Granite Horizon Hobby quality sucks! I'm OUT!

[CraigVMN]

I've had my Granite for only a few weeks, and I'm starting to think I made a big mistake going with the products from Horizon Hobby/Arrma. So far I've replaced the radio & servo because they were inadequate, and now I am having serious issues with their wheels. I thought there was a deformity in the plastic casting, but that's not the case. I got a set of Bandito MT wheels with premounted tires, and right off there was a horrible wobbling. Turns out, the plastic is so thin that it begins to warp when driving at speed. After discovering this, I put the stock wheels back on, only to have them do the same thing! Another member on here @Freelander is having similar issues.

So, do I now have to switch brands of wheels/tires too? I bought a RTR model, but thus far it hasn't been the case. I'm regretting not going back to Traxxas. At this point, I'm counting on getting a decent set of wheels and listing the whole thing (including all the spare parts I bought and never used) up for sale. Hugely disappointed!

 

[Outcastblxnut]

Bye have fun on your traxxas adventure ??

 

[Spaz04]

I'll keep my eyes out for it in the classifieds!

 

[Glock21user]

Owning several Granites i can emphatically say you are stunningly full of poop, the original post is so full of WTF I cannot help but laugh.
Thanks for the chuckle this fine evening sitting on the deck watching the night roll in and enjoying this great forum and mostly all of its great members.

 

[CraigVMN]

Owning several Granites i can emphatically say you are stunningly full of poop, the original post is so full of WTF I cannot help but laugh.
Thanks for the chuckle this fine evening sitting on the deck watching the night roll in and enjoying this great forum and mostly all of its great members.

No problem, I'll supply pictures

 

[Glock21user]

No problem, I'll supply pictures

Now you just go ahead and do that.

 

[Freelander]

Yeah the beadlock sixpack st rims and tires exploded off my truck. I ended up doubling down and getting banditos just so I could get some value from the first set: presuming I had the patience to open them up I could use the tires on the new rims. But even after a few runs it's clear the rims are the problem.

Both sets have (had) at least 2 out of 4 tires severely out of balance brand new. Dry running on asphalt.

I think part of the flaw is the tiny 4M serrated nylock that accompanies the 14mm hex. I went to the metal ones we'll see how this works and I replaced the nylocks because they're really no good once you remove them once.

I tried adding a washer but those wheels will not fully engage with the hex. There's almost an 1/8th of an inch showing behind the wheel. There isn't room to fit the nylock without damaging the plastic by over torquing.

I wish I had gone with the hot racing 12 to 17mm conversion and getting the 12mm steel hexes rather than doubling down on the duratrax 14mm hex rims.

As for steering I am starting with a Mega. The linkages are kind of crappy plastic with crappy ball joints, but our servo has held up so far.

We've been replacing bearings: that's clearly a must do. I don't know about higher tier models but I am glad we are doing that because they are almost universally mangled after 3.5 weeks.

I don't know what to expect because this is my first go around and we bought the potato but damn there are so many areas that need improvement and just from reading that seems to be common amongst the next two tiers of cars 3S and 4S.

I want to get another car, was considering the typhon 3s which seems to have a shitload of higher tier components but I have started to look at other providers. I don't know what must do improvements need to be made.

I am just not familiar enough with different brands.

It seems like a slightly lower barrier to entry with arrma ends up being more costly because of deficiencies?

What's the consensus here?

I don't know but it seems like the 4x4 series is especially easy to wrench on though and parts and stuff are seemingly plentiful and mostly plug and play.. .
Yeah. . . Those wheels have kind of been problematic.
I would just like to add a caveat here: we're noobs. But we're in deep on this Mega. Also: loving it.

 

[CrashBoom]

The radios are ostensibly junk, that much is for sure.

I don't know much about anything other than the 6S line-up, that has been very reliable for me. Subjectively I'd say I do hear more complaints about the smaller line-up, but at the same time this is definitely a hobby where YMMV applies.

 

[Freelander]

I kind of want another arrma car because parts could be common amongst the two.

The typhon 3s is super attractive because it looks like what we should have got in the first place and what we're working towards with this granite we have.


It has taken some severe abuse because of terrible driving and complete ignorance of best practices. So overall it's been very good I guess. I am shocked more poop is not demolished.
YMMV?

Not familiar with this acronym.

 

[Glock21user]

I would agree all of the current radios suck butt, now I have to ask when you are complaining about the wheels do you reference wheels or really tires?
Asking for a friend...

 

[CrashBoom]

YMMV?

Not familiar with this acronym.

"Your mileage may vary"

There are lot of variables that can contribute to failures. Not all with the truck itself.

 

[jkflow]

I have no experience with Granite but not unheard of that there are manufacturing defects in batches. Haven't heard about this problem before, if this is isolated Horizon will fix it.
Was this a new model (purchased recently?), if yes reach out to Horizon and see if they warranty that stuff.

This assumes that this is not pure Operator induced.
Bashing tires are typically not balanced, why would they? The definition of 'horribly unbalanced' if very subjective. If the wheel disintegrates at standard speed, that is a defect, if you geared up and trying the break records that is normal.

Plastic steering linkages, no major complaints from anyone. They are plastic and you can check that at time of purchase. Upgrades are not always better, there is plenty of metal junk out there.

 

[smokeshit1]

I've had my Granite for only a few weeks, and I'm starting to think I made a big mistake going with the products from Horizon Hobby/Arrma. So far I've replaced the radio & servo because they were inadequate, and now I am having serious issues with their wheels. I thought there was a deformity in the plastic casting, but that's not the case. I got a set of Bandito MT wheels with premounted tires, and right off there was a horrible wobbling. Turns out, the plastic is so thin that it begins to warp when driving at speed. After discovering this, I put the stock wheels back on, only to have them do the same thing! Another member on here @Freelander is having similar issues.

So, do I now have to switch brands of wheels/tires too? I bought a RTR model, but thus far it hasn't been the case. I'm regretting not going back to Traxxas. At this point, I'm counting on getting a decent set of wheels and listing the whole thing (including all the spare parts I bought and never used) up for sale. Hugely disappointed!

you should try it one more time with good tires and rims. a lot of people on the internet like arrma

 

[JAM]

I get it. You spent some serious cash and invested time. Maybe you’ve had bad luck so far my friend. Out of all the 3s models I own the granite has been the toughest. 90% of the time it’s in the hands of a 4 year old and its been a tank.

I will say now with owning 4 different arrma rcs, granite, K4s, typhon, and a senton they all need 4 basic upgrades.

Radio
Servo
Pivot balls.
Bearings.

Do your research and you’ll find all can be had for around $100. Can you go without these, sure. These are RTR rcs. Will poop break? Uh ya. This won’t be the last “I’m moving to traxxas” rant, and venting Your frustration here is just fine, but I suggest not giving up, do some research and I’d bet you’d be able to solve your issues while keeping the cost under a shiny new comparable other branded rc. Good luck in your decision.

 

[suchtragedy]

You had the same issue with two different sets of wheels from different brands, so logic would suggest it's not a wheel manufacturing quality issue. Odds are there is something mechanical you haven't fixed yet.

I'm sorry to see you're displeased with your products but after re-reading your threads I feel a lot of failures you are having might be your own fault. I re-read some of your other posts and I see you took a Dremel to fix various wheel issues including grinding away material inside the hex of the banditos because they weren't seating right, so you made the plastic thinner yourself which is one of the issues you seem to be upset about.

I got a set of Bandito MT wheels with premounted tires, and right off there was a horrible wobbling. Turns out, the plastic is so thin that it begins to warp when driving at speed.

Tons of people run the banditos premounts in all sorts of flavors and hex sizes and they don't have this issue, so it seems like maybe you created it with your modification.

Also saw another thread where you melted a wheel with the Dremel trying to get a wheel nut off after stripping it because you over tightened it to fix your wobble (probably means it being loose wasn't the issue, or you used a power tool?) If it's tight enough to strip out and still wobbles then it's not a tightening or seating issue. Then in trying to remove the nut you used the Dremel again to cut a channel for a flat head driver or something. In doing this you said that you made a mistake and built up so much heat that you melted the wheel around the hex ruining the wheel which you were going to try and claim warranty on it.

https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/well-i-was-having-a-good-time.25327/

https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/lf-new-shoes-for-granite-mega.25263/post-348952

https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/axel-bearing-wheel-keep-popping-out.25446/


I have had 3 granites modified in various forms, a 3s senton, a 3s Typhon with 6s electronics, a highly modified 3s voltage, and a highly modified limitless/infraction. That being said I have had many breaks and failures like everyone else, but I have never had wheel failures like you've described before, at least not ones where I would rule it as a manufacturing/quality issue. Seized hub/wheel bearings, unbalanced wheels, non or poorly vented wheels, broken/damaged wheel hubs, bad wheel offset, poorly seated/unsecured hexes, too small hex pins, axle stubs not secured properly, or bent axle stubs... All just a few examples of things that can cause your issues.

 

[Freelander]

I would agree all of the current radios suck butt, now I have to ask when you are complaining about the wheels do you reference wheels or really tires?
Asking for a friend...

For me it's the wheels: the tires are good. No ballooning, they seem tough. The off road have great tread, the on road are great and look fiddlesticking sweet. But my first set: the sixpack look like they were all trying to fly off the truck. There is a clear like mushroom cap the shape of the outside wheel nut on every one (including the one that flew off my truck) on the hex side.

Dunno if the crazy wobble accounted for that or what. The stock wheels seem to run true and show no signs of deformation like what happened to that first set of duratrax. We've only had a couple runs with the next set.

Keep in mind we're only on 2S. We lost those first duratrax rims in like 4 batteries.

Anyways. Just talking about our experience. I did not start this thread.

Our granite has character let's say but we're all in on our truck here. Every time something grenades we're upgrading. We're enjoying it for sure.

 

[GRC]

I thought there was a deformity in the plastic casting, but that's not the case. I got a set of Bandito MT wheels with premounted tires, and right off there was a horrible wobbling. Turns out, the plastic is so thin that it begins to warp when driving at speed. After discovering this, I put the stock wheels back on, only to have them do the same thing! Another member on here @Freelander is having similar issues.

So, do I now have to switch brands of wheels/tires too?

You've tried two sets of tires and still get the same wobbling, now you're thinking of a third set of tires. Have you thought the wobble may not be coming from the tires? Wheels should not wobble excessively. There are many things that can cause wheel wobble. Some of them very easy to spot and very easy to fix. Is it all four wheels? Probably not. Have you swapped the tires around? Is the same tire wobbling if it's in front, back, left or right? Or for example, does the right rear always wobble no matter what tire you put on it? Have you taken a good look at all the parts that are connected to the tire that is wobbling? The hubs, bearings, axles, driveshafts, etc.? If you had to grind the hexes of your Banditos to get them to seat properly, I'm guessing something is not set up correctly.

For example, recently one of my tires was flying off its axle. After the second time, I took a closer look and it was a dirty seized bearing on the driveshaft side that was causing the problem. Replacing the tire or axle would not have helped.

I was initially upset this hobby required so much wrenching, but I've learned how to take it apart and put it back together and understand how all the parts work. When problems pop up, I can usually figure out what's wrong pretty quickly. The Granite is a very easy car to fix and maintain. Bitching and cursing won't help you, finding the problem will.

 

[CraigVMN]

First, some background on me. In my 58 years I have decided that if I can repair/replace something myself and save some money, I will do so. On my family real life cars, I have replaced brake shoes, rotors, shocks, struts, tie rod ends, control arms, AC compressor and behind-the-dash blower motor. My mechanical aptitude is sound.

As for "hobby" level, I built, maintained and flew a quadcopter. I've also owned a Traxxas Stampede and Slash 4x4. I accept breakage, repair and replacement is a part of the hobby. That said, a RTR model should not be require the new owner to replace key standard elements, like a radio/receiver and servo to operate at acceptable levels, yet all over the internet are people stating those are the first things one should count on replacing. Would you buy a full size daily driving car for you and your family, knowing you needed to replace the steering column and linkage for it to be operational within reason? Or, replace the wheels because the stock ones may melt down at highway speed? Of course not, the very idea is absurd.

So, as @Freelander stated above, he has experienced similar issues. Pictured below, wheel 1 is brand new out of the package, never run. Wheel 2 came out of the same package and literally began to melt and deform while running on smooth asphalt & 3s battery. Duratrax Bandito tires with a 14mm hex standard. Worse case is #5, where the plastic deformed to the point where the lock nut became fused to it, and was so soft I pulled the wheel right off, leaving the lock nut still attached to the axel. Still think I don't know what I'm talking about?

Now you just go ahead and do that.

Done, video to follow

 

[Yonic]

There's shouldnt be any heat in the axle area.

I think that you have a bearing that gone bad, it has friction and it heats the axle and ruining your wheels. The bearings should be checked after almost every drive.

Wheel bearing are extremely easy to check. Rock each tire back and front in the air, it should move freely.

 

[CraigVMN]

In these videos, we see the axel & nut spinning straight and true. Then I mount a wheel that has not been run, and while not perfect, it tracks as expected. Then I mount one of the wheels that went into melt down. Keep in mind, I'm spinning it by hand, imagine the effect at the rotation speeds while on 3s.

There's shouldnt be any heat in the axle area.

I think that you have a bearing that gone bad, it has friction and it heats the axle and ruining your wheels. The bearings should be checked after almost every drive.

If true, that again speaks to the poor quality of the HH products.
The videos show the axel & nut spinning straight and true, then a new wheel not run spinning as it should, followed by a wheel that was run on smooth asphalt and 3s battery. Keep in mind I'm spinning this by hand, imagine the effect while running at speed with a 3s battery.