Vorteks Thoughts on the Arrma Vortex

[DAVIDCORRAL]

Hello all I’m new to rc cars/trucks well many years ago in my 30’s I bought a Stampede and drove it for a few years well stopped driving and raised two boys now 19 & 25 so I’m retired now 55 years old and looking to get back in.
I’m really impressed with the Arrma Vortex I’m really sold on it but I’d like to know………
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS

 

[Grimbles]

@PatMarcus172 has one

 

[The_Otherside]

I want one so bad.

 

[GraniteFox]

All of the 3s line are very good. Vorteks is good but tires are not great and the shorter shocks are not good for my driving area. You do pay more for the DX3 and avc.....that is a personal preference. If you are looking for all around kick #ss rig to get back in I would recommend the Big Rock. Longer chassis, more stable, decent tires for all surfaces, and a little less expensive than the Vorteks. Really....you cant make a bad choice with any of them.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

If you like it, Get it!

The 3s line is great. The Vortex is the smallest and newest of the line. Same wheel base as the Granite, but smaller wheels and (I think) shorter shock towers for a lower body position. If you want to go fast, light off roading, some jumps but not a "Full time Full Send" truck, it will do great.

I have a Granite, It is one of my favorite trucks, probably get run the most out of my collection. I do have a set of ST wheels for it, mostly use them on Track Bash days. With the smaller wheels (like the Vortex has) it is very nimble, great in the corners. Not Race-car smooth, but it does pretty good for having fun getting around the track.

 

[arrmedndangerous]

I got one recently. I'm new to the hobby so my 3s Arrmas are pretty much all I've ever owned since I had a toy grade one when I was ten.

It's a stadium truck, so essentially a lower monster truck. I both like and dislike the AVC, which is the biggest difference between it and the rest of the line. It does keep the vehicle in control and you can just smash the throttle and turning is smoother. But the AVC keeping it under control also makes it just a bit more boring to drive. It is great at 50% for my daughter though. The thing screams and I haven't even put in the 20t pinion. It does well in dirt, grass and pavement. Rocky dirt less so, the Granite is great for floating over rocky dirt and gravel. The Senton is just super fast and basically uncontrollable when you smash the throttle. But the Vorteks does come with a 20t pinion and I imagine the step up from 15 will be noticeable and should put it up to the advertised 60mph.

The good thing about the 3s line is you can pretty much convert any of them to another with just a few parts. Making it into a Vornite (or Granteks) would be as simple as swapping arms, shocks and tires. Maybe a couple other components as needed if you wanted to change the body also.

I would say the biggest deciding factor is what terrain you're driving on and how you want to drive. The Vorteks would be good at most things, but I'd avoid big jumps. The Granite and Big Rock would be better for those.

If your local shop doesn't have one and you're ordering from Amazon, keep an eye out for their used ones if you've got the patience. I picked up a Vorteks for $270 that looked like it had been driven once and put back in the box to return. Worst case is you have to return it if it doesn't work. I also picked up a Granite Voltage for $56 used that way too.

Oh, and welcome to the forums.

 

[DAVIDCORRAL]

I got one recently. I'm new to the hobby so my 3s Arrmas are pretty much all I've ever owned since I had a toy grade one when I was ten.

It's a stadium truck, so essentially a lower monster truck. I both like and dislike the AVC, which is the biggest difference between it and the rest of the line. It does keep the vehicle in control and you can just smash the throttle and turning is smoother. But the AVC keeping it under control also makes it just a bit more boring to drive. It is great at 50% for my daughter though. The thing screams and I haven't even put in the 20t pinion. It does well in dirt, grass and pavement. Rocky dirt less so, the Granite is great for floating over rocky dirt and gravel. The Senton is just super fast and basically uncontrollable when you smash the throttle. But the Vorteks does come with a 20t pinion and I imagine the step up from 15 will be noticeable and should put it up to the advertised 60mph.

The good thing about the 3s line is you can pretty much convert any of them to another with just a few parts. Making it into a Vornite (or Granteks) would be as simple as swapping arms, shocks and tires. Maybe a couple other components as needed if you wanted to change the body also.

I would say the biggest deciding factor is what terrain you're driving on and how you want to drive. The Vorteks would be good at most things, but I'd avoid big jumps. The Granite and Big Rock would be better for those.

If your local shop doesn't have one and you're ordering from Amazon, keep an eye out for their used ones if you've got the patience. I picked up a Vorteks for $270 that looked like it had been driven once and put back in the box to return. Worst case is you have to return it if it doesn't work. I also picked up a Granite Voltage for $56 used that way too.

Oh, and welcome to the forums.

Thank you very much for you response gives me a lot to think about lol
David
Columbia Missouri

 

[PatMarcus172]

Feel free to pm and I’ll give you the good and bad. I have a vorteks and a Big Rock and they are both running beautifully and are capable off road bashers. But unless you are utterly sold on the Vorteks’ Truggy aesthetics, or want more on-road capability and speed-run performance, get a Big Rock and spend the change on a lipo.

 

[DAVIDCORRAL]

Here is where I’m at right now…
Like vortex cause of the speed and I really don’t have much dirt around , mostly grass and medium to medium smooth surface to run on .
There is a tc track by my house and baseball fields to run. So I was thinking vortex due to area I’ll be on and I can just trade tires to adapt to surfaces . So even though I’d like to play on dirt it won’t happen for some time.
So I do like the jumping but I watched the vortex pull some nice jumps and I was planning on buying the spectrum 5000mah 3s 50c smart G2 batteries and the S2200 2x200w G2 smart charger.
So please tell me about the Big Rock

Feel free to pm and I’ll give you the good and bad. I have a vorteks and a Big Rock and they are both running beautifully and are capable off road bashers. But unless you are utterly sold on the Vorteks’ Truggy aesthetics, or want more on-road capability and speed-run performance, get a Big Rock and spend the change on a lipo.

Here is where I’m at right now…
Like vortex cause of the speed and I really don’t have much dirt around , mostly grass and medium to medium smooth surface to run on .
There is a tc track by my house and baseball fields to run. So I was thinking vortex due to area I’ll be on and I can just trade tires to adapt to surfaces . So even though I’d like to play on dirt it won’t happen for some time.
So I do like the jumping but I watched the vortex pull some nice jumps and I was planning on buying the spectrum 5000mah 3s 50c smart G2 batteries and the S2200 2x200w G2 smart charger.
So please tell me about the Big Rock
I don’t know what I’m doing so I did a reply but I think I did a post to IF SO SORRY FOR ANY Inconveniences

 

[FlipSide]

It's great for smooth surfaces. I really love mine, but I would not recommend it if it is your only RC.

I think the Big Rock is a better choice if you only have one, as it can do pretty much anything on any surfaces. The Vorteks is amazing for speeding and drifting on hardpack surface, but it's not the best option for jumping and general bashing on rough surfaces.

 

[PatMarcus172]

Given the environments you have described, I think you will be mostly, very happy with a Vorteks.
It loves smooth surfaces and very short grass and the AVC (if it works properly) will keep it nice and straight. It will wheelie on command but won’t annoy you by doing it all the time. It will happily do small to medium jumps and as long as you aren’t expecting amazing backflips and front flips, should take plenty of good and bad landings, as you learn air control.
Given its lower centre of gravity you won’t traction roll it too often.

What the Big Rock has in its favour is that it’s a longer wheelbase and wider so therefore imho jumps better, always.
It’s cheaper to buy
It’s slightly more durable with it’s longer shock travel
It’s faster off road than a vorteks because it has greater ground clearance (but slightly slower on road) tho it’s more prone to traction rolls until you fit Rpm arms (which you’ll inevitably do on either truck at some point) and lower the centre of gravity slightly.
It gives longer (quite a bit longer) run time because it has a 15t pinion instead of an 18t
It needs much less doing to it to make it a street basher (different tyres, lower it) than the Vorteks needs to make it as good as the Big Rock off road ( different tyres plus widen it, fit a 15t, stiffer springs or upgraded shocks etc)
I (and some others but by no means everyone) have had a bad experience with the vorteks esc declaring LVC at a very high point. There are multiple possible reasons (and a few solutions) that I’ve covered in other threads but it forced me to fit a blx100 (a big rock esc) to resolve them.

For all I’ve said, if you buy the Vorteks bearing this in mind and keep to the type of surfaces you’ve described, I think you’ll be very happy. I bought a vorteks expecting it to do everything the Big Rock can and for almost exclusive off road use. That was naive and I’ve ended up spending a lot of money to make it as capable while keeping its truggy looks.

Personally I wouldn’t bother with the very expensive spektrum batteries and charger.
If you get the vorteks then yes, your controller will tell you how much battery life you have left. And the batteries will go into auto storage charge mode when you leave them, after running.
I don’t see much value in the first item and putting lipos into storage charge is an essential habit to learn anyway.

What I do know is that Vorteks love big batteries with high c ratings, due to that 18t pinion/esc combo.
I personally think you’d be better off buying some really nice high capacity (at least 6000mah) lipos and a good dual channel charger that your LHS recommends.

Best wishes

 

[BulletRCs_NZ]

I've have (had) a Vorteks and I also have (and had) a Big Rock.

Both very capable, sounds like you are sold on the Vorteks and considering your terrain it's a very good choice. Get it and save up because you'll want the Big Rock soon enough.

I'm 1 year older than you, got my first RC January 2021 and currently have 6 that are running. I've sold 5 and I'm getting another new one tomorrow. My kids are grown up so I'm spending their inheritance Addicted yes ... having fun 100%.

Edit- Vorteks is great offroad just let down by the tyres. Also jumps and flips great

 

[PatMarcus172]

I've have (had) a Vorteks and I also have (and had) a Big Rock.

Both very capable, sounds like you are sold on the Vorteks and considering your terrain it's a very good choice. Get it and save up because you'll want the Big Rock soon enough.

I'm 1 year older than you, got my first RC January 2021 and currently have 6 that are running. I've sold 5 and I'm getting another new one tomorrow. My kids are grown up so I'm spending their inheritance Addicted yes ... having fun 100%.

Edit- Vorteks is great offroad just let down by the tyres. Also jumps and flips great

Go on then, tell us. What are you getting ?

 

[BulletRCs_NZ]

Team Associated SC10 Pro 4.

My work contract ends middle of December so I'm buying up now before the money runs out and my wife leaves me

 

[DAVIDCORRAL]

O

Given the environments you have described, I think you will be mostly, very happy with a Vorteks.
It loves smooth surfaces and very short grass and the AVC (if it works properly) will keep it nice and straight. It will wheelie on command but won’t annoy you by doing it all the time. It will happily do small to medium jumps and as long as you aren’t expecting amazing backflips and front flips, should take plenty of good and bad landings, as you learn air control.
Given its lower centre of gravity you won’t traction roll it too often.

What the Big Rock has in its favour is that it’s a longer wheelbase and wider so therefore imho jumps better, always.
It’s cheaper to buy
It’s slightly more durable with it’s longer shock travel
It’s faster off road than a vorteks because it has greater ground clearance (but slightly slower on road) tho it’s more prone to traction rolls until you fit Rpm arms (which you’ll inevitably do on either truck at some point) and lower the centre of gravity slightly.
It gives longer (quite a bit longer) run time because it has a 15t pinion instead of an 18t
It needs much less doing to it to make it a street basher (different tyres, lower it) than the Vorteks needs to make it as good as the Big Rock off road ( different tyres plus widen it, fit a 15t, stiffer springs or upgraded shocks etc)
I (and some others but by no means everyone) have had a bad experience with the vorteks esc declaring LVC at a very high point. There are multiple possible reasons (and a few solutions) that I’ve covered in other threads but it forced me to fit a blx100 (a big rock esc) to resolve them.

For all I’ve said, if you buy the Vorteks bearing this in mind and keep to the type of surfaces you’ve described, I think you’ll be very happy. I bought a vorteks expecting it to do everything the Big Rock can and for almost exclusive off road use. That was naive and I’ve ended up spending a lot of money to make it as capable while keeping its truggy looks.

Personally I wouldn’t bother with the very expensive spektrum batteries and charger.
If you get the vorteks then yes, your controller will tell you how much battery life you have left. And the batteries will go into auto storage charge mode when you leave them, after running.
I don’t see much value in the first item and putting lipos into storage charge is an essential habit to learn anyway.

What I do know is that Vorteks love big batteries with high c ratings, due to that 18t pinion/esc combo.
I personally think you’d be better off buying some really nice high capacity (at least 6000mah) lipos and a good dual channel charger that your LHS recommends.

Best wishes

thank you for your response and respect to you.
Very informative and Very helpful . I’m looking at the big rock a lot more and seems to be that big rock might be the rc truck that would be more versatile and the vortex more if a second truck more on the (specialty) truck
You mentioned about the batteries and that spectrum great for the vortex but for the big rock go with higher batteries meaning not spectrum. The big rock comes with spectrum esc so don’t I have to get spectrum batteries??
I’m confused (sorry) so if I was to get the big rock what did/do you mean about the batteries
Let me know what a good charger and batteries you were think
I was planning on buying the Spectrum G2 6S power stage bundle with s2200 2x200w spectrum G2 smart charger and the 2 5000mAh 50c batteries $439 so if you are saying about a different charger and batteries I’m interested in your suggestions if I can get same or better batteries and transmitter and possibly cheaper and would work great the the new big rock please tell me this way I’ll have money for upgrades like big boar shocks and steel spur gear please tell
Dave

 

[GraniteFox]

I'm not a big fan of the spektrum smart batteries & charger. They are good and perform fine but the cost is where I have issues. You would be better off picking up a good dual charger and standard lipo batteries. There are many options to pick from. I use a HTRC C240 Duo and Zeee batteries. On the batteries just make sure they are 50c or higher. On the charger look for 75 - 100W per channel minimum. Save yourself some cash. Look for EC5 connector for batteries and charger leads. It is really a matter of how much you want to spend and how important is the smart technology stuff.

 

[PatMarcus172]

great answer from @GraniteFox . Id have said something similar. The key thing is that you absolutely don't have to have Spektrum batteries and charger just because the ESC is a Spektrum one - irrespective of whether you go with a Vorteks or Big Rock.
If you go with another brand you will lose the smart technology I mentioned (notification on your controller about battery level but that's
ONLY IF YOU GET A VORTEKS because it uses a newer DX3 transmitter...... and batteries that switch themselves in to storage charge automatically) but only you can decide if these two factors are worth the huge on-cost versus chargers and lipos from another brand. To make the car run you just need a good quality (but not necessarily expensive) 3S lipo with an EC5 connector and a means to charge it.
If you go with a vorteks Id suggest the advantages of sticking with Spektrum batteries and charger are small. If you go with a Big Rock, definitely don't bother.
You'll read tons of thoughts on good, budget batteries but Zeee are popular (and widely available on amazon and from China sites like AliExpress). Others like Ovonics, I use a mixture of CNHL, Voltz and Turnigy. All are budget-mid priced Lipos. G.E.N.S Ace are very popular on this forum, too.

 

[Velodromed]

Team Associated SC10 Pro 4.

My work contract ends middle of December so I'm buying up now before the money runs out and my wife leaves me

What do you do? I know I’ve seen gorgeous NZ countryside in your photos…and sheep. Just curious buddy. I’m a property manager and Realtor but no longer can work full-time. I’m always curious what other people do.
I love my vorteks, but didn’t for long in its stock form. I had issues with the LVC cutting out early and I put on a glitch buster, which stoped that. The battery still ran low a little bit early and I don’t use the top end, so I threw on a 15t pinion. Realized I don’t like the tires so I put big rock tires on it and they’re great. Then my daughter decided she really liked it but she prefers how a Granite drives. So i threw on a front granite shock tower, typhon arms, Mojave 6s shocks front and back, granite tires and now it fits both of our driving styles better.

The cool thing about the Arrma 3S line is you can modify them using stock parts from other 3S cars if you’re not happy with what you got.

 

[BulletRCs_NZ]

I work in IT, I'm a contractor so work for myself and charge companies big $$$ for my services . I finish up 6 years at the NZ Tax Dept in December. It's been a great ride.

I have 10 acres of old farm land that I live on and hope to one day make a living off. Just have to work out how.
On the Vorteks and the rest of the 3s line. I agree the 3s ecosystem allows parts to be interchangeable which allows for many different rigs. They are fast and handle great. I'm just weary for extended heavy usage they don't quite make the grade. I'm talking about daily use, 2-4 batteries a day. That's what my vehicles get exposed too and my 3s Arrmas require a lot of attention to keep them running. I know overtime I'm making them bullet proof by upgrading to stronger than stock parts but should I have to be doing that? I'm seeing failures regularly in parts that I believe should last longer and I'm becoming a little disappointed with a lot of the lack of quality workmanship. This has been further exposed since I purchased my Team Associated trucks. They just ooze quality that my Arrmas could only dream of.

 

[Velodromed]

I work in IT, I'm a contractor so work for myself and charge companies big $$$ for my services . I finish up 6 years at the NZ Tax Dept in December. It's been a great ride.

I have 10 acres of old farm land that I live on and hope to one day make a living off. Just have to work out how.
On the Vorteks and the rest of the 3s line. I agree the 3s ecosystem allows parts to be interchangeable which allows for many different rigs. They are fast and handle great. I'm just weary for extended heavy usage they don't quite make the grade. I'm talking about daily use, 2-4 batteries a day. That's what my vehicles get exposed too and my 3s Arrmas require a lot of attention to keep them running. I know overtime I'm making them bullet proof by upgrading to stronger than stock parts but should I have to be doing that? I'm seeing failures regularly in parts that I believe should last longer and I'm becoming a little disappointed with a lot of the lack of quality workmanship. This has been further exposed since I purchased my Team Associated trucks. They just ooze quality that my Arrmas could only dream of.

Sweet! So you’re not a sheep farmer, you basically do what my wife does. I kinda had visions of the guys in Boondocks Saints 2, at the beginning when they were hiding out in Ireland tending sheep. I know, different country but still sheep farming

I see what you mean and it sounds like you’re ready to go up a level. 6S? 8S? You’ve sure got the land to do that. I have not been quite as impressed with the team associate truck I got. I absolutely love the way it drives but the steering going out on the third run and it feels…more toy like. Especially the flimsy body. But I haven’t had much of a chance to run it either. Perhaps my opinion will change down the line after I get it back running, the wife’s better and we can take it to the skate park where I think it’ll fly nicely. Shoo Goo should help the body also.

I was getting out daily but these last few months I get out weekly for a serious drive, maybe. No time, to tired and it’s not as much fun without my wife there. I just bring one with me when I take the kid to the park and chase her around the playground with it.

I think you have to upgrade these pre-built RC cars, no matter what the make or how many S’s they have, for them to be able to be daily drivers and undergo constant stress and torture. I can only imagine the cost of getting a car that is made bullet proof by the factory.