Hello friends, the Wltoys 104009 is a cheap 1:12 RC car with oil springs, metal gear, metal differential and many other metal fittings! But there is a problem that cannot even be solved 100%. You can find out what this is in my detailed review of the Wltoys 104009 monster truck. Have fun! Save money with the code FEUTASTISCH when buying this car! Link in video description! The design chapter can be kept relatively short, because the 104009 looks amazing! It has a sporty monster truck structure with a total of 10 LEDs on the front and rear. The bright LEDs not only look good, they also help to identify the car better from a distance. Incidentally, the cables for the LED units are carefully attached to the body. There is also a wheelie bar at the rear, which, however, makes little sense with the built-in brushed motor. But even more so with brushless. So it's good that she is there. In addition, there are LED plastic protection parts for the bodywork at the rear above the rear as well as on the roof. At the front there is also another LED, but the two lower ones broke on the first day after a few jumps …
By the way, if you want to connect a fan, you should unplug the LED so that more power remains for the fan. Overall, the design makes a good impression. In contrast, the arms of the truck make a strange impression. The arms of the truck are made of metal, which is unusual in this price range. Their disadvantage, however, is that they transfer the high load of jumping onto other parts, which are far more expensive than normal plastic arms. But I haven't had any problems with it yet. The underbody is made of hard plastic and the bumper is made of flexible plastic. This way, unsuccessful jumps can be better absorbed without breaking anything. I also think it's very nice that Wltoys didn't skimp on the springs and installed very good oil-filled springs. Especially when jumping it is really awesome! Just like the fact that apart from a small plastic part at the Center Driveshaft at the back everything is made of metal! So far everything is good.
The 104009 is powered by a 550 brushed motor with a heat sink. This accelerates the 104009 to a top speed of 36 km / h with the supplied Li-Ion 1500mAh battery. And to be honest, I find that pretty embarrassing. Because 36Km / h is a proud 9Km / h slower than the stated 45Km / h on the packaging … With a LiPo it drives at least 39 km / h. Nevertheless, I find the speed sufficient, especially for beginners. The ESC is a combined 2 in 1 and overheats relatively quickly despite cooling fins. And that's the biggest problem with this car. Motor and ESC overheat far too quickly, which then leads to mandatory pauses (because the ESC regulates down significantly) or necessary cooling pauses. Even the heat sink on the motor doesn't do anything anymore …
The main reason why this is so bad is that constant overheating causes the electronics to wear out faster and thus the speed drops over time. Of course you can complain about a fan on the ESC and motor. And I did that too. But. As soon as the Wltoys 104001 ESC fan is placed on the ESC and plugged in – and there are some slots for it, the motor fan (a strong Absima 1:10 fan) promptly stops turning and does not work until the Wltoys fan ceases is out. I don't know if a second Wltoys fan could change the problem because I don't have a second one. It would be very strange that it just doesn't work because it's not an original fan. With the motor fan the motor still overheats, but my Arrma Vorteks does the same and both are reasonably cool again after about two minutes. So I don't understand why Wltoys didn't even put a fan on the ESC in their alleged 1:10, as they did with the 104001 buggy. This would at least solve the ESC problem and € 5 more or less would be completely manageable.
You can now find out why the monster truck convinced me despite all this (except for the battery). Driving, for example, is a lot of fun, which is mainly due to the good stability of the car when driving. This is thanks to the good shock absorbers and the 1:12 size, with which, in contrast to the smaller 1:16 HBX 16889 brushless, it is much easier to drive over stones or normal high grass. I also think that the car is easy to control, especially for beginners … … and faster steering maneuvers at higher speeds do not immediately lead to the car tipping over or rolling over. In addition, the servo works very well and is sufficiently powerful. The brushed motor responds slowly to a certain extent and makes wheelies almost never possible, but it can score with enough torque and an acceptable speed for beginners. Where the car, or rather the included battery, cannot score, is the battery life. This is only a meager 7 minutes for me, which can be really annoying.
Especially if you only have this one battery. And unfortunately the battery compartment, which I find quite practical by the way, is too small for a standard 1:10 battery … you can either buy many more 1500mah batteries or, if you are lucky, buy the 2600mah 2s Lilo battery from wltoys. I have heard from some that this does not fit in, but when measuring the battery compartment I noticed that the battery should theoretically fit. But that's just a guess. Besides that, I think it's a shame that wltoys only included a LI-ION battery and not a strong LiPo, as they do with almost all of their other models. Incidentally, after 7 minutes of driving time, the battery is very hot. The remote control sits comfortably in the hand and is already familiar from other wltoys models.
It feels right for the purchase price, so it is okay and can be operated surprisingly well with one hand, which should especially please beginners. Only the power and the steering trim can be set on it. I also find the plastic holder practical, which makes the spark easier to carry. Unfortunately, the range is only sufficient because the radio breaks off after a somewhat greater distance. The responsiveness, on the other hand, is very good and can convince. And by that point we would have come to the price. This is just under 111 € for the standard 1x battery version, whereas the 2 battery version costs 120 € and for what you get for it, this price is justified. You can also use the link below in the video description to save money with my discount code FEUTASTISCH when you shop at makerfire! Overall, the 104009 is a car that is convincing, but also has noticeable quirks, even if only a few. The great oil pressure shock absorbers, metal driveshafts and generally simply that only metal is built in, the remote control reacts very well and is particularly beginner-friendly and that the car is a lot of fun to drive are very positive .
On the other hand, negative are the far too short battery life and especially the heat problem, which is probably due to the cheap electronic components.But Wltoys has only saved there and otherwise installed good parts, which is good for beginners , among other things, since the car is not so often But it will also break for advanced drivers who can then upgrade this car to brushless without much concern..
