Thinking about buying a used X-Maxx....

[ReeV0]

Hi all!

First post here...

So I've currently got an Arrma Talion V4 running a Max6 esc & massive TP4070 motor, but it's never really got me that excited. I put it together to do speed runs for the adrenaline rush, and just general fast bashing, but so far I've only managed to reach 60mph from it (on 6s). Strange since the stock electronics can get it to 70mph... Not sure if that's just because I don't have enough space to run it or whatever... I don't really bash hard and probably have only ever broken a couple of parts.

And after spending hundreds of £££ on it, I'm now thinking about doing a U-turn and selling it and getting an X-Maxx! :')

Man, they just look so cool. I've watched countless youtube videos of them and while they may not do more than 50mph, the fact they can *go anywhere* has a lot of appeal... But I got some questions to all you fellow X-Maxx owners out there.

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1. Do any of you regret purchasing the X-Maxx and wish you'd bought, say, the Arrma Kraton 8s EXB?

2. Is it possible to lower the X-Maxx for road running? I haven't seen it lowered in any youtube videos.

3. Is it possible to keep the self-right feature if I change the esc? In the videos it seems to continuously flip over. Won't be used to it as I've never once flipped the Talion.

4. Can the drivetrain handle 5th scale power (e.g. Hobbywing Max5 56113 setup)?

5. Just curious why the X-Maxx typically has a 55mph limit? The motor is huge and runs on 33v, the Talion does 70mph with tiny motor and 24v. I get that the X-Maxx is bigger and heavier, but doesn't the increased power system even it out? Is it possible to have an general bashing setup that could achieve 50mph on grass and 70mph on road?

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Sorry for the long list of questions, I just need to be sure before I purchase that I'm not making a mistake. I'm actually looking at a couple of used X-Maxx's below, both seem to have their pros and cons...


- This one seems to be in very good condition with a Max5, stock motor and a bunch of other nice stuff...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/132189425544317/


- This one seems to be in not quite as good condition, but comes with a Max5 and a 56113 motor and a some other stuff like a belt drive etc...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/470967754142946/


Do either of these look decent or should I avoid, buy new and put in my own power system (either Hobbywing or Castle)?


Thanks so much for any help or advice, it is truly appreciated

 

[tntpoof]

you said your running 6 cell .so how many kv is motor?whats the gearing? I run 4 cells on my 1/6 scale gtpv2 with 56t pinion and 42 t spur and I can easily hit 145mph 2500kv motors thanks kershaw lol..

 

[ReeV0]

you said your running 6 cell .so how many kv is motor?whats the gearing? I run 4 cells on my 1/6 scale gtpv2 with 56t pinion and 42 t spur and I can easily hit 145mph 2500kv motors thanks kershaw lol..

It's around 2000kv, geared 24/46.

 

[Greywolf74]

1. Do any of you regret purchasing the X-Maxx and wish you'd bought, say, the Arrma Kraton 8s EXB?

2. Is it possible to lower the X-Maxx for road running? I haven't seen it lowered in any youtube videos.

3. Is it possible to keep the self-right feature if I change the esc? In the videos it seems to continuously flip over. Won't be used to it as I've never once flipped the Talion.

4. Can the drivetrain handle 5th scale power (e.g. Hobbywing Max5 56113 setup)?

5. Just curious why the X-Maxx typically has a 55mph limit? The motor is huge and runs on 33v, the Talion does 70mph with tiny motor and 24v. I get that the X-Maxx is bigger and heavier, but doesn't the increased power system even it out? Is it possible to have an general bashing setup that could achieve 50mph on grass and 70mph on road?

--------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry for the long list of questions, I just need to be sure before I purchase that I'm not making a mistake. I'm actually looking at a couple of used X-Maxx's below, both seem to have their pros and cons...


- This one seems to be in very good condition with a Max5, stock motor and a bunch of other nice stuff...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/132189425544317/


- This one seems to be in not quite as good condition, but comes with a Max5 and a 56113 motor and a some other stuff like a belt drive etc...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/470967754142946/


Do either of these look decent or should I avoid, buy new and put in my own power system (either Hobbywing or Castle)?


Thanks so much for any help or advice, it is truly appreciated
2

So theres a lot to unpack here:

"1. Do any of you regret purchasing the X-Maxx and wish you'd bought, say, the Arrma Kraton 8s EXB?"
I'm not much of an Arrma guy. Personally I prefer brands with a lot of aftermarket support. I dont feel like Arrma has a lot. They have some sure but nothing like Traxxas, Losi, Associated, OFNA, HPI etc. Those are in no particular order btw. In this case I'm going to go for the x-maxx everyday of the week because I know Ill be able to pimp it out eventually. but thats just me. I dont mean to imply I have one though. I can only speak in terms of what I would do and why.

"2. Is it possible to lower the X-Maxx for road running? I haven't seen it lowered in any youtube videos."
I dont know if they have any aftermarket conversion kits but its always possible to modify stuff if you have the tools. I have a 100+mph ruster that I lowered to have an 11mm ride height just using a drill and tap & die set. How deep you wanna run down that rabbit hole is up to you

"3. Is it possible to keep the self-right feature if I change the esc? In the videos it seems to continuously flip over. Won't be used to it as I've never once flipped the Talion."
*musters best Zohan impression..."This I do not know."

"4. Can the drivetrain handle 5th scale power (e.g. Hobbywing Max5 56113 setup)?"
Id be willing to bet that there will be enough after market support to address any weakness that my pop up

"5. Just curious why the X-Maxx typically has a 55mph limit? "
Same reason a Dodge Challenger 392s have a top speed of 186mph. Theyre engineered that way. You can hop them up to make higher mph just like you can a 392. Theyre engineered to have enough torque to move the kit as fast as they can without creating so much of a thermal load on the ESC and motor that the get damaged.

"The motor is huge and runs on 33v, the Talion does 70mph with tiny motor and 24v. I get that the X-Maxx is bigger and heavier, but doesn't the increased power system even it out?"
This is hard to explain without delving into some things but basically the combination of voltage, kv rating of the motor, gearing, power loss from the drive train and tire weight and size (and probably other things I'm forgetting to mention) all play a part in determine what the top speed of a kit is. You can change some of these things on a lot of kits and "hop them up" to make them faster, torquier, or whatever you goal is. The top speed of these two kits is just the sum of all those things combined for what parts they have in them. Which brings us back to my Challenger analogy

"Is it possible to have an general bashing setup that could achieve 50mph on grass and 70mph on road?"
So for the most part there aint to many people actually ripping trough grass at 50mph. Thats gonna require a lot of room and not terribly rough terrain. Likewise 70mph is a loftly goal to hit with an RC car. around 80mph the kit is moving so fast its litteraly past you in just a few seconds and it starts to leave you behind faster. plus in order to reach those speeds you're pulling big amperage loads through your lipo and esc. You couple that with added torque of trying to drive through grass would likely cause a failure. I mean I'm not saying its impossible but that would be a tall order to fill. money pit.

"the Talion does 70mph"
The Talion doesn't do 70 out of the box if thats what you are saying. from what I've seen in other forums Talion owners are hitting 45-50 with it stock. according to gps runs.

As for the buying used kits. The onlything I'll say is I personally stoppped doing it because most kits that I bought were sold off because the user developes a problem that he can't figure out with the kit but isnt readily apparent in photos. Then you inheirit that guys mystery problem. I'm not saying all the time I'm just saying it happened enough I swore off of em all together. I just save up my pennys and buy a new one then I have a basline to work with. If your very familar with a kit like you owned one for years and know all the common issues then you may be confident enought o take on the problem and thats fine. Just my thoughts on it. opinions will vary. I hope this helps

 

[ReeV0]

So theres a lot to unpack here:

"1. Do any of you regret purchasing the X-Maxx and wish you'd bought, say, the Arrma Kraton 8s EXB?"
I'm not much of an Arrma guy. Personally I prefer brands with a lot of aftermarket support. I dont feel like Arrma has a lot. They have some sure but nothing like Traxxas, Losi, Associated, OFNA, HPI etc. Those are in no particular order btw. In this case I'm going to go for the x-maxx everyday of the week because I know Ill be able to pimp it out eventually. but thats just me. I dont mean to imply I have one though. I can only speak in terms of what I would do and why.

"2. Is it possible to lower the X-Maxx for road running? I haven't seen it lowered in any youtube videos."
I dont know if they have any aftermarket conversion kits but its always possible to modify stuff if you have the tools. I have a 100+mph ruster that I lowered to have an 11mm ride height just using a drill and tap & die set. How deep you wanna run down that rabbit hole is up to you

View attachment 126583


"3. Is it possible to keep the self-right feature if I change the esc? In the videos it seems to continuously flip over. Won't be used to it as I've never once flipped the Talion."
*musters best Zohan impression..."This I do not know."

"4. Can the drivetrain handle 5th scale power (e.g. Hobbywing Max5 56113 setup)?"
Id be willing to bet that there will be enough after market support to address any weakness that my pop up

"5. Just curious why the X-Maxx typically has a 55mph limit? "
Same reason a Dodge Challenger 392s have a top speed of 186mph. Theyre engineered that way. You can hop them up to make higher mph just like you can a 392. Theyre engineered to have enough torque to move the kit as fast as they can without creating so much of a thermal load on the ESC and motor that the get damaged.

"The motor is huge and runs on 33v, the Talion does 70mph with tiny motor and 24v. I get that the X-Maxx is bigger and heavier, but doesn't the increased power system even it out?"
This is hard to explain without delving into some things but basically the combination of voltage, kv rating of the motor, gearing, power loss from the drive train and tire weight and size (and probably other things I'm forgetting to mention) all play a part in determine what the top speed of a kit is. You can change some of these things on a lot of kits and "hop them up" to make them faster, torquier, or whatever you goal is. The top speed of these two kits is just the sum of all those things combined for what parts they have in them. Which brings us back to my Challenger analogy

"Is it possible to have an general bashing setup that could achieve 50mph on grass and 70mph on road?"
So for the most part there aint to many people actually ripping trough grass at 50mph. Thats gonna require a lot of room and not terribly rough terrain. Likewise 70mph is a loftly goal to hit with an RC car. around 80mph the kit is moving so fast its litteraly past you in just a few seconds and it starts to leave you behind faster. plus in order to reach those speeds you're pulling big amperage loads through your lipo and esc. You couple that with added torque of trying to drive through grass would likely cause a failure. I mean I'm not saying its impossible but that would be a tall order to fill. money pit.

"the Talion does 70mph"
The Talion doesn't do 70 out of the box if thats what you are saying. from what I've seen in other forums Talion owners are hitting 45-50 with it stock. according to gps runs.

As for the buying used kits. The onlything I'll say is I personally stoppped doing it because most kits that I bought were sold off because the user developes a problem that he can't figure out with the kit but isnt readily apparent in photos. Then you inheirit that guys mystery problem. I'm not saying all the time I'm just saying it happened enough I swore off of em all together. I just save up my pennys and buy a new one then I have a basline to work with. If your very familar with a kit like you owned one for years and know all the common issues then you may be confident enought o take on the problem and thats fine. Just my thoughts on it. opinions will vary. I hope this helps

Thanks for taking the time to write such an informative reply! I'm still deciding what to do... But I will say that my Talion consistently does 56mph over fairly short grass, and multiple videos on youtube prove it does 70mph out of the box

 

[Greywolf74]

Thanks for taking the time to write such an informative reply! I'm still deciding what to do... But I will say that my Talion consistently does 56mph over fairly short grass, and multiple videos on youtube prove it does 70mph out of the box

After looking in to it a bit more the confusion came from the fact that the kit comes with a 13T pinion stock but it also comes with a 20T pinion for speed runs. Top speed on stock gearing is around 45-50mph. Using the optional 20T you can hit 70 doing onroad speed runs but apparently the motor and ESC get hot fairly quickly using that gearing. I saw a couple people over on the ARRMA forums saying that they fried their ESC running the 20T pinion after about 15 minutes or so of bashing. This is what I was talking about in my earlier reply about trying to bash with a speed run set up. Good luck with whatever you decide to do