Ordered a 8s

[jxr006]

hey guys,
I just ordered a 8s. this will be my first RC since my childhood. I want to share it with my son.
But i'm not sure about my decision. Whats more fun the 8s or 6s?
I got the 8s because it's big, and growing up we only had the small poopy RC's.

Also, re battery life. I heard some folks saying they can run their 8s for 15-20 minutes at a time.
That would suck!

How is the runtime on the 6s?

 

[Hammer Down]

Have you seen the K8s in person?!

It’s ginormous!!

Depending on how old jr. is, he could probably ride on it... ?

Anyway, Welcome to the fam! ?

 

[arrmadillo]

You get a good runtime on the 6s, all depends on lipo and use. I would get the 6s, it's still a big rig and fast as hell.

 

[jondilly1974]

Welcome to the Arrma Fam

Well, no one is gonna say you didn’t go big. JFC you’re sure swinging for the fences on this buy. You know this thing weighs 30lbs right ???

Seriously tho, I’m sure you’ll have a blast. Take your kids for tractor/wagon rides with the thing. ????

 

[3d-rc.myshopify.com]

Welcome. I would be careful with a 6s in his hands and you got a 8s ? here comes a hole in the fence. Its probably the size of him lol

 

[bicketybam]

With the two 4S batteries I run in mine I can get 25 minutes or so. It's actually longer than my 6s trucks because I only run 5000 mAh batteries in those and I believe my K8S batteries are 7400 mAh.

 

[jxr006]

Man, i just want to say you guys are all amazing.

I really love this community. I'm going to call the Hobby store monday and see if he'll let me change to 6s. Thanks guys.

 

[Notorious J]

Welcome to the Arrma Forum @jxr006. Change it? Why? Keep the 8s and buy another. That's the ticket. Hope you both have a blast.

 

[jondilly1974]

Welcome to the Arrma Forum @jxr006. Change it? Why? Keep the 8s and buy another. That's the ticket. Hope you both have a blast.

No wonder why the room is packed at the AA meetings. You are such a bad influence J ???✌?

 

[Notorious J]

No wonder why the room is packed at the AA meetings. You are such a bad influence J ???✌?

 

[jxr006]

Have you seen the K8s in person?!

It’s ginormous!!

Depending on how old jr. is, he could probably ride on it... ?

Anyway, Welcome to the fam! ?

yes thats what suckered me into it.. when i saw the size of it, i was like a kid in a candy shop.. I was like MUST HAVE!

Welcome to the Arrma Forum @jxr006. Change it? Why? Keep the 8s and buy another. That's the ticket. Hope you both have a blast.

lol. i know how this is going to play out.

My daughter will then want one, and next think you know, i'll be 3k in the whole between batteries and chargers and cars
One last question for me on this topic since ya'll have been amazing.

Just in case, Notorious J messes with my head and i decide to keep it, can you guys recommend a battery & charger set?

My local dealer recommended Ultra power charger.

 

[Notorious J]

yes thats what suckered me into it.. when i saw the size of it, i was like a kid in a candy shop.. I was like MUST HAVE!


lol. i know how this is going to play out.

My daughter will then want one, and next think you know, i'll be 3k in the whole between batteries and chargers and cars
One last question for me on this topic since ya'll have been amazing.

Just in case, Notorious J messes with my head and i decide to keep it, can you guys recommend a battery & charger set?

My local dealer recommended Ultra power charger.

$3000 was my parts total for last month?. Just kidding. The rabbit hole is deep, but the joy that awaits once you make the jump is totally worth it. Then you can come join us in https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/rcholics-not-so-anonymous.9815/ ?

 

[Hammer Down]

The rabbit hole is deep, but the joy that awaits once you make the jump is totally worth it.

There has NEVER been a more TRUE!! statement ?

 

[jxr006]

can you guys recommend your favorite battery charger? is there one charger i can get that can charge a Kraton 6s batteries and Kraton 8s batteries.

i found in life, that i rather spend a little bit more to get good stuff, than spend slightly less and have to upgrade 2 times.

 

[arrmadillo]

can you guys recommend your favorite battery charger? is there one charger i can get that can charge a Kraton 6s batteries and Kraton 8s batteries.

i found in life, that i rather spend a little bit more to get good stuff, than spend slightly less and have to upgrade 2 times.

You can do a forum search or go to electronics, there are topics on lipos and chargers. One is something like "Recommend me a battery charger", the choices are endless, one that is popular is the Hota D6 and D6+, I have the + and does everything I need without external power. Sure someone else will chime in, it's an opinionated topic.

 

[Overpowerrc]

can you guys recommend your favorite battery charger? is there one charger i can get that can charge a Kraton 6s batteries and Kraton 8s batteries.

i found in life, that i rather spend a little bit more to get good stuff, than spend slightly less and have to upgrade 2 times.

I agree with @arrmadillo . I have a venom pro duo. I think the venom is easier to use but not as fast charging as the d6+. There is a venom pro quad that would charge faster but it’s much more expensive.

 

[Tremonti]

Great purchase! You’re both going to enjoy it, no doubt. Although it may be tempting, I’d recommend you to keep your Kraton 8S stock for a while. Get used to it. Upgrading the power system solely for more speed also yields disadvantages. 80-90 mph is wicked with this truck, but runtimes are butchered and driving off-road is risky: a small hole or bump could launch the car pretty badly (been there). Its also no fun having to check your temperatures continuously because your pushing the max out of it. Installing a bigger pinion is always a quick way to gain some bite, with the 20-21T pinions the temperatures seems to stay in check.

With a 5000 mAh 50/100C set I get about 20-25 min runtime stock. Allround fun driving, no continuous max throttle.

With a 8000 mAh 80/160C set I get about 45 min runtime stock. She’s more fierce with these batteries, hence the advice to get good batteries from a reputable brand.

Now, I’ll take you through some of the ‘must knows’ when it comes to the Kraton 8S:

If you get the V1 (DX2e transmitter) the carbon fiber tubing for the braces is the best all-round upgrade you can do. You could also DIY reinforce the chassis by adding two aluminum strips on the bottom, hence stretching the chassis strait in case of a bad landing. There are also custom chassis (M2C, JustBashIt) available, but I would wait with those until (or if) the stock chassis becomes a problem.

The V1.5 (DX3) comes with updated chassis braces, those should do a better job at protecting your chassis. Most people have no complaints about the chassis, you don’t read about them online. But heavy bashers have experienced bending issues, which is why they upgrade to a aftermarket chassis.

The diff fluid is another thing you’ll read about. Stock fluids are 100K F/R and 1M center. Although it drives fine, the front wheels do balloon. Most guys are changing the fluids to 500K F/R and 2.5 or 20M center. I’ve also seen 500K front, 100K rear and 20M center.

Read the manual on how to configure the ESC. I wouldn’t touch the motor timing. But the punch, BEC voltage, LVC and brake force are things you can always set according to your own liking. I prefer the punch set at 4 (I’ll elaborate on why later on), BEC at 8,4v (servo will respond quicker and has more torque, but lifetime is reduced), LVC at med (got brand new batteries so they should be able to handle a LVC of 3,4V) and the braking force at 50%. The stock braking force of 37,5% seems a bit conservative, especially when you have to avoid hitting an object ?.

Another important thing you don’t read about here are some of the drivetrain issues that are popping up. These are exclusive to people who upgrades to bigger motors and pinions. I went by two LHSs last week and they both spoke about K8S owners who upgraded their power systems and are now coming in with serious drivetrain wear. Both reputable LHSs and they’re even now warning Kraton 8S owners who are coming in wanting to upgrade their power system. There’s also a video on YouTube of someone who already wore out one of the diffs. One thing we know for certain: the Kraton 8S’s drivetrain is rock solid, it’s meant to last. But it seems that it doesn’t do well under much higher torque/power long term. The same LHSs told me that there has been 0 drivetrain/durability complaints from people who run the car stock (maybe a different pinion, but the motor/ESC where stock).

Just drive it stock and change things according to your driving style. Your driving style is what determines how the car should perform, what maintenance it requires and how many stuff is going to break haha! .

 

[Hotwheel85]

You can reduce the speed on the transmitter with the k8s when your kid is going to try it, at least on my dx2e version (first release model)

Running time with 5000mah and stock pinion is like 30 min. 23T pinion is 15-20 bashing not holding the trottle all the time.

Get yourself 6500-7000mah lipos then it would last long enough when you gear it up, keep in mind they must be 50c or higher.

About charger you can buy one that charge 2-6s lipo, then you can charge all type of lipos for all rc cars that running on lipo.
Most computer chargers is ment for 2-6s.

I love mine and so far i haven't broken a single part on it, had some bad carwheeling after i landed bad a few times, where i just waited for some parts to snap, for the weight one should think it was fragile but it feels solid, as long as you don't jump it too high and stay away from the skateparks.

Good luck and enjoy the great hobby

 

[3x9rtse]

I run mine on 2x4s 100c 8000mah , never really timed it but it def is over 25 minutes . Mine is stock but with the 23t pinion . I have the Ultra dual charger , great charger , very easy to use , one side can charge at 20 amps , the other 12 amps . Very important also , after I use , I let the batteries cool down then put them into storage charge . Def get it , you won't be disappointed !!!
As far as the truck goes , I use this truck as the " big field /school yard " runner , I don't do massive jumps with it , although yesterday we took it to a shut down golf course , and man , with some of those rolling hills , we found one that gracefully sends it off with some height , but lands gently/softly on the grass !!! The only thing I broke on this truck to date is a rear arm ( did a jump and landed right on the wheel , and it was cold ) , the wing mount has one broken point , but is still attached , and yesterday after that run , the upper front hinge pin came out cause the threads/nut broke off !!!
Congrats and enjoy !!!!

 

[Jimbobjr]

The way mine is set up it is running maybe 20min with 6500mah batteries. The truck is not as user/easy friendly as the 6s rigs. There are cost involved and the big Kraton is much less forgiving. That being said it’s been the only rig I’ve been running the past several weekends. It jumps so flat and handles very well I haven’t wanted to run anything else. If you stick with it and don’t get too frustrated you will grow with it. Definitely buy a bigger pinion (at least 23t) and a small handheld torch to soften the lock tite on the motor mount. Good tools as well, set of hex drivers and a few t handles for the bigger hardware. Last, is read the manual and get familiar with the esc, transmitter and receiver set up.