Here's my video proof. ;-)
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/s6JVOu3JMgU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
And driving impressions:
After giving the Yeti a once over with the wrench, to make sure everything was tight, I made my way over to my favourite local spot, which is a mix of terrain. From loose, sandy soil, to hard packed clay, to man-made rocky outcroppings, there's some good variety to put the Yeti through its paces. Note that I only ran this first test on 2s, 5000mAh. I got close to 40 minutes of run time.
Axial has released some pretty interesting rigs over the years that tackle a lot of disciplines. Quite simply, the Yeti slots itself in the sweet spot between the Wraith and the Exo. It really is the best of both worlds. Quick, capable and a total blast to drive.
Over the rocks, it's quite stable, more so than I thought it would be. The weak steering servo does a decent job of responding to input and tracks the rig nicely through the rocky bits I played around in. The independent front suspension soaks up uneven terrain with ease. My only complaint is that the front diff is a little too loose. My preference would be for a little less steering radius and a lot more traction from both front wheels. It would have done better over the climbs in the video if the diff had some thicker weight fluid in it.
Another small issue was tires. The Yeti desperately needs a softer compound tire for it to really shine in varied terrain. There's always cost saving measures when building an RTR so it's half expected that tires are something that the customer should be upgrading.
At speed, the Yeti is easy to drive. I suspect that the sway bars are doing a lot of the work. I never felt like I wasn't in control of the rig. Point and shoot. The suspension soaks up the bumps, the sway bar keeps the rear from getting out of shape too much, and really helps to plant the rear end. My complaint with the Wraith was it's tendency to rollover through sharp turns. While that hasn't disappeared completely with the Yeti, it's greatly reduced. Like I said earlier, the best of both worlds.
Speaking of speed, out of the box, the gearing is locked in the 2nd speed of the transmission. In my opinion, there's not much need to get the shift kit. Low speed just doesn't seem to me to be the way to go. I wouldn't imagine that the Yeti is going to be much competition for a Wraith on a rock crawl, unless you do some major changes. That said, this two speed transmission would be a perfect scale truck addition... Hint hint, Axial!
When getting some air under the Yeti, it does take some skill to keep it righted. The weight balance is front biased, so I did find it to nose down a fair bit. It's bumper got a workout, but is no worse for wear. I suspect that adding a bit of weight to the empty fuel box would help even things out. That, or a metal rear axle. There was some body roll, but I imagine some stiffer springs might help there.
I'm happy to report that nothing broke. A grub screw came loose in the driveshaft cup leading to the front diff, but that's due to a lack of thread lock. Lesson learned. Apply thread lock! It's a well designed vehicle, and it's strong. I hit a lot of obstacles full on, and there's no lasting damage.
Overall, a very enjoyable rig. One that I'm happy to have in the stable. I really don't have any complaints that would stop me from buying one. There's a lot of things that can be upgraded, and I suspect there'll be a lot of aftermarket support.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/s6JVOu3JMgU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
And driving impressions:
After giving the Yeti a once over with the wrench, to make sure everything was tight, I made my way over to my favourite local spot, which is a mix of terrain. From loose, sandy soil, to hard packed clay, to man-made rocky outcroppings, there's some good variety to put the Yeti through its paces. Note that I only ran this first test on 2s, 5000mAh. I got close to 40 minutes of run time.
Axial has released some pretty interesting rigs over the years that tackle a lot of disciplines. Quite simply, the Yeti slots itself in the sweet spot between the Wraith and the Exo. It really is the best of both worlds. Quick, capable and a total blast to drive.
Over the rocks, it's quite stable, more so than I thought it would be. The weak steering servo does a decent job of responding to input and tracks the rig nicely through the rocky bits I played around in. The independent front suspension soaks up uneven terrain with ease. My only complaint is that the front diff is a little too loose. My preference would be for a little less steering radius and a lot more traction from both front wheels. It would have done better over the climbs in the video if the diff had some thicker weight fluid in it.
Another small issue was tires. The Yeti desperately needs a softer compound tire for it to really shine in varied terrain. There's always cost saving measures when building an RTR so it's half expected that tires are something that the customer should be upgrading.
At speed, the Yeti is easy to drive. I suspect that the sway bars are doing a lot of the work. I never felt like I wasn't in control of the rig. Point and shoot. The suspension soaks up the bumps, the sway bar keeps the rear from getting out of shape too much, and really helps to plant the rear end. My complaint with the Wraith was it's tendency to rollover through sharp turns. While that hasn't disappeared completely with the Yeti, it's greatly reduced. Like I said earlier, the best of both worlds.
Speaking of speed, out of the box, the gearing is locked in the 2nd speed of the transmission. In my opinion, there's not much need to get the shift kit. Low speed just doesn't seem to me to be the way to go. I wouldn't imagine that the Yeti is going to be much competition for a Wraith on a rock crawl, unless you do some major changes. That said, this two speed transmission would be a perfect scale truck addition... Hint hint, Axial!
When getting some air under the Yeti, it does take some skill to keep it righted. The weight balance is front biased, so I did find it to nose down a fair bit. It's bumper got a workout, but is no worse for wear. I suspect that adding a bit of weight to the empty fuel box would help even things out. That, or a metal rear axle. There was some body roll, but I imagine some stiffer springs might help there.
I'm happy to report that nothing broke. A grub screw came loose in the driveshaft cup leading to the front diff, but that's due to a lack of thread lock. Lesson learned. Apply thread lock! It's a well designed vehicle, and it's strong. I hit a lot of obstacles full on, and there's no lasting damage.
Overall, a very enjoyable rig. One that I'm happy to have in the stable. I really don't have any complaints that would stop me from buying one. There's a lot of things that can be upgraded, and I suspect there'll be a lot of aftermarket support.
