If you’re thinking about buying the Arrma Kraton 8s, you’re actually about to get one of the most expensive Arrma RC cars. Still, it is worth that price?
Since you’re here reading this article, you’re an Arrma RC cars fan and you’re interested to know more about the Arrma Kraton 8s. And I think you’re on the right way!
Arrma RC cars are indeed all great, but there is something in the Arrma Kraton 8s that feels different. Isn’t it?
Something that tells you that you can do with it everything you can do including going out on the highway with really big cars like this guy in the video below…
This is why in this article, I will show you everything you need about the Arrma Kraton 8s to make a wise purchase decision.
So is it worth it? Should you choose other Arrma RC cars over this one like the Felony or the new Infraction?
This is what we will see in the next few lines…
Before Starting…
When shopping for an Arrma Kraton, you’ll find different types. There is the 8s and the 6s type that is well known. We will talk more about their difference.
And there is the normal Arrma Kraton and the BLX version which we have in our topic today.
How do distinguish between them?
Easy, the normal Kraton comes with an additional bumper in the front. The BLX on the other hand doesn’t have that bumper.
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Arrma Kraton 8s Design
Arrma Kraton 8s Body
When it comes to design, all Arrma RC cars are attractive. But, as soon as you see the Arrma Kraton 8s, I’m sure you’ll fall in love immediately. You know right away that there is something special about this RC car which is high performance!
If you buy the Arrma Kraton 6s, you’ll see that its size is a little big which is 1/8. However, if you get the Arrma Kraton 8s, it’s so huge! It is a 1/5 scale.
The wheels are so big that they have almost the same level as the body, this is a good idea to protect the body using the wheels, also, it’s hard for this RC car to be flipped over. It has a big handling ability.
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The front
When it comes to the Arrma Kraton 8s front body, the first thing that will grab your attention is the headlights. Well, indeed, the headlights aren’t real. But, they look amazing.
There is also a grill with the Arrma Logo and the name of the Kraton on it.
Other than that, the graphics are just amazing with great colors. By the way, the Arrma Kraton 8s come in two colors, Green and orange.
On the other hand, the 6s version comes in Red and Blue.
On the front hood, you’ll see two big clips while on top, the Arrma Kraton 8s comes with two long skids to protect the body in case of flipping over.
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The rear
When it comes to the rear, I’m gonna be honest here. This is one of the coolest rear ends I’ve ever seen in a real RC car.
If you’re familiar with formula 1 cars, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Well, this is what I recalled, a formula 1 back end, what about you? Tell me in the comments below.
The rear big wing is the first thing that will grab your attention. That wing is a double wing, it is designed specifically to add more downforce to the Arrma Kraton when going at high speeds.
Under the massive wing resides the beauty of this RC car. You can see all the different parts of the suspension system that is well designed which is so cool.
As you know, the shape of the body of the Arrma Kraton 8s is a pickup. So, the rear body clips were added in the rear of the Kraton right above the wheels.
Thanks to the dark color of the body, they don’t appear to ruin the great view from the top.
Here is a great small detail that you may not pay attention to…
On the sides, there is that little black hole drawn down there. These are the exhausts that have a rectangular shape.
The cool thing is that black thing linked to them, it’s the carbon of the smoke coming out. Great detail, right?
The Arrma Kraton 6s and 8s have almost the same design. Some details are missing in the 6s version though. The skids on the top aren’t there for the Arrma Kraton 6s. Also, the clips’ quality and design aren’t the same.
The quality of the clips in the Arrma Kraton 8s is way better and safer than the 6s version.
Other than that, everything concerning the body is pretty much the same including the double big wing that you can’t ignore when looking at this RC car.
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Arrma Kraton 8s Chassis
To get access to those internal magical parts that make the Arrma Kraton 8s so powerful, all you need to do is take off those 4 clips, and there you go…
If you’re familiar with Arrma RC cars, you’ll notice once you remove the body that the Arrma Kraton 8s got three aluminum bars which are something that you can’t see either in the Infraction or the Felony, even the 6s version.
Two bars are crossed like an X and linked in the center while the third big one is passing directly from the front to the back of the chassis.
The chassis itself is built-in aluminum 7075 and it is more than 4 mm thick. This is just the beginning just to know how strong and reliable this RC beast is!
Even the bottom of the metal chassis has skids all over the place to give you that extra protection and rigidity against the ground.
Still, if you go super extra with this RC car, you may bend the chassis, this is why you better get a radical RC bash bar that supports the chassis base from the bottom.
This doesn’t mean that it will bend to you just because it did for me or someone else, after all, it’s built-in Aluminum 7075 that is super solid. But, as a measure of security, you better add that bar. So, you don’t have to worry about it!
If I would rate the chassis’s rigidity on a scale from 1 to 10, I would choose 10. What about you? Would you choose the same?
Other than that, the parts of the Arrma Kraton 8s are the same as any other Arma RC car. This includes a powerful motor, a great ESC, and double battery places of 4s each to give you the legendary 8s.
By the way, these battery places are adjustable to allow you to fit any battery you want.
We’ll walk you through more details about the internal parts in the performance section.
Finally, there is the suspension that we mentioned before which is good. However, some suspension parts are plastic and can be broken if you bash so hard with this RC car. This is why you better change them with Aluminum parts.
In conclusion, we can say that the Arrma Kraton 8s is good at high jumps but bad at the landing which gives it the most damage!
But, don’t worry since you can always harden it with aluminum aftermarket parts. In case you’re looking for a more reliable RC car, the Traxxas X-Maxx is the one for you.
Overall, the Arrma Kraton 8s chassis is reliable and strong, however, it still has some limits that you shouldn’t exceed to keep your RC car longer.
But, with the aftermarket parts, you can always make your Arrma Kraton 8s stronger so that it can handle more.
What about the other sides of the performance?
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Arrma Kraton 8s Performance
I know that you may be a little bit disappointed in the reliability level that such an expensive RC car has, but, this is just one side of the performance of the Arrma Kraton 8s.
Regarding speed, control, and handling, the Arrma Kraton 8s is one of the best Arrma RC cars you can own.
In fact, with a Spektrum™ Firma™ 1250Kv Brushless Motor and a Spektrum™ Firma™ 160A Smart ESC in addition to two 4s Lipo batteries as well as a pinion gear, this RC car can go up to 55mph.
You can even add more aftermarket parts to increase the speed.
The bright side of this RC car is the fact that you can always customize it as you wish from top to bottom. It’s fully customizable.
As a beginner, you will have some difficulties understanding how this RC car works to drive or change its parts.
However, if you’re a professional and already know RC cars, then, this RC car is the best fit for you!
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Arrma Kraton 8s Systems
For an RC car that expensive, you expect to have some great systems on it to help you drive and take control of this beast.
Well, that’s true.
Active Vehicle Control (AVC)
The Active Vehicle Control (AVC) that Arrma provides will help you control the Arrma Kraton 8s.
How does this work?
Easy, the AVC’s mission is to help you maintain the same direction in case you lost control of your Arrma Kraton 8s like sliding on a wet road for example.
The wheels turn automatically in the opposite direction of the sliding direction of your car.
Precisely like a drift in the real car world where the driver should turn the wheels in the other direction of the sliding to regain balance.
The great thing about this is the fact that you can control the degree of interference of this system with your driving.
Choosing that degree depends on your driving style. Some people want to be free while holding that beast with their skills. Others like having this system as a support for better performance on the track.
So, you can choose which one you like! Let me know in the comments below!
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Arrma Kraton 8s Remote Control
The second great system of the Arrma Kraton 8s is the remote control.
The remote control of this RC car is different than the one on the Felony and the Infraction. This one is better.
This remote is Spektrum™ DX3 3-channel 2.4GHz Radio with SR6100AT AVC® Receiver. This remote comes with a Bluetooth Smart system to help you connect your phone or your smart device in general to show you more info about your RC car using the Spektrum Dashboard App.
You can even expend this remote to put your phone on it and watch while driving at the same time.
You can also put a speedometer that comes from Spektrum to see the actual speed of your Arrma Kraton 8s.
This remote is so perfect!
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Arrma Kraton 8s Upgrades
As mentioned earlier, if you’re a professional and love tuning RC cars and discovering new things, the Arrma Kraton 8s is the perfect one for you.
You can change and upgrade everything in this RC car. Buying this beast doesn’t make you enjoy driving only, but also experiencing new things.
What about the availability of the Arrma Kraton 8s accessories and parts? Well, don’t worry about them, they’re widely available!
You can add aluminum suspension arms, a wheelie bar, shocks, shock mounts, and more…
In the end, that’s what makes the RC cars world so interesting, you can discover and experience new things. Break this part and fix the other one, replace this one and try that one.
It’s a whole new experience!
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Annoying Things About the Arrma Kraton 8s
Everything that has been said in this Arrma Kraton 8s review tells you that this RC beast is cool and nearly perfect.
Still, you might get annoyed with some things.
One of them is the fact that you may find a hard time fixing this RC car, especially for beginners. If you’re an expert, never mind, I know you enjoy that!
The other thing in question is the reliability of this RC car. Some people are good with it. Others are not.
But this, in the end, comes back to the way people treat their RC cars. If you treat badly your RC cars, they will break down no matter how hard they are.
On the other hand, if you treat them well and play carefully, then, everything will be perfectly fine.
But, still, bashing and destroying is the best thing for most of us RC car fans XD!
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Great Things About the Arrma Kraton 8s
Do you think we need to talk about the great thing that the Arrma Kraton 8s has?
This RC car is full of great things like performance, design, and the big ability to upgrade.
But here are some tips that you may not have paid attention to:
- The battery placement is extendable, you can make it longer or shorter as you want to fit the battery you want.
- This RC car can’t accept less than 4s batteries according to the Arrma Official website.
- You can adjust the shock tower from the rear and the front as well.
- On the remote control, you can’t fix your phone only, even your camera if you want to drive while taking videos.
These are the great tips that I’ve found while discovering the Arrma Kraton 8s, maybe there are others that I didn’t pay attention to. Don’t forget to tell me about them in the comments below.
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Arrma Kraton 8s Price
As mentioned first in the introduction, the Arrma Kraton 8s is one of the most expensive stock RC cars not in Arrma Only, but also in the RC cars world.
Still, the price you pay for this beast is worth it. Having fun with this car whether by driving it or upgrading it is worth it.
Even if you can’t afford this price right now, you can always go for the Arrma Kraton 6s that has half size and half price, still, it comes with great powers and you will have fun with it.
Here are the best prices of the Arrma Kraton 8s and 6s, check them out:
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So, Should You Buy It?
If you’d like to know the short answer, then it is definitely YES. You should buy this RC car.
In comparison to the competitors like the Traxxas X-Maxx, the Arrma Kraton 8s has a good price and worth buying.
However, if you want to have more reliability and bigger size, you better go for the X-Maxx, it’s a great RC car as well.
So, what do you think? Which one would you buy? Is the Arrma Kraton 8s version or the 6s version?
Or would you go all out and get the Traxxas X-Maxx?
I would love to see your comments down below.
See you next time…
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