Kraton Aussie RC Playgrounds Brutally honest opinion of the K8S. Video

[bicketybam]

As presented by Arrma

Where? When?

 

[SkyScorpion]

I really appreciate the honest opinions in this video. A lot of other reviewers probably wouldnt reveal/ say most of this to avoid any backlash. Hope Arrma takes some of whats said and addresses them in the next 5th scale release. Great video @Aussie RC Playground .

Yes, great video and breakdown of everything. I very hesitant to buy one now and sitting on t he fence. I don't want to settle and have a Nero (Love it) but I think I may just wait a little while. It really seems for price the New Mojave seems a better deal.

 

[jondilly1974]

It's not poorly designed. It's built to a price point. One thing Vas forgot to mention when he was rattling of the things that weren't 1/5 scale is the price is not 1/5 scale. No true 1/5 scale truck sells for $900. Not one. Arrma had an upper limit as to what they wanted this to sell for. And guess what? People still whined about it. Let's just say they used an M2C like chassis, a larger motor and charged $1200 for it. Instead of people crying about the bent chassis they would cry enough tears about the price to fill the Great Lakes. That's fact. All of the things needed to make the truck bulletproof cost considerably more money. The sad thing is I wouldn't have minded. I would have gladly spent $1300 and saved me some wrenching time. Unfortunately the majority of Arrmas customer base are more budget conscious than I.

His chassis bending like that on what he showed in his video is not normal. What you saw from me, @Rich Duperbash and @RC DUDE81 is normal.

My point was that people didn’t have these chassis issues with the 1/7 scale rigs that I’ve heard of. The Mojave has taken far worse abuse and isn't $1200. The Infraction and Limitless seemed to be well designed too. I know the K8S weighs more, which is exactly why the chassis should have been better designed.

And when I say better designed, I don’t mean up to the M2C spec. I just mean better than it is. It seems like they had a decent idea to add the ribs up the center, but IMO*, they should have taken those ribs all the way to the ends of the chassis and not stop them just before the chassis narrows. In fact, one could say they aren’t even needed where the chassis is wide. It’s really super important to have them where it’s narrow. ??‍

I also think they did some great things too. Obviously the look is amazing. The diffs seem really nice by all accounts. The body clips are a great idea. So I’m not saying it’s not without merit, I’m just saying it wasn’t the grand slam that they hit with the 1/7 releases earlier.


*Just my unprofessional opinion, I’m not an engineer or anyone special

 

[bicketybam]

My point was that people didn’t have these chassis issues with the 1/7 scale rigs that I’ve heard of. The Mojave has taken far worse abuse and isn't $1200. The Infraction and Limitless seemed to be well designed too. I know the K8S weighs more, which is exactly why the chassis should have been better designed.

And when I say better designed, I don’t mean up to the M2C spec. I just mean better than it is. It seems like they had a decent idea to add the ribs up the center, but IMO*, they should have taken those ribs all the way to the ends of the chassis and not stop them just before the chassis narrows. In fact, one could say they aren’t even needed where the chassis is wide. It’s really super important to have them where it’s narrow. ??‍

I also think they did some great things too. Obviously the look is amazing. The diffs seem really nice by all accounts. The body clips are a great idea. So I’m not saying it’s not without merit, I’m just saying it wasn’t the grand slam that they hit with the 1/7 releases earlier.


*Just my unprofessional opinion, I’m not an engineer or anyone special

You lost me when you compared the chassis issues with the Limitless and the Infraction, both of which are street bashers ? Then you have the Mojave which weighs 11 lb and change, lol. If you think this is a poorly designed truck, then you have to think the 6s version is also poorly designed. In fact, the 6s will actually break more things than the 8S will. Again, these trucks are built to a price point. You could not have a stronger chassis on the 8S truck without significantly increasing the price.

 

[r4nd0m]

Again, these trucks are built to a price point. You could not have a stronger chassis on the 8S truck without significantly increasing the price.

Fair point Ed, now genuine question: how comes the Traxxas X Maxx I look at is in the same price range while there is significantly more plastic involved and all the spares are almost 1/4th of the price on the K8S - doesn't add up or does it?

sounds like Arrma did a good job then.

 

[jondilly1974]

You lost me when you compared the chassis issues with the Limitless and the Infraction, both of which are street bashers ? Then you have the Mojave which weighs 11 lb and change, lol. If you think this is a poorly designed truck, then you have to think the 6s version is also poorly designed. In fact, the 6s will actually break more things than the 8S will. Again, these trucks are built to a price point. You could not have a stronger chassis on the 8S truck without significantly increasing the price.

Then how is it the Mojave didn’t need a chassis upgrade or a higher price? Because it was designed better. Or at least appropriately for its size and weight.

As far as the Limitless goes, people have turned them into buggies and launched them. Others have taken the Infraction and turned them into MTs. Neither seem to have chassis issues. They weren’t even made for off road yet survive.

I think they could make the K8S just a little more durable just with better design. Not more money or T6 chassis. Just better designs. Like the A-arms with the holes. Omit the holes and they should be stronger. Make the wheel hubs a little thicker. These things don’t cost hardly anything to change.

 

[Surchaufeur]

Really honest opinion i hope arrma is working on ro fix the kraton 8s
And the comment section was really nice exept for the bot we already know who starts with a spiderman avatar to start the fire in the comment section
Can i enjoy a comment section without having to deal with that guy?

 

[bicketybam]

Fair point Ed, now genuine question: how comes the Traxxas X Maxx I look at is in the same price range while there is significantly more plastic involved and all the spares are almost 1/4th of the price on the K8S - doesn't add up or does it?

sounds like Arrma did a good job then.

Are you asking me why a plastic chassis is cheaper than a metal one?

 

[r4nd0m]

Are you asking me why a plastic chassis is cheaper than a metal one?

In fact I don’t, it just seems they got quite a lot right not needing to go with full plastic and still come in at that price point or the plastic one is expensive for what it is

 

[JvG]

Where? When?

"ARRMA are proud to introduce the KRATON 8S BLX Speed Monster Truck. Colossal 1/5th Scale size. Staggering 8S brushless power. This ARRMA 1/5th scale truck is primed for off-road blasting action however hard the elements fight back."

It doesn't say: "we designed and built it to a certain price point, it is very slow out of the box and the chassis will bent"

Like you i'd rather pay 300 dollars or euro's more for a true 1/5 scale Kraton with all the neccessary upgrades.

 

[Outcastblxnut]

I just buy um...send um...break um...upgrade um... repeat.......
No need to b!tch about um. We all know what we’re getting into. Regardless of brand

 

[Surchaufeur]

They thought they made a complete beast even if they stated they tested the car a lot something might have slipped away because it was not as good as they were expecting it to be

 

[bicketybam]

Then how is it the Mojave didn’t need a chassis upgrade or a higher price? Because it was designed better. Or at least appropriately for its size and weight.

As far as the Limitless goes, people have turned them into buggies and launched them. Others have taken the Infraction and turned them into MTs. Neither seem to have chassis issues. They weren’t even made for off road yet survive.

I think they could make the K8S just a little more durable just with better design. Not more money or T6 chassis. Just better designs. Like the A-arms with the holes. Omit the holes and they should be stronger. Make the wheel hubs a little thicker. These things don’t cost hardly anything to change.

Are you saying that people have used the stock infraction chassis with stock bracing, no reinforcements whatsoever, and converted it to a monster truck with no issues? Full send, no bend? My infraction chassis is bent from the one touch up it had with a curb. I can't possibly see it handling a monster truck setup and not bending. Even the shorter kraton 6s chassis bends.

I really don't think it's fair to play armchair quarterback when you've never driven or owned any of these trucks. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but the largest truck you own is a Typhon. If you owned a kraton 6S I think we could have a more reasonable discussion. Because like I said earlier, which you ignored, if you think the 8S is poorly designed then you *have* to think the same thing of the 6s. Do you understand what I'm saying? Both will bend the chassis. The 6s will also bend the steering plate and the shock towers. Both will bend the center brace. the 6s will also break the plastic suspension mounts. The 6s comes with crappy plastic chassis braces. Would you call that a good design? I can't make you understand this, Jon. All of their trucks are built to a price point. I wish they had designed the 8s stronger and just jacked up the price. But we all know what would have happened if they did that.

 

[Surchaufeur]

Are you saying that people have used the stock infraction chassis with stock bracing, no reinforcements whatsoever, and converted it to a monster truck with no issues? Full send, no bend? My infraction chassis is bent from the one touch up it had with a curb. I can't possibly see it handling a monster truck setup and not bending. Even the shorter kraton 6s chassis bends.

I really don't think it's fair to play armchair quarterback when you've never driven or owned any of these trucks. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but the largest truck you own is a Typhon. If you owned a kraton 6S I think we could have a more reasonable discussion. Because like I said earlier, which you ignored, if you think the 8S is poorly designed then you *have* to think the same thing of the 6s. Do you understand what I'm saying? Both will bend the chassis. The 6s will also bend the steering plate and the shock towers. Both will bend the center brace. the 6s will also break the plastic suspension mounts. The 6s comes with crappy plastic chassis braces. Would you call that a good design? I can't make you understand this, Jon. All of their trucks are built to a price point. I wish they had designed the 8s stronger and just jacked up the price. But we all know what would have happened if they did that.

I don't want to be rude but i think they should have considered to base the kraton 8s on a plastic chassi a well designed chassi it would have been benificial for the truck and price it would have lowered the price of the truck down and could have used that spare money to upgrade order stuff or do other improvements on the truck but what is done is done at this point

 

[r4nd0m]

I don't want to be rude but i think they should have considered to base the kraton 8s on a plastic chassi a well designed chassi it would have been benificial for the truck and price it would have lowered the price of the truck down and could have used that spare money to upgrade order stuff or do other improvements on the truck but what is done is done at this point

I am actually not sure - designing a mold is actually not that cheap ... but I can see where you are coming from the plastic could be cheaper but then is it good enough for the entire weight of the truck? the chassis is actually not that heavy, neither is the M2C on its own from my perspective - would you save and would be able to put it towards other upgrades maybe - but what would the general consensus have been if they did that ...

I just enjoy mine until something bends and then see to replace/to upgrade it - keep in mind the platform is now 2 months and a week old in circulation - so experience is limited and for some reason retailers still seem to struggle to keep it on the shelf

 

[bicketybam]

Every Arrma vehicle has its issues. Well, I don't own the Mojave so I can't comment on that. From what I've seen, that one is spot-on. But as for the infraction, mine can't make it through a full battery pack without hitting thermal at least twice. The rear center dog-bone warps out of shape. And it chews through tires like nobody's business. I could make a list of weak points and trouble spots on every Arrma truck I own. I just don't understand why the Kraton 8s is getting hammered so badly by people. I truly believe it has less weak spots than the 6s version, yet many here I think the 6s version is the greatest truck to ever be built. And don't get me wrong, I love my kraton 6s. But I dumped a ton of money into it.

 

[Hotwheel85]

Just watched the run aussie rc had with it.
He mention that he liked how it drive and it was really fun. He was very happy about it. But he wanted more power and try a bigger pinion.
Many times he say how big it is, but now he complain about the size it is not a 1/5??

I say it again im surpriced about how much negativity he suddently saying about this truck in the last video. I understand its frustrating to send it back and wait weeks, but now that you got it back give it another try with bigger pinion, and see if the new chassi is holding up better before making people change their mind getting it.

 

[Mongoose]

This video is the perfect example of why I love Vas’s channel. Respectfully, honestly and constructively calling it like he sees it. You’re a good dude @Aussie RC Playground. Keep up the honest work.

 

[gavsta72]

I think the chassis could've been made stronger/thicker, and not only have kept the price down, but even lowered it with one simple change.....the Spektrum branded electronics. That's what has jacked up the price imo. They should've got onto Hobbywing and gone with a Max6 combo of some sort, same with the DBXLe 2.0
Sadly it's all Horizon Hobby's doing in their quest for RC domination, all HH products bundled into the one car jacking up the price. A monopoly, which is just going to hurt our wallets, and steer people away from HH products. Bye bye Losi and Arrma, even TLR and Zenoah have joined the list, with Zenoah being the biggest shock to me

 

[r4nd0m]

smokes - I just realised that at current exchange rate he paid even less for the truck than I did £899 ~=1775 AUD ...