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So my brother in law has recently acquired a Traxxas Slash (the waterproof one), and the RC bug has kinda bitten me again. I have an opportunity to buy a used Traxxas Stampede XL-5 with a charger and two 2400MAH batteries for $100. It also has the newer VXL idler gear and planetary diff set. Is this a remotely good deal? I dont want to plop down the cash to get into a new Slash or something like that, not yet anyway. I figure for $100 if I'm not happy I can resell it for that amount at least. EDIT: To explain further, I really just want it for bashing around the yard, local skate park, and empty parking lots. I have no intentions of actually racing it. Beve Stuscemi fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Apr 22, 2010 |
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Apr 22, 2010 14:39
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krushgroove posted:Sounds like a good deal, especially for playing around Yep, transmitter included. Basically everything that came in the original box, plus a charger, two batteries, "some tools" and "some spare parts", plus the VXL parts that he added. Sweet, I'll hopefully be picking it up today.
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Apr 22, 2010 16:01
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does it have a radio? If so definitely go for it, I'd say.
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Well, I went and picked up that Traxxas Stampede today! It needs some work, one of the electrical connections to the motor is charred, indicating that the PO had it hooked up loosely. That same connection also has a slice in the insulation, and is only hanging on to the motor by a thread. All in all though, its good, and the issues it does have are pretty easy to solve. The truck itself is in good shape. The other thing is that the batteries are pretty tired, probably from being charged on the wrong amperage constantly  The PO was running a 4 amp charge into 2400 packs.My brother in law has a 8.4V 3000MAH pack that he can hook me up with thankfully. So, with some work to refresh it (new batteries, different motor, general tightening up) I think it will be pretty sweet! Thankfully I still have a lot of stuff left over from my RC airplane days, including a very nice computerized charger. Here it is on the way home:  I've already started nerding out on the maintenance, which is actually pretty fun:  I'm pretty excited to be back in the hobby, I've missed it since I got away from planes a few years back.
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Apr 23, 2010 05:23
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So what do you do when you buy a used truck, and the body is pretty trashed, but you havent had a chance to get a new one yet? You buy the single best product available at Wal-Mart: Digital Camo Duct Tape.
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Apr 26, 2010 15:04
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Somewhat Heroic posted:This is incredible and awesome. Hope you are enjoying your new ride. I am, I'm glad to be back in the RC world again. Of course the mod bug has bitten me as well, and I'm eyeing a brushless system for the Stampede, and I've already put a metal geared steering servo in, as well as a Kimbrough servo saver, and a wheelie bar. I've been correctly charging the batteries that the PO constantly overcharged by 2x, and they've been picking back up. Their performance is already better than it was a week ago. I'm also looking for a case to carry my stuff. A tackle box would work for tools and parts, but I'm looking for something that can do my TX, charger and batteries as well. Any suggestions?
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Apr 28, 2010 23:14
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krushgroove posted:I'm not against speed or anything, don't get me wrong One of my local tracks has a bunch of spec classes. For instance they have a spec Traxxas Slash class where everything has to be stock, and you can run either a 6-cell NIMH or a 2S lipo. Apparently its great fun and hugely competitive, because it really comes down to who is the best driver, not who has the biggest wallet. The pack of cars also stays pretty clumped together for lots of passing and action.
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May 6, 2010 22:12
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T1g4h posted:In the related videos: I had a hyper driver back in the day, but no track for it. All I remember is that it ate batteries like nothing else.
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May 9, 2010 20:45
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WOW. I put a VXL-3S waterproof ESC and Velineon brushless motor in my Stampede tonight. Unreal. On my 3000mah 7-cell it will start pulling a wheelie at like 20mph. Its so crazy compared to the brushed motor and esc.
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May 15, 2010 05:04
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Having lots of experience with both the brushless Slash and the brushless E-revo, for what you want, go with the Revo. The Slash is not nearly as suited for bashing around the yard as the Revo is. The Slash is really built specifically for short course racing, and when you use it outside of that scenario, it really shows that its a purpose built machine. It also has very little clearance with the stock tires, since its meant to run on groomed tracks. The Revo is basically crazy and unstoppable, and great for bashing. I dont have much experience with the Maxx trucks, just the 2WD Stampede, but everyone seems to love the E-Maxx, and it will probably be a cheaper alternative to the Revo. Also, as a general statement, I'd say stay with Traxxas if you arent going to be getting into serious racing series and things like that, as the parts availability is second to none. Beve Stuscemi fucked around with this message at 15:45 on Jul 19, 2010 |
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Jul 19, 2010 15:43
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Somewhat Heroic posted:If you cut the grass/weeds I would definitely take the 4WD Slash. That thing is freaking awesome. If you don't cut the growth, the E-Revo may be the better choice, but running in those conditions will be torture on just about everything from the motor to the driveline. I'd say the Slash is definitely marketed towards short course racing, its all over the traxxas website.
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Jul 19, 2010 22:35
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Trust me, if you drive it like you stole it, you'll get some wrench time in. You wont be disappointed in the Revo, the brushless ones are crazy.
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Jul 20, 2010 05:43
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Sloppy posted:Is there such a thing as an R/C demolition derby? Because that would be awesome to watch For me its called 1/10 Monster Open class. I swear I went through like 6 bearing carriers.
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Aug 5, 2010 15:11
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You know if there's any other guys flying RC planes in AI? I'm getting back into planes as well, and resurrecting my Slow Stick with a brushless/2.4ghz setup. Cant wait!! Have to take the Stampede out for a run at the local bashing spot so she doesnt get jealous though.
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Aug 30, 2010 22:49
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Hell yeah plane people  Who else is flying here?
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Sep 13, 2010 18:01
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Nerobro posted:I fly. well I used to. Wow, you've been around the block a bit with the planes, huh? I just resurrected my old GWS Slow Stick with a 2200Mah Lipo and a Hobby King brushless system. I promptly fried the motor yesterday, because HK said it was good for 3S, but its not, THANKS HOBBY KING  So now I guess I'm going to run the stock brushed setup until I can find a good brushless system to replace it with. In other news, I love lipos and Traxxas battery connectors. I now run lipos in my plane and my Traxxas Stampede, they all use the same connector, they all get balanced by ye olde blinky balancer, and all of them work in either the plane or the truck. Deans plugs are dead to me now.
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Sep 20, 2010 02:29
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I just waited over a month to get a battery, esc and motor from hobby king. Their poo poo is cheap, but it's also on the slowest slow boat from china, quite literally. There are plenty of us retailers that have batteries cheaper than the lhs, and you won't have to wait for a month for them to ship. I generally agree on not getting batteries from the lhs though, the markup is insane. I make it up by buying about a million fiddly little parts per week that I can't wait for shipping on.
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Sep 20, 2010 06:17
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My LHS just ripped out their carpet road course to build another dirt track. Which is cool because I have 1/10th scale truck I can run on it, but sucks because thats one less place for the road guys to race and I dont want to see any part of the R/C hobby go away around here, since the chicago area is the socal of the midwest, we love our RC stuff. That was a big sentence. In other news, I plowed my slow stick into a tree at about 30mph, and I'm just finishing rebuilding it. This time I put a 3/8" dowel down the fuselage though, so hopefully that will make things a little tougher, as the stock fuse bends if you look at it wrong. Also reinforced the wings, elevator, and rudder with fiberglass rods. Hope to get it in the air in the next day or so to try my hand at some aerial photography.
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Oct 7, 2010 17:36
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Yeah, China has really changed the R/C game. What used to cost thousands to get up and running a decade or so ago can now be had for a few hundred. The thing that sucks about HobbyKing though is that the shipping takes forever, the quality can be hit or miss, and popular things sell out literally in hours. They did just open a US warehouse though, so the shipping thing may change. Some of the popular motors, esc's, and batteries can be had here: http://www.headsuprc.com They ship quickly from the US.
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Oct 17, 2010 00:35
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What brand is that cessna?
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Oct 17, 2010 21:59
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Well, I bought a Parkzone T-28D Trojan and its my first aileron plane. I do well with aileron planes in the sim, but I'm nervous as hell to maiden it for real. Everyone on RCGroups says its a great flier and a great second plane, despite having ailerons and being low-wing. Any tips for maidening a 4-channel plane?
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Oct 21, 2010 19:33
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TremorX posted:So how long does it take to get batteries from Hobbyking on average? I ordered 2 LIPOs and that charger orange lime recommended, and I'm on week 2 since my last shipping update... I realize it has to be shipped via boat, but I figured I'd see SOMETHING by now. Also, how does SwissPost work? I've never heard of them before.. do they just hand the stuff off to USPS once it gets to the US or something? Battery shipping is terrible from HK, as Hong Kong just changed their rules for shipping lipos and they take way longer to make it through customs now. Mine took over a month. It went from HK to Germany, to the US. Swisspost is also bad at updating. My tracking info didnt get updated on a timely basis at all, it was horrible. For generic HK motors, ESC's and batteries, I recommend http://www.headsuprc.com if you're in the US. They have similar prices and they ship from Florida. I ordered a motor for my slow stick and had it in two days.
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Oct 24, 2010 21:14
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Ambihelical Hexnut posted:I had one of these as a second plane and beat the poo poo out of it taking off and landing in my tiny suburban backyard. It flew with minimal rebuilding for as many charges as it took the stock battery to stop working. Find somewhere grassy to land, cut the power, and glide in shallow. That thing will tumble and roll pretty well with little to no damage to its light foam body. I maidened it yesterday. Finally it quit raining and the wind died down, so I packed the plane up and went to a nearby field. Of course when I got there it started drizzling and the wind picked back up, but I was doing this no matter what. After a couple failed ground take-offs due to the longer grass, I hand launched it and it flew beautifully. No trim required, although I did take the time to trim the control rods as close as I could eyeball them pre-flight. Did a few laps and a few nose-over landings due to the same too-long grass, but all went well, with no damage. I really have to say I like this plane so far! It is quick, and can get away fast, but I've been cruising at 1/2 throttle to get used to it.
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Oct 25, 2010 15:46
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Once you go lipo you'll never look back, its a big initial investment if all you have is Nimh charging hardware, but the extra performance is oh so worth it.
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Nov 18, 2010 22:08
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Goldmund posted:Thanks, picked up a pack of those and they work great. Having ran, raced, and repeatedly broken a Stampede since May of this year, I have a good bit of experience with them. Mine started life as an XL-5 cast off from some kid who didnt take care of it, and has since been transformed to an excellent handler and basher. Firstly, they are awesome trucks, and are hilariously fun in most all situations, as both of you have already found out. A couple of things, Stampede related, that I basically learned the hard way: 1) When (not if) you break your first A-arm, replace it with the RPM part. Much more durable. 2) If you're running the XL-5, make sure it has a metal top gear from the VXL in the transmission. If it doesnt, the plastic gear will strip eventually, and you'll have to buy one anyway. If you have the plastic gear, just wait till it craps out and get the metal gear. 3) When it comes time to tear the tranny down and re-grease it (after 10 or so runs, or any run in the water), use the Traxxas transmission grease, or thrust bearing grease. Regular automotive wheel bearing grease doesnt work. Also, pay attention to the bearings when you do the tranny, if they are grinding or sticking even a little, replace them. Replacing them with stock Traxxas bearings is fine. Keep the old tranny bearings because......... 4) You'll eventually need wheel bearings. When the wheel bearings start grinding and sticking, its time to replace them. Decomissioned trans bearings work great. Dont ever put bearings from the wheels into the trans though, obviously. 5) When (not if) you break your first steering block, dont get the RPM replacement part, they flex too much. Pick up a few sets of the stock plastic traxxas ones, you'll wind up needing them. I stay away from the aluminum ones for a few reasons. First is the cost, second if you wreck you can still bend the aluminum ones, but you cant bend them back without significantly weakening them, then you're out that big cost. 6) Resist the temptation to epoxy the diff, or fill it with thick grease to stop wheelspin. Doing so only puts stress on the rest of the driveline, and you'll be going through axles and endshafts like candy. To really get the wheelspin under control, see step 8. 7) The steering servo can only take so much abuse. The stock XL-5 is a plastic geared servo that will probably eventually strip, and the stock servo saver doesnt do it any favors. Replace the servo with the VXL unit, or ideally a Hitec 645MG. Also, put a good servo saver on, like the Kimbrough KM124. Then proceed to never worry about the servo again. Steps 8,9,10,11 are for if you get serious about racing or hard bashing. 8) The stock shocks are pretty good, and even better with different oil and springs on them. Prepare to have the caps pop off them under hard bashing situations though, which also means you lose the oil in them when that happens. Some people go with the heavy-duty aluminum capped traxxas shocks as an upgrade, and some go with the Pro-Line Power Stroke shocks from the Slash (both are a direct fit). If you want bashability and dont care much about handling, go with the heavy duty traxxas units, if you want sharp handling and crazy adjustability, plus bashability, get the Pro-Lines. The PL's are obviously more expensive than the traxxas HD's. I have the PL's and love them, but realize that not everyone needs them. If I was just bashing, I'd probably do the traxxas HD's. 9) The hot ticket for wheels/tires is RPM 2.2" Revolver wheels with Pro-Line Masher tires. The Mashers do great on any surface, and are 100x stickier than the stock tires, but they wear much faster, be prepared to buy new tires every couple of months with the Mashers. Its a trade-off, you get grip like nuts, or you get long wearing life, not both. If you dont find traction to be a problem (sliding is fun), just run the stock tires through their normal lifespan, as the Mashers do require some attention. If you upgrade to these wheels/tires, the steering servo and servo saver is a must. The mashers are bigger and grippier than the stock tires, and put the servo under quite a bit more stress. 10) Do yourself a favor and go lipo if you havent already, the performance is way above the NIMH batteries. 2S 5000MAH is ideal. 11) When you want to go brushless, the Traxxas VXL setup is the best for the Stampede. The ESC and motor are both waterproof, and performance is way beyond the XL-5's brushed motor. The Stampede will seriously start a wheelie from like 25mph if you punch the throttle. Traxxas has a trade-in program where you can give them your XL-5 ESC and motor, and they will give you $50 off the VXL setup. If you do the VXL kit, the beefier shocks and tires are basically a requirement. Beve Stuscemi fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Dec 1, 2010 |
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Nov 30, 2010 23:43
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Goldmund posted:Thanks for taking the time to write up this awesome post. You've probably saved me a lot of future frustration. Charger and battery both look good. If you arent already, I'd run the Traxxas connectors on both the battery and ESC, since you'll have to change the battery connector anyway. I personally think the Traxxas connectors are the best high-amp connectors out there. EDIT: Bear in mind that lipos from Hong Kong take forever to get to the US. If you're in the US and need lipos, I'd order from the HobbyKing US warehouse: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/us.asp?currentPage=1 I just ordered a plane battery from there and it was to my house in 3 days. Beve Stuscemi fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Dec 1, 2010 |
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Dec 1, 2010 16:17
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krushgroove posted:Looks like #3632 according to this It is part 3632. You have a couple of choices, replace it with the traxxas part for cheap, and accept that you'll break others, or get the aluminum TRX piece and accept that you can still bend it and be out that cash (although that may be unlikely depending on how you drive it). I personally just have a bag of the traxxas plastic ones on hand, but plenty of people like the aluminum ones. I'd skip the RPM replacement for that part, as their flexiness just bends that pin instead of breaking the plastic part, and then your handling is all messed up. And you still have to buy another pin. That C-block is really the only RPM part that is not as good as OEM, the rest are above OEM quality.
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Dec 2, 2010 17:26
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Well, Winter has hit in Wisconsin, so that means its time to try out the Pede in the snow! Click here for the full 1280x960 image. All of those tracks are mine, other than the two full size car tracks.  Click here for the full 1280x960 image. The Mashers grip well in the snow if you're very easy on the throttle, but the VXL starts them spinning if you look at the throttle the wrong way. Its fun though, it does very controllable long slow drifts. As you drive it in the snow though it gets heavier and slower as the snow packs on, and pretty soon it just spins the tires because its too heavy to move. If you knock the snow off every couple minutes its great. I think my 5000mah batteries could have gone for a half hour or more, as theres no real load on the motor on the snow.
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Dec 4, 2010 22:19
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I'm going to pull the trans apart and see how much water it took on, but I'm betting its not much, and you could do a teardown every few runs.
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Dec 5, 2010 08:25
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So who's got RC stuff on their christmas list? I asked for some GWS floats for my T-28 so I can run it on the snow, and on water in the summer.
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Dec 15, 2010 16:51
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skippo posted:I'm an idiot. Thanks. Dont tighten it up too much though or you'll strip the gears out of your diff. It should make that squealing noise for the first second or so from a dead stop to full throttle. You need some slip to keep the driveline together. helno posted:In other news Webra has announced its bankruptcy. The Nitro engine market is on its way out and alot of these companies are just sticking there fingers in their ears and hoping for the best. At least O/S finally came out with a smaller gas engine to compete in that market. Nitro engine manufacturers would do well to focus on 4-stroke gas engines, and large nitro motors. At least in the plane world, theres a point of diminishing returns when the brushless motor, battery and speed controller that you have to use in huge planes is heavier than the equivalent gas motor I'd love to see more large scale pull-start 4-stroke R/C cars. I think theres still a market for them, but they'll always be dwarfed by electrics Beve Stuscemi fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Dec 24, 2010 |
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Dec 24, 2010 22:24
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kuffs posted:Uh, you don't want your diff to slip, you want the slipper clutch to slip. Slipping diffs makes for weird handling and melted differentials. Right, what I was saying is that you want some slip in the slipper clutch, otherwise, on a Stampede anyway, the diff is the first thing to go.
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Dec 28, 2010 02:26
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Slash 4x4 owners: How do you like them? I went to the race track with the Stampede this weekend, and while it was really fun, you can tell its not meant to be on a track. Then, after the track, I broke the front end while bashing (I got video of it at least!). In my funk of not feeling like fixing the Stampede, I've been looking at Slashes. The pede has a bunch of nice kit on it (waterproof brushless system, Pro-Line shocks, etc) that would bolt right on to a slash. I'm thinking about getting a Slash roller and sticking the pede electronics and suspension in it, especially since the suspension was originally designed for a slash. Someone talk me out of it.
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Jan 10, 2011 15:10
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Well, since no one talked me out of it, I went and bought a slash. I bought a used 4x4 with all of the Platinum upgrades other than the aluminum caster brackets and steering knuckles. Also has a bunch of spare parts and tools. He also threw in a Traxxas 2.4Ghz radio and 5-channel receiver for an extra $20. I'm going to start heading to the track regularly for practice and see if I can manage to go fast with it.
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Jan 17, 2011 01:44
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Well, took the new slash to the track today. I did the Steve Slayden setup, as close as I could (dont know what weight the diff fluid is yet, dont know the camber), and it did well. A lot of it was obviously the fact that I had never driven that car, or a slash on the track at all. Once I got a rythm, I got going pretty good though. Anyone here racing a slash? If so, what is your setup? What weight diff fluids are you running? How about shocks? I'm running 30wt in Pro-Line Powerstrokes, and its a little thin. I'm going to try 50 and see how that goes.
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Jan 23, 2011 22:06
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SGT. Squeaks posted:What kind of track are you running on? Still running the stock tires? Hard packed dirt, with the stock tires. Thinking about getting the pro-line caliber M2's Last night I tore into it to get a baseline. The front, center, and rear diffs had some dirty oil of unknown weight in them, and the front was mostly empty, and essentially an open diff at that point. I put 7K diff oil in the front and rear, and 50K in the center. Still have to up my shocks to 50wt
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Jan 24, 2011 18:29
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As someone who has only run electric, I cant imagine ever wanting to go to nitro. It just reduces the places you can run the car, and increases all the fiddling and frustration. Someone explain the draws of nitro to me.
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Jan 28, 2011 21:31
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Slashes are rad, parts are everywhere, and tons of people have them. The slash essentially created RC short course racing.
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Jan 31, 2011 21:51
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needknees posted:Edit - should have refreshed before posting... ^^ That was my thought on the SC10 as well. It seemed much more fragile than the slash but was considerably lighter. Get the 2.4GHZ brushless Slash, because those will be your first upgrades if you dont get them right away. I'd also recommend the 4x4 over the 2wd, unless you're specifically shooting to compete in a 2wd class. Traxxasssesss brushless VXL system is great, the motor is really torquey, and super reliable. A few people have had flaky ESC's, but I've had one since summer with no problems at all, even after it spent 10 minutes underwater when I flipped my Stampede into a creek. I then moved it out of the Pede and into my new Slash, and its performing just as well. Either way, Traxxas warranty support is top notch, and they'll take care of you. The SC10 is a better race truck than the 2wd Slash, but its also a lot more fragile, and not as much of a basher. The 4x4 Slash will bash all day outside, then head inside to race on a track, and not skip a beat. I've got mine set up to race on our LHS SC track, and its not giving up much at all to the SC10's. As with any form of racing, the drivers skill does a lot to define how fast the car is. Beve Stuscemi fucked around with this message at 16:53 on Feb 1, 2011 |
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Feb 1, 2011 16:50
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Hypnolobster posted:Anybody want to buy an airtronics MX3 FHSS 3ch setup? I've got a transmitter and receiver sitting around doing nothing. I love the thing, but I only really ever use my slash, and it's just not worth bothering setting it up for the MX3. I might be interested in the Airtronics TX and RX and the Novak, actually. What kind of price are you looking for? Whats the difference between the MX3 and the MX3X?? needknees posted:Just bought a 2wd Slash VXL You'll love it, the Slash is a great truck, and the VXL system is awesome too. Beve Stuscemi fucked around with this message at 22:58 on Feb 1, 2011 |
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Feb 1, 2011 22:55
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No matter what you do, ditch the mechanical speed control. Any electronic speed control will be worlds beyond that. If you're going to put money into the car to get it going again, you'd be mis-spending your money in my mind if you didnt go lipo/brushless. If you want a direct, drop-in solution, get the Traxxas VXL-3s ESC and motor, otherwise, EZRun and Novak make great systems as well, but you'll have to research which one will be appropriate for the Bandit. For the LiPo battery, you can get them cheap from HobbyKing, who now has a warehouse in the USA (assuming you're in the US). You may as well start with a 2S 5000mah like this: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=14988
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Feb 2, 2011 16:36
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