Impulse 31 v2 or Traxxas spartan

[kylecampbell2058]

I am buying a new boat and will be running it on a pretty large lake with a lot of action. I have read enough that i want a v-hull and have narrowed it down to these two boats. Does anyone have the pros and cons of these boats? I have lots of experience in rc cars and trucks but just starting in boats.

[tlandauer]

Welcome Kyle,
In a lake with lots of action your choice of a V-hull is a sound one. As a heads up, the Spartan has received alot of negative feedback here at the Forum, you should spend sometime reading them, I don't like to give comments on something that I don't own, but here is the truth: Back when I first saw the Spartan, I liked the size and the deep V, I know it can handle some chops. But one day I was running an UL-1 and a guy showed up with a new Spartan, I was surprised at how it felt and looked "in person". I prefer Fibre Glass Hull, that the Spartan is not, plastic is very flexible, not my cup of tea. He had only run it a few times and already smoked the ESC, was on his warrantied second ESC, of course that was V1 of the Spartan. I decided then and there that it is not for me. Current V2 has a CC Engineered ESC.
A few members here modified their Spartan so it runs reliably, but in my opinion this is not for a first time buyer. I know you have alot of experiences with RC, just be aware of these issues.
I have a Pursuit instead, it is shorter , about 4" shorter than the Spartan. I 've been happy with the boat. https://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...suit-Mono-kits.
Have you also looked into the Aqua Craft Revolt 30 besides the Impulse 31?
You will get many helpful suggestions , hope you will find the boat you like and for the enviroment you will be running in.
Cheers!
Here is my Pursuit running in a lake somewhere in Idaho, next to a boat launching ramp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOGsqg8mdCM As you can see, the boat is running wet (front heavy) because I wanted to make sure the boat would run more stable in that wind and the occasional wave.

[stadiumyamaha]

I have all four mentioned and have to say the pursuit is my favorite. Especially for rough water.
The spartan isn't as bad as people say as long as you realized its limitations. Taping the lid in suck though.
The impulse is a fun boat but is more suited to smooth water and also likes to stuff in the rough stuff and sometimes on glass.
The revolt is cool and fun to drive, fast and only needs one 4s 5000mah to run a long time stock. Iffy for really rough stuff but its light and won't crack up on you because of its lightness.
I'd go with one of ose or kintec pursuit's for your application.
Here's mine. It was pretty rough that day.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c_0Nw_g5PDo

[kylecampbell2058]

I did look a the revolt a little. The paint is what really caught my eye on the impulse. I did not see the Pursuit untuill you just mentioned it. I am going to have to consider that one. I really like it. Would i save money buying them as a kit over rtr? I am looking to beat my brother with his new spartan this spring. He is also new to the rc boating world.

[tlandauer]

OSE here calls it "kit" but from what I gathered by reading in the "FOR SALE" section, it is practically a RTR, Steven has up-graded the cable to a one piece.
Stadiumyamaha also mentioned www.kintecracing.com, they have what is called "PURSUIT UPGRADE" also RTR, I don't remeber if you need to provide your own radio, but they have the motor and the ESC.
Take a look at the Kintec and OSE version, from the rear they are not the same, Kintec uses a stinger where as OSE has a strut. The KV rating is the same at 2200kv, you need to know if Kintec is 4082 sized tho. I believe OSE uses 4082 Leopard.
Note that at 2200kv, the set up is for 4s, if your brother uses cell count higer than 4s, the Spartan may hold an edge over your speed.

[bikergreen]

I have a Spartan, and it is great for what I bought it for: Ocean bashing. I ran it with the stock electronics for a summer and never smoked anything, had it running at 77km/h the first weekend completely stock. It runs well with a metal prop but nothing with more pitch then stock. As soon as you prop up the ESC will get to hot and cut power. I have since upgraded to a T180 and 4082 1600KV and it runs really cool no matter what prop I put on it. I quite like it for running in the ocean as I am not trying for high speeds. I have even run it across a bay of open water along side a boat I was in and it was choppy! That was fun, My second recommendation would be the Kintec Pursuit also, if I had seen that first I would have bought it over the spartan probably.

I did flip it on the first weekend and the top came off in the air, and it filled with salt water. It was fine but after that I re-enforced the hatch so it can't flex and come off but I also tape it. Tape is a must.

[tlandauer]

yup. Kintec uses Leopard 4074, 2200kv, Ose uses Leopard 4082, 2200kv. The latter is a longer motor which is really a 4s2p set up, (mine is like that). I think the amp draw is higher and therefore the parallel set up helps runtime and is less taxing on the battery. In truth, the 4074 is just as good, and you can use a single 4s , perhaps.

[tlandauer]

@ Bikergreen, you got me intrigued, how many cells do you run now with your present set up? I have been looking for an ocean basher myself but don't want to spend the money to buy a rtr, I did think of buying a hull and use their hardware, but may turnout to be more expensive.
Only reason is I like the siWonder if those bare hulls are pre drilled and ready to accept hardware? Sorry, don't mean to hyjack, just thinking out loud.

[kylecampbell2058]

Not a problem, love to read and learn. I am trying to buy Mark in MN's revolt 30. Looks like a great deal and can always upgrade electronics. Waiting for response.

[bob_t]

After opening up the box on my new Impulse 31 (V1), today, I wished I would have just purchased a 2nd Revolt 30 when TowerHobby had them on sale ..... Looks like I'll be calling Horizon on Monday. I was just amazed that someone at the factory, where ever it was "assembled", could put it in the box with the motor so poorly aligned. Thought it would be simple to just loosen the two screws and re-align it, but I think there must have been glue on the threads through the inserts in the wood (or maybe some really good loctite?). The heads were mostly destroyed trying to get the screws loose. The flexshaft also has a permanent "kink" in it, too. Here is a picture of how poorly the motor was aligned "right out of the box". I like Pro Boat (I have 3 other fiberglass hull ProBoats), but this one has me scratching my head. Here is a photo of what it looked like.

P2230078.jpg P2230084.jpg

[tlandauer]

Man, that sux, hope you can get refund or replacement. sorry to see that!

[kylecampbell2058]

Just bought revolt 30. Thanks guys for all the help with my decision..

[bikergreen]

@ Bikergreen, you got me intrigued, how many cells do you run now with your present set up? I have been looking for an ocean basher myself but don't want to spend the money to buy a rtr, I did think of buying a hull and use their hardware, but may turnout to be more expensive.
Only reason is I like the siWonder if those bare hulls are pre drilled and ready to accept hardware? Sorry, don't mean to hyjack, just thinking out loud.

The hulls have specific locations for hardware to screw into on the inside of the transom, which makes it hard to install anything other then the stock hardware. At least the RTR comes with lipo's now, but it would be nice to be able to buy one without batteries and radio. For ocean use its great with the system they have which allows you to pull all the electronic, and stuffing tube out of the hull to clean and service. I think you could buy hull and hardware and the electronics mount for a decent price. I have some extra hardware.

[bikergreen]

Good call on the revolt, I still want one actually. The stock electronics are pretty good, maybe upgrade the ESC down the road but the motors are good.

[kylecampbell2058]

I plan on upgrading the esc to a turnigy or hobbywing 180a so i can run 6s. Probably have to go with a lower kv motor to though.

[lenny]

That a lot 6s in that narrow hull,
Hear a good cheap motor for a up grade for it. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s..._Inrunner.html
There is a video on hear in a geico that my buddy has setup for 6s and a 130A HV ESC.
I could post hear if you want me to.

[kylecampbell2058]

That a lot 6s in that narrow hull,
Hear a good cheap motor for a up grade for it. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s..._Inrunner.html
There is a video on hear in a geico that my buddy has setup for 6s and a 130A HV ESC.
I could post hear if you want me to.

Do you know the speed i would get out of the revolt. What is the difference between inrunner and outrunner brushless motors and will both work in my boat?

[lenny]

Not sure of speeds it is all about the setup you run and how you tweak it,
Hears a outrunner, And the out side can spins on these and they have a lot of torque to them.

[Bduncan]

I have a spartan and a revolt. Both with some mods. I like my revolt much more. Here is my revolt 5s, stock motor, 42 55 grim prop with turnigy 180esc. Going to test with 45 68 tomorrow.
http://db.tt/qh41SaEx

[Bduncan]

I have revolt stock motor 180 esc grim racer 42 55 prop. This is video on 5s max amps 5450 mah 120c. Almost too fast for what hull can handle. Doubt you will be able to use power of 6s. Try 5 s first
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fnh90v5wuu...303_170852.mp4

[kylecampbell2058]

I have revolt stock motor 180 esc grim racer 42 55 prop. This is video on 5s max amps 5450 mah 120c. Almost too fast for what hull can handle. Doubt you will be able to use power of 6s. Try 5 s first
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fnh90v5wuu...303_170852.mp4

Thanks for the videos, i wish i could run mine right now. It is a warm temp of 27 degrees.

[Finest Racing]

I see that the thread has been quiet for awhile. I would like to add my experience with the Spartan and Revolt 30. I like both very much. Both are stock except for a prop on the Revolt. I run both on a huge lake in central NJ. The Spartan is much faster and can handle rough water a little better then the Revolt - the Revolt handles well and has decent speed for the price. With more time with fine tuning, I am sure I will get the Spartan to handle as well as the Revolt. I recently purchased a Garmin Forerunner 101 to capture the top speed of each boat. In two days I will know if the speed claimed by Traxxas is true of the speed they claim.

[Bduncan]

I doubt a spartan could be set up to handle like a revolt

[Bduncan]

Traxxas speed claims for a lot of vehicles are based on 1 or 2
Runs.

[Finest Racing]

Traxxas speed claims for a lot of vehicles are based on 1 or 2
Runs.

I will find out tomorrow, I should get it on video. We will run them both at the same time.

[Finest Racing]

Just like any other boat out there. You have people that will love it and hate it. Also, you need to fine tune to get peak performance.

[Bduncan]

Hatch locks are a must on a revolt.

[Finest Racing]

We hit 58mph in the Spartan today. I know there is still more in it. The only mod was a X442 prop. Using Traxxas Lipo 5000 batteries.
The batteries could have been further back and the water was a little choppy. My goal is to hit 60mph and it will be all worth it. The picture of the GPS will be up soon. Congrats to my 7 year old Robbie for the new mph.

[Finest Racing]

My son drove circles around the Revolt today. The Revolt with a X442 prop hit 41mph today. It was more smooth then the Spartan but the Spartan was able to handle the turns better. This Sunday we will have a group going to the lake with many different boats and many have mods. I will also be fine tuning he Spartan to hit the 60mph goal. I think that will the max speed for it. I am sure there will be a few video cameras to capture the runs.

[Bduncan]

That's ludicrous. My revolt can do a 180 full throttle.