Fury BLX Review

[yonzariq]

So, I got to pick up the latest Fury BLX.
It is my first fast RC in a long time, have been playing with scalers a lot more.
Some photo's and a first impression.

Due to the weather and work I haven't had a chance yet to run it, but did some other work on it

After opening the box, my first thought was that the vehicle looks really good (and huge), love how the stock body looks on it.
First off all, I have replaced the standard TX/RX with my own.
The standard TX/RX is very simple but seems pretty good, big pro is the antenna less TX and RX!
But as I have multiple vehicles I'd like to use one TX for all of them
The radiobox is really nice and sealed, and even though the stock RX is antenna less, they did keep room for an antenna wire and hold-down for an antenna.
My own 2,4GHz set has a pretty long antenna, so I was really happy to see this.
Also I didn't have 4x AA to try the stock TX/RX, my own TX runs on a 2s LiPo.

Servo is the ADS-7M 6kg servo, 6kg is enough, but a bit on the low side, and with 0,14sec on 6v it is neither really fast nor slow, but that shouldn't be too big of an issue, at least it is better than the stock servo on most vehicles.
Big pro is the standard metal gears in the servo, so it should last long enough.

The vehicle was packed good, body had protective plastic on it, some cardboard aorund the a-arms to keep the vehicle in place and prevent moving inside the box..
Really nice to see the body clip retainers as standard.
But what I don't like is that the body post holes are huge compared to the body post itself, in my experience this causes play and fast wear and tear of the body post holes, but we will see how it holds up.
The paintjob looks really good for a stock body though.

The wheels and tires look great, tires feel really sticky but are a bit hard in comparison to what I have run on my other vehicles.
For the non-competitive bashing and driving I do it are probably great tires
Electronics are installed perfect, I switched out the standard deans connector for an EC3 connector which I use on all of my vehicles and Lipo's.
They are rated for 60A continous, and the ESC is 60A max, so that should be fine.
If not I can switch to EC5, they are rated for 120A.
I use standard ROAR sized hardcase 2s packs with interchangeable cables, so that will be an easy fix if I decide to switch to EC5.
But here also comes the problem, the LiPo's fit easily in every vehicle I had so far, but in the Fury, they don't...
They are just a tad too high, so I have removed the piece of foam on the inside of the LiPo tray in the chassis, the one on the lid of the LiPo tray could stay, and now they just fit.
Cut and placed the supplied foam pads on the front and rear of the LiPo to prevent moving and it is completely secure.

Did a small test run with the wheels of the ground, and even on 2s LiPo there appears to be more than enough power on the rear wheels, motor feels really smooth even on low throttle.
Recalibrated the ESc, but did not dive into the options of it yet.

My impressions so far:
+ Price!
+ Paintjob
+ Overall looks
+ Electronics
+ Metal geared servo

- Size of LiPo tray
- Huge body post holes in the body

Will probably run it this weekend and update the thread with experiences

 

[WoodiE]

Great job on the review and thanks for sharing @yonzariq!

 

[yonzariq]

Took some time to snap some more pictures
Not the greatest quality as I only have my phone atm.

Where I had to remove foam to fit my LiPo's:

Also, this is what I meant with the huge body post holes:

 

[yonzariq]

I hope to finally run it this weekend...
The weather has been pretty dramatic last week, nothing but rain.

 

[yonzariq]

Got a (short) chance to drive it today in the street, no offroad yet.
Street is also very tight with a lot of parked cars so I had to be careful....

Only tested on 2s, 5400mah, 30c lipo's.
First impression is really good.
It's fast, acceleration is really fast, most of the time I heard the rear wheels spinning on the street.
Also couldn't get past 50% throttle due to the small street.
The steering is really good compared to any RTR I had before, but I prefer a somewhat faster servo, so I will replace this eventually.
Tires are exactly as I expected, the harder compound and inserts feel great for bashing around but don't have enough grip for serious cornering and it will spin out very easy.
Time the throttle at the right time and the front wheels will lift for a short time, looks awesome.

Now time for some diving into the settings of the ESC, too bad there is no program card supplied.
Brake force is almost non-existent, the only thing that annoyed me during the driving.

So far, I love it and can't wait to try it offroad

 

[justatree]

Yep the rear wheels always spin on these sct tires, plan on getting new tires if you want more grip. Traxxas tires are good, but not the greatest since they are stock, I ran them and they are the s1 compound tires, keep in mind they give you wheelies, but once you burn off a certain point of rubber, performance on the tires don't work as well as they are when they are new. (I have tested it even after cleaning, which I don't know why it would stop performing as well... I will add I still have lots of tread on the tires)

 

[yonzariq]

Thanks for the tip, I'll look into these tires.
Have also been looking at some ProLine BFGoodrich KR2 or ProLine Trenchers, both should be a great allround tire.
Which is what I really need, I drive on so much different surfaces...
And maybe a Mohawk/Slingshot combi for when I go to the beach with it

But first I'll get some more time on the stock tyres and see if they get better if I use them more...

 

[justatree]

Thanks for the tip, I'll look into these tires.
Have also been looking at some ProLine BFGoodrich KR2 or ProLine Trenchers, both should be a great allround tire.
Which is what I really need, I drive on so much different surfaces...
And maybe a Mohawk/Slingshot combi for when I go to the beach with it

But first I'll get some more time on the stock tyres and see if they get better if I use them more...

Definitely consider proline they are good and trenchers are the following for all terrain

 

[mrbelloso]

Thanks for the review, hope to see videos of the Fury running.

 

[Skaxis]

Thanks for the tip, I'll look into these tires.
Have also been looking at some ProLine BFGoodrich KR2 or ProLine Trenchers, both should be a great allround tire.

I run Pro-Line Badlands on my Fury when running on any surface not pavement. If I'm going to be on pavement I go back to the stock tires. I really like this combo but if you don't want to mess with swapping out tires the Trencher are a great choice. My son has them on his Losi XXX-SCT. They don't bite nearly as well in grass or loose dirt compared to the Badlands but that's to be expected. They're certainly the superior all-rounder.

FYI: You can get a new pair of Arrma SCT wheels at Tower for $1.99 if you're patient. It seems they rotate that sale around between the chrome, black and black-chrome versions.

 

[yonzariq]

Still stock, took it for some street runs the last few days.
Still runs good also, no budget yet to buy new wheels, my scaler decided to break down and cost me my hobby budget haha

If all goes well I'm going to take it to a rally track next weekend and see how it performs there with some jumps and mixed surfaces

 

[yonzariq]

I took it to the track yesterday
An outdoor on-road track converted to rally for the winter.
Mix surfaces of grass, dirt and asphalt.

First the driving:
Ran a total of 4 5300mah 30-60C lipo packs, with around 15 minutes on each pack.
Had a lot of rain, so the track was soaked.
Grip was nowhere to be found on the stock tires, not on wet asphalt, not in the dirt and not on the wet grass.
So those will be used only for street runs in the future, going to order some other sets to test
The steering servo felt a bit slow in the tight corners, but good enough to keep a good line on the track, possible upgrade for increased steering performance, but not necessary.
Power enough on the straights, but somewhat sluggish on the slow corners, might switch to a 120A/4000kv 4-pole sensored setup in the future to get more low end control and gain some more punch overall.
The RTR setup felt pretty good also, it drove real nice over the bumps and jumped nice and straight forward on the jumps.
In air control was possible too, was able to correct it in air a few times.
Multiple people said it also drives really quiet for an RTR, that is a good thing also

Durability:
As it was my first time on a real track I had some pretty rough crashes and flips.
Only a few scratches on the body, no tears in it and no broken or bent parts whatsoever.
The stock tires also still don't show any sign of wear on them after a few street runs and the 4 packs on the track.
So durability wise it really is a great vehicle.


All in all I think Arrma did a great job on the new Fury BLX.
A great vehicle for a low price in comparison to a lot of their competitors on the market.

 

[yonzariq]

Ordered some Proline Caliber medium compound tires and Proline F-11 beadlocks
Hope to gain some more grip with those.

 

[Unusual RC]

Ordered some Proline Caliber medium compound tires and Proline F-11 beadlocks
Hope to gain some more grip with those.

I have the previous version of this chassis.
And so far so good. Have not broke anything yet...

I did replace the stock servo, since the previous one was the version without metal gears.
And I also did not like the slow turning speed.
I replaced it with a Savox SC-1258 TG (mind you, this one is not waterproof).

For loose dirt only I have some Medial Pro Velox and Blade wheels, both in soft compound.
Those are a huge difference, even on loose dirt/sand!
Of course I do not run them on Tarmac.
For my local track (HFCC Racing) - as you found out - it is rally: both tarmac and dirt.
I have no idea which tires would work the best on that track.

Much closer to Rotterdam you have a real 1/10 scale RC dirt-track: http://www.mvbracing.nl/ in Bergschenhoek.
They converted their track from clay to Astro last season.
I still want to try to run my car there, but I have not found any time.

And did you already try to program your Esc for better acceleration?
You can change some settings, which might make it work better.
I have tried to replace the stock Esc and motor for something better, including a Tenshock EX-4 120A with no luck.
Still the BLX stock set-up works best. Even on Tarmac the acceleration (with better tires) makes the car flip if I am not careful.
On 3S it becomes complete madness.

Please let us know how these tires work for you.

 

[yonzariq]

Thanks for the tip regarding the servo!
I was looking at some more budget options...
Turnigy TrackStar TS411MG
Torque: 9.2kg.cm (4.8V)~11.1kg.cm (6.0V)
Speed: 0.11sec/60deg (4.8V)~0.09sec/60deg (6.0V)
Voltage: 4.8~6.0V
Type: Digital Standard
Motor: Coreless Motor
Gear Train: Alloy Gears
For only €15,48 (Global Warehouse) I think it is worth a try as I have good experiences with Turnigy stuff so far.
Can always switch to a more high end brand like savox if it turns out to be a crappy servo.
I don't really care about waterproof, most servo's are a bit splatterproof anyway, and it won't run through deep water or anything.

I actually went to HFCC, great track, would be even better if I had some more grip on the stock tyres that day hehe.
Also want to try MVB Racing someday, only 15 minutes or so from home.

The standard ESC really doesn't have that much programming options, and a programming card is not available for it.
1. LVC on/off, logically that is on
2. Punch: 1-2-3-4-5, currently at 3
3. Brake Strength: 25, 37,5, 50, 62,5, 75, 87,5, 100%, currently at 50%
4. Running mode: Fwd/Brk/Rev, Fwd/Brk, currently at Fwd/Brk/Rev
5. Motor rotation: Normal (CCW), Reverse (CW), currently at Normal (CCW)

Will try a higher punch next time I take it out.
But I am still waiting on the wheels, I decided to go for beadlocks as I want to try more different types of tyres in the future.

 

[Unusual RC]

I drove through icy grass last week with this Savox servo. Since it was around freezing point things became quite wet and dirty
Indeed it is splatter proof, but I would not submerge it.
And this servo is very fast and powerful, a bit over the top! But it draws under 2.0A (6,0V), so it does not fry the Esc's Bec circuit.
My son's truck has the cheaper Savox waterproof servo. Fast enough to make the upgrade worth it.

With HK it can be either good or bad, worth the try if given good reviews.

HFCC is a great out (and in)-door on-road track. They brought back the rally part this year after a long time.
It is no track for off-road cars, more modified tour wagons converted to rally cars. Just like the real ones.

MVB is a dedicated off-road track, but they switched to Astro (kunstgras in Dutch). I was planning to go there, in despite our Fury's are probably no match for the TLR's and Durango's there.

Indeed the punch is a setting that could make the difference.

 

[yonzariq]

So, I got to drive it a few times over the last month or so...
First impression was great, but now I'm getting more and more dissapointed in the vehicle...

I only drive on a somewhat rough field of grass near my house as I have to drive after work time and it still gets dark fairly early .
Just some cruising around, no jumping or hard bashing.
It flips over almost every time I try to corner with more than 25-30% throttle.
Going over 60-70% of throttle makes it lose all grip and spin out.
Out of the 7 or so times I took it out I broke 3 lower front A-arms and popped one of the front shock caps off 4 times (3 of themwhen I broke the A-arms).
Even though it is pretty cold (5 degrees celcius), I did not expect this much breakage.
What I did notice is that all A-arms broke at the exact same spot, the "eyes" that attach it to the chassis broke right off of the rest of the arms.

Managed to get this breakage without even jumping it, just from flipping/rolling when cornering with too much throttle (!)
Now I start getting afraid of actually using or jumping the truck...

On the roughest parts it is near uncontrollable, bounces everywhere, even my cheap Tamiya DT-03 drives better on those parts than the Fury.

So, I probably won't take it out anymore until the weather gets a lot warmer, see how it handles then...

 

[Unusual RC]

So, I got to drive it a few times over the last month or so...
First impression was great, but now I'm getting more and more dissapointed in the vehicle...

I only drive on a somewhat rough field of grass near my house as I have to drive after work time and it still gets dark fairly early .
Just some cruising around, no jumping or hard bashing.
It flips over almost every time I try to corner with more than 25-30% throttle.
Going over 60-70% of throttle makes it lose all grip and spin out.
Out of the 7 or so times I took it out I broke 3 lower front A-arms and popped one of the front shock caps off 4 times (3 of themwhen I broke the A-arms).
Even though it is pretty cold (5 degrees celcius), I did not expect this much breakage.
What I did notice is that all A-arms broke at the exact same spot, the "eyes" that attach it to the chassis broke right off of the rest of the arms.

Managed to get this breakage without even jumping it, just from flipping/rolling when cornering with too much throttle (!)
Now I start getting afraid of actually using or jumping the truck...

On the roughest parts it is near uncontrollable, bounces everywhere, even my cheap Tamiya DT-03 drives better on those parts than the Fury.

So, I probably won't take it out anymore until the weather gets a lot warmer, see how it handles then...

The stock shocks are horrible, so much is written about them.
But it is not the springs used or the shock oil, those are pretty good.
But cold weather influences the shock oil too, making it more like a higher number oil.
I know that Arrma/Durango changed production facility somewhere in 2014 or 15. Since then the plastics looks different to me. I have been a plastic engineer for a while.

This should not happen, but rough terrain with thick oil is asking for trouble.

Maybe buy some 200/250/300 pcs shock oil. this is thinner, but you have to go for a softer spring as well then.
I have 4 different types of springs for the Fury, all from Fastrax.

 

[hofschalk]

I was out yesterday and did some really nasty bashing in a Skate Park. Except of the hingepin on the rear axle, which broke the 2. Time, everything was tougher than i expected. (I have some Self-made hingepins now)

I will replace the stock shocks as soon my absima aluminium shocks will arrive. Crashed one rear shock Last week, when i Hit the boardwalk. But still with a really fast refill with some car oil it works for bashing.

The brandnew absima 4x4 buggy of a friend looks a lot more used after that session.

But i agree that its really hard to control the BLX because of its power on cold conditions. Can't wait for my new tires which will arrive tomorrow hopefully!

 

[Unusual RC]

I was out yesterday and did some really nasty bashing in a Skate Park. Except of the hingepin on the rear axle, which broke the 2. Time, everything was tougher than i expected. (I have some Self-made hingepins now)

I will replace the stock shocks as soon my absima aluminium shocks will arrive. Crashed one rear shock Last week, when i Hit the boardwalk. But still with a really fast refill with some car oil it works for bashing.

The brandnew absima 4x4 buggy of a friend looks a lot more used after that session.

But i agree that its really hard to control the BLX because of its power on cold conditions. Can't wait for my new tires which will arrive tomorrow hopefully!

Show us your Absima shocks, once you have them!
Those come from the same factory as my Fastrax shocks.
Affordable en decent, and they have membranes!

Indeed the BLX drive system even on 2S is ridiculously powerful.
That is the reason I downgraded my system to a 2 pole censored system, to hopefully get more traction.
But it is cold out here too, so I wait for the maiden voyage!