yep, good review

 

[AustinKraton]

He dinged it... versus the V3 and V2

But always a goog review!!

 

[Mongoose]

Good review Vas @Aussie RC Playground. Thanks for keeping it honest and legit.

 

[bicketybam]

My only gripe with the review would be the parts availability. That's a regional issue but in fairness Vas did state that.

As far as the V4 goes, you would have to call it a big disappointment compared to the V3. There are big negatives with some of the changes.

1. The new radio is a disaster. No one likes it. A user here had their truck go full speed all on its own and wreck itself. Just unacceptable and dangerous.

2. The new top brace causes the plastic chassis braces to break and the chassis to bend. You are better off removing it. Let that sink in for a second. One of their most touted improvements is better off removed. Huge swing and a miss.

3. The "never loose" servo saver is not adjustable and in the larger vehicles it is not adequate. They tried to solve one problem and created another.

Then there are the changes that just make you go "meh"

The never pop balls for the steering rod ends are nice but a problem that was easily fixed with the V3 (e-clips).

O-rings on the pivot ball cover are ok but I feel the Hot Racing covers are much better. And again, nothing a little plumbers tape couldn't have fixed on the V3.

IC5 connectors. This is sort of personal preference but all my batteries are XT90 and I wish they had stuck with them.

The three quality improvements are the adjustable motor mount, the easy center diff access, and the tires. I really like the motor mount and while I'm not taking my center diff out on a regular basis it's nice that you can remove it easily. I love the tires. The more I run them the more I like them. They grip really well but still allow a little slide. I can't say enough about them.

So when you look at all of this it is hard to justify buying a V4 over a V3, especially if you can get a V3 at a discounted price. You also have to factor in that you pretty much have to change the radio. So tack on $30 to the already increased cost. Now to be fair, when talking about the Kraton, the V3 Minokawas are terrible. So you could factor in new tires tires to the V3 cost.

Anyway, Vas was very fair and if anyone thinks he's in Arrma's pocketbook they should just watch this review as evidence that he is not. This was a pretty damning review (but fair) of the V4 Kraton in my opinion.

 

[arrmadillo]

I have always said he tells it as he sees it. No brown noseing. This review reinforces that. When I joined this forum early this year I waited for this truck to become a reality not knowing if it truly was coming. Held off on the V3.

Rumers floating around on the new Spektrum coming. I made a comment if they offered a new crappy Spektrum it would be a step backwards. Someone commented Arrma doesn't step backwards so I changed my comment to stepping sidewards to not step on toes here.

Wish I never did that and stood by my statement and not let anyone intimidate me here. So I will say, Arrma took a giant step backwards with this model and the other 6s rigs. Not only the radio but the servo saver also. Since all this I have purchased 5 new Arrma rigs and I will voice my opinion no matter what any fanboy thinks.

I should have bought the V3s now that I know better. Having to change over all these crappy radios I'm no too happy about. The only thing that I'm ok with is that I got the V4s for the same price of the V3 the week it dropped. Vent over!

 

[Wmorgan]

I have always said he tells it as he sees it. No brown noseing. This review reinforces that. When I joined this forum early this year I waited for this truck to become a reality not knowing if it truly was coming. Held off on the V3.

Rumers floating around on the new Spektrum coming. I made a comment if they offered a new crappy Spektrum it would be a step backwards. Someone commented Arrma doesn't step backwards so I changed my comment to stepping sidewards to not step on toes here.

Wish I never did that and stood by my statement and not let anyone intimidate me here. So I will say, Arrma took a giant step backwards with this model and the other 6s rigs. Not only the radio but the servo saver also. Since all this I have purchased 5 new Arrma rigs and I will voice my opinion no matter what any fanboy thinks.

I should have bought the V3s now that I know better. Having to change over all these crappy radios I'm no too happy about. The only thing that I'm ok with is that I got the V4s for the same price of the V3 the week it dropped. Vent over!

Be sure to call HH and give them an ear full as well. Hopefully they'll get the message and take a step forward with the radio next time.
I have and will continue to be a pain in the arse when it comes to production or design fails.

 

[arrmadillo]

Be sure to call HH and give them an ear full as well. Hopefully they'll get the message and take a step forward with the radio next time.
I have and will continue to be a pain in the arse when it comes to production or design fails.

I have thought about mailing these 4 radios back and tell em to keep them. No kidding.

 

[Wmorgan]

I have thought about mailing these 4 radios back and tell em to keep them. No kidding.

Great idea, but I wouldn't spend the money on shipping. Just throw them in a trash can with the transmitter and send them a picture of it!

 

[arrmadillo]

Great idea, but I wouldn't spend the money on shipping. Just throw them in a trash can with the transmitter and send them a picture of it!

I though about rolling them over in the driveway with my truck, that way no one will end up with them and have a disaster. I hear about people having glitches, hitting curbs, etc. and still run them. Someone on here recently had a runaway and destroyed their Kraton.

 

[olds97_lss]

2. The new top brace causes the plastic chassis braces to break and the chassis to bend. You are better off removing it. Let that sink in for a second. One of their most touted improvements is better off removed. Huge swing and a miss.

Causes the existing chassis braces to break and the chassis to bend? How?

I'm not questioning you had it happen, just curious what it did with a bit more detail if you can.

 

[bicketybam]

Causes the existing chassis braces to break and the chassis to bend? How?

I'm not questioning you had it happen, just curious what it did with a bit more detail if you can.

Watch the review. He explains it. Basically the new top brace stops the chassis from flexing so the one of the plastic chassis breaks instead. you usually don't notice that it's cracked or broken and you continue to run. at that point the chassis will bend outwards because it doesn't have an intact chassis brace.

 

[olds97_lss]

Watch the review. He explains it. Basically the new top brace stops the chassis from flexing so the one of the plastic chassis breaks instead. you usually don't notice that it's cracked or broken and you continue to run. at that point the chassis will bend outwards because it doesn't have an intact chassis brace.

Yep, he sure did. Didn't have a chance to watch it first.

Oddly, the rear of my outcast did that same thing, not quite as pronounced. I have a T2T and alloy chassis braces. I'll likely get the M2C chassis at some point. I won't go through the work of tearing the entire truck down just to put stock back on.

 

[AwwCrap]

Great idea, but I wouldn't spend the money on shipping. Just throw them in a trash can with the transmitter and send them a picture of it!

Send em my way.
I'll take em off your hands.
I'll use em on my crawlers haha

 

[Zgills1]

Causes the existing chassis braces to break and the chassis to bend? How?

I'm not questioning you had it happen, just curious what it did with a bit more detail if you can.

He starts the explanation at 11:00 mins into the review

 

[Matt74]

Good review and im still gonna buy one... but he shouldve, as an Aussie reviewer, given it 0/5 for parts availability... 6 months before it arrives in the shops in Australia in this day and age is deadset atrocious.

Its pretty obvious that they didnt produce enough stock before releasing the V4 and have just gone... “oh well, f... em, those Aussies can wait”.. its pretty off putting really but the alternative is to buy another brand.. and they are all producing shite products!.

 

[Lazy Bushman]

Yep the parts availability issue even occasionally on other existing models as well. Arrma have gotten better but still behind a number of other manufacturers imo.

What I did think was odd though was actually scoring the Kraton at all re parts availability. As Vas said, the vehicle is not yet released here. The time it is taking to come into the country is another issue, but if there are only 2 vehicles in the country, surely it should be no surprise that specific parts for it would be scarce? General availability could be better but now I am thinking about it more, maybe that should have been a category not scored at all under the circumstances.

Still a very good and balanced review on the whole though

 

[Aussie RC Playground]

Yep the parts availability issue even occasionally on other existing models as well. Arrma have gotten better but still behind a number of other manufacturers imo.

What I did think was odd though was actually scoring the Kraton at all re parts availability. As Vas said, the vehicle is not yet released here. The time it is taking to come into the country is another issue, but if there are only 2 vehicles in the country, surely it should be no surprise that specific parts for it would be scarce? General availability could be better but now I am thinking about it more, maybe that should have been a category not scored at all under the circumstances.

Still a very good and balanced review on the whole though

The parts category was based on ALL of ARRMA's products currently available. I don't entirely disagree that the score could have been worse, but to be fair, there's only a few parts that are new on the V4 and a lot of the existing parts carried over from the previous models are available.
The issue, I think, is the changing of the guard - Hobbico to Horizon. And the fact that there was a period there where no one knew if ARRMA were even going to continue, so factories halted production. This was discussed during my interview with Jason. Once Horizon took over, production started again, but they have been playing catch up ever since and looked after their biggest market first - America. Everyone else has to wait. I'm sure it won't be like this for much longer, but it just feels like it's taking longer than it should...

 

[Aussie RC Playground]

Appreciate the kind words about the review, it's very much appreciated.
Contrary to popular belief, no, I'm not in anyone's pocket. Never have been. Just because I enjoy a product that's sent to me doesn't mean I'm being paid off by anyone. I call it like it is, always have. You don't have to agree with my opinion, but don't call me a liar either just because I hold a different opinion.

There's no question that the current V4 has some problems. Someone said that ARRMA took a step backwards with this car and I have to agree. BUT, they took two steps forward also. I don't think there's anything wrong with the V4 that can't be fixed quite easily or that is that different from other brands out there. The radio is annoying, but I know there are lots of us that will happily change radios on a number of other cars and not even mention that we do. The only reason I think it's been such a talking point is because it's worse than the Tactic. But I remember there were several people complaining about the V1 (FlySky) radios and there wasn't this much fuss made over those. The T2T brace issue is a different matter, but again, easily fixed. Don't have money for chassis braces? No probs. Remove the T2T brace and life is good.
My point is, the overall score for this car is 7.4/10, there are far worse out there and the positives in the V4 Kraton still far out weigh the negatives, IMO. Sure, the review was not covered in glitter and gold (as I'm sure some people expected) but can you blame me? One run with that car and I'm up for a new chassis? That's not cool. But it's why I run my cars at the same track and do the same circuit every time. It's why I run them stock, so I can see what breaks, fails or bents...

 

[Notorious J]

Appreciate the kind words about the review, it's very much appreciated.
Contrary to popular belief, no, I'm not in anyone's pocket. Never have been. Just because I enjoy a product that's sent to me doesn't mean I'm being paid off by anyone. I call it like it is, always have. You don't have to agree with my opinion, but don't call me a liar either just because I hold a different opinion.

There's no question that the current V4 has some problems. Someone said that ARRMA took a step backwards with this car and I have to agree. BUT, they took two steps forward also. I don't think there's anything wrong with the V4 that can't be fixed quite easily or that is that different from other brands out there. The radio is annoying, but I know there are lots of us that will happily change radios on a number of other cars and not even mention that we do. The only reason I think it's been such a talking point is because it's worse than the Tactic. But I remember there were several people complaining about the V1 (FlySky) radios and there wasn't this much fuss made over those. The T2T brace issue is a different matter, but again, easily fixed. Don't have money for chassis braces? No probs. Remove the T2T brace and life is good.
My point is, the overall score for this car is 7.4/10, there are far worse out there and the positives in the V4 Kraton still far out weigh the negatives, IMO. Sure, the review was not covered in glitter and gold (as I'm sure some people expected) but can you blame me? One run with that car and I'm up for a new chassis? That's not cool. But it's why I run my cars at the same track and do the same circuit every time. It's why I run them stock, so I can see what breaks, fails or bents...

Vas, your honesty in thoughts, opinions and views are always highly regarded. Those of us who follow you, completely understand your points, and hope that you continue to bring us such valuable information.