Got a Spawn RTR - upgrade question

[synic]

I picked up a Wraith Spawn RTR and would like to get some better crawling out of it.

Will the 13t CrawlMaster work well with a Castle Mamba Max Pro?

If I go with this setup, will I still need a separate BEC?

Does upgrading the motor and esc make sense to do first, before any other hardware upgrades? If I switch to that setup, will the stock servo be okay for a bit, or will I need to move to a more powerful HiTec or Savox?

I did look through the main threads, but want to make sure my assumptions here are correct.


Thanks!

[mrhobby100]

I would upgrade the steering links first and do a battery forward mod to get more weight over the front axle. My son and i have spawns and his is pretty close to stock and mine has alot of upgrades mine is heavier and crawls a bit better than his. His electronics are decent and have been doing him good for now. Get a lil more weight in it and move the weight around andbit will do good.

[Jrgunn5150]

Originally Posted by synic

I picked up a Wraith Spawn RTR and would like to get some better crawling out of it.

Will the 13t CrawlMaster work well with a Castle Mamba Max Pro?

If I go with this setup, will I still need a separate BEC?

Does upgrading the motor and esc make sense to do first, before any other hardware upgrades? If I switch to that setup, will the stock servo be okay for a bit, or will I need to move to a more powerful HiTec or Savox?

I did look through the main threads, but want to make sure my assumptions here are correct.


Thanks!

1. Yes, although it will also work with your stock ESC.

2. define "Need". BEC is not a bad idea, but if you have a stock servo you definitely won't need it. However the MMP internal BEC is weak, and it is a good idea to run the external adjustable. Not an immediate needed upgrade when you do the motor though.

3. No, not really. Unless you've completely found th elimits of the stock electronics. Universals, knuckles, chubs make more sense, to me at least.

4. Switching to the HH/MMP will not, in and of itself, shorten the life of your servo. The stock servo sucks though, and I'd rather have a slow, bad crawling Wraith that turns, than a good crawling one that only goes in circles or straight lines.

My suggestion? Drop a couple teeth on your pinion, focus on durability, and defining your goals.

[mrhobby100]

if you have the funds I would get a bec just to reduce heat on your esc and be able to utilize all the torque from whatever servo you choose. My tekin fxr doesn't like to power servos on 3s to much power draw gets hot.

[synic]

Thanks for the awesome info, this is completely the kind of stuff I was looking for.

Goalwise, I want a crawler/trailer. I have a Brushless EMaxx for bashing, so I don't feel the need to use it for bashing at all.

I was going to switch my gearing to 56/12 32p (per Harley's recommendation). Will that be helpful even with the stock esc and motor?

Is there a guide or video that shows really clear how to do the battery forward move mod? I've found places that mention it in passing, but nothing super clear to me.

[floridaboy]

I have had my Spawn for about a month and made some simple changes to it. First i replaced the 12t pinion for a 10t,moved the battery forward, moved the ESC forward and put two metal strips along the frame so i could use it to put Valcro on it to hold the body on. I am only using a 2c 4000mah.25c battery. It is able to climb a slick piece on plywood on a 50deg. angle. Hope this helps.

[bhmike]

Servo needs to go . Then the steering needs beefed up . Then I would worry about a new motor

[Jrgunn5150]

Originally Posted by synic

Thanks for the awesome info, this is completely the kind of stuff I was looking for.

Goalwise, I want a crawler/trailer. I have a Brushless EMaxx for bashing, so I don't feel the need to use it for bashing at all.

I was going to switch my gearing to 56/12 32p (per Harley's recommendation). Will that be helpful even with the stock esc and motor?

Is there a guide or video that shows really clear how to do the battery forward move mod? I've found places that mention it in passing, but nothing super clear to me.

In that case, I wouldn't even worry about the motor for now.

32p is stronger, and has more available pinions and spurs, so it won't hurt at all.

I'm personally not really sure about a video on the battery mod, I know Harley kind of glosses over it in his vid . I just did it myself this weekend, and it was super easy. Once I had the cage separated from the skid, I cut the back of the cage for a fastback mod, which made it easier to remove the tray, its held in with four 1.5mm screws.

Once I had it out, I removed the esc plate by removing two screws on each side near the shocks, then removed the reciever box from that little brace.

When test fitting, it became obvious I was going to have to trim the footwell area of the interior, and trim the end of the steering column.

Once I had that done, I dropped the tray in the firewall area. I thought at first I would be able to use a bolt and a nut through the middle of the battery tray to the original receiver brace thing, but I realized that for my battery pack, it wouldn't work. I wound up trimming the back part of that brace off, and zip tying the battery tray to the dash brace. I haven't ran it yet, but it seems pretty secure.

Go slow and take your time, no rush and you'll be fine

[Jrgunn5150]

This is also an option to get the battery upfront, I have them on my wish list, very clean looking.


Wraith Electronics box

[Zad2k]

First of all I just recently purchased a Spawn RTR as well, I've only had it for about 2 weeks and it's been down for 1 of those weeks due to the stock servo failing on the third run.

It may have had something to do with my 2 year old running it into a tree at full throttle within 30 seconds of me handing him the radio but regardless your stock servo will fail, probably sooner than later.

As far as improving the stock Spawn's crawling ability I think the stock motor and ESC produce plenty of low end torque for starting out, they also produce a decent amount of wheel speed for hill climbs. Where I found my wraith lacking was in traction and weight distribution.

Before I ever ran my Spawn I did a battery/ESC forward mod while I had it apart to break in the motor, I ended up with the battery where the firewall would be and the ESC just in front of that in the center. The radio box is just underneath the driver. Everything is just kind of temporarily zip tied into place at the moment until I get some servo extensions and figure out exactly how I want to secure everything. With this set up and everything else stock my truck was climbing a medium smooth plywood incline of 60ish degrees. I was pretty damn impressed. It would have climbed even better with more traction.

If your Spawn is the same as mine then the stock gearing is 56/12 32p already.

My plan for my Wraith is to make it an all around good crawler/hill climber/trail truck and so far I'm really happy with it. At least I was until my servo was obliterated. I'm in the process of switching that out to an old reliable Cirrus CS-80 that I've had for years that I think will work really well in it.

TLDR: For crawling you should address traction, weight distribution and steering prior to upgrading the power plant. Another suggested upgrade is to address the pin hubs, a lot of people suggest the Vanquish SLW aluminum hex hubs but a cheaper solution is this: Axial 12mm hex hub conversion kit

[mrhobby100]

Best battery tray ever. My son and I both have these. BPC chassis battery plate.

[Zad2k]

Originally Posted by mrhobby100

Best battery tray ever. My son and I both have these. BPC chassis battery plate.

That looks really nice, does the height of the battery tray or the battery interfere with the hood on the spawn at all?

[Jrgunn5150]

Originally Posted by Zad2k

If your Spawn is the same as mine then the stock gearing is 56/12 32p already.

Duh! You're absolutely right, Spawns already have 32p gearing, and the AE-5, good catch!

[bhmike]

I want that battery tray now , dammit. Looks awesome.

[crawlhog]

start with the tranny first, put in RR steel gears. one less thing to worry about and have to tear down when the plastic gears strip out. I prefer to upgrade the stuff that helps in the long run. you can upgrade the easier stuff when they start to break. knuckles and chubs are another thing first on my list then aluminum links.

[mrhobby100]

Originally Posted by Zad2k

That looks really nice, does the height of the battery tray or the battery interfere with the hood on the spawn at all?

Nope not at all







everybody has been asking what to do to the spawn. Cut it like a real offroad race truck. I cut mine and my son's like my real race truck's one piece clip. My real race truck uses hood pins just like a nascar and all other race vehicles. So everybody that tries to stay away from body pins just use small ones and don't be so picky.


My son and I ran our wraiths at the king of hammers G6 with no hoods. I told my son we are gonna run without hoods just like when daddy runs out of talent breaks the clip on the race truck. hahah

[mrhobby100]

This is the clip off my real truck

[mrhobby100]

Originally Posted by crawlhog

start with the tranny first, put in RR steel gears. one less thing to worry about and have to tear down when the plastic gears strip out. I prefer to upgrade the stuff that helps in the long run. you can upgrade the easier stuff when they start to break. knuckles and chubs are another thing first on my list then aluminum links.

we go to corona del mar twice a week and my son jumps off this lil 4-5 foot ledge over and over and tumbles the wraith like 6 feet down the hill to the sand below. Vp steering links and all stock truck has been impressing me.


My son jumps and beats his spawn like it ows him money and the tranny has been doing just as good as my $260 super shafty 6mm bomb proof tranny with the stock motor. I say run the tranny until you get some real serious power. I got the big boy trans cause I am going brushless. Move your electronics around and get a good servo and then go out and enjoy your rig and let it put a smile on your face before the cost of trying to upgrade to fast puts a frown on your face. your servo is gonna be the first thing to go most likely was for my son and I. The steering links are just junk those need to be upgrade right away.

[synic]

Thank you everyone for the awesome info.

I really like the look of the machined battery case. Once they are back in at ckcrawlers I'm going to get one (unless there is somewhere else I can go).

I also like the idea of cutting the hood open. That just excites me from a stylistic standpoint.

I did order a higher-torque servo, the Castle BEC, and a set of universals. Outside of the battery case, those are the only upgrades I'm going to do for a while.

Thanks again everyone.

[mrhobby100]

I bought the last one from them a few months ago and they said they would get more in and didn't I ended up getting 2 more from bruce himself the owner of bpc. He has a huge batch of them right now. Call ckrc and tell them you want them to order some or order through bpc website. Check out this bad boy if you ever mess up your servo or get it wet by accident.

at 7.4v on the bec this thing does 380 oz of torque, waterproof and aluminum at 8.4v 480 oz
http://www.xpert-rc-us.com/product-p/wr-7701-hv.htm

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