The Arrma Fury short course truck is my first contact with the Arrma company. Before this review, the only things that I knew about Arrma were from their ads in various R/C magazines. The Arrma brand is distributed by Hobbico, the largest R/C distributors in North America. Hobbico distributes tons of high quality brands like Futaba, TrakPower, Axial, Team Durango, Novak, Duratrax and HPI just to name a few.
When the Arrma Fury arrived at my door, I didn’t really know what to expect from the truck. Would it be more a “toy” than a hobby grade RC truck? Do the Arrma ads that I’ve seen so many times were the truth or just “advertising” stuff? Keep on reading to know my thoughts of the Arrma Fury Brushed….
What’s in the box:
First, as soon as I took the truck off the box, my first reaction has been “WOW, WOW and RE-WOW”. The paint scheme is awesome and well detailed. The truck looks really nice, certainly one of the best looking RTRs on the market. For the “wow factor”, the Fury deserves a gold medal. At one extremity of the box, the Arrma ATX100 radio and an universal wall charger are packaged. Under the truck, the instructions manual, few tools and miscellaneous parts can be found. A 2000mAh NiMh pack with Deans connector is factory installed in the truck.
The electronics:
All ready-to-run vehicles come with some kind of basic transmitter and the Arrma Fury is no exception. The ATX100 is a basic 2.4Ghz radio but it feels really great in my hand and it has all the basic settings necessary to enjoy your experience with the Fury. Under a small plastic door, the conventional throttle and steering trims, steering dual rates settings, bind button and servos reverse switches can be accessed. The antenna can be folded on the side of the radio for extra protection.
Since this is the brushed version, the Arrma Fury comes with a conventional 15T brushed motor and speed controller. The motor has enough power to push the Fury in the 20ish MPH with the included NiMh battery pack. Arrma claims the electronics is waterproof. I don’t know what they really mean by “waterproof”. I imagine they mean it is not a good idea to sink the truck in a lake but it is safe to run the Fury in mud, snow and water.
The ESC can handle NiMh and 2S LiPo battery packs. To switch from NiMh to LiPo, you must change the jumper on the ESC. I’ve read few specs on different web sites that it was possible to run the Fury on 3S LiPo. I don’t recommend it and I’m still trying to figure out how to install a 3S LiPo in the truck On the performance side, the ESC has a relatively smooth powerband making the truck easy to control. It may sound not important to know for some but there is no big delay between the forward and the reverse. It is easy to engage reverse when the truck is stopped. I mention it because few others RTR vehicles on the market have a long delay before the reverse kicks in. It may be confusing for newcomers when the reverse is not engaging due to a long delay. Happily, this is not the case with the Fury. Reverse can be disabled by changing a jumper position on the speed controller.
Few words about the ADS-5 steering servo. It’s a good servo for a RTR truck. The ADS-5 is good for 177oz of torque with a transit time of 0.12sec at 6V. These specs are better than what many big manufacturers offer. The steering servo does the job well, it is quiet and it is waterproof. That’s exactly what I was expecting. So no deception for me in this department.
The receiver is well protected in a sealed receiver box located between the ESC and the rear shocks tower.
Suspension:
The suspension arms are beefy just like most others suspension and steering components. No doubt that the truck is built to handle rough terrains. Surprisingly, the fours shocks are quite smooth even if they look a little cheap plastic. Stock springs rate and oil weight are good for most terrains and I didn’t feel the need to change anything to the stock suspension setup. Shocks mounting positions are limited though. There is only one mounting option on the shock towers and two in the front and rear a-arms. Few more shocks angles options would be nice. The Fury comes with fixed length rear camber links and steering links. I guess this is the kind of drawback you should live with on a 170$ truck. The good news is that adjustable links can be purchased as options parts.
Drivetrain:
I’d like to tell you something wrong about the drivetrain but I can’t. Arrma didn’t reinvent the wheel. The Fury’s drivetrain is… hmmm I would say “conventional” for a 2wd truck. Nothing spectacular, nothing bad. The drivetrain may have a basic design but it is smooth and requires low maintenance. Arrma didn’t skimp on quality and durability for the diff gear. The beefy gear diff can handle a lot of power, a lot more power than what the stock 15T motor will ever produce. So don’t worry if you plan to install a brushless motor, the gear diff will handle it.
Chassis, body and tires:
As mentioned in the beginning, the body looks awesome. After few crashes and rolls over, the body is still in good shape and didn’t break or crack.
What makes the Fury different from others short course trucks on the market is its chassis design. The Fury uses a super strong composite chassis designed to protect key components like the steering servo and the battery pack. The chassis can take a lot of abuses before showing signs of weakness or break. At the opposite of others short course trucks on the market, the Arrma Fury’s chassis doesn’t hold debris inside the chassis. After a full pack running on loose dirt, there was just a very low amount of dirt located in the battery box and on the top of the chassis.This is clearly what I like the most about the Fury. The battery is also located very low which helps to reduce CG and to increase stability.
The dBoots Sidewinder tires are good “all-around” tires made out of hard compound designed to last long time. After 5-6 packs of torture and a lot of 360s on dirt and asphalt, the tires show very minimal signs of wear. The Fury uses 12mm hexes in front and rear so you can switch tires positions when the rear tires are worn out or when they have less traction. The black spoke wheels add a nice touch to the truck. Yes, that’s all about the wheels… Did you really think I would write five paragraphs about the wheels?
Testing:
For this review, my main objective during the test sessions was to test the truck under the same conditions as a potential buyer will use the truck. This is why I’ve tested the Arrma Fury under different situations. I’ve spent most of my test times in my backyard, driveway, street, empty fields and a little time at the race track.
My first test was in my driveway and on the street, where, I guess, the truck will spend most of its time. On asphalt the truck is very responsive to throttle and steering inputs. The high traction surface helping a lot, the steering is easy to control and manoeuvring the truck is a charm. The truck has good amount of body roll (this is normal for a SC truck) which helps to get a little more traction. The 15T brushed motor produces honest accelerations and top speed for newcomers. More experimented drivers will like a little more top speed. At least, this is what I would like. On another hand, I’m talking about a 170$ truck here and I feel “selfish” to expect 45MPH out of the box. In others words, for the price asked, the top speed and accelerations are good but don’t expect never ending wheelies if you know what I mean.
My “on dirt” experience with the Fury has been extremely fun. Driving on loose dirt is always more challenging and requires less speed. That’s perfect for a brushed motor. I’ve had a lot of fun hitting improvised jumps, landing with the four tires pointing the sky, doing spectacular 360s and hitting any size of rocks. The kind of stunts that anyone who will buy the truck will do. Hit the throttle until the truck crashes. At this moment, I was really not concern about shocks angle, shocks oil or anything else. I was having fun like a 10 years kid!
Talking about kids, my 12 years old son, who has no interest in R/C, has left his Minecraft game (thanks God!) to drive the truck. I guess he was attracted by the truck paint scheme and by the truck’s overall performance. He said the truck was easy to drive and not stupid fast which helped him to feel in control. The old “slow is fast” motto is still true here!
What I like:
Awesome look
Great price
2-year warranty
Waterproof electronics
Many option parts available
What could be improved:
E-clips and Phillips screws are things of the past
Needs more suspension and wheel geometry options (This is the racer talking here!)
MyRCBox Rating: 90%
Price: 9.5/10 – At 170$, it is hard to beat!
Durability: 9/10 – Even if nothing has broken during testing, the front bumper seems to be on the weak side.
Performance: 8.5/10 – The 30MPH advertised on the box is with optional parts. The 15T brushed motor is fast enough for any newcomers looking for a lot of fun with the Fury. There is a brushless version available if you ever need more speed!
Ease of use: 9/10 – The truck and the radio are designed to be easy to use. Nothing complicated, simply plug the battery and turn the power switch on and there you go. This is how I like it!
Fun factor: 9/10 – At 170$, The Arrma Fury brushed is fun on the budget and offers a great option for everybody looking for a hobby grade radio controlled truck. This is truly a “Plug, play and have fun” truck.
Conclusion:
If you plan to buy the Arrma Fury Brushed with the idea to win the next ROAR Nationals, you are not buying the right truck. But if you want to best SC truck for the bucks, this is the truck for you. No matter if you are a die hard basher or an occasional racer, the Arrma Fury can handle the roughest terrains as well as the local track for fun racing. With a killing price of 170$us, the Arrma Fury Brushed is the best bang for the bucks entry level R/C truck.
For all theses reasons, the Arrma Fury Brushed short course truck deserves the “MyRCBox Approved Seal” with a score of 90%.
For more information about the Arrma Fury brushed, visit www.arrma-rc.com