Redcat Ascent 18...Thoughts?

[305HemiGuy]

Well, as the title implies, what do you guys think about the new 1/18 crawler from Redcat? I think for $100 it's pretty darn good, a whole lot of truck for the money for sure. It even comes with Portals & full ball bearings, definitely don't have those in my TRX4M. I think Axial, FMS, & Traxxas will be put on notice with this release. It's always nice to see more options, and new releases, especially at such an affordable price point.

 

[Luke66]

nice imo.

 

[BruceRC]

Yeah, for the price, very cool. If I were to get into Crawlers I'd likely start with something like this.

 

[Rowdyray]

I was impressed. Ordered a red one.

Looks to be a great beginner crawler. Sounds like Redcat has upgrades ready to order as well. Hopefully there will be after market support too.

 

[305HemiGuy]

I was impressed. Ordered a red one.

Looks to be a great beginner crawler. Sounds like Redcat has upgrades ready to order as well. Hopefully there will be after market support too.

Agreed. Looks like it crawled better out the box than my Defender. And the ESC doesn't sound nearly as loud.

 

[Rowdyray]

It's better than many out of the box. And has more wheel speed than most. The videos are hitting Youtube today and they're impressed. They all, of course, received a pile of upgrades. A few have starting installing those with before and after results.

If anyone is thinking of getting into the small crawlers, this might be a good one to try. Time will tell of course. I'll find out soon.

 

[Rowdyray]

And if anyone needs a nudge. Free shipping plus sales tax. Shipped Fedex out of AZ. All the others I've bought in this price point have shipped from China.

 

[RCbuzz]

Following... Would be a 1st crawler.

 

[Doom!]

Because @Rowdyray got one, I had to order one. Fits in nicely with the rest on my micro crawlers.

 

[Rowdyray]

It's here! Glad I ordered when I did. Two days later got an email saying they are swamped and to be patient. Mine had already left with tracking.

Battery is charging. But, I gave it a quick run with what was in it. Wow! Some complained it was too fast. I had no problem with slow crawl. Probably the best out of the box yet. And Quiet. No whining. It is faster than any others out of the box. And one heck of a drag brake. You let off full throttle and it almost front flips. Dead stop. Holds on an incline too. That may change if adding weight. Some exploration into radio settings might be neccessary. Lol.

The batteries are already out of stock. Other hop-ups are going fast. They are expensive compared to others. I'm holding off. A very good source says that an after market company plans to jump on the band wagon.

Took some pics next to my other 1/18 crawlers. Wheel base is very similar. The tires (not labeled) are the same height as the 64mm on my Trx4m. Threw a pic of my Grom in with it. Why not? Can't wait to mod it.

 

[Armarookie43]

Looks nice for the price. Backordered at Amain at least

 

[305HemiGuy]

It's here! Glad I ordered when I did. Two days later got an email saying they are swamped and to be patient. Mine had already left with tracking.

Battery is charging. But, I gave it a quick run with what was in it. Wow! Some complained it was too fast. I had no problem with slow crawl. Probably the best out of the box yet. And Quiet. No whining. It is faster than any others out of the box. And one heck of a drag brake. You let off full throttle and it almost front flips. Dead stop. Holds on an incline too. That may change if adding weight. Some exploration into radio settings might be neccessary. Lol.

The batteries are already out of stock. Other hop-ups are going fast. They are expensive compared to others. I'm holding off. A very good source says that an after market company plans to jump on the band wagon.

Took some pics next to my other 1/18 crawlers. Wheel base is very similar. The tires (not labeled) are the same height as the 64mm on my Trx4m. Threw a pic of my Grom in with it. Why not? Can't wait to mod it.

View attachment 354015View attachment 354016View attachment 354017View attachment 354018

That is one good looking little crawler

 

[Rowdyray]

That is one good looking little crawler

It is. Made a few changes. I moved the shocks, added 2 wheel weights to the front deck, cut the body and changed out the wheels and tires. That's all you really have to do to make it great. Super impressed.

I wasn't thrilled with the body. The front fender flare looks decent. The rear, not so much. Cut it off. Also cut below the door. Everything seems to clear.

Also trimmed the front bumper. This thing is a beast!

 

[Doom!]

Trimmed my body today, also moved the electronics to the front, moved my shocks to the innermost setting and put wheel weights in the front. Really is pretty good handling truck. I think 1/18 is going to dominate over 1/24 soon.

 

[Rowdyray]

This guy has some really great ideas. And I just happen to have a set of stock trx4m links. Hmmm.....

 

[Rowdyray]

Found another free mod today. Give it a shot. Basically take apart the sliders. (You'll need to remove the battery tray.) There's 4 screws holding it to the frame. Lose the middle two. Move the outer two up along with the skid plate. These are the long screws that go through the links. It wasn't fun doing it but, I think worth it. Now everything is flush with the bottom of the frame. Gives you a little more clearance and, in theory, lowers the COG a bit. Then reassemble everything. If done right it should look like this.

Redcat was thinking ahead. There are two holes in the slider, frame and skid plate. You can move it however you want. 2FMRC talked about tilting it. Making it a ramp. But, the motor interfered with the steering servo. This doesn't. It moves the motor straight up. About even with that front plate. Learned about it here.