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Traxxas Revo BL 4/23/09 11:49 AM Page 60 TRAXXAS WORLD EXCLUSIVE

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60 MORE FROM THIS ISSUE AT RCCARACTION.COM TRAXXAS E-REVO BRUSHLESS EDITION We tear it up with Traxxas’ mightiest monster WORDS BRANDON WILCOX PHOTOS HOPE McCALL When the original E-Revo came out, people were stoked. It had everything they craved: brushless-ready drive- train, inboard shocks, integrated battery components and waterproof electronics. With the new Brushless Edition, you get every- thing you wanted and then some. The brushless-ready drivetrain is now powered by a beefy Castle Creations 2200kV motor and Mamba Monster Speed control, which deliver tons of torque and an incredible top end that reaches 65mph and beyond. The speed control is secured to the chassis with a Traxxas-designed hold-down. Traxxas also jumped on the 2.4GHz revolution. No more AM radio here; the new TQ may look like the original, but it’s now operating in the glitch-free, crystal-less 2.4GHz band. With more power comes more stress, and this new truck includes heavy-duty 17mm splined aluminum hex hubs that are held on with set- screws to beef up the drivetrain. With tons of power on tap and a race-proven setup, this truck will be sure to please the basher or racer in you. Follow along as we give you the ins and outs of this truck. WORLD EXCLUSIVE! SPECIFICATIONS Type 1 /10-scale RTR 4WD electric monster truck Price $665 (varies with dealer) Top Speed 65mph Wheelbase 14.1 in. (358mm) Width 16.5 in. (419mm) Weight, as tested 9.5 lb. (4,330g) w/o batteries Spur/pinion 65/18 Final drive ratio 18.8:1 Chassis Molded composite nylon tub Differential(s) Sealed bevel gear Suspension Sealed pivot ball w/ inboard-mounted shocks Shocks Hard-anodized, Teflon-coated shock body with titanium-coated shock shaft Traxxas Revo BL 4/23/09 11:49 AM Page 60
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60 MORE FROM THIS ISSUE AT RCCARACTION.COM

TRAXXAS E-REVOBRUSHLESS EDITIONWe tear it up with Traxxas’ mightiest monsterWORDS BRANDON WILCOX PHOTOS HOPE McCALL

When the original E-Revo came out, people were stoked.It had everything they craved: brushless-ready drive-train, inboard shocks, integrated battery componentsand waterproof electronics.With the new BrushlessEdition, you get every-thing you wanted …and then some. Thebrushless-readydrivetrain is nowpowered by abeefy CastleCreations2200kV motorand MambaMonster Speedcontrol, whichdeliver tons oftorque and anincredible top end that reaches65mph and beyond.The speed control issecured to the chassiswith a Traxxas-designedhold-down. Traxxas also jumpedon the 2.4GHz revolution. No more AM radio here; the newTQ may look like the original, but it’s now operating in theglitch-free, crystal-less 2.4GHz band. With more powercomes more stress, and this new truck includes heavy-duty17mm splined aluminum hex hubs that are held on with set-screws to beef up the drivetrain. With tons of power on tapand a race-proven setup, this truck will be sure to pleasethe basher or racer in you. Follow along as we give you theins and outs of this truck.

WORLD EXCLUSIVE!

SPECIFICATIONSType 1⁄10-scale RTR 4WD electric monster truckPrice $665 (varies with dealer)Top Speed 65mphWheelbase 14.1 in. (358mm) Width 16.5 in. (419mm)Weight, as tested 9.5 lb. (4,330g) w/o batteriesSpur/pinion 65/18Final drive ratio 18.8:1Chassis Molded composite nylon tubDifferential(s) Sealed bevel gearSuspension Sealed pivot ball w/ inboard-mounted shocksShocks Hard-anodized, Teflon-coated shock body withtitanium-coated shock shaft

Traxxas Revo BL 4/23/09 11:49 AM Page 60

JULY 2009 61

I went to Wolcott Hobby & Raceway in Wolcott, CT, to push the E-Revo

Brushless Edition to the limits. It has a well-groomed, medium-size-

track and a huge area in the back that is set up for bashing.

I installed two MaxAmps.com 5250 30C 3-cell LiPo packs

and eased on the throttle. Even at low speeds, the Mamba

Monster speed control and motor felt smooth. Heading

over to the long straightaway, I launched it full speed and

couldn’t believe the torque this E-Revo has. The front tires

will pull off the ground at any speed. Once the wheels were

on the ground, I went to the end of the straightaway and

back. Without question, the E-Revo Brushless Edition is

the fastest RTR I’ve ever driven. After getting a feel for the

speed on tap, it was time to turn some laps. The Brushless

Edition sports the same great handling and suspension as the

standard E-Revo, so even though I started going around the track tamely, I was

quickly able to pick up pace. It handled well and was difficult to flip unless fully

punched. Of course, I had to slow down to make it around a corner if I came into it

at full speed. With the amount of power this truck has and the stock tires, the turn-

ing radius is large at full speed. The brakes work well and felt smooth. I had no

trouble stopping, even after a full-speed pass on the dirt. On the pavement however, a full-speed run and

full brakes will result in an endo and sometimes a flip. The best part of testing is jumping. Small

bumps and rocks really have no effect on this truck; the suspension does a great job of soaking

those up. When going over big jumps, the E-Revo handles great in the air and jumps even, or

slightly nose-up. With the amount of power the Castle Creations Mamba Monster system

offers, it was easy to backflip or front-flip the truck with a quick tap of the throttle or

brakes. Hit a large jump at about 60 percent throttle and then gun it in the air. You’ll do

an instant backflip. Front flips were even easier. I hit the jump at between 60 percent

throttle and full speed and quickly slammed the brakes in the air. Different-size

jumps require different amounts of throttle, so just make sure you have the air

time to correct the truck and land smoothly. This truck is really capable of

some cool tricks and one of my favorites is to launch it as high as I can and

stay on the throttle so the truck's nose is pointing straight up and then wait

until the last moment to level it out with a tap of the brake just

before landing. It was a blast. I continued to go

around the track as fast as I could, trying to

cut the corners tight and hit the jumps

hard. At the end of the day, there

was no breakage—a welcome

conclusion to any test session.

PERFORMANCE

Traxxas Revo BL 4/23/09 11:50 AM Page 61

62 MORE FROM THIS ISSUE AT RCCARACTION.COM

CHASSIS. The chassis is the same as thestandard E-Revo and features a moldedone-piece design. It is designed for a lowCG and incorporates two battery com-partments, one on each side of the chassis for even weight distribution. Itcan hold either 6- or 7-cell NiMH packs or 2- or 3-cell LiPo packs. The batterycompartments open with two quick-release tabs. Cooling vents in the front of the battery trays let in cool air, and inthe back they let the hot air out.

SUSPENSION. The E-Revo BrushlessEdition features the same great inboardsuspension that made the E-Revo andRevo 3.3 so stable. The pivot-ball systemoperates on progressive-rate rockers andcan be adjusted by swapping to the long-travel rockers (included with the truck).Connected to the rockers are hard-anodized 87mm, Teflon-coated aluminumshocks. The shocks feature a threadedbody, so preload can be adjusted quicklyand easily just using your hands.

DRIVETRAIN. The E-Revo Brushless Editioncomes with a heavy-duty,single-speed transmission.Gears are extra wide tohold up to the abuse ofbrushless power, andeverything runs on rubber-sealed ball bearings. TheRevo-spec slipper clutchis adjustable from the outside of the case,so there are no screws or covers toremove to make adjustments. The gearcover can be removed with only onescrew, and this allows you to access thespur and pinion gear. Traxxas offers anoptional 2-speed conversion kit thatcomes with everything you need to takethis transmission from a 1-speed to a 2-speed. Traxxas PN 5692 comes with thegear sets, waterproof sub-micro servosand the linkages you need to hook every-thing together. In addition to a beefytransmission, the E-Revo BrushlessEdition comes with heavy-duty telescop-ing driveshafts. New splined 17mm alu-minum hex hubs hold the wheels on

securely and are held on the output shaftwith a setscrew. You can easily swap tiresand not worry about the hex falling off.Since the hex and the rim are bothsplined, it’s rather hard to imagine yourrims ever stripping.

BODY, WHEELS AND TIRES. The E-Revo Brushless Edition comes with thesame sleek body as the non-brushlessversion. On the back of the truck is a wingthat can be adjusted. The included wheelsand tires are Talon tires pre-glued onblack chrome Gemini rims. These newrims feature splined hexes that securelylock the wheel to the splined aluminumhex hub.

FEATURES

TRAXXAS E-REVOBRUSHLESS EDITION

WORLD EXCLUSIVE!

ADDITIONAL IMAGES AND VIDEO ONLINE@ RCCARACTION.COM/REVOBL

Traxxas includes two 2075waterproof servos that areeach good for 125 ounces oftorque; combine that, andyou’ll have 250 ounces ofsteering power. The receivercomes in a waterproof radiobox. The new radio systemfrom Traxxas features2.4GHz technology and a

micro 4-channel receiver. The radio looks like a standard TQAM radio but is now 2.4GHz, which means no glitching orinterference and not having to worry about crystals. The heartof this truck is the Castle Creations Mamba Monster speedcontrol and motor. The motor is a 2200kV Neu-Castle brush-less motor that rides on high-quality ball bearings. It features a5mm shaft and supports up to 18-cell Ni-Cd/NiMH and up to6S LiPo. The continuous current is rated at 120 amps. It has abuilt-in heat sink and fan that automatically turn on if the speedcontrol hits 150 degrees. For the full review of this brushlesssystem, check out the February 2009 issue of RC Car Actionmagazine.

INCLUDED ELECTRONICS &ACCESSORIES

Traxxas Revo BL 4/23/09 11:50 AM Page 62

JULY 2009 63

VERDICTAt the end of the day, I didn’t want to put the E-RevoBrushless Edition away. It was pure fun to drive,whether I was popping wheelies, jumping through theair, or racing around the track. It definitely achieved itsmission: to provide a ton of excitement on or off thetrack. Bashers will appreciate the durability, speed andability to do wheelies all day long. Racers will enjoy thesame great suspension and chassis layout as the origi-nal E-Revo, which turns into a capable racer with onlya few tweaks. With the maintenance-free brushlesssystem and the reliable 2.4GHz radio and receiver, thisis one sick monster truck that comes with everythingyou wanted—and more.

Tim Roberts is the lead designer behind the E-RevoBrushless Edition. When we sat down with him for a quickinterview, this is what he had to say:

Radio Control Car Action: Did you design the originalE-Revo to handle this much power?Tim Roberts: Absolutely. E-Revo was always intended touse a high-power brushless system. When we began devel-oping the platform, there was not a simple drop-in systemlike the Castle Mamba Monster speed control and 2200kVmotor, but we knew that high-voltage, high-output electricswere the wave of the future, and the truck was designed withthose things in mind. The entire architecture of the chassiswas based around placing a large and powerful motor in thevehicle as low and centralized as possible. The transmissionand driveline underwent rigorous review to ensure they couldhandle all the power that was capable of fitting into the bat-tery compartments. We even added details such as thefinned-aluminum motor mount and vented battery compart-ments to improve thermal efficiency of the motor and batter-ies. We spared no details when it came to designing thetruck to handle as much power as we knew our customerswould be throwing at it.

RCCA: Do you think the E-Revo Brushless Edition is atits limit, or do you think it could handle more power?TR: I think the E-Revo Brushless Edition is at a sweet spotright now. With NiMH packs or 4S LiPo, the truck is extremelyfun, fast and virtually maintenance free. With 6S LiPo, eventhe most hardcore enthusiasts have been delighted with theextreme acceleration and speeds the E-Revo can handle.The best thing about it is even with a 65mph setup, the truckis never more out of control than you want it to be. I thinkany more power would probably just ruin that balance.

RCCA : Do you think we’ll see more powerful brushlesssystems in the near future? And are the current ones

being utilized to their full potential?TR: The one steady trend I seein RC is that there are alwaysmore powerful products enteringthe market every year. The trickis being able to use all of that

power effectively. This is where E-Revo Brushless Edition excels,

since it was always intended towork with such powerful

systems. Our customershave extremely high

expectations, sowhen we release anew product, youcan bet that wehold nothing backin terms of all-outperformance.

Radar TestingTraxxas claims an impressive 65+mph, so I had to see which numbers I could get myself.Traxxas got its numbers using a wheelie bar, MaxAmps.com 3-cell LiPos (6S), a 54-toothspur gear and 24-tooth pinion gear. Some weight was also used up front to keep the frontend from lifting. I installed the spur gear and pinion along with MaxAmps.com 30C 5250 3-cell LiPos and headed to the largest parking lot we could find. I added 0.8 lb. of weight tothe front and moved the wheelie bar to the lowest position. I did a couple passes and gotthat magic number—65.4mph—for which I had to roll on the throttle to keep the truck undercontrol. For comparison, check out the radar graph, where we included the radar curve fora standard dual Titan 550 brushed motor E-Revo that hit a top speed of 29.4mph using two7-cell packs. What a difference in speed! The E-Revo Brushless Edition delivers an incredi-ble top speed that is more than twice as fast.

The 6S LiPo setup is for pure over-the-top performance. It is fun to unleash that kind ofpower every once in a while, but we found that using 4S LiPo or two 7-cell packs still gaveawesome power and are the best choice for all-around driving.

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0

WITH TIM ROBERTSBEHIND THE DESIGN

1. A Traxxas-designed hold-down keeps the Mamba Monster speed control securely inplace. 2. The Neu-Castle motor is attached to a finned aluminum mount that helps tokeep the temperature in check . 3. Traxxas provides a waterproof case for the 2.4GHzmicro receiver . 4. Heavy-duty telescoping driveshafts and medieval-looking splined17mm aluminum hex hubs key into the wheels for an extra robust drivetrain. 5. Traxxas spec’d its proven hard-anodized, Teflon-coated shocks that will smooth outthe roughest of terrain.

1

2

3

4

5

TIME, sec

SPEED

, m

ph

SOURCESMaxAmps.com maxamps.comTraxxas traxxas.com

Distance (in feet) traveled in:1 sec. 16.3 17.22 sec 57.6 53.13 sec. 114.2 94.64 sec. 182.2 137.65 sec. 261.1 180.20-132 ft. time 3.3 sec. 3.9 sec.Time to top speed 7 sec. 3.1 sec.Speed at 132 ft. 44.3mph 29.3 mph

65.4mph 29.4mph

BRUSHLESS STANDARD E-REVO LIPO E-REVO 7-CELL

TOP SPEED

Brushless E-Revo LiPo

Standard E-Revo 7-cell

Traxxas Revo BL 4/23/09 11:50 AM Page 63


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