Head to head

ARRMA Big Rock vs Granite

These two share a motor, a speed control, a transmitter, a servo and a stated top speed. What you are actually choosing between is a wheelbase, a tire and a body.

By Ryder M. · Published October 30, 2026 · Last reviewed October 30, 2026

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Buy the [ARRMA Granite 223S](#arrma-granite-223s) if this is a first brushless truck, and the [ARRMA Big Rock 223S](#arrma-big-rock-223s) if the person driving it has done this before or the truck has to look like a monster truck from across a room. The reason the answer is that blunt is that these two are the same vehicle in two body styles. ARRMA publishes the same Spektrum 3100Kv brushless motor, the same SLT 80A 2-in-1 waterproof speed control and receiver, the same SLT3 three-channel transmitter with 50 and 75 percent throttle limiting, the same S662 metal-geared waterproof servo, the same IC5 battery connector, and the same stated performance: 35+ mph on a 2-cell pack, 50+ mph on a 3-cell. Neither includes a battery or a charger.

Short version: the Granite is 18.5 inches long on an 11.18 inch wheelbase at 7.65 lb, and its short wheelbase makes it agile, easy to place in a yard and easier to catch when it steps out. The Big Rock is 20.24 inches long and 14.02 inches wide on a 12.87 inch wheelbase at 7.82 lb, and that longer, wider footprint makes it steadier at speed and more planted on landings. Same power, same limiter, same parts network. Choose on size and on which body the recipient wants.

The received wisdom, including an earlier version of the product note on this site, is that the Big Rock is the taller truck and the Granite the lower one. ARRMA's own published figures do not support that. It lists the Granite at 8.03 inches high and the Big Rock at 7.91 — a tenth of an inch apart, with the Granite marginally the taller of the two. Neither page publishes a ground clearance figure at all, so anyone telling you one truck clears obstacles the other cannot is extrapolating.

What ARRMA does publish is a real and useful difference in footprint. The Big Rock is 1.74 inches longer, 0.64 inches wider, and sits on a wheelbase 1.69 inches longer than the Granite's. That is the whole comparison in three numbers, and it is a much better predictor of how each truck behaves than any height claim. The Big Rock's monster-truck presence is a function of its body shell and its dBoots Ragnarok tires, not of extra ride height.

Read the specification lists carefully and two genuine differences emerge, pointing in opposite directions. ARRMA lists a 35mm motor cooling fan on the Granite and does not list one on the Big Rock. It lists aluminum shock bodies on the Big Rock and composite oil-filled coil-overs on the Granite.

Both matter, and the fan matters more than it sounds. Heat is what kills a brushless motor and the speed control behind it, and heat is cumulative over a long session on a hot day — particularly on 3 cells, particularly in grass where the truck is working hard at low speed. A fan does not make a truck faster; it makes a truck survive the fifth battery pack of the afternoon. The aluminum shocks on the Big Rock are the better hardware for landings: they shed heat from the oil, hold their damping more consistently, and do not split at the body the way a composite shock eventually does.

The honest reading, then, is that the Granite is specified for sustained running and the Big Rock for impacts. If the plan is long sessions in a field, the fan is the more valuable item. If the plan is jumping it off things, the shocks are. Both trucks sit on the same metal-geared center differential and the same waterproof electronics, so nothing else in the drivetrain separates them.

This is the most important feature on both trucks and the one most easily skimmed past. The SLT3 transmitter in each box can limit the throttle to 50 or 75 percent, from the transmitter, with no tools and nothing to install. On a vehicle ARRMA rates at 35+ mph on a 2-cell pack, that turns a truck that is too much for a beginner into one that is not, and then releases the rest when the driver is ready.

That is the same argument we make for Traxxas' Training Mode, and it is worth saying plainly that ARRMA's version is a three-stage limit rather than a single halved setting, which is slightly more useful in practice — 75 percent is a real intermediate step rather than a cliff. Traxxas vs ARRMA works through the broader brand question, and the ARRMA Granite 223S review goes further into what the limiter changes day to day.

One caveat applies to both, and it is not small: a limiter is a setting, not a lock. Any driver can turn it back up. On a 7.65 lb vehicle rated past 50 mph on 3 cells, that makes supervision part of the purchase for anyone under their teens, regardless of which of these two you buy.

#	Product	Best for	Score	Price
1	ARRMA Granite 223S 4x4Brushless power in a monster truck built to be crashed — the most common recommendation for a first serious basher.	Best brushless starter	8.8★★★★★	$339.74·View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026
2	ARRMA Big Rock 223S 4x4The Granite's running gear under a bigger monster-truck body — the one that looks the part.	Monster truck looks	8.5★★★★★	$369.99·View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026
3	Zeee 2S LiPo batterySold in twos for about what one premium pack costs — the reason so many garages have a stack of them.	Two packs, low spend	8.1★★★★★	$35.08$38.98(10% off)·View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026
4	HOTA D6 Pro chargerTwo channels, plugs straight into the wall, and fast enough that charging stops being the bottleneck.	The one to buy once	8.8★★★★★	$109.99$119.99(8% off)·View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026

Product photo via Amazon.

#1 · Best brushless starter

ARRMA Granite 223S 4x4

Brushless power in a monster truck built to be crashed — the most common recommendation for a first serious basher.

★★★★★8.8/10our score for this use

Arrma designs for bashing: heavy-duty plastic, chunky driveshafts, and a reputation for surviving impacts that break lighter cars. The 223S is the current brushless version of its 1/10 monster truck and takes a 2S or 3S battery.

Size:

1/10

Drive:

4WD

Motor:

brushless motor

What it does well

• +Built heavy on purpose — the brand's whole identity is surviving bad landings
• +Brushless power with a 3S option, so it has room to grow with the driver
• +Supported through Horizon Hobby, so parts and service have a real distribution network

What it does badly

• −The weight that makes it tough also makes it hard on whatever it hits
• −Battery and charger are extra on most versions
• −Too fast for a young child without adult supervision

Specifications from ARRMA's current releases.

$339.74·View on Amazon

#ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026

Product photo via Amazon.

#2 · Monster truck looks

ARRMA Big Rock 223S 4x4

The Granite's running gear under a bigger monster-truck body — the one that looks the part.

★★★★★8.5/10our score for this use

Same mechanical family as the Granite — the same Spektrum 3100Kv brushless motor, speed control, transmitter and throttle limiting — in a longer, wider body on dBoots Ragnarok tires. ARRMA publishes it at 20.24 inches long on a 12.87 inch wheelbase, against the Granite's 18.5 inches and 11.18 inches, which buys straight-line composure and costs agility in a small yard.

Size:

1/10

Drive:

4WD

Motor:

brushless motor

What it does well

• +The most visually impressive truck in this price band on Christmas morning
• +Aluminum oil-filled coil-over shocks, which hold their damping better through hard landings
• +Shares parts with the rest of Arrma's 1/10 4x4 range

What it does badly

• −The tall body rolls in corners — expect a lot of flipping early on
• −Longer and wider than the Granite, so it needs more room to turn around
• −No battery or charger included, and ARRMA lists no motor cooling fan as the Granite has

Specifications from the ARRMA Big Rock 4X4 223S BLX product page.

$369.99·View on Amazon

#ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026

Product photo via Amazon.

#3 · Two packs, low spend

Zeee 2S LiPo battery

Sold in twos for about what one premium pack costs — the reason so many garages have a stack of them.

★★★★★8.1/10our score for this use

The budget end of the LiPo market, usually sold as a two-pack. For a gift where the goal is more driving time rather than maximum performance, two adequate batteries beat one excellent one.

What it does well

• +Two-packs at a price that makes a spare battery an easy decision
• +Perfectly adequate for bashing, which is what most of these cars do
• +Widely stocked in the common sizes

What it does badly

• −Pack-to-pack consistency is not at the level of the premium brands
• −They tend to age faster if they are stored fully charged — which beginners do
• −Not the choice for racing

$35.08$38.98(10% off)·View on Amazon

#ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026

Product photo via Amazon.

#4 · The one to buy once

HOTA D6 Pro charger

Two channels, plugs straight into the wall, and fast enough that charging stops being the bottleneck.

★★★★★8.8/10our score for this use

A balance charger looks after each cell inside a LiPo pack individually, which is what keeps the battery healthy and safe. The D6 Pro has a built-in power supply — no separate box to buy — charges two packs at once, and around 1.6A of balance current per cell, which is why it finishes noticeably faster than the pocket chargers.

What it does well

• +Built-in AC power supply: it works straight out of the box with no extra purchase
• +Two independent channels, so a second pack charges while the first is in the car
• +Higher balance current than the small chargers, so charging is genuinely quicker

What it does badly

• −Overkill if there is only ever going to be one small battery
• −The menu system takes an evening to learn
• −It is another box on the bench with its own fan noise

$109.99$119.99(8% off)·View on Amazon

#ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026

Neither truck includes a battery or a charger, both use the IC5 connector, and both accept 2 or 3 cells. That makes the running-cost comparison unusually simple: it is the same, and in both cases the sticker is not the spend. The sensible first purchase for either is a 2-cell LiPo rather than a 3-cell — ARRMA's own 35+ mph figure on 2S is plenty for a first month, the current draw is gentler on the electronics, and the step up to 3 cells is available later with no other change.

1. 1.A 2-cell LiPo with an IC5 connector, or an adapter. This is the item that decides whether the truck moves on the day it is unwrapped.
2. 2.A balance charger with a LiPo mode, plus a fire-resistant bag to charge in. The best RC battery chargers covers what to look for.
3. 3.A second pack. One battery is a short session and a long wait, and that ratio is the most common reason an RC car stops being driven.
4. 4.A spare front suspension arm set, for either truck. Both are open-wheel designs and the front arm is what goes first.
5. 5.Only then, 3 cells. The 50+ mph figure is real, and so is what it does to a truck that hits a curb.

Spares come from the same place for both: ARRMA sits inside the Horizon Hobby distribution network, so parts are numbered, stocked and available through dealers as well as online. That is the single strongest reason to buy either of these over a cheaper brushless truck from a brand with no parts catalog. What breaks first on an RC car sets out the order in which you will need them.

1. 1.Published figures only. With the power systems identical, the comparison lives in the dimensions, and those we take from ARRMA rather than from impressions. Where ARRMA publishes nothing - ground clearance, age guidance, the Granite's final drive - we say so.
2. 2.Wheelbase against the space available. 1.69 inches of wheelbase is the largest real difference between these trucks and the one that most changes how each feels in a yard.
3. 3.Cooling against shock hardware. The Granite's motor fan suits long sessions; the Big Rock's aluminum shocks suit landings. Pick the one that matches how it will be driven.
4. 4.The limiter, on both. Three-stage throttle limiting is what makes either truck handable by a beginner, and it is the feature we weight most heavily on any vehicle this fast.
5. 5.What is missing from the box. Identical on both, and in both cases a meaningful addition to the real cost.
6. 6.Honest cons on both. The Granite is the smaller, slightly less composed truck at speed and has composite shock bodies; the Big Rock is longer and wider than a small yard wants, has no listed motor fan, and costs more for the same stated performance.

• A first brushless truck: the Granite 223S. Shorter, lighter, easier to place, motor-cooled for long sessions, and the cheaper of the two for the same stated speed.
• A driver who has done this before: the Big Rock 223S. The longer wheelbase and aluminum shocks reward someone who will land it properly.
• A small yard or a lot of obstacles: the Granite, by a clear margin. The Big Rock needs room to turn around.
• A gift where the look matters: the Big Rock. It reads as a monster truck across a room in a way the Granite does not.
• Long sessions on hot days: the Granite, for the 35mm motor fan.
• Jumping it off things: the Big Rock, for the aluminum shock bodies - or the ARRMA Vorteks 223S, which is the lower stadium truck built for exactly that.
• A twelve-year-old: either, on the 50 percent limit, supervised. RC cars for 12-year-olds covers the whole decision.

By reading ARRMA's own published specifications for ARA4312V4 and ARA4302V4 and ranking the pair on the factors that decide satisfaction with a brushless 1/10 truck: whether the speed can be limited and in what steps, how the footprint suits the space available, what the cooling and shock hardware says about how each is meant to be used, what is missing from the box, and how spares are obtained. Every figure above is ARRMA's own, retrieved 2026-10-30 and linked in Sources, and where ARRMA publishes no figure we have said so rather than estimate one - including correcting the widespread claim that the Big Rock is the taller truck, which its own dimensions do not support. We do not test these products first-hand and we publish no ratings or test scores; our methodology page explains exactly what that means. Prices are never written into our copy: every figure shown is read from Amazon that day and rendered inside the buy button, with the date it was read.