Traxxas Summit mini-review
 

(Note: I already posted this on TRX, but figured some of you might be interested here as well.)

I have run the new Summit through a couple sets of 8000 mAh lipos now, so I thought I'd share my thoughts thus far.

1) The Summit crawls much better than I anticipated. I have owned a very nice Super class comp crawler, and I currently own a comp AX-10 and MRC. I knew the Summit wouldn't be comp-worthy, but it does surprise me when it makes a line that I thought not possible. It is very top-heavy though with the Exo-cage, and that was it's biggest problem so far. Throwing a lower/lighter body on would make a big improvement.

2) First upgrade should be stiffer rear springs. As you'll see in my video, the rear squats so far that the diff is occasionally lower than knuckles and ends up dragging on the rocks.

3) Trick to locking/unlocking diffs: Stop the truck completely. Flip the switch. Go slowly forward and backward a couple of times until you hear the click. Done.

4) I love being able to drive between crawling spots. I have a lot of little crawling spots in my neighborhood that you'll see in my video. With my dedicated crawlers, I have to pick them up and carry them between crawling spots. I love being able to flip a switch and drive the Summit between spots.

5) I love being able to switch between crawling and hill-climbing at the flip of a switch. Very similar to #4. The hills/mountain across the street from my house are much steeper than they look in the video. The Summit's top speed is perfect for them because any faster and you end up flipping over. It is really cool to crawl, then hill-climb, then crawl again with one truck, one controller, and one set of batteries.

6) The lights are brighter than I anticipated. The videos I watched before using my Summit made the lights look dim and worthless. They put out much more light than I expected. They light up my basement very well. I'll need to try them outside in the dark for a better idea though.

Feel free to ask me any questions. I've had (still have) several vehicles to compare this to, and I'll give you my honest opinion/comparison.

My Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmUVgHpioAY

I had better music, but YouTube killed it so I did a quick audio-swap replacement.

Thanks to Leo for doing most of the filming and to my daughter who is a great driver for being only four years old.

Good times.

Very cool vid. Looks like a fun, "go everywhere" type of truck.

Looks like it does quite well. I like the best-of-all-worlds part; remotely locking diffs and switchable tranny on the fly is a nice feature. Yeah, the rear end is sitting low.

Any plans to make it brushless? I'd imagine you'd have to use a sensored setup to retain adequate crawling speeds, but the efficiency would be better. Either way, looks good!

nice video, nice write up. Thanks for the info, makes me want one more:yes:

You would be suprised how well an axi 2826/12 on 4s would do in this truck. My 6x6 maxx runs that motor and I have geared it low for crawling, and high for speed, and it works really well. The MM starts it up well, with either gearing. And it is good for about 900-1000 watts. A novak 7.5 would also be ok, if one had to have a sensored setup.

Great writeup. You just gave me an idea. I think I'm going to convert my revo conversion to a summit when traxxas makes the tranny and diffs available separately.

Nice review. :yes:

I like it and thanks for the review. It looks like it does what it was intended to do, be a go anywhere general fun type truck.

I would not be shocked to see some competition supers based off this setup. Obviously with many modifications though....

Someone has it already in progress. :-) (not me)

Thanks for the comments, guys.

I actually bought this truck for my brother in Montana. I'm just going to play with it for a few weeks before sending it to him. In exchange, I'm going to fix his E-maxx and sell it for him.

I'll definitely be buying my own Summit though, because this thing is really fun. I'm sure mine will end up brushless, possibly with an outrunner.

Seeing the video and your write-up make me want to sell my AX10 based crawler and buy one of these. I don't drive my crawler much at all since there really aren't any rocks near my house. This could be put to good use pulling my daughter around the house in a wagon or something.

cool vid.....

Nice video. I remember there were some nay sayers when it was announced but things look quite positive. It's on my wish list.

I may have said this before but nice bash area you got there.

Wow, looks like traxxas have a real hit on their hands with the Summit, highly capable truck.

Cool video! Cool truck! Nice Review.

Thanks for the nice comments! I am really enjoying this truck and its versatility. No problems at all so far.

I'm also very much enjoying my new house with the bashing/crawling areas so close.