Is Arrma going away with Kraton 8S?

[Weapon X]

Hi everyone,
Maybe it's just me but am I the only one feel like Kraton 8S getting less and less support every year? I start to feel like parts for 8S becoming less common. EXB roller version is like dead within 6 months after the released due to weak chassis, but that's why we have M2C. Maybe Arrma coming out with the new 8S line replacing Kraton that's why Kraton 8S is getting less support.

 

[Moirae]

They have discontinued almost everything at this point. I would expect a lot of new releases within the next month or 2.

 

[Weapon X]

They have discontinued almost everything at this point. I would expect a lot of new releases within the next month or 2.

So that's why. I'm hoping the parts for the new release will be compatible with Kraton for upgrade. I love everything about the Kraton 8S but the chassis gotta go. M2C need to partner with Arrma for the chassis.

 

[Sheed85]

They have discontinued almost everything at this point. I would expect a lot of new releases within the next month or 2.

Out of curiosity and sake of me making spontaneous purchases, also being relatively new to the hobby; how frequently do you see the big brands (Traxxas,Arrma,Losi,etc) bring out new or revised vehicles? Or is it kind of random?

 

[Moirae]

So that's why. I'm hoping the parts for the new release will be compatible with Kraton for upgrade. I love everything about the Kraton 8S but the chassis gotta go. M2C need to partner with Arrma for the chassis.

JustbashitRC chassis is good too and a lil cheaper. I got that one on my k8s and m2c on my o8s.

Out of curiosity and sake of me making spontaneous purchases, also being relatively new to the hobby; how frequently do you see the big brands (Traxxas,Arrma,Losi,etc) bring out new or revised vehicles? Or is it kind of random?

I'm not really sure. I'm going to estimate about 2-3 years between upgraded versions unless there is a real problem.

 

[Weapon X]

JustbashitRC chassis is good too and a lil cheaper. I got that one on my k8s and m2c on my o8s.

I'm not really sure. I'm going to estimate about 2-3 years between upgraded versions unless there is a real problem.

I actually went to JBIRC first for their chassis but changed my mind. I was told JBIRC chassis actually stronger than M2C chassis but it's too heavy. That's why I backed out and went to M2C instead. Also M2C has lot more upgrades parts and their customers service is top notch.

 

[Moirae]

I actually went to JBIRC first for their chassis but changed my mind. I was told JBIRC chassis actually stronger than M2C chassis but it's too heavy. That's why I backed out and went to M2C instead. Also M2C has lot more upgrades parts and their customers service is top notch.

I don't know how it compares weight wise but my k8s is definitely heavy as hell.

 

[RC-Dude]

EXB roller versions make little sense. There is money in ESCs and motors and why give that profit away to other companies? If you can sell a roller at a profit then ESC and motor on top is easy guaranteed profit. Like an aftersale that already comes with the product. From a business perspective selling rollers is absolute nuts.

And people put waaaaaaay to powerful power drives in the cars and then complain about diffs not holding up. A Hobbywing 4985 will melt your center diff if you do not put thick oil into it or get an aluminium casing. Rear drive shafts will probably snap your drive cups on the K8 with a Hobbywing 800KV or 1100KV once you start jumping. Tires pulling off rims (tires are a huge limiting factor in powering up a car), gears braking, Etc. etc. etc. That actually does not do anything for the Arrma brand.

Those who buy rollers will add a high end ESC and motor. And those who really want the car are going to buy it anyway with stock ESC and motor. Then go tuning. Roller buyers are going to spend anyway. They are high spenders anyway.

So Arrma has a few options.

• Install a drive that is not putting too much strain on the whole car. Like it is happening now. Seems a large part of the customer base is here.
• M2C the cars and add a powerfull motor and ESC and drive prices up. And probably increase car weight by strengthening the whole setup.
• Sell a stock version of a car and a power version. But when you buy the stock version you already feel like you got a worse deal. So that's not a good tradeoff.
• Take back market share by producing what the aftermarket produces. Like M2C parts, stronger drives etc. But that brings warranty issues. (Jumped my car and it broke- me no no never wrong.)

 

[Gedrick]

EXB roller versions make little sense. There is money in ESCs and motors and why give that profit away to other companies? If you can sell a roller at a profit then ESC and motor on top is easy guaranteed profit. Like an aftersale that already comes with the product. From a business perspective selling rollers is absolute nuts.

And people put waaaaaaay to powerful power drives in the cars and then complain about diffs not holding up. A Hobbywing 4985 will melt your center diff if you do not put thick oil into it or get an aluminium casing. Rear drive shafts will probably snap your drive cups on the K8 with a Hobbywing 800KV or 1100KV once you start jumping. Tires pulling off rims (tires are a huge limiting factor in powering up a car), gears braking, Etc. etc. etc. That actually does not do anything for the Arrma brand.

Those who buy rollers will add a high end ESC and motor. And those who really want the car are going to buy it anyway with stock ESC and motor. Then go tuning. Roller buyers are going to spend anyway. They are high spenders anyway.

So Arrma has a few options.

• Install a drive that is not putting too much strain on the whole car. Like it is happening now. Seems a large part of the customer base is here.
• M2C the cars and add a powerfull motor and ESC and drive prices up. And probably increase car weight by strengthening the whole setup.
• Sell a stock version of a car and a power version. But when you buy the stock version you already feel like you got a worse deal. So that's not a good tradeoff.
• Take back market share by producing what the aftermarket produces. Like M2C parts, stronger drives etc. But that brings warranty issues. (Jumped my car and it broke- me no no never wrong.)

Good summary of RC in general, the whole selling RTR vs. roller and what not.

My main takeaway is, man it sucks to be on the business and customer service side of RC

 

[slick2500]

EXB roller versions make little sense. There is money in ESCs and motors and why give that profit away to other companies? If you can sell a roller at a profit then ESC and motor on top is easy guaranteed profit. Like an aftersale that already comes with the product. From a business perspective selling rollers is absolute nuts.

And people put waaaaaaay to powerful power drives in the cars and then complain about diffs not holding up. A Hobbywing 4985 will melt your center diff if you do not put thick oil into it or get an aluminium casing. Rear drive shafts will probably snap your drive cups on the K8 with a Hobbywing 800KV or 1100KV once you start jumping. Tires pulling off rims (tires are a huge limiting factor in powering up a car), gears braking, Etc. etc. etc. That actually does not do anything for the Arrma brand.

Those who buy rollers will add a high end ESC and motor. And those who really want the car are going to buy it anyway with stock ESC and motor. Then go tuning. Roller buyers are going to spend anyway. They are high spenders anyway.

So Arrma has a few options.

• Install a drive that is not putting too much strain on the whole car. Like it is happening now. Seems a large part of the customer base is here.
• M2C the cars and add a powerfull motor and ESC and drive prices up. And probably increase car weight by strengthening the whole setup.
• Sell a stock version of a car and a power version. But when you buy the stock version you already feel like you got a worse deal. So that's not a good tradeoff.
• Take back market share by producing what the aftermarket produces. Like M2C parts, stronger drives etc. But that brings warranty issues. (Jumped my car and it broke- me no no never wrong.)

On the horizon site when you are shopping for rollers the suggested ad on are always Spektrum products so I would like to assume that Horizons thoughts were people would buy the suggested Spektrum stuff from them.

 

[305HemiGuy]

I was thiiiis close to selling my K8 a few weeks ago for much less than what I have put into it. My girl talked me out of it and told me to keep it, looking back now, I'm glad I listened to her and kept it. Yea these huge, heavy monsters have weak spots, but it's such a cool niche rig. Even if I barely run it, it's still one heck of a conversation piece whenever others see it. Something is definitely going on with the Arrma & the 8S line, and who knows, maybe in the future these things may turn into unicorns like the Nero & Senton 6s. I still would like to get my hands on an O8 roller as well before those become either stupidly expensive or pretty hard to find. Another thing I've noticed over the last year or so is how much prices have gone up in the used RC market, post COVID. In the early days of COVID I snagged my K8 with 2 Genss-ace (misspelled on purpose) batteries for $500 and a fully functional Mojave with tons of extras for $300...good luck finding those prices now. I'm interested to see what Arrma has up their sleeve, specially in the large scale arena.

 

[Weapon X]

EXB roller versions make little sense. There is money in ESCs and motors and why give that profit away to other companies? If you can sell a roller at a profit then ESC and motor on top is easy guaranteed profit. Like an aftersale that already comes with the product. From a business perspective selling rollers is absolute nuts.

And people put waaaaaaay to powerful power drives in the cars and then complain about diffs not holding up. A Hobbywing 4985 will melt your center diff if you do not put thick oil into it or get an aluminium casing. Rear drive shafts will probably snap your drive cups on the K8 with a Hobbywing 800KV or 1100KV once you start jumping. Tires pulling off rims (tires are a huge limiting factor in powering up a car), gears braking, Etc. etc. etc. That actually does not do anything for the Arrma brand.

Those who buy rollers will add a high end ESC and motor. And those who really want the car are going to buy it anyway with stock ESC and motor. Then go tuning. Roller buyers are going to spend anyway. They are high spenders anyway.

So Arrma has a few options.

• Install a drive that is not putting too much strain on the whole car. Like it is happening now. Seems a large part of the customer base is here.
• M2C the cars and add a powerfull motor and ESC and drive prices up. And probably increase car weight by strengthening the whole setup.
• Sell a stock version of a car and a power version. But when you buy the stock version you already feel like you got a worse deal. So that's not a good tradeoff.
• Take back market share by producing what the aftermarket produces. Like M2C parts, stronger drives etc. But that brings warranty issues. (Jumped my car and it broke- me no no never wrong.)

Very good points about the rollers version especially about the type of people who will buy rollers. It just suck for the consumers who doesn't like the stock electronic. The biggest problem is M2C full replacement parts add about 1.6lb more to the Kraton. So M2C parts do no add that much more weight, and that is if you are going to get a full replacements including their drive shaft and stuff. I feel like Arrma can make the same upgrade parts themselves and sell them to make more money. They can make 2 different versions of 8S like the cheap one and expensive one with all the upgraded parts. With M2C full upgrade, Vitavon redesigned drive cups and RPM arms make the Kraton became almost unbreakable.

 

[Moirae]

Very good points about the rollers version especially about the type of people who will buy rollers. It just suck for the consumers who doesn't like the stock electronic. The biggest problem is M2C full replacement parts add about 1.6lb more to the Kraton. So M2C parts do no add that much more weight, and that is if you are going to get a full replacements including their drive shaft and stuff. I feel like Arrma can make the same upgrade parts themselves and sell them to make more money. They can make 2 different versions of 8S like the cheap one and expensive one with all the upgraded parts. With M2C full upgrade, Vitavon redesigned drive cups and RPM arms make the Kraton became almost unbreakable.

All I really have is the chassis and upgraded dog bones and I think mine is pretty damn durable already. I haven't needed to buy any of the other m2c stuff.

I think there is something to be said for at least trying to please your customers and not having rollers definitely pisses people off. If what @RC-Dude said is true then those same people who want rollers could say FU and just build the rig with all upgraded parts and now arrma doesn't get anything. I guess lucky for them most people not going to do that but it sure would be funny.

 

[RC-Dude]

I was thiiiis close to selling my K8 a few weeks ago

Been there too. And then you drive it and it's like driving a tank and it's fun.

not having rollers definitely pisses people off.

Basically I'm speculating. Arrma has the numbers.

Once on a few Arrma rigs there is no way away. Compatibilty within the Arrma line, aftermarket parts, community, quality, availability of parts etc.

 

[Weapon X]

I don't know how it compares weight wise but my k8s is definitely heavy as hell.

All I really have is the chassis and upgraded dog bones and I think mine is pretty damn durable already. I haven't needed to buy any of the other m2c stuff.

I think there is something to be said for at least trying to please your customers and not having rollers definitely pisses people off. If what @RC-Dude said is true then those same people who want rollers could say FU and just build the rig with all upgraded parts and now arrma doesn't get anything. I guess lucky for them most people not going to do that but it sure would be funny.

Lol I actually did that when the EXB Kraton 8S came out. My friend brought the Kraton 8S EXB when it first released and the chassis got bend right on the first day bashing. I was going to buy the EXB on the same week but good thing my friend brought the car before me and test it out. That's when I decided I just goings to build the car from scratch with all the aftermarket parts. Vitavon, RPM and M2C together it almost like you have to try if you want to break the car.The overkill M2C shock system and drive shaft are like indestructible.
If M2C ever make the rollers themselves I would buy it without a heartbeat.