Overview:
Team Associated has come out with a new line of rear-motor RTR vehicles, the ProSC10, the Trophy Rat, and the Reflex DB10. All three vehicles are the same kit, just with different bodies. I decided to get the ProSC10 version, which is a short course RTR based off of the B5. It's a rear motor, plastic chassis, metric RTR.
Build: 4
For the most part, the truck was assembled properly, but there were a few things that were issues. One rear shock was mounted with too short of a screw. Fortunately I found it before it stripped out and replaced it with the proper length. The shock cap o-rings were excessively large and had to be replaced. The gear diff also was assembled almost dry -- it just had a dollop of anti-wear grease in the middle of the pins. Finally, the motor mesh was set too tight.
Other than that, the build was put together fairly well and was certainly driveable out of the box. The radio controls were setup perfectly.
Design: 9
The ProSC10 is basically a plastic chassis rear-motor version of the SC5M with some simplification of parts. Most of the B5/SC5M pars will mount right on -- there is a long list of factory option parts in the manual if you so choose to upgrade. The plastic chassis is light and durable, overall it's a big improvement over the previous generation of trucks; the SC10/.1/.2/.3 which were based on the B4. Rear motor helps in loose traction surfaces, and also allows a full size lipo to be used in the chassis. The truck can run 2S or 3S right out of the box.
The kit is also fully metric which is a welcome change. Overall, I think the design lends itself well to bashing and some light racing at the club level. It performs well, has waterproof electronics and a lot of tunability. Team Associated removed some of the adjustments that are available in the SC5M -- the spindles no longer have adjustable trail or caster and the rear hubs do not have adjustable inserts.
The parts also seem to be made of a softer composite from normal Associated race kits, which makes it a little more durable and able to handle crashes better.
Performance: 9
The truck drives great and handles well. Overall, it's very light on its feet and jumps and lands well. For outdoor rough terrain, the stock suspension works well, but you will want to upgrade the springs and shock oils if you run on higher traction surfaces.
Stock tires are only suitable for the street, for dirt, grass or clay you will definitely want to get new tires.
I did not test out the stability control, opting to turn it off, but it is there if you want it with 7 different levels of engagement.
The stock servo is reasonably quick and seems to have enough torque for the stock tires. On 2S, stock gearing was a little low, but should be perfect for 3S.
The radio is not the greatest, but has all of the adjustments you need for setting up your truck and actually surprised me with how decent it was. There's a fair amount of play in the wheel and trigger, but for some bashing and light club racing, it's actually not that bad.
Durability: 9
I found the truck to be very durable and did not break a single part. The body is made of PVC or some other type of plastic, and is not going to hold up to serious bashing, but that's really the only durability concern I had. Overall it's proven to be a very durable truck and even after letting my 10 y.o. son drive it, nothing broke.
Value: 10
The basic ProSC10 sells for $299 in the U.S. It's main competitors are the Slash VXL ($319), the Kyosho SC6 ready-set ($349), the Losi XXX-SCT ($329), and the HPI Blitz Flux ($315).
It's the cheapest of the group, and definitely the most modern and durable and capable truck. There is no other brushless RTR out there from a major manufacturer that is this capable, durable, and low in price.
Support: 10
Team Associated is a major force in the U.S., and availability of parts and support is hard to beat.
Maintenance: 6
Short course trucks in general can be a bit difficult to work on because of the amount of body mounts, bumpers, and stuff that gets in the way, but the ProSC10 is reasonably easy to work on. The rear transmission comes out fairly easily leaving the arms and chassis intact, and the diff can be split without removing the motor from the motor plate (leaving your mesh the same). Overall, a pretty good truck to work on.
And the big one -- the whole kit is metric, which is a huge improvement from the SC10 line of trucks.
Dislikes:
I wish the truck came with the V2 shock caps out of the box, the stock shock caps have no bleeder holes which makes it impossible to properly build your shocks. Other than that, I have no real grips with the truck. It's a great platform.
Conclusion:
Overall, the ProSC10 is a welcome update to Team Associated's line of RTR short course trucks. It brings it into the modern era in terms of durability, easy of maintenance, and performance and is a huge upgrade from the SC10. It also performs extremely well on the track and is the perfect blend of bashing and racing. If you want an RTR truck (heck, ANY short course truck) that can do both, I think the ProSC10 is the top choice out there.
I'm a big fan of this truck and think it makes an excellent first, second, or even third RC car. It can do everything you could want, provides excellent performance, durability, and value, and really has no faults.
Overall rating: 9
