RCCA races the Slash & SC10! Results? Predictable!

[TheJANG]

The October issue of Radio Control Car Action magazine features an article on pp. 60-68 entitled "Short-Course SHOOTOUT." A whole panel of editors got together and tested the Traxxas Slash and Associated RC10 head to head in both RTR trim and with identical motors. Before I reveal the results to those of you who haven't yet seen the article, let me fire off a few fundamental facts about magazines:

The major RC magazines exist because of advertising. Their purpose is to sell ad space. Employees' salaries are all paid by ads.
Saying anything bad about an advertiser's product, no matter how truthful the assessment may be, risks scaring away the advertiser and their all-important money.
The products magazines test are nearly always given to them by... advertisers. As advertisements. An editor writes up an article, mentions the free product, boom, that's a form of marketing (or advertisement) for the manufacturer.
Consequently, the magazines always downplay negative aspects of all products they test.
When the magazines compare two competitive products, they generally rate them a tie, so as not to anger either advertiser. When there really is a clear winner and they simply cannot creatively write around the facts, they declare that one the "narrow," winner, but give equal play to the positive aspects of the losing product. The form of the conclusion is generally, "Well, we can't deny it, product A did edge out product B, but it was really close. But product B is also really good at ______ and _____ so we recommend that you consider both and decide for yourself."Ok all of that said, here are their key conclusions:

"If you want to race, the Associated SC10 is probably your best bet."
"...If you primarily intend to bash, go with the Traxxas Slash."In the very next sentence, they effectively redact both of these statements, declaring both of the trucks equal winners by saying,

"...the SC10 can bash just as well as the Slash..."
"...and the Slash races as well as the SC10."Brilliant.

It is also worth noting that though the article subheading ended in "fight to the finish," they did not ever mention a true, fair, head-to-head comparison on the track. Though they tried equal motors in the two trucks, they apparently did not put identical tires on the two, opting instead to leave the extremely different RTR treads in place.

[bandaro]

ill just quote those first 5 points... thats why you go to youtube and watch them head to head by your average joe, no fancy editing, similar power, its alot more fair.

[Adidas]

Yeah, got my magazine today. reviews in magazines are nice, but they're so biased because of those reasons, that's why I like reviews from the average hobbyist, like Squirrelod (Except when it comes to Pro-Line) and people on forums. There.... really isn't a point in even having a review in a magazine like this, if results are completely predictable and always giving the manufacturer what they like to hear, not the hobbyist themselves. Just a thought.

[Cubic2.4]

Well, as you said they generally rate them as a tie. It would seems this is a tie of sorts. One is better than the other at something else.

[GOLDSNIPER]

The October issue of Radio Control Car Action magazine features an article on pp. 60-68 entitled "Sort-Course SHOOTOUT." A whole panel of editors got together and tested the Traxxas Slash and Associated RC10 head to head in both RTR trim and with identical motors. Before I reveal the results to those of you who haven't yet seen the article, let me fire off a few fundamental facts about magazines:

The major RC magazines exist because of advertising. Their purpose is to sell ad space. Employees' salaries are all paid by ads.
Saying anything bad about an advertiser's product, no matter how truthful the assessment may be, risks scaring away the advertiser and their all-important money.
The products magazines test are nearly always given to them by... advertisers. As advertisements. An editor writes up an article, mentions the free product, boom, that's a form of marketing (or advertisement) for the manufacturer.
Consequently, the magazines always downplay negative aspects of all products they test.
When the magazines compare two competitive products, they generally rate them a tie, so as not to anger either advertiser. When there really is a clear winner and they simply cannot creatively write around the facts, they declare that one the "narrow," winner, but give equal play to the positive aspects of the losing product. The form of the conclusion is generally, "Well, we can't deny it, product A did edge out product B, but it was really close. But product B is also really good at ______ and _____ so we recommend that you consider both and decide for yourself."Ok all of that said, here are their key conclusions:

"If you want to race, the Associated SC10 is probably your best bet."
"...If you primarily intend to bash, go with the Traxxas Slash."In the very next sentence, they effectively redact both of these statements, declaring both of the trucks equal winners by saying,

"...the SC10 can bash just as well as the Slash..."
"...and the Slash races as well as the SC10."Brilliant.

It is also worth noting that though the article subheading ended in "fight to the finish," they did not ever mention a true, fair, head-to-head comparison on the track. Though they tried equal motors in the two trucks, they apparently did not put identical tires on the two, opting instead to leave the extremely different RTR treads in place.

Typo! :)

This is one of the reasons I don't base my purchases on reviews from magazines. I base my purchases off opinions of people who are not in anyway profiting from the items I plan to purchase.

Hmm... I can't decide which battery I should get. MAXAMPS or Zippy. I think I'll go ask MaxAmps customer support. :rollin:

I infact do want a SC10 though because all I do is race my short course trucks now-a-days as I continue to drift apart from R/C's due to the lack of time I have these day's other than a few visits to the track a month.

Anyone want to trade a SC10 for my Slash? ;)

[loco_oso]

I just want to say that even though pretty much every RC car magazine has their biases (sp?), I think (this is my personal opinion after all) that one magazine stands out at being honest, at least more than the others, and that would be R/C Car Magazine. If you don't trust me, look through the magazine and see for yourself. I'm not positive they are totally honest, but what they write sounds more trustworthy than some of the other mags. Again, this is just my opinion, and they aren't perfect, but I really believe them a lot more than other R/C mags. Oh, and I don't work for them, either (just sayin').

[TheJANG]

It's true, their writing style is more casual and seems less contrived. I'm not sure if their editorial integrity is any higher than the others.

[stampede_dude]

Someone should make an ezine that is staffed completely by volunteers.

[Cubic2.4]

Sounds pretty neat! I actually like that idea.

[Adidas]

So do I! I'd volunteer =D

[Cubic2.4]

Sounds like somebody needs to start this.

[Adidas]

We could start a revolution, anybody could join in, but it would be a monthly PDF :lol:
THE ULTIMAT-E-MAGAZINE

[loco_oso]

It would be pretty cool, but kind-of unrealistic in my opinion. The problem with just regular joes (like me, I don't know about you) is that whenever they test products, they usually don't have much to compare it to that they have experienced before. The reason why big name magazines survive is because they generally know what they talk about (even if they do contradict themselves) when they test products. If you review an Orion Lipo and say it is the best lipo out there, and you have only ever tested a maxamps, per se, then it's hard to make an actual comparison to all lipos or even many lipos. The same thing goes for handling, chassis components, etc. There are members here that do have a very broad knowledge of rc cars, but they have been in rc a VERY long time. This is just my opinion, so, just puttin' that out there.

[GOLDSNIPER]

You do make a good point perhaps instead of a comparison it could just be a review of the item. Say if you were testing a product such as a Orion lipo you could say how it performs in different types of R/C's [Big/Small/Scale] and how long the battery lasts and the performance. [Speed run would be a good performance test for a fair comparison] There would have to be set rules though to make it fair [Same vehicle, Setup, Tires, Distance Travelled, Same method of testing [Speed Gun or GPS].

Then you could give the price of that item and prices of similar rated batteries.

Say a battery with the same specs [Volts, mAh, Amp, C Rating, Hardcase, Size/Dimensions]

If this does go through I would be happy to put in my time to help create this E-Magazine.

Also for comparisons between two specific items someone who has experience with both would be able to give a non-biased review.

[loco_oso]

I do think that's a good idea. I may be up for it if had the time, which wouldn't be for a while. Good thinking Goldsniper, I didn't really think of it that way.

[Cubic2.4]

I'd help. Somebody would have to almost be in charge to make sure everything goes as planned.