Thermal Issues with the New Traxxas Spartan

[martin]

The problem is theirs going to be a lot of unsuspecting buyers of this boat who unless they look at forums like this & read whats going on with this boat in real running conditions their still going to buy one. Any off us can put 6s in our boats that are only built for 4s & do 50mph but not for long before some one says i can smell burning. Save your money & buy a proper tried & tested boat like the Aquacraft Motley Crew when it comes out. Thanks Martin.

[martin]

It probably is a cheap motor in as much as its design & materials but its certainly not cheap the price their asking for a spare motor & esc. Not that you would buy one as a replacment, Ive seen the prices of these parts & couldnt believe how much they want for them. Thanks Martin.

[Make-a-Wake]

Trust me here, the lack of lube on the flex from the factory isnt the reason for the overheating. Lube will not prevent driveline binding in a new stuffing tube with a new flex. Obviously you want to pull the flex and lube it up before maiden runs. (should be done from the factory) The cooling jacket. Also not the problem. A better jacket isn't going to cure the problem. It is a cheap 2 ole motor that is too small and has too much kv for a rtr boat to run 6s reliably. Traxxas needs to recall these boats and offer a different motor free of charge. Good luck with that.

Also, who in the hell gave this plastic un-proven turd boat of the year? Seriously, I don't know who it was but we should flood them with e-mails.
Lastly, who wants to spend 400 bucks on a plastic boat that they know they will have to upgrade just to run properly? Get a real hull. With real hardware. Everything about this boat just looks so damn cheap.

I stayed out of all the hoopla over the Spartan thankfully, never got my blood boiling at all...........it is what it is.......which is basically what Rum said above, i applaud him for his honesty, seems as if someone had to finally say hey, this thing isnt all that great. I built my 39" fiberglass mono for basically the same $$........and it actually goes 55 and rock solid.......with motor temps in the 70's

Hull $105
1717 motor $70
ESC T180a $77
Hardware $100
Servo/servo mount - $45
Motor mount - custom self made
_____________________
Total $397

Had my own radio, and you have to buy lipos with the spartan as well too.

The Spartan needs a 4082 Leopard on 6s.

[GeoVW72]

Also, who in the hell gave this plastic un-proven turd boat of the year? Seriously, I don't know who it was but we should flood them with e-mails.
Lastly, who wants to spend 400 bucks on a plastic boat that they know they will have to upgrade just to run properly? Get a real hull. With real hardware. Everything about this boat just looks so damn cheap.

That was radio control car action, same people that said the 4-tech 3.3 was the nitro on road car of the year. Traxxas put out the call on their front page, linking to the vote site and the lemmings followed it. That and enough $$$$$ can sway the mag anywhere.

I'm sure the traxxas car fanboys will buy it no problem, what do they know about boats, it says on the box that it goes fast

[H2OCamel]

I bought my carbon fiber oval master 29" with a 8XL and a Hacker navy 77 powered by 12 3300mAh nimh batts with a hitec radio for $400 ready to run wich does 48mph and will out turn out run this Traxxas, that being said it is not a ready to run and was built by and expert builder and racer. I like traxas car and truck products haven't liked any of their boats so far and they tend to over hype their specs praying on the uniformed. I still belive that buyer beware applies and do your research before you buy. It looks cool but I have tried to fix other Traxxas boats for friends and they just aren't designed very well or upgradeable.
just my 2 cents

[martin]

I would of thought if Aquacraft or Proboat had any serious problems like this with any of their boats they would have responded to issues & at leased spoken out about trying to resolve any problems but where are Traxxas. I was seriously looking at getting a Spartan along with many others i suspect with all the hype that surrounded them but not any more even if they do resolve any problems ive lost interest in this boat. Thanks Martin

[millzee]

thanks for all your responces, It's given me lots to think about, one thing that is for sure, I recon I'll have more fun tinkering with a boat that I'll be able do do more with myself, the idea of building something up is looking much better.
I love the look of that black 39", thats a boat I could see myself with.

[Brushless55]

Trust me here, the lack of lube on the flex from the factory isnt the reason for the overheating. Lube will not prevent driveline binding in a new stuffing tube with a new flex. Obviously you want to pull the flex and lube it up before maiden runs. (should be done from the factory) The cooling jacket. Also not the problem. A better jacket isn't going to cure the problem. It is a cheap 2 ole motor that is too small and has too much kv for a rtr boat to run 6s reliably. Traxxas needs to recall these boats and offer a different motor free of charge. Good luck with that.

Also, who in the hell gave this plastic un-proven turd boat of the year? Seriously, I don't know who it was but we should flood them with e-mails.Lastly, who wants to spend 400 bucks on a plastic boat that they know they will have to upgrade just to run properly? Get a real hull. With real hardware. Everything about this boat just looks so damn cheap.

100%

[Make-a-Wake]

Bottom line here is this.....................thousands of Spartans have been sold and ran hard on 6s...............where are the 50+mph gps youtube vids..........if someone hit it, they would be proudly posting their vid...............


EDIT: found one!! 65 mph!!........................NOT

[Rumdog]

too funny. Cant wait to see all the newbie know it alls.

[GP73]

Be nice to them, it's not their fault...

We all have to learn.

(unless they are jerks of course... )

[Darin Jordan]

Also, who in the hell gave this plastic un-proven turd boat of the year? Seriously, I don't know who it was but we should flood them with e-mails.

Hahahahaha.... I didn't realize that this had happened...

I'm suddenly feeling VERY slighted...




Hahahahahahahahaha..... Well... Maybe next year...

[pyroM!KE]

Traxxas probably paid the magazine company to be boat of the year..

The MG should have took it hands down!

[GeoVW72]

I would of thought if Aquacraft or Proboat had any serious problems like this with any of their boats they would have responded to issues & at leased spoken out about trying to resolve any problems but where are Traxxas. I was seriously looking at getting a Spartan along with many others i suspect with all the hype that surrounded them but not any more even if they do resolve any problems ive lost interest in this boat. Thanks Martin

Proboat fixed the reverse rotation flex issue on the miss geico rather quickly, they didn't have the correct cables immediately, but they acknowledged the issue within a week.

[martin]

Exactally, Everyone gets teething problems with new products but the issue Traxxas has i think is more than a teething problem especially for anyone that has already bought a Spartan. How on earth did they not come across the heat problems when they were doing R&D on this boat. Like i said get a Aquacraft or Proboat & youll get a company that knows what their doing & stands behind their products & generally gets them right or at least talks to people if they do have a problem which is normally quite small issues to which they resolve very well. Thanks Martin.