[Chilly Duncan]

New from Duratrax:

The Duratrax DXR8-E makes an impressive statement as it blasts onto the 1/8 scale racing scene: This tricked-out machine is in it to win! Designed for intermediate to expert off-road drivers, the DXR8-E has the perfect platform for climbing the podium, including features like an indexed motor mount cam, ball bearing sway bars, easy access diffs and more. How many other pro-level race rollers include race-winning high-performance super-soft compound racing tires and a Stress-Tech™ free parts replacement guarantee? The DXR8-E is a new breed. Get ready to rumble!

• Designed specifically for 1/8 electric racing (not a converted nitro buggy)
• Factory-assembled 1/8 scale 4WD rolling chassis.
• DuraTrax Posse C3 super-soft compound racing tires.
• Includes clear body, molded white rear wing and decals.
• Stress-Tech parts carry a 1-year FREE replacement guarantee. (1st time offered on a race-caliber machine!)
• Add your choice of radio and electronics.
• Go from race roller to race winner!

Specifications:

Length: 19 in (485 mm)
Width: 11.8 in (300 mm)
Height: 7.8 in (198 mm)

Requires:

Radio system with a minimum of 2 channels; 1/8 brushless motor; 1/8 brushless ESC; one 4S or two 2S LiPo batteries & charger.

DTXC0078 DXR8-E 1/8 Brushless 4WD Race Roller $349.99

The DXR8-E is available in January.

[rccardude04]

Not even remotely in the ballpark of what I expected.

Very cool. Anxious to see how it holds up in a test though! The Raze was pretty good for the money; maybe Duratrax just dropped a bomb on the market!

-Eric

[Old_School_RC_1]

Does look nice indeed!! Well, the body is iffy, but the chassis looks great

[catalysst]

I am impressed. I was in the market for an e-buggy and glad I waited. Might have to try the dtx one.

[Cain]

saw this link posted by another user of a video of a "twin" of the vehicle. Probably will handle similar.

http://www.andersonmodel.com/product...3&offset=0#pro

[catalysst]

Originally Posted by Cain

saw this link posted by another user of a video of a "twin" of the vehicle. Probably will handle similar.

http://www.andersonmodel.com/product...3&offset=0#pro

As I suspected about the DTX. Just like the Vendetta's, Duratrax doesn't actually make this, but Anderson Does. Which is fine by me since their Vendetta's were incredible mini's.

[Chilly Duncan]

Originally Posted by Cain

saw this link posted by another user of a video of a "twin" of the vehicle. Probably will handle similar.

http://www.andersonmodel.com/product...3&offset=0#pro

Interesting, maybe this means that Hobbico gets to sell them under the Duratrax name in the States then? I wonder how people feel about that Anderson car since it has been out already?

[Cain]

I'd be curious as well. There are some interesting 1/8 designs that never make it to the states out there.

[NORTEX-T1FK]

Awesome buggy for $299 after Tower SS club discount. I'm in!!

[Cain]

With the stress tech guarentee on parts, I could see this getting some bashers in just knowing that if they break that stuff, its warrantied for 1 year.

The price is great too especially after tower discount if you are a member.

[kufman]

Looks pretty cool. I see some good points and some bad points.

The Good:
-Purpose built body (better than many).
-Fairly clean layout.
-Universal suspension arms (front, back, left, right all the same).
-Large receiver box.
-Front/Rear sway bars are the same.
-Front/Rear Shocks are the same.
-Can fit long motors.
-Plenty of room for ESC at expense of short battery box.

The Bad
-Lots-o-plastic (Full plastic chassis?).
-Thin shock towers are going to bend like tin foil.
-Only fits ROAR length batteries (137mm).
-Motor mount cam sits in plastic.

[catalysst]

Originally Posted by kufman

Looks pretty cool. I see some good points and some bad points.


The Bad
-Lots-o-plastic (Full plastic chassis?).
-Thin shock towers are going to bend like tin foil.
-Only fits ROAR length batteries (137mm).
-Motor mount cam sits in plastic.

Plastic chassis may not be bad. Ve8 does well, although the skidplates broke on early versions. The mount does look a little sketchy though, but being notched, that should help keep things from not moving.

[Cain]

I am curious are we sure the bottom part of the mount is plastic? Maybe its kind of half and half?

[bobf24]

there is already part numbers for alumn motor mounts plus other stuff

http://www.duratrax.com/vehicles/ele...r8e/parts.html

[timberwolf211]

I think this a huge step in the right direction for them. They were always considered a beginner grade RC company. Now it seems they might have just hit a home run. True test will be if it can race at the pro level.

[killaj]

Being a race roller... +1

Shock towers... -1

Layuout is going to be the kicker tho. Balancing the chassis will mean choosing select batteries for a given motor.

For the price, I may give it a whirl.

[dale gribble]

I don't have one and I haven't driven it. This is speculative.

I think its expected that machined and meaty shock towers are standard fare on any 'race' roller. Those look very much like RTR shock towers that I have bent many, many times. It has these meaty toe blocks, big bore shocks and then wimpy shock towers. The front shock tower is tall, it is narrow and it is not ribbed or supported up the diff housing. If nothing else and the shock tower is perfect, it is a perception issue and this is were Duratrax often falls short. Competing race rollers have fat machined shock towers in the 4-5mm range; yours should too. This gives the perception that this is a competitor to existing cars and not some entry level offering in the noise.

Also, I just don't see how the plastic motor mount will be reliable. I just don't see it. The VE8 has a solid aluminum motor mount. Heat from the motor dissipates throughout this entire plate so by the time it gets to the chassis it won't heat up the plastic chassis. The motor sinks a lot of heat there, and I suspect the stock motor mount is going to get soft if not melt when someone is running 4s packs in it hard. You are asking a lot of the plastic mount and I am not sure if it will be up to the task.

My guess is that Duratrax will offer hopups for the shock towers and hopups for the motor mount soon, but if they want to be a race roller and remake their image, they need to see what the competition does and if not one up them at least match them for features. Don't be afraid to charge $20-$30 more per kit to incorporate these things. Duratrax makes cool things and they sell cool things but they only ever get 85% of the way there. Just a few tweaks and the thing could be a game changer for their image.

This is why Duratrax Maximum MT never reached the popularity of the T-Maxx or why the Warhead never reached the popularity of the Savage. This is why the Cliff Climber never reached the popularity of the Losi MRC or the Axis never reached the popularity of the Hyper 7 or MBX. They always make these vehicles that are almost there but just fall a little short.

I have often told myself that I would love to be a product manager for Duratrax. I feel like I could help them fill in that 15%.

Kudos for the body!

[JDAWG53]

I know some of you are concerned about the shock towers, but Duratrax put countless hours of testing on this kit with zero issues with the shock towers. They are extremely durable. If the kit came with machined towers, the price would go up and everyone would complain about that then.
This information is based on experience not speculation.
J

[dale gribble]

People aren't going to complain about a $40 price hike for machined shock towers and motor mount. That still puts the kit considerably lower than other race rollers.

Again, maybe the shock towers and motor mount are fine, but that is what I have come to expect from 'race rollers'

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

[dale gribble]

Guys at my track can pull upwards of 200 degree temps on their motors after 10 minutes. Did duratrax test their motor mount against that?

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

[catalysst]

yeah, have to agree. Higher priced than the VE8 but without the pedigree. But it's too tough to say with just pictures.

[BashemSmashem]

Another quality product by Andertrax . Didn't look like it handled all that great in the vid IMO .

[JDAWG53]

The kit was tested with a variety of motors from Tekin 1700-2050 and multiple Castle systems. It was tested all summer long inside & outside in 90+ degree weather.
I realize people are skeptical of the performance and durability of the DXR8-E and only running one/watching one run will help change that.

[JDAWG53]

Originally Posted by BashemSmashem

Another quality product by Andertrax . Didn't look like it handled all that great in the vid IMO .

I have to agree the video does not make the buggy look good. Unfortunately, it is no where near a good representation of how the buggy really handles. This buggy has been ran back to back against several competition level kits and has far exceeded the handling shown in the video.
Again, I think it will take people seeing for themselves to truely believe its capabilities.
J

[kufman]

There is a 2nd factor that comes into play with the plastic motor mount. Plastic doesn't dissipate or transmit heat and thus the motor will run warmer than a car with a metal motor mount that is connected to a metal chassis. This was always a problem for the Losi XX-4 and XXX-4. With correct gearing, it may not be a big problem, but it will be a disadvantage. Cars with better cooling will be able to gear higher and maintain similar motor temps.

One thing I forgot to mention in my list above on the "Bad" list is the use of a rear gear box in the front. With this setup, you automatically have the kick up angle in the front drive shaft even if the spur is centered on the chassis. I don't know why so many companies overlook this. Yes, it is cheaper to only mold one set of gear box halves, but on some cars it put tremendous strain on the front drive shaft. Everybody always say that the Losi has the most angle, but they only have angle in the horizontal direction since their front gearbox is compensated for the front kick up angle. The car with the most angle is actually the D8 from Hotbodies.