Opinions on Duratrax Maximum ST

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crazydave
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Re: Opinions on Duratrax Maximum ST

Post by crazydave »

Murdoch wrote:For all we know CD, you pounding on them might have actually exposed the problems.

so if you could run a longer test/review to determine what the cause was, that would be much more beneficial.
Yeah, I agree, the problem is they are on the other side of the country, and by the time the car gets to me, they are already asking for the article. In the case of the Mad Beast, they did give me more time with it, but I broke the suspension arm, and ironically the day my new part arrived, they were asking for the article, so I had to hurry up and rush it out before I could finish testing. :o

That's why I thought their Replays were a stroke of genius, I was always bugging them to let me write Replays, but I just recently noticed that they dropped them altogether. Maybe if you guys emailed them saying you want the Replays back, that would give me the opportunity to report on my long term test.
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Re: Opinions on Duratrax Maximum ST

Post by VooDooMafia »

you can always do what I do and put the TX in the hands of your kid (well one of my kids for me lol), if it breaks in 10-15 mins I know I am good to go with some serious bashing for atleast a week :-o

NOw CD I know what you are saying its almost like they don't want you to get a good full run with them before you need to get the info back.

Next time they send a sled and rush a review we should see how many times that car has ads in that months magazine :???:
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Re: Opinions on Duratrax Maximum ST

Post by payaso »

crazydave wrote: when someone I consider a friend like Payaso comes up and calls them crap, I got a little offended.

I wasn't trying you offend you Dave, but sometimes I find myself at a loss for a better way of explaing the way I see it.

All of the experiences I've had with the redcat/smarttech, ect. has been through friends that wanted to get started in nitro. I used to drive a cab for a couple of years when the limo was slow and would often have alot of down time, so I would bring some sort of R/C to work to kill time. At first I would just bring a mini Z, or something small, but eventually started bringing in my nitros. That got some other drivers interested in them. Once they find out the price of admission, they often start looking for a cheaper alternative. Which for beginners almost always means shopping by price.


So a few months go by and they save their cash to plunk down on a vehicle. They come in with some redcat stuff all excited to play at work. That was really short lived as the vehicle was defective from the factory. So 2 more weeks of waiting for the new one to come in and we finally get it and get it fired up.


I can't really explain the dissapointment I saw in their faces when their stuff didn't perform the way they thought it would after watching many vids on the net and watching mine run, but it was kinda like a sad/pissed off/confused. The crazy part is, I was the guy who got em into it and was the guy who knew about nitro, so I was the one tuning/fixing/adjusting these things for them, so part of their anger was directed at me. I was trying to explain over and over why their model didn't perform like mine did, but they didn't want to hear it. They only knew they saved their hard earned money to buy a toy to play with and have fun with and now they are having mega problems and have to order their parts from some a hole in north fla from some motorcycle shop.

And they're pissed at me, like I talked em into buying this model. I'm no nitro master, but I do know my way around an ABC engine and can tune as good as the next guy, but that doesn't matter if the product it self is the problem. Now they started really blaming me (because people need someone to blame instantly) and I was the one touching their new toy. It was just a really shitty experience for all, cause they're out their money, don't have a toy to play with, are pissed at me, and me mad as fuck at redcat for putting me in this situation.... :mad:


They did end up going with more reputable manufactuers in the end, but they never did get over the knock off route.



On the other side of the coin, these guys did save for a while and went without herb, or beer to get theirs, but it might have been a different story to a degree if they were just getting them for a review. Remember when you were talking bout Kyosho and how you saved for their kit and felt duped? Do you think you would have felt the same way if they just sent it to you for a review and it hadn't cost you your savings?



In the end, I just feel like those companies mis lead their customers in to believing their product is something it's not. They're the predators and the budget hobbyist is their prey. Which is why they are constantly operating under a different name.









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Re: Opinions on Duratrax Maximum ST

Post by crazydave »

payaso wrote: On the other side of the coin, these guys did save for a while and went without herb, or beer to get theirs, but it might have been a different story to a degree if they were just getting them for a review. Remember when you were talking bout Kyosho and how you saved for their kit and felt duped? Do you think you would have felt the same way if they just sent it to you for a review and it hadn't cost you your savings?
That is exactly why I am so concerned about making sure people get the straight scoop, I think of that damned car every time I review a car. As I've said, the Tectonic has worked great for me, You know I was having tuning issues with that one at first, well I found a rock in the motor, it must have got knocked in there accidentally when someone was taking out the glow plug. The head is pitted on the inside, as is the top of the piston, but once I got that rock out of there, it ran great. I still consider it my favorite RC. So that's kind of why I got a little offended, you know no one likes to hear the car they love is a POS.

Here is my closing statement in the Tectonic review:
"The price may attract many newcomers (to the hobby*), but this beast is being recommended to more advanced users. My opinion is that experienced RCers who want a second vehicle to beat on, or to expend their collection on the cheap will agree its a bargain."
*added by the editors
I made plenty of mention throughout the article of the crap electronics, the poorly written instructions, and it's not for beginners. I don't think I'm misleading people the way I was with that crap Kyosho, so don't even go there dude, you know I have more integrity than that. :lol:
you can always do what I do and put the TX in the hands of your kid (well one of my kids for me lol), if it breaks in 10-15 mins I know I am good to go with some serious bashing for atleast a week :-o
That's exactly what I did for the Duratrax Vendetta EXB. I thought, "Duratrax, well I don't care for this, it's all flexible and slow, and it don't even have bearings." It is obviously geared toward the absolute beginner, so I gave to my 8 yo kid. He pounded the crap out of it, it stood up, then the first run after the review, the shock broke in half, just rolling on flat ground, 30 seconds into the run, as if it was about to go any second. :roll:

But that is my kid's car, and he loves it, and he's still pounding the crap out it, with some CEN shock bodies.
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Re: Opinions on Duratrax Maximum ST

Post by sidewinder »

I wonder if some of the knock off companies source the cars from different places? A guy up the road has one of the cheapo Ebay Baja 5B knock-offs, which from everything I've heard are crap, but his keeps going. And, he's been pounding the dog crap out of it...it really should break, really. But it hasn't... so all I can figure is he got one made on a day when the factory worker was sober, or maybe they have more than one supplier, but it's been good enough that if had better luck I'd seriously be thinking of getting one soon. But considering my luck with things if I get one it would break as soon as I sat it on the ground. :sad:
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Re: Opinions on Duratrax Maximum ST

Post by Murdoch »

crazydave wrote:
Murdoch wrote:For all we know CD, you pounding on them might have actually exposed the problems.

so if you could run a longer test/review to determine what the cause was, that would be much more beneficial.
Yeah, I agree, the problem is they are on the other side of the country, and by the time the car gets to me, they are already asking for the article. In the case of the Mad Beast, they did give me more time with it, but I broke the suspension arm, and ironically the day my new part arrived, they were asking for the article, so I had to hurry up and rush it out before I could finish testing. :o
If I were you, I'd ask them to overnight it or something if it's taking too long to get to you.
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Re: Opinions on Duratrax Maximum ST

Post by crazydave »

Alright, I'm done doubting myself. Nothing wrong with the way I review the cars. Nothing wrong with the Mad Beast. Just like when I clipped the steel pole, my bad, not the car's, and it's actually just fine.
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With that said, I have a bad habit of dragging things off track. Getting back to the topic. The Duratrax Maximum ST is very similar to the Exceed cars, just a buggy chassis, with monster tires and truck body thrown on. It is actually discontinued, and while Tower still offers parts support, half the parts are listed as discontinued. Personally I rather my Exceed cars, I've had no major issues with the cars, or problems with parts support. Shipping from NitroRCX is super fast. I really like them, I can't help that, but The Duratrax Raze truggy is on sale at Tower for $249 right now making it the better deal. The Raze would basically be the replacement for the ST, since the buggy based monster trucks gave way to truggy craze.

There I'm done. I've said more than enough on the subject. :lol:
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