Let me see if I can get my scrambled thoughts on paper here. Try to follow me as I know I will be all over the place on this one. I'm not going to proof read this for context and I'm sure it will be out of order, I know this already, dont lambast me....I'm simply going to fire and forget!
Random thoughts in no particular order or flow:
This is a BEASTLY MONSTER of an RC! With that, you have to expect several advantages and disadvantages. The bigger it is, the heavier it is. The heavier it is, the harder it hits. The harder it hits, the more energy has to be absorbed into the same materials that are used in the making of smaller, lighter vehicles. Basically, this will sustain more damage than smaller RCs will.
The design, as metioned above, is that of a King of the Hammers rig. But, it is not made from titanium or cold rolled steel tubing and parts. The design of a scale RC under 1000$ that you will not expect to translate from the 30-50K$ KOH 1:1 rigs.....ITS AN RC CAR! LOL! It will traction roll, it will torque flex, it will flip end to end, land on its head, and break when you don't want it to. But, hey, it's an RC car, Jack! HAHA!
I like the stability of the Solid rear axle but I dont like the rear differential - wish it was locked. But, I can put 500K diff fluid in it and almost mimic a posi rear end. If I wanted to rock crawl, I would have kept my crawler and not sold it to buy the YXL. So, I have to look at it for what it is and be happy I have one. The diffs are tunable with fluids and that should make all but the pickiest of enthusiasts happy. There is no center diff, so you can expect this NOT to be a race platform, but a basher/fun platform. Good, bad, mediocre.....you choose. I coundn't care less, personally.
If you want to go fast, it's going to cost you. There aren't a whole lot of electronics in the "affordable" range to move this monster. So, you're going to have to pay to play. A big ESC/Motor is required and a HUGE powerful servo is a MUST! Both are going to cost you some serious cash-ola. Consider the weight of this thing - if you want speed you can only get so much out of the high end stuff available on the market right now. I am running the Tekin 1/8 scale RX8/T8 2000kv motor on 2s, and I consider that a big system but it only has so much top speed.
I'm into mine for roughly 950$ at this point, so it's not something to be taken lightly!...
Yeti Kit - 430$
Servo - 125$
Motor/ESC - 250$
Radio - 70$
Paint, wires, sundry - 75$
For me, this filled the hole I had for a LARGE scale RC with speed and looks. I have had the EMAXX, the REVO (nitro and brushless) but there was always something missing in the "fun factor" department. I completely enjoyed my EXO terra buggy, and my wraith but I needed more...so I built a "Wrexo", or "Terra Buggy". Oh, I was in heaven with that vehicle. So, it only made sense when the Axial Yeti came out, I needed to get one. Well, I heard rumors at the time there would be a big brother so I waited on the Yeti and went straight for the Yeti XL. It completes me! LOL
I would not be doing the world any favors if I didn't mention this...you need plenty of room to run this "thing"! It is big and fast and will consume space in a heart beat. It is heavy, and fast so unless you have a good servo/radio to control it and a good suspension set up, you're going to fight it all day long.
Some complain about gears breaking or chipping when running them on high powered electronics....DUH! My truck weighs significantly more than an Emaxx or Revo and people have issues with those diffs when not shimmed or using a slipper clutch correctly. Take a nearly 15 lb rig and hammer it with the largest electronics you can find, something is going to break or have to give! Use the slipper clutch to control the initial shock to the drive train and you'll be fine. Don't hold the trigger WOT when landing jumps to save the drive train....simple stuff to extend your fun. I mention this simply because people complain about something that can me resolved if they would simply say..."thats my fault" and not blame Axial for a poorly designed product.
I'm not trying to talk you into a kit over RTR but here is a few considerations: The kit does address a few concerns that the RTR had. The rear links were soft and needed upgrades, the kit offers aluminum side plates to stiffen them up. The RTR had plastic steering and camber links, the kit has steel. The RTR had a TON of torque flex, the kit has a rear torsion bar. The Kit has 2-stage springs(some would argue they are worse than the RTR) and the kit allows you to build it yourself and enjoy that aspect of it, which I love! Not to mention, the kit offers the ability to install whatever electronics you want from the start.
That should be enough for now - feel free to pick it apart and ask any questions you wish.
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