The below summary is based upon my actual experience and is a statement of what I observed, I'm not attempting to bash any other brand. I have examined several different trucks and decided upon conclusion of same to purchase two Revo's for my son and I.
We just got back from running the following : Two Traxxas Revo's, an HPI Savage and a Losi LST.Here is a brief synopsis of how the vehicles performed, from start to finish.
Starting:
The Revo's started almost effortlessly, with their EZ start system and ran great. The Savage and LST both took several attempts to start and then stalled quite often until they were warmed up, once they warmed up they ran decent (to be fair, the Savage may have been having trouble w/ the glow-plug).
Driving:
We ran the two Revo's for a good 25 minutes before a brief re-fueling, which took about 45 seconds. Keep in mind, we ran these trucks, "Balls to the wall" the whole time, with no break between tanks.
They flat out screamed! We decided to move to a different location, one with a rather large pile -o-dirt. We basically assaulted that pile for the next 45 minutes with no mercy shown to either the pile or the trucks. We tumbled the Revo's end over end, sideways, backwards, etc. Several times I expected something would surely break, but not so! These trucks Hi-tech suspension work better than advertised! They launched repeatedly from all sorts of off-camber positions, and yet landed rubber side down!
We then decided to fire up the LST, which as I said, took some time to get going. Once it was warmed up, it really had some balls! you could definitely distinguish between the big block and small block as to torque and sound. The LST had great power and climbed our 8 ft dirt pile with ease. It jumped very level and landed just as well, until the second landing. It landed in a soft dirt rut and instantly snapped a front a-arm.
The same a-arm had been replaced just days before! That ended the LST's activity.
Next up was the Savage, it too was a pain to start compared to the Revo's. An E-Z start is definitely worth having! It sounded pretty good, but never really got very far. I suspect that it may have had a bad glow-plug (this truck was purchased used, so it isn't a fair evaluation of it's potential, please keep that in mind) .
Conclusion:
Initially, I was a little hesitant to purchase a traxxas product, but upon examination of it's suspension, drivetrain and chassis in comparison to others, I decided to purchase two. I've heard all sorts of trashing of the Revo, from it's being made by Traxxas, to it's composite driveline, however, none of these arguments have born any weight whatsoever. It is built incredibly tough and has an excellent power to weight ratio, with plenty of power on tap, right out of the box. It handled several weeks of hardcore thrashing with only a scratched up body to date!!
I cannot however say the same for the Losi LST, as it needs a lot of R&D still! The poor guy who bought it had only owned it for three weeks and has constantly had to work on it(the LST was purchased NIB). He has since purchased a Revo and loves it. A real shame considering the LST came from Losi which normally produces excellent cars and trucks.
The Savage should be an excellent truck, but will never be able to keep up with the Revo in the extreme terrain, even with a BB ! E-Z start is the only way to go for rec driving, it was great not having to attempt to warm a glow plug while cranking a motor.
We just got back from running the following : Two Traxxas Revo's, an HPI Savage and a Losi LST.Here is a brief synopsis of how the vehicles performed, from start to finish.
Starting:
The Revo's started almost effortlessly, with their EZ start system and ran great. The Savage and LST both took several attempts to start and then stalled quite often until they were warmed up, once they warmed up they ran decent (to be fair, the Savage may have been having trouble w/ the glow-plug).
Driving:
We ran the two Revo's for a good 25 minutes before a brief re-fueling, which took about 45 seconds. Keep in mind, we ran these trucks, "Balls to the wall" the whole time, with no break between tanks.
They flat out screamed! We decided to move to a different location, one with a rather large pile -o-dirt. We basically assaulted that pile for the next 45 minutes with no mercy shown to either the pile or the trucks. We tumbled the Revo's end over end, sideways, backwards, etc. Several times I expected something would surely break, but not so! These trucks Hi-tech suspension work better than advertised! They launched repeatedly from all sorts of off-camber positions, and yet landed rubber side down!
We then decided to fire up the LST, which as I said, took some time to get going. Once it was warmed up, it really had some balls! you could definitely distinguish between the big block and small block as to torque and sound. The LST had great power and climbed our 8 ft dirt pile with ease. It jumped very level and landed just as well, until the second landing. It landed in a soft dirt rut and instantly snapped a front a-arm.
The same a-arm had been replaced just days before! That ended the LST's activity.
Next up was the Savage, it too was a pain to start compared to the Revo's. An E-Z start is definitely worth having! It sounded pretty good, but never really got very far. I suspect that it may have had a bad glow-plug (this truck was purchased used, so it isn't a fair evaluation of it's potential, please keep that in mind) .
Conclusion:
Initially, I was a little hesitant to purchase a traxxas product, but upon examination of it's suspension, drivetrain and chassis in comparison to others, I decided to purchase two. I've heard all sorts of trashing of the Revo, from it's being made by Traxxas, to it's composite driveline, however, none of these arguments have born any weight whatsoever. It is built incredibly tough and has an excellent power to weight ratio, with plenty of power on tap, right out of the box. It handled several weeks of hardcore thrashing with only a scratched up body to date!!
I cannot however say the same for the Losi LST, as it needs a lot of R&D still! The poor guy who bought it had only owned it for three weeks and has constantly had to work on it(the LST was purchased NIB). He has since purchased a Revo and loves it. A real shame considering the LST came from Losi which normally produces excellent cars and trucks.
The Savage should be an excellent truck, but will never be able to keep up with the Revo in the extreme terrain, even with a BB ! E-Z start is the only way to go for rec driving, it was great not having to attempt to warm a glow plug while cranking a motor.
