Granite New to the Hobby -

[Grizzly Bear]

Complete Newb to the Hobby and seriously contemplating 2 Arrma purchases. 1 for Daddy and 1 for Daughter..

I'm looking at the Granite 3s BLX for Daddy.... but is the Voltage the way to go for the 6 year old....?

I appreciate that the Voltage is an older, bottom of the tree model but i have seen quite a few "breakage " threads.... Is it really worth the buy?

Thanks in advance....

 

[joostin420]

Welcome

 

[D3MON]

Complete Newb to the Hobby and seriously contemplating 2 Arrma purchases. 1 for Daddy and 1 for Daughter..

I'm looking at the Granite 3s BLX for Daddy.... but is the Voltage the way to go for the 6 year old....?

I appreciate that the Voltage is an older, bottom of the tree model but i have seen quite a few "breakage " threads.... Is it really worth the buy?

Thanks in advance....

i can speak on the granite 4x4 truck (brushless/BLX and brushed/Mega), and that it is quite strong, i know a few people that visit my lhs has the 2wd model, one has a brushless combo swapped into it. never heard anything bad about them from the LHS when they brought them in (BL motor bearing swap) but didn't hear otherwise either.

 

[Jeremy in WI]

Welcome to the forum!

I've talked through this debate with myself a few times, and I decided (but haven't done it yet) I am going to get my 7 year old son a 3s granite. Reasoning -

1. I have 1 already, with a ridiculous amount of spare parts that could be shared.
2. The voltage is not easily upgraded to the capabilities of the 3s platform, and would likely end up then getting replaced in the long run.
3. The 3s lineup can still be run on nimh batteries, and I don't want the kids messing with lipos yet. That, combined with some altered throttle endpoints can create a setup safe for starters but can easily be turned up over time.
4. The 3s trucks are strong enough to handle some heavy bashing, so once slowed down they would be insanely resilient.

I also thought about getting him a 4x4 granite mega so he could have the experience of upgrading and learning the car, but that would end up costing more than the 3s granite in the long run, not taking any breakages into account.

I know you could buy 3 voltages for the price of one 3S, but over the course of time I think it is a wise investment. And if he decides it's not something he likes, I'm sure I could find some use for it!

 

[Grizzly Bear]

Thanks for the feedback.... sadly i would love to go 3s for her and 6s for me. As it is my first ever RC car the big bucks are destined for me, her's was an after thought and the funds wouldn't be available for a 3s for her.

I do see your point though.

My only other option is a different Brand for her..... and honestly I've had this conversation on other forums not brand specific and looked at many, many endless possible options from peoples feedback.... maybe i should revisit that idea...!

 

[D3MON]

Welcome to the forum!

I've talked through this debate with myself a few times, and I decided (but haven't done it yet) I am going to get my 7 year old son a 3s granite. Reasoning -

1. I have 1 already, with a ridiculous amount of spare parts that could be shared.
2. The voltage is not easily upgraded to the capabilities of the 3s platform, and would likely end up then getting replaced in the long run.
3. The 3s lineup can still be run on nimh batteries, and I don't want the kids messing with lipos yet. That, combined with some altered throttle endpoints can create a setup safe for starters but can easily be turned up over time.
4. The 3s trucks are strong enough to handle some heavy bashing, so once slowed down they would be insanely resilient.

I also thought about getting him a 4x4 granite mega so he could have the experience of upgrading and learning the car, but that would end up costing more than the 3s granite in the long run, not taking any breakages into account.

I know you could buy 3 voltages for the price of one 3S, but over the course of time I think it is a wise investment. And if he decides it's not something he likes, I'm sure I could find some use for it!

the one thing i like about the mega is that alot of the wear parts Diffs/slipper, are the ones that get swapped out for the BLX stuff anyways.
and for the most part it also seems that even when people do get the BLX, they swap out the esc/motor anyways.

Thanks for the feedback.... sadly i would love to go 3s for her and 6s for me. As it is my first ever RC car the big bucks are destined for me, her's was an after thought and the funds wouldn't be available for a 3s for her.

I do see your point though.

My only other option is a different Brand for her..... and honestly I've had this conversation on other forums not brand specific and looked at many, many endless possible options from peoples feedback.... maybe i should revisit that idea...!

Edited: "Electrix"(brand) not "electric"could be good,

one thing i will say though is for the most part, unless you get a screaming deal, try to stay away from redcat/hsp/exceed, i bought one as my first and it really wasnt a bad truck for the most part, but as it sits now, it is quite worn out. diffs are pretty well gone, center driveshaft ovaled out (terrible design, hollow tube with a pin through it for the spur mount.) i will say about exceed is the brushless combo i got with it is actually pretty decent. had it on that rig for a good few years till it fell apart, went to a wheely king build, ECX ruckus, and now resides in a rustler soon to be planted into a Granite Mega 4x4.

 

[Jeremy in WI]

Thanks for the feedback.... sadly i would love to go 3s for her and 6s for me. As it is my first ever RC car the big bucks are destined for me, her's was an after thought and the funds wouldn't be available for a 3s for her.

I do see your point though.

My only other option is a different Brand for her..... and honestly I've had this conversation on other forums not brand specific and looked at many, many endless possible options from peoples feedback.... maybe i should revisit that idea...!

I hear you on that. I got my 3s last year, and planning on getting his in June. I've pretty much got the cost impacts out of the way from the last one, so his should just be the cost of the car and nothing else...
SHOULD being the key word there... Whatever you go with, keep us updated. It's always fun hearing about what direction people go and the experiences they get!

 

[roondog]

I have one for my daughter who is 7. I put a tbone bumper on and she has yet to do any damage needing repair.

 

[arrmadillo]

Welcome to the forum!
Good luck with your decision.

 

[sadlerbw]

I picked up a Granite 4x4 (the brushed version) recently, and my kids kept bugging me to drive it so much that I bought a Granite Voltage so that they could play as well. Now, I tend to be of the opinion that there is no kill like over-kill, so both of these trucks didn't take long to end up brushless, but while they WERE close to stock I formed a few opinions.

Granite 4x4
Pros:

• Easier to drive thanks to the 4WD and better tires. The huge advantage on 4WD for my kids was that you get braking on the front and rear wheels instead of just the rears. When they got headed somewhere they didn't want to and realized it ahead of time, the 4x4 was easier to stop.
• Less getting stuck. 4WD made it easier to get out of light brush or little ditches that were accidentally entered than the 2WD truck.
• Jumps better, even stock. I just find the 4x4 easier to control in the air with the extra motor torque and more rotating mass.
• Better stock bumpers
• Easier to switch the body to velcro instead of clips
• More options to upgrade to a faster, more capable truck.
• Diff's are way easier to work on and tune if you are so inclined. It can be done on the Voltage, but you can tell they really weren't designed for the diff to be serviceable.

Cons:

• heavier and faster, so more painful when they hit you in the ankles with it.
• drained NiMH packs like there was no tomorrow. I very quickly switched to LiPo so I could get more runtime
• LiPo seems harder on this truck than the 2WD, especially on the stock brushed motors. The bigger motor and extra mass to push around pushes the stock motor past where it really wants to be in terms of heat and load.
• Going brushless is more expensive. Not only because you probably want a more powerful motor and ESC, but because there are other parts that you WILL have to upgrade if you go brushless. While you can get the 17T HD diff input shafts and don't need to buy the whole BLX diff setup anymore, you will still have to swap the inputs out. Also, you will end up upgrading the stock slipper one way or another. Personally, I went with the Hot Racing steel spur gear and aluminum slipper pad, but the BLX slipper is a popular upgrade as well.

Granite Voltage (the 2WD one)
Pros:

• Cheeeeeap! For $99, you could spend another $100 on upgrades, or snacks, or whatever, and still have spent less than buying the stock Granite 4x4!
• Less stuff to break. There are simply less parts in general, and without a drivetrain in the front, there is less to get bent or broken when it gets rammed nose-first into a wall.
• Easier to make it slow. If you want the kids to start slow, it is easier on this truck. The 4x4 demands a real battery, but the Voltage can be run on two Lion cells. It will be slower than grandma driving to church on Sunday, but at least you have the option. There is a baseline speed with the 4x4 that you can't really go below.
• Stupid-easy to work on. I don't think there is anything you can't replace on this truck in under 15 minutes. The 4x4 isn't exactly hard to work on, there is just more stuff to deal with.
• 12mm wheel hexes! Yeah they are plastic, but finding cheap wheels and tires, or good ones, is easier with the 12mm hexes.
• Good for learning car control. 4x4 and torque covererth a multitude of sins. 2WD makes you try harder to stay pointed in the right direction...however, this could be frustrating if your kid doesn't pick up car control quickly.
• Doesn't seem to mind 2S LiPO at all, and runs for a long time on one. The 20T only pushing two wheels doesn't seem to overheat nearly as bad on a LiPo as the motor in the 4x4 does.

Cons:

• It's 2WD with a mostly open diff. It doesn't accelerate or stop as well as the 4x4, and doesn't even do decent donuts, just one-wheel-peel! It does turn just fine though
• Upgrading the power system is challenging. The integrated ESC/Radio means you need to buy both if you want to go brushless...and the stock servo is not a 3-wire, so you will probably need one of those as well. Also, since there is no radio box, you need to be careful about getting a radio that is OK getting wet, or spend a couple bucks on the ARRMA radio box, which is what I did.
• Less hop-up parts in general. There are no motor mounts, or metal spur gears, or upgraded driveshafts for this truck, and the way the spur gear connects with the rest of the gear train makes it very difficult to use parts meant for other vehicles.
• The stock tires are...underwhelming.

Long story short: I bought both, and I've upgraded both which is half the fun for me. I think the 4x4 will have a longer career in my house than the Voltage, but they are both fun and I think either one can be OK for a kid.