Traxxas just revealed a bunch of new products at the dealers-only NRHSA show in Las Vegas, and now the gear is officially announced at Traxxas.com.
The Crainiac and Skully trucks are hard to miss, and are easily the wildest-looking trucks to ever wear a Traxxas logo. Each will be offered in two color schemes (blue and green for the skull-faced Skully, red and “bone” for the Crainiac). Underneath the creature-feature bodywork is the tried and true Stampede platform with Titan 550 power, rolling on chevron tires and beadlock-styled wheels. The Crainiac design gets a blacked-out chassis with red springs, while the Skully trucks wear color-matched plastic parts and springs to go with their bodies. Expect pricing to be about $10 more than the Stampede.
On the electronics front, Traxxas has expanded the iD battery and charger line to include the EZ-Peak Dual, a 100 watt charger that can juice up two packs simultaneously with all the convenience and safety of the iD system (nutshell: iD automatically recognizes the battery type and size, and sets charging parameters for no-think, one-button charging). The EZ-Peak Dual pumps 4 amps when charging two packs at once, or up to 8 amps for single-battery charging. When charging two packs, each battery is independent from the other. You can (for example) charge a 1200mAh NiMH along side a 7600mAh LiPo with the correct settings required for each, and start and stop each pack separately–it’s just like having two chargers. It doesn’t cost as much as two chargers though; the “minimum advertised price” is $99.95.
Traxxas’ other big news is “TSM,” or Traxxas Stability Management. As you can easily guess from its name, TSM is an electronic driving aid that makes it easier to control vehicles in high power/low traction conditions. The system is set to debut on the Slash 4X4 On-Board Audio and Slash VXL models, and Traxxas wants you to know what TSM doesn’t do as much as what it does do. TSM is not any form of traction control, and will not limit throttle in any way. Nor will TSM limit your steering throw. What TSM does do is give a more “connected” feel in conditions that would otherwise make it hard to maintain control, without compromising the tire-spinning, tail-out driving style we associate with high-powered cars and trucks. The amount of TSM assistance is controlled via the transmitter’s Multi-Function Knob, and turning the knob full left will shut off TSM. And, TSM doesn’t cost any extra; there’s no change in price for the Slash 4X4 OBA and Slash VXL that now include TSM.
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