I finally got finished testing the new DuraTrax Evader. I have the review finished, you can see it and some videos from the track testing on the main Team RCV site (http://teamrcv.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=44).

If you have any questions, let me know and I'll try and answer them.

[This message has been edited by hankster (edited 12-11-2001).]

How is it? Does it compare favorably with the T3 for a novice racer? My father-in-law is interested in getting one, and I haven't given him my opinion yet. He races novice at our track with my old RC10 Worlds Car (circa 1995). We'd love to get him one for Christmas, but I don't know how good they are constructed and how reliable the radio gear is. Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.

I don't have the review on-line, but you can look at the video to see how it ran. That track has not been run on or preped in over a month and was far from being race ready. IMHO, I'll be changing my recommendations from Traxxas Rustlers to the Evader.

While I didn't abuse it I found it solid, handled super out of the box (that video is bone box stock) and has a ton of value. The design is based heavily on Losi's XXT (even uses Losi wheels) with tons of adjustments if you are racing.

The radio, while it has a DuraTrax name on it, os actually made by Futaba. We all know the quality of Futaba radio gear. No, it's not high end, but it's a solid "sport" model.

While slightly over sprung for racing, it's just about right for backyard bashing.

What I didn't like was the chassis has more flex then I would like to see. The rear suspension/motor plate where it bolts to the chassis is plastic and I'd like to see that metal, but then those plastic parts have a 1 year warranty so it's a trade off.

I think I'll race mine this winter and next summer. It's seems capable enough to me with a few of the hop-ups DuraTrax offers. First would be lighter springs front and rear. Next would be the aluminum motor plate (hopefully that solves the above flex problem) and the front aluminum brace. Maybe a few more "eye candy" things.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the darned thing and it performs much better then Traxxas' Rustler.

I'm sure most hard core racer types consider Duratrax equipment inferior to Losi Associated and such. However I see them adding a much needed resource to our hobby, fresh blood. Now that we have two very capable entry level companies duking it out for the newbie business the cost of getting started is falling and content and quality are going up.

Our shop has the Evader on backorder. I hope Duratrax can get production up to speed by Christmas. I think we could sell a bunch of them.

I just bought an Evader ST as my first RC car. It is definately solid. Everyone I have talked to that is into RC says it is built extremely well for a beginner kit. I have ran it on a track once and through the neighborhood a few times. I would recomend it to anyone that is not ready to spend Nitro money.

I got a nice close look at the Evader over at Larry's Performance R/C's in Sterling Heights last Friday night. Looks good to me! there is some fairly significant differences between the Losi XXT and the evader, being a Losi man and running several different XXT's over time, the changes I saw were actually improvements over Losi's original design. The material it's made of looks different and it almost looks like an Associated Stealth tranny grafted on there. Is it Hank?

I didn't take the tranny apart, but if feels more like an AE tranny then a Losi.

See? I knew you would like it! Great truck at a bargain price.

Well, I had my first problem with the truck. I was at my local dirt track and I went over a double jump, while driving the track backwards , and I hit the piece of plywood that supports the side of the first jump. I broke the inside tie rod end on the right side. So, I replaced all the ends with RPM Neon Yellow ends. It makes the truck look even better. I would suggest anybody buying an Evader, also get a set of 90 degree bent Hood Pins the factory ones are hard to get a hold of, especially the one on the battery holder. So far I love the truck!

I was wondering does it say aney where in the instructions, About the lowest turn motor that the truck can handel? http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/smile.gif

It doesn't say, but the truck itself should be able to handle anything you can put in it... now, the question is... can YOU handle it... <g>

Cool thanks, http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/smile.gif my neighbor and I wanted to know.

just got a evader today... from what i c of it, time to sell my ft t3

TRX1,

I've had my Evader for a couple of weeks now. Stock tires are no good on loose sand over hard clay. I put a set of BowTie T's on the rear and a set of "The Edge" on the front. Also I have had problems with my servo saver. I have had 3 servo arms snap within 15 minutes of track time. Maybe It's just my luck, but thought I would give you a heads up. Overall I love http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/biggrin.gif the truck http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/biggrin.gif

well, deena finally got to run her new truck, and for her it seems to fast.. i think it runs ok. defently change thr rears for racing. it has ALOT of losi/AE design into it, sould be a strong contender in the fun truck class :-) will try putting my foams on it, see what happens.

found that AE rims and foams fit this cool truck...SO LET THE HOPUPS BEGIN! http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/smile.gif

The truck is made for Losi rims. While AE rims work, the offset of the rims is not exactly correct.

i just wonder what all will void the warrenty on this truck... want to run foams on it, but not sure if that would do it or not http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/confused.gif

I don't see how that would.

I have raced mine twice now. I have added a lot of stuff to it, its far from stock. If you want to see some of the things that can be done to it check out www.trick-parts.com/rob.htm (http://www.trick-parts.com/rob.htm) for some pics and information.

Nice looking truck Rob! Its good to see the truck is being supported with hop-ups. Is this your first truck? How does it drive compared to other trucks?

No its far from my first truck. I have been into r/c for 16 years now. It handles better than the XXT, and I like the fact that it has an associated tranny. That gives it the 2.40 ratio, which is a better ratio than the XXT trucks 2.61 in my opinion. Also the rear bumper is XXXT style, so you can't bend the motor plate as easy. Basically they took the best things from each design and copied it.

trick parts, what are those rear arms off of--it looks sweet

I heard the xx losi arms fit is that true? how about the tranny, will associated parts fit that? We were thinking about getting a evader but hobby stores around here don't carry them.

Every graphite piece you see on that truck is Losi. That truck is for sale as well. Rolling chassis, no electronics. Been raced once. I am too busy racing buggys. Make offer. You can e-mail me at rm20x@yahoo.com if intrested. It comes with all the hop ups shown along with all the stock parts that have never been ran. Again no electronics included.

I'm having a problem with my Evader, after turning either direction the wheels don't go back to center. They stay slightly off center whichever way you just turned. Is this a fact of RC? Is the servo just not that good? I hear alot of people saying they have replaced the steering servo. Do I have something too tight? Any help will be greatly appreciated, as always.

The true newbie...

Sounds like your servo is bad. I had a similar problem with my stampede. I replaced the stock servo with a metal gear, ball bearing servo from http://fmadirect.com (about $40) and have not had a problem since.

trick parts, what i meant was i xx or xxx arms and parts

XXT 'CR' parts.

Man Im glad I clicked on this thread,I have been thinkin about getting another offroad r/c,I was leaning towards the XXX4 Worlds, but then I seen what a SWEEEEET deal the Evaders is.If you take the Losi $300 another $120 for a good enough speed control,Plus $55 for a nice Mod.and a ok fm radio you would be spending alot of money and thats not what I call having fun.Now spending 170 for a rtr thats race worthy sounds fun.No matter how much I hate stadium trucks due to the lack of realism.I think running stock truck will be fun it seems everyone else has fun..

Sorry sold.

[This message has been edited by Trick Parts (edited 11-22-2001).]

what si the duratrax evaders run time with an 1800 battery pack. also, what is the speed of the car

Xtreme just did a review of it, they clocked it at 26mph. Run time depends on a lot of things.

your right about the foams.... guess ill have to get her a set of losi foams

I'm doing my first official 100% teardown of my evader. I am also changing out the brushes. The motor started acting funny today. It would not turn without a budge. The brushes are about half the size they should be. The truck anly has maybe 30 packs worth of runtime on it. Oh well as long as it runs when I get it back together... http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by SilverEvader (edited 11-25-2001).]

SilverEvader,

Be sure to clean your commutator with a comm pen as well. See your LHS if you are not sure what they are. 30 packs on these motors is a lot.

Its a good idea to clean the comm and bushes with a comm pen after each day of running or every 5 to 6 packs. Also a drop of oil on the bushings every other pack will keep them running longer.

For more info on motor maintenence see my web site article http://home.kc.rr.com/grayghost/tips/MotorMaintenance.html

the evader is in tower. the rtr with the radoi though. the prebuilt does not come in til january

I bought a Evader today and man is it slow!!I really thought it would be faster then what it is beings it has a 20turn in it??I like everything else but man is it slow.If I raced it in the stock truck class I would come in last for sure.Im sure if I went up a tooth or 2 it will be better but its about having fun now isnt it..

2nd, I'm thinking there is something wrong. Might be the ESC was not set properly. Follow the instructions the next time you turn it on to set it. The motor included should be about as fast as a good stock motor.

Hey guys, guess this is same forumn as nitrorc.com so well, ive been eyeballing either the kyosho gp ultima st sports rtr nitro, or the evader st...I've had top of the line nikko and radio shack (not bragging) but recently my RadioShack ThunderFox Buggy broke, was sitting for long time and started to use it, well it had its day because 1 year after they made it in 1992 they discontinued parts...and i was thinking bout running it a local track too=( lol, plz tell me which is better overall, the evader st or the kyosho ultima st sports w/.15 rtr...which is the most race ready? not even considering nitro-electric concept because they're both same price on tower with the ultimate combo...

Hi Hank I realized the ball diff was too loose.I thought at first that the noise was the slipper.This was with the first pack.I checked the wheel nuts and screws and let her rip.It is ok in the speed department but my B3 with a GM3 is still alot faster.Probably the final ratio.?

You qualified better than me with it at Washtenaw 2nd gear! I did manage to take 2nd though!

I saw a few Evaders out there yesterday, I believe the winner of our main was driving one. I think it could be a great truck! after all it does look an awful lot like a Losi XXT! LOL! http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/biggrin.gif

Hey Tom it was with stock electronics and a OLD pardadox.It needed to be trued BADLY.I sent it home with Carlos and hes taking care of it.

2nd, I ran mine in the test completely stock. My impressions were that the motor that is included is about the same speed as a well tuned stock motor.

As the motor gets broke in, it should be faster. Since it also ran about 7 minutes, it could used to be geared down some. I'll guess that the included motor should last longer between rebuilds then a hi-pro stick motor.

Hank,I love the Evader,Your review was awesome and helped me on my purchase.After our race on saturday I put in the stock motor (20 turn) and it had woke up big time!I like it but I run stock so it isnt an option.The ONLY complaint is the truck needs more steering.More sweep maybe.Or change of akerman Im going to experiment with it and try a different servo (605BB)and see how it does.Im newer to racing but I read alot of articles on anything to do with r/c so I think Im well informed.Just need to wait for experience to kick in LOL.I did real good with it the way it was all I did was change the camber settings and tweak the spring preloads a lil.

2nd, By adjusting the steering end point adjustment on the transmitter I was able to get full steering movement. To adjust it, turn the little round knob labeled D/R.

I haven't raced it on a high traction track, but it could be that the servo is just getting overpowered. I didn't notice it on the low traction test track I used so I can't say for sure.

Good to hear you are enjoying your Evader!

Hankster,The steering had a couple of things makinng it be poor.1-the servo.2-the set-up of the front end in general.I changed to 30wt. Losi in the front and changed up the shocks mounting and the upper links now it has tons!By the way anyone who said that the kit tires blow theyre nuts!I like them they are soft work real well.But they might run on a blue groove maybe??It was my first time racing a stadium and it was very fun to run it.I hope my changes can help someone else if I didnt explain what I did good enough e-mail me and I can send you a bigger response.Hank I also had the the end point adjustment to full.

[This message has been edited by 2nd Gear (edited 12-04-2001).]

My son just started racing this fall.He has a rustler and has done great he raced 3 times outdoor offroad, won everytime (4-5 in his age group) Last weekend he raced indoor dirt oval with some borowed foams and won the beginner class. Needless to say he's hooked. What i'm trying to get at is we we where impressed with an evader when we saw one race once, but would it be better to just spend the money and buy a matt francis? We really can't make up our minds. I know the evader is a big step up from a rustler.

2nd, As I noted in my review, the suspension is set up too "springy" for racing. Changing shock oil and springs will solve this as you found out. Keep us updated on how you do with it.

22, I wouldn't be so quick to upgrade. If he's winning and having fun, what more could you ask for?

What I would suggest that he get a dozen or two additional races under his belt, then think about moving up to the MF, T3 or Ultima. I'd skip the middle step of the Evader.

You have to remember that these trucks will break if abused too much. I'd much rather see someone just learning finish a race using a Rustler or Stampede then being a little bit faster and breaking every other race. They will have much more fun that way.