Kraton New Arrma 4s 2022 models.

[slick2500]

Nope, Traxxas back in the day used Castle ESCs. Corally uses max8, max10sct, & max10 ESCs. Hobao 6s ESCs are well binned & I'd use them over Spektrum any day. Redcat & Team Magic also used max6 & max8 clones. Arrma used a max8 clone in the Nero, but it was way too watered down. As for servos, both Corally & Hobao use coreless digital servos but both are beat by the 35kg Amazon special.

Here's the sad part Hobbywing also makes the Spektrum escs. So it is something that Spektrum does on their end that messes them up.

I have seen 400$ esc from hobbywing and caslte blow up in flames. Some casle motor bending because of the set screw of the pinions. Everything is kinda crap when it comes to electronics in the first batches

The coreless amazon servo give way too much before they start to hold
You can move the horn by hand on them a fair amount before it locks up
View attachment 225140

I've had that problem with those servos too.

 

[Megasty]

I've had that problem with those servos too.

My first 2 actually died pretty fast, but I still have both replacements & that was nearly 3 years ago. None of mine lock up by hand when the car is off. I have a pro, but I haven't put it in anything yet.

I have seen 400$ esc from hobbywing and caslte blow up in flames. Some casle motor bending because of the set screw of the pinions. Everything is kinda crap when it comes to electronics in the first batches

The coreless amazon servo give way too much before they start to hold
You can move the horn by hand on them a fair amount before it locks up
View attachment 225140

They had to make it longer, but at least it's wider & over 9 lbs That poor motor is going to be suffering. It's just a tiny bit smaller than the 6s.

 

[Surchaufeur]

My first 2 actually died pretty fast, but I still have both replacements & that was nearly 3 years ago. None of mine lock up by hand when the car is off. I have a pro, but I haven't put it in anything yet.


They had to make it longer, but at least it's wider & over 9 lbs That poor motor is going to be suffering. It's just a tiny bit smaller than the 6s.

The best are i found is the ds3218pro for the money.

 

[419RC]

So many people are salty about them cutting out rollers. What you have to understand is that you probably aren’t a blip on their radar in the grand scheme of things. If they are phasing out rollers it’s because the vast majority of their sales are NOT rollers.

As an engineer who focuses primarily on building business cases for costs savings projects, I analyze a lot of data and the $$$$ to justify projects. The guys are simply making a business move based on their data, they are aren’t canvassing the forums looking for the opinions of the minority of their sales.

Myself, like the majority of casual badgers, have no qualm with the spectrum electronics. My NOTO v4 has done what I asked, minus the stx2…which I replaced with an slt3 because for my basic needs, it’s held up fantastically.

The stock servo has also held up perfectly since I set endpoints from day 1. Is it
Underpowered? Sure, just like the 15kg Servos that other basher trucks rep.

To sum it up, there are more people that buy these things than have a login for this forum that likely drive their business model.

 

[Moirae]

Isn't it normally the hardcore minority that influence the casuals? I was a casual half a year ago and I didn't find arrma from their own marketing. I found arrma through word of mouth. Youtube videos of people who knew a lot more than me. If I see everyone complaining about the electronics and the brand in general I'm going to think twice even as a casual. I don't understand how it makes sense to ignore your loyal fanbase who is a big part of the reason you actually sell anything at all.


Hell, we're super small time youtube chan and small presence on IG. I've personally sold a few arrmas for them lol. Word of mouth is real.

 

[419RC]

I’m not saying I agree with it, but money is money is money lol. It quickly clouds judgement. I find it very hard to convince those above me to make a move on projects that I think are a good move solely to gain a new vendors trust without significant gain or for sustainability reasons, even though I work for a solar manufacturer who markets their product based on that.

 

[Megasty]

Isn't it normally the hardcore minority that influence the casuals? I was a casual half a year ago and I didn't find arrma from their own marketing. I found arrma through word of mouth. Youtube videos of people who knew a lot more than me. If I see everyone complaining about the electronics and the brand in general I'm going to think twice even as a casual. I don't understand how it makes sense to ignore your loyal fanbase who is a big part of the reason you actually sell anything at all.


Hell, we're super small time youtube chan and small presence on IG. I've personally sold a few arrmas for them lol. Word of mouth is real.

When it comes to this hobby, large YT'ers have a much larger reach than Arrma (or HH for that matter) will ever have. In no way can you simply not count their value in the face of poor business decisions. All Arrma can do is stop sending them free cars but the voice will never go away, especially if they choose to spill the beans. Use KT for example. He took a TON of flak for being too harsh on his reviewed rides when he did get them. Now he buys them & chucks them in the trash if he thinks they're garbage. Of course, the majority of large channels are still getting free rigs, despite logistics. When the V1 4s came out, hardly none of them had problems with it. Most of the problems came from people that ran it more than a few times for a video or 2. That's the main reason to take YT videos with a grain of salt. YOU have to run whatever you buy. Going off what you see in a new truck being ran for a few mins (mostly edited) is not doing your wallet any justice. This goes for most new rigs. When have you ever seen them NOT have an awesome video for a new car.

 

[BulletRCs_NZ]

When it comes to this hobby, large YT'ers have a much larger reach than Arrma (or HH for that matter) will ever have. In no way can you simply not count their value in the face of poor business decisions. All Arrma can do is stop sending them free cars but the voice will never go away, especially if they choose to spill the beans. Use KT for example. He took a TON of flak for being too harsh on his reviewed rides when he did get them. Now he buys them & chucks them in the trash if he thinks they're garbage. Of course, the majority of large channels are still getting free rigs, despite logistics. When the V1 4s came out, hardly none of them had problems with it. Most of the problems came from people that ran it more than a few times for a video or 2. That's the main reason to take YT videos with a grain of salt. YOU have to run whatever you buy. Going off what you see in a new truck being ran for a few mins (mostly edited) is not doing your wallet any justice. This goes for most new rigs. When have you ever seen them NOT have an awesome video for a new car.

Exactly! When you have so many vehicles the long term issues are never encountered.

Anyway Arrma already have a worthy 4s rig, tough as nails. It's called the Notorious. Just had a fun after work mid winters bash with my Noto on 4s. Totally stock just with the bigger pinion. Wheelies, backflips and plenty of speed. 3 diffs, metal chassis etc. And available now at a Hobby store near you. Love my Noto

 

[Megasty]

Exactly! When you have so many vehicles the long term issues are never encountered.

Anyway Arrma already have a worthy 4s rig, tough as nails. It's called the Notorious. Just had a fun after work mid winters bash with my Noto on 4s. Totally stock just with the bigger pinion. Wheelies, backflips and plenty of speed. 3 diffs, metal chassis etc. And available now at a Hobby store near you. Love my Noto

Way back when I had the V1 6s Kraton, I ran it for over a year on 4s. Perfectly content. It had no problems at all, even the blx 180 was perfect. Then I bought a 6s battery like an idiot. 1st time out, I blew a rear wheel bearing. 3rd time on 6s, I burnt the ESC. I still have that truck, & the body with the burn mark on it. I had an original blue body too, but some kind of way someone managed to buy it off me.

 

[BulletRCs_NZ]

Way back when I had the V1 6s Kraton, I ran it for over a year on 4s. Perfectly content. It had no problems at all, even the blx 180 was perfect. Then I bought a 6s battery like an idiot. 1st time out, I blew a rear wheel bearing. 3rd time on 6s, I burnt the ESC. I still have that truck, & the body with the burn mark on it. I had an original blue body too, but some kind of way someone managed to buy it off me.

Yep 4s is going to break less.

 

[Surchaufeur]

So many people are salty about them cutting out rollers. What you have to understand is that you probably aren’t a blip on their radar in the grand scheme of things. If they are phasing out rollers it’s because the vast majority of their sales are NOT rollers.

As an engineer who focuses primarily on building business cases for costs savings projects, I analyze a lot of data and the $$$$ to justify projects. The guys are simply making a business move based on their data, they are aren’t canvassing the forums looking for the opinions of the minority of their sales.

Myself, like the majority of casual badgers, have no qualm with the spectrum electronics. My NOTO v4 has done what I asked, minus the stx2…which I replaced with an slt3 because for my basic needs, it’s held up fantastically.

The stock servo has also held up perfectly since I set endpoints from day 1. Is it
Underpowered? Sure, just like the 15kg Servos that other basher trucks rep.

To sum it up, there are more people that buy these things than have a login for this forum that likely drive their business model.

You know why its bogus imo? They discontinued the talion when they released the v5 and kraton exb roller. Same for the outcast just to bring it back as exb rtr. I think it was already planified from the start. Horizonhobby wants to sell their brand and arrma has to follow. The first batches of kraton exb And mojave exb came with a 25 servo arm then suddently it now has a 23t servo arm. Its obvious whats happening. A lot of people wont buy the exb rtr because 1 its more expensive and you get under avg electronics exept for the radio i believe. 2 the alluminum is low grade 7075 Its okay imo but no way near 7075 t6of the after market. The 8s 7075 chassis isnt even 7075 to begin withi believe it has 0 spring to it and bends extremly easily. I still remember talbot hammering one and it just bent like nothing while the m2c didnt even budge. The price point is just way too high as a RTR. Sure the 6s exb went down by 50usd making it a bit less expensive but still people like the freedom the exb rollers gave to the costumer. Would i want to spend 699$ for a talion Or 470$ For the roller? Its 229$ less. Sure you can argue you get for 229$ Electronics to run it. The esc is underwhelming underpowered and likes to go out. Servo is junk and shorts the whole truck out and can burn the receiver in some cases. The motor i feel should be at least 2000kv. Hard to screw up a motor. Radio is the only great thing. Jennysrc is a treasure for electronics.
My notorious felt underpowered. It wasnt able to pull a backflip on the same jump as my kraton exb running 14t on the blx 185 system. Pulling it off was hard but with the noto it was almost impossible gunning it in the air did nothing almost. Im now on 14T like the kraton and still doesn't feel right power wise.

 

[Adiabatic]

So many people are salty about them cutting out rollers. What you have to understand is that you probably aren’t a blip on their radar in the grand scheme of things. If they are phasing out rollers it’s because the vast majority of their sales are NOT rollers.

As an engineer who focuses primarily on building business cases for costs savings projects, I analyze a lot of data and the $$$$ to justify projects. The guys are simply making a business move based on their data, they are aren’t canvassing the forums looking for the opinions of the minority of their sales.

Myself, like the majority of casual badgers, have no qualm with the spectrum electronics. My NOTO v4 has done what I asked, minus the stx2…which I replaced with an slt3 because for my basic needs, it’s held up fantastically.

The stock servo has also held up perfectly since I set endpoints from day 1. Is it
Underpowered? Sure, just like the 15kg Servos that other basher trucks rep.

To sum it up, there are more people that buy these things than have a login for this forum that likely drive their business model.

Nice to read a post from someone who gets it.

 

[Moirae]

Nice to read a post from someone who gets it.

I mean you think you get it but it doesn't mean you or he are right. From my pov it's definitely short sighted. There is a reason people feel like Horizon Hobby ruins everything they touch. Pissing off your customers is not it. It's like when Microsoft came out with the xbox one and made all those stupid decisions thinking about their pockets and not the customer. What happen? They got trolled, pooped on and now they are forever behind Sony and PlayStation brand. They had to 180 on all the stupid decisions. Companies aren't god nor do they know everything and make perfect decisions all the time.

You guys are the type that like to let companies dictate to you what you should like and want. I guess thats "getting it" though

 

[slick2500]

I mean you think you get it but it doesn't mean you or he are right. From my pov it's definitely short sighted. There is a reason people feel like Horizon Hobby ruins everything they touch. Pissing off your customers is not it. It's like when Microsoft came out with the xbox one and made all those stupid decisions thinking about their pockets and not the customer. What happen? They got trolled, pooped on and now they are forever behind Sony and PlayStation brand. They had to 180 on all the stupid decisions. Companies aren't god nor do they know everything and make perfect decisions all the time.

You guys are the type that like to let companies dictate to you what you should like and want. I guess thats "getting it" though

Horizon doesn't care about their customers proof of that is the STX2 radio, Horizon first introduced this radio in 2017 in their Ecx line of vehicles and everyone who bought one complained about the input lag, range issues and the random loss of signal. Horizon forced that pile of garbage on Arrma in 2019 anyway fully knowing that the radio system had issues. Like seriously what the fiddlestick Horizon? Sad thing is that they still use the STX2 radio for the Ecx vehicles

 

[Surchaufeur]

In my book. Companies always have their prime time. Once they hit it they start to fall down. That goes up for movies and almost everything in this world. I believe arrma is now in the slope. Their prime time was during their 10th anniversary imo. So many trucks released and praises. After that it started to be let downs after let downs
Its time for them to make a fresh new line. They should pick the nero line and do something with it. They jeed something new or something in the on road department. You cant just keep recycling a platform for ever

 

[Moirae]

Horizon doesn't care about their customers proof of that is the STX2 radio, Horizon first introduced this radio in 2017 in their Ecx line of vehicles and everyone who bought one complained about the input lag, range issues and the random loss of signal. Horizon forced that pile of garbage on Arrma in 2019 anyway fully knowing that the radio system had issues. Like seriously what the fiddlestick Horizon? Sad thing is that they still use the STX2 radio for the Ecx vehicles

I had no idea about any of that but wow that actually sounds really bad. Zero respect for the customer and feedback.

 

[razorrc]

While I think HH could definitely improve some aspects, I'm going to point out a few things for the positive.

1. If HH didn't come in and acquire Arrma, it wouldn't exist. It was on the verge of going out of business, and HH came in and bought it. The alternative to HH is... nothing. Which is clearly worse.
2. Parts support has actually improved over time. When the V1 Kraton 4S came out, parts support was really bad, you couldn't buy an A-arm for a brand new vehicle for 3-6 months! I had the same experience with my Granite 3S v1. For the most part now, every part you want for current cars is available.
3. The STX2 is gone from Arrma lineup, and replaced with the SLT3/SR315/SLT300 which is superior IMO to the Tactic radios Arrma used to come with.
4. HH's warranty policy is absurdly generous. Honestly, they are way too lenient with their warranty, to the point that people abuse it.

It's arguable that the old Arrma business model was not profitable (enough), so while things were great in the "golden era of Arrma" (whenever that was), it probably was not sustainable. Else they wouldn't have needed to be acquired. You might say they are a great engineering company, but a poor business. And unfortunately those companies don't last.

 

[Moirae]

While I think HH could definitely improve some aspects, I'm going to point out a few things for the positive.

1. If HH didn't come in and acquire Arrma, it wouldn't exist. It was on the verge of going out of business, and HH came in and bought it. The alternative to HH is... nothing. Which is clearly worse.
2. Parts support has actually improved over time. When the V1 Kraton 4S came out, parts support was really bad, you couldn't buy an A-arm for a brand new vehicle for 3-6 months! I had the same experience with my Granit 4x4 3S v1. For the most part now, every part you want for current cars is available.
3. The STX2 is gone from Arrma lineup, and replaced with the SLT3/SR315/SLT300 which is superior IMO to the Tactic radios Arrma used to come with.
4. HH's warranty policy is absurdly generous. Honestly, they are way too lenient with their warranty IMO, to the point that people abuse it.

It's arguable that the old Arrma business model was not profitable (enough), so while things were great in the "golden era of Arrma" (whenever that was), it probably was not sustainable. Else they wouldn't have needed to be acquired. You might say they are a great engineering company, but a poor business. And unfortunately those companies don't last.

I dunno about that part support though bro. I mean I think you still can't even buy Typhon TLR parts and it's been months now. Hard to disagree with something is better than nothing though haha.

 

[MrLimey]

I am on the fence about pre ordering the Kraton 4s. My son and I are currently sharing a Granite BLX running on 2s and having a lot of fun, except he is only 5, so there is not a lot of sharing on his part and we need a second vehicle so we can drive together. Does anyone know if the 4s be run on a single 2s to keep the speed down if he wants to drive it? I know the ESC is listed compatible, but the 4S product page says 3s or 4s only.

I don't think we will ever run the Granite on 3s. It's been bulletproof on 2s except for an ESC issue HH warrantied a replacement for promptly. It sounds like 3S is just going to cause things to break on it. I guess my hope with the 4S model would be a bulletproof 3S model, same as how the 3S models are bulletproof on 2S.

I also have no idea what kind of timeframe we are looking at for fulfillment preorders? as all delivery dates are gone from the product page and I missed the HH fathers day giftcard sale so I would be paying full price and be at the back of the preorder line at this stage.

Does anyone know historically if there are build quality and QC issues with first runs of new models? I also don't want to be the early adopter who has to deal with that, we just want to bash around with them and have fun.

Maybe I am just better off getting a Big Rock. Any advice or opinions welcome! Thanks.

 

[razorrc]

I dunno about that part support though bro. I mean I think you still can't even buy Typhon TLR parts and it's been months now. Hard to disagree with something is better than nothing though haha.

I'd be shocked if that buggy wasn't discontinued soon. It never really made any sense. Again, cool engineering exercise. Absolutely zero business case.