CEN Racing 9514 GST-E Colossus RTR Monster Truck (1/8 Scale), Black

Technically I'd give this 4.5 stars due to some minor issues out of the box, but really for the rest of the quality it's a pretty awesome truck. I've had 30 plus years of RC products so this review does come with some perspective.I'll start with the negatives, as the positives far outweigh them:Out of the box I was missing one of the shock spacers (7/8 included). Not a big deal, as I ended up lowering the ride height anyway. After the initial run (including some small jumps on my launch ramp), I noticed that shock oil had leaked from two of the shocks. You could clearly see the oil collecting on the arms. When I went through all the shocks, several were very low and only two were completely full. As is expected the included transmitter is pretty cheap-feeling. It does give some adjustments (D/R, Trim, 3rd channel), but it just feels cheap to me. As far as looks go, the body did come a bit high for my tastes. Once I adjusted the body down, I had to shear off the excess body posts as they would catch on the ground when I flipped over. After about 5 runs, the chrome on the wheels started to peel off. It's just a thin coating.As to the positives, all the important stuff like speed, strength, handling, and adjustability are there.This truck is fast for it's size. No match for a 1/8 buggy/truggy, but for the size and weight, it's amazingly fast. I'd guess 35-40 mph on 4s 5000mah 40c. I wouldn't do anything more as it would be uncontrollable...For a monster truck the handling on this is very sharp. The improved Savox servo is plenty strong to turn the wheels. I've had to dial down the steering as it has an amazing steering angle, in fact too much for any speed. Tough as nails!! I have now run 10 packs through this monster and it has taken a serious beating. This is a jumping king! Great balance in the air and the shocks/oil are set up for serious compression with slow rebound. The huge tires give a great gyroscopic effect, so very nimble in the air. What goes up must come down, and I've had my fair share of nasty wrecks. Several times I was certain I was going to be replacing a hub or arm, but this thing just keeps on driving! I have yet to try this on track, but for getting around on rough terrain it handles amazingly. Almost capable of crawling (skid plates cause some issues with clearance), this is not just a go-fast, jumper. On rough terrain, where most of my friends buggies and truggies are bouncing and jolting around uncontrollably, this beast just sucks up the bumps/rocks. You will occasionally hit a bump at high speeds that sends this thing flying...but that's kinda the fun. For looks, this comes with many sticker options for 3 colors and two patterns. High quality stickers, too.As to adjustments, here's what I recommend:Oil the differentials...fine tuning is to your preference, but I went with 200 F/R and 300 Center. This gives noticeably less tire ballooning when taking off and helps with steering at high speed. I adjusted the front toe in to maybe 1 degree, and had to clean up some camber differences out of the box. I also put 25w shock oil in all 8 shocks. Other than that, I haven't had any bolts or nuts back off. I will probably get the Genesis tires/wheels to get better traction in dirt/clay, but the included wheels are pretty good for RTR.Overall:Despite some minor opportunities, this is really an amazing truck. You can feel the momentum of this thing as it's 20 lbs and closer to 1/7th scale than 1/8th. Compared to a 1/8 buggy, this is bigger. I have bashed the crap out of this thing and even felt comfortable letting my friends try it out (and of course wreck it). I have yet to break anything, but if I do parts are cheap and readily available through online dealers and E-bay (both US and Asia options). This IS a Monster Truck so it is top heavy, a tad unwieldy at top speed, goes pretty much anywhere, and is sometimes a bit intimidating to drive...and that's the point.

Okay, Okay, Okay, where do I start with this truck? First off lets say that this is a big beautiful tough very well put together truck. Tires are really on a 5th scale size along with 4" on ground clearance. Now for the in depth review:1. LOCTITE EVERY SINGLE SCREW THAT YOU CAN SEE OR GET TO ON THIS TRUCK (THERE IS ONLY LOCTITE ON 2-4 SCREWS FOR THIS ENTIRE KIT AND THEY DONT MATTER, IT IS NEEDED EVERYWHERE ON THIS KIT. IT SEEMS AS IF THEY PUT THE TRUCK TOGETHER VERY WELL FROM SCRATCH BUT NEVER BOTHERED TO LOCTITE (ANYTHING AT ALL). I HAVE HAD THE FRAME SCREWS, MOTOR MOUNT SCREWS, CHASIS SCREWS, AND THE WHEEL NUTS.2. I WILL TELL YOU THAT YOU LIKE I WILL GET USED TO YOUR TRUCK VERY QUICKLY AS THE OUTDRIVES ARE A MAJOR ISSUE WITH THE TRUCK AS THE 3RD DAY MY REAR OUTDRIVE SNAPPED IN TWO AND ONLY ON 4S AND THE PUNCH SET LOW TO 5. FIXED THE ISSUE BY REPLACING WITH A SPARE HPI OUTDRIVE AND HOLDING PIN, NO PROBLEMS SINCE THEY ARE TRIED AND TRUE AND WILL HOLD UP TO 6S POWER IF NEEDED.3. ESPECIALLY PUT LOCTITE ONTO THE DRIVESHAFT CUPS AND GRUB SCREWS AS I HAD THE CUPS ON THE FRONT AND REAR OF THE TRUCK LOOSEN UP ON MY FIRST AND SECOND RUN ERRGH! LOCTITED IT UP AND NO ISSUES SINCE EVEN WITH THE PUNCH SET TO 6.4. LOWERING THE BODY RIDE HEIGHT IS A MUST SINCE WHEN IT WHEELIES IT WILL DRAG THE BACK OF THE SHELL ABOVE THE BUMPER, AND ONCE YOU HAVE DONE THAT CUT THE EXCESS MOUNTING POST SO THAT THEY WILL NOT DRAG THE GROUND WHEN UPSIDE DOWN.5. I FOUND IT SO FUNNY HOW THIS TRUCK WILL FLIP OVER ON ITS BACK AND YOU CAN THROTTLE AND REVERSE BACK AND FORTH AND IT WILL GO BACK ON ITS WHEELS WHICH IS GREAT TO AVOID THE WALK OF SHAME, AND TRAXXAS CALLS THAT SELF RIGHTING AND CHARGES $300 MORE?6. VERY TOUGH AND DURABLE TRUCK AS THINGS TEND TO POP OFF AND CAN EASILY BE POPPED BACK ON AS OPPOSED TO BREAKING, AT TIMES KINDA TEDIOUS BUT NO MONEY LOST SO IM FINE WITH THAT.7. BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK FOR THE SIZE AND DURABILITY ONCE ALL OF THE KINKS ARE WORKED OUT THAT IS, BUT WHAT RTR DOESNT HAVE THERE OWN SET OF ISSUES RIGHT.8. 4S IS PERFECT AS THE RIDE HEIGHT IS HIGH AND IT WOULD GET A LITTLE TOO SQUIRLEY ON ANYTHING FASTER, AND IT TAKES JUMPS VERY VERY VERY WELL AS I HAVE HAD IT UP IN THE AIR ABOUT 10' AND LANDED ON WHEELS NO ISSUES FOR ABOUT A 8' DISTANCE WOW!9. BATTERY TRAY WILL FIT ALL BATTERIES AS I USE 2X 2S AND A SINGLE 4S, AND PROGRAMMING IS EASY THRU THE FAN PORT ON THE ESC WITH A PROGRAMMING CARD FROM HOBBYWING.10. GREAT TRUCK AND LOADS OF FUN, BUT BE AWARE YOU WILL HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO TAKE YOUR KIT APART AND WORK ON IT TO FIX IT OR SPEND A NICE LITTLE PIECE OF CHANGE GOING TO YOUR LOCAL HOBBY SHOP FOR HELP! HAPPY TRUCKING-BASHON

Out of the box this truck was a real headache. All 4 outdrivers were defective and broke on me every run causing hours of ripping the entire truck apart. CEN did send me new ones but didnt really seem to care about the 5 + hours of work they caused me but whatever. No locktite anywhere it should have been...so multiple times the truck stopped running and I had to go looking for the reason. Out of the box the motor polarity was reversed so it went 40+ mph in reverse and like 20 foward...so that was cool. After all these thing were taken care of I LOVE THIS TRUCK. Very durable. I bash it hard and have only broken 1 bearing carrier on the rear. Its amazing on any terrian..no need to buy sand tires i promise you...this truck with stock tires does better in sand than my stampede vxl with all 4 paddles. Tons of power.. Flys very well the air...easy to control...backflips great. VERY strong lexan body takes a beating. Transmitter is funky...especially with reverse...but mostly ok..alotta people seem to replace it. Shocks can be a hastle with leaking and caps blowing off with big jumps but are easy to fix and cheap to buy extra to have ready. Every rtr will have its issues...as long as you dont get defective parts like I did you will be amazed at its size power and great price compared to others like the savage..whichs has major issues outta the box.