Product review: SUBOTECH CoCo 4WD 1:24 scale truck

About

Isn't it annoying and irritating at the same time when you're just finish online shopping spend huge bang of money for R/C, FPV and drone stuff a week before Christmas just to restock for 2016  then suddenly the most coolest thing just pop up in their online inventory?  Well it happens and they put on Youtube with cools fancy moves... ..good job Banggod.com your strategy works. Knowing i'm almost at red line of my budget since Christmas is near the corner i clicked into my cart for USD$64.99 (on 8 Jan 2016) a piece and few days later offered another free box for tryout and review! Duh! now i got two. If i knew it was coming i could have save it and buy me an FPV equipment instead but hey like what people always say "two is one, one is none" (i live by that rules which is why i have models in twins)..always have a spare for backup.  The stuff i'm talking about is "SUBOTECH CoCo 4WD"  a 1:24 scale mini 4WD off-road same genre model like i review on WL-toys A212 1:24 few weeks ago.  But what makes me attracted and so tempted on this model is because it looks rugged and almost TRAXXAS like build...its has bashing certification written all over its chassis by the looks of its  I know how tuff it is when i see one because i own tonnes of mini basher models and this little guy says it all. 

First of all one big question i'm sure you guys will be asking about it, is it worth buying?  In my point of view it depends on how you want to use it. If you wanted to race on RCP indoor track or Pro level circuit racing maybe you ought to get something like WLtoys A212 or its later siblings which have better stability, predictable and precision handling out of the box.  The SUBOTECH CoCo 1:24 4WD on the other was build for fun and bashing, for guys who like to do jumps and being rough rider.  Places like skate park, backyard, dirt, sand  and other rough off-roading terrains, this is your man. The controls are proportional at satisfactory level...well it missed out some stuff like foamy/spongy steering knob and rubbery grip on the controller so it misses few stars ratings.  The truck model itself was made tuff like "FORD" tough in real world or "TRAXXAS" tuff in R/C world.  The chassis was build to handle bumps and bashes, fully enclosed gear box from dirt and debris, impact resistance plastics and feels lighter when you're holding it which is good to reduce inertial impact during jumps and crashes.  Parts support not yet release since its still new in the market as it was release in mid December 2015 few weeks from the day this article review was written.  The good news is that even after much bashing around the park none of the critical parts such as drivetrains/gears shows any indication of worn out or nick...its looks mint and pristine condition. The other reason why i bought this minutes after looking at it other being look like a tough TRAXXAS like truck was it is because i believe it was made by the same company  FEIYUE - FY03 which i recently review their excellent models in 2015....hey they (vendor/banggood.com) did hinted it was FEIYUE so i took their words for it. Still the truck looks cool so regardless FEIYUE or not the trucks still looks rad! Out of the box the suspension is smooth and supple which comes with friction coil shocks rather than oil filled dampers, don't argue since hardly anything comes with oil damper for stock 1:24 size.  Differential seems smoother rotation that WLtoys A212 which is good.  However just like FEIYUE FY03 counter part the electronics are integrated into on board that include the servo controller too you'll get a non-upgradable 5 pin servo.  I don't see any 2.4ghz receiver antenna visible from outside but after pop out the plastic electronics box  the houses the integrated electronics the antenna seems to coil around the nearby capacitor that extended outside the cause...this is unexplainable X-file thing.  Check out the model specification, list of Pros and Cons below for more sum up details.

Specification (as describe by vendor/manufacturer)

Package included:

1 x SUBOTECH CoCo 1:24 scale 4WD model
1 x Balance Li-po charger + USB cables
1x Sets of spare body shell snap pins
1x Hex allen key tools
1x Philips screwdriver
1x Manual book

Quality, performance and builds.

"Judge not the book by its cover"..that's my advice when getting these truck especially when you're buying it for bashing around with dirts, off-roading and jumps.   Although everything was made from plastic except the main center driveshaft, motors and ball bearings but it does have its purposes and intentional use for such material.  Having own lots of micro and mini vehicle models in my inventory at first the "SUBOTECH CoCo 1:24 scale 4WD"  seems disappointed when i first hold it in my hands especially when compare to the overall cost in the market it seem too pricey for its quality at first glance on this truck. At first everyone on our R/C community forum discussion was frown knowing the 'dogbone' drives made of plastic thinking it will twist and break some day but the day when i really bash it around the park the parts seems to hold up well to acceleration and jumping load. I didn't see any nick, wear and tear on overall drivetrains as if its looks new out of the box. More likely the plastic was made high impact type something you'd see on TRAXXAS brand basher models. 

First lets talk about speed, is it fast? If you're talking speed on standard brushed motor supplied lithium (ion) 2S battery...average, hey wait it does have torque power!  Why because upon inspection by unravel what's under the gearbox case there was a big spur gear matted with small metal pinion gear...that small pinion gear was design to put more climbing toque for off-roading than speed. So if you want speed put bigger pinion gear or go brushless. Putting brushless motor and esc upgrade more likely to have more wear and tear...that's common sense among R/C modeler and enthusiast so don't blame on the model QC...upgrade stuff are overrated. I still love it as stock, it lasts.   Oh wait more likely in the future probably i'll get another one and upgrade it as brushless...when i get it as third model.

About jumps and other things getting it in the air, It does get some air but not big time because just like i mentioned before its all stocks, WL-toys A212 does but its too heavy to make a safe landing and bashing. With brushless combo set on SUBOTECH CoCo it will be a max blast of fun....till now i'll need to fill my pocket with cash first so i could get some upgrades.  Durability?  Heck yay! beyond my expectation it is indeed durable, i did flew pass over the ramp where there is a huge drop behind the wall and it took a huge hit with a loud sound tummy slap...then it drove off like nothing happen.  I repeat again with several suicide jumps and bunch of intentional crashes and tumble it no damage inflicted on the chassis.  The plastic Lexan like body shell took the grunt but no visible dents with minor unnoticeable scratches.  I spent almost 3 hours per-day on the skate park bashing and  throttle trigger happy on SUBOTECH CoCo 1:24 with average runtime 18~25 minutes per battery cycle, with bunch of pit stops and accelerated jumps.  At the end of the day before i go home i did some physical check on the truck, amazingly no damages to the chassis or drivetrains/gears..just some minor scratches to its tough outer body shell which doesn't look very obvious when viewed from waist line. This guy is tough! 

I do have to warn you SUBOTECH CoCo 1:24 radio doesn't have "brake" option on its controller.  Today R/C car technology any controller (ESC) prohibits sudden reverse trigger after immediate full forwards throttle to avoid the full spinning gear from being stressed or over load the spur gear/pinion tooth with sudden reverse spin. So when you release the forward trigger and hit the reverse immediately it will slow down like applying brake to a full stop, the second reverse trigger will initiate the reverse throttle.  But on SUBOTECH Coco 1:24 its a no, its a direct reverse with no brake after full forwards throttle.  It was intentionally made that way so you can do stunts, pull wheelie and other cool moves on wheel taking advantage over sudden mass of inertial torque on its body through abrupt acceleration as seen on their SUBOTECH Coco 1:24 4WD promo video at Banggood.com.

For chassis tuning option and stuff there nothing you can fiddle around with it since everything on the chassis setup is fixed. You can't adjust the "A" arm height, no caster or chamber adjustment, no Toe in-out tuning and nothing much you can do on friction coil shocks. This is pretty much you should expect on 'basher' (out of box and ready to bash) truck, added all this option will complicate more on its handling...for example if it has turn buckle adjustment on its steering push rods more likely after few round of bashes it will loosen again and affect the steering performance.  So for this 1:24 bashes its on the right track for being a fixed and simple setup, i like that.  If you don't like the electronics you'll need to buy a radio combo set with micro receiver, a brushed  ESC or  combo brushless set and a 9gram servo for professional option to get it to works, sounds like you're going to do serious racing i guess. The most annoying part about upgrading this truck is the battery itself, confusing yet not modders friendly.  We have bunch of argument about the the supplied battery at our Rcgroups.com discussion threads about trying to figure out if this was either Li-on (3.6v) or Li-po (3.7v).  The supplied documents, cell battery and chargers stated as Li-Po (3.7v) by the vendor and as printed by manufacturer but from our experience it looks like Li-on (3.6v) which usually known to have physically available in AA cylinders.  To make it even more confusing the battery tray on the chassis printed says Li-on 3.6v. So we don't know which one to follow, why should we concern about it? , because modders like us prefer Li-po battery for extra punchy power to get most out of the truck...the bad part about the chassis is that there no way to fit common rectangular size 2S Li-po pack on this truck.  The good news is there a standard power JST plug where you can directly connect 2S battery on it.

The wheels fittings are not compatible to any Kyosho Mini-z, WL-toys and SinoHobby parts.  SUBOTECH Coco comes with mini hex hub adapter to attached its wheels just like its 1:10 type counterpart except its smaller in size.  Wheels are screw in using "Philips" screw.  There no news yet about parts compatibility of its drivetrains, dogbones, spur gears  and others with several brands during my writings but based on our forum discussion we suspected that the 1:24 HBX (HaiBoxing) brand might have similar differential gear fitting as the Coco..but we couldn't confirm yet..please visit our forum here for some updates: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2561415  Overall its just to early to assume mass aftermarket parts support since it was just recently released to the public but i hope as popularity gains the manufacturer might step up providing more parts and upgrade to this wonderful and fun little truck.  The trends for 1:24 scale just started to pickup some pace on November 2015 so brands like WL-toys, HBX, HSP, LOSI and CARISMA parts support and upgrade will grow slowly as the community/fans builds up exponentially this 2016 season.    But the in the meantime at my side i don't need any of those since my SUBOTECH CoCo truck still in perfect health and ready for rounds of exciting bashes.

Videos/Medias
Here are sample of video of  i posted on my Youtube channel contain test review on SUBOTECH CoCo 1:24 4WD

• Product gallery: SUBOTECH Coco 1:24 4WD Off-road truck
  • Video:  1:24 mini RC Tamiya BIGWIG - 3D printed kit for Subotech Coco
  • Video:  1:24 mini RC Tamiya BOOMERANG - 3D printed kit for Subotech Coco
  • Video:  Subotech Coco 1:24 4WD - Part 3 Bashing & Smashing
  • Video:  Subotech Coco 1:24 4WD - Part 2 Quick test drive
  • Video:  Subotech Coco 1:24 4WD - Part 1 Unboxing

Vendor/seller

Here are list of reputable vendor/seller which i bought from and also verified by community forum discussion groups. Also i've experienced buying from these places that have good support and services:

• Seller Banggood.com:  SUBOTECH NO.BG1510C 1/24 2.4GHz High Speed 4WD Off Road Racer
• Seller Banggood.com:  SUBOTECH NO.BG1510D 1/24 2.4GHz High Speed 4WD Off Road Racer
• Seller Banggood.com:  SUBOTECH BG1510B 1/24 2.4GHz Full Scale High Speed 4WD Off Road Racer
• Seller Banggood.com:  SUBOTECH BG1510A 1:24 2.4GHz Full Scale High Speed 4WD Off Road Racer
• Seller AMAZON.com:  SUBOTECH Jeep Truck 1:24 Scale Insanely Fast Min Radio Control Vehicle
• Seller AMAZON.com:  SUBOTECH Rally Truck 1:24 Scale Insanely Fast Min Radio Control Vehicle

Support group:

Places where you can find help and resources related to this product:
Topic: SUBOTECH CoCo 1/24 and scale kit modifications

Summary

 Just like our ancestor during the cave man days we men couldn't agree more that we love to see stuff flying up in the air, flips and smash stuff up for fun repeat.  That how thing works in big boys world.  Bashing and smashing is in our genes. If you don't want to be competitive but rather bash and smash out side the system then this tiny  critter does the thing.  Its a great stuff to have when you have stress in the office itching to fling stuff around to ease your mind.  Take this, find great place with ramps for jumps and pull the throttle..SUBOTECH CoCo 1:24 takes the bite.  In its original stock (unmodified) condition the truck held well in jumps, crashes and still back up and drive likes there's no tomorrow.  For speed you can put some cash on brushless upgrade.  The current price is a bit something to frown about at USD$64.99 (on 8 Jan 2016) it maybe a nay for others but still its hard to find unbreakable 1:24 model that can take the beating crap on everything.  Highly likely i'm sure the price will go down as seen on several marketing trend on 1:24 scaler as seen on WLTOYS brand, HBX and even the pro version such as KYOSHO.   But unlike other SUBOTECH CoCo are uniquely true off-roader due to its physical height to ground clearance, fully case gearing/drivetrains, bigger JOHN DEER like tyres and has all the  attributes of basher also inherit some genes from TRAXXAS basher trucks.  Like i said before i'm still waiting for my second red colored SUBOTECH CoCo 1:24 which looks like TRAXXAS TELLURIDE which took almost one month to wait which is why my yellow SUBOTECH is used as substitute for test and review rather than actual one just to save time...... they post it via Swedish Post service which suck big time.  Don't opt for free shipping got for EMS cos its been nail bitting and wall bagging to bleed waiting for it to arrive...should have arrive before 2016 so i could have more time test it during holidays.     But anyways i'm really happy that i'm have more SUBOTECH CoCo 1:24 to enjoy and admore a lot since its the only small basher i could bring about inside my office bag and can enjoy anytime anywhere and yet still looks cool mechanically and does lots of great stunts in the park.  More likely you'll see great mods on SUBOTECH at my website soon so stay tuned to latest updates.  Cheers.