Friends, the day has finally arrived – we have a Traxxas X-Maxx 8S in our RC garage!
The Traxxas X-Maxx is arguably one of the biggest, baddest, and perhaps even most legendary monster trucks you can buy. But this king-sized basher isn’t exactly new. The X-Maxx was actually first released around 7 years ago, way back in 2015.
Despite its age though, the X-Maxx remains a wildly popular RC car. It’s still hailed by many as one of the best all-around bashers money can buy. And we still get constant requests to feature it in one of our videos…which is crazy considering we’ve published hundreds of clips at this point!
Well today, the stars have aligned folks. We finally have a bone stock X-Maxx 8S truck in our test facility. Let’s unbox this beast, take it outside for a spin, and see for ourselves if the legendary status holds up in 2022!
Unboxing the Massive X-Maxx 8S
Let’s kick things off by cracking open the box and taking a closer look at everything included with the X-Maxx.
Right off the bat, we couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer size of the packaging here. The box alone probably weighs 10 pounds! And managing it is a legitimate two-person job.
The truck itself tips the scales at over 19 pounds…without batteries installed. So combined with the box and accessories, new owners have nearly 35 pounds of RC excitement coming their way!
Dimensions stats don’t really do the X-Maxx justice either. It’s just flat out massive in person. Like literally hard to wrap your head around if you’re used to “normal” sized RC cars and trucks.
To try putting its monster truck proportions into perspective, check out these side-by-sides against some other popular vehicles:
Here it is next to an ARRMA Kraton 8S V2 – certainly no slouch in the size department itself:
And this is a Traxxas Slash 4×4 standing in the shadow of the X-Maxx:
We even grabbed one of our SCX24 mini crawlers to emphasize just how enormous this truck is:
You could practically drive the 1/24 scale rig underneath the X-Maxx! Or try crawling over the giant tires which measure over 8 inches tall and 4 inches wide. They truly dwarf any other RC tires we’ve seen.
Jumping back into the unboxing, installing the body clips was a cinch thanks to Traxxas’s toolless clipless fastening system. The X-Maxx was actually the first model to ever feature it. We also noticed structural tubing reinforcement around the inside helping to strengthen the body and chassis.
Popping off the body revealed an extremely tidy and compact layout underneath. With all of the electronics centrally mounted, weight distribution front to rear is exceptionally balanced. Especially when you add identical battery packs on both sides.
Speaking of power sources, motor duties are handled by a bulbous 8S compatible system:
An 8S ESC sits between two cooling fans with the 8S motor housed underneath. Everything looks properly beefy for a truck this size!
In total, the X-Maxx is composed almost entirely of durable plastics. The chassis, suspension arms, shock towers – all super tough composite materials designed to absorb heavy impacts. Replacement parts should be relatively affordable too given the simplicity.
Overall, as far as unboxings go, the X-Maxx delivered exactly as advertised – a whole lot of mega truck packed neatly into one imposing package!
Suspension Flex & Handling Impressions
With the X-Maxx fully unboxed, our next step involved taking a closer look at the suspension system and getting a feel for the handling traits.
This truck is equipped with one of the plushest, most drool-worthy suspension setups we’ve ever experienced on an RC. The big bore shocks are buttery smooth with tons of damping range. Despite the long travel, bottoming out shouldn’t be an issue thanks to the firm end stops.
Adjustability is top notch as well. Each shock features standard threaded collars for ride height tuning along with spring pre-load clips. All of them also utilize oil filled cylinders. This is premium equipment usually reserved for 8th and even 10th scale racers!
Fun Scale Comparison:
To highlight the sheer size, here’s an X-Maxx shock next to popular models from other scales/classes:
- 8th scale racing buggy
- 10th scale race truck
- 10th scale stadium truck
It’s bigger than all of them! Almost funny looking honestly.
In summary, the X-Maxx brings exceptional scale realism by mimicking full-size trophy truck suspension designs. All while maintaining adjustability and high performance damping characteristics RC enthusiasts expect.
Moving onto the handling and steering, our initial impressions were positive overall. The X-Maxx tracked straight with very minimal effort at the controls. Low speed turning did feel a touch lazy thanks likely to sloppy tolerances in the servo saver mechanism. And bump steer was definitely apparent pounding through rocky terrain.
But realistically no one buys an X-Maxx for precise high speed cornering or technical driving. It’s simply far too large of a platform to expect razor sharp inputs. Any steering deficiencies are more than made up for by the beastly power and stunt readiness!
Punishing the X-Maxx at a Secret Spot
Alright, at this point we had poked, prodded, measured and evaluated just about every inch of the X-Maxx 8S truck. It was time to grab some batteries and head outside to see what this mega beast could really do!
Our destination? A remote, undisclosed edge-of-town location littered with massive dirt jumps, steep embankments, muddy trenches and more. Not an ideal place to test smaller RC cars. But the perfect backyard playground for a tough truck like the X-Maxx!
After strapping on some Traxxas 6700mAh 4S 50C LiPo packs wired in series for 8S brute power, we dropped the hammer and held on tight…
Run Footage & Carnage Report
- Big air straight away with easy 20-30 foot lofting
- Suspension soaked up harsh landings
- Minimal bottom outs even hucking to flat
- Impressive acceleration upto ~40 mph
- Wheelies on demand
- Noticeable cogging from lower gearing
- Front shock tower ripped clean off hitting wooden pole
- Barely slowed the truck down
- Arm and chassis perfectly fine
- Rock wedged itself into steering linkage
- Required some disassembly to remove
- Steering/handling not really affected
Additional Carnage Photos:
We put absolute beatdown on the X-Maxx and it just kept coming back for more punishment. These things are built incredibly tough right out of the box. Even with the front suspension mangled, it still tracked relatively straight and retained full mobility.
Final Thoughts
Prior to getting our hands on the X-Maxx, we’ll admit feelings were mixed. Traxxas catches a lot of flak in the hobby for being overhyped and overpriced. Big claims of durability and performance that perhaps don’t always align with reality.
And yes – earlier ownership of the original 6S left us underwhelmed at times. But experiences with this updated 8S rig tell a very different story. The difference is literally night and day!
In no uncertain terms, the newest X-Maxx lives up to the legendary hype in virtually every way. It delivers unmatched scale size and presence; has standout suspension tuning with loads of adjustments; spells durability with a capital D; and offers up some of the most outrageously fun power bursts we’ve tested.
Are there a couple small nitpicks to mention? Sure. The soft servo saver does numb steering precision. Cogging is noticeable from the rather tame gearing setup. And it definitely helps to have an extra set of hands (or two) when transporting this monster.
But compared to everything else positively overwhelms, these minor gripes barely register. Traxxas absolutely crushed it with the 8S X-Maxx – no doubt cementing its place as one of the best RC bashers money can buy!
That’s a wrap for this in-depth unboxing and review. Huge thanks as always for reading! We’ll catch everyone in the next RC car video.
Any X-Maxx owners out there? Share your experiences below!
