My Exceed RC MaxStone 1/16 thread. Input welcomed!

[high plains drifter]

After scrutinizing this little thing upon receipt, I decided that it was indeed worthy of some love, upgrades, and modifications. Over the past few weeks, I've been learning more about it as well as the current world of RC vehicles... which has indeed changed significantly since I was a nitro-guy well over 10 years ago. The Ascender and TRX4 are still my dream-crawlers but for now... this is proving a lot of fun and a great means for me to slowly start getting my feet back into the RC waters.

Not exactly sure where to start so here goes! And please... any questions, advice, or comments are sincerely appreciated.

What I found to be the primary issues ( at least with mine):

Tires- They look cool/ realistic but they just don't have enough grab under the light-weight of the EMS 1/16. I ordered another set from nitrorcx but although their site shows a different tire ( that I thought would be an improvement), the picture was not accurate. The tires that were sent to me were the same exact tires that I already had... ugh. Removing the inner-foam helps VERY LITTLE as the tire is simply too stiff. I will be ordering something else from A-main but haven't yet decided which ones.

Steering servo- I've been maybe a tad bit rough with this crawler but honestly nothing too crazy. Regardless, the stock servo crapped out after only a week or so. Prior to that, I noticed that it was very warm to the touch ( after only a few minutes of run time) so I knew that it wasn't going to last long. Gutting it revealed stripped gears... obviously. I've since upgraded to a full-size Futaba S3003. If it was good enough in my RC10GT, then it should be good enough in the EMC16... and it is! Only downside to using a standard servo is that you must make a new mounting plate and servo-mounts... no problem as I love fabricating stuff like this.

Torque-twist- No need to go into detail as this known issue has been well-documented with the EMS and other like-designed suspensions. Stiffer ( supplied) rear springs have helped a little and I will likely experiment with some spring-spacers. The twist isn't unmanageable but at times is exacerbated by the high COG and 3-link suspension making the vehicle somewhat unstable. It isn't enough of an issue for me to want to convert this to dbl triangulated 4-link but it's certainly worth noting.

What I've also done so far:

Front and rear differential skid-plates- I used the pointless flimsy plastic skids as templates and made some 1/16" steel plate skids instead. I know a lot of people simply remove the skid/ bumper altogether but I wanted a little protection for the front tie-rod, rear trac-bar, servo arm, diff, etc. Plus, they actually help the vehicle to slide over obstacles so win-win. Another reason that I chose to do this was b/c I wanted a place to mount some stick-on weights.

Weights- Added about .75 oz to the rear skid-plate, 1 oz to the front skid-plate, and about .75 to each wheel ( pressed on to the inside of each rim). I will add more weight as applicable and to whatever new wheels that I decide to go with.

Body-mounting posts- OEM posts were flimsy and warped... warped so bad that along with the misaligned mounting holes on the body, they actually caused the body to twist. Replaced em with standard size Associated posts ( cut shorter and pilot-drilled). I also changed the configuration from 4 posts mounted to the chassis side plates, to 2 there and 1 at the rear of the battery tray ( so 3 total instead of 4). I'm also using larger ez-grab pins so that I can get the body on and off quicker.

Modified aluminum servo-arm- With the larger S3003 servo, came the need to upgrade the arm. I wanted to keep things simple so I used an aluminum arm compatible with the standard-size output shaft. I did wind-up having to shorten the length and notch-out the driver's side of the arm ( so that there was no binding during full-lock passenger side) but that was all that had to be done. Really happy with how the larger servo and arm worked out. Getting some beef into this EMS16 now!

On deck/ next mods-

* Aluminum 12mm wheel hexes
* Aluminum steering knuckles
* 30wt shock oil
* Softer compound tires/ modified foams/ wheels
* 1200 mAh NiMH battery
* On-board battery voltage meter
* Custom-painted crawler body ( OD green fade to black with silver accents)

More to come 2018-

* Rear steer
* Lipo battery upgrade
* 360 or 370 motor upgrade
* HobbyWing 1060 ESC
* Headlights or rock-lights
* New transmitter ( not sure which but possibly Spektrum 3 ch)

[RGunn]

My story is the same as yours. Around 10-years ago I traveled to different states following the 'RC Pro Offroad National Series'.

Now, I have recently purchased two new Redcat Everest 16s (this thread Two New Everest-16s) to enjoy with my two Grandsons. My direction for mods. has been a bit different from what you have done. Lot's of emphasis on lowering COG. I'll write something up with pics in the next few weeks.

While I admire the craftmanship of the skids you fabricated, I see them as having the same problem as do the stock plastic units. Once you start crawling around in a rock pile it becomes obvious those skids cause all sorts of hang-ups on rock edges. I took mine off completely and am running without any skids. In fact, I am going to take my Dremel and grind off the screw mount post on the bottom of the axle housings for even more clearance.

My trucks had the same issue with bent body mount post. 3-mins in boiling water and they straightened out perfectly.

With regard to tires, I am spending zero time trying to mod. stock tires and will invest in new wheels and slightly larger diameter tires soon. My thought is that tires in the 4.19" - 4.3" should be about right for these minis. Will also add 1/2" wheel wideners with the taller tires.

Thanks for your post. Since there are several brands of these same mini size trucks, the Redcat section, or Losi MRC section is the closest fit for where to post about all these clone crawlers.

[high plains drifter]

Thanks so much, RGunn for giving this thread a little traction lol.

The skids thus far have proven more of an asset than a liability although I have snagged them a few times so I may eventually scrap them. I just love modding stuff I guess lol. Plus like I said, I wanted somewhere to add some adhesive weights and I like that this gives me that opportunity and that the weight is low and centered directly in the middle of the axles. There sure isn't much real-estate on this little rig! I have to say that I haven't even run this little thing outside so it may indeed get hung up worse on actual rocks and outdoor obstacles than it has thus far on my indoor courses that consist primarily of various sized boxes, wood planks, etc.

For tires/ wheels I'm looking at the Proline pre-mounted Trencher tires on Desperado wheels or the Traxxas pre-mounted SCT off-road tires on satin-chrome rims. Problem with going this route is that I'd like to be able to run without foams or at the very least, modify the foams if necessary. I don't know how universal the fit is with various tires/ wheels on this particular rig but I'm hoping that ( as long as it fits the 12mm hex config) that ANYTHING will be better than these stock tires. I'd be happy to simply buy tires but my concern is fitting aftermarket tires onto the stock wheels. I simply don't know what will work. I just want a softer tire with more grab.

I sure would like it if someone could chime in with what works on this rig in regards to tires and wheels. As many videos and threads as there are out there, I still haven't found any specific info as to direct-fit style names, or part #'s.

Thanks so much for taking the time to check out this thread and for the input. I'll be checking out that link later today. I wasn't sure where to post this thread so hopefully this was an appropriate section ( as advised by another member).

[RGunn]

HPD, I plan on running either Proline Hyrax 1.9 (4.19" tall), or RC4WD Goodyear Wrangler MTD 1.9 (4.19" tall). Wheels will be real beadlocks and one of the various stamped steel versions. For now I expect no foams based on the light weight of our minis.

For clearance issues that will develop with taller tires I'll add 1/2" (13mm to 15mm models) wheel wideners of which there are several brands to choose from.

I don't plan on rear steering so I am going to ditch the drag link and install 'Hot Racing' axle lockouts for the EXC Temper.

I'm also running standard sized servos at about 180 oz/in torque.

Iv'e done much to my shocks (limiters & more) to lower the stance but I'll cover that in a future post for my trucks.

Like you, since these are my first ever crawlers I am enjoying 'learning the ropes' in this part of the RC hobby. Learning new stuff is the most fun part of any hobby or sport for me!

[high plains drifter]

Thanks for the additional info and such, RG!

I forgot to clarify in my earlier post that my apprehension with the tire/ wheel combos that I spoke of, comes with my assumption that both the Traxxas and Prolines appear to come pre-glued. I'm going to look into the Hyrax and MTD's as I'm not opposed to running spacers if needed. I really like the direction that you are heading with yours so I may soon be stealing some of your ideas lol. I'll certainly look into the specific items that you've mentioned.

I'm still debating on the rear-steer and I'm sure that I'll know better after getting some better tires on this rig, whether or not I'll go that route. If performance with new tires seems much improved then I'll likely delay or cancel plans entirely for the rear-steer option.

I'll surely be tuning in to your thread(s) regarding your build, tips, and overall thoughts with the mods that you've made or plan to make. Really nice to get some varying perspective on things. Too often I get a bit caught-up in my own ideas without stopping and stepping back to take a fresh look so I genuinely appreciate this kind of interaction.

Thanks again so much.

[high plains drifter]

Just received new tires and wheels for my EMS16!

These things are sick!.. RC4WD Rock Creepers 1.9" on RC4WD OEM Stamped Steel 1.9" black bead-lock wheels. Tire compound is the adv x3 and these things are as soft and sticky as slightly aged baby vomit... possibly.

Really happy with both the wheels and tires. They have a little more negative offset than the stock plastic wheels which is great ( as the stock tires would rub on the lower control arms). This also gives the vehicle a slightly wider stance but not by very much so I'd say these are perfect. OD is only a tad bit larger than the stock tires which is nice too. For now I'm going to mount up the fronts with no foams but keep foams in the rears. Fwiw, no hex adapters were necessary... everything is 12mm.

Also fwiw, Shipping time from a-main was absolutely atrocious. Took 15 days for this little package to arrive to me in Texas via USPS.



... along side the factory wheels & tires...



... mounted up!



*** I also went ahead and picked up some aluminum steering mounts. I'm not too happy with them though. The factory screws stick out well past the bottom of the aluminum mount so they need to be cut or I guess you could thread a nut onto them just to make everything look cleaner. Also the mounting holes in the aluminum are larger ID than the stock plastic steering mounts... creating excessive play. I'm not too surprised by all this since in my experience, many aftermarket components are machined differently with different tolerances. No biggie... just not sure if I'll try to make 'em fit a bit better or just scrap 'em altogether.

[the_law_man01]

By "steering mount" I'm assuming you mean "steering knuckle"?
If you get the c-hubs from the same manufacturer as the knuckles, the may accept the sabre size hardware. Maybe that tolerance would close up. If you're going to add a lock nut to your steering link mounting screw rather than trim the screw, I would put the screw in from the bottom so the excess is not hanging down to catch on things.

I'm building this Raptor with my Redcat Everest 16 (same as your MS16) gear. I think I'll use 1.55" wheels and RC4WD Mickey Thompson 1.55" Baja MTZ for a more scale appearance. I'm also going to try to fabricate the chassis so that I can switch between the Raptor body and a Jeep body if I feel like it.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[high plains drifter]

Yep... the steering knuckle. On the rcxnitro site they refer to them as steering mounts so that's why I called em that. I guess that one good thing about them is that if i would decide to keep em and cut that lower threaded portion, then they will actually have a bit better ground-clearance than the stock knuckles. I also like your idea, ( the_law_man01) of simply running them in from underneath. Thanks for the suggestion! Then I just need to get rid of the play by adding a "sleeve" inside where the screw goes through ( top and bottom).

I'd like to see what you do for the versatile body mounts. If you know of a specific Jeep body that works/ looks scale-appropriate on these 1/16 rigs, please let me know. I'm a huge Jeep guy lol and I'd love to get away from the stock EMS truggy-type body. That Raptor looks good too!

Thanks for your input! Very much appreciated.

[RGunn]

HPD, I've been wondering what you have been up too with your 1/16th??? It's looking good! I considered those same exact tires for my truck(s) but opted for a little taller tire. I really like them on your truck so if mine don't workout I may go for that same model you chose next.

Coincidentally, I got new tires and wheels for both of my Everest 16s yesterday also.

I think the mud slides affected shipping out of the California stores. I ordered parts from an Ebay seller in the same area as AMain and my parts are just today 'out for delivery' after 11-days! I'm in Oregon and I usually get shipments so fast from AMain it nearly seems impossible!

I'll put a pic. post together about my two trucks soon so we can compare with one another about our trucks.

Thanks for the updates on your project.

[high plains drifter]

Originally Posted by RGunn

HPD, I've been wondering what you have been up too with your 1/16th??? It's looking good! I considered those same exact tires for my truck(s) but opted for a little taller tire. I really like them on your truck so if mine don't workout I may go for that same model you chose next.

Coincidentally, I got new tires and wheels for both of my Everest 16s yesterday also.

I think the mud slides affected shipping out of the California stores. I ordered parts from an Ebay seller in the same area as AMain and my parts are just today 'out for delivery' after 11-days! I'm in Oregon and I usually get shipments so fast from AMain it nearly seems impossible!

I'll put a pic. post together about my two trucks soon so we can compare with one another about our trucks.

Thanks for the updates on your project.

Hey thank YOU! I really appreciate your opinion on A-main. I hadn't really considered why delivery might've taken so long. Regardless, I'll definitely consider them for future purchases.

I didn't want to put tires on this rig that were too much bigger than stock because of the little 260 motor... unsure if it's up to the task of efficiently turning much taller tires ( although I'm not sure that my concerns are actually warranted). Another concern is additional body trimming for clearance. I already need to trim out the wheel wells just a little more as these tires are rubbing ever so slightly... Any more than that and there won't even be much body left lol. Yes... please post up what your thoughts are on the taller tires once you get them mounted up. I'd like to see what else out there works or doesn't and what other tire/ wheel combinations look like on this rig. I hope the ones that you chose will work for you but if not, then these 1.9 RC4WD's are definitely worth considering.

I've got a new larger diameter 1200 mah battery that I'll be adapting to this rig next week so stay tuned. I'm also going to be painting up a new body for this thing ( as soon as it warms up enough to spray) so hopefully that'll turn out well. I really want to get a shell on this rig that's a little less busy in the graphics department lol.

I'll be anxious to see the progression of mods on your 1/16!

[RGunn]

HPD, Your thoughts about the gear ratio are correct. I had already changed my pinion to a 13T even with the stock tires. I bought 12T pinions but the truck's design will not allow me to achieve proper gear mesh between the pinion & spur gears without removing/sanding material off the side of the transmission so the motor can be pushed over more. In stock form, a 13T is the smallest pinion that can be used and still achieve proper mesh.

Once I start using the 4.25" (stock is 3.75") tires I may have to do the extra work to add the 12T pinion???

I've also had to trim wheel wells on my Everest bodies. I may have to trim more but we'll see after I get the wideners in place with the taller tires???

I'll look forward to seeing your new Lexan!

[ferp420]

Tamiya sized bodys fit real well my ms16 has a radio shack toyota body on it but my midnight pumpkin fits it real nice so dose my tamiya brat body i think maybe the blackfoot might fit to a lunch box maybe i would look at 12th scale bodys and tonka trucks are about 12th scale also i did the 4 link upgrade in the rear and the stiffer spring and stood the shocks up a bit more and that mostly curbed my torque twist i upgraded my chubs to aluminum losi chubs my servo was doa but i got the rig cheap because of that funny i to am running a futaba 30003 somithing or another works great for this little rig the wait of the hard body is just enuff to make the stock tires work i replaced 5he motor with a dynamite stock sized motor and stock gear it gets real hot but has held up so far over a year now ive always been afraid to do much power or wheel upgrades i just dont trust that tiny drive train to hold up to big power or sticky wheels ive been running it for 2 years now with the hard body and other than the motor and chubs i havent touched it since i built it it being top heavy make driving it very scale it realy is very capable for what it is i dont realy see anything holding it back except maybe the body and tire size
Tamiya sized new tech body on a ms16 chassie



Midnight pumpkin on a ms16 chassie




New bright dodge duelly 1/16




Heres a pic with the toyota body on next to the blue ranger

[high plains drifter]

Originally Posted by RGunn

HPD, Your thoughts about the gear ratio are correct. I had already changed my pinion to a 13T even with the stock tires. I bought 12T pinions but the truck's design will not allow me to achieve proper gear mesh between the pinion & spur gears without removing/sanding material off the side of the transmission so the motor can be pushed over more. In stock form, a 13T is the smallest pinion that can be used and still achieve proper mesh.

Once I start using the 4.25" (stock is 3.75") tires I may have to do the extra work to add the 12T pinion???

I've also had to trim wheel wells on my Everest bodies. I may have to trim more but we'll see after I get the wideners in place with the taller tires???

I'll look forward to seeing your new Lexan!

Thanks RG! Didn't even see any additional replies in this thread until just now lol.

Yea, I think I'm going to stick with the stock motor/ gearing at least for now. I'm pretty happy with her behavior ( on indoor obstacles anyway) aside from the twist. Yea, I had heard even before buying mine, that the space was VERY limited in regards to upgrading to any larger dia motors.

I'll be interested to see how well those 4.25" tires work and what kind of fitment issues you might run into. I guess as long as we all have Dremel's, then anything is possible lol! Certainly the wheel spacers will help minimize potential issues with those tires contacting body and lower control arms while turning and throughout suspension flex.

Been a long time since I've done painted any bodies so I hope that I don't mess this one up. If nothing else, the factory shells sure are cheap lol.

Thanks again, man!

Originally Posted by ferp420

Tamiya sized bodys fit real well my ms16 has a radio shack toyota body on it but my midnight pumpkin fits it real nice so dose my tamiya brat body i think maybe the blackfoot might fit to a lunch box maybe i would look at 12th scale bodys and tonka trucks are about 12th scale also i did the 4 link upgrade in the rear and the stiffer spring and stood the shocks up a bit more and that mostly curbed my torque twist i upgraded my chubs to aluminum losi chubs my servo was doa but i got the rig cheap because of that funny i to am running a futaba 30003 somithing or another works great for this little rig the wait of the hard body is just enuff to make the stock tires work i replaced 5he motor with a dynamite stock sized motor and stock gear it gets real hot but has held up so far over a year now ive always been afraid to do much power or wheel upgrades i just dont trust that tiny drive train to hold up to big power or sticky wheels ive been running it for 2 years now with the hard body and other than the motor and chubs i havent touched it since i built it it being top heavy make driving it very scale it realy is very capable for what it is i dont realy see anything holding it back except maybe the body and tire size
Tamiya sized new tech body on a ms16 chassie



Midnight pumpkin on a ms16 chassie




New bright dodge duelly 1/16




Heres a pic with the toyota body on next to the blue ranger

Man I love that Midnight Pumpkin body!

I'd like to know where people are mounting the shocks to get them to stand more upright... an already existing hole on the chassis plates or what? Pics would be cool or I guess I can just research and see what I find. Yea... the t-twist is kinda starting to bug me since it makes this rig want to flop during steep off-camber ascents/ descents. I may tackle the 4-link project sooner than later... not sure. Currently trying to scrape together my pennies and nickles for a TRX4 so my EMS16 mods need to be able to be justified/ beneficial and done as cheaply as possible.

You bring up a good point about stickier aftermarket tires possibly taxing the drive-train ( and motor) a bit more... something that I never really considered. Hopefully it'll hold up okay with the new RC4WD steel wheels and grippy shoes but I'll keep an eye on it.

Btw... I've always been a KOH fan so I'm jealous that you're so close to the action out there! JV is a cool place for sure.

[RGunn]

HPD, don't do the 4-link until you work with the shocks first. I don't have torque twist issues any more. The 'fix' involves travel limiters on both compression and rebound, added preload spacers, and shock oil. In short, the shocks have about 3X the actual travel they need for adequate articulation on these crawlers.

I'm almost done with all I intend to do on mine and i'll take some pics and share it here shortly.

Have you read this?
Axial Racing - Articulation: Pro’s and Con’s

[the_law_man01]

I know of a fella running a hot 280 motor in his e16 with stickier and bigger (1.9) tires. He has upgraded to metal diff lockers and drive shafts. I believe the rest of the drive train is stock. He hasn't had any problems that I know of.

I think as long as you keep the weight reasonable it'll be just fine.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[high plains drifter]

Made some progress on more mods...

Battery: I want to stick with NiMH for this vehicle for now but I wanted to have an xtra pack so I picked up this Traxxas 7.2v 1200 mAh pack.

First issue was that the connector is the wrong type and I want to keep my on-board electronics/ wiring/ connectors stock for now. So I went ahead and grabbed a mini tamiya connector that I had laying around, and soldered it to a standard tamiya lead. This way I can run the original generic 1100mah battery or the Traxxas 1200mah. Not sure if this makes sense but it works!

Obstacle #2: Fitment of the pack onto the chassis. The Traxxas battery is about 2.21mm wider than the stock pack. Doesn't sound like much but there's absolutely no wiggle room in between the [battery hold-down] posts. Also the Traxxas pack is taller by a few millimeters which meant that the factory plastic battery hold-down wasn't going to work either ( due to the fact that I couldn't access the holes for the pins at the tops of the posts).

Solution: I fired up the Dremel and very carefully carved out a kinda half-moon shape on the insides of each post so that the new battery would fit without bending the posts outward. Taking my time, I was able to cut away just enough for the battery to snugly fit ( "snap!") into place. This way the posts will still accept the original pack as well... minimal modification!

Problem at that point was that now the relatively thick plastic battery hold-down "plate" was sitting too high to access the pin holes on the posts. No biggie... I just fabricated a simple ( much thinner) aluminum plate and drilled out holes for the posts. Worked just about perfect although it needed to be a bit more snug so that the battery stayed-put. Easy solution... used a small strip of adhesive-backed 3/8 x 3/16 weather-strip foam. Battery is now perfectly snug and doesn't slide around at all.

Fwiw- I didn't want to modify any part of this to the point that I couldn't still use the stock battery pack. Really happy with the way it turned out. You obviously can't see the insides of the c-notched posts from these images but I'm guessing I explained it well enough.





Next I went back to the aluminum steering knuckles...

As suggested earlier by the_law_man01, I decided to flip the screw that threads into the arm-portion of the knuckle, and then utilize a nut on the top of it. Works great and better ground-clearance than with the stock knuckles... not much but every little bit helps sometimes. Looks a lot better without a long bare screw hanging down unlike the way I had installed these knuckles initially.

I also scrounged my bins to find some small plastic spacers. These ( 4 total) I had to grind down just a hair to get flush with the upper and lower c-portion of the knuckles. Now there is much less play inside which was what I was going for so... success!

Really happy with how this thing is coming along... Next will be the new body ( if it ever warms up outside!) and an on-board LED battery life indicator. I have no idea of what these things are actually called but I had this on another nitro vehicle years ago for my receiver packs and it worked well. Not sure where I'll mount it but it's small so should be no problem.

[high plains drifter]

Originally Posted by RGunn

HPD, don't do the 4-link until you work with the shocks first. I don't have torque twist issues any more. The 'fix' involves travel limiters on both compression and rebound, added preload spacers, and shock oil. In short, the shocks have about 3X the actual travel they need for adequate articulation on these crawlers.

I'm almost done with all I intend to do on mine and i'll take some pics and share it here shortly.

Have you read this?
Axial Racing - Articulation: Pro’s and Con’s

Thanks again, RG! I've added the [included] stiffer springs in the rear but that's it. I still need to get some oil in these shocks but not sure what weight? I'm thinking 20 maybe 30... dunno. Back in the day I used fuel tubing on the shafts to limit travel/ compression in my RC10GT but I don't know what route to go with this one. I think that I've seen people using springs from pens but not sure if that's what you're recommending. Tbh I don't even know how to limit rebound. I also need to find out who makes pre-load spacers that fit these particular shock bodies. I guess that I'll hold off doing the 4-link conv. if I can tweak these shocks a bit more. The twist isn't horrible but I definitely need to dial it in a bit more.

I appreciate the link. Haven't read it yet but I certainly will!

Originally Posted by the_law_man01

I know of a fella running a hot 280 motor in his e16 with stickier and bigger (1.9) tires. He has upgraded to metal diff lockers and drive shafts. I believe the rest of the drive train is stock. He hasn't had any problems that I know of.

I think as long as you keep the weight reasonable it'll be just fine.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Thanks so much for the additional information... especially since these new RC4WD wheels have made this rig quite a bit heavier than it was stock. I need to crawl this thing tomorrow to see how she's handling now with the new bead-locks and tires.

[RGunn]

HPD, any other changes happened with your mini?

How are the new tires & wheels performing?

[high plains drifter]

Great weather so ran her today in a couple different places. Deducted that this thing is a stuck pig in loose/ soft dirt. Even on larger dirt "boulders", once the clumps break up and create dust, she just spins... whether high centered or just buried.

I see that the back end is sinking pretty fast when the ground loosens up so I'm going to remove the rear skid which includes well over an ounce of weights. I think that the OEM tires might do better in these loose soft conditions also... not sure.

On a very steep ascent on dry hard-packed clay, the rig did quite well although not excellent. I was impressed anyway. Once the ground broke even just a little bit, she would quickly loose traction but with a bit of finesse I was able to keep her moving up the even steeper grade towards the top. She made it over the crest! Getting down was considerably quicker and easier lol.

I then crawled some dry logs with her... all prob under 8" dia but regardless she flexed and grabbed at that dry bark and surprised me with her tenacity and overall ability. The suspension flexed like crazy obviously but she seemed to utilize almost every bit of travel. I don't think that I want to limit flex too much although the torque-twist kept me rather agitated. I've got to work on those shocks.

Overall I was really pleased and now I'm anxious to get her up against some sandstone or broken concrete chunks to really get a feel for how she does there. I'm hoping that the RC4WD tires will excel in that environment.

Anyway just wanted to update this thread. I'm happy with the new battery and all the other little mods that I've done aside from feeling like she would benefit more with the rear skid-plate removed and the diff-housing contoured like what others have done. On the front I still want to keep the skid however.

EDIT> Lol just saw RG's post from today. Good timing!

[RGunn]

HPD, glad to read you are having some success out in natural terrain. My two minis have only been on rock or wood structures so I can't make any comparison against your results.

Reading about your mixed results on dirt makes me want to get mine out in the dirt to see how they perform???

What do you think you need to improve on the crawler to gain better traction in the dirt? Tires, weight, or what???

I have 61T & 62T spur gears coming. My plan is to go 12T/62T for gearing. I don't know if the gear cover will fit with the larger spur but if it doesn't, I'll run without the cover. The gears are nicely tucked-in inside the chassis so I think it will be fine.

Thanks for the update about your Exceed!