RPM- bad news for now....

[gotnitro]

Not sure if this was posted anywhere in here already. I emailed them last week. This is what I got back today.

"Dear Mr. Gotnitro,

Unfortunately, we don't have plans for ARRMA 8S parts just yet, although we are hearing of common breakage issues with 8S a-arms. We are monitoring the situation to see if we may be able to help and plan to get the Kraton 8S in the shop soon for review.

Take care and thank you for your interest and support of RPM products. If you have any other questions or comments, please feel free to send us another e-mail.

 

[Hotwheel85]

I sent email a few days ago and it landed in junk mail folder. Just checked and i got the same answer as you!

What could be the reason?
haven't they made rpm for the other Arrma trucks?
I was just waiting for them to release so i could order, now i doubt we will get them...

 

[CrashBoom]

It's pretty new yet, they need to have a market to make molding/manufacturing worthwhile.

 

[Hotwheel85]

Just got a mail again from rpm after i asked if it was possible if they dropped it.

Now they said that they haven't had a model for review, but they should recieve a k8s today!
They would try to find the issue and with luck we could maby get some in a couple months.
Lets hope we get it. Have used rpm for different brands over a few yesrs and it’s a must have in this hobby!

 

[DoNoHarm]

I suspect when more cases of the a arms snapping become popular (as the truck goes into circulation) they’ll start production. Hopefully they’ll stick to their usual formula and do this^

 

[SrC]

30 years and much $$ with RPM. They can be a mixed bag. If this was a Traxxasss rig, they would have been all over it by now. In fact I guarantee Traxxasss would have sent them a new rig free of charge already. A smart thing to do. Arrma should have done that also. It is common to do, if you want upgrade support. And JD eluded to the need for third party upgrade support regarding the K8S.
I find it hard to believe that RPM has not even looked at a K8S by now. Reading between the lines, they are not quick to support Arrma. RPM and Traxasss are very tight. I got that info. from PL and others over the years. RPM will probably support the K8S. How soon, who knows. There aren't many K8S's out there in circulation yet, in my opinion. And R and D for 1/5 upgrade arms takes time. The original arms must be tested hard to determine point of breakages, etc. Then examined for dimension, test molding needs to be done. It can take several months or well longer to get to retail. I don't feel RPM nylons can handle 1/5 applications. I could be wrong. It would be ludicrous for them to make a flawed arm. RPM has a lot at stake. And the 6S arms are not all that IMO.
Been waiting for RPM to warranty one of my 6S rear arms, they have had for almost 2 weeks now.( split at the forward hingepin)

 

[slick2500]

Not sure if this was posted anywhere in here already. I emailed them last week. This is what I got back today.

"Dear Mr. Gotnitro,

Unfortunately, we don't have plans for ARRMA 8S parts just yet, although we are hearing of common breakage issues with 8S a-arms. We are monitoring the situation to see if we may be able to help and plan to get the Kraton 8S in the shop soon for review.

Take care and thank you for your interest and support of RPM products. If you have any other questions or comments, please feel free to send us another e-mail.

This is such a canned response, this is literally word for word the exact same response they gave when asked about arms for the 4s lineup.

 

[SrC]

Typical PR response.
RPM needs to feel confident they can make a profit selling the K8S arms. And confident they can provide a quality upgrade. Profit comes with sales volume. They don't seem eager enough IMO. If the K8S is a slow seller and peters out soon, there may not be any justification to provide any support for the K8S. Just playing devils advocate. RPM may be waiting to see how much the K8S saturates the market. 1/5 scale and all. But calling them and asking will only help push them in that direction. Every single K8S owner should make the same inquiry. The PR dept may change their tune and response. At least it would be a good push for them.

 

[bicketybam]

Took my Kraton 8S out for a bash in 20 degree weather today. I ended up doing one of those sideway landings, coming down full force onto the left side truck tires. I heard a "CRACK!" on impact and thought for sure I was going to have 2 busted arms. Turns out no arms broke but the two wheels shattered.

It's hard to predict these first run trucks. I remember the 4S trucks breaking arms left and right. It was nuts. Then all of a sudden it just stopped. I've beat my K4S pretty hard and I've yet to break an arm. So who knows? Based on how RPM's 6S arms warp, I can't see 8S arms being any better in that regards. Add in the fact that many of us have added a significant amount of weight and I think you will have banana shaped arms if they use softer plastic.

 

[gotnitro]

I'd rather hammer out bent kings vs. replacing a-arms or bulks. But then again, oval'd out RPM arms & bulk holes suck too!.. I think either way I'll own them once they hit.

 

[Megasty]

I finally don't have an original arm on my K8S. The replacements flex to hell & back. So much so that I can twist the front A-arms until they bind up JLB Cheetah style. I tried doing that when I saw that both rear CVDs were bent. A few seconds on a vise fixed that but the way these arms can flex is ridiculous. They still have the same weakness with the bored out sections & now the CVDs are being screwed. At least I haven't busted any of the new arms

 

[SrC]

An RPM Nylon may not cut it. It appears that RPM is comitted to their Prop. Nylon. It has a wider temp usage range. They have used it on many 1/10 scale arms with positive results. With 1/5 scale weight/mass, Nylons may not be an good option. I have seen many other brand 1/5 scale rigs. They are not using much nylons in their arms. The RPM 1/8 arms are at their limit. The stock arms are as good if not better sometimes IMO.
Maybe another Mfr should step up and work on a composite plastic. (CF would be too costly. Too stiff. Alloy NG) Competition is good for RPM.

 

[WoodiE]

Typical PR response.
RPM needs to feel confident they can make a profit selling the K8S arms. And confident they can provide a quality upgrade. Profit comes with sales volume. They don't seem eager enough IMO. If the K8S is a slow seller and peters out soon, there may not be any justification to provide any support for the K8S. Just playing devils advocate. RPM may be waiting to see how much the K8S saturates the market. 1/5 scale and all. But calling them and asking will only help push them in that direction. Every single K8S owner should make the same inquiry. The PR dept may change their tune and response. At least it would be a good push for them.

This. Exactly.

Seriously RPM is in this to make money and right now it sounds like they are starting to get people asking about the 8S lineup but not enough to start cranking up a new design, mold, and end product.

The best way to change all of this is to be vocal with RPM. The more people that let RPM know they are ready to give RPM their money, the more likely RPM is going to make something for them. Be vocal and let them know!

 

[slick2500]

An RPM Nylon may not cut it. It appears that RPM is comitted to their Prop. Nylon. It has a wider temp usage range. They have used it on many 1/10 scale arms with positive results. With 1/5 scale weight/mass, Nylons may not be an good option. I have seen many other brand 1/5 scale rigs. They are not using much nylons in their arms. The RPM 1/8 arms are at their limit. The stock arms are as good if not better sometimes IMO.
Maybe another Mfr should step up and work on a composite plastic. (CF would be too costly. Too stiff. Alloy NG) Competition is good for RPM.

Doesn't rpm make a arms for the Xmaxx?

 

[Megasty]

RPM struck out many times when they jumped the gun & made arms for cars that didn't need them. 1 specific example is the Losi scte line. Upteen cars sharing the same platform & arms. RPM thought they would make a killing but the stock arms are some of the most durable on any rtr or kit. Then the truck itself can fail RPM, like the X-Maxx. The RPM arms are definitely better than the stock arms, but the bulkheads can't take all that flexing that would otherwise break the stock arms. Rigid strong arms on the K8S will put other parts in the line of fire just as much as the low fiber nylon RPM uses. Arrma didn't spend 2 yrs on this thing for nothing. Replacing an arm or unbending a CVD is a lot easier than ripping out a bulkhead. But I want all the options I can get for this truck.

 

[Hotwheel85]

I thought the different rc brands didnt like that rpm made optional parts for their trucks, it means less sale for them. But i was wrong.

When the summer arrive im sure more people buying the k8s, it’s expensive to buy 1/5 scale trucks for most people so they will make less sales anyway.

Good idea send them request with arms for the k8s if you want to get them, my answer got in the junk mail, so remember to check junk folder just in case.

 

[Cr3pitus]

When I was a scrublord and ran Traxxas I rpmd everything. Had to really. I pretty solidly prefer stock 4s and 6s Arrma plastics over rpm for my main rigs. My v4 Talion I've sheared off bolts and screws in crashes and actually haven't broke an a arm yet - just bent hingepins some slight ovaling of the a arm. (M2c hingepins fixed that issue) I am however interested in rpm for the k8 because I do think there are inconsistency issues with these first run k8 plastics. My stuff that has broken on the k8 has always been down the seam in a clean split which just seems weird.

 

[slick2500]

When I was a scrublord and ran Traxxas I rpmd everything. Had to really. I pretty solidly prefer stock 4s and 6s Arrma plastics over rpm for my main rigs. My v4 Talion I've sheared off bolts and screws in crashes and actually haven't broke an a arm yet - just bent hingepins some slight ovaling of the a arm. (M2c hingepins fixed that issue) I am however interested in rpm for the k8 because I do think there are inconsistency issues with these first run k8 plastics. My stuff that has broken on the k8 has always been down the seam in a clean split which just seems weird.

The Typhon 3s and the 4s Kraton and Outcast were like this too. The first production run everyone kept breaking a arms.

 

[SrC]

Doesn't rpm make a arms for the Xmaxx?

Sure do. But Xmaxx, I feel is much more flexible across its whole chassis and The RPM Nylon arms work well on that platform sharing impact forces. (less force transfer). Just playing devils advocate here. The K8S design appears quite rigid till you get to the Arms which probably takes the brunt of most impacts at the corners.

 

[SrC]

Machine some rear arms out of Delrin. That's a start.