Redcat Ascent Apex 1/18th

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

Happy Birthday to me!

I had my eye on this since it was announced.

Having built a TRX4M to perform, I could immediately tell this little sucker would be a high achiever. The influencer posts don't hurt!

Super excited to get it when it arrives!

I have a upgrade servo I purchased for a more scale TRX4M build. But I think I'm going to steal it for this as it's pretty high performance for a slow trail rig.

Pics to come when I have something to show

 

[Doom!]

Happy Birthday to me!

I had my eye on this since it was announced.

Having built a TRX4M to perform, I could immediately tell this little sucker would be a high achiever. The influencer posts don't hurt!

Super excited to get it when it arrives!

I have a upgrade servo I purchased for a more scale TRX4M build. But I think I'm going to steal it for this as it's pretty high performance for a slow trail rig.

Pics to come when I have something to show

You'll be amazed at the difference in capability.

 

[majin]

Happy Birthday to me!

I had my eye on this since it was announced.

Having built a TRX4M to perform, I could immediately tell this little sucker would be a high achiever. The influencer posts don't hurt!

Super excited to get it when it arrives!

I have a upgrade servo I purchased for a more scale TRX4M build. But I think I'm going to steal it for this as it's pretty high performance for a slow trail rig.

Pics to come when I have something to show

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! i need a trx4m for my son, we love the ascent 18, its a beast! congrats

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

You'll be amazed at the difference in capability.

Looking forward to being wowed

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! i need a trx4m for my son, we love the ascent 18, its a beast! congrats

Thank you!

I have never owned a Redcat before. I think this will make a fine first for the brand, for me.

Some people say it's expensive, but here in Canada it's only $100 more than a TRX-4M model. I have hundreds and hundreds into my Traxxas minis so in comparison I think they're a bargain.

Plus it has quality separate electronics!

 

[RC MODS]

Congrats! For the price point and a 3S system it is a bargain! Only 'must do' upgrade is driveshafts..peeps been snapping them on the regular. I have some scratch built from the ground up crawlers that may not equal the performance this thing has out of the box. Between my Injora built rigs and this Apex, any Traxxas rigs I have left collect dust on the shelf. That's not a dig at Traxxas ( I have several) just being honest.

 

[RC MODS]

This cat can play with the Big dogs!

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

Congrats! For the price point and a 3S system it is a bargain! Only 'must do' upgrade is driveshafts..peeps been snapping them on the regular. I have some scratch built from the ground up crawlers that may not equal the performance this thing has out of the box. Between my Injora built rigs and this Apex, any Traxxas rigs I have left collect dust on the shelf. That's not a dig at Traxxas ( I have several) just being honest.

Thanks for the heads up on the driveshafts!

I know what you mean though. Once you experience really good performance it's hard to go back to something that struggles in that regard.

 

[Tallbump]

Congrats and Happy Birthday

 

[CertifiedMike]

Happy birthday!!!

 

[Doom!]

I didn't know they had birthdays in Canada.

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

I didn't know they had birthdays in Canada.

They're currently still allowed under our dictatorial neighbors to the south.

Ah yes, gifts for me
Toys for my desk layout at work and the reason for the thread.

 

[Doom!]

Nice haul! Since it's still legal, Happy Birthday!

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

Nice haul! Since it's still legal, Happy Birthday!

Way to stay safe!

Thanks Doom

 

[Guest D]

Happy birthday

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

Finally got some time to mess with this little guy tonight.

First thing I did was throw it on the scales;

I picked up a pack of brass hexes (RER30380) to play with as some folks said the rear was light.

Next I started moving things around on the chassis to see if it made any difference.
The manual showed that you could easily remove the radio tray to use the chassis space below. I decided let's try it.

Looks like the front left/right was made worse by adding brass hexes. That difference didn't improve once I moved the electronics around.
If I pick up the left wheel and let it settle they're both around 125g.

I have to assume these aren't that accurate when you're dealing with these little guys?

I also picked up some steel Treal axles that are made for the Ascent 18 (X004FBALQJ). The rear looks like it'll work out fine. The front is another story.

When I place the suspension in full droop the complete assembly is 40mm. The Treal front driveshaft fully compressed is 45mm.
I have a friend who is a machinists, I'll have to leave the front driveshaft with him to trim down a bit.

I'm going to leave the stock driveshaft for now as I don't want to make a weak point by leaving the front.

I'm out of time but when I return to the bench I want to mount the bed to get it ready to run.
I am also considering picking up something to add a little more weight up front; try and get that coveted 60/40 on the scales.

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

I stopped by my LHS on the way home and picked up the only hop up they had to add weight up front; Brass Servo Mount (RER30176).

It looks good with the matching diff cover

Unfortunately due to the design of the mount I am not able to use the Reefs servo I have already that was set aside for another project.
The upper links rise up above the plate, it doesn't allow the servo to sit flat. Oh well, at least this one is O.K.

I also noticed some binding in the servo horn/steering link connection. I polished the ball end on the servo horn and freed that up.

Let's see what that did;

Nice! Looks good!

Let's work on the body!

With the placement of the battery I felt like I need every millimeter I could get. I ended up cutting the center section out of the body mounts to get that little bit extra. Technically I only had to cut one side but what the heck, I like things symmetrical.

And finally let's put the current finished product on the stand..I mean scale.

Doh!

I suppose in reflection, the rear body mounts and bed add quite a bit of material to the rear.

I have already ordered the metal link set from Redcat and brass steering links from Treal.

In summary, here's my impression so far.
It's a nice kit. I like the electronics, I like the layout and I have enjoyed working on it so far.
The tires also feel pretty good, the foams are a bit stiff.

To expand on the ESC, I love that I can use my current programmer to verify the settings. I also like the TX and servo for an RTR unit.

I don't feel like I need to immediately replace the ESC, servo or battery to enjoy the truck.
Anyone who has been doing this a long time can attest to how rare that seems to be.

Negatives - it doesn't come with a full manual, only a quick start guide. While I know there is a ton of value packed in here, at this price point ($369.99 + 12% tax) locally, I would expect at the very least a complete black and white manual.

All and all I am pretty impressed with this little guy.

 

[majin]

i love ours, we went a little nuts on the upgrades, aluminum axles, links, brass down low, underdrive in portals, steel driveshafts few other stuffs, we love it! got me interested in the smaller scale trucks.

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

You aren't kidding! You definitely went heavy handed lol

My goal with this dude is to keep it as light as possible while improving performance and overall stability.

We have a local indoor course that opens up during the winter months, they host a few competitions too. This is going to be my main rig for that.

I plan on bringing out my heavily modified TRX4M, run the course with that first, then try the Apex.

Update - October 24 '25

Had a bit of time this afternoon along with some decent weather. Got 'er out on a pile of rocks at a local park. Pretty impressed!

 

[Ritz413]

Congrats!!! I have the green power wagon version. Redcat is some great stuff! All I have added to mine are wheels, and tires. I

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

Congrats!!! I have the green power wagon version. Redcat is some great stuff! All I have added to mine are wheels, and tires.

Thanks! I am really impressed with the truck.
I plan on ordering a set of wheels for it, looking at Injora's.