Little and large...

I’m thoroughly enjoying my Traxxas E-Revo. It’s stupid amounts of fun. The only slight problem is that it’s too big for me to run at home – the garden just isn’t big enough for a 1/8 scale RC monster truck. Especially not one that’s been upgraded to brushless – I pull the trigger and straight away, it’s in the geraniums.

Thankfully (for my wife’s herbacious borders) Traxxas recently released a 1/16 scale E-Revo, the E-Revo VXL, which is exactly half the size of the original. Not only that, but it has a water-resistant brushless motor and ESC. So, does half the size mean half the fun?

Er… no. If anything, it’s even more fun than the big brother! If I had to pick one drawback to the larger E-Revo (note that I said drawback, not flaw!) it’s the sheer size of it – you need a lot of space to run it. It’s also not the easiest thing to carry over long distances, like from a car park to a beach. Of course, the 1/16 E-Revo VXL doesn’t have those problems – it’s half as long, half as wide, half as tall. And of course it’s so much lighter to carry – the car, transmitter and spare batteries can be slipped into a small drawstring bag and slung over your shoulder.

So, apart from the obvious reduction in size, what else is different? Not much, actually. Traxxas have pretty much simply taken the big E-Revo, and made a smaller version. It’s got the same suspension layout, same drivetrain, same wheels and tyres… The only difference is the electronics package. The ESC in the E-Revo VXL is a water-resistant model (the brushless 1/8 E-Revo doesn’t have that), and of course there’s a 1/16-size brushless motor. The receiver and transmitter are the same as the big E-Revo, but I swapped the receiver out for a 2.4Ghz jobbie that mates with my Spektrum DX3S.

So, what’s it like to use? The first outing for mine was in the heavy snow we experienced in December. Since the electronics are water resistant, I took it out and gave it a good run in the snow and on the icy roads, and it didn’t miss a beat! Gentle throttle control was the order of the day, unsurprisngly. Due to the small size it could get grounded on packed snow quite easily, and it couldn’t plough through deep snow like the big one could, but it was still a blast. Back home, I took the shell off, disconnected the batteries, rinsed it under a hot tap to get rid of the worst of the snow that had built up under the shell, and left it to dry. It had a few more outings in the snow before it all thawed…

More recently, it’s also had a run on Highcliffe beach (near Bournemouth). This is where I normally run the big E-Revo, so I know where there are some fun places to go. Although the 1/16 car is too small to really go on the shingle beach (it’d just get hung up on the pebbles), it’s quite at home on the gravel paths and grassy bits. So far I’ve run it on single battery packs (LiPo and NiMH), which are pretty fast – Traxxas quote 30mph – so I haven’t felt the need to swap the pinion and run it on dual packs yet.

However, it does need a more delicate hand – I’ve found it much easier to flip than the big one. It’s also more fragile – so far I’ve managed to break two hub carriers by doing unintended cartwheels! Fortunately, just like the big models, there are plenty of spares and hop-up parts available. I’ve fitted some red aluminium replacements from The Toyz (on eBay) which are much better. You do need to resist the temptation to fit every anodized part you can find – some parts, like the A-arms, need the flex that the pastic parts allow. I’ve also fitted the STRC aluminium front and rear skid plates – these don’t need to be plastic, and they do look quite nice… The next improvement I plan on making is some better shock absorbers;I could replace the oil and springs in the stock ones, but I might as well get some metal-bodied ones and keep the originals for spares.

So to sum up – the 1/16 Traxxas E-Revo is a top choice for a small, fun basher – plenty of spares and upgrades options, too!

Opinion: Get it!!