Sackville RC

For the last week or so, I have been taking a close look at the RhinoForce S2, the RC SCT Self Righting System from Torsional Concepts. I have shared my RhinoForce S2: Initial Impressions, RhinoForce S2: Assembly Part 1 and RhinoForce S2: Assembly Part 2. Today I am going to put it all together and give you my final thoughts.

Using the RhinoForce S2 is pretty neat, with the flick of a switch on your transmitter after you have landed on your roof, the RhinoForce S2 will put you back on your wheels. It really does work! It works great on asphalt, hard packed dirt and short grass. The longer grass will provide its challenges for the RhinoForce S2 as it does for a Short Course Truck. Once the RhinoForce S2 has been activated and you are back on your wheels, you will need to drive the vehicle carefully back to your position so you can manually reset the flap. Word on the street is that Torsional Concepts is looking into the possibility of one that closes under its own power.

A few things to mention

Needed to complete

– Roll Cage

– Servo

– Extra channel on your Transmitter and Receiver.

Weight

The added weight of the roll cage, the RhinoForce S2 and the servo, is something to keep in mind. Make sure you check your temps and adjust your gearing accordingly and use a fan if necessary.

Center of Gravity

The added weight up high of the RhinoForce S2 and the rollcage didn’t seem to make the vehicle any easier to roll over.

Durability

This thing is tough. A few times after activating the RhinoForce S2 I was driving my SCT back to me and I barrel rolled it. The RhinoForce S2 flattened itself out, but I was able to reset it and keep using it with no problems. Only time will tell if it will stand the test of time, but to this point, it has really taking a beating and is still holding up just fine.

Reliability

I tested the RhinoForce S2 on a few different surfaces,  Asphalt and Concrete, Short Grass, Long Grass.

Asphalt: This provided no problems. The RhinoForce S2 got the job done. If you run in parking lots or the street, you should have no problems.

Concrete: Once again, this provided no problems. The RhinoForce S2 got the job done. If you run in a skate park, indoors, etc. then this is something you really need to think about adding to your wish list.

Short Grass/Hard Packed Dirt:  The RhinoForce S2 performed really well in these conditions.  Saving me from the walk of shame 9 out of 10 times.

Long Grass: This proved to be a challenge for RhinoForce S2.The grass just seemed to absorbed the flip plate, leaving the vehicle on its roof about 50% of the time.

I wasn’t able to test the RhinoForce S2 on all different terrains and elevations, but from what I was able to try, I was impressed. I would say the RhinoForce was successful 8 of 10 times on the preferred surfaces. Factors like how the vehicle is positioned or an obstruction could affect the results, but if you run your SCT in the streets, parking lots, skate parks, fields with short grass or hard packed dirt and you are tired of walking to flip your vehicle back over, then you really should consider picking up the RhinoForce S2 from Torsional Concepts.

Other Thoughts

In the beginning, I was having some trouble with the RhinoForce S2. It would work intermittently.  When I started looking closer, I realized my problem was with the “Battle Tested” body I was using. It has a lot of Shoe Goo and drywall tape holding in together and many of the lines don’t match up. Once I ditched the body, I had a much better success rate and the RhinoForce S2 became an effective weapon. I do plan on picking up another body, but for now I am going to run her au naturel.