Red RC » Reviews

February 24, 2009

SC8er Boy – Team Associated SC8

After publishing the review of Traxxas’ Slash CORR racing truck last week now it’s time for an even madder machine: the Team Associated SC8. Developed during 2008 at Team Associated’s so called ‘Area 51’ and released towards the end of the year the SC8 is probably the most authentic race truck so far. Based on the Associated RC8T chassis it not only offers a very scale looking CORR truck body but also (according to Team Associated) “… scale specifications of the full-size short course race trucks. It’s all there, from the scale suspension travel, to the roll-cage tube diameter, to the functional mud flaps.”

Read the full review here

February 12, 2009

American HardCORR – Traxxas Slash

What started as what appeared to be “just another” racing class turns into a new hot trend as it seems: the four letters “CORR” (Championship Off Road Racing) take the RC-Car racing scene by storm and once again it was Traxxas that started it all. This time with the help of the Slash called 2WD racing truck. How will it perform in the European winter?

Read the full review here

February 2, 2009

New CAT on the block – Schumacher CAT SX

Although not part of the traditional Chinese calendar 2008 was the year of the CAT. Why you might ask. Simple: UK based manufacturer Schumacher Racing introduced the their first 4WD competition buggy after a good eight years. Without any doubt is the Schumacher series of CAT (Competition All Terrain) chassis one of the most successful ever made. Not only did the CAT XLS win the first ever 1/10 Buggy World Championships in the hand of the marvelous Masami Hirosaka but also many national and international titles.

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January 28, 2009

Brushless Tornado – Team Orion Vortex BL ESC

When it comes to competition Electronic Speed Controls (ESC’s) for 1/10 scale cars, consumers are faced with an ever expanding range of offerings. One of the newest additions is the Team Orion Vortex BL sensored/less 100A speedo. It was introduced some time ago and is available now. Please do not mistake it for the KO Propo based Team Orion Vortex Race Spec ESC we introduced in our 2008 Electric On-Road Worlds coverage. We hope to bring you a review of the Race Spec version at a later date. But back to the Vortex BL 100A. It comes in a neat cardboard box together with a small but comprehensive manual and a small Team Orion sticker sheet.

Read the full review here

January 25, 2009

In the year XII – Xray XII 1/12th scale

Rumours about a possible 1/12 scale on-road car from Slovakian manufacturer Xray had been around for a while now but it was at last years on-road World Championship in Thailand when the first prototype cars hit the public road.

Pictures of the XII named car have been rare before the actual event although some spy shots floated around the internet showing that the first ever 1/12 scale car from Xray was very likely of a conventional ‘T-bar’ design with a rather large and ‘brushless-friendly’ power pod. Come the WC the secret was revealed and Xray factory driver Teemo Leino set some very impressive practice times with the orange toned XII. Information on a release date had not been given at that time but rumour had it that the pan car was due to be production ready by the beginning of 2009.

Read the full review here

January 25, 2009

Antenna Heads – Sanwa M11DSSS & MX-3FHSS

When Spektrum RC introduces the 2.4GHz transmitting technology to RC some four years ago the RC world was pleased to see the ever feared radio glitches be not a problem anymore since the “spread spectrum” technology got rid of the usual interchangeable crystals used in conventional transmitters. The radio just needed to be switched on and within milliseconds looked for a free frequency to use. Absolute space age!

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January 25, 2009

On Tour(ex) – Tourex tyre review

In 2008 renowned RC-Car product designer Renato Vita developed a line of 1/8 scale off-road tyres that are exclusively distributed by Reckward Tuning in Germany. The heads behind RT (Reckward Tuning) are none less than Daniel and Matthias Reckward. Both kindly supplied us with the new Tourex nitro off-road tyres.

Read the full review here

January 25, 2009

The weapon of choice? Pro-Line Revolver 1/8 Off-Road Tyres

How much influence do tyres have on the handling of a racing car? 30 percent? 60 percent? Up to 75 percent and more, according to chassis designers and Pro drivers alike. That’s why tyre choice is so critical on the cars overall performance and the reason why so many different companies all over the world offer tons and tons of different treads, compounds and even rims. All of them want to produce THE tyre. One of the most proactive manufacturers in the game is Pro-Line Racing based in sunny California, USA. Products like the Knuckles 2.0, Bow-Tie and Crimefighter are backed with wins at IFMAR World Championships and countless national and international titles. The newest addition to their range is the Revolver tyre and once again it is a true winner although it was released only a couple of days before the 2008 1/8 off-road World Championship in North Carolina after a very short development time.

Read the full review here