Arrma Granite Mega 4x4 550 Brushed or Traxxas Stampede 4x4 Brushed

[JatoTheRipper]

I want to buy my 8-year old nephew a monster truck for Christmas. He already has a Slash that he loves and it has proven to be super durable as expected.

I am torn between the Arrma Granite Mega 4x4 550 brushed or the Traxxas Stampede 4x4 brushed. Please let me know what you prefer and why. No fanboy responses, please.

Arrma






Traxxas

[Jboucher]

Arrma or Tekno for bashing

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[JSterrett]

I can't give any opinions on the Arrma, but my 4x4 Stampede has been super reliable. Been beating on this thing for years, and the only things I've broken were the original body, the wheely bar on a bad landing, and stripped out a servo.

It does get a rebuild every year or two though at which time I replace anything that's wearing out...



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[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Jboucher

Arrma or Tekno for bashing

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He's not getting a Tekno.

What experience do you have with these trucks?

Originally Posted by JSterrett

I can't give any opinions on the Arrma, but my 4x4 Stampede has been super reliable. Been beating on this thing for years, and the only things I've broken were the original body, the wheely bar on a bad landing, and stripped out a servo.

It does get a rebuild every year or two though at which time I replace anything that's wearing out...

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Great looking truck! How did you get the body so low? One thing I hate about the Stampede is that the chassis shows below the body.

I think either the Arrma or the Traxxas will be very reliable for him in brushed form. Judging by looks and videos it does appear that the Granite has a lower center of gravity and therefore the handling advantage. He's 8 so he's going to try to go fast around turns and he'll surely rollover. The Arrma looks like it will rollover less often.

[soze]

I haven't driven either, but I like the looks of the Arrma better. I also like the chassis tub on the Arrma better with the raised side guards to try to keep the chassis free from debris inside.

[Jboucher]

If I'm not mistaken, Arrma has quick access diffs for easy repair and maintenance.
Their plastic is almost as though as Tekno which is just about impossible to break unless you like to jump 20ft on 6s...

Arrma is the RTR king for 1/8 bashers, don't know their 1/10 much. Good electronics, good build quality, very durable and easy to maintain. Their parts used to be harder to get than traxxas but it's better now.

Tekno is the higher end kits derived from their Racing experience. They have unmatched quality, tight driving like a racing buggy with the durability of a true basher with a simple steel spur gear and aluminum servo horn.
You choose your own electronics which is a plus sometimes.

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[JSterrett]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Great looking truck! How did you get the body so low? One thing I hate about the Stampede is that the chassis shows below the body.

Yeah, that drove me nuts too. I'm running the Proline front mount for a Slash (I think) and no mount in the rear to run it that low. Just ran the mounting studs right into the rear crossmember. I also don't run my shocks with 8000 spacers, so she sits lower than average too...



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[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by soze

I haven't driven either, but I like the looks of the Arrma better. I also like the chassis tub on the Arrma better with the raised side guards to try to keep the chassis free from debris inside.

I agree that the Arrma looks more modern and overall better. The body, the wheels and the tires all look great. The tires also look like they'll be really good all terrain tires. The Stampede Chevron tires would kick ass in the snow though.

The tub sides are great in theory, but I think the chassis will get about as dirty as anything else with the big tires slinging the terrain around. It sure won't hurt matters though.

Originally Posted by Jboucher

If I'm not mistaken, Arrma has quick access diffs for easy repair and maintenance.
Their plastic is almost as though as Tekno which is just about impossible to break unless you like to jump 20ft on 6s...

Arrma is the RTR king for 1/8 bashers, don't know their 1/10 much. Good electronics, good build quality, very durable and easy to maintain. Their parts used to be harder to get than traxxas but it's better now.

Tekno is the higher end kits derived from their Racing experience. They have unmatched quality, tight driving like a racing buggy with the durability of a true basher with a simple steel spur gear and aluminum servo horn.
You choose your own electronics which is a plus sometimes.

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The easy access diffs, if true, are awesome. I'll look into that.

More durable plastics? One of the first videos I watched on the Arrma Granite Mega 550 4x4 brushed only lasted a few minutes because a jump off of a dirt pile destroyed the A-arm. I know my Revo 3.3 and Slash have taken harder hits than that. But every situation is different and they'll all break.

Yes, many people claim Arrma is tougher than Traxxas. If you take into consideration what people that claim to own both brands say, it seems split between Arrma being clearly tougher and Traxxas being close in terms of durability. In my personal experience with Traxxas, the fragility of them is greatly overstated. And, in the same regard, I am guessing Arrma's durability is probably somewhat overstated online.

I know the Slash has survived the 6 to 8-year old durability test. The only thing he has "broken" over the years was popping off a shock cap after a full speed encounter with a light pole. This is a known weakness and I got aluminum shock caps afterwards and it's been fine since. Maybe I'll give the Arrma the same 8-year old durability test. It's honestly the direction I'm leaning towards right now. The Arrma is $80 cheaper!

My LHS has been a Traxxas dealer forever and they have a ton of vehicles and parts. At least they used to. His Traxxas vehicle inventory diminished a great deal last time I was there a year or two ago. He said it was due to him not agreeing with Traxxas business tactics. I don't understand that because it seems like Traxxas is doing things to help LHS compete with online stores. But in the same conversation he said they scolded him for selling to Canada, from Pennsylvania, so that may be part of it.

Anyway, during that visit I was shocked to see him now stocking Arrma vehicles. I'm going to try to get back there this weekend and check out his inventory and also see if he stocks Arrma spare parts.

The only bummer about Arrma is that the aftermarket seems nearly nonexistent.

I know, from reading forums over the years, that Tekno is known for making the toughest RCs out there, albeit at the expense of extra heft, but I'm not building an 8-year old an $800 Tekno.

Originally Posted by JSterrett

Yeah, that drove me nuts too. I'm running the Proline front mount for a Slash (I think) and no mount in the rear to run it that low. Just ran the mounting studs right into the rear crossmember. I also don't run my shocks with 8000 spacers, so she sits lower than average too...

Easy fix. The Stampede definitely looks tall and stiffly sprung in stock form.

[Jboucher]

Arrma has some aftermarket
Look at Voltage Hobbies online, they make 7075 aluminum parts.
T-Bone racing makes bumpers and other parts.

I know M2C racing is making lots of parts for Tekno, maybe Arrma as well.

If you want to gamble on chinesium, GPM Racing is FULL of parts for just about any RC ever. I decked out my yeti jr in GPM aluminum and it's been holding up great to the abuse of a 4y old boy

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[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Jboucher

Arrma has some aftermarket
Look at Voltage Hobbies online, they make 7075 aluminum parts.
T-Bone racing makes bumpers and other parts.

I know M2C racing is making lots of parts for Tekno, maybe Arrma as well.

If you want to gamble on chinesium, GPM Racing is FULL of parts for just about any RC ever. I decked out my yeti jr in GPM aluminum and it's been holding up great to the abuse of a 4y old boy

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Voltage Hobbies and M2C Racing are new brands to me. Nice stuff, but neither makes anything for the Granite.

I haven't had good luck with GPM stuff so I avoid them now.