REDCAT RACING’S GEN8 AXE ISN’T YOUR AVERAGE RTR
Text and Images by Kevin Hetmanski
Redcat Racing created quite a buzz when it introduced the designed in house Gen8 crawler and the first version released on the new platform was an International Scout. It was a great looking truck with all the bells and whistles that trail truck fans want. Redcat is a company that listens to their customers and eventually offered the Gen8 platform as a roller so you can add your own touches to their impressive and well priced platform.
Now, it’s time to talk about another Gen8 platform and this time around Redcat Racing is blowing minds. Again, they took user input and put something out there that has a bunch of minor design issues fixed and they threw in a sensored Hobbywing brushless system along with a very powerful Reef’s RC steering servo and you can buy it for a price that is considerably lower than what it would cost you to buy everything separately. Sounds good right? Let’s take a look at the AXE edition of the Gen8 from Redcat Racing.
ON THE BENCH
You can pull the Gen 8 AXE out of the box, charge it up and hit the trail right away but to get the full experience you need to add the included details. You get sticker sheets with various graphics and other details and I installed the ones for the interior but left the graphics off because I love the look of the all black body.
I also left off the spare tire and mount along with the mirrors. The tire and it’s mount adds weight up high and mirrors are the first thing to get wiped out by obstacles and that leaves ugly holes in the body. I like the look of bikini tops on full-size trucks and since it was included, it went on my AXE. When that work was done I had a great looking truck on my hands.
Reef’s RC Servo
The pinion gear on the motor meshes with a 32-pitch spur gear and inside the transmission and transfer case are beefy Mod 1 pitch steel gears.
Metal gear Transmission
Velcro mounted body
Low CG battery mount
ON THE TRAIL
I took the Gen8 AXE to my favorite trail spot and it got a lot of attention from passers by as I made my way to the fun stuff. Everyone loved the look of that well done scout body. The Hobbywing AXE speed control has a feel to it that you don’t get from most RTR trucks. Its smoothness is more like what you find in a comp worthy crawler.
Along the way I drove over several tree roots and other small obstacles and the Gen8 conformed to them very well. There’s a lot of body roll thanks to the light damping in the shocks and that added to the scale realism of the truck in those situations. Along the path is a rock that has a bit of a ramp shape to it so I sent the Gen8 sailing. I was able to get a reasonable amount of air under the truck and it soaked up the landing pretty well for a trail truck.
Once I made my way to the larger rocks along the trail it was time to get serious. The truck’s 61 degree approach angle shined when lining up against taller rocks. I didn’t encounter many issues where the truck was hung up and if something did grab onto the front bumper, it was quick to bump up and slide over until the tires took over and lifted the front end.
The truck’s 39.5 degree departure angle however caused a few hang ups but nothing that kept it from moving along. From time to time the light weight shock oil showed its ugly head and allowed the truck to tip a little easier than I would like to see in some sidehilling type encounters. That resulted in a few tips and scuffs on the body.
I can’t say enough nice things about how smooth the AXE speed control and motor combo is; they really shined in more complex areas along the trail. I was very happy with the stock settings on the speed control but decided to give the Hobbywing app a try and made some adjustments along the trail. Hobbywing did a great job here, the app is easy to navigate and use.
Linked suspension is used in the front and rear of the truck and the links themselves are made out of aluminum.