To Make It Survive.
 

I got to thinking (brainfart really) about all the complaints and so on. Yes I have mine I will admit. What if we start a thtead on survival set ups. I have a hard time believing EVERY YXL breaks tons of stuff everytime (yes I know stuff is failing) to the point of a real epidemic. What instead if we start posting what set ups we run or what changes we made to problems that DO LIVE no matter how small or big the changes are. Maybe if we ban together with the positive results from problems we can start to help one another fix all this? This is a huge community of smart people who think outside the box. Maybe a problem solved by one person could help many with the same issues. Maybe post where and HOW you use your YXL. There is a big difference between crawling and 20 foot jumps at the skate park.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

I had a servo burn out. Replaced it with a Savox 2270SG, CC BEC end setting the endpoints correctly.
Wheel nut stripped out. Replaced it with modified Traxxas 17mm.
A front wheel cracked. Replaced it with a stock wheel.
Rear driveshaft was twisted and about to snap. Dhawk driveshaft replacement.
Shocks leaked like crazy. Dhawk caps and green slime.
The steering was terrible when I got it. Dhawk bellcrank, Savox 2270, and the turnbuckles from the kit made it much better.
Torque twist was a bit annoying. Rear sway bar, 500k diff fluid, and tweaking the suspension has helped.
Slop in the front was really bad. Shimmed the front and got rid of most of it.
I also rebuild the front and rear diffs. Adding ceramic bearings and shims in the front and rear. I also swapped the stock bulkhead and spacers out for the Dhawks.

The truck seems to be holding up better. I don't drive it like I stole it. I don't jump it at the BMX track like I do my 1/10 car.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

I'll start. Yes the wheels are soft. I bought the thunder tiger MT-4 the plastic is tons stronger the kit tires fit with carefull mounting as the wheel bead is a little smaller than the tire. So far so good. The plastic spring adjusters on the kit shocks would not stay set they would move. Went with the DHAWK aluminum adjusters perfect fit and just enough resistance with the buit in 0-ring to keep em in place. Broke the plastic shock caps so went with the DHAWK aluminum. perfect fit. I am not fond of the o-ring in the cap so I used Associated #89351 shock cap bladder and they work perfect. Broke 2 HR driveshafts at the front pivot pin. Can't say technically if it was a product or my fault. Replaced with a DHAWK shaft great fit and a stout piece no testing yet. I am a basher so beatings will vary.
WHO'S NEXT.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

Balance your wheels/tires! I type that a lot I know but honestly..I was told this over 10 years ago out at a park after I lost a wheel. I used to just use black pipe putty but now I use dynamite wheel balance lead tape. Pick your rig up and give it throttle and watch those tires wiggle and shake violently. That will loosen wheel nuts, snap rod ends and kill bearings etc...!! After you do a real good balance on a set of wheels and use the RC you will ALWAYS do it.
Use an external BEC to power your servo. A lot of servos suck up some serious power when turning. The receiver is just not designed to deliver that.
480 specific:
This is all my opinion!!! And has worked for me. Yes I still bust it but a like to play hard with it also. None of my RCs survive 10 out of 10 times!!
DO NOT USE DRAG BRAKE! Your going to jump it or cartwheel it or flip it. With any drag brake on that puts stress on the diffs unless you run a super loose slipper clutch.
Don't lock the slipper clutch. Make sure it slips!! The diffs on the 480 are a bit weak for the size/weight of this RC. They will last if set up right and not pounded on.
Replace all the bearings in your trans/ring and pinions and axles.
Stock bearings suck..no not just axial bearings almost all suck. I use Boca green seal RC bearings. I buy them online right off their site. Very fast shipping. I will use ceramic sealed where needed. Places with heat and high RPMs.
Go through the trans and shim out the play. And replace bearings...
Steering..I use the Dhawk assembly but without the servo saver. I use the stock saver with a thick shim under the spring. An aluminum saver will gall up and stop slipping...then you have no servo saver. Or it will stick and make you pull to the right or left and you'll be chasing it with your trim! Aluminum galls up..always will. Happens with the stock slipper clutch also.
I like to use plastic AE servo horns now. If something is going to snap let it be the $2 part. They are a tight fit and don't flex.
Upper arms. I actually hate the front arms flex..Using the inner part of the Savage adjustable upper arm works good. You'll have to fab up bushings to fit in the arms though. Ill get picks later. Emaxx/Tmaxx shock bushings trimmed down will work fine.
I have more but it's time for work..I'll edit as the day goes by.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

I lost my patience with trying to keep mine together. Sold it and bought the small yeti kit. Its just not as fun. Bought a Losi 5ive T and i havent looked back since.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

I just put a second nut on my wheels. It keeps everything really tight. I haven't stripped a wheel yet with that setup.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...b0364edc76.jpg

I also bought hr rear drive shaft and loc-tight it. Installed dawk spacers in the diff. Installed fast eddy bearings. All HR four links and mounts. HR front clip, savox 1230servo with axial horn. And last HR steering rack with posts,
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...7995ea5072.jpg
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...39692c812b.jpg

After all that I do not have problems with it at all. I don't jump it 20ft in the air thou. I try and drive it with care. After all I have about $1000 into it.

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Re: To Make It Survive.
 

I also put a wheel nut cap on mine as a locking nut to keep the first on and keep crap out of the hub.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

The XL WILL destroy parts no matter how much you try to prevent it. Too many people who baby these vehicles make claims about parts not breaking and people buy those parts thinking they are correct. Fact is, no matter what you do .. parts will fail.

With that said, there are a few parts you can "upgrade", but they will only fail less often. I've found there is no way to make the XL last for months of abuse. You can however make it last a few weeks vs a few days.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

The only parts I regularly break are A arms. The design where the plastic is injected into the mold is bad.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

I agree Mond. I have broken 3. 1 that was totally my fault as I didn't see a small piece if concrete in the grass and it took a direct blow to the arm. The others were somewhat my fault, but it should have survived. It just landed somewhat nose down on small jumps of less than 2 feet in the air and moderate speed.

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Re: To Make It Survive.
 

Let's all call RPM and bug them until they make arms!

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

After owning 3 dozen RCS over the past 4 years, I expect certain things from certain companies. I never expected a "basher" from Axial. Not even the EXO terra buggy was a basher. If I want a basher, I'm going with HPI or TRAXXAS because I know that is what they build. Sure this rig is huge but there is no reason to think you can scale the damage ad well...it is axial after all. What have we all learned from our Axial experience? Everything they make needs upgraded....EVERYTHING!

I suppose that is me being realistic and observant again....shame on me.

The flip side of that is this. I spent 1000$ on my kit. That Damn thing better handle some abuse!!!! Unfortunately, it is a novelty rig and it is never going to be anything more. There will not be any design changes in the future, no upgrades to fix issues, no changes in production or materials. They will suppose the YXL for about 3 years and it will be gone. Just like the rest of the Axial novelty rigs of the past.

So, it is what it is and I love it. I just expect what I expect based on experience with other cars and that is all.

With that being said, I upgraded the steering link and I put a washer in the servo saver to take out the slop. Nothing else needs attention yet...maybe I'll get a spare set of arms to have in my spares box

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

I have contacted rpm twice. I bet it's actually Nov. Before we see any arms.

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Re: To Make It Survive.
 

I like my GPM arms. Just took them out to the construction site across the street and it took some mild abuse.

I'm a rookie and not so good at bashing but zero damage this run.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

To make the truck survive, do the following:

1 - Set it on the shelf on a nice display, preferably in a clean state.

2 - Buy a Traxxas Summit.

See, simple :ror:

I think some people are trying too hard at this point on a rig of questionable status. I know I get a lot of fun out of mine but I keep it on 4S and don't jump it much, but it still takes a cringe worthy tumble every time I get goofy with it.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

That is really the secret to keeping it reliable and happy. Run it on 4S.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

stronger arms will not solve any problems.

running solely on 4s won't stop you from destroying the truck either.


I've been debating posting a thread about upgrading parts that commonly break and which part breaks after upgrading those. The moral of the story is this: Your yeti xl is only as strong as it's weakest link. Every part you make stronger makes the parts around it the weak link. you can buy all the aluminum parts in the world ... as long as you are attaching them to the plastic chassis, it will break.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

It needs more flexible arms that don't split at the injection seam. Every arm I've broken has been at that seam. I wouldn't be that bothered but they're a bit of a pain to replace. The bolt at the back needs a very thinly walled socket wrench. Sticking something along the lines of a losi 8ight front end on it would make it way easier to work on and replace arms.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

Agreed x1000

If it had a Losi Front end, i bet Zero people would be talking about blown diffs, broken arms, shitty steering etc. Axial could only dream of having Losi's plastic formula and steering. Coming from my Losi 8T and driving this thing was a shocker in the steering department. Expected but still a shock.

Re: To Make It Survive.
 

I find it strange that Axial is cursed with bad plastics yet the other Hobbico companies are not. Remembering Team Durango is also Hobbico and they make some ultra tough cars like the 408. Even the budget Arrma cars have good plastics.