Decade Break

[Siq6Six]

Been out of RC for about 10 years. My last rig was a nitro Revo which I spent time upgrading the drive train, engine, electronics. All that’s pretty much obsolete now. Even the then-brand-new design Badlands tires are junk. Well, these ones. Dry rotted with gaping cracks along the side walls. Anyways the 2.0 came out & popped up on my feed. Caught my interest. Couldn’t get one but splurged in an XMaxx instead. Wanted a good RTR to beat up in the California desert, where I live. Didn’t take long to come across the U4RC stuff - and here we go! Last crawler media I saw before was slow moving custom stuff built from old tamiya axles. This, however. This is very exciting! Best part is, this is all local!

So I did some research. Decided on the Bomber Kit. Seems like a significant upgrade to the RTR & I wouldn’t be throwing away $$ on electronics right off the bat (like the XMaxx, swapping out the RX). I am really interested in U4RC, but more than likely will spend a lot of time at lower speeds with some high speed sprints. Think open back yard with stacked obstacles & cold beer. Maybe a small rock garden & hope the dogs don’t take to pissing on it haha.

So what I’ve got ordered thus far:
RR10 Kit
Futaba 7PX
Reefs 555 servo

What I’ve decided on but haven’t ordered:
Mamba Monster X ESC
HH Puller Pro brushless sensored 3500kv
Castle Telemetry Link
Vanquish Stage 1 upgrade
Vanquish Motor Cam /Mount
Vanquish Servo Mount
Currie Sway Bars

What I need to decide on:
Battery - looking at the Venom 3S 35C 5000. Any input here? Is there a difference between the bright red & dark red packs? I couldn’t find information on them. I have the Traxxas Live charger for the XMaxx so another charger isn’t in my future, but i will need to come up on plugs & an adapter. Maybe. Looks like the Venom comes with some kind of universal plug. Not sure I’m a fan of that tho.

Servo horn - looking @ the 25T Vanquish horn - just not sure which length to go with. (20 vs 24mm).

Wheels??? I almost pulled the trigger, but decided to hold off. Had purchased some items locally for the Xmaxx as well as just placed an order for CowRC magmag & grease. Still need to order the ESC, motor & batteries. The stockers will do - for now. How are these off brands tho? Vanquish wheels look great but most are out of stock. RC4WD isn’t too bad but their branded stuff is pricey as well. Even some Delrin wheels I found were just as expensive as the aluminum. Atleast that company offers 1-offs for a spare. (GDC I think?)

Foams - Locally picked up the Proline rock crawler closed cell 2-stage foams. Second guessing that purchase, I’ll throw them in with the stock setup & see how that goes. I’m sure they’ll be perfectly fine up until the point that I may get serious about racing.

Gears? Not sure where to start for the ESC/Motor/battery combo. For now I’ll run stock. Solid mounts should help increase their life span.

Vanquish brass link bushings. Are they worth the upgrade over whatever the kit runs? Should I look into aluminum link ends as well?

And lastly - a dumb question which will answer its self by the end of the week. I couldn’t find a definitive answer - are the stock wheels that come w the kit actual bead locks or do they require glue? If glue then I may push up the priority of some new wheels. Then I will have to consider/research if I want the additional rotational mass & weight that’ll play against speed, or if it’ll be beneficial over the rocks... one things for sure. Some of those aluminum wheels look amazing!

So that was a whole lot to ask about Servo horns & batteries, basically. Tho I did want to give some idea as to where I’m coming from & my intentions so suggestions could take that into account. There will surely be tons more questions. Eventually I’ll upgrade the trailing arms, axles & all the gears. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.





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[Chris81]

Stock wheels are actual beadlocks. One question down!

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[Jboucher]

I just finished my build so i'll try my best to answer :

Originally Posted by Siq6Six

What I need to decide on:
Battery - looking at the Venom 3S 35C 5000.
I think the red packs are hardcase and the dark ones are soft case. The biggest hardcase lipo i could find to fit was the Venom 3s 3300mAh 35C.

Servo horn - looking @ the 25T Vanquish horn - just not sure which length to go with. (20 vs 24mm).
Grab the short one.

Wheels???
Stock kit are beadlocks. I painted the ''ring'' on my set and it's nice for now but it will get scratched off and basically destroyed in a short amount of time.
As a backup, I went for Chanquish wheels off Ebay (50$ CAN) while waiting building funds for a full balls out set from Lockedup RC (>150$ US + tools for the scale hardware)

Foams - Locally picked up the Proline rock crawler closed cell 2-stage foams. Second guessing that purchase
Most people go for Crawler Innovation foams. Eddie can help you choose the right size as well.

Gears? Not sure where to start for the ESC/Motor/battery combo. For now I’ll run stock. Solid mounts should help increase their life span.
I'm running 11T from Robinson racing since i don't want to overheat my brushed motor.
I think the Holmes Hobbies brushless motors can handle more than the stock 12T. Around 14T ?

Vanquish brass link bushings. Are they worth the upgrade over whatever the kit runs? Should I look into aluminum link ends as well?
Are you talking about the rod ends ?
If so, go for the RPM revo ends with brass balls (axial size) from vanquish. Solid and no slop at all.

[angrchair]

I have the 24mm servo horn. It works. I guess the shorter one would work too.

[Siq6Six]

Originally Posted by Chris81

Stock wheels are actual beadlocks. One question down!

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Good to know, thanks for the confirmation! No glue means I won’t be wasting the tires on those rims. (Tho the hyrax wheels look good... as do super swappers and many others). Man! So great having tires that actual look like the stuff we rock on the big toys!

Originally Posted by Jboucher

I just finished my build so i'll try my best to answer :

That’s a good idea, painting the beads.

In one of the threads, somewhere, I read a post that they fit just right - but wasn’t sure which pack. Venom doesn’t list either as fitting the bomber IIRC. I’ll keep digging. Guess I oughta spend more time looking @ dimensions.

20mm horn - got it.

As far as rod ends - yeah. Basically try to reduce the amount of areas that needlessly flex & eventually snap. The brass bushing, I saw something somewhere that they just had tighter tolerances than the standard ones. I’m talking about all the steering linkage, etc.

Originally Posted by angrchair

I have the 24mm servo horn. It works. I guess the shorter one would work too.

Thanks! How is the clearance with the longer one? Anything contacting?

[jeepgod]

I just built a Bomber kit and can answer some questions. I am using a 24mm aluminum servo horn its the same length as the plastic one thats included in the kit. A 20MM would fit just need to make sure it sticks out from the servo to allow a nut on the back the clear. I am using Traxxas revo balls in my stock Axial link ends and they fit but they make a little more noise then the plastic ones. I found the battery compartment to be tight so I went with a smaller battery to give me room for the wires protruding from the battery. I am using a Gens Ace 3S 3300MAH Lipo and I got 40 mins out run time with mostly speed runs. I am running a Mamba X esc with sensored 2850Kv. Hope this helps

[thewildblue77]

The Venom 3S 5000 35C is a soft pack and fits a treat. It also comes with a universal plug and some adaptors so you should be ok.

[Jim85IROC]

If you go with the shorter servo horn, you may not be able to get full steering angle. Just stick with the long one that matches what the kit comes with. If it turns out to be too long, you can just use the shorter hole and trim the end of the arm, assuming you get one of the 99% of servo arms that have dual holes.

Another thing to consider that I just recently figured out, is that depending on what new wheels you choose, you may need new hexes too. The Axial hexes have a round center section that prevents the hex from seating into other wheels properly. If you grind that center protrusion down, the wheels can move inboard too far and limit your steering. I wound up going with a set of 9mm steel hexes to replace the stock ones.

[DukeMinnix]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

If you go with the shorter servo horn, you may not be able to get full steering angle. Just stick with the long one that matches what the kit comes with. If it turns out to be too long, you can just use the shorter hole and trim the end of the arm, assuming you get one of the 99% of servo arms that have dual holes.

Another thing to consider that I just recently figured out, is that depending on what new wheels you choose, you may need new hexes too. The Axial hexes have a round center section that prevents the hex from seating into other wheels properly. If you grind that center protrusion down, the wheels can move inboard too far and limit your steering. I wound up going with a set of 9mm steel hexes to replace the stock ones.

grind the little nub off and run small washer to space the wheels back out... thats if spending 12 bucks on new hexes isn't what you want to do and save yourself the 20 minutes of grinding. Sometimes spending the few extra bucks is just worth not southern engineering and saving yourself the time.

[Siq6Six]

So my kit arrived yesterday. I was busy messing with my 87 XJ tho, so accomplished nothing. (Time to sell it. New Wranglers are out & I’m planning on gettin one). The shop called today, my Futaba arrived waaay ahead of the estimated delivery (3/24-4/4). Got to pick that up. Pretty excited about that!

Shops distributors were asking $210 for the Mamba Monster X! That’s way overpriced, so I told him to hold off. On further investigation, I found the Mamba X has an aluminum case, is damn capable but is for stuff up to 9lbs, where the MMX has a plastic case & is built for up to 15lbs.

All I did today was mount the tires. The Udder Butter should be arriving tomorrow so I figured I’ll just be patient.

Originally Posted by jeepgod

I just built a Bomber kit and can answer some questions. I am using a 24mm aluminum servo horn its the same length as the plastic one thats included in the kit. A 20MM would fit just need to make sure it sticks out from the servo to allow a nut on the back the clear. I am using Traxxas revo balls in my stock Axial link ends and they fit but they make a little more noise then the plastic ones. I found the battery compartment to be tight so I went with a smaller battery to give me room for the wires protruding from the battery. I am using a Gens Ace 3S 3300MAH Lipo and I got 40 mins out run time with mostly speed runs. I am running a Mamba X esc with sensored 2850Kv. Hope this helps

Thanks for the input. Revo balls... I’ll look into that. Will look into that battery too! Run time sounds excellent!

Originally Posted by thewildblue77

The Venom 3S 5000 35C is a soft pack and fits a treat. It also comes with a universal plug and some adaptors so you should be ok.

Awesome, thank you!




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[Siq6Six]

Took my time getting everything together & building the Bomber. Things went together fairly easy - installing upgrades in place of kit parts as I came across them. Wasted a ton of time fooling with airbrushing the panels. The Pactra paints were way too much trouble.

I ordered the 3S Venom 3300 battery they’ve got listed as for the Bomber. I also ended up going with the Mamba X, rather than the MMX. Axial’s plastics are way too damn soft! So I definitely want to grab some aluminum wheels. The shocks, while looking great, already blew! Haven’t even ran it. Right Rear sprung a leak after trying to set them up. I’ll prob replace the seals with Traxxas seals for now, buying Prolines down the road. I also saw something about the bomber requiring some spacers when using RPM rod ends on the links - need to get more info on this.

Will be pulling the cage off once again to finalize some wiring for the sensor & power switch. Will also have to program/update the ESC once I get the adapter in, as well as run the Traxxas Telemetry link (wanted to keep things simple to verify I’ve got things hooked up).




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[Siq6Six]

and apparently I can only put in 5 img’s at a time...

[Jboucher]

Are you still using the stock lockers?
Might want to buy aftermarket spools as backup, that brushless combo is going to break them fast.

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[Siq6Six]

Haha yeah I am. Stock gears all around. Got the vanquish motor mount/cam installed so that may save the pinion & spur, but I figured those would be first to burn up. I’ll definitely keep in mind the lockers especially after seeing more & more split lockers since I’ve begun this build


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[Jboucher]

Grab some FI spools from lockedup rc and never worry about it again

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[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Jboucher

Are you still using the stock lockers?
Might want to buy aftermarket spools as backup, that brushless combo is going to break them fast.

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The brushless system might also wreak havoc on the AR60 axle housings depending on how he drives. That's why I installed aluminum Beef Tubes.

I prefer the Proline Two Stage foams for Proline tires. They are even better than CI in my experience. So don't second guess that purchase! I use CI in other tires though.

I also wouldn't recommend brass link balls. There's no need for the added expense. Hot Racing has aluminum balls that are cheap.

[Siq6Six]

I’ll definitely keep the spools in mind. Once the stockers go it’ll be those or Vanquish... those do look beefier!

@JatoTheRipper beef tubes are in the potential future, as are possibly full aluminum axles. Haven’t even driven the thing yet so I had to stop buying upgrades for new parts lol. Glad to hear a positive note on the foams. Haven’t seen any negative, just that people seem to only recommend CI. As far as brass goes, those are already on. I doubt there will be much wear & I liked the tighter tolerances. I put SS balls on the steering & those are pretty floppy. Tho the stock axial ends are there too... had gotten passed that before picking up the brass.

Turns out the shock blow out was a QC failure on my part. I must had been tired cause I somehow missed the retainer, so the o-rings on the shaft lifted right up & into the main body. Still feels pretty insecure, but the retainer is in place now. Rebuilding the shocks & increasing the dampening. I picked up the Traxxas rebuild kit for the replacement o-rings. Found a part # in another thread. TRA2362. No good. The o-rings are too small. Gonna give the stockers a second chance. Almost got the proline shocks out of annoyance! Upgrading the parts that the kit upgrades from the RTR? Hmmm...

Oh another thing. Another annoyance... either I was shorted or misplaced a damn parts tree. I only have 1 of the tree that has the 4 upper shock balls, which are slightly larger than the others. The manual had me place them in slots on the suspension mounts as well, where I’m guessing the 2nd shocks would go if you choose. So a total of 8 required per the book - I’ve only got 4. Are these common size for the prolines as well, or only with these axial shocks? For now it’s no big deal, but if I swap out shocks or run 2 per corner I’m wondering if it’ll become a problem. Like PL in rear with no-spring kings...


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[Jboucher]

The traxxas x-rings from the rebuild kit work perfect inside the cartridge.
Tight but they fit.

For the upper shock balls, i replaced them with rubber bushings from the wraith part list

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[Siq6Six]

Which rebuild kit? The parts in the kits I picked up are too small. O-rings fit loose & there’s no seal.


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[Jboucher]

Traxxas GTR x-rings (TRA2362).
I used them to build my gmade XDs shocks, I got pictures in my build thread.

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