This is why you don't buy Traxxas...

[Jeckler]

Throwing my hat into the ring....
I've had my 2wd 'Pede for somewhere around 15 years. It's started out as an XL-5. It's now got a CC 4600kv/sidewinder in it and I routinely run it on 2S. It has RPM big bearing carriers and front bumper, TRX adjustable turnbuckles and wheelie bar, Spektrum radio (DX3C IIRC) and STRC nutted hinge pins all around.
When I first got it, the only problems I had was one wheel nut would spontaneously unwind itself and send the wheel rolling down the road, usually away from me, of course. I put some aftermarket flanged wheel nuts on it and solved that issue. The other issue was the left rear hinge pin would come unscrewed from the arm. Never caused any running issues, as it couldn't come out far enough without hitting the motor to cause the arm to come off, but I did put the STRC pins in to solve it (just last week actually, that's how long I didn't 'care' about the issue).
It's still on the original wheels/tires, though the rear are getting fairly bald. I think at some point I put a different diff in it, but it's been years.
I also picked up an XL-1 Rustler from a pawn shop about 10 years ago. Put the same CC combo in it and a Proline body and and rubber on it and let my then 12yo daughter run it in the stock 2wd truck class at the local track. Never had an issue with it. It doesn't get used much now, but all it needs is a battery thrown into it to go bash out in the field out back, or the street if I throw the Anaconda's on it.
I guess my point is that while it seems a lot of people have issues with Traxxas, and I mean with the vehicles themselves, not the company's business practices, some don't. And while I have no data to back it up, they most likely outsell most brands by at least 5, so you're going to hear about issues more than others. This also depends on the intended audience; experienced hobbyist who knows the limits of the vehicle vs the newb who watches Kev Talbot or Rich D and thinks all cars should be capable of doing those types of stunts without repercussion or preparation.

 

[Krathead]

I think the most of the people here have been around the block enough to make a determination based on their own experiences. Obviously a lot of people here have been through it all and know the difference. As far as the limits of a vehicle, I think that is the whole point isn't it?

 

[The bashist]

The fact that right out of the gate, gotta replace parts is a deal breaker for me. I've owned several traxxis rigs and they do break much more often than my, losi rigs, vatera, proline,tecno,arrma, rc4wd,redcat,axial, basically more often than any brand I've bought, even more than my tamiya and kyosho, team associated, the list goes on and on. RC surface vehicles in general will,and do experience harsh treatment inherently. Unless you just want to putt putt in the driveway (not judging here) , then things will break. I find my traxxis stuff is just not of the quality that most every othe manufacturing company making rc surface rigs are producing. My 2 cents?

 

[Notorious J]

Had to prepare myself for retribution before I posted this.

As a fairly new Arrma owner, a 6s Notorious, and only having owned the Slash 4x4 since my return to rc, the difference in build quality is obvious. Buuut, As I read through the forums each day, I notice that there seems to be a lot more problems with the brushed and 3s Arrma lines, than there is with the 6s. Yes, those 3s Arrma's are less expensive out of the gate, then say, a Slash 4x4 Ultimate, but they also lack parts availability and available upgrades. Time will tell if the gap will close and the costs remain the same.
I really do love my Notorious. It's design is spectacular, it's look is magnificent, it's uncomplicated detail, makes it a treat to work on. But as I can only speak from experience, the first time I ran it, I snapped the wing mount on a landing from a 12 inch jump. Not everyone can land on all four wheels, all of the time, so do broken wing mounts become the norm? Gotta stop watching those Thomas P and Rich Duperdash videos. Looks so easy when they do it. Broken a arm on the third run when one rear tire grabbed the curb while doing a wheelie. Better run out and buy RPM for both. People run in the cold, it's a fact of life. Every manufacturer should address this and build to suit. There's also the issue with a servo saver nut that keeps backing off. The truck is almost brand new, so seems a little odd that it has this problem right out of the box.
Many of the 6s owner/members, myself included, have also heavily modified their rigs, some with very expensive parts from companies like Voltage, Hot Racing, TBone and Markhor. Are the stock components that are being replaced too delicate? Are stock servos meant to fail if not addressed with a new servo mount? And also please note, steel shielded bearings in a rig that will most likely be used only outdoors, seems like a really bad idea.
I still own my Slash, now heavily upgraded with steel driveshafts, 17mm hubs, a bigger motor and esc and a host of other plastic upgrades. Had I taken the time to research some of these upgrades when I first purchased the truck, I might have saved myself a ton of dough. Jumping right in with a 3s lipo didn't help either, maybe should have gotten my feet wet with a Nimh (maybe I should be running 4s in my Notorious). Most people who buy from a lhs get sucked in the same way, as store owners know that a good lipo means return business. My first 3s lipo was thrown in for free.
All said, I'm happy to have had an experience with Traxxas, as it helped me to re-learn and expand my knowledge of this hobby, and I'm looking forward to the highs and lows of owning an Arrma. I'm guilty of jumping on the "bash Traxxas" bandwagon every once and a while, but when I take it for a rip, it still brings the same smile to my face that it always did.
Once again, my $0.02 CAD, which is currently valued at $0.013 US
Heavy rebuttal protection being applied now. Hoping you'll allow me to stay for a while, so I can cut and paste all the info I need.

 

[olds97_lss]

Perhaps RC Talk is where we go for these kinds of threads... It's like the RC Switzerland. All makes, all kinds, all fan boys from all brands.

 

[stuartd]

I have one issue with Traxxas. Their UK pricing in comparison to their US pricing.

Arrma Kraton/Talion US: $499. UK £449 ($577). Price difference $78. Fair enough.
Traxxas E-Revo 2.0 US $549. UK £629 ($809). Price difference $260. Not fair enough.

If the E-Revo 2.0 had been the same price as the Kraton/Talion I'd have bought one.

 

[crimsonfancy]

There's also the issue with a servo saver nut that keeps backing off.

I have this issue with my Noto and havent found time to break it down and figure out a fix. I'm glad it's not a servo though even though I have a backup plan / JX servo when it happens to die.

I break wing mounts often but thats it so far for me. I even ran my Talion into a culvert and cut the a-arm but not all the way through. Have the stock replacement ready but no need for it yet.
I can't blast my traxxas like I can my Arrma rigs and the confidence is a big part of my experience.
Saturday night I put my BRCC in a wooden skate bowl and stomped it hard on the center waterfall. The previously broken, but zip-tied wheelie bar gave up buts thats it and I was trying to show off ....full of beer.
I dont have video or photos of my truck in there but here's the bowl. lol I got a couple photos early when they were replacing bulbs in the lamps.

 

[Notorious J]

Love

I have this issue with my Noto and haven't found time to break it down and figure out a fix. I'm glad it's not a servo though even though I have a backup plan / JX servo when it happens to die.

I break wing mounts often but thats it so far for me. I even ran my Talion into a culvert and cut the a-arm but not all the way through. Have the stock replacement ready but no need for it yet.
I can't blast my traxxas like I can my Arrma rigs and the confidence is a big part of my experience.
Saturday night I put my BRCC in a wooden skate bowl and stomped it hard on the center waterfall. The previously broken, but zip-tied wheelie bar gave up buts thats it and I was trying to show off ....full of beer.
I don't have video or photos of my truck in there but here's the bowl. lol I got a couple photos early when they were replacing bulbs in the lamps.

View attachment 27406

Love the pic, must have been a blast. I was in no way trying to put Arrma down, or Traxxas up for that matter. Just stating that both can be fun, and both can cause frustration. My Slash has brought me many smiles, and I hope my Arrma proves to do the same. Glad to hear that your having a good time with yours, and I'm sure once the weather gets better, I can go start having a great time with mine.

 

[Jerry-Rigged]

Maybe a sidebar to all the Traxxas bashing, but -

IMHO, the Arrma reputation for toughness is built on the Kraton, Typhon, and Senton. Period. The original 2wd line was somewhat Craptastic. The new 2wd line is probably worse. The Nero trucks needed basic mods to be able to make small jumps without blowing apart the cantilever, and the driveline tended to fail on flat, level pavement. The new 3s 4x4 line is a great step up, but still has a few issues (shocks, u-joints) that need resolved before they are really a 'bulletproof' kit. Then we have the Outcast, a truck that is LITERALLY ASKING to be driven like a maniac AKA "Stunt Truck" - which is a recipe for breaking things. So where did the Arrma reputation for Tank Tough come from, with all these crappy RC's?

V1/V2 Kraton, Typhon, and Senton. Yeah the Talion was there too, but I bet there were 10 Kratons for every Talion sold. The first few years these cars came out, there were not many Noobs driving them, 6s was not common, and ThomasP and Duperbash had not yet started to make everyone think any RC should be able to fly 100' unscathed. (Not hating on them, I love their vids!) The Arrma rep was built by experience hobby folk, that knew the limits of the cars in their garage, and then found a car that could take more abuse, while running harder, and occasionally burning down a ESC... (RIP BLX180, we don't miss you). We loved our Arrma's and bragged about them every chance we could.

Somewhere around V2, the word got out, Vids started getting made, and the Legend of the Unbreakable Arrma was born. Maybe it was never entirely true, but now we have a generation that watches youtubes of Kevin Talbot and others absolutely BEATING on their cars, and they think they can get one of these monsters, drop in a 6s and hammer down with no worries. And then they get pissed when they drive into a curb at +50mph and break something.

Yeah, I love my Arrmas. Yeah, they are some of the toughest RC's I have ever hoped to own. But still, I am careful when I drive. I don't crash on purpose, I don't send it where I know it will go down in flames. I do push the limit, but I don't try to leap over the limit with 100' jumps. And my Typhon has never broken a plastic part. My sons Kraton, a few, but not many (it does get Sent harder, though).

Anyway, not sure I have a point.
Morning all!

 

[bicketybam]

Maybe a sidebar to all the Traxxas bashing, but -

IMHO, the Arrma reputation for toughness is built on the Kraton, Typhon, and Senton. Period. The original 2wd line was somewhat Craptastic. The new 2wd line is probably worse. The Nero trucks needed basic mods to be able to make small jumps without blowing apart the cantilever, and the driveline tended to fail on flat, level pavement. The new 3s 4x4 line is a great step up, but still has a few issues (shocks, u-joints) that need resolved before they are really a 'bulletproof' kit. Then we have the Outcast, a truck that is LITERALLY ASKING to be driven like a maniac AKA "Stunt Truck" - which is a recipe for breaking things. So where did the Arrma reputation for Tank Tough come from, with all these crappy RC's?

V1/V2 Kraton, Typhon, and Senton. Yeah the Talion was there too, but I bet there were 10 Kratons for every Talion sold. The first few years these cars came out, there were not many Noobs driving them, 6s was not common, and ThomasP and Duperbash had not yet started to make everyone think any RC should be able to fly 100' unscathed. (Not hating on them, I love their vids!) The Arrma rep was built by experience hobby folk, that knew the limits of the cars in their garage, and then found a car that could take more abuse, while running harder, and occasionally burning down a ESC... (RIP BLX180, we don't miss you). We loved our Arrma's and bragged about them every chance we could.

Somewhere around V2, the word got out, Vids started getting made, and the Legend of the Unbreakable Arrma was born. Maybe it was never entirely true, but now we have a generation that watches youtubes of Kevin Talbot and others absolutely BEATING on their cars, and they think they can get one of these monsters, drop in a 6s and hammer down with no worries. And then they get pissed when they drive into a curb at +50mph and break something.

Yeah, I love my Arrmas. Yeah, they are some of the toughest RC's I have ever hoped to own. But still, I am careful when I drive. I don't crash on purpose, I don't send it where I know it will go down in flames. I do push the limit, but I don't try to leap over the limit with 100' jumps. And my Typhon has never broken a plastic part. My sons Kraton, a few, but not many (it does get Sent harder, though).

Anyway, not sure I have a point.
Morning all!

Excellent post. I have definitely seen examples of unrealistic expectations on this forum.

 

[Megasty]

There is one absolute difference in my experience with Arrma & Traxxas.

With Traxxas, I knew I was going to break something. I've owned at least 1 Traxxas car for 19 yrs. Most of them came in that 1st decade. I was the fanboy that kept buying their junk because you could take it out, wreck it, & rebuild it the same day because all the LHS had the parts. I was the guy that took out 4-5 cars & had enough parts on hand to rebuild an entire car. But at some point, I started to run out of parts. I would constantly break the same stuff & the LHS's would be sold out of that stuff. So I became very apprehensive about driving the very same cars that stoked me into the hobby. It sucked. Even now, when I take my X-maxx out, I know something will or be in the process of breaking. It's like when you have to go to work just to be chewed out, you have to push yourself out the door just to get it done. No hobby should be like that.

With Arrma, they're stupid tough & fickled at the same time. I can beat the hell out of them all day & they take all of it or I could drive it 5 ft & the ESC blow or pinion break in half. The only car that can give me that constant breakage is the Outcast, mainly because I treat it like it's my last day to drive a RC. All the other cars are "maybe they'll break but they most likely won't". I take out all my pent up frustrations I had on my decade of Traxxas POS's on my Outcast which keeps the others in pretty good shape. It's a stunt truck so I'll treat it like one EVERYDAY. That thing has taken more abuse than any RC I've ever owned, period. Despite all the breaks, all the repairs, it's still going, 6s all the way. And I don't mind any of it. I even broke it twice on purpose testing the validity of crappy upgrades. Even with my hammerheading the thing, it can still go weeks w/o breaking anything. I never went weeks w/o breaking a Traxxas anything - well only by not driving them for week . . . Not only that, but these Arrmas can push me to the limit of what I thought I would never do with a RC, not to mention that they got me back in the hobby. I think I won't ever not own an Arrma vehicle for the rest of my time in this hobby.

 

[chevys10zr2003]

Maybe a sidebar to all the Traxxas bashing, but -

IMHO, the Arrma reputation for toughness is built on the Kraton, Typhon, and Senton. Period. The original 2wd line was somewhat Craptastic. The new 2wd line is probably worse. The Nero trucks needed basic mods to be able to make small jumps without blowing apart the cantilever, and the driveline tended to fail on flat, level pavement. The new 3s 4x4 line is a great step up, but still has a few issues (shocks, u-joints) that need resolved before they are really a 'bulletproof' kit. Then we have the Outcast, a truck that is LITERALLY ASKING to be driven like a maniac AKA "Stunt Truck" - which is a recipe for breaking things. So where did the Arrma reputation for Tank Tough come from, with all these crappy RC's?

V1/V2 Kraton, Typhon, and Senton. Yeah the Talion was there too, but I bet there were 10 Kratons for every Talion sold. The first few years these cars came out, there were not many Noobs driving them, 6s was not common, and ThomasP and Duperbash had not yet started to make everyone think any RC should be able to fly 100' unscathed. (Not hating on them, I love their vids!) The Arrma rep was built by experience hobby folk, that knew the limits of the cars in their garage, and then found a car that could take more abuse, while running harder, and occasionally burning down a ESC... (RIP BLX180, we don't miss you). We loved our Arrma's and bragged about them every chance we could.

Somewhere around V2, the word got out, Vids started getting made, and the Legend of the Unbreakable Arrma was born. Maybe it was never entirely true, but now we have a generation that watches youtubes of Kevin Talbot and others absolutely BEATING on their cars, and they think they can get one of these monsters, drop in a 6s and hammer down with no worries. And then they get pissed when they drive into a curb at +50mph and break something.

Yeah, I love my Arrmas. Yeah, they are some of the toughest RC's I have ever hoped to own. But still, I am careful when I drive. I don't crash on purpose, I don't send it where I know it will go down in flames. I do push the limit, but I don't try to leap over the limit with 100' jumps. And my Typhon has never broken a plastic part. My sons Kraton, a few, but not many (it does get Sent harder, though).

Anyway, not sure I have a point.
Morning all!

Spot on! I always find it funny when people are saying "I came here from a (insert $400 car) and I bought a 2wd Voltage or a 4x4 Mega and this thing keeps breaking when my original car had no problems doing those same things. I thought Arrmas were supposed to be tough." It's like 1. that reputation came from their 1/8 scale, traditional layout vehicles, and 2. you're comparing a $100 or $200 car to a $400 car. The cheaper the car gets in relation to what it is, most likely the more stuff will break and the more stuff you will have to mod to get to work.

 

[Dauransx]

Bad mood rant, please ignore.

I did not like TRAXXASS before my first real RC which is a Kraton now. I was looking into RC's for a few years before and was looking at TRAXXASS and over the few years i seen how crap they were, not just RC's but as a company. Then right at the point i had money to drop, i seen how TRAXXAS had sued ARRMA over a design that was not even TRAXXASS's and how they legally stole a design to keep all other brands from using it but I'm not going into that because i think we all know how and why TRAXXASS stole that design. This flipped my skirt and then thats when i ordered me the Kraton, plus all the YT vids about ARRMA. TRAXXASS's are all designed to break and has way to many parts to their cars thats so unnecessary but ARRMA designs theirs to not break and they are simple designed with few parts as possible which i love and also why I'm glad the Fazon is no more because they were headed in that way to be made complicated.

Also YT Ch like Kevin Talbot is another that kills RC's trying to overhype TRAXXAS and edits his vids to hide facts or like that vid of his with the Kraton how he deviously smashed the Kraton on and off camera and played it off like it broke to easily and then said TRAXXAS is stronger lol. When you watch his other vids, he babies his TRAXXASS RC's but trashes any other brands. BUT he is not biased so he says even tho he hypes TRAXXAS only and Chinese brands that pays him and or simply stuff he sells on his ebay page.

 

[Let'sroll000]

I'm getting back into this game. Am 43 and havnt messed with rc cars in years! Got involved with quads and camera drones. Fast forward to about a couple months back. Looking for my boy a truck for Christmas, saw all of the advances made in the RC car/truck world and decided to get dad a car to share the experience with him.
Him and I went to our LHS and picked up the new Rustler 4x4 VXL brushless. Having the ability to adjust all the parameters wirelessly via my Traxxas phone app is pretty cool. I cut the power down to 40% for when my 5 yr old boy bashes it and he loves it. Truck is very fast on 3S blows my mind the power of some of these. So we break a shock on his little 1/10 Xinlehong 9125 I think it is so I ordered shocks. Meanwhile we are bashing this traxxus around and hard now mind you. I had watched some Rich D videos lol (big fan) and by nature that's what these are for, go have some fun. So I don't take it easy on it. Road rash on the top of it, (the new bodies with the rash guards and interior skeleton design are pretty innovative I think). Days go by.... Meanwhile I'm getting into the forums and now new to me rc hobby world and from an outside point of view looking in and completly impartial. I start noticing Traxxus is like the Apple of the RC world. People call Traxxus owners fan boys just like I have witnessed people do about iPhone toters. I'm assuming because they are a hugely popular brand and probably spend more on marketing and advertising as well, but I knew they had been around for years, reputable brand and heard great things about them. I bought it because I read some things about it and researched it a bit seemed like it's been around a long time plenty of aftermarket and readily available parts so I pulled the trigger.

But in the course of reading things and watching vids I kept hearing of this Arrma Kraton V3 and how tough they are. Watching Rich make these things fly through the air blew my mind and would laugh when I watched. Same type of laugh and thrill I get when bashing. You just have to laugh when running and bashing these things around such a blast I have with my boy! Anyway I decide to pull the trigger on a new Kraton V3. Sold one of my drones to offset the cost. Was on the fence to go with the Erevo 2.0 but figured mix it up a little and watched some vids where the revo broke early on. But watched similar vids about the Kraton but still.... I went with my own decision based on reviews and things I had learned about em. But would like to have the Revo as well, looks great.

Since I have had the Kraton we have had a blast! But have bent the rear shock tower, busted a wing arm support, had the servo saver back off.... had to retighten and dab on some loctite. Started smoking the other day while running around....burnt up a servo. Currently have it tore apart replacing the servo and have upgraded all Broken parts along the way with voltage hobbies or tried to reinforce if possible. Now have a tower to tower brace that helped a lot when bashing and some other ideas in the works.
Meanwhile my Rustler sets over here not a broken part on it. Not really saying it's more durable.... Probably put the Kraton through slightly more bangs and bruises but I have had this thing break pretty regularly. I think it's due in part to the weight of the 8th scale vs 10th in my opinion. It hits the ground there is more weight to contend with and parts break. Just part of the hobby and price of admission I guess. I personally love both these trucks and are a complete blast. I havnt broken one part.... (yet)...on the Traxxus and can barely make it through a bash session or two with this Kraton without breaking something lol.
So just my 2 cents and observation I guess. They all will break given the right circumstances. Bash on!

 

[Wael Bokhary]

I've been known to bash Traxxas a little in my threads, but only because of how often I break these money pits trying to pass for "hobby grade" rc cars.
Today was no exception. Took my Rustler to the new indoor carpet track the club I frequent opened up today for practice runs.. I didn't even get through one complete battery pack and it broke not once, but twice. First casualty was a rear shock tower that literally split in half. A buddy had a spare so I tossed that on and kept running. Not 4 laps later... the rear bulkhead where the hinge pin attaches split wide open. This is a small indoor track with some pretty small jumps. Not bashing this thing or launching it 30 ft like Kev Talbot does... it was also pretty warm in there so cold wasn't a factor in making the plastic brittle. I guess I just don't consider a product quality when you have to immediately replace over 3/4 of the parts with RPM or something stronger so this crap doesn't frequently happen.
So far I've had to replace both front steering knuckles, rear axle carriers, servo gears, a complete servo, now a rear shock tower (might as well do both), a gear cover where the plastic split from barely over-tightening, and now a transmission case. Also going to replace the a-arms with rpm as those are bound to go on me as well... I've only had the car since August and haven't run it that often. Not to mention the parts I've had to replace on my Stampede as well which I'm now trying to sell just to get rid of the thing.

TL;DR Traxxas sucks, do not buy. Don't be a sucker like I was and believe the fanboys who swear by this crap.

View attachment 27195View attachment 27196

Sorry to hear that you spent all that money on your rustler but in my personal opinion , not all Traxxas are bad. I have owned my slash ultimate for more than 3 years now and I still have it ,bashing with it all the time with no essues what so ever . The only thing I had to change is the plastic shfts , I replaced them with mip’s and the car now is a beast.

 

[ks9818]

I guess this is same reason I've kept my Redcat Tornando EPX , nostalgia lol , and I do like the pretty blue parts but man talk about a fragile buggy!

 

[Stink1]

Hi Guys, my typhon and senton are tanks but the x-maxx is my first and only traxxas and I have to say it's been durable. It's lived a tough life being in the air about as much on the ground and I've only broken an arm and bumper parts. Parts are readily available and cheap.

With that said I did replace the esc and radio off the bat. My 2 cents.
Erik

 

[SrC]

I can tell you from experience. I never purchased a Traxxass Product. I have inherited several of them in 23 years of kit building. I just love the initial build scenario of this hobby. I was the guy always helping out that Traxass guy who broke this and that. There are many of these Traxass "hobbyists". Many followed my lead and changed brands before they were very $deep$ into their Traxass rigs. As Bickity Bam said above, I also do not like Traxass' business model/practoce. They design parts replacement into each and every model that they heavily market. They spend the most revenue on Marketing in the whole RC industry. This is again not by accident but by their calculated business model. They can calculate parts profit margins very precisely for each model they manuacture. Again, I never purchased a a Traxass priduct, never will, but can tell you that the ones I inherited from many RC hobbyists are total crap. I pass them on traxass stuff are all money pits . o others for parts to recycle. I have never been a RTR hobbyist, but Arma and Axial products are incredible. And I love my Outcast and Notorious. I do love my Tekno MT410 as a true kit Monster Truck. But, the Arma 1/8 scale stuff are designed to be bashed and at an incredible price point. My local hobby store, Willis Hobbies, used to have nice indoor track. They used to have a great cross section of name brand RC products but as of late they were consumed by Traxass. And I walked in recently and all they can offer me is Traxass and nothing else. Even batteries and chargers , Traxass only. I was shocked and walked out when the owner insisted Traxass was the best product and why he only sells them. And lined up in this store were Traxass owners young and old picking up and dropping off their rigs for repair. I could see the frustration with some of these Traxass owners on their face. I don't mind supporting my LHS, and I supported this one for so many years in the past's. But as you can see, if you become a Traxxass exclusive shop, you will gain great brownie points and support from them. I would rather break fewer parts on "X" brand rig and spend much more time enjoying the driving aspect of this hobby when out in the field than to have a Traxxas which is going to break nuisance parts right away even though they are readily available. Traxxas stuff are over engineered by a needless design. This is intentional.

 

[Dutch213]

Had to prepare myself for retribution before I posted this.

As a fairly new Arrma owner, a 6s Notorious, and only having owned the Slash 4x4 since my return to rc, the difference in build quality is obvious. Buuut, As I read through the forums each day, I notice that there seems to be a lot more problems with the brushed and 3s Arrma lines, than there is with the 6s. Yes, those 3s Arrma's are less expensive out of the gate, then say, a Slash 4x4 Ultimate, but they also lack parts availability and available upgrades. Time will tell if the gap will close and the costs remain the same.
I really do love my Notorious. It's design is spectacular, it's look is magnificent, it's uncomplicated detail, makes it a treat to work on. But as I can only speak from experience, the first time I ran it, I snapped the wing mount on a landing from a 12 inch jump. Not everyone can land on all four wheels, all of the time, so do broken wing mounts become the norm? Gotta stop watching those Thomas P and Rich Duperdash videos. Looks so easy when they do it. Broken a arm on the third run when one rear tire grabbed the curb while doing a wheelie. Better run out and buy RPM for both. People run in the cold, it's a fact of life. Every manufacturer should address this and build to suit. There's also the issue with a servo saver nut that keeps backing off. The truck is almost brand new, so seems a little odd that it has this problem right out of the box.
Many of the 6s owner/members, myself included, have also heavily modified their rigs, some with very expensive parts from companies like Voltage, Hot Racing, TBone and Markhor. Are the stock components that are being replaced too delicate? Are stock servos meant to fail if not addressed with a new servo mount? And also please note, steel shielded bearings in a rig that will most likely be used only outdoors, seems like a really bad idea.
I still own my Slash, now heavily upgraded with steel driveshafts, 17mm hubs, a bigger motor and esc and a host of other plastic upgrades. Had I taken the time to research some of these upgrades when I first purchased the truck, I might have saved myself a ton of dough. Jumping right in with a 3s lipo didn't help either, maybe should have gotten my feet wet with a Nimh (maybe I should be running 4s in my Notorious). Most people who buy from a lhs get sucked in the same way, as store owners know that a good lipo means return business. My first 3s lipo was thrown in for free.
All said, I'm happy to have had an experience with Traxxas, as it helped me to re-learn and expand my knowledge of this hobby, and I'm looking forward to the highs and lows of owning an Arrma. I'm guilty of jumping on the "bash Traxxas" bandwagon every once and a while, but when I take it for a rip, it still brings the same smile to my face that it always did.
Once again, my $0.02 CAD, which is currently valued at $0.013 US
Heavy rebuttal protection being applied now. Hoping you'll allow me to stay for a while, so I can cut and paste all the info I need.

If you watch all of @Rich Duperbash videos, you can see that he brings like every replacement part, a dozen batteries, multiple cars and tools in every vid... Those videos take work... I break sh!t and go home...lol... It seems that he will swap arms, buckles, servo mounts, etc on site to get those 10-15 min vids... Hats off to that...!! Thanks Rich...! lol

 

[Krathead]

I went to a private track today. I go once a week or so. It is a nice track in a guys back yard and people come and race and have fun. Today there were 6 Traxxas cars there, my Typhon and my Kraton and my brothers Kraton. Every one of the 6 Traxxas cars broke at least once. My brother did break his wing mount but he was pounding it. Both of my cars had no issues. The Typhon I was running a while before anyone else got there and was the last one on the track. That thing put in a workout today. I'm not saying this is how thing go all the time but I will say I am not surprised. Everything will break but some things break easier than others.