mrc pro vs. ecx temper

[baycrawler]

hey all,

noob here so hopefully i'm posting in the right forum. pls let me know if this should be somewhere else.

was looking to get a used losi mrc or mrc pro to play around with. this would be for me and my kid who is 8. mainly just around the house and backyard. no comp or anything. something that's durable that i can just charge the batts and go play!

i'm not looking to tinker with it like most seem to do on here...not for lack of desire, i just don't have the confidence, skills, or tools to do all that.

so having said all that, should i just get a rtr like the ecx temper or look to purchase a used rtr mrc or mrc pro?

thanks in advance!

[T_Tank]

I'd think replacement part support would be easier with the ecx temper over the mrc stuff as its starting to get a little harder to find replacement parts.

But for me I'd still get a mrc but thats due to what I've done with my current one

[baycrawler]

Originally Posted by T_Tank

I'd think replacement part support would be easier with the ecx temper over the mrc stuff as its starting to get a little harder to find replacement parts.

But for me I'd still get a mrc but thats due to what I've done with my current one

thanks for the input tank!

from what i've read about the mrc......once it's built, not much breaks since it's not that fast. is this incorrect? or does stuff just wear down and need replacement?

[T_Tank]

Haven't had any main mrc parts break on my setup yet and I'm beating mine with a 540 motor 10.5t and 17.5t so I'd say their pretty stout just fallow the guides on making it bullet proof! Also don't forget the slick rock is a rebadged MRC with a new chassis aswell if you can get one for a deal

[baycrawler]

Originally Posted by T_Tank

Haven't had any main mrc parts break on my setup yet and I'm beating mine with a 540 motor 10.5t and 17.5t so I'd say their pretty stout just fallow the guides on making it bullet proof! Also don't forget the slick rock is a rebadged MRC with a new chassis aswell if you can get one for a deal

yeah, unfortunately, seems like everybody just parts out what's left of their slick rock. at least i haven't seen any complete slick rock's yet.

i can't check the classifieds here yet, so don't know what if anything is for sale in there.

wow........you're running a 540, that must run pretty quick, more like a rock racer vs. a crawler?

i'm assuming you beefed up the gears and made quite a few mods to make that fit?

[T_Tank]

Well its not really suited to rock racing but its definitely bonkers quick since it can lift itself completely off the ground trying to do a controled wheelie though I'm sure if I change the gearing an lower the suspension it might crawl alright!

[baycrawler]

Originally Posted by T_Tank

Well its not really suited to rock racing but its definitely bonkers quick since it can lift itself completely off the ground trying to do a controled wheelie though I'm sure if I change the gearing an lower the suspension it might crawl alright!

looks good..........almost like a monster truck. what tires and size are those?

did you start with an mrc or the mrc pro?

is there anything stock left on there?

[T_Tank]

started as a standard mrc roller I got off ebay and kinda became a project of sorts when I slapped my old tlt-1 tire/wheel combo on it and yeah its pretty much a monster truck I have a unlocked front diff using dynamite losi mini T parts upgraded mip cvd, traxxas 1/16 prop drives and traxxas 1/16 transmission with 540 mount. I'm also using traxxas pinion gears to overdrive the front an rear.

Shocks are stock and the chassis is designed to accept the stock mrc transmission mount. In theory you could build one of these with a stock mrc doner just need a upper 4 link mount for the axles and some different link lengths an course a mini LST length body. But really it just goes to show the mrc/mrc pro can be a lot more then a low slow rock crawler!

[baycrawler]

that's pretty creative and cool!

i just wish i had the knowledge and confidence to take some axles and tranny and build something.

for example...how do you know which links/lengths will fit and mount up to a chassis and ultimately the axles? or does everything just screw down?

same with the driveshafts, i know they're extendable, but.....don't know the right terminology here......but the end pieces where the shaft connects onto the axle and tranny, is that universal or easy to mate up?

[T_Tank]

Guess it helps that I kinda just eyeballed the links. Like for instance the suspension links for the mrc are 3mm so I happen to have a good number or 3mm turnbuckles an screw rod an just took the time to see where about I wanted things.

When going with a chassis also it helps to think what kind of wheel base you want out of it. That way you can do a little math between the various lengths on the chassis and how long or shorter the links need to be to get you were you want.

And its always just baby steps when it comes to learning I didn't have to much knowledge of 4 link suspension geometry till I started designing that chassis which I then started looking at 4x4 forums an blogs.

For the most part everything just bolts in I went with the traxxas 1/16 prop drives from the trans to the axles cause they are 3mm ID and made of plastic so its easier to cut them to length as my rig needs some rather short prop drives.

Some of the folks at my LHS know me as a bit more of a tinkerer then a hobbyist as I tend to sometimes even bring calipers with me an measure parts in the bag then measure the bag do some math an figure if it fit or not!

Anywho if your getting this for your kiddo I'd say keep just about everything stock but do like I did and add some TLT-1 tire/wheels cause monster truck! and then when you want to do serious crawling switch back to some stock crawler meet or whatever folks here prefer!

One thing to mention though if you put tlt-1 tires on a stock mrc... you will need to figure a sway bar cause it will torque twist though a bit amusing hehe ^_^

[baycrawler]

thanks for the suggestions tank!

are you running a complete trx 1/16 tranny and drive shafts?

how's it hold up with a 540 motor?

[T_Tank]

Yup a stock Traxxas mini revo trans with their 540 motor mount, these transmissions on the Traxxas forums are getting hammered by higher powered setups than what I'm using and not showing any issues.

Now mind you that I'm also running the mini revo overdrive pinion in the axles so the drive shafts use the Traxxas drive shaft grub screw/pin if your using mrc axle pinion gears you'll need to drill a hole for the pin to pass through to hold on.

So far with the abuse I put the I drivetrain through haven't had a issue.

[baycrawler]

hmmm.......what's the overdrive pinion? hahaha.....

dang, so basically your little monster truck is just as fast as a mini revo if not faster?

if you're not using the mrc axle gears, what are you using? it's semi rectangular/flat, so the set screw should be able to screw in and hold onto it, no?

Originally Posted by T_Tank

Yup a stock Traxxas mini revo trans with their 540 motor mount, these transmissions on the Traxxas forums are getting hammered by higher powered setups than what I'm using and not showing any issues.

Now mind you that I'm also running the mini revo overdrive pinion in the axles so the drive shafts use the Traxxas drive shaft grub screw/pin if your using mrc axle pinion gears you'll need to drill a hole for the pin to pass through to hold on.

So far with the abuse I put the I drivetrain through haven't had a issue.

[T_Tank]

If using the stock mrc center drive shafts they hold onto the squared out notch but if you're using the plastic Traxxas center drives they will spin off that notch if enough torque is applied.

And with the overdrive if you use a mini revo pinion gear from the ring pinion rebuild in a mrc it meshes to the mrc ring gear.

A merv may be a bit more stable then this truck but I've used to have a merv that became a sacrifice for this I feel it may be a little faster just gearing wise in the axles

[baycrawler]

i think i have got the general idea of what you're talking about.

ok, so from your picture and all the parts and everything you've used, sounds more like a cross between a monster truck and a merv in 18th scale than an mrc!? speed of a merv and the clearance and crawling of a monster truck with those big tires!

for some reason, i keep thinking batmobile, from the first christian bale batman, and thinking about doing something like this, which is kind of similar to your set up.........let me know what you think?

taking an aftermarket chassis for a mini mrc like a bdw low pro 2.0, mounting a mini revo transmission with revo driveshafts, and using mrc or temper axles. it'd have the articulation of a mini crawler with the speed of a mini revo! not sure what it would be used or good for tho! probably wouldn't handle very well aside from going fast but straight, and be ok with crawling.

[T_Tank]

Trick with using a aftermarket chassis will be making a trans mount for it. The mount I use I designed to work with the stock mrc side plate bolt pattern and be the same width as the stock mount.

Pretty much right though I have merv speed with mrc suspension travel and flex which makes it a blast I should probably be using mini t rear shocks with soft springs and a sway bar for better handling but I can live with it! And that's my second revision of the chassis which I think is good to go just need to take the truck to the skate park when I have time to see how it holds up.

Also you can flip the ratio in the merv trans from a high to low by switching two gears I have the truck in high range but I think low range gets you close to mrc trans with the right spur and pinion.

[baycrawler]

i was thinking an aftermarket chassis and build similar to one of these, i like that look, but with a faster motor........

probably won't turn that great or will have major lean if not roll over, but should be fun...

Mini Wedge "LP2.0" Chassis Kit - Billet Works Designs

Karnage Jr. Chassis - JC Auto Design

[Perkul8r]

I did the BWD build a while ago. Just ordered everything to do one again lol. I loved the truck.

[Perkul8r]

I had the Karnage Jr chassis also, cant seem to find a pic of the Mini but it was awesome also lol.

Dravtech is making some great mini stuff too. Search for him here on RCC, there isn't many pics on his website. Or check facebook.


Not my Pic, taken from Dravtech's Facebook site.

[T_Tank]

Dravtech stuff is really top notch by the way!