Kraton vitavon, hot racing OR integy bulkhead?

[21STalion]

Vitavon ships China SpeedPak which is literally weeks faster than standard China Post. I also would like to check out BasherQueens bulkheads but I couldn’t find any either.

I have to disagree, at least when it comes to Vitavon. Side by side comparisons from M2C and Vitavon show both to be very nicely machined, but after using both there’s just no question to me that Vitavon trumps them in tolerances, machining, and outright beauty. That said, no QC is 100% from anyone save maybe for NASA (oh wait, no…Challenger) but I’ve never had any issues with anything Vitavon I’ve ever used, from crappy 1/10 plastic chassis SCT’s to 35# 1/5 bruisers.

That’s just a silly thing to say. Maybe say you can’t trust everything but certainly not anything. Some ISO manufacturing facilities in China are among the best in the world, and they’ve come a very long way in stepping up the game. You can buy garbage made in any country, and you you can certainly buy quality from the right manufacturers in China. This ain’t the ‘90’s anymore.
Do I like to buy American made products? Of course, but I’m not married to them. I’m going to buy the highest quality stuff I can get for similar price points no matter where it’s made. I tend to get my titanium from the UK, my billet aluminum from China, and my carbon bits from Utah. And in referencing those three purveyors (which I’m sure you can figure out) I feel they‘re providing outstanding components in their own right.

Well in this example, Vitavon seems to have machined the part wrong?

My HR pieces were perfect.

Tell me again how Vitavon is sooooo much better?

I'll keep avoiding offshore parts where possible thank you.

 

[Dan B.]

Well in this example, Vitavon seems to have machined the part wrong?

Maybe. Or maybe fastener cross threaded? IDK.

My HR pieces were perfect.

Like I said, most of my HR parts have been great as well.

Tell me again how Vitavon is sooooo much better?

By comparison they’re head and shoulders above most all other machined aluminum parts I’ve ever used. By no short ratio. Ask those that have used them. They’re just beautifully machined components with far better than average tolerances. Like I said also, nobody’s QC is 100%, but in my experience they’re the closest I’ve seen to perfect.

I'll keep avoiding offshore parts where possible thank you.

Where do you think your Hot Racing parts are made, chief?

 

[21STalion]

Maybe. Or maybe fastener cross threaded? IDK.

Like I said, most of my HR parts have been great as well.

By comparison they’re head and shoulders above most all other machined aluminum parts I’ve ever used. By no short ratio. Ask those that have used them. They’re just beautifully machined components with far better than average tolerances. Like I said also, nobody’s QC is 100%, but in my experience they’re the closest I’ve seen to perfect.

Where do you think your Hot Racing parts are made, chief?

This conversation is going nowhere.

 

[Heliguy]

Vitavon is tough to beat.

 

[Moirae]

Where do you think your Hot Racing parts are made, chief?

This is what I was thinking the whole time. Hot Racing seems to be the same stuff off aliexpress but rebranded.

 

[slick2500]

Vitavon ships China SpeedPak which is literally weeks faster than standard China Post. I also would like to check out BasherQueens bulkheads but I couldn’t find any either.

I have to disagree, at least when it comes to Vitavon. Side by side comparisons from M2C and Vitavon show both to be very nicely machined, but after using both there’s just no question to me that Vitavon trumps them in tolerances, machining, and outright beauty. That said, no QC is 100% from anyone save maybe for NASA (oh wait, no…Challenger) but I’ve never had any issues with anything Vitavon I’ve ever used, from crappy 1/10 plastic chassis SCT’s to 35# 1/5 bruisers.

That’s just a silly thing to say. Maybe say you can’t trust everything but certainly not anything. Some ISO manufacturing facilities in China are among the best in the world, and they’ve come a very long way in stepping up the game. You can buy garbage made in any country, and you you can certainly buy quality from the right manufacturers in China. This ain’t the ‘90’s anymore.
Do I like to buy American made products? Of course, but I’m not married to them. I’m going to buy the highest quality stuff I can get for similar price points no matter where it’s made. I tend to get my titanium from the UK, my billet aluminum from China, and my carbon bits from Utah. And in referencing those three purveyors (which I’m sure you can figure out) I feel they‘re providing outstanding components in their own right.

When I said Chinese I was referring to the cheap crap they sell on Amazon, eBay, Banggood and Aliexpress.

 

[Dan B.]

When I said Chinese I was referring to the cheap crap they sell on Amazon, eBay, Banggood and Aliexpress.

Agreed, that’s definitely a different animal. You can usually spot the rebranded stuff, but most of the rest is just terrible.

 

[dk3000]

Let's keep it real, Hot Racing, Vitavon and M2C all have had qc issues at some point and probably still do. If you have been on this forum long enough you have the crap M2c did that was just ugly asf. So bad they closed the thread lol. I have had minor issues with all 3 of the above companies. Best advice I seen from the above comments is getting a 3mm tap and clean the threads.
Imo they all are great. 5 stars on quality. Let's compare to say GPM uhhhh

 

[Dan B.]

Let's keep it real, Hot Racing, Vitavon and M2C all have had qc issues at some point and probably still do. If you have been on this forum long enough you have the crap M2c did that was just ugly asf. So bad they closed the thread lol. I have had minor issues with all 3 of the above companies. Best advice I seen from the above comments is getting a 3mm tap and clean the threads.
Imo they all are great. 5 stars on quality. Let's compare to say GPM uhhhh

Absolutely true. And in all fairness, Vitavon is going through some real right now for some badly engineered components for the X-Maxx. So yup, nobody’s perfect for sure. I also saw a bad review about their servo saver for the 6s cars being way too weak, but I haven’t tried them. I use BasherQueens servo savers and love them. You can crank them up to beat the band and they have a locking collar on them. Nice stuff. Pretty, too!

 

[carckton driver]

i was considering basher queen bulkhead but she said it was gonna be at least a few weeks before they were made and the cost was around $120. vitavon seemed like the best option. ill message them and see what they say about the threads, at the very least they should know about it.

 

[Panther6834]

First, STAY AWAY FROM Integy...complete garbage. Hot Racing, for the most part, produces products ranging from "very good", to "outstanding"...just depends on the specific parts. As for Vitavon, from my own personal experience, they've always proven to be outstanding...even if you have to wait a little longer than the others. Honestly, I've got a number of 7075 & steel Vitavon parts on several vehicles, incl my X-MAXX (which takes EXTREME 'beatings'), and I've never had a single problem with the strength, or durability, of any of them.

The ONLY 'problem' I've ever had with something from Arthur (ie. Vitavon) was on a set of 5 beadlock wheels for my Losi Baja Rey. The hex of one of the wheels wasn't 'flat', thus the wheel "wobbled". I contacted Arthur via eBay messenger (the Vitavon 'store' is on eBay), and he responded back within less than a day, giving me the option of a "replacement wheel" (which he'd ship the following day, and ship it FedEx Air), or give me a refund equal to 1/5 the purchase price. Since I wasn't installing the 'spare' wheel on the Baja Ray, I only needed 4 wheels (I would have kept the 5th as a 'backup'), so I accepted the partial-refund offer, which he issued the same day.

Since that incident, I've ordered from Arthur/Vitavon several more times, and he always gets things shipped pretty quickly...even when he's anodizing my parts to a particular blue he knows I really like. In short, if you're in a 'rush' to get parts, and you don't mind black being the only color option, Hot Racing could (potentially) be your "best bet". But, if you don't mind waiting a little longer and/or you really want color options besides black, then Vitavon is what you could go for.

 

[the1stkim]

i screwed up real good and ripped all 4 screws out of the stock bulkhead, so i need a new one. question is do i spend $100 on vitavon, $79 or $87 on hot racing (depending on compatability. hot racing says the more expensive lower AON12M01 is for the v5 and the cheaper AON12E01 wont work although i don't really believe it because they both say they replace the same exact part number and have the same exact description) OR integy for $44? i know the vitavon and HR has been discussed but the majority of the thread, especially discussing quality is pretty old. i recently got back into the hobby but 12 years ago im pretty sure integys quality wasnt that great but maybe thats changed. i mainly mention integy because the price is right.

I run the vitavons on 4 cars. haven't ever stripped out since. Just one less thing to worry about. Plus i got the titanium look finish and I like it!

 

[carckton driver]

a little update to this. after about a week and half of talking back and forth with vitavon through amazon (language barrier is a HUGE issue) they are sending me a new lower piece.

 

[djrahbee]

Any updates on Vitavon parts for this thread??

 

[joshjosh]

I have had issues with every part I’ve ordered from them. Hopefully they fix it soon. I hadn’t heard of Basherqueen bulkheads, but ScorchedRC just released theirs, and I picked a few up. I’ve circled in red the spaces that had issues, but my issues were mainly very small screw spacing issues that made fitment a bear.
1. Their carrier has 4 holes out of place, but I’ve also heard of other fitment issues with the Arrma metal 29mm diff’s.
2. The hinge pin carriers are slightly off, though I believe it’s the nipple hole that’s off, and if you did a metal diff carrier they aren’t there.
3. The steering arm has the main post sunk down too low, this allows the outside part that swings to sit higher. This creates friction and wear when the servo top plate is installed. I solved the issue by installing a hot racing locking servo saver in there, but not ideal, and I doubt I keep it.

 

[21STalion]

Where do you think your Hot Racing parts are made, chief?

This is what I was thinking the whole time. Hot Racing seems to be the same stuff off aliexpress but rebranded.

Yes we all know hot racing is made offshore and I explicitly said I avoid offshore WHERE POSSIBLE which is not possible in this case until they started making some of these parts in the UK recently

Most of my cars are about 90% American/UK/Japanese made parts now with only the few items with no local options

I also meant by this that if you can buy the part locally (even a Chinese part) it's still much better then ordering or ebay or AliExpress or whatever.

At least if you bought the part from your LHS and it was defective you can just return it.

Good luck returning your eBay or AliExpress items

 

[Moirae]

Yes we all know hot racing is made offshore and I explicitly said I avoid offshore WHERE POSSIBLE which is not possible in this case until they started making some of these parts in the UK recently

Most of my cars are about 90% American/UK/Japanese made parts now with only the few items with no local options

I also meant by this that if you can buy the part locally (even a Chinese part) it's still much better then ordering or ebay or AliExpress or whatever.

At least if you bought the part from your LHS and it was defective you can just return it.

Good luck returning your eBay or AliExpress items

Man I am so thankful I've not had to return anything or even contact aliexpress customer support. I hope I continue to be so lucky. *knock on wood.

 

[Matt05]

Anyone try the Treal bulkheads? Priced pretty decently.

https://trealhobby.com/products/tre...bulkhead-for-arrma-18-kraton-extreme-bash-exb

 

[joshjosh]

If I had known about them first, I would’ve gotten BasherQueen’s

 

[21STalion]

In all honesty I use the hot racing ones because I use the stock plastic diff covers (even though I have all the aluminum parts here) and that's because if you use the plastic cover then the is almost no weight increase (less than 5g for both F&R bulkheads over stock)

The diff covers are disproportionately heavy and simply not worth it.

Literally one diff cover weighs more than converting both diff housing to aluminum.

Think about that, alloy diff covers (just the cover!) are not worth it at any price