I agree, the stupidly large & heavy tires are not the best choice for offroading, even though they do look cool. I think the thing is though, if I wanted to build a lighweight racer or basher, I would have! lol. I like to think of this as more a show truck that gets driven, so performance isnt at the top of the list; that said, I do have some roadrages and velocity rims, and I will be picking up some bowties at some point, just to see what difference it makes. RCwaffle doesnt have a good reputation for a few reasons, one of which is because he bought a members truck a while back (to part it out and sell on like he does), but when he received it he parted it out and put the stuff up for sale in seperate auctions, and then claimed he got a 'defective truck'. Thankfully he got busted for that and hasnt tried any more crap since that I know of- he does have stuff that people need, so thats the only reason I would buy from him, if I had no other choice.
Nothing wrong with the HvMaxx, only the underpowered motors, but they do their job well. The new Venom system looks interesting, there are a few similar ones coming out soon so it shoyuld be interesting to have some other 4s esc choices besides the HvMaxx and MambaMax.
Anyway, fun-time:
First MMM in the UK (probably), tested by Kulangflow so I know it works.
6s A123 pack, homemade, complete with balancing taps. I will assemble the other in the coming day or two, then start thinking seriously about a motor.
The soldering looks aweful, I will admit, but it is infact completely sound and solid. I need to move a few connections to streamline the shape for shrink-wrapping, and I may beef up connections I made on the ends of the pack (use another piece of wire). The balance tabs only had 4" wires on them, so unless I extend them, I think I'll be sticking the tab out the side of the pack (through a slit in the shrinkwrap when its applied). That will be fine I reckon, and a little diffeent looking to having it stuck out of one end like normal...