My Redcat Blackout XTE 3S experiment.

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biggman100

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Central/Upstate N.Y.
RC Driving Style
  1. Bashing
Let me start by saying, i have never had a 3S anything until earlier this year. I have been running 2S for awhile now, and was fine with it, since i dont race, i just bash, but, i wanted to see what the fuss was all about, so, i picked up a cheap, complete car that was 3S capable (Hobby King Quanam Vandal), that i promptly broke (when i say promptly, i destroyed the front a-arms the second battery, and they are never available), so, i picked up a Redcat Blackout on Ebay for less than $80 shipped, that, to my surprise actually worked, even though it was listed as not running. Within a month i burnt up the stock Redcat brushed motor, and then got the brilliant idea to put the 3S system from the Vandal in the Blackout. The specs on what i have are shown as, Hobby Wing 60A waterproof ESC, and, oddly, the motor says 3652 3250KV. I dont know a lot about BL motors, but i have never seen a 3652 before this one. After reading about the blackout online, i thought, this truck will last a week, especially with how hard i am on them. Surprisingly though, in the first two months, the only damage i did was completely shred the stock tires. OK, so i did that the first week. Then, i put tires on it from a Redcat Volcano, that are still on it (although, they do balloon bad in the air). As i said, i ran the truck hard. Jumps, through water over the body, snow, deep mud, and, i finally actually broke something the last time out. I obliterated the front input shaft, ate the teeth off the front ring gear, broke the rear input shaft, and even managed to have the pins in the driveshaft start coming out. Since winter is coming around again, and the only type of vehicle i dont have is a 2WD for the snow, i thought, i will just get the input shaft and make it 2WD, except, most of the diff parts are out of stock, which is why i typically stay away from Redcat, but, overall, i actually like this truck, and that is saying a lot, since i have an Arrma Fury (no, that truck will never see snow, because of how much i have in it), an Arrma Granite, A DHK Wolf 2, and have had a Team Associated RC10, and am currently after a Senton, as funds allow.
 
I've also been pleasantly surprised by Redcat Racing RC vehicles. I find them way better than some of the bad reports that I read online about them. I currently have the Caldera and it's held up really well. The Caldera looks pretty similar to a Tekno with beefy parts and performs very good given the price.
 
I've also been pleasantly surprised by Redcat Racing RC vehicles. I find them way better than some of the bad reports that I read online about them. I currently have the Caldera and it's held up really well. The Caldera looks pretty similar to a Tekno with beefy parts and performs very good given the price.
when mine was running i didnt really have many issues, i got the Exceed Infinitive Brushless (was back when brushless was really new) and it took a good bit of abuse for a time. then took a decent launch and came down on the back left tire and was about game over for it. snapped the chassis, shattered the tire, broke the upper chassis brace, lower A-Arm mounts, bent lower a-arm reinforcement plates, shock tower, cracked the diff case, and bent 3 of 4 shocks on the rear. went to start tearing down and noticed the diff gears were worn quite bad. the center driveshaft dogbone end had almost sheared all the way through. parts for these were almost always out of stock at the time and the bill was getting close to almost full replacement.
i will say i think that HSP based vehicles has seemed to be getting better about parts support, upgrade ability, quality control, and customer support. i dont think i would ever buy one again after owning some higher end models, but for more entry/light/medium bashing, the price is right and the quality is ok.
every rig is going to break at some point or another, and with almost every vehicle, people are going to have different experiences with failures.
 
i will say i think that HSP based vehicles has seemed to be getting better about parts support, upgrade ability, quality control, and customer support.
I can never seem to find parts for my Blackout when i need them, which has been thankfully very rare, but, every time i do break something, the parts i need are always out of stock. When i had my Volcano/Tornado hybrid, i could find HSP, Hobby Park, Redcat and Exceed parts, but, i can only find Blackout parts from Redcat, through Redcat or Amazon or Ebay, but, as of this morning, the Diffs and the front and rear input shafts were out of stock everywhere i looked, which is the biggest reason i got away from them, because of hit or miss parts availability, even though i am looking at a Caldera 10SE and a Blackout SC, because, after owning 2 of the Blackouts, and having very few issues with them, even as hard as i am with them, and, since i can find them on Ebay as rollers, I'm thinking about them as hard basher/experiment vehicles, and keep my other, more expensive vehicles for less abusive use.
 
I can never seem to find parts for my Blackout when i need them, which has been thankfully very rare, but, every time i do break something, the parts i need are always out of stock. When i had my Volcano/Tornado hybrid, i could find HSP, Hobby Park, Redcat and Exceed parts, but, i can only find Blackout parts from Redcat, through Redcat or Amazon or Ebay, but, as of this morning, the Diffs and the front and rear input shafts were out of stock everywhere i looked, which is the biggest reason i got away from them, because of hit or miss parts availability, even though i am looking at a Caldera 10SE and a Blackout SC, because, after owning 2 of the Blackouts, and having very few issues with them, even as hard as i am with them, and, since i can find them on Ebay as rollers, I'm thinking about them as hard basher/experiment vehicles, and keep my other, more expensive vehicles for less abusive use.
could always get another Arrma granite and get RPM A-arms lol, i do think it quite strange as throughout my year and a half-two year abuse of the Exceed infinitive, i never broke an A-Arm. hub carrier once (trees hurt lol).
 
could always get another Arrma granite and get RPM A-arms lol, i do think it quite strange as throughout my year and a half-two year abuse of the Exceed infinitive, i never broke an A-Arm. hub carrier once (trees hurt lol).
Actually, i'm looking more for short course trucks. I'm looking at the Redcat Caldera 10E, the Redcat Blackout SC, and the Arrma Senton MEGA and 3S, not necessarily in that order (or, if i can convince my wife, all 3). Right now though, I'm waiting on parts for the Granite, and my DHK Wolf 2, and for parts to be in stock in for my current Blackout, but, i may leave that 2WD for the snow, if i dont break it more before then. I already have the Granite, the Blackout, which is the XTE with the SUV body, and a Force RC Outbreak, so I'm not looking for more monster trucks.
 
I think some of their more recent offerings aren't as bad as the stuff that gave them a bad name 5+ years ago.

Agreed, and I picked up a Hurricane XTR after seeing the "tides change" in regards to Redcat. I had only some minor issues(stock glow plug was not sufficient, or defective, and the motor mount had a stripped nut. Otherwise the thing is a beast and a ton of fun. The .28 might be a little overkill and heavy on the fuel though.
 
I currently have the Caldera and it's held up really well.
Do you have the Caldera MT or SCT? I have been looking at the Caldera SCT, but, from what i have seen, it is a bit shorter than other SCT's i have or have had (Arrma Fury, Arrma Senton, Force RC Warhawk, Associated RC10), and, i was hoping to put my Warhawk body on it, since that is all i have left of that truck.
 
I have the Caldera SCT. It's a bit short on the wheelbase but is longer than the Blackout. I think it's listed at 305mm for the wheelbase but you can adjust the spacers on the hub carriers to get the wheelbase to at least 307mm. The stock caldera body is pretty good and a few other SC bodies might still fit.
 
I have the Caldera SCT. It's a bit short on the wheelbase but is longer than the Blackout. I think it's listed at 305mm for the wheelbase but you can adjust the spacers on the hub carriers to get the wheelbase to at least 307mm. The stock caldera body is pretty good and a few other SC bodies might still fit.
I went a completely different route, but, only because i hit what i call a bit of luck. I found a DHK Hobby Hunter BL on Ebay for $100, that in the description said, and i quote, "it needs a new plastic center gear", which i took to mean it needed a new spur so i got two of them for $6 shipped, then, it got here today, and i found out all it was was the motor came loose so the pinion wasn't touching. I haven't ran it yet, but, i hope to very soon. I already have a DHK Wolf 2 and a Raz-R 2, so I'm familiar with how they handle 3S power (alot of the DHK vehicles share parts). The Raz-R hasn't had any issues, but the wolf oddly had the front diff pinion gear come loose twice. The gear is screwed on the end of the shaft, and the screw came loose, so the last time, i used Loc-Tite on it. My next purchases wont be until next year, but I'm looking at a Typhon, some Tamiya rally stuff, and maybe another Senton. Right now, I'm more concentrating on setting up the vehicles i use in the winter for winter use (stainless screws, ceramic bearings, paddle tires on the SCT's and MT's)
 
I'm a bit late for the party on this thread but wanted to respond. I have a Tornado s30 the wife bought me for a gift a couple of months ago and have yet to run it. I can't give my 2 cents on the car but I do know they have ton of parts. I'm completely rebuilding it before I actually run it. Here is before and after pics of the rear end, that's as far as I am so far. Its a fun project regardless and I've never had a Redcat but have seen a bunch of pro's and con's.




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Before...

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After...

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I'm a bit late for the party on this thread but wanted to respond. I have a Tornado s30 the wife bought me for a gift a couple of months ago and have yet to run it. I can't give my 2 cents on the car but I do know they have ton of parts. I'm completely rebuilding it before I actually run it. Here is before and after pics of the rear end, that's as far as I am so far. Its a fun project regardless and I've never had a Redcat but have seen a bunch of pro's and con's.
I dont own any gas/nitro vehicles, but, i had that same buggy in the electric version (gave it to my nephew to beat on). In my avatar, its the buggy with the black/blue body. One thing i found with them is the aluminum is fairly thin and weak. On mine, i bent 2 different aluminum shock mounts, and both front lower arms, so i ended up going back to all plastic. As i noted in another thread awhile back, stay away from the so-called carbon fiber parts. They are extremely weak, and crack and break even on brushed cars. The upside is, you can get parts for them from many different places (Amazon, Ebay, etc), under names like HSP, Exceed, Hobbypark, and even Redcat Racing. I still have a blue aluminum chassis i bought for it, but only used for about a week, then went back to the stock one. It was too heavy for brushed electric. One trick i found, although i had to modify the wing mount, was to double the shock mounts, that way they bent less. I even found a small box the other day of bent and broken parts that i had replaced on it when i went to a BL combo.
 
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