The ZD Racing trademark belongs to one of Asia’s largest manufacturers of RC models, components and accessories – Shenzhen XingYaohua Industrial Company. Under an OEM license, the company produces products for many famous brands, such as MRC, LRP and others. In addition, the company produces its own line of car models in the most common scales 1:8 – 1:16 in the middle price range. In terms of price / quality / reliability, products from ZD Racing are considered very worthy.
In 2017, the campaign released another novelty under the index 10427-S, which is an all-wheel drive monster truck in 1:10 scale. The machine would not stand out against the general background from models from other manufacturers, if not for its cost. It is worth mentioning that the model is available in two versions – with a collector (brush) and brushless (b / c) electric motor. So, in the second version, with built-in protection against moisture and dust, the cost of the machine does not exceed $ 180, which can be considered a very good indicator.
By the time of purchase, there was not a single review about this machine on the Web, but the English-language reviews available at that time classified this model no more, no less, as “The best choice for your money.” Before that, I had only models with collector engines, but I had only heard a lot about the power and capabilities of the b / c, and so I decided to try it live.
Specifications ZD Racing 10427-S
- Model Type: Monster Truck
- Scale: 1:10
- Max speed: 50km/h
- Motor: T3650 3300KV
- ESC: 45A, water/dust proof
- Servo: 3.5 kg
- Motor gear: 17T
- Drive: 4WD
- Battery: 7.4V 2400mAh 25C LiPo
- Driving time per charge: up to 30 minutes
- Charging time: about 2h
- Weight: 2.36 kg
- Dimensions: (LxHxW) 44.60 x 32.10 x 20.80 cm
- Control: proportional
- Control equipment: pistol type, T3GMN-2400
- Frequency: 2.4GHz
- Number of channels: 3
- Equipment power supply: 4 x 1.5v AA
- Maximum distance: up to 200 m
The machine is delivered in a white cardboard box, the contents inside are packed very tightly.
The delivery set, in addition to the machine itself, includes: a battery (installed in the machine), a control panel, a charger for LiPo batteries, a jumper for binding with control equipment, a set of spare accessories and detailed instructions in English.
The bundled charger turned out to be not some noname, but a quite decent iMaxRC B3 balance Charger automatic charger.
Designed to charge LiPo batteries 7.4V (2S-two cells in series) and 11.1V (3S-three cells in series) via JST-XH balancing connector. Charge current up to 0.8 amperes.
Three LED indicators show the state of charge of each cell. Red – charging in progress, green – charging complete.
The pistol-type control panel, with a folding plastic antenna, without any external frills, but lies comfortably in the hand. The control wheel is located on the right side, there is no possibility of changing its position “for left-handers”, there is a foam tire on the wheel for ease of control.
Above there is a slider for switching equipment to 3-channel mode, under the wheel, in the center there is a forward / backward gas trigger. Next to the wheel there are “twists” of trims, reverse sliders and a status LED for connecting the equipment to the machine.
The switch on / off the equipment is located on the back, under it there is also a socket for connecting a charger to charge the batteries, but it is not included in the kit.
The equipment is powered by 4 AA cells/batteries.
As mentioned above, the machine belongs to the scale of 1:10 and is quite large. Photo with a matchbox for comparison.
The basis of the design of the machine is a plastic frame.
The upper decorative part – “crust”, is attached with 4 metal clips.
Under it, as in most similar models, all the main components and assemblies of the machine are located. The power units are assigned to the entire left side of the frame.
Brushless motor T3650 at 3300KV.
45A speed controller (ESC) with additional forced cooling system in the form of a cooler.
Front wheel control servo 3.5 kg.
The three-channel ZD R3-2400 2.4GHz receiver is located on top.
The receiver compartment has a rubber seal to keep out dust and moisture.
The right side is reserved for the battery compartment.
The battery pack is held in place with a thick plastic strap and two metal clips.
The battery has removable type wires and, due to the peculiarities of the engine compartment of the machine, they have to be disconnected every time if it is necessary to remove or install the battery.
The battery is 7.4 volts, two-jar, with a total capacity of 2400 mAh, belongs to the lithium-polymer (LiPo) type.
Many are probably familiar with the “hot” nature of this type of battery, and for those who are not, there is a special instruction on safety measures when handling them, printed on the back of the case.
Most of the chassis, as well as the frame, is made of thick plastic. All parts responsible for transmitting torque from the engine to the front and rear wheels (cardan, differentials, etc.) are metal.
Front and rear shock absorbers – oil with the ability to adjust the stiffness of the springs.
Suspension travel is long enough but moderately soft.
Wheels in rubber tires with a deep tread, inside, judging by the sensations, only air.
Well, now I’ll tell you about the driving characteristics of the machine.
The machine is really very nimble and brushless motor does its job. You may have noticed that on many fairly expensive cars, an additional 5-wheel is installed at the back. This is done to prevent the machine from turning over during a sharp start from a place. So, although the monitored car is not able to roll over like that, nevertheless, the front wheels, with a sharp start, still come off the ground and, if you don’t throw off the gas, it is able to drive like that for a couple of seconds.
The machine is very passable. Thanks to the high ground clearance and rather big wheels, it is able to drive almost everywhere (within reason, of course). Tall grass, small curbs, sand, stones – all this is not a problem.
Do you want to effectively start with clubs of sand, dust and stones from under the wheels?
Easy and very effective.
I would like not just to drive, but also to jump from a springboard or from any suitable bump / mound – please.
Tired of dust and stones? You can drive along the river bank raising clouds of spray …
True, after such rides, you will have to work a little and clean / wash the machine from dirt, but this is not a problem for real lovers, albeit small, but still off-road.
Since seeing is always better than reading, I suggest taking a look at the video version of the above rides with jumps, clouds of sand and splashes.
As for the time that the machine is able to ride on a single battery charge, if you really put pressure on the full one, then it will last for 20-30 minutes. For me, this is quite enough to ride from the heart, and if you remember that in most budget models, the charge most often lasts for a maximum of 15 minutes, then this result seems excellent.
By the way, about the battery, it is not recommended to discharge the lithium-polymer battery “before shutting down”, according to the instructions, it should be charged after the power drop of the machine becomes noticeable. It takes approximately two hours to fully charge.
With intensive driving, the battery itself does not heat up – I checked it several times during the rides. The ESC cooling cooler turns on forcibly together with the machine and works constantly with a characteristic buzzing sound.
The characteristics include the value of the maximum speed of the car at 60 km / h. Unfortunately, there was nothing to check on our own, but in one of the foreign video reviews, such a measurement was carried out using a GPS tracker. The resulting speed was about 40 miles per hour, which just fits into the declared characteristics.
The machine is really very fast, but at the same time it is controlled very easily and because of the wide base, even at high speed and sharp turns it is difficult to turn it over.
As for the plastic chassis and the frame as a whole, on the one hand, yes, this is a “budget” and the manufacturer needs to reduce the cost, but on the other hand, the plastic here is very thick and does not seem fragile at all, besides, do not forget that plastic significantly reduces not only the cost, but also the weight of the machine as a whole, and this, in turn, increases its driving characteristics and battery life.
Summing up, I will say that the model turned out to be more than successful and for relatively little money you can get a lot of drive and pleasure.
Version from without engine on sale now for $166.69 To the store
Version from collector motor now costs $146.51 To the store
Thank you for your attention and all the best.