Big Rock What I learned after driving the Big Rock V3 3S BLX through 60 battery packs

[Funcentric]

I still like the Big Rock, but sorta wish I knew all this stuff beforehand. Would've lessened the blow of disappointment if I had known this stuff prior to the purchase. I love the car, but knowledge is power. If you're new to the 3S BLX lineup or plan on getting one, there's more than a few things you should know:

 

[parcou]

Yep... I often think of what people who take it out of the box and just kill it back to back do when they didn't take the time to understand this is a hobby-grade RC and not a Wal-Mart toy RC.

Hear ya...

 

[Homebrew]

Nice video!
Don’t just tighten the wheels, use Loctite!

 

[Yonic]

such a nice video!

Hope you don’t mind I’ll share some notes regarding the points you raised.

Arrma updated the motor mount to be stronger. 6mm instead of 5mm. That’s the new part, and it will be available in august.

removing the springs is super easy. Just screw the red shock retainer and the spring (with the spacers) will come out from the top.

motor bearing Is the biggest issue for me. My current solution (drilling the chassis for the debris to get out) is the best solution I found so far.

 

[Setomidor]

Thanks for the detailed explanations; I’m not very experienced with repairs just yet as my Vorteks has had maybe 20 packs through it at this point and nothing has broken apart from the servo. Great to know what to look out for though!

 

[jbjtx81]

I've only made it to the servo part of the video. After running roughly 10 3s and 6 2s batteries in my bigrock - 4 of 4 shocks pulled out from perch resulting in losing 1 spring. I fixed with apoxy and it's held. The spur has stripped and I'm waiting on replacement. The drive shaft support broke. It seems to be fine without it.. And 3 of 4 wheels have fallen off. I've since removed and reattached all 4 using locktite from both the inside outside. So it sounds like I need to order a new servo and finish watching the rest of your video which is great this far!

Question to all you enthusiasts out there. What is the best strongest most durable machine out there in stock form? I realize fixes and upgrades are inevitable and probably a huge money maker for these companies. But those that own multiple brands and platforms...which one do you think would involve the least amount of ongoing maintenance straight out of the box?

 

[dure16]

What is the best strongest most durable machine out there in stock form?

The Maxx is ridiculous. I’ve had so many bad landings, cartwheels, poor driving, etc. - crashes that would definitely break my arrma 3S rigs.

And this thing just keeps on ticking. I haven’t broken a single part.

Only mod is the wide suspension kit. The durability is unreal.

 

[Javage]

The Maxx is ridiculous. I’ve had so many bad landings, cartwheels, poor driving, etc. - crashes that would definitely break my arrma 3S rigs.

And this thing just keeps on ticking. I haven’t broken a single part.

Only mod is the wide suspension kit. The durability is unreal.

Thanks for the input, I am also looking into another RC. Maxx was on my list, nothing against another Arrma, but I'm open to any good quality product.

 

[Surchaufeur]

I still like the Big Rock, but sorta wish I knew all this stuff beforehand. Would've lessened the blow of disappointment if I had known this stuff prior to the purchase. I love the car, but knowledge is power. If you're new to the 3S BLX lineup or plan on getting one, there's more than a few things you should know:

Little correction what bends the mounth is a front collision hard enough. Thats how mine always bended 100% of the time

 

[King blitz]

This is great news to me since I'm only a speed runner.i eliminated almost all the issues people have with pretty much all bashers..I think I only took my BR maybey a few times off road just messing around never did jumps but had fun doing donuts.and I realized that I have ocd and I don't like my rig dirty so I decided to make my BR just a speed runner.and I don't regret it because after 40 packs I have not had any issues stated above from most people that bash..before I run I do a few simple checks and make sure my wheels are tight and nothing is in the way of any stearing.no pebbles or sand .( Street sand and pebbles).any ways for all you bashers out there good luck with all them issues.

 

[RC fanatic]

Could be my old eyes but the driveshaft issued appears to be caused by the Motor heat sink that is improperly seated. The heat sink may have shifted during a crash but should be seated with the fan horizontal to the TOP of the motor. When shifted on the angle that appears in the video it closed the gap that should be there to allow dirt and stones away from the drive shaft. I own three 3s models and run in dirty conditions and never have seen any of my drive shafts chewed up like that. One side of the motor heat sink is purposely smaller to allow sufficient space between the motor and driveshaft. In the video it appears really close.

 

[King blitz]

Yup the more I hear of people concerned about this and that and saying I broke this today and everything that goes into bashing the more I'm glad I'm done with that noise..speed runners have almost none of those stories.but untill we do a speed pass and hit something at high speed almost never ends well for us .but regardless if your a basher or a speed runner the point is to enjoy this hobby.and what fun would it be if you never rebuilt or worked on your cars and trucks..it's part of the hobby.its why we do it ..

 

[Funcentric]

Yep... I often think of what people who take it out of the box and just kill it back to back do when they didn't take the time to understand this is a hobby-grade RC and not a Wal-Mart toy RC.

Hear ya...

Sorry, I don't often visit this forum so took awhile to get back to you guys. Yes! The hobby grade ones are more powerful generally and allow more customization so definitely more involved than the toy grade ones out there at the big box stores.

Nice video!
Don’t just tighten the wheels, use Loctite!

Yes, good point! 100%.

such a nice video!

Hope you don’t mind I’ll share some notes regarding the points you raised.

Arrma updated the motor mount to be stronger. 6mm instead of 5mm. That’s the new part, and it will be available in august.

removing the springs is super easy. Just screw the red shock retainer and the spring (with the spacers) will come out from the top.

motor bearing Is the biggest issue for me. My current solution (drilling the chassis for the debris to get out) is the best solution I found so far.

Thank you! Tried to cover as much as I could. Kinda wish there was a video like this for me when I first started. Figured I may as well make one for y'all since I was going through most of this myself anyway. I did hear about the new motor mount and a few reports that they still bend. Since then, Hot Racing has come out with their own knockoff of the M2C Racing motor mount at a fraction of the price, so I bought it for $52 and am testing it now. Nothing to report as of yet since I've run through very limited number of batteries so far. Can't jump the gun and report too quickly until I actually get more packs through it. Fitment though is spot on. Perfect fitment.

Thanks for the detailed explanations; I’m not very experienced with repairs just yet as my Vorteks has had maybe 20 packs through it at this point and nothing has broken apart from the servo. Great to know what to look out for though!

Yeah the Vorteks from what I know is built a little bit differently. From what I've heard, watch out for the arms b/c apparently Arrma used the arms and shocks from another vehicle with higher ground clearance and the shock basically bumps into the a-arms when it bottoms out. Some have cut out a wedge in the a-arm to prevent this contact.

I've only made it to the servo part of the video. After running roughly 10 3s and 6 2s batteries in my bigrock - 4 of 4 shocks pulled out from perch resulting in losing 1 spring. I fixed with apoxy and it's held. The spur has stripped and I'm waiting on replacement. The drive shaft support broke. It seems to be fine without it.. And 3 of 4 wheels have fallen off. I've since removed and reattached all 4 using locktite from both the inside outside. So it sounds like I need to order a new servo and finish watching the rest of your video which is great this far!

Question to all you enthusiasts out there. What is the best strongest most durable machine out there in stock form? I realize fixes and upgrades are inevitable and probably a huge money maker for these companies. But those that own multiple brands and platforms...which one do you think would involve the least amount of ongoing maintenance straight out of the box?

Yeah, video was long huh? Hehe, sorry. Just trying to cover all the bases. Yes, I've had that shock problem multiple times. Sometimes I was able to find the spring and others, not so lucky. I ended up replacing the shocks with the ebay big bore ones that used to be $37 and is now $28! So i'd pick those up ASAP for anyone looking for a budget set. No oil, so you have to add your own.

Touching on your question about most durable rc car. There's some factors out there. 1/10 scale basher cars are inherently less durable at 3S and higher. They can fall under their own weight and drivetrain can wreck itself. For durability and reliability, I'd recommend a 2S car. This is different from running a 3S car on 2S. Running a 3S car on 2S will feel very laggy and slow. A 2S car designed as such will feel plenty fast.

This is my formula. Beginners may not want to take on such a task though. https://www.instagram.com/p/ChidVudPwZa/
For a first RC car, I would recommend a quality 1/16 scale. Light enough to be efficient with its electronics, easy to transport, easy to store, doesn't cost that much, very reliable and durable. Namely the HBX 16889A Pro, brushless already, oil filled shocks, all metal drivetrain and under $90 from its original $127. And great customer support from HBX which is a rarity for Chinese brands. No affiliate link. Just grab it from a good rated seller on ebay.

Another 1/16 scale that im' testing out is the MJX 16208. Quality-wise, it's 4x better. I have zero experience with their customer service though, but build quality can't be beat. Too much to list here, but you can check it out on my Instagram.

Yup the more I hear of people concerned about this and that and saying I broke this today and everything that goes into bashing the more I'm glad I'm done with that noise..speed runners have almost none of those stories.but untill we do a speed pass and hit something at high speed almost never ends well for us .but regardless if your a basher or a speed runner the point is to enjoy this hobby.and what fun would it be if you never rebuilt or worked on your cars and trucks..it's part of the hobby.its why we do it ..

Yeah, I think the YouTube videos are giving people the wrong idea. Everyone watches those things only seeing the edited stuff and they're not exposed to the not so glamorous things behind the scenes. I would highly advise AGAINST a 3S basher as a first RC car, yet a ton of people do that only to find themselves in a place where they never wanted to be; spending hours on here and facebook trying to diagnose their problem, order parts looking for the cheapest b/c they already spent $200 more than the price of the car on batteries and a charger, shipping and tax. Then they have to wait for parts, figure out how to install them only to find out that they shouldn't have gone with that metal spur b/c now their diff is stripped and that's more pricey and harder to get to. I should make a warning video so I can keep my sanity. I keep seeing people making the same mistakes over and over.

 

[King blitz]

Again the more story's I hear about peoples issues of how they broke this and that.trying to find parts or frustrated because they jumped a 100ft and now there RC is in the closet cause they can't afford or don't know how to fix it makes so glad I don't bash..great being a speed runner.i don't have them problems.I only flipped my BR one time because I had the original monster truck tires on it and I did a little over 50 and took a quick left and there she went tumbling over and over lol.so problem fixed .I bought a set of slicks and boom no more flips

 

[Funcentric]

Crawling has even more insane reliability. It's only when you put an Axial SCX 24 into the hands of a 6 year old who hasn't been trained, won't listen and isn't even your own kid tries to drive it like a basher into a bush while keeping the throttle on that the motor dies. Haha.

Yeah, people watch those skatepark videos forgetting that there are repairs, waiting time for parts, learning of how to put parts together and diagnose. Then they complain that it broke and they put so much money into it. It's all about setting the expectation. Trying to do that in my videos so people are sucked into the wrong hole.

As a speedrunner, you've likely hard of the WLTOYS 144001. For speed runs, I suppose it could be good, but so many people buy that for the wrong reasons and end up being disappointed. I was in that camp too.

 

[King blitz]

I never really did dirt or ramps bashing..been into RCs since I was a kid and allways had a need for speed.and I'm very particular .I think I have o.c.d because my rigs must be clean and since I only speed run there isn't much to clean.maybey a slight coating of dust.easy spray and wipe.done deal.and I blow down everything.if someone wants to spend a lot of money and let there 6 yr old destroy it then that's on them . hopefully they got a good time out of it..I have seen the same situation on the local pond..father buys his son $600 dollar speed boat let's his barely walking kid use the boat and crashes into mine .now he has a $1600 .dollar bill because mine is smashed into peices.lol I mean seriously..it's all fun untill that happens..on top of it all father claims it wasn't his son's fault.well I sure wasn't the one steering his boat at 80 plus mph into mine lol
Wl toys are nice.i never bought any because I have several integy i10b 1/10 buggy's brushless that I have built just for speed runners.and they are similar in style.fastest one I got it to was 67.mph on 2s

 

[Funcentric]

I never really did dirt or ramps bashing..been into RCs since I was a kid and allways had a need for speed.and I'm very particular .I think I have o.c.d because my rigs must be clean and since I only speed run there isn't much to clean.maybey a slight coating of dust.easy spray and wipe.done deal.and I blow down everything.if someone wants to spend a lot of money and let there 6 yr old destroy it then that's on them . hopefully they got a good time out of it..I have seen the same situation on the local pond..father buys his son $600 dollar speed boat let's his barely walking kid use the boat and crashes into mine .now he has a $1600 .dollar bill because mine is smashed into peices.lol I mean seriously..it's all fun untill that happens..on top of it all father claims it wasn't his son's fault.well I sure wasn't the one steering his boat at 80 plus mph into mine lol
Wl toys are nice.i never bought any because I have several integy i10b 1/10 buggy's brushless that I have built just for speed runners.and they are similar in style.fastest one I got it to was 67.mph on 2s

Yeah, unfortunately some fathers are idiots. People in general can be so irresponsible. Shouldn't be having kids in the first place. Gets even worse with the next generation. Sorry to hear.

 

[King blitz]

I used my BR to hall my 46" catamaran E.P silver fox to the pond.i have a nice large pond near my house down the road so my neighbors allways watch me using the Big rock hall my boats down the road to the pond.i made a nice video of it backing the boat into the water but got erased somehow..going to do some of speed run video and I'll do the boat one also.i love R.C so much fun.