Why IFS Bomber and not heightened Yeti?

[Antsiranean]

Hi!

I am in the process of getting into the hobby again after a Dark Age of 25 years. When I was twelve I built a Kyosho Ferrari F40 (it was all about Kyosho back then, as I remember it) and now I have bought an Arrma Fury SCT to get started. Boy, things have moved on since I was young!

Now I an looking into getting some kind of trail runner with modest crawling ability and am reading thread after thread in this excellent forum.

So, to my question. Why do people spend lots of cash to build an IFS Bomber, instead of heightening a Yeti and locking the front difficult on it? I do not really get it. What am I missing? What's the thing with IFS Bombers? What do they have that the Yeti does not?

 

[JatoTheRipper]

This is an interesting question. I can't answer it, but I would like to hear feedback as well.

 

[svt923]

-The Yeti has a huge, wide chassis that drags on everything which makes it awful at crawling. IFS Bombers have much, much less chassis area to drag on the ground.

-The Bomber chassis has better weight distribution with the battery in the front vs the position of the Yeti.

-A IFS Bomber looks a hell of a lot better than a Yeti ever could.

I robbed nearly everything off my Yeti to build my IFS Bomber so they were pretty close in terms of running gear. The IFS Bomber feels more nimble and quicker than the Yeti ever did. It jumps better, flies better, lands better, soaks up the terrain better, and generally does everything better while looking better.

The better question is why would anyone want a Yeti instead?

 

[DukeMinnix]

I think the best way to answer the question is to look at their 1:1 counterparts. How many trophy trucks you see run King of the Hammers? You do see IFS buggies run it and compete.

 

[Antsiranean]

That's a fair answer, svt923, it makes sense to me.

The reason to want a Yeti instead would be that it's a lot cheaper, I would guess, than an IFS Bomber. An IFS- conversion kit costs around 110$, right? And then you need a Yeti front as well, if I've got it right. That's a lot of money. Hence my question.

 

[DavidH]

Hi!

I am in the process of getting into the hobby again after a Dark Age of 25 years. When I was twelve I built a Kyosho Ferrari F40 (it was all about Kyosho back then, as I remember it) and now I have bought an Arrma Fury SCT to get started. Boy, things have moved on since I was young!

Now I an looking into getting some kind of trail runner with modest crawling ability and am reading thread after thread in this excellent forum.

So, to my question. Why do people spend lots of cash to build an IFS Bomber, instead of heightening a Yeti and locking the front difficult on it? I do not really get it. What am I missing? What's the thing with IFS Bombers? What do they have that the Yeti does not?

I was there just over a year or so ago, getting back in to the hobby but with all of my RC experience from the 70s and 80s.

You need to clarify what you want in a particular truck. If what you want is a capable trail runner with crawling ability, get a bomber. No need for the IFS.

If you are looking for a high-speed high-jumping stunt truck, get an arrma stunt truck or for the cage-style, a Losi SCBE.

What turned me off of the bomber was the Real Honest Review of it on youtube - the truck seems capable but very tippy/top heavy, and as a RTR it looked really slow. More power and IFS won't lower the CoG.

The arrmas and losi were tempting, but didn't look ideal for trails.

I confess to the occasion need for speed, and the yeti looked like a pretty good compromise, with the a 2-speed option low gear for the trails and rocks. For me, 30mph+ is fast enough, all I have room for where I run it, has the low gear for keeping excessive heat out of the electronics, and the only repair so far is a replacement spur gear.

I've seen much moaning about the wide pan on the yeti, but did not find it to be an issue myself. Out of curiosity, following the install of the 2-speed upgrade into my RTR yeti, I put some locking putty in the front diff, bolted on some cheap tires, and tried it out on the rocks. Good enough for me, even though I have since changed over to the rock racer cage. :shrug:

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The reason to want a Yeti instead would be that it's a lot cheaper, I would guess, than an IFS Bomber. An IFS- conversion kit costs around 110$, right? And then you need a Yeti front as well, if I've got it right. That's a lot of money. Hence my question.

I agree that it's a lot of money, particularly if you (like me at the time) are not sure what you want to end up with as a finished product, and if that plan is to use rather expensive aftermarket bits to build out your conversion.

If money is an object, take it slow.

If your primary focus is technical crawling and trails, I say get a bomber. If your focus is trails and speed with non-technical crawling get the yeti. Then run it for a white, before investing in one of these conversion projects. You may change your mind about what you want after using it for a while. I did.

Once you have a realistic look at the costs of current RC stuff (kits, motors, escs, batteries, chargers, etc), a few hundred dollars here or there won't seem as much . Just deciding what to power your kit with is an adventure, with opinions from every angle.

What kind of area are you planning to run the truck in, and what do others there drive?

 

[Antsiranean]

Thanks DavidH, and thanks especially for that video. It looks just like the terrain around where I live, in Sweden. I think svt923 gave a really good answer to my initial question (which really was a general question and not so much about what would suit me) , but when it comes down to what I might get, your video made it for me. That was a stock (apart from the gearbox) RTR Yeti Trophy Truck, right? I am impressed it made those rocks, that's all I would need.

 

[Antsiranean]

Oh, and is that a Traxxas Summit that gets beaten on the rocks? Interesting indeed. That one or a Traxxas Telluride has been on my mind as well.

 

[DavidH]

Thanks DavidH, and thanks especially for that video. It looks just like the terrain around where I live, in Sweden. I think svt923 gave a really good answer to my initial question (which really was a general question and not so much about what would suit me) , but when it comes down to what I might get, your video made it for me. That was a stock (apart from the gearbox) RTR Yeti Trophy Truck, right? I am impressed it made those rocks, that's all I would need.

The factory rear sway bar has been replaced with one I fabricated from a bicycle spoke and a pair of traxxas links, and there is a bit of lead ballast in the front bumper, held in place with a velcro strap for quick removal. The lead is painted with liquid black tape so I don't get lead on my hands.

The tires and wheels are detailed in the comments section of the video, and require some trimming of the body and a bit of the internal rear cage. For snow and sand, the big badlands are great.

The shocks are also using the extended end-links included in the package, for additional droop.

 

[DavidH]

Oh, and is that a Traxxas Summit that gets beaten on the rocks? Interesting indeed. That one or a Traxxas Telluride has been on my mind as well.

As a techhead the summit was on my list as well, and that was what my teenage son bought (as seen in the video). While the summit (like the monster truck that it is) has the size and mass to crash through brush and terrain that upsets the yeti, the yeti feels like a sports car in comparison, besting the summit in speed, handling, crawling, and climbing. But it still impresses me, and other than the steering servos, it has been reliable. I don't have any personal experience with the Telluride.

 

[MAC FAB]

If you are considering a Summit, check out a LT conversion. Not the most scale by far, not the best crawler, but you have a bullet proof rig with a 2 speed and locking selectable diffs. You can creep then smoke your buddies to the next trail. Video in the link speaks for itself. I kinda have one going, should only have $200 into it, along with ~80 hrs of fab/build time, RTR.
Project Traxxas Summit LT Scale Conversion - RC TRUCK STOP

 

[slowmethinks]

Having owned a Wraith, Bomber, Yeti, Yeti TT, and Bomber B1B, so far the Bomber is by far better than the Yeti. You can drop the CG on it if you need. It can be made fast. And it's a better, more scale looking rig than the Yeti. I hated the Yeti from day 1.

I like the B1B better than the Yeti hands down. But it's definitely not a good first crawler. It took time to get there and I've just started driving it and smoothing out the wrinkles.

I say Bomber. Very capable crawler and it CAN go fast. Anything can go fast...

But YMMV.

 

[Antsiranean]

slowmethinks, when you say Bomber, do you refer to a "plain" Bomber or a B1B? And why did you hate the Yeti?

 

[CoolRunning]

Do you want to mostly crawl/trail (which is generally under 25km/h) or rock race or bash the truck (bashing basically means you're scream it around and jump it and/or flog it hard)?

Do you want waterproof electronics to play around water (even wet ground/grass etc)?

Will you regularly take it on steep terrain, mountainous terrain, river banks etc?

How fast do you honestly want the truck (realise fast and slow is a huge compromise for either crawling or zooming around - drag brakes, locked diffs etc all cause handling problems and things break more easily, or open diffs and no drag brakes cause major problems trying to climb...anything...plus there is heat to consider as well)?

 

[Antsiranean]

Well, as of now I have an Arrma Fury, which does a really good job of zooming around. My children (6, 8 and 10) and I drive mostly on a small dirt field, measuring some 40 by 20 meters - that is, not large enough for any real speed. I haven't measured, but I don't think we go any faster than 35 kmph. Around where we live there's a nice running trail that would be fun to drive around, with occasional excursions on surrounding rocks looking like the ones in DavidH:s video above. Not very technical, but sometimes quite steep (50-60 degrees at the extremes).

My 8-year old likes to zoom around with our SCT, but gets frustrated when it can't climb a 40-degree rock face with bad traction. So, I think a Yeti would fit the bill. No doubt an IFS Bomber would be our dream vehicle, but I just can't raise the money for such a beast. Even a Yeti, with upgrades, might be to stretch things (my wife that is) a bit too much.

An Arrma Nero with different brains might be an alternative, but it seems to have way more speed than we have the space to handle.

Living in Sweden heat isn't an issue. Very seldom over 25 degrees. And if it is, we go swimming instead of driving...

 

[CoolRunning]

JMHumbleO but if you want to climb rocks and top out at say 35km/h, get a solid axle Bomber kit and put a sensored motor in it. It'll be a great all round truck.

The Yeti needs a drag brake and locked from diff to climb plus a 2 speed. The Yeti also may not be that robust long term with a locked front diff; David's done it, I've done it, numerous others have done it and the consensus seems to be that you can easily chew out dog bones, universals and even HD gears fairly regularly which can be rather expensive. Basically it's all down to mechanical sympathy to keep it alive if you don't want to dump major money into a Yeti on 3S (especially so with a locked front - 2S is totally tame for this type of truck).

The main thing to consider is that any truck needs a drag brake and locked diff to not be a total disaster in hilly terrain or on rocks; The Yeti is an excellent 'rock racer' but in my personal experience with a capable truck, not a good rock crawler...this could be for a number of reasons I couldn't easily pin down but pan size, suspension geometry (that works great going fast on rocks but poorly crawling over rocks), lack of ground clearance etc etc but TBBH, pretty much any truck with grippy tyres will climb smooth rocks. That's just mechanical grip and a set of tyres sorts that out. It's the lack of articulation, ground clearance and locked diffs that stops many trucks crawling well. A drag brake makes a huge difference to the experience even if you don't plan to crawl much.

The best scale crawlers maybe hit 50-55 degrees with great traction from what I've seen demonstrated on YT in perfect conditions. Most flip over backwards way before that due to the back wheels climbing under the truck.

You do not need the expense of an IFS Bomber when a standard one will be an excellent trail truck.

The Bomber in the video David referenced is definitely a good example of what a stock Bomber does when driven with an iron fist. It likes to roll as it's high, has bad stock foams and isn't wide like the Yeti. The solid axle isn't clearly as good as IFS but it's the locked diff and drag brake in conjunction with the foams and thin width that is the major issue IMO.

A $18 set of Yeti hubs will immediately sort the width issue and you can always open the front diff to have similarish handling. But if you're crawling, that's unfortunately the reality until the TRX-4 tech trickles down and we get solid axles that you can unlock in the Axial range. From my testing, this makes a considerable difference to the trucks ability at turning sharply.

The Bomber is very reliable and my favourite truck. I own a modded Yeti, Rock Rey, Bomber etc. The Losi Rock Rey is honestly a serious contender should you want to go the Yeti route and don't wish to 'invest' in the reliability of your truck. It's a beast totally stock IMO but it's not as customisable as the Yeti as parts support is slowly getting up to speed (it was only launched in March).

No other truck apart from the Bomber can crawl as good as a crawler, trail at fast speeds and be reliable all in one package from what I've seen.

But...there is nothing more fun than being in the perfect spot with a Rock Rey and Yeti racing them up a rocky hillside flat out. It's a hoot but it's a rare thing as those locations aren't as available for most people. I find it's 90% Bomber territory and 10% Yeti where I live. Bomber is just much more flexible and useful. Mine isn't even brushless and it's an awesome truck.

 

[Antsiranean]

Thanks for all the great input in this thread! To sum up all your answers it seems to me that in the end it's clearly a matter of where one is willing to compromise: on price, crawling ability or speed ability. Maybe reliability should be on the list as well - the Yeti might be lacking in that department. As svt923 points out the IFS Bomber seems to be The Ultimate Machine, better in every way than a Yeti, but it surely comes at a price.

What I will need to do is to have a walk around the trails at home and pretend that I am a 1:10-size car - I haven't looked at them that way before. Sizing up the rocks, trails and slopes with the discussion in this thread in mind, should help me make a decision on what I should get (which really is a bit off topic, to be fair, but thanks a lot for taking the discussion that way!)

But if, as CoolRunning says, a Bomber is doing fine up to 35 kmph, that might be the one to get since I really don't have the space to run any faster. I'll have a look at some videos - recommendations anyone? - to get an idea of how it handles at speed. Lots of tumbling in turns would be frustrating. Ability to do rooster tails and donuts (my boy loves it) would be a bonus.

 

[BoyFreakWonder]

Go bomber. You can always add IFS (if you eventually get more funds). If you go Yeti there is no recourse and you are stuck with what you got. The Bomber will climb hills and it will go as fast as a Yeti. If you want unlocked diffs you can do that and bash it even more on fast terrain. In general it's more versatile and my favorite 2.2 RC. FYI I own both and the Yeti is more of a racer/ open terrain and thats it. So if I had a choice to get rid of one ? Easy, goodbye Yeti.

 

[DavidH]

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[CoolRunning]

Yup, that's the vid!

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