Stock Slash 4×4 Chassis (Baseline Test)

Everyone got to drive the stock Slash 4×4 a few weeks ago, to get lap times and opinions. Here is the setup sheet for the stock truck we ran.

And the stock data sheet

The data sheet is something we came up with to measure various parts of the truck. We used 4 mini scales and actually measured weight distribution with our setups as well. Temperatures were also taken after various runs and recorded on this sheet. Here you will see the stock truck came in at 5.84lbs.

For this shootout, we are combining the opinions of the drivers with the actual performance (lap times) of the trucks on the track. Each driver filled out an opinion sheet after driving each of the trucks. There were 4 categories to be rated; Handling, Jumping Ability, Speed, and Durability. Ratings are on a scale of One to Five. One being Terrible, Five being Exceptional.

For “Handling”, we judged the truck’s general feel on the track, taking into consideration things like cornering, traction rolling, consistency, predictability, etc.

For “Jumping Ability”, we judged how the truck launched off the ramp. What was the attitude of the truck as it flew in the air? Did it fly straight, nose dive, etc… as well as how it took the landing.. did it bounce, did it bottom out, etc.

“Speed” was judged mostly by corner speed. How much speed could you maintain through the corner? How fast could you enter and exit turns? We also took into account top speed along the back straight. Since they all had the same motor and gearing, top speed should have been about equal.

When judging  “Durability”, we looked not only at the gauge of the parts used, but also took into consideration whether certain components failed during testing.

Here are some comments about the Stock Traxxas Slash 4×4, and how it fared.

Handling

“A lot of body roll. Traction rolling was a problem.”
“The truck tracked very well on the straightaway.”
“You had to be careful to make sure the truck was settled before getting into the throttle.”
“+1, what ^^ this guy said.”
“Responsiveness was slow, and it is impossible to “feel” the truck on the track.”

AVG Rating 2.75

Jumping Ability

“Jumped nose down, which lead to some very hard landings.”
“Handled the small jumps fine, but on the large jumps the truck tended to nose down.”
“When it nosed down it was almost impossible to get enough wheel speed to correct it.”
“Felt like I was jumping a UPS truck.”

AVG Rating 2.5

Speed

“Plenty of punch out of the corners, decent top speed”
“Had enough speed to keep up in the infield sections, could use a little more top end on the straights”
“VXL lacks the power to run a consistent line around the track, it is VERY hard to run the same lines as those with faster systems (i.e. you cannot do a double-double in the front quad section unless you backside the first double perfectly)”

AVG Rating 3

Durability

“Nothing broke while I was driving the truck”
“Durability is one thing the slash definitely has going for it. This thing built like a tank, unfortunately.. it also drives like one.”

AVG Rating 3.5

Time to get to the good stuff. How did the other trucks do when the going got tough? Turn to the next page to see the Shining Star Chassis (SSC).