Impulse buy; Axial SCX6

[XLR8]

First impression; the box is smaller than I'd expected. The Losi SBR 2's box was larger and harder to fit in the car. This one fit with no problem.

Okay, enough about the box, let's find a knife and see what we've got here...

[morrisey0]

I can think of at least 4-5 1:1 cars that I have bought for less than this 1:6 vehicle.

It does look cool though, and am interested in the feedback from those that purchase one.

[XLR8]

I can think of at least 4-5 1:1 cars that I have bought for less than this 1:6 vehicle.

It does look cool though, and am interested in the feedback from those that purchase one.

The Losi is a bit larger, costs less and can run nearly 60mph on 8s.
So, if getting the most truck for your money is important and you like to go fast, I'd recommend the Losi. I've never tried to crawl the Losi but with its tall gearing, I doubt it would be suitable for that.

Second impressions:
The body seems very heavy for what it is - and the weight is high up. I think this is due to the roll cage. If I were seriously into rock crawler, I'd be very tempted to remove the cage to lower the CG.

Also, the LED wires are too short to allow for the body to be removed and sat to one side. I'll be extending the wires so I won't need to plug-in the lights every time I remove the body. Of course lights aren't necessary but if the truck has them, then I'll want them to be working.

The shocks seem a bit over-dampened for my liking. I prefer the suspension to be softer and more compliant so I'll be testing some less viscous fluid. Or, I might even drain the fluid. I run the Bronco's shocks dry except for some grease to prevent stiction and the shafts becoming galled. Not sure that a slow moving vehicle like this benefits from having dampers. The spring rate seems okay.

I'm just getting into the manual. The ESC is absolutely packed with features. It has RPM/Throttle Matching (also called Field Oriented Control) that is user adjustable (low/medium/high). This operates sorta like the governor on your lawn mower. You've pre-set the throttle position and when you hit a patch of deep grass, the governor applies more throttle to keep the engine running at a constant speed. Like the Losi, there is battery level telemetry displayed on the Tx - a series of lights to tell you how much battery remains.

[XLR8]

Axial does include a very large decal sheet (mostly just promotional and customization stickers) but there are decals to finish the tail lights. Unfortunately, they've neglected to provide instructions showing how and where to apply these decals.
I found this video several days ago that is helpful. He covers the tail lights at around the 13:30 minute mark:

[youtube]=rYYmyYcEFbw[/youtube]

Hmmm, apparently that's not working so let's try this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYYmyYcEFbw

I think the smaller "SCX6" stickers will be handy to apply to the Tx.

Also, in the bag are four AA batteries for the Tx but I did not find any tools. After decades in the hobby, I think this is the first RC I've seen that didn't include at least a few allen wrenches. Even RTR's typically come with tools.
Anyway, I haven't yet removed a hub cap but according to the video, a 10mm nut driver is needed to remove the wheel nuts. I'd reckon that most folks who buy this truck already have tools but there might be a few out there who don't.

[juicedcoupe]

If they can afford the truck, I'm sure they can afford a few quality tools.

As long as it doesn't need any model specific tools, I actually think its a good idea. It reduces the chances of someone using cheap tools on such a vehicle. If the owner chooses to buy cheap tools, they are to blame for anything that gets stripped.

[XLR8]

If they can afford the truck, I'm sure they can afford a few quality tools.

As long as it doesn't need any model specific tools, I actually think its a good idea. It reduces the chances of someone using cheap tools on such a vehicle. If the owner chooses to buy cheap tools, they are to blame for anything that gets stripped.

You're probably right about that.
However, considering high cost of this truck, couldn't they have included a nut driver for the wheels?? The Losi included a relatively nice large chrome plated four/way wrench.

Speaking of high cost... I'm aware that not every shipment coming to the US from overseas needs to travel via sea freight and pass through the port of LA.
Is it possible that HH had these and other products sent via air freight in order to avoid the problems in LA? If so then perhaps that explains the high price - at least in part.
I'd guess that 90% of HH's inventory comes from overseas suppliers so they must be doing everything possible to keep product on the shelves. They've had a number of new product releases this year so they must be doing something to avoid the insanity at the port.
Anyway, it's just a thought.

[XLR8]

Last evening, I drained most of the fluid from the shocks leaving a small amount in the bottom to keep things lubricated. It could be a bit too bouncy while running in high gear but the fluid was captured in a clean container so this mod could be easily reversed. This morning I received a reply from Adam at HH: from the factory, the shocks are filled with 40 weight fluid. If it proves to be too bouncy, I could refill the shocks with 10 or 20 weight and give that a try. Also, the spring preload adjusters were down about 1/4" which left little to no suspension droop - even with weight of two 3s lipos. I've raised the adjusters to about 1/8" to obtain a little more droop. Of course this lowers the truck by roughly 1/8" but I don't think that will present any problems. I think trail trucks just look more scale accurate when the suspension is super plush.

So far I just been running the truck around in the living room since it has been raining here. The drag brake settings seem a bit aggressive - the truck comes to an abrupt stop the moment the throttle is released. It's especially abrupt in low gear and I really don't like this. There are two drag brake adjustments on the ESC: brake force and brake rate. Drag brake force has an adjustment range of 50% to 200% with default setting of 80%. Drag brake rate has an adjustment range of level 1 to level 9 with default setting of level 4. Also, the ESC is configured for forward/reverse with the option to reconfigure it forward/brake/reverse. I prefer f/b/r but changing ESC settings requires a programming box so I have one on order (SPMXCA200). This box can also be used with the ESC on the Losi so having one will give me the opportunity to try different settings for that truck as well.

[matt1ptkn]

Damn, that's an awful lot of posts without any photos... Keep the info. coming!

[shodog]

Just got mine in today. I can pretty much echo xlr8’s comments. It runs really well for its size. Top gear is plenty fast and low gear will allow it to climb well. I had no problem navigating the three steps into my house. Waiting for a break in the weather to run it out in the wild.

[XLR8]

Ooh, very nice. Wow, that arrived quick! I thought it was gonna be next Monday.

Did you notice how quiet it runs? Going down a slight incline, it's completely silent. Also, you'll want to be running slow on level ground before shifting gears.

Removing and re-installing the body gets old real fast. It looks like the plastic brackets that hold the screws for the fenders hang up on the inner wheel wells when replacing the body. I'm gonna see if I can fix that - the screw bosses are much longer than necessary.

It's been raining here as well but tomorrow should be dry.

At the park, there's a small creek that runs adjacent to the field where I run the Losi. Tomorrow afternoon, if it's not too muddy, I'm gonna try a bit of crawling along the banks and maybe get some pics for Matt.

I'm getting about 32 minutes run time on a 3s 5000mah 60c pack. That's running around in the yard in high gear. As with the Losi, the ESC stutters when it hits lvc to let you know you have about 10 seconds until it shuts down.
Be sure to carry a spare battery so you won't have to lug this pig back to the car.

It doesn't seem too bouncy even in rough areas in high gear. However, I think I'll refill the shocks with 10w oil just to keep things lubed.

[XLR8]

Adjusting the slipper clutch requires removal of the transmission, motor and spur gear cover to gain access to the nut. It's impossible to use the adjust-try-adjust method.
Some youtuber's have reported that their copy arrived with the slipper set so loose that the truck would barely pull itself. So they had to break out the wrenches before they could do a proper review.
At the other end of the spectrum, Gregg from RC Driver got his truck bound up on the rocks and broke a tooth off a ring gear - this is what the slipper was designed to avoid but of course it has to adjusted properly.

Meanwhile, HH has parts available for the SCX6 including the clear body set. The price for the body isn't too bad considering what it is but I'm gonna wait to see if anyone offers something other than a Jeep JLU.

[GoMachV]

Adjusting the slipper clutch requires removal of the transmission, motor and spur gear cover to gain access to the nut.

that is some serious design negligence

[shodog]

Mine seems to run fine and I think the slipper is tight enough. I am going to change out the shock oil like XLR8 did. I have noticed a growling sound coming from the electronics. Don't know if its a servo twitching or a fan screeching like it has a dry bearing. I saw the clear body set this morning on eBay but really want to wait for something else. I'm hoping someone make an open air body that would allow you to fit 1:6 scale action figures into it.

[XLR8]

Yes it is negligent. Not sure if the 1/10 version has the same slipper access issues but failure to address problems that were apparent in previous versions (like body removal hassles) is negligence.

Shodog, remember you have a 2 year warranty so if there's a problem, file a claim. You shouldn't have to spend money to replace parts that are covered by the warranty.

I've had to file two claims on the Losi and both times HH came through without a hitch. The Losi isn't perfect but I love that truck and I'm starting to love this one as well - despite the shortcomings.

I received an email from FedEX: my programming box is due to arrive tomorrow. Unfortunately, the forecast is for rain over the next few days. Rats!

[shodog]

So I brought it work to show off to my coworkers. Plug in the battery and turn on the radio and press the on button and I get nothing. Luckily we have a metric allen wrench set at work and I was able to remove the receiver cover and rebind the radio. not sure how it became unbound in just two runs