Imthatguy's Yeti XL Review/Teardown

[twissted]

So this video... Is it going to include some rock crawling? So technical stuff please!!!

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by twissted

So this video... Is it going to include some rock crawling? So technical stuff please!!!

Filming begins Sunday. Probably from the Headquake OffRoad Park, so yes, plenty of technical stuff.

[BadWagon]

Great write up bud. I'm curious to see how it goes once you get a chance to run a few packs through it. Don't go easy on it.

[Cainlord]

+1 looking forward to it. Very interested to hear how those rear swing arms hold up under abuse and the servo too.

[natskiboy]

Matt, can I see this beast in person?

[realsickclown]

Originally Posted by imthatguy

Filming begins Sunday. Probably from the Headquake OffRoad Park, so yes, plenty of technical stuff.

the yeti xl on the Headquake offroad rc trails, wont it be WAY to BIG??

[twissted]

I want to see the rear end work under load. In the woops at speed it looks like the rear end loads up causing it to buck. I want to see if it does the same climbing.

[kind325]

I wouldn't say it loads up... I assume it puts the power down well like the Yeti does. However...

I'd say the Yeti XL suffers fro the same issue the Yeti has... The rear suspension is to soft. It bottoms out then kicks back. Easy fix... Stiffer springs, thicker oil and if needed a second shock. Axial probably should have incorporated dual rate springs so the Yeti and I assume Yeti XL can run that much pre-load and still avoid harsh bottoming out with the nasty kicking back. But they didn't and like mentioned it's an easy fix.

[Badmunky]

Can you give us a running weight with batteries please?
Also how long are the front and rear shocks? Are they true 16mm? Can you give us some pics of the shocks off the rig?
And the specs on the front and rear shock pistons would be nice!



When will we see the vid?

Thanks, I'm really looking forward to the vid!

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by BadWagon

Great write up bud. I'm curious to see how it goes once you get a chance to run a few packs through it. Don't go easy on it.

I was not easy on it. Full explanation below.

Originally Posted by Cainlord

+1 looking forward to it. Very interested to hear how those rear swing arms hold up under abuse and the servo too.

Nothing broke today, so I'd say that's good.

Originally Posted by natskiboy

Matt, can I see this beast in person?

I'm sure we could arrange something. Maybe even this week.

Originally Posted by realsickclown

the yeti xl on the Headquake offroad rc trails, wont it be WAY to BIG??

The short answer, no.

Originally Posted by twissted

I want to see the rear end work under load. In the woops at speed it looks like the rear end loads up causing it to buck. I want to see if it does the same climbing.

I'd say that's probably more a function of the terrain that it was being driven on in the release video.

Originally Posted by kind325

I wouldn't say it loads up... I assume it puts the power down well like the Yeti does. However...

I'd say the Yeti XL suffers fro the same issue the Yeti has... The rear suspension is to soft. It bottoms out then kicks back. Easy fix... Stiffer springs, thicker oil and if needed a second shock. Axial probably should have incorporated dual rate springs so the Yeti and I assume Yeti XL can run that much pre-load and still avoid harsh bottoming out with the nasty kicking back. But they didn't and like mentioned it's an easy fix.

Even though the Yeti & the Yeti XL look kinda the same, they are entirely different vehicles. I'll get into this below.

Originally Posted by Badmunky

Can you give us a running weight with batteries please?
Also how long are the front and rear shocks?

When will we see the vid?

Thanks, I'm really looking forward to the vid!

I will definitely answer your question, but battery weight will vary.

Front and rear shocks are 6" eye to eye. Vid is being cut right now.

Driving Impressions:

This thing is big, and heavy. Two things that I'd say are giant pluses. No pun intended. As I get through this review, that will make more sense.

Thanks to my main man Headquake, I had a chance to drive and film on a few different types of terrain today, from a hard packed dirt track, to a washed out rocky stream to a mini rock garden. It handled all with style and grace. Yes, I used the word "grace" for a vehicle running 4S (and 6S at times) that weighs 13-ish pounds.

On the track, this thing actually seemed quite at home. Not what I was expecting. Headquake's track was designed with 10th scale short course trucks in mind, so I wasn't expecting it to be able to make the turns. Surprisingly, it was able to whip itself through the turns and keep itself reasonably planted, provided you keep some power through it. The tires do a good job of gripping. One thing to note, I did see a lot of the inside front tire lifting. No flips though, it stayed shiny side up throughout the track session. I'm not sure if it's common knowledge, but the rear axle is NOT locked. I was actually surprised to find that out. I thought for sure that Axial would follow up the Yeti JR with another locked rear axle version. Not so. Explains it's desire to stay planted!



After the track session, we took it out the the trails of the Headquake Offroad Park. This included some fun jumps and a rock trail. This was a little more technical, but the Yeti XL certainly performed. I will say that this was where the 151oz servo kind of let the big guy down a bit. Tight turns, well, any turns, required a lot of space and time. It's got a big turning radius and when it's tight, and trying to get around a rock, or stump, the servo and servo saver don't offer much in the way of help. In most cases, rather than course correct around something, we decided to go over it. Ha! Despite it's four way open diffs, it manages to do a decent job of climbing over obstacles, and making it's way up steep inclines. Speed wins here for sure. Technical rock crawling is not, and will probably never be, the intended activity of the Yeti XL. BUT, if you happen across some rocks, you'll definitely have fun. I imagine that it'll do very well in something like a U4 scenario, but not a dedicated Class 3 Scale comp. If it'll even clear the gate width. Enterprising folks will probably figure out a way of locking the diffs, but in my opinion, that will only hurt the overall driving dynamics.



Lastly, and probably most fun was the rocky, washed out stream bed. Lots of water, slippery rocks, opportunity for launching the XL off things and some long, technical straights. This was definitely where the XL shines. It soaks up the bumps, and handles brilliantly at speed. This was where most of the max 6S driving was done, and at no time did I feel like it was out of control. Slight steering corrections here and there kept it true on track. Despite many rocks, roots, and other hidden obstacles, the XL was a treat to drive at speed. I think the video I'm putting together helps paint the picture. I was able to keep it mostly righted, but it does get out of shape primarily in the air. I tend to keep the throttle pinned, and any time it got significant airtime, it tended to nose up. If I were a better driver, I might be able to make that work to my advantage, but I'm still pretty new at things this fast. I did not experience any of the "rear end bounce" that I saw in the promotional video. The rear, as it was setup from the factory, did a great job of absorbing terrain and keeping itself planted. I have to believe that was caused by uneven terrain, much like hitting a double or triple jump in the wrong place on the landing. I wondered initially why the XL wasn't fitted with a sway bar setup like the JR, but the open rear diff negates the need.



A few other notes. I was able to get very decent run times on both 4S and 6S setups. Definitely over 20 minutes of solid running. This 4 Pole, Castle system is very efficient. The wheels rarely pancaked like in the promotional video. Again, I suspect it's down to terrain choice. Perhaps loose sand isn't the best place for the XL?

It's very robust. We hit a few trees during filming, had a significant number of violent rollovers after jumps and managed to only slightly bend the driver's side front universal driveshaft. No plastic broke, no drivetrain failures, no stripped out hexes, not even a single screw came loose. I didn't get it bound up enough to really test the dual slipper.

Two gripes. The battery boxes are extremely difficult to close! Fitting a typical 2S 5000 may hard case battery is tight. I had to struggle a bit, but I've got girlishly thin hands... Also, in regards to the battery boxes, there's vents at either end, to help keep the batteries cool. Unfortunately, these vents are right in the path of the dirt, mud, and debris kicked up by the front wheels, so naturally, they fill with this stuff. A bit of a bummer, considering that if they had extended the front body panels another inch and a half, this wouldn't be an issue.

Overall, a super fun vehicle. Living in the city though, it's a hard thing to justify, as there just isn't the space to really let it loose. A casual RC enthusiast might find it to be a bit too much to handle as well, but anybody who's had some experience with speedy RC's is going to have a blast with the XL. The price point is a little hard to swallow at first, but when I really thought about it, I easily put this much cash into one of my 1.9 scale builds.

Bottom line: Vastly different from what I'm used to, but it still makes me smile the same way.

Those are my initial thoughts. I'm sure more will come to me, so I'll add to this thread as things come to me. Now, to cut the video!

[bill c]

I got a chance to hold one in my hand's today. it is big and bad A$$ its going to be fun.. count me in....

[twissted]

I enjoyed the review. Thanks. I think that the size will help it sell and when coparing it to other rc in it's class the size and the scale looks will help it sell. I find that large scale is better for people that go out and bash because it handles large stuff better.

[millzee]

Great write up, thanks again. I look forward to seeing the video footage.

[mjderstine]

VIDEO!!

thanks for pics and write-ups man. great work as usual.

i suspect there will be lots of options for locking the rear diff. if it close to a 1/8th diff like i think it is then supershafty makes some spools for the twin force axle. perhaps he has some for this up his sleave!

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by bill c

I got a chance to hold one in my hand's today. it is big and bad A$$ its going to be fun.. count me in....

In for the chance.

Originally Posted by twissted

I enjoyed the review. Thanks. I think that the size will help it sell and when coparing it to other rc in it's class the size and the scale looks will help it sell. I find that large scale is better for people that go out and bash because it handles large stuff better.

I'd take this before I took a Traxxas anything.

Originally Posted by millzee

Great write up, thanks again. I look forward to seeing the video footage.

Uploading now.

Originally Posted by mjderstine

VIDEO!!

thanks for pics and write-ups man. great work as usual.

i suspect there will be lots of options for locking the rear diff. if it close to a 1/8th diff like i think it is then supershafty makes some spools for the twin force axle. perhaps he has some for this up his sleave!

That'd be interesting, but I'd probably leave it as is and have fun with it on all sorts of terrain. I did, for fun, towards Lipo cutoff, did a speed run on a loose packed gravel road. No flips. I attribute that to the open rear diff.

[imthatguy]

And here you go.

[millzee]

Well done mate, good work.
Thanks heaps.

[Crawlerss]

That thing is massive.

Sent from my Moto X

[Badmunky]

Sweet vid man!

It dose look like it wants to kick the back end up a lot even in your vid. I really think it needs some shock tuning, or some different springs. Maybe both.

Are the places to mount sway bars on it?
And did it come with any?

[mjderstine]

YouTube: meet iPad Air. He's cool. Play with his videos.