Granite Thinking about getting a Granite BLX

[LenniePaz]

I've been getting the itch to get back into the RC game again. I've been out of it for about 6 years, and my last truck was an HPI Savage 21. I definitely don't want to go back to nitro, so I started looking around at electric choices. Every search I did, pointed me to the Granite. What are most of you running on the truck, 2s or 3s? I'd imagine I'd have to beef up some parts to run a 3s? I'm looking to have some fun, and not dump a ton of money into the truck if I do decide to get one. The Savage I had, was a money pit, and I don't want to do that again.

 

[Mongoose]

I ran 3S in mine when I had it. Never saw 2S. You don’t really need to do anything to it if you aren’t going to be jumping really high. It will be solid for just all around bashing. I would swap the Tx though.

 

[Bennyboy2]

I use a 2s on mine and thing is a damn beast already. Need to get my skillz up before 3s. Only problem I ran into was the leaky shocks. There are plenty of options with that though and fairly inexpensive to improve. I put the typhon 6s on mine. They are hard to find though. Otherwise solid rig

 

[Dulb_D]

I've been getting the itch to get back into the RC game again. I've been out of it for about 6 years, and my last truck was an HPI Savage 21. I definitely don't want to go back to nitro, so I started looking around at electric choices. Every search I did, pointed me to the Granite. What are most of you running on the truck, 2s or 3s? I'd imagine I'd have to beef up some parts to run a 3s? I'm looking to have some fun, and not dump a ton of money into the truck if I do decide to get one. The Savage I had, was a money pit, and I don't want to do that again.

Considering the included transmitter has a built-in 3-position throttle limiter I'm not sure why anyone would bother getting a 2s battery unless they don't mind spending the extra money or own stock in a battery manufacturer... Never made sense to me. I just got a 3s and adjust the throttle setting to what I want. If I find it hard to line up a narrow ramp with the speed of full throttle then I switch it down until I can more easily line up the jump, etc.

 

[LenniePaz]

I guess the only thing I'll need to get going, is a couple batteries and charger. I see so many choices and price ranges out there. Can someone suggest a reasonably priced 3s battery/charger setup?

 

[arrmadave]

Lennie, smc makes some great batteries. A lot of us use them.
https://www.smc-racing.net/index.ph...=67_99&product_id=463&sort=p.price&order=DESC

For charger a lot of use the Hota D6+
https://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?route=product/product&path=113&product_id=541

This is also a good choice
https://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?route=product/product&path=113&product_id=562

 

[LenniePaz]

Thanks for the suggestions. I noticed when I was looking at batteries, some are 40C, 50C, 60C, 80C, 90C, etc. What's the difference between all of them? Would the higher mAh and higher C number mean the battery will last longer on a charge?

 

[Jerry-rigged]

Granite 4x4 is a great truck. If you are new to RC, 2s will be pretty fast, and mostly bomb-proof (other than the leaky shocks). 3s is fast enough to be a handful, and the u-joints start to be an issue for some.

For a charge and lipos, there are tons of options. For easy, go to Horizon and get their 2-channel "Smart Charger" and a pair of their "Smart" 3s 50c lipos. This will all be plug and play, and the lipos have a neat "auto-storage charge" feature that would come in handy at times.

For budget, head to HobbyKing. Tons of choices. For a charger, their Reaktor 120w Duo Ac would be a good starter charger. 2 channels, 120w each, and will run at full power on AC.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-reaktor-120-duo-2x120w-balance-charger-ac-dc-us-plug.html
For Lipos, I have a pair of these - 25C 5000mah Turnigy Yes, they are only 25c, but they are a TRUE 25c (which is a good thing) I run them in my Granite as 3s and 2 in series in my Outcast as 6s. Good cheap lipos. They don't have the kick of a Graphine, but they are cheap.
Another popular lipo is the Turnigy HD 5000mah 60C. The guys that test these packs rate them as almost as good as Graphines, but cheaper.

The down side of the Hobby King packs is they come with XT90 plugs, so you will need to solder on some EC5 plugs.

Speaking of Graphines, these are about the best lipo a hobbiest can buy, at any price. They test out around a true 55C, which is silly powerful. And yes, those +$200 "True C" pack rated at 100C, 150C, etc, are all lies.

 

[dillon_mitko]

Thanks for the suggestions. I noticed when I was looking at batteries, some are 40C, 50C, 60C, 80C, 90C, etc. What's the difference between all of them? Would the higher mAh and higher C number mean the battery will last longer on a charge?

I’m pretty sure those are the output rates. Arrma 3S vehicles need at least 35c to operate but most people use 50c with 100c burst

 

[Jerry-rigged]

Thanks for the suggestions. I noticed when I was looking at batteries, some are 40C, 50C, 60C, 80C, 90C, etc. What's the difference between all of them?

In theory, the C Rating is how many amps the lipo can make, as a factor of their capacity. So -
5000mah 20c pack is 5ah * 20c = 100A.
5000mah 100c pack would be 5ah * 100c = 500amps.
Bigger power systems need more amps, so you kind of need to know if you are buying a high amp battery, or a low amp battery to maych your power system.

The truth, though is that most all C ratings are a lie. Some of the 20c-25c packs are accuracy labeled, but the higher the C, the higher the exaggeration. There are NO hobby grade Lipos rated higher than 60C, regardless of what the seller says.

As a general rule, though, if the same brand as a 20c, a 50c, and a 100C, you can use the C to "Grade" the packs, 20C be low end, 50c better, and 100C among their best.

 

[LenniePaz]

In theory, the C Rating is how many amps the lipo can make, as a factor of their capacity. So -
5000mah 20c pack is 5ah * 20c = 100A.
5000mah 100c pack would be 5ah * 100c = 500amps.
Bigger power systems need more amps, so you kind of need to know if you are buying a high amp battery, or a low amp battery to maych your power system.

The truth, though is that most all C ratings are a lie. Some of the 20c-25c packs are accuracy labeled, but the higher the C, the higher the exaggeration. There are NO hobby grade Lipos rated higher than 60C, regardless of what the seller says.

As a general rule, though, if the same brand as a 20c, a 50c, and a 100C, you can use the C to "Grade" the packs, 20C be low end, 50c better, and 100C among their best.

So would a 5500 mAh battery, be a better choice than a 5000 mAh?

 

[Dulb_D]

Thanks for the suggestions. I noticed when I was looking at batteries, some are 40C, 50C, 60C, 80C, 90C, etc. What's the difference between all of them? Would the higher mAh and higher C number mean the battery will last longer on a charge?

That is the theoretical rate of discharge. A higher C rating should deliver more punch than a battery with a lower C rating. Arrma ESC's require a minimum C rating to run which I think is 35C (someone correct me if I'm wrong). If you buy a battery with a C rating closer to that minimum (e.g. 50C) the odds of the ESC drawing more power than the battery can deliver increases which will result in "false" LVC (low voltage cutoffs) - especially during long full-throttle pulls. Many new owners experience those when they are using batteries with for instance 50C or below batteries from manufacturers that tend to estimate their product's C rating.

 

[arrmadave]

So would a 5500 mAh battery, be a better choice than a 5000 mAh?

that would get you a couple more minutes of run time.

 

[LenniePaz]

How's this combo look? I'm a big Amazon shopper.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06VWL45M2/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_lNGfEbF3TQ4E4

 

[Jerry-rigged]

How's this combo look? I'm a big Amazon shopper.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06VWL45M2/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_lNGfEbF3TQ4E4

Solid choices. Not the Greatest, but not junk, decent price. Charger is 80w, so will be fine for 1c charging of those 5200mah 3s packs.

As a FYI, for chargers, I advocate buying 25w of power per cell (for 5000mah) so 3s needs 75w. By this rule of thumb, this 80w charger is fine for 3s, but a bit weak if you ever need to charge 4s packs.

 

[Phil young]

I've been getting the itch to get back into the RC game again. I've been out of it for about 6 years, and my last truck was an HPI Savage 21. I definitely don't want to go back to nitro, so I started looking around at electric choices. Every search I did, pointed me to the Granite. What are most of you running on the truck, 2s or 3s? I'd imagine I'd have to beef up some parts to run a 3s? I'm looking to have some fun, and not dump a ton of money into the truck if I do decide to get one. The Savage I had, was a money pit, and I don't want to do that again.

My Granite 3s blx is a tank. It backflips with ease. I've wrecked it countless times. Jumped it and raced it. All I have replaced in 1 year of ownership was a 6 dollar Steering knuckle.

 

[LenniePaz]

My Granite 3s blx is a tank. It backflips with ease. I've wrecked it countless times. Jumped it and raced it. All I have replaced in 1 year of ownership was a 6 dollar Steering knuckle.

Did you do any upgrades at all, or just 100% stock?

 

[crimsonfancy]

The Hota charger is excellent and a great value / future proof. I love mine and would buy a second one in a split second.
Those Power Hobby packs are also very good and a great value. RCDude 81 I think runs Power Hobby. I also have a couple and like them a lot.
SMC also great packs and you can choose EC connector.

The 3s Granite BLX is a fantastic machine. No complaints other than shocks but easy upgrade when they leak. You'll also want to upgrade to sealed bearings after you run it a few times.
$26 includes replacement for steering bushings. AVID ships fast and I always go for AVID bearings. There are other bearing manufacturers that other like here as well but I bet they're all the same quality across the board.
https://www.avidrc.com/flexkit/?kit=2898&kitname=Granite+4x4+3s

Can't go wrong at all with the Granite or the Big Rock Crew Cab 3s BLX models though the Big Rock may require new wheel / tire combo and hub extensions. This 3s line is very easy to work on and very fast with plenty torque. One final thing to be prepared for is the inevitable desire to buy more and more Arrma trucks and especially the 6s models.

 

[Surchaufeur]

In my hopinion the more sick upgrade you can to to your granite would be hot racing shock bodies for the 3s line because the stock shock are ok at first but countless reports of them leaking like a sink. So upgrading is a must and they its cheaper than remplacing by the 6s shocks. Also remplacing the pivot balls immedietly by the hot racing ones. But it will handle 3s without any issues just don't put a too heavy lipo inside like a 9000mah lipo.

Or even get the 4s shock bodies instead but im not sure if they are going to be longer or shorter and you will have to buy the 4s arrma shafts because they are thicker than the 3s line ones
And when the stock servo dies upgrade it there are rly good servos for cheap on amazon

 

[Outcastblxnut]

Welcome to the arrma asylum ? 3s n never look back