New body style RS10XT

[bbolden516]

Ok so i've been into rc since rc10's were the new cool thing then it was off and on over the years. I bought a redcat volcano EPX Pro about 2 years ago for my step daughter, after putting lipo in it wow it was awesome for a $200 dollar RTR rig. and have been wanting a crawler since then. So this Jan I got on the internet and started looking up crawlers I didn't want to start with a $500+ comp rig just a back yard basher, I finally pulled the trigger and bought the new body style RS10XT. And I must say for $155 its tons of fun for the buck.

[redcatkrawler]

First post already looks like a ton of mods done. Good job there. First time I've seen that body.

[bbolden516]

So I read a lot on this site before the purchase and when I bought the rig I bought the metal gears hardened pins and metal gear servo from Crawford performance engineering, when I called him and talked to him he was very helpful. As soon as I got the rig the plastic gears, servos hardened pins all went in before driving. Then after and few quick runs I got white dot rovers and tired the stock and proline foam in many configurations but ended up getting proline 2.2 dual stage memory foam, & stick on wheel weights. I have to say this made a night and day difference to the rig's crawling capabilities.

[bbolden516]

The new body style is awesome, I don't have any thing to compare it to but very very minimal trimming was done at 1st very good crawler body for this RTR rig. I have since done more trimming and will show that as well the rig didn't stay stock for more than 2 quick runs way to much info on this site so the mods continue.

[chopfather]

I like it ! I've seen that body style on e-bay but wan't sure if I liked it or not but after seeing you pics I think it looks good. Nice mods so far also.

[bbolden516]

So after a couple quick runs this thing was tons of fun but I knew there was a lot that could be done so after tons of threads and pics thanks to this site I started cutting and bending and modding. I cut the frame made it leaner and moved the lower links inboard at the top and out board at the bottom bent both upper and lower links. I got some aluminum angle iron from lowes to make the axle link to mount the shocks and used the excess to reinforce the steering. I did the BTA mod and bent the steering links up to follow the axle to minimize catch points. I have to say modding this thing is almost as fun or as fun a running it.

[bbolden516]

More pics to show the mods done. also I clocked the axle to gain better motor clearance. I did this by just moving the top bracket to the rear hole and lining it up and drilling a new hole it seems to make the tires bite better also when turning.

[bbolden516]

Some of you maybe wondering what shocks and links I used to make the changes I did well that redcat volcano I was talking about in the beginning didn't stay stock either, once I added the lipo batteries it did like 40mph so when it crashed it would explode into like a million pieces so it got aluminum upgrades and tie rods. so the old plastic pieces were used on the crawler and I had also bought a rolling chassis from ebay for cheap and had extra shocks so they went on the crawler as well. So the upgrades are redcat parts which I think is cool. as far as the spring I went to a local hardware store and raided their spring inventory, and just put in what would fit until I found the spring rate I wanted. the shocks you will see are slightly longer and I put different ends on them to make up the length needed for the shock to axle conv.

[bbolden516]

Most of the mods went pretty easy then while on a run the esc went up in smoke which sucked, I think the stock esc was a pretty good unit cheap but good for the money, so on closer insp. I found the motor wire clear protectors had slide around and the connector wasn't cover and under a full load they arced out and sparks flew and the esc went up in smoke because of this. also found out one of the after market servos I had got takin out in this process as well dangit. Well I guess no need crying over spilt milk time to upgrade, so I went with a 4wd outcry dual motor esc with 6v 5a external bec that wasn't really much more than a stock esc. also

[bbolden516]

The stock battery straps are ok but I went with a stick on Velcro works better IMO I also had to cut the stock strap guides for suspension clearance so oh well I run 5000mah 2s 20c lipos and get 1 hour plus run time before my lipo alarm goes off which is great. Also IMO the wheel weight works good at 6ish OZ in front and 3ish OZ in the rear keeps the COG down and not too much weight for the rig to run, I tired more and less and for me this works the best. Also I modded the controller battery. I cut out all the reinforcement plastic and cut down all the wrap on the stock battery and bam it fit.

[bbolden516]

Any ways more to come new D772 solar servos from hobbypartz and another set of stock wheels with HPI Rock Grabber 2.2 tires and memory foam are all in the mail plus ill try and get some action shots as well the suspension on this thing is pretty good now IMO. BTW in total all said and done I have way less than $500 invested best bang for buck still on the fun department IMO. I started with RC10's then RC10T then traxxas stampeed, TMAX, EMAX, XTM xfactor, all pretty fun decent rigs lots of aftermarket support, but IMO redcats are really cool for the price, tons of fun and lots of the mods just take alittle DIY, which is IMO funner.

[bbolden516]

Ok so I took a break from the forum for a bit and took some action shots of my rig, so the stock suspension is not horrible but with some mods pretty awesome IMO. Also in the pics look close at the body you can see I trimmed off alittle more both front and rear for better suspension clearance, like I said before this body is pretty good for this rig IMO, very very minimal trimming.

[bbolden516]

A few more action shots hope you guys enjoy, Also I do plan on getting some 3s 5000mah batteries when their back in stock at valve hobby and im thinking about getting some aluminum knuckles just not sure how I wanta go there yet kinda wanta do a cvd mod on this thing just not sure yet. Oh yeah sorry all indoor pics right now the weather sucks here right now.
Please comment on what could be made better , thanks all comments welcome.

[Ramfx4]

What did you make the axle socks mounts out of

[bbolden516]

I went to lowes and got aluminum angle iron lots of sizes to choose from, I got I think 1 1/2 inch x 1 1/2 inch and trim to what size I want its easier to start big and trim verus getting to small and not having enough to work with, Aluminum is easy to cut. Plus the excess I use to make other parts win win.

[o-o]

Originally Posted by bbolden516

Also IMO the wheel weight works good at 6ish OZ in front and 3ish OZ in the rear

Are these ounces per wheel?

[bbolden516]

Yes that was per wheel and that's what works for my setup, hope it helps.

[Ramfx4]

Do you have a draw out of what you did for the shock mounts?...can you take a close up pic of the mounts and also where the shocks mount to the chassis

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

[bbolden516]

I will pull it apart tomorrow and I will take some close up pics with a ruler.

[bbolden516]

Ok so since my last post I got my new solar servos d772's they are heavy duty aluminum cased and only $17.50 at hobby partz, I also got JR splined 23t clamping integrity servo horns also heavy duty. I also got the hpi tires and another set of stock wheels I said before in my tread. So the new servos are heavy and slower but have a lot of torque. they like a lot of power my RC4wd dual motor outcry with 6v 5a bec could not keep up and got really hot, by the way these servos get hot when worked as well.