The Battle of the Arrma begins with what we usually do every face-off; we try our best to break the truck literally and figuratively Arrma Kraton Vs. Arrma Talion is not new to the bashing world. Will the veteran trucks be dusted, or will it leave the others with nothing but the blurry mess of destruction?
Arrma Kraton
Since the Kraton isn’t your usual Truggy or monster truck, we needed to locate an exceptional location to test its capabilities. As a result, we drove the truck on a back-woods motocross trail with significant jumps, sharp rocks, and loose soil as our play area. The fun session began with the Kraton being dropped on the loose ground after a brief circuit of the area. With a single pull of the trigger, the Kraton blasted down the straight, its suspension straining hard to absorb the bumps, rocks, and dips in the road. Its wheels whirled and threw dirt into the air. The truck attempted to be upset by the uneven terrain, but the handling was superb. The truck ran over some rocks that we were positive would have severed a wheel and an arm from the vehicle, yet it shot up and over the rocks and continued moving forward. With such force, the truck was relatively simple to steer. We were jerking the throttle back and forth down the trail, throwing up stones and spewing dirt everywhere. Power was always readily available, and we must admit that it had more power than anticipated from an RTR. The Kraton impressed us in other ways as well, though, aside from the speed runs. The truck is a beast of jumps. It jumps strongly, bursts off the face, and makes a fast ascent to the sky.
Watching your throttle finger when the Kraton is in flight would be best due to the insane power behind the driveline. The truck will over rotate if the tires are given too much power. The nose dips faster than you’d anticipate when you apply too much braking. The over-rotation might be superb for backflips, but gain confidence before attempting. The Kraton landed on its lid during the first few insane leaps we attempted, but the electronics were unharmed thanks to the interior protective tower. The truck moves! You worry that turning would be difficult because the creature is so big and strong. However, the Kraton has exceptional steering throw, so when it is not moving, its turning radius is comparable to that of many racing truggies available today. When the engine is running, the tires may swell, which will affect the performance of the power steering, but if you roll back the throttle or hit a berm, you’ll be able to accelerate through some remarkable turns. The one that sticks out in our memories is a sizable arcing berm on a trail, which we were able to blast the Kraton around at full power while sand and dirt spewed off the wheels. It was simply too cold. Let’s now discuss durability.
We had no issue banging on this truck because of its mass, thick aluminum, and protecting central tower. The wide wing and soft tires absorbed a lot of the tough landings off of significant jumps or when we hit giant boulders, even after numerous tumbles with no broken arms or bent aluminum. Full throttle taps were necessary to pull out of many jump landings. Besides the one occasion when a pinion gear was ejected, there were no problems with the driveline to report. Fortunately, it landed in plain view. We fastened it to the motor once more, and it soon returned to the trails. Our only complaint with Kraton’s performance was a few sporadic throttle gremlins. But there were few incidents.
Arrma Talion
We had the good fortune to review the ballistic ARRMA Talion RTR electric off-road Truggy not long ago. This nearly bulletproof truck is quick, strong, stable, and attractive right out of the box. So why not speed it up and make it more extraordinary, you ask?
Speed
Yes, we know this insane Truggy can reach 60 mph when powered by a 6S, 22.2V LiPo battery pack, so why make it go any faster? The quick response is: BECAUSE!
It was immediately apparent who should replace the stock ARRMA BLX electronics package: Castle Creations.
We choose a brand-new Mamba Monster X for ESC. This excellent ESC features data logging, a third channel aux wire plug-in that enables on-the-fly modifications that are often only possible via the external Castle Link, is waterproof, can power a sensored motor if I want to use one, and is capable of operating a sensored motor.
Drag brake is the setting I choose because it’s the one I fiddle with the most. Next, we decided to use a Neu-Castle 1515 2200kV motor. This motor is physically larger and has 150kV more voltage than the default BLX motor, which results in more torque and improved heat dissipation.
We chose two robust 3S, 11.1V, 40C, 4100mAh New Wave packs for the batteries. These batteries fit the battery tray like a glove and are the same size as a typical 2S LiPo pack.
Hipper Look
Although the Talion’s red anodized shock towers are fantastic, we like how carbon fiber looks. Since there weren’t any widely available aftermarket carbon fiber accessories for the Talion, A few weeks later, the truck was back with new thick carbon fiber front and rear shock towers mounted, as well as beautiful huge thin carbon fiber mudguards to keep the rear dogbones clear of debris.
Fun Factor
Our first stop for some fast runs up and down the street was outside our front door.
So, did the new power plant make it go more quickly?
Considerably!
We didn’t have a radar gun with me, but the Talion shot off like a rocket when we hit the gas, and in a flash, it was screaming by the yard at full speed with its tires inflating.
After a few back-and-forth passes, neighbors stopped to watch, and one jokingly warned me to watch out for speeding tickets. We went inside to check everything out after being pleased with the outcome. The ESC and batteries looked excellent and were as cool as a cucumber. The motor was a little warm but not enough to warrant an alarm.
We left for R/C Madness and the expansive off-road dirt track after charging the batteries with our iMax X400 charger. The ARRMA Talion started spinning with a pretty high ferocity as a massive rooster tail blasted out from the back tires because the track was extremely dry due to the strong sunshine.
Due to the dryness, we couldn’t roll the throttle all the way down the straightaway at full speed; even then, it was hazardous because if we slammed the brakes too hard at the end of the straight, we would slide out of control.
We quickly increased the drag brake on the Castle Mamba Monster X from our transmitter to aid with this. This was a tremendous aid and made it much easier for us to maneuver across the narrow infield.
Furthermore, the Talion was quickly and confidently sent sailing through the air over every jump on the circuit because of the enormous power of the New Wave batteries, Castle motor, and ESC.
Again, the dry track was the main drawback. The back tires would lose traction if we applied the gas too quickly, preventing the truck from getting a strong enough launch to clear the jump. Nevertheless, except for being covered in track dust, the truck looked terrific back in the pit. The motor was a little hotter than previously, but the ESC and batteries were hardly heated.
To make Neu-Castle Motors run more effectively in the future, we can see ourselves purchasing a Castle Blower Fan Shroud.
The stock boots shoes on the Talion, while excellent for general all-around use, could be better for dry track conditions, so if we were to go on this track more frequently in these conditions, a tire change would be in order.
Please keep checking back because the Talion is so much fun to drive because of its size and overabundance of power. We hope to go racing or do some bashing with it.
Conclusion
The Kraton was an immediately alluring RC machine due to its compactness, stylish design, performance suspension, and robust electronics package. It goes without saying that we quickly got it in the ground to test it out. It kept astonishing us with its wild performance and capacity for taking significant damage. ARRMA succeeded in creating the ultimate basher pack-age and perfected the platform design to meet the demands of any basher. Arrma Kraton Vs. Arrma Talion cannot be defined by what they lack more by what they surpass compared to other trucks.