Redcat Ascent Apex 1/18th

[Ritz413]

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

I removed the black sticker in the bed, and made a wood floor. I like the color scheme better....but in 1/18 it's picking between a black bed floor that sits too high....or the wood floor that sits like a tonneau cover....life is hard,lol

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

I got the front driveshaft back today. My buddy did a nice job on it! I am sure I could have managed with the Dremel, but he has a much nicer finished product.

I got both of them installed

Here's the numbers:

I did end up ordering the Injora wheels I was discussing earlier in the thread. I also have the Redcat metal links coming in along with the Treal brass steering link if I feel I need more.

 

[majin]

thats so awesome!!!! how do i get this friend to make me a bumper lol

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

I picked up the Redcat Metal link set this week, finished installing it this evening.

I really liked the packing! Nice of them to have everything packaged individually with tags; makes doing the job that much quicker.

I left the rear uppers off. Trying to keep as much front bias while adding strength/stability.

Things on order yet to land;

- Injora wheels
- Treal steering links

Update: Nov 2 2025

I believe the front driveshaft is too long. After switching out the plastic links I can no longer compress the suspension evenly. Left or right is fine, but if you press on the center it won't go. It looks like the center drive shaft bottoms out which is why it will allow the axle to rock side to side. Bummer, it'll have to come back out.

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

The Injora wheels came in, I got them mounted up this evening.

I ended up switching out those stiff foams. I used what I had kicking around. I would describe the fronts as soft and the rear as ultra soft.

Shout out to CCxRC for posting up about these wheels.

After this photo I flipped the direction around.

Driveshaft is off being shortened so I currently can't use the rig.

We're nearing the end of this one.
Excited to get it out once it's done!

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

I received the driveshaft back today! Slapped this baby back together

It still bottoms out but there is slack in the u joints so it's totally fine.

Here's the current weights;

Last part I am still waiting on is the brass Treal steering link set.

It seems pretty dialed right now in the 3 minutes I bench tested it. I have a two piece tool box on the bench, about a foot high. I pointed it at the corner and it climbed the darn thing till it was straight up and down. Unbelievable

My apologies for the awful screenshot here:

 

[Doom!]

Right now Redcat is top dog (ironic I know) In the RTR mini crawler performance category. The Apex is incredible right out of the box.

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

Right now Redcat is top dog (ironic I know) In the RTR mini crawler performance category. The Apex is incredible right out of the box.

No doubt!

If I was in the market I would definitely grab something of theirs. I keep looking at the Vertex6 when I go into my LHS but I just don't have anywhere to challenge something of that size. The Ascent Fusion however, that I could put to good use!

 

[Doom!]

I wish I had access to better crawling spots in my area. I have to drive an hour to use my scx6. I would love to pick up a Vertex6 too, but I wouldn't get to use it enough.

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

I feel fortunate where I am situated. I have a small spot ten-fifteen minutes from my house, locally we have an indoor course that just opened at the beginning of the month and a public use quarry that has plenty of spots.

They get further away as the list goes on but so does the pay off

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

The truck was an absolute beast out there today and a real pleasure to drive! A tad on the eazy side but that's okay.

 

[RC MODS]

Nice looking rig and well done on your 'tweaks' I have a couple ground up builds that have twice the money put in them and this Apex can make them look silly on certain terrains.

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

Nice looking rig and well done on your 'tweaks' I have a couple ground up builds that have twice the money put in them and this Apex can make them look silly on certain terrains.

Thanks and you too! I like the pin stripe.

I agree with what you said.
When I was watching the hype train I was doing the performance per dollar math in my mind VS other 1/18th rigs I built; I knew I had to have one.

Unfortunately when they landed here in Canada I missed out on the initial run and it went through two price increases in a very short period of time. In the end it went up around 20-25 bucks by the time I was able to snag one in the LHS.

Still a good deal in my eyes compared to building out other name brand rigs.

 

[RC MODS]

Thanks! Yes, I'm in the Philippines for a bit right now, so shipping charge was incredibly insane. Given the performance, ease of use and fun factor of the Apex I would do it again!

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

This little dude was back on the bench today.
A brass steering link set I ordered from my LHS finally came in. Super nice looking!!

I just noticed the weight compared to my last post bumped up on the rear. I think that was an anomaly. I didn't change anything there. I'll have to check it again.

So it looks like there was an increase of 6 grams compared to the Redcat parts on the nose.

Things left to tackle;

I feel it may need tires. They're OK, but not great. There were a few guys with 1.0 Ruptures there were really kicking butt out there. I couldn't stick the same way.

Still, I'm looking forward to getting back to the crawling spot once they reopen.

Update:

Dec 7th 2025

Ran this guy on the course today with the added nose weight. It did really well on climbs, but I have to watch the brakes going down. Front flipped 'er once or twice.

I think I am going to order up a set of 1.3 ClingOns to try out in super sticky/soft

Edit: February 8th 2026

I ended up using some Simple Green on the OEM tires and they have been unlocked.
They're back on the truck and are doing really well.