Quick and dirty Kraken Vekta vs. Losi DBXL opinions ?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Polar_Bus

Polar_Bus

Well-Known Member
Messages
754
Reaction score
1,549
So moving forward i'd like to hear your lowdown on both of these, seems that after some searching opinions are all over the place.
 
Well this is a rough one. Both can be great, but both need a good bit of money thrown into them to be good. I can honestly say if I had to have just one I'd rather the dbxl. By the time I sold mine off I could have recreated the entire thing for under $2k and been very reliable. I'm well over $2k into the vekta. I think it's going to be pretty reliable at this point. Front hubs have been pointed out as a weak spot. Haven't had enough bash time on mine to say on that aspect. But alloy bits for that will add another $300.00 ish. The pipe and engine were given to me, just had to get a few bits to complete the engine, so there would be that added cost as well.
Handling wise I'd say it's a toss up. The vekta doesn't handle turns super great, but the stock suspension set up on a dbxl sucks. My old dbxl would have kicked the crap out of my vekta at this point. I'm sure once I get the suspension dialed in the vekta will handle at least ad good if not a bit better. The solid rear axle does take a bit to get used to. I can't say one jumps better then the other. They both need tuned put of the box. The dbxl benefits from losi 5ive t shocks and the middle heavy springs. Haven't played with the vekta shock fluid yet, but I suspect I'll be swapping up to a 40wt in the shocks. May jump up to a 50wt if I'm not happy with that. As far as I know there are no other shock or spring options for the vekta. (Not that they seem to be needed. The stock shocks are big beefy units)
Idk it's really a toss up. If I were to compar my old dbxl just the way it was, to my vekta the way it currently sits, the dbxl is the clear winner to me. Now having said that I would take a 5ive b kit over either one of tour options. Just better all around
Z.hb71 said:
Dbxl = garbage stock or with upgrades
Vekta = mediocre stock but can be upgraded to be nice
5ive t or mcd is your best bet for out of the box reliability.
Click to expand...
That's wonderful advice from someone that's owned none of the above.
 
The dbxl is a pile of poop vs a vekta. But a vekta still has its issues that need to be rectified quickly but is an awesome rig.....before sean rips on me I'm basing my opinion on the dbxl on bias
 
Seandonato73 said:
Well this is a rough one. Both can be great, but both need a good bit of money thrown into them to be good. I can honestly say if I had to have just one I'd rather the dbxl. By the time I sold mine off I could have recreated the entire thing for under $2k and been very reliable. I'm well over $2k into the vekta. I think it's going to be pretty reliable at this point. Front hubs have been pointed out as a weak spot. Haven't had enough bash time on mine to say on that aspect. But alloy bits for that will add another $300.00 ish. The pipe and engine were given to me, just had to get a few bits to complete the engine, so there would be that added cost as well.
Handling wise I'd say it's a toss up. The vekta doesn't handle turns super great, but the stock suspension set up on a dbxl sucks. My old dbxl would have kicked the crap out of my vekta at this point. I'm sure once I get the suspension dialed in the vekta will handle at least ad good if not a bit better. The solid rear axle does take a bit to get used to. I can't say one jumps better then the other. They both need tuned put of the box. The dbxl benefits from losi 5ive t shocks and the middle heavy springs. Haven't played with the vekta shock fluid yet, but I suspect I'll be swapping up to a 40wt in the shocks. May jump up to a 50wt if I'm not happy with that. As far as I know there are no other shock or spring options for the vekta. (Not that they seem to be needed. The stock shocks are big beefy units)
Idk it's really a toss up. If I were to compar my old dbxl just the way it was, to my vekta the way it currently sits, the dbxl is the clear winner to me. Now having said that I would take a 5ive b kit over either one of tour options. Just better all around

That's wonderful advice from someone that's owned none of the above.
Click to expand...
I deleted it becuase I realized it isn't my area of expertise. Ignore it lol
 
To go on that tho Z the vekta and 5t drive completely different from eachother... vekta has more suspension travel then the 5t but is more roll happy in corners And the 5t is more rigid due to a full length chassis. Both are extremely fun tho and I wouldnt consider a vekta or dbxl if the OP doesn't want to drop more cash right off the bat after the new purchase
 
Rep732 said:
The dbxl is a pile of poop vs a vekta. But a vekta still has its issues that need to be rectified quickly but is an awesome rig.....before sean rips on me I'm basing my opinion on the dbxl on bias
Click to expand...
No we're talking 2 different piles of poop. The dbxl stock sucks. The vekta kit cost more then the dbxl rtr. From a cost stand point the dbxl wins hands down with upgrades. From a which is better after tons of money is thrown at them then yeah the vekta gets it. If I'm being honest my 5ive t is better then both and I have less money in the 5ive t then I had in the dbxl. So From that stand point they are both poop stock platforms. When I built the vekta I had (have) high hopes of going big bore with it one day. So I I what I felt were the minimum upgrades to handle that power. Turns out, it seems most even staying small bore are doing the same upgrades to them.
 
Ok, so what could i expect as far as overall bashing handling differences of the dbxl vs the FiveT ? I see theres a big difference in wheelbase between the two models
 
5t is a tank I can vouch for that... built well and takes a good ass whooping without breaking.. plus the benefit of being able to get the 30dnt big flex body thats indestructible. Better pipe selection wider variety of aftermarket parts and the 5t aftermarket is strong the dbxl I think is a narrow aftermarket
 
5t is a RTR beast. I should have bought it out of the gate but the price scared me a bit. I would have saved over a grand and lots of frustration.

So far I have only broken two front bumpers and one plastic front skid plate and I bash it hard! Any other trouble I had with it was self inflicted with the exception of a broken clutch bell that Horizon warrantied without question. 👍🏻
**edit** after what you’ve been through it, it is something you can bash hard outta the box and enjoy more of the running side of the hobby than the repair frustration side.
 
Last edited:
Thanks all for posting up your experiences, seems the clear choice for me is the 5ive. Makes sense, im impressed overall with my nitro 8ight T .
 
Milo said:
How about building one from the ground up to your own specification?
Click to expand...
That's about what I did, everyone's leftovers. Turned out to be close to the cost of a new one. I just have a few upgrades in mine. The biggest pain was getting the shocks. That was an ebay nightmare. You could always find a nice used one. Wouldn't be any worse off for it.
 
Back
Top