Exceed RC 1/10th Scale 2.4Ghz MaxStone 4WD Powerful Electric Remote Control Rock Crawler 100% RTR

This was a fantastic product. I bought it for my 2 year old son to play with because it is slow for him and has no problem going through grass and over obstacles, which is perfect for him to learn with at his age. It worked very well right out of the box and the 4-wheel drive really keeps it going all over the grass and obstacles. Then, of course, I took some turns with it as well. It can really climb quite well and I have had it going up and over large rocks that sit almost as high as it is tall. It definitely has plenty of power.I will say that I did not purchase this expecting it to be perfect and bulletproof. I understand that it is a lower-end crawler and would eventually require some upgrades/repairs to keep it running well. What I did not expect was to have one side of the front diff stripped out on the first time it was out. It never really had to endure much because we mostly kept it in the grass or on the driveway for my son to play with. A few runs after the other side of the front stripped out and one side of the back. The 4-wheel drive was down to 1-wheel drive. I went ahead and bought the FI Spool steel diff insert and installed it into both diffs to fix them. It required some trimming of the axle ends to fit into it but I have a bench grander so it did not take very long. These were meant to fit the axial axles so the maxstone axles are a little big for them until they are trimmed. After installing these into the diffs I went ahead and tested it HARD to make sure they were going to hold up and to make sure that nothing else would break easily. I am happy to report that the crawler held up very well and is back to its 4-wheel drive glory. This is the only reason I took off a star is because the truck should not have ever been sold with plastic diffs. If they were able to last me a few months of use then I think it would be fair enough for the price but I would rather pay $10-$20 more for the crawler with aluminum or steel diffs that will last.Also, I am sure that this is a common problem so anybody that has had this happen and needs to get it fixed but is finding that all of the Maxstone parts are out of stock, you can use axial parts instead and the axles will just have to be trimmed down enough to fit them into the locker. I went ahead and got the FI Spool locker meant for axial diffs at about $20 each and they fit perfectly into the axle housing and are very strong. I am sure I will have to replace everything else on the crawler before I ever have to touch those again.If it weren't for the diff issue this would have been an easy 5-star from me. Hopefully, Maxstone will see these reviews and go ahead and throw in an aluminum or steel locker stock. I know they have listened in the past because I have seen a lot of upgrades on mine that others complained they had to do themselves (ex: metal steering arm, waterproof electronics, and bent front link bars). I would still highly recommend this crawler as a great product, just be expecting to fix the diffs.

1 month of useim torn between 4 and 5 stars. amazon's 4 stars says i like it, 5 stars means i love it. i give it 5 stars because i love it. its not perfect by anymeans but for the price im SO happy. i was so worried reading reviews from mostly other websites about how the plastic lockers break.exceed recently upgraded some things on this crawler. it now comes with a metal servo horn which is not pictured. they may have upgraded other things but i cant confirm. i will say this, IF the lockers are still plastic, they either changed something or the people that broke them basically did it on purpose. they could be metal now, but im not taking it apart just to look. i say this because ive had this thing binded SO many times. to the point where it flips the entire vehicle because a tire got shoved under a rock. i could hear it bind up and bog down, but nothing broke. so if its still the plastic lockers others are breaking, they must be trying to do it. either that or they changed something to make it not happen.with that said ill do a quick break down of pros and conspros:cheap, reliable/durable, solid performance, waterproof, lipo ready, rear steer ready, lots of extra parts. friends who spent $300 on their RC are impressed that i can keep up with them at half the price.not much else to say, but this is what exceed built it to be. cheap, durable, yet still perform wellcons:slow top end(about the speed my 5 year old walks, but slower than the speed i walk. can replace gears or motor to your liking for cheap)somewhat top heavy(compared to an axial deadbolt, this has bigger tires and more top heavy. approach angle better, but tips sooner than deadbolt)tire foams suck(simple solution, google "star cut foams rock crawler" and makes HUGE improvement. MUST DO MOD, 2nd to removing bumpersstock has torque twist(replace rear springs with included heavy/stiff ones. better for crawling anyways, limit too much flex and flipping)crappy turn radius(rear steer, or perhaps a better servo would help. the servo is strong enough to turn the wheels while stopped tho) not a deal breakerstock battery gets 45mins-1hr. i use a 5800mah lipo and it makes it a little faster speed and after 2 hours the lipo is not dead. my 5800 is a tight squeeze to fit in the battery tray(length wise)i hope im not forgetting anything. feel free to ask any questions