Now lets upgrade some more stuff on the Spartan

[Brushless55]

This boat was said to do 50mph+ out of the box on 6s
and it can't!

isn't this called false advertisement?

[dag-nabit]

isn't this called false advertisement?

Misleading at the very least.

I'm not sticking up for Traxxas, nor am I saying their hype and claims aren't over stated, but in reality this is nothing new in the marketing world.

Watch any Ford/Dodge/GMC pick up truck ad on TV and they all claim to be the toughest, most reliable, longest lasting pick up on the market, all the while showing video footage of them bouncing over boulders, rooting through mud with the tires spinning and throwing mud every which way, and then jumping the front end 2 feet in the air coming out of a ditch at the construction site. Yeah, you can do that a few times, but drive your truck like that on a daily basis and you will soon find out out how tough, reliable, and long lasting it is.

Or those commercials for those "certain" products for the ladies that show them swimming in the tropics, and riding horseback down the beach with big happy smiles on their face. Don't know about you fellas, but it don't work like that in my house. (well; maybe it would if I sent the ladies on a tropical vacation once a month, but they don't tell you that on the box)

Yes, it's wrong that Traxxas (and other companies) attempt to mislead us into believing their products will perform beyond what they are actually designed/intended to do, but it certainly isn't a new tactic.

It seems like everything about the Spartan has been a let down, but I'm thinking I can still have fun with my kids with a mid 40's 36" boat, as long as I can keep it from overheating without too much expense, and, if it proves to be reliable in the long run (which is debatable at this point, I know).

Kevin

[JPriami]

Ok the ice needs to melt so I can go run again. its been almost a week. Got my new props to try. I need to sell these z06 motorsport wheels so i can buy some more lipos too lol.and maybe another catamaran

[martin]

Ive got a 41" deep v Osprey hull which is one of the various DF knock off type hulls around & was looking at putting the same motor & esc into it as you have in the Spartan. Some recommend going to the Leopard 5692 in this size hull to get around 60mph but thats mega expensive with motor a 240hv esc + big mods to custom mounts & much bigger shaft & strengthening the hull bottom. Id be happy with high 40s in this hull that would be at much reduced cost & considerably less work useing the 4082 motor & t180 esc on 6s but not sure if this set up would be good in this hull. Thanks Martin.

[Hooligan]

Misleading at the very least.

Watch any Ford/Dodge/GMC pick up truck ad on TV and they all claim to be the toughest, most reliable, longest lasting pick up on the market, all the while showing video footage of them bouncing over boulders, rooting through mud with the tires spinning and throwing mud every which way, and then jumping the front end 2 feet in the air coming out of a ditch at the construction site. Yeah, you can do that a few times, but drive your truck like that on a daily basis and you will soon find out out how tough, reliable, and long lasting it is.

Kevin

Nicely said....

[Make-a-Wake]

Ive got a 41" deep v Osprey hull which is one of the various DF knock off type hulls around & was looking at putting the same motor & esc into it as you have in the Spartan. Some recommend going to the Leopard 5692 in this size hull to get around 60mph but thats mega expensive with motor a 240hv esc + big mods to custom mounts & much bigger shaft & strengthening the hull bottom. Id be happy with high 40s in this hull that would be at much reduced cost & considerably less work useing the 4082 motor & t180 esc on 6s but not sure if this set up would be good in this hull. Thanks Martin.

I bet you'd be suprised what that 4082 can do.................I'd throw an X445 on and watch her rip.......................................to about 45 or so.

[Brushless55]

Misleading at the very least.


Kevin

no one claims to have a speed but Traxxas and no one can get to the said speed of 50mph
it's an outright lie
I think something should be said about this bogus claim

[Diesel6401]

Traxxas prob hit 50, they just burned up a whole lot of motors doing it

[Brushless55]

Traxxas prob hit 50, they just burned up a whole lot of motors doing it

I'm thinking they did it running it down hill!

[TazMotorsports]

pretty close

Ran the Spartan today with the gps and it showed 48.7. Pretty close to 50 and its all stock. Lets see if I can get a better prop and hit the magic 50 number. Heading to Daytona later today to watch some racing. Might be next week sometime.

[dag-nabit]

no one claims to have a speed but Traxxas and no one can get to the said speed of 50mph
it's an outright lie
I think something should be said about this bogus claim

True, but I was just illustrating the general concept that most products are marketed with exaggerated/accentuated claims as to how wonderful they are.

We don't know that Traxxas hasn't successfully achieved 50MPH with the Spartan during development and testing with the out of box components installed. With a perfectly dialed in set up, perfect water and wind conditions, high quality packs, etc. it may well have been accomplished.

EPA fuel economy ratings on vehicles is a similar concept. Take a vehicle that has been thoroughly inspected and dialed in by a team of mechanics and engineers, on a flat test track with a perfect road surface, no wind, correct tire pressures, at a steady optimum speed, etc, etc, and vehicle manufactures can achieve their claimed fuel economy ratings. In the real world, we never see those claimed fuel economy numbers, but they still post them on the window stickers and brag about them on TV commercials.

Different set of circumstances, same basic concept.

I'm more concerned with the reports of torched ESC's and overheated motors. I can live with 45-48mph instead of 50mph out of the box, if the Spartan can prove itself as reliable.

Time will tell if failed components affect only a small percentage of these boats, or if the Spartan is destined to be a lemon.

Just my opinion.

Kevin

[Brushless55]

True, but I was just illustrating the general concept that most products are marketed with exaggerated/accentuated claims as to how wonderful they are.

We don't know that Traxxas hasn't successfully achieved 50MPH with the Spartan during development and testing with the out of box components installed. With a perfectly dialed in set up, perfect water and wind conditions, high quality packs, etc. it may well have been accomplished.

EPA fuel economy ratings on vehicles is a similar concept. Take a vehicle that has been thoroughly inspected and dialed in by a team of mechanics and engineers, on a flat test track with a perfect road surface, no wind, correct tire pressures, at a steady optimum speed, etc, etc, and vehicle manufactures can achieve their claimed fuel economy ratings. In the real world, we never see those claimed fuel economy numbers, but they still post them on the window stickers and brag about them on TV commercials.

Different set of circumstances, same basic concept.

I'm more concerned with the reports of torched ESC's and overheated motors. I can live with 45-48mph instead of 50mph out of the box, if the Spartan can prove itself as reliable.

Time will tell if failed components affect only a small percentage of these boats, or if the Spartan is destined to be a lemon.

Just my opinion.

Kevin

not the same thing bro
if Traxxas says it does low 50's (50mph+), we should be seeing 51-54mph on 6s no matter what.. stock prop on 2 3s packs

and your epa comments...
EPA regulations are a lot defferent today even over the past 5-7 years
they take the cars and trucks and run them on computers and take them out in the real world with real conditions!
they don't run with a tail wind and tires over inflated to get more mpg that you and I would get in the real world
not a concept but factual data

just would be nice if they didn't have the lame claims and had good stuff like AQ and PB

[JPriami]

Bored bored bored. Waiting for the sun to warm it up out there. Decided to start looking at the boat as I do my helicopters. And factor in balance. I made a level spot to set the V part of the hull on. Put a bubble level on the hulls flat spots . Then placed the batteries and stuff in. And I've noticed the right side is a little heavier. Prob the rudder. Then experimented with placement of packs laying flat and on their side along with and without gps. Found some good base spots that make the hull evenly balanced as a new starting point for weight placement. Aparently it' been a bit out of balance this whole time.

[Darin Jordan]

Found some good base spots that make the hull evenly balanced as a new starting point for weight placement. Aparently it' been a bit out of balance this whole time.

Generally speaking... Monos tend to do a little better with a tad bit of weight offset to the LEFT... Helps to counter prop torque, and the drag/weight of the hardware on the right...

[JPriami]

Thanks. I was thinking that would help. I was just suprised that where i thought it would be evenly balanced it wasn't. And where i had it balanced for more weight on the left it was really just about balanced even.