Big Rock Giving up on the 3s platform

[matflat]

The fact that your going through parts at half power show how weak key components are on this platform

@Caleb90 - fair point. Looks like you know where you are going to next, and sorry you had to go through the expense of it. That's never nice. You just want the car to work. But if you smash a car into a kerb at most speeds it'll take a break here and there. Still reckon if you get it right the 3S rig is really awesome for people starting out. But even at 50% the car is still going what, 30mph maybe at full tilt, so that is still some speed for things to get broken. But definitely looking to upgrade by the end of the year.

 

[Warby]

No, he’s learning how to drive the car as well as work on it. It’s called a learning curve. Takes time to figure it out, but if the effort is put forth to actually learn how to set these things up properly and drive them within their limitations, it’s a very sturdy platform.

+1 ^

 

[Diggery]

I'm surprised to hear of the issues on 3S - I am either in the lucky group or not driving nearly as hard as others! I'll take it as a challenge...

My Big Rock has been hammered, 100%, full throttle, I've jumped it 15-20 feet in the air, sent to 80 feet off a BMX track berm at full throttle repeatedly, it's done numerous backflips and many more under/over rotated landings and of course the never ending cartwheel of doom is frequently seen. I driving in mud, snow, rocks, dirt and just let rip... After all that, and 2 years, I have just replaced the A Arms, not from breakage but I realised they looked like bananas! I've broken 2 shocks, worn out the pillow balls and put a small crack in the chassis that I'm only replacing through vanity and desire to work on it (and a very cheap replacement from Jennys). Way less than I'd expect given the abuse. Drive shafts, diff, motor, slipper all holding up.

Admittedly it's not getting driven every week, but it does go out often enough and full send each session.

Apologies - I'm not trying to rub it in, or find fault, I am very sorry you've had a bad experience with it. And hopefully this post doesn't have me eating humble pie soon!

All the best with your RC journey!

 

[Caleb90]

No, he’s learning how to drive the car as well as work on it. It’s called a learning curve. Takes time to figure it out, but if the effort is put forth to actually learn how to set these things up properly and drive them within their limitations, it’s a very sturdy platform.

The c blocks maybe. The slipper on half power? Come on now. On half power with a 3s pack it does what 20mph?

 

[Hector_Fisher]

The price of the maxx kills it. Way overpriced. Mt8 seems brittle, kaju idk. The v2 arrma still have the cheap slipper set up.

Sounds to me like you're just not going to be satisfied with anything? So far, the biggest players in the 3s/4s lineup have been named and you have found reasons to not like them all, so i'm not sure what else to suggest. I drive my kaiju and big rock hard and they take a beating. Stuff breaks -- it's going to break on every truck when you drive it hard. But the repairs are expected based on my driving, and cheap to do.

The maxx might break less, but it costs $$$$. Gonna spend one way or another.

 

[Velodromed]

The c blocks maybe. The slipper on half power? Come on now. On half power with a 3s pack it does what 20mph?

Yes. If it’s not set up right absolutely yes. He’s learning, not giving up and whining about it

 

[KnowAir]

My bro just bought a boost. I really have no idea why honestly, given the fact that he has shelves full of 1/10 and 1/8 scale rigs already. 2wd, 4wd..no idea what the thought process is.
I am however interested to see how it goes. The brushed system is definitely the first thing that'll be round filed.
He bought a Hoss a couple years ago, hated it. I bought for $200. Love that thing for $200, it's a blast IMO. He also just gifted me a like new xl5 bandit..AND a 3s Vilenion combo for it!? I replaced the bearings in the "hurt" motor as he described it. Not hurt anymore!! Thing is just crazy on 3s. My point was, I beat the crap out of both these things with nothing more than some broken arms and driveshafts.. but my expectations were within reason as well.. I must add though, in no way or form is a TRX Hoss worth the $480 that my bro paid for it!! No wonder he was disgusted. Lucky me!!

 

[sumguy75]

I think set up is obviously important, but still something is off with the Arrma 3s slipper. I watched every video I could find on the 3s slipper, read every thread I could find here and spent hours each time I broke a slipper hub trying to look at it thoroughly to make sure it was set up exactly right including backing off as much as 2.5 turns. Still cracked the hubs without bashing hard, no jumping, no hitting curbs/trees/etc., just a few tumbles and rollovers and it would crack again and again. Its not like I don't understand how to set up a slipper, I have zero problems with them on non-Arrma rigs that I run way more often.

The Arrma 3s slipper is very odd. Some on here never have an issue, some have nothing but issues and its not just noobs that have issues with it. Arrma released a sleeve to reinforce it and hopefully that works. Still can't believe no one has come up with a slipper hub made of better material though, seems like a part that would be in high demand considering how many people have issues with the stock hub.

That said, for the OP I think you have gotten the best recommendations for alternatives to the 3s line that you will get. If you want easy parts availabilty, Traxxas and Arrma are almost always the easiest to find parts for. If you want to look at others, the Kaiju & Sketer are solid choices.

 

[Caleb90]

My bro just bought a boost. I really have no idea why honestly, given the fact that he has shelves full of 1/10 and 1/8 scale rigs already. 2wd, 4wd..no idea what the thought process is.
I am however interested to see how it goes. The brushed system is definitely the first thing that'll be round filed.
He bought a Hoss a couple years ago, hated it. I bought for $200. Love that thing for $200, it's a blast IMO. He also just gifted me a like new xl5 bandit..AND a 3s Vilenion combo for it!? I replaced the bearings in the "hurt" motor as he described it. Not hurt anymore!! Thing is just crazy on 3s. My point was, I beat the crap out of both these things with nothing more than some broken arms and driveshafts.. but my expectations were within reason as well.. I must add though, in no way or form is a TRX Hoss worth the $480 that my bro paid for it!! No wonder he was disgusted. Lucky me!!

I bought my boy a granite boost for christmas. He is 2. For the price you cant beat it. Should hold up a long tim on brushed power

Yes. If it’s not set up right absolutely yes. He’s learning, not giving up and whining about it

Not whining. Just stating ive had enough of it and looking elsewhere. The 3s line has these known flaws. The slipper hubs are made from pot metal, the diffs don't last unless you constantly mess with them.

 

[jamesbea]

I went down the same path as you Caleb, but with a Kraton 4s. Put a bunch of money into it and it would constantly break. Spent money to get rid of all the plastic in the driveline, constantly adjusting the slipper, bearing in the motor went kaput, etc. It took the fun out it for me.

Transitioned to a Sketer and have been very happy with it. I did immediately widen it & switch to 4S backflips, using the info from Razor RC & I did eventually upgrade it to the Kronos 6S electronics/motor. It is a blast. Only thing I have had to replace so far due to damage is the rear shock tower, upgraded it to a Basherqueen CF piece and haven't had any issues since.

For me, I like the robust driveline, the center diff, etc., I can just go out & drive it and not be concerned in the back of my mind about how long it will make it before it breaks.

 

[KnowAir]

Yep, aside from the electronics, the Sketer is all 1/8 components. Heck, even better components than the TC 6s buggies seeing that the Sketer has 7075 and spring steel bits that the buggies don't. Perhaps that 8BL150 would be better suited to the Sketer than the xtr? Not sure.

 

[joshludden]

I'm surprised to hear of the issues on 3S - I am either in the lucky group or not driving nearly as hard as others! I'll take it as a challenge...

My Big Rock has been hammered, 100%, full throttle, I've jumped it 15-20 feet in the air, sent to 80 feet off a BMX track berm at full throttle repeatedly, it's done numerous backflips and many more under/over rotated landings and of course the never ending cartwheel of doom is frequently seen. I driving in mud, snow, rocks, dirt and just let rip... After all that, and 2 years, I have just replaced the A Arms, not from breakage but I realised they looked like bananas! I've broken 2 shocks, worn out the pillow balls and put a small crack in the chassis that I'm only replacing through vanity and desire to work on it (and a very cheap replacement from Jennys). Way less than I'd expect given the abuse. Drive shafts, diff, motor, slipper all holding up.

Admittedly it's not getting driven every week, but it does go out often enough and full send each session.

Apologies - I'm not trying to rub it in, or find fault, I am very sorry you've had a bad experience with it. And hopefully this post doesn't have me eating humble pie soon!

All the best with your RC journey!

I'm gonna steal "cartwheel of doom"!!! I see a lot of those w/ my driving

 

[Diggery]

I should perhaps modify that to simply the cartwheel, because so far they end, with no doom, and a decent chance of landing on the wheels and I just drive out of it!

First time it happened my boy did it, on video and it must have gone end over end over 10 times is not more. We both watched on and I was waiting for a wheel to eject or something. You hear a very sheepish "sorry" from a little 8 year old, then a resigned "it's OK" from me before a whoop from both of us as it powered out apparently unharmed to bash another day!

 

[KnowAir]

I'm surprised to hear of the issues on 3S - I am either in the lucky group or not driving nearly as hard as others! I'll take it as a challenge...

My Big Rock has been hammered, 100%, full throttle, I've jumped it 15-20 feet in the air, sent to 80 feet off a BMX track berm at full throttle repeatedly, it's done numerous backflips and many more under/over rotated landings and of course the never ending cartwheel of doom is frequently seen. I driving in mud, snow, rocks, dirt and just let rip... After all that, and 2 years, I have just replaced the A Arms, not from breakage but I realised they looked like bananas! I've broken 2 shocks, worn out the pillow balls and put a small crack in the chassis that I'm only replacing through vanity and desire to work on it (and a very cheap replacement from Jennys). Way less than I'd expect given the abuse. Drive shafts, diff, motor, slipper all holding up.

Admittedly it's not getting driven every week, but it does go out often enough and full send each session.

Apologies - I'm not trying to rub it in, or find fault, I am very sorry you've had a bad experience with it. And hopefully this post doesn't have me eating humble pie soon!

All the best with your RC journey!

Well, that's quite the testimony IMO!
I'm always amazed at just how durable these rc's are, be it Arrma, TRX or whatever brand. I have noticed that larger tire rigs take the cartwheels the best without damage.

 

[kspitters]

So i love the bigrock in many ways. Great size to power ratio, good durability in many forms. But the few flaws that the arrma 3s line have beat me down enough to part ways. Drive shafts, slipper clutch and diffs. Always seems one of them fails every run, tired of throwing money at it. Will be trying to sell to recoupe some money and will be going to a maxx v2 or corally sketer..

Just seeing this, I totally recommend the maxx! The handling is tough to sort out, but with aluminum steering linkage and a better servo it’s much better! There’s definitely a learning curve to driving the maxx! The clear body’s are killer!

 

[HooknBook]

@Caleb90 - I see the 3S as the learning point for everything. Shame that you've had a bad run with it - feel the pain there. My future purchase is going to be a Talion and an Infraction, but I love the 3S rig. Still can't drive it on anything higher than 50% And even though I seem to be going through steering blocks and slipper clutches during my learning curve period, I still love the ARRMA rigs, they are freaking awesome. Maybe you got a bad lot. Hope you find the best rig for you.

Same here. Been learning on my BRCC, just at full power. I’ve been a bit more fortunate with parts having only broken one steering block. And I wasted no time hitting the big jumps with this thing.

For me, the BRCC has represented Arrma’s 3s offering pretty well. Seems easy to work on and parts supply doesn’t seem to be an issue. It will eventually get the 4s treatment.

I’m also saying that being freshly back into the hobby and not owning or having driven comparable vehicles

I originally wanted a Rival MT10 but it was out of stock when I was ready to purchase. Considered going Traxxas but was out as soon as my LHS told me they were the ‘Apple’ of the industry with some of their parts.

The Kaiju EXT has caught my eye. Personally, love the way it looks but reviews seem up and down.

Best of luck to the OP. That Sketer seems to be pretty sweet!

 

[kspitters]

Considered going Traxxas but was out as soon as my LHS told me they were the ‘Apple’ of the industry with some of their parts.

Especially the maxx/xmaxx/Xrt steering servos and linkage. Atleast they made an adapter for the servo. Sadly my LHS doesn’t carry arrma parts.

 

[KnowAir]

Same here. Been learning on my BRCC, just at full power. I’ve been a bit more fortunate with parts having only broken one steering block. And I wasted no time hitting the big jumps with this thing.

For me, the BRCC has represented Arrma’s 3s offering pretty well. Seems easy to work on and parts supply doesn’t seem to be an issue. It will eventually get the 4s treatment.

I’m also saying that being freshly back into the hobby and not owning or having driven comparable vehicles

I originally wanted a Rival MT10 but it was out of stock when I was ready to purchase. Considered going Traxxas but was out as soon as my LHS told me they were the ‘Apple’ of the industry with some of their parts.

The Kaiju EXT has caught my eye. Personally, love the way it looks but reviews seem up and down.

Best of luck to the OP. That Sketer seems to be pretty sweet!

That's a good analogy.. wait, I hate Apple products!! Who will take these Apples off my hands? Er, I mean Traxxas!!

 

[f_noggle]

Since I got the V2 Outcast (release day) I have not run my Maxx once.
But I will say after replacing ALL of the drive line parts and motor mount on the Granite and Big Rock, they are great. But they have more $ in them than they are worth.

Especially the maxx/xmaxx/Xrt steering servos and linkage. Atleast they made an adapter for the servo. Sadly my LHS doesn’t carry arrma parts.

I have ran the stock servo in my maxx since new (4 years?), and have NEVER had a problem. I have had to replace all but one stock Arrma servo. I have 7 Arrma rigs.

Especially the maxx/xmaxx/Xrt steering servos and linkage. Atleast they made an adapter for the servo. Sadly my LHS doesn’t carry arrma parts.

I have ran the stock servo in my maxx since new (4 years?), and have NEVER had a problem. I have had to replace all but one stock Arrma servo. I have 7 Arrma rigs.

 

[dure16]

Since I got the V2 Outcast (release day) I have not run my Maxx once.

How would you describe the difference between the two? Why do you like the Outcast better?