I want a rock racer. Yeti vs Twin Hammers vs Gom vs Bomber vs Rock Rey

[Shinchu]

one year later i still think the yeti is a clumsy pig lol
on the trail i can hardly keep it pointed straight it just fishtails everywhere. then when i get on the really bumpy stuff, the big flat belly pan just drags and snags on everything.
fishtailing is probably due to suspension settings and a lazy RTR servo. but yeah its really like trying to ride a pig with bees in its bunghole haha and that's with the RTR motor/ESC nothing crazy. ok 3s is a lot of juice but still RTR gear.
however its perfect for drifting huge sand-roosting powerslides on wet sand at the beach. i need to get that on vid for you all next time i go.

BUT... im REALLY tempted to trade it for a bomber. not sure since the yeti is my first "return to RC" rig. my father in law has one and he let me drive it, i declared i had to get one. i did. and now im here. then i got bit HARD by the scale bug and go-fast rigs have not been as appealing. i think even my father in law would enjoy a bomber, as we both brought our yetis to proline by the fire and his was just giving him trouble the whole time (ESC shutdowns, getting stuck, etc.)
he wants a dedicated crawling rig for next time, so maybe if we BOTH trade for bombers... hmmmm...

really wish we heard back from TIME MACHINE on how his choice of yeti AND rock rey worked out.

[Browneye]

I think my Bomber is really tall to go fast - it rolls and tumbles very easily.

[soze]

I actually like my Yeti, but I'm running it on 2S with a 4600kv Short Course motor and Hobbywing SCT esc. I find it runs great on dirt/bmx tracks where it can slide into turns and not grip the ground too much. I've never tried it on 3S, but if I did, I'd probably have to swap out the motor to a lower KV and change the gearing. It runs fine for me as is right now though.

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by Shinchu

one year later i still think the yeti is a clumsy pig lol
on the trail i can hardly keep it pointed straight it just fishtails everywhere. then when i get on the really bumpy stuff, the big flat belly pan just drags and snags on everything.
fishtailing is probably due to suspension settings and a lazy RTR servo. but yeah its really like trying to ride a pig with bees in its bunghole haha and that's with the RTR motor/ESC nothing crazy. ok 3s is a lot of juice but still RTR gear.
however its perfect for drifting huge sand-roosting powerslides on wet sand at the beach. i need to get that on vid for you all next time i go.

BUT... im REALLY tempted to trade it for a bomber. not sure since the yeti is my first "return to RC" rig. my father in law has one and he let me drive it, i declared i had to get one. i did. and now im here. then i got bit HARD by the scale bug and go-fast rigs have not been as appealing. i think even my father in law would enjoy a bomber, as we both brought our yetis to proline by the fire and his was just giving him trouble the whole time (ESC shutdowns, getting stuck, etc.)
he wants a dedicated crawling rig for next time, so maybe if we BOTH trade for bombers... hmmmm...

really wish we heard back from TIME MACHINE on how his choice of yeti AND rock rey worked out.

I've never driven the RTR Yeti so I can't comment, but I can say that the chassis is quite capable of good handling. My Yeti kit has a good servo (Promodeler 470), kit tires (I'm very impressed with their grip) and Deuces Wild foams to keep those tires from folding over. The kit also has shocks that I feel work very well, and a sway bar that also does its job admirably.
The result is a truck that goes wherever I point it, and that's the one thing that impressed me the most, is how well it does go. The locked diff gives it so much more forward bite than my bashers, yet it still goes where I point it every time.

If you don't mind a little work, I would strongly suggest that you borrow a better servo & some better tires & foams from one of your other rigs just to see what it does for the truck. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Originally Posted by Browneye

I think my Bomber is really tall to go fast - it rolls and tumbles very easily.

I agree. I'm sure that lowering the Bomber to give it a similar ride height to the Yeti would work wonders for its handling, but as mine sits with the suspension fully raised and the front axle locked, it's a major handful at speed.

[ferp420]

I realy like the lock front diff and open rear it make for some great handling on the track that and some creative breaking and it will u turn on a dime you just have to tune it to your driving style but thats the same with any rig

[cul8tr]

1 word.

Bomber!!!

Enough said.

[zanthrax]

ITT, people defending the one truck out of the 4 options they have.

I only have a Twin Hammers and it sucks.
It's front is too low for a crawler. It's rear is too loose for a racer, a sway bar helps.
The front suspension setup looks neat but the short shocks are hard to set up, best to invest in an upright shock tower + longer shocks.
The steering mechanism is also shit, it's a plastic bar that slides in a plastic track. If it doesn't jam up with dirt it wears out and has too much play. Many aftermarket bell crank setups are available.
Wrenching on anything requires you to remove 12 screws to get the cage off.
The 2 speed option is a gimmick. Pick a gear you like, make a link to fix the gearbox to that and ditch the servo.

Mine is now a roller, sitting on a trailer, looking pretty, getting pulled around by an SCX10.
The electronics were stripped and it donated it's 2-speed transmission to an Ascender.

Based on all the complaints the Yeti gets for it's parts braking, the Twin Hammers deserves twice that for it's parts having crappy designs.
Here's the ultimate put-down: I suspect Vaterra bought this design from some chinese company on AliBaba and slapped their name on it.

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by zanthrax

ITT, people defending the one truck out of the 4 options they have.

I only have a Twin Hammers and it sucks.
It's front is too low for a crawler. It's rear is too loose for a racer, a sway bar helps.
The front suspension setup looks neat but the short shocks are hard to set up, best to invest in an upright shock tower + longer shocks.
The steering mechanism is also shit, it's a plastic bar that slides in a plastic track. If it doesn't jam up with dirt it wears out and has too much play. Many aftermarket bell crank setups are available.
Wrenching on anything requires you to remove 12 screws to get the cage off.
The 2 speed option is a gimmick. Pick a gear you like, make a link to fix the gearbox to that and ditch the servo.

Mine is now a roller, sitting on a trailer, looking pretty, getting pulled around by an SCX10.
The electronics were stripped and it donated it's 2-speed transmission to an Ascender.

Based on all the complaints the Yeti gets for it's parts braking, the Twin Hammers deserves twice that for it's parts having crappy designs.
Here's the ultimate put-down: I suspect Vaterra bought this design from some chinese company on AliBaba and slapped their name on it.

Considering that WLToys offers the "Clone Hammers", there's a good chance that you're right about them buying the design. After a certain number of years, their exclusivity ran out, and that's why the 10428 showed up. As for all the other things you said about the truck, I pretty much agree. My 10428B was a terrible crawler when it was stock. Once I installed an all new bulkhead that provided standup shocks, bellcrank steering and a forward battery tray, the truck became a very good crawler, just as long as you didn't need a ton of ground clearance.

Because of its smaller size, I wouldn't consider it as a suitable rock racer unless your local club has a class specifically for the TH vehicles though. I don't see it doing real well against the bigger Yetis/Rock Reys/Bombers/etc.