traxxas as a company do you agree?

Today I was thinking about traxxas as a company and some of the issues all of us have had with our products and I started to think I know one of the main reasons things break so much. First I think traxxas products start life as something built for someone just getting into the sport or the hobbie of RC. Yes, there are people that race traxxas stuff, but to me they really didn’t start life from a racers background. If you look at the traxxas vehicle line up as a whole it is missing a huge section, and I am surprised that they haven’t jumped out into the market of buggies and truggies. I feel that companies like LOSI, X-Ray, Mugen, and Kyosho started from the top or have really worked there way to the top to produce a killer product. I do realize that the market needs a entry level company, but without a racing background I feel like it really leave the end user wanting more. I am not bashing on traxxas just wondering why they have done this. If you look at the price tag on a race buggy vs. a e Revo there really isn’t a huge price jump. After looking at many of the team Losi products even there rtr truggies and buggies are very sound and solid products. When you see other companies using steel axles why wouldn’t you do the same rather than offer them as a hop-up? I understand they are out to make money with their product, but sometimes I feel like it is on the back of the people that support them. When you buy something for 600 dollars and have to dump another 400 to 500 into it to make it a better product I really see something wrong with this. The only real reason I am ranting on this is because I have an LST2 and the truck has been a tank since day one I didn’t need a bunch of losi hop-up or after market parts for it to do what I wanted it to do. If I want to bash it, it takes it and loves it if I want to run it at a track no problem . I never have had to put axles in it or diffs in it, or any other platic parts like bulkheads or a arms. It seems to me like traxxas wants us to rebuild there stuff all the time and other companies try to make them so you can finish a race or bash all day with them and not have these problems. I am just curious if anyone else feels the same way about this, because my LST didn’t set me back anymore then the revo has, and the revo has ended up being a money pit.

[lincpimp]

Now you have seen why myself and a few others have really pushed the lst2 platform.

I have owned alot of traxxas products and they do usually have driveline problems. I considered the erevo one of the best... Same thing with the 3.3 maxx and 3905 emaxx. They did improve alot over the original emaxx and tmaxx, the shafts and diffs were a joke.

The original lst was no world beater either, that is why losi came out with the lst2. They improved on all of the problem areas, save for the steering design.

Losi's race products are all very well done, not so much with their "sport" line. Whoever Losi has in the design dept on the race side is good. They make some really great stuff.

I cannot bash on traxxas much. I really like most of it, save for the nitro 4tec and the junko (jato).

I honestly wouldnt know much about the first lst, but the lst2 has been very good to me. If you look at losi they changed things to make things better what have they done with most of the cars traxxas sells. I do realize they are toys and they will break, but somethings are expected to break unlike others. Sometime I feel like they didnt do enough testing when they put the e-Revo together they figured the nitro stuff would work fine. Maybe that is one of the reasons that the xxl isn't brushless because it would rip the thing apart. I guess as a whole with marketing and product pricing traxxas will never fall off the map because its the bang for you bug, and i guess if I never ran my revo on 6s I would have never had a problem.

[Overdriven]

Traxxas is also a "price point" company. You can buy a Revo/Maxx, for quite a bit less than an LST and have fun in the hobby. I've seen alot of people walk in, and then walk right out of my lhs when they see the prices, even if its a Traxxas. And for alot of users, they won't need many if any upgrades, until they want to replicate the big air in the youtube video they just watched. Those who bash hard, or like big power should be prepared to spend some dough on upgrades though. I do think Traxxas should do like they did with the Slash 4x4, and have an upgraded version availible, but with cvd's.

As for "missing" products, Traxxas wants no part of 1/8 buggy/truggy. The platform would be too dedicated, and couldn't produce any offshoots ie: Bandit became Ruster then Slash, Revo became Summitt, etc. Plus devolping a Big Block, Updating it to keep up with the competition, not going to happen.

The E-revo does have different diff parts than the regular revo. But its just a spider gear support inside the diff cup, still the same gears. If they came from the factory with aluminum outer cases and shimmed better, I think there would be alot less complaints about Traxxas Diffs. And I think the newer sliders are pretty darn good, just not good enough for 6s power.

[Shonen]

What are they known for? RTR, for one. The only departure from that in recent time was the Platinum Editions. They pride themselves for innovation and great engineering, which is also true. T-Maxx? Classic as we know it. Revo? Groundbreaking features that set it apart from other monster trucks. Slash? Singlehandledly started the short course revolution as far as I know. They know exactly what they are doing, therefore they do not have to keep up with racing to prove they are the best. They open the market where they believe there is a hole; they do not go and try to fit in. Another example is the 1:16 Revo/Slash, where 1:18 is the 'normal' mini size. Sure, they don't excel in everything, but any company has its successes and its failures. I am not sure but I also believe they popularized waterproof modeling, as well as being the first to introduce nitro starter motors (EZ Start).

I respect Traxxas because they take more chances than most companies do. I'm not familiar with Traxxas' marine stuff, but for their land-based RC I've got to say they've really done well. Associated may have the RC10, but Traxxas has several of its models be groundbreaking in their own ways. Traxxas doesn't take part in the buggy/truggy scene because they don't have to. They do deliver a lot for the price, but it is also true that it requires a lot more money to be considered durable.

If there was a model for sale of a reasonable price, and everything was as durable and well engineered as possible and didn't require modification...would it really be that great? Part of the fun of RC is modifying, seeing what can be improved by the aftermarket.

Also, think of the environment of RC-Monster. Most 'normal people' do not spend their free time reading up on the latest and greatest modifications they can do to improve their model. My point is, RC-Monster forums should not be treated as the entire RC hobbyist population. I have a lot of RC friends and only two of them go on forums at all, one just goes on forums to look for body shell painting ideas. These 'problems' aren't so much weaknesses of the model that 'has to be fixed immediately', but the weakest part of the design that power users (RC Monsters) find and share. One of my friends is still running his Associated T3, which is the bone stock Sports kit save a set of bearings, without complaints for ten years or so. He doesn't go for 60mph speed runs or 20 foot jumps...he just has a lot of fun driving it conservatively, and replacing parts when necessary.

ps. not everywhere has a racing scene, for example in Hawaii the casual RC scene is 90% T-Maxxes. Why? Because they do everything, everywhere. We don't care that you can get a racing chassis for so much $ more, a bashable Traxxas is much more valuable. Most of the people here don't care about improving racing lines, how easy it is to adjust your center diff, or whether or not their tires match the surface. Traxxas delivers exactly what people here want, I'm sure it's like that elsewhere. They know their market. (:

[Bondonutz]

I think TRX has stayed with plastic drive lines to keep replace parts cost low so it doesnt discourage the newbs from having to drop 40-50 bucks every time they crash into the mail box ?

[brian015]

Originally Posted by BigoBoogieman

Maybe that is one of the reasons that the xxl isn't brushless because it would rip the thing apart.

I run my LST2/Muggy-based extended buggy (19lbs.) with a 1527 on 10s geared for 50mph - the Losi drive-line is rock solid.

You know it is kind of funny. I just spent the last three hours pulling parts together and got another Revo roller out of the deal. I guess I will always bitch about something, but yet again im building another money pit. Either way you look at it we are all going to think there is a point about something one way or another even if no one else really agrees with us. For me I got into all of these when someone gave me a e Revo I broke a ton of stuff fixed a ton of stuff and picked up a lst2. I think the LST is much better build but the revo has its place also. From the lst2 I picked up a ten-t, and it has has some major ROSS issues. I do not know how the trx ez start works but I can tell you the losi ROSS sucks and there isn't any fix for it if you want to keep using it. Everyone does there own thing and I guess everyone has their own problems, but I do think if trx used dog bones from the start there would be a lot less bitching from everyone. I do enjoy working on these things from time to time, but sometime I just want thing to work how they should without a lot of problems. I would rather have the option to upgrade rather then be forced into a hop-up to try and fix other problems. At the time time I guess it may be my fault for having my slipper set a little tight which may make me bias. I am just glad I have found this forum everyone has been a great help to me with any input they have given me. From the revo thread with the lst diffs to my stupid questions about axles esc and anything else that crosses my mind when I am on here. It isn't every day that people are really helpful anymore and this group of people is second to none when it comes to class. So, thanks guys for all the help the ideas pointers and replies without you I would still be lost.