Any Former / Current SCX10 Owners Have an Ascender?

[Hardcoretam]

Hi all,

I've currently got an SCX10 with a lot of mods on it. I'm pretty happy with how it's performing.
Quite a few members of my club have the Ascender's. Mostly the longer wheelbase version but one short.
I've noticed from the relatively standard ones (but well set up) to the more modded ones they're much more capaible than my RTR Honcho was when i first got it...I really like how they look as well.

So much so i'm really tempted to go for one now!

Still being part of Europe just now, they're a lot cheaper to buy than an SCX10 II here as well as with spares as well.

I was wondering with other SCX10 users how you rate them, pros and cons?
Not to start a flame war or anything just to see if there's anything i'd need to know.

One of the members of the club runs a 2 speed on his with Twin Hammer interals. I like how the low gear ratio keeps the same ratio as the standard trans.
Can these 2 speeds handle higher powered brushed motors and 3s? How about the standard diffs?
They all had quite a lot of really bad torque twist in the thick mud as well. They said it was the smaller gears inside the pumpkin but i noticed the SCX10.2 also has a smaller pumpkin with smaller gears but they market it as less torque twist?

Can the battery tray be modded or relocated easily to be able to use regular full size 2 & 3s packs? Although i really want one and can just about justify the buy, i can't if i need to buy new shorty packs as well.

How does the RTR trucks fare vs the kits? Is RTR build quality and electrics alright for general trailing and light rock crawling?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I have an original SCX10 and an Ascender in my fleet. I don't have an SCX10 II, but they don't impress me enough to buy one. Out of about 30 RC vehicles, my Ascender gets the most use by far. It's my favorite truck.

The Ascender does have more torque twist than an SCX10 II, but you can use a sway bar or link risers to combat most of it. Honestly, I haven't done anything to stop the torque twist and it rarely hinders my crawling ability unless it's straight up and slippery.

You can move the battery tray on your own or buy one of the trays sold by others.

The kit and RTR are almost the exact same except one includes electronics and a painted body whereas the kit does not. They're basically the same truck which is nice.

The SCX10 II kit and RTR have big differences.

 

[svt923]

As an owner of a SCX10, SCX10 II, and Ascender, I would rank them:

1: SCX10 II - Drives the best straight from the box
2: Ascender - Needs some suspension tweaking out of the box but is comparable to the SCX10 II afterwards
3: A shoebox with wheels
4: SCX10 - No longer in the same league as the others without replacing 80% of it with aftermarket parts (kidding, kind of, not really) :mrgreen:

 

[OldNTired]

The thing I really like about the Ascenders is the flexibility of the chassis. You want a different wheel base? Remove a few screws and set the length you want. (you still have links to fix but you get the idea) You want to do that with an Axial? Better hope the LHS has the frame rails you want in the correct length.

 

[Hardcoretam]

As an owner of a SCX10, SCX10 II, and Ascender, I would rank them:

1: SCX10 II - Drives the best straight from the box
2: Ascender - Needs some suspension tweaking out of the box but is comparable to the SCX10 II afterwards
3: A shoebox with wheels
4: SCX10 - No longer in the same league as the others without replacing 80% of it with aftermarket parts (kidding, kind of, not really) :mrgreen:

This was more or less my best guess as well but i've only an X-Trailed AX10 and a heavily modded SCX10 and like you say...to be satisfied with my SCX10 RTR i've had to change more or less everything lol.

 

[Natedog]

I have an original SCX10 and an Ascender in my fleet. I don't have an SCX10 II, but they don't impress me enough to buy one. Out of about 30 RC vehicles, my Ascender gets the most use by far. It's my favorite truck.

The Ascender does have more torque twist than an SCX10 II, but you can use a sway bar or link risers to combat most of it.

You can move the battery tray on your own or buy one of the trays sold by others.

The kit and RTR are almost the exact same except one includes electronics and a painted body whereas the kit does not. They're basically the same truck which is nice.

The SCX10 II kit and RTR have big differences.

X2

Former SCX10 owner here, had a couple fairly stock and highly modded, now I have a couple Ascenders. "thumbsup"

 

[JatoTheRipper]

to be satisfied with my SCX10 RTR i've had to change more or less everything lol.

That's the Axial way. They make the worst out of the box RTRs on the planet in my experience. They'll give you barely enough to run the truck and you'll be forced to upgrade broken or weak parts almost immediately. Kits are better, but you're still left with their subpar plastics.

 

[JDM74]

I have a K10 ascender and a short wheel base SCX10 with a proline shoebox bronco body. I also have a rtr Jeep Rubicon SCX10. The Ascender is better out of the box by far. The biggest difference is the steering. The stock SCX10 steering is awful.

 

[Junkk5]

I also own a scx10, and ascender. I am sure I have less rc experience than everyone else who has responded, but figure I would give my opinion.
My scx10 goes as well as my ascender. The axial has way more upgrades, and also has a smaller body which helps the places I use them. Imo the ascender is a much better thought out rig, and better built. The one thing I do like about the scx10 is way more companies make parts for them, which makes them cheaper. Kinda like a 1:1 jeep over a fj100.