rc cars

[4x4junkie]

I absolutely love it! Pretty much all my free time has been spent with this thing. Can't put it down!


LOL I only got it that muddy the one time. It's not something I want to make a habit of. There's an outdoor track near me, and the day I went, the dirt track was pretty wet. But taking things apart to clean it is almost as fun as driving it!

Funny you mention the lights. That's exactly what my first mod is going to be - if I can find them. I'm going to call my local hobby shop tomorrow to see if they have 'em. Looking around online, the few places that carry them are out of stock, although I did find them on Ebay.
Next will be another body that I'm going to custom paint.

Good eye noticing the missing steering servo! Being new to the current state of R/C vehicles, I assumed the Traxxas claim that everything was ready to go right out of the box. The fact that the steering servos would whine at rest and I had to set the steering trim way left of center should have made me realize that I needed to adjust the steering linkage, but I didn't. Within a few days of getting the truck, the driver-side servo was toast. Not totally my fault, but I could have corrected the steering and probably saved the servos premature death. I went and bought another servo, but I'm still going to call Traxxas and see if they'll send me another.
I broke a half-shaft, but that was because of stupidity and totally my fault. The range on these things is incredible - up to a quarter mile. The truck was pretty far away, and I dumped it on it's side while doing donuts in the dirt. Instead of walking out to it and putting her back on all fours, I decided to try hit the juice while turning back and forth to get her back on her feet. I failed. As I gave up and approached the truck, I saw the driver side front wheel spinning freely with no throttle. This truck is full time 4wd, and that is not supposed to happen, so I knew something was broke. Took it home to discover that the pin that goes through the half shaft at the outer end had ripped right through the plastic shaft. Fortunately for me, a set of 2 was only $8 at the hobby shop. Live and learn.
Other than that, this thing has been bulletproof. If I lose another steering servo, I will look into beefier replacements. Also, the guy at the hobby shop said I could run a single steering servo, with more in.-oz. of torque than the 2 Traxxas servos combined. Is this true?

I've heard of the single-servo mod, yes. I've also heard it requires you to get a new radio with adjustable end points for it, but I don't know if that's true or not.
I switched mine out to dual Hi-Tec 5645MG digital servos and am happy with their performance.
Yes, they may call it "RTR", but you still have to check it over apparently (I had a buddy who's servo burned out because the linkage wasn't adjusted properly from the factory). Traxxas is pretty good about replacement parts though, I'm sure they'll send you another one without any hassle (they did for me when I blew up the spiders in the rear diff).

I tried that with the axle on mine once, the metal part just doesn't fit in the end quite the same afterward. $8 gives you 4 times you can break it, I just replace them (so far I've only ever broken two plastic ends on mine, which I've had it for 8 months now). If the slipper clutch at the motor is adjusted correctly, it should be rare to encounter a broken shaft (that is, without having the lockers engaged. With the lockers you still could break them if you aren't careful. Both mine broke with the locker on).

 

[scotts90ranger]

the radio doesn't care if it has one or two servos for steering, that and the revo are all that have dual steering servos and all of traxxases cars use the same basic radio (they just add a 3rd channel for the ones with reverse and the forth for the locking diffs)

 

[willied]

This makes me want to get my rcs out again. I have a Duratrax Evader ST which is kinda crappy but still fun and with a Mamba Max 5700Kv brushless and an ok 9 cell battery I got it up to 51mph. I could have gone faster but I only got one run in before I stripped the idler gear. And I also have a Tamiya Hummer, though it's had a couple of different bodies on it but none of them ever looked any good. I need to spend some time on a nice body but that'll be a while. Anyway, here are a couple of pics and videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chH4mL7xDyA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz7XKpGkbfU

 

[4x4junkie]

the radio doesn't care if it has one or two servos for steering, that and the revo are all that have dual steering servos and all of traxxases cars use the same basic radio (they just add a 3rd channel for the ones with reverse and the forth for the locking diffs)

It had something to do with higher-torque servos such as those used for the single-servo mod trying to go too far or something (binding up the linkage). I dunno, it didn't really make sense to me, I've always thought servos were pretty standardized when it came to how much rotation you get out of it vs. amount of control input from the radio system (the pulse width or whatever it is). Plus you can always use a different servo horn hole too.



Great pics willied
I don't think I could stand doing all the cleanup needed afterward though

 

[scott5640]

wow...48 posts....lol

im saving up for a 4x4 rc car...idk what kind yet. i dont want to spend more than 200 for one though

 

[Iron Ranger]

I bought this Traxxas Nitro Sport from a highschool kid for $140. Came with everything including 2 bodies. Pretty good deal in my book. I tore it down to nothing and cleaned and replaced parts as needed(needless to say, this one was in pretty good condition!)

Before:

Nasty nitro sludge.

After:

Then I got my baby; a HPI MT1 with a G3.0 motor(I had to make custom mounts to make it fit).

Scott, if you haven't found an r/c car yet, I'm currently working on an HPI MT1(same as the one in the pic, but with the .15 stock motor). I have to put new parts in it and make sure that the motor is tuned right(which I can't do until spring when it's warm outside).

If your interested, send me a pm and I'll take care of the rest.

 

[triumphrider-1]

Then I got my baby; a HPI MT1 with a G3.0 motor(I had to make custom mounts to make it fit).

How do you like those tires?

 

[Iron Ranger]

How do you like those tires?

These are awesome! They have nice grip on the road and still grow for high speeds( track tires seem to stay flat at high rpm, hence low top speed like a drag racer).

 

[triumphrider-1]

These are awesome! They have nice grip on the road and still grow for high speeds( track tires seem to stay flat at high rpm, hence low top speed like a drag racer).

What surface are you using them on? I'm using them on rough texture concrete and attempted carpet, and personally think they suck. My step pin tires are a lot grabbier than them on most any surface.

 

[Iron Ranger]

What surface are you using them on? I'm using them on rough texture concrete and attempted carpet, and personally think they suck. My step pin tires are a lot grabbier than them on most any surface.

Mainly black top roads and parking lots. The stubby ones you're explaining to me are for carpet racing and such, but the tires don't last too long.

 

[LearjetMinako]

I see quite a few members drive R/C vehicles. I should share pics of my little collection of R/C's. But right now, I really not driving them since race season is done. And most everything is done on indoor tracks now. Right now I'm fixing up and upgrading the little Losi M-LST. Which is a 1/18th scale of its bigger brother, the LST. Awasome little truck, but when I get done with it. It will conquer all the backyard.

Current little collection:
Team AE TC-4 Team edition (8.5 brushless/lipo with a top speed of maybe 30~35mph)
Team AE B4 Factory Team edition (5.5 brushless/lipo with a top speed over 50mph)
Losi MLST rtr (18.5 brushless/lipo with limited slip center and front/rear diffs)
Team AE RC10GT Factory Team edition (haven't started this one up in a long time. Mostly running electric since they can now out pace the nitro's)

 

[Jay FX4]

Test posting a video clip:

http://s606.photobucket.com/albums/tt150/JayCanon/Traxxas Summit/?action=view&current=P10206241.flv

 

[triumphrider-1]

Ugh, you got snow on the camera! Shoot it again!

I like the slide at the end, looks like a professional did it.

 

[powerranger262]

That's a cool video, how many times did you hit the camera before that. I'll post some pics of my Jato in a little while.

 

[Jay FX4]

Ugh, you got snow on the camera! Shoot it again!

I like the slide at the end, looks like a professional did it.

Thanks, I'm getting good at going from full throttle - about 20mph - to a sliding stop and ending up exactly where I want to be.

That's a cool video, how many times did you hit the camera before that. I'll post some pics of my Jato in a little while.

Hey Powerranger, you made it over here, eh?

How many times did I hit the camera? Twice. If I would have started the slide just an inch sooner, I'd have done it perfect like in the video I posted. I just bumped the camera and knocked it over, but watching the video it looks like I plow the hell out of it. I will post those vids too....