Traxxas Revo 3.3 Full Review. The Most Powerful Nitro RC Car Ever!

Table of Contents

If you’re a fan of the E-Revo 2.0 and wonder if you can get the Nitro version, Yes, you can get it, it’s the Traxxas Revo 3.3!

Out of all Traxxas electric RC cars, the E-Revo 2.0 is one of the special RC cars whether from the design, the performance, or the building.

But, as a nitro RC cars fan, I would love to have an E-Revo with a nitro version. Well, there is the Traxxas Revo 3.3. Actually, it was released way before the release of the Electric E-Revo!

So, does it have the same performance as the E-Revo 2.0? Is it worth buying?

Let’s answer all these questions in the next few lines…

The Design

Traxxas Revo 3.3 Body

Since the Traxxas Revo 3.3 has the same name as the Traxxas E-Revo, a lot of people might think that they have the same design and body which is not true!

Actually, they are completely different!

The E-Revo has a different structure, in fact, it has a lower and smaller body made for high speed due to the aerodynamics design put there, especially since the E-Revo has been updated many times.

On the other hand, the Traxxas Revo 3.3 that we’re reviewing today looks more like the Traxxas Maxx.

It looks like a normal RC truck with the usual dimensions of any RC truck.

This means that you can distinguish the Electric Revo from the Nitro Revo easily!

The Front

Like any RC car, the front of the body usually starts with the headlights, I mean fake headlights and grills. They look like the ones on the E-Revo which keeps the same identity.

Despite being fake you can always add a light kit to your RC car and enjoy the new look.

After the headlights come a long hood where there are two clips, normal clips, unlike the E-Revo’s body that comes clipless.

It’s so simple, there aren’t so many details.

The Middle and The Rear

Like the front, the middle of the Traxxas Revo 3.3 is simple, it is offered with 3 windows which are stickers as well.

The logo of Traxxas as well as the Revo 3.3 is also there.

In the rear, you’ll find the big hole where the motor is coming out as well as the 2 other clips. There are actually two other holes, one for filling the fuel, and the other for the fuel tank handle.

In addition to that, the rear end of this RC car comes with taillights as well as the silver rear bumper connected to the chassis.

Traxxas Revo 3.3 Colors

The Revo 3.3 comes in 4 colors which are: Red, Blue, Green, and Silver.

The Traxxas Revo 3.3 Chassis

The Traxxas Revo 3.3 chassis is made from metal and comes with a lot of common features with the electric E-Revo like the horizontal shocks as well as other features as well.

The Front

Traxxas Revo 3.3 Full Review. The Most Powerful Nitro RC Car Ever!

The front of the chassis starts with the silver bumper, it is wide enough to cover all the front end of the chassis. It is also strong and can handle a lot of powerful crashes while protecting the body as well as the chassis.

Right after the bumper, there is a big brace that separates the chassis from the bumper to increase the ability to absorb the crash without letting the wave reach the internal parts.

Here is something different from the other RC cars. Usually, after the bumper, we find the shocks, the shock tower, and the body mount.

Well, for this RC car, there is none of that order. In this RC car, you will find the body mount first, then the shocks that are installed horizontally instead of vertically.

Also, there is no shock tower, or at least as I’m seeing (If I’m wrong, let me know in the comments below).

The suspension arms as well as the driveshafts are at the same level as the body mount, they’re in front of the shocks.

So, as you see, the front of the Revo 3.3 is pretty interesting and special. Isn’t it? What about the Middle and the rear? They’re not the same as the Traxxas Jato 3.3 we reviewed before!

The Middle and the Rear

The middle is where the electronics begin!

After the shocks, there is a small box which is the disk brake controller, the two-speed transmission right behind it.

In addition to that, there are twin servos on the sides, each one is installed on each side, they’re really strong and can handle really well unlike the ones on the E-Revo 2.0.

Actually, once you remove the body of the Traxxas Revo 3.3 and see the chassis, you’ll see that everything is in closed boxes, some of them have disk brakes and the transmission as we mentioned, some others have the receiver, others with the servos, and so on…

The funny thing is whether you’re a beginner or an expert, if you see the Traxxas Revo 3.3 chassis for the first time, you’ll get overwhelmed, there are a lot going on, parts on the left, on the right, they’re even in the bottom! It’s a little bit complex!

Still, that can be considered really a good thing in this RC car to show you the level of engineering and technology there is here!

The second half of the Revo 3.3 has a 3.3 motor alongside a 150 CC fuel tank. It comes also with the same handle that the Jato 3.3 has to make the opening easy.

But here is the thing, when you see the fuel tank, you’ll notice that there are two tubes, one that links the motor and the tank, this one’s role is easy which is to provide the motor with the fuel.

The other one links between the fuel tank and the exhaust system, but what is that? Does it provide the exhaust with fuel as well? Of course not!

This is actually a pressure tube that helps the fuel get to the motor. Let me explain…

The exhaust system creates pressure, as the vehicle is moving, this pressure moves through the tube to press the fuel inside the tank and send it to the motor through the other tube. Smart move!

Talking about the Traxxas Revo 3.3 exhaust system, it, unlike the one on the Jato 3.3, is installed in the back.

The rear shocks are under all this mess. They’re linked to the body mount and then, there is the rear bumper which is shorter than the front one.

Traxxas Revo 3.3 Performance

The Traxxas Revo 3.3 is a 4WD RC car that comes with a Powerful TRX® 3.3 racing engine capable of reaching 45mph which is not that fast in comparison to the other Traxxas Nitro RC cars like the Jato 3.3.

Still, it has won the best Nitro RC truck since 2004.

In addition to the motor, this RC beast is offered a 2-speed automatic transmission for heavy duty.

The motor of this RC car is not only a mechanical piece, it has a lot of tech in it. For example, it does come with the EZ-start which makes starting the engine easy unlike the rest of Nitro RC cars.

Here is a quick summary of all the internal parts that the Traxxas Revo 3.3 includes:

Traxxas Revo 3.3 Internal Parts

Top Speed: 45+ mph

TRX^® 3.3 Racing Engine
Dual 2075 digital high-torque
Large capacity 150 cc fuel tank

Heavy-duty reversing OptiDrive^® transmission
Large diameter front disc brake
Torque-Control™ slipper clutch

Large High-Volume Dual-Stage Air Filter
And more…

Buy the Revo 3.3

Of course, Traxxas Revo 3.3 hasn’t reached the level it has now because of these internal parts only, there are other features and systems that help you drive it easily.

The Transmitter and The Receiver

Since this RC car comes with the best nitro racing engine that hasn’t been defeated since 2004, nothing could be more convenient than a high-end transmitter and receiver that can handle controlling this big monster.

The transmitter offered with Revo 3.3 is a TQi™ 2.4GHz transmitter. This is actually, one of the best and most advanced transmitters ever. It does come with a lot of features that will blow your mind.

The best one of them is the Traxxas Link feature that allows you to see different info about your RC car through your smartphone.

It’s an easy process: Get the Traxxas Link device, put it on your transmitter, install the Traxxas App, and connect the device with your mobile phone using Bluetooth.

At this moment, you can see countless info about your RC car including the speed, the temperature, the RPM as well as the battery voltage.

Driving your RC car is so much fun, but, with this additional feature, you’ll double your enjoyment!

This is not the only feature though. There is another one called TSM.

This one doesn’t come from the transmitter like Traxxas Link, it is actually operated by the 5-channel Micro Receiver. It’s called TSM (Traxxas Stability Management).

If you’re familiar with high-end Traxxas RC cars, then, I assume you already know it!

Basically, this system helps you keep the same direction when driving by sensing the vehicle’s direction while making steering corrections by turning the wheels left or right automatically depending on the situation.

This will help you maintain balance and control over your RC car and avoid having a bad crash that can damage it or in the worst case hurt you or someone else.

Also, here is another feature that only nitro RC cars have. It’s the EZ-Start, this feature allows you to turn on your RC car easily just by putting the remote into the Glow Plug and clicking the button.

Still, some people love the old school of the pull start system. What about you? What do you prefer?

Traxxas Revo 3.3 Parts And Upgrades

A lot of people might think that since this is a nitro RC car, it might have the same upgrades as the Jato 3.3.

The answer is NO!

First of all, as you have seen in the previous sections, Revo 3.3 has a different structure that is different than most Traxxas RC cars whether they’re nitro or electric except for Traxxas Summit and E-Revo that have the same suspension system.

Still, you can find some common parts with Traxxas X-Maxx or Maxx for example the wheels and tires, as well as some other Traxxas Nitro cars.

This doesn’t mean that it’s hard to find them, on the contrary, they’re widely available, not that cheap though!

So, whether you need mechanical parts or electric Traxxas Revo 3.3 parts, you can find them easily!

Things I Don’t Like About Traxxas Revo 3.3

After all this review, I see that everything about this RC car is amazing.

Whether we’re talking about the body, the technology, the engineering, or the performance, all these things have a great role in making this RC car the most powerful one.

However, there is something that has shocked me, it’s the top speed!

I hope if this RC car can reach more than 45mph, it’s a lot of speed actually, but if you compare it to other lower RC cars, it’s so slow.

Another reason I expected the Traxxas Revo 3.3 to be this fast is the Traxxas Jato 3.3 which has also a 3.3 motor and can reach 60+ mph! So, why is that?

Other than that, this RC car is perfect!

Great Things About the Traxxas Revo 3.3

There are a lot of great things I want to mention in this section.

Red object: In this review, I showed you how to start this RC car, but, do you know how to shut it down? There are some classic ways that people invented, but they’re not creative.

In the tube between the motor and the fuel tank, there is a red object or gadget let’s say. Its role is to stop the fuel from passing to the engine by pressing the tube with one click.

After that, the engine stops because there is no more fuel coming in.

Exhaust pipe pointed down: If you look closely at the exhaust pipe, you’ll find that it’s pointed down to the ground, this is because if it’s pointed straight, it will damage the rear bumper since it will be directly pointed to it.

So, that’s a good move that shows you that Traxxas cares about the details!

Access to the gears in the transmission: The transmission box includes the gears and acts as a cover to protect them. So, in order to check the gears, it will be a pain in the ass to open the whole box and close it again.

This is where Traxxas has put a small opening cap, you can open it easily, check the gears, and put it back. Simple and easy!

The Complicated Structure: As mentioned earlier, the Traxxas Revo 3.3 comes with so many parts that are organized in that small chassis, this looks so complicated especially if you’re used to electric RC cars where they don’t have many parts.

Still, this complexity shows you how great this RC car is! I personally love that! What about you?

Are there any great things about the Traxxas Revo 3.3 you’d like to share with us? I would love to see your answer in the comments below!

Traxxas Revo 3.3 Price

The Traxxas Revo 3.3 is filled with a lot of great achievements as well as high engineering and technology levels. Would you think that this is a cheap RC car?

Not a chance! This RC car is actually a little bit expensive. However, you will get a lot of things in return especially if you love special things that you can’t and won’t find in most other RC cars.

Check out the price of the Traxxas Revo 3.3 by clicking the button below:

So, Should You Buy It?

Here is a direct answer: YES, Definitely buy it!

There is one thing though that may stop you from buying it which is the price. It’s normal, everybody loves saving money!

But, don’t worry, there is an alternative, you can get the Traxxas Jato 3.3 which is cheaper and has almost the same performance if not more than the Revo 3.3.

OR, you can switch to electric RC cars and get the 1/16 E-Revo which is way cheaper than that.

Still, if you can buy the Traxxas Revo 3.3, just go ahead and buy it, it’s worth it!

So, what do you think? Would you buy Revo 3.3? Let me know in the comments down below!