Modding my TRX-6 *Progression*

[Benp]

Originally Posted by Got0wned

Benp and Jeff6x6, the info is super helpful! Thank you!

Rebuilt my front shocks with ti-nitride shafts and new seals. When I disassembled the shocks, they were both low on oil. I tried filling the oil with just a new o-ring on the filler cap. When I fully compressed the shocks, I can see the oil slowly seep out. Took the caps off and tried the Teflon tape trick that Jeff6x6 mentioned. No leaks! I don’t feel much difference between the ti-nitride shafts and the stock stainless shafts. But they do look a lot cooler!

Looks good!

Did you throw the hi flow pistons on also? How many holes are those?

I’m currently down the rabbit hole of messing with shocks. Lol. It’s both fun and frustrating.

I’m able to test my changes out within minutes of adding/changing something on my rock walls. So I’m fortunate with that and may also be why I tinker so much. Lol

Those shock towers are interesting. I’ve never seen those before.

Keep your progress posts coming. I enjoy reading them!

[Got0wned]

Originally Posted by OSRC

Usually indicated they are overfilled. A major cause of leaky shocks is simple overfilling. If you fill it to the top with the shock shaft all the way out, when the shock compresses the volume of the shock shaft displaces the oil and it has to go somewhere. Puts a ton of pressure on the seals and will eventually blow out/leak.

Fill the shock about 8/10 full and then slowly compress the shock shaft...when the shaft is fully compressed, the level of oil should just be at the top. Then screw on the cap. That eliminates any internal pressure (actually will create a slight vacuum in the shock body when extended)

Maybe you know all this, IDK but thought it might help.

Thanks for the tip. That's exactly what I did. I filled the shocks little by little when closing the cap with the shaft at full compression until it reached its limit. Once I put it all together, I fully compressed the shock and held it upside down for about 15 seconds and saw the oil seep out very slowly. So then I took it all apart and wrapped teflon tape around the threads of the cap about 3 times around. Did the same test and no leak. That info was thanks to Jeff6x6.

[Got0wned]

Originally Posted by Benp

Looks good!

Did you throw the hi flow pistons on also? How many holes are those?

I’m currently down the rabbit hole of messing with shocks. Lol. It’s both fun and frustrating.

I’m able to test my changes out within minutes of adding/changing something on my rock walls. So I’m fortunate with that and may also be why I tinker so much. Lol

Those shock towers are interesting. I’ve never seen those before.

Keep your progress posts coming. I enjoy reading them!

Benp: I’m glad I have an audience I did install the high-flow pistons. They are the red pistons with four channels. I ordered them based on Traxxas’s recommendation on their upgrade for the GTS shocks. However, when I disassembled my GTS shocks, I realized the high-flow pistons were pre-installed from the factory. Now I have a pair of spare ones lol.

Once I installed the rebuilt shocks onto my truck, it did feel smoother. That’s just my subjective opinion though. I also used 27.5wt oil. I don’t know enough about r/c to know the difference between different weight shock oil. This seems to work fine. BUT... after install, I received the Yeah Racing aluminum front axle housing in the mail. So then I took everything apart almost immediately after I put the shocks back on.. lol

[Phildirt]

You definitely have an audience lol. At a little over 1,000 views in 3 pages - - - I just don't comment a whole lot as I prefer to lurk and watch. Figured there is enough opinion out there haha.

[Jeff6x6]

Think about the oil weights. The thicker ...the slower the shaft can travel. On impact to a rock ...you want the suspension to go down and give your rig a chance to get forward momentum before the shock expands back to normal. Difference can be getting up or sitting there with a big wheelie. I run 80wt now. BenP good to hear from you also.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Yep, I've been watching this too, just not much for me to comment on lol.

i like the shock shafts, that bronze gives a pop of color

[soze]

Nice build! Looks like you're local to me. Maybe I'll see you out on the trail sometime!

[Got0wned]

Phildirt and Scalelifenewbie: I'll try to keep up with this thread best I can with the mods. I have more coming. Just trying to find time to do more to the crawler.

Jeff6x6: I understand the viscosity and weight difference, but what I meant was I'm unsure which weight would work best for my rig. 80w would be too thick for me as I'm trying to lighten up the dampening, but I understand that's what works for you on your rig. Figured I'd try the 27.5w as a base point to see if it would be good, thicker, or thinner.

soze: Sounds good! Found a hidden lightly trekked trail by the Brea Reservoir. The other spot was by Cannon St at El Modena was the other that I went to the first time last week. If you know more spots in OC or SGV area, would you mind sharing?

[soze]

Originally Posted by Got0wned

Phildirt and Scalelifenewbie: I'll try to keep up with this thread best I can with the mods. I have more coming. Just trying to find time to do more to the crawler.

Jeff6x6: I understand the viscosity and weight difference, but what I meant was I'm unsure which weight would work best for my rig. 80w would be too thick for me as I'm trying to lighten up the dampening, but I understand that's what works for you on your rig. Figured I'd try the 27.5w as a base point to see if it would be good, thicker, or thinner.

soze: Sounds good! Found a hidden lightly trekked trail by the Brea Reservoir. The other spot was by Cannon St at El Modena was the other that I went to the first time last week. If you know more spots in OC or SGV area, would you mind sharing?

ElMo is a trail we hit up often. I have not gone to the Brea Reservoir before.

I know people around here go to Brackett Air field, and Fontana as well.

[Benp]

Originally Posted by Got0wned

Phildirt and Scalelifenewbie: I'll try to keep up with this thread best I can with the mods. I have more coming. Just trying to find time to do more to the crawler.



Jeff6x6: I understand the viscosity and weight difference, but what I meant was I'm unsure which weight would work best for my rig. 80w would be too thick for me as I'm trying to lighten up the dampening, but I understand that's what works for you on your rig. Figured I'd try the 27.5w as a base point to see if it would be good, thicker, or thinner.



soze: Sounds good! Found a hidden lightly trekked trail by the Brea Reservoir. The other spot was by Cannon St at El Modena was the other that I went to the first time last week. If you know more spots in OC or SGV area, would you mind sharing?

The figuring the oil weight out comes from tinkering/testing for your setup.

I have 10 different weights from 10wt to 50.

I’m stuck at 40 right now thanks to Mother Nature dumping snow in October, so my rc season is done for now.

Originally Posted by Got0wned

Benp: I’m glad I have an audience I did install the high-flow pistons. They are the red pistons with four channels. I ordered them based on Traxxas’s recommendation on their upgrade for the GTS shocks. However, when I disassembled my GTS shocks, I realized the high-flow pistons were pre-installed from the factory. Now I have a pair of spare ones lol.

Once I installed the rebuilt shocks onto my truck, it did feel smoother. That’s just my subjective opinion though. I also used 27.5wt oil. I don’t know enough about r/c to know the difference between different weight shock oil. This seems to work fine. BUT... after install, I received the Yeah Racing aluminum front axle housing in the mail. So then I took everything apart almost immediately after I put the shocks back on.. lol

Interesting on the pistons!!!!

I thought the stock traxxas were 1 hole.

I currently running 3 hole in my desert Lizards thinking it was an improvement over stock.

Guess I was wrong. Lol

I suppose I’ll change out to 4 hole the next time I change oil.

May explain why I’m not liking 40wt.

[Got0wned]

Benp, this is what the pistons look like:

[Benp]

Cool!

Thanks!!!

[Got0wned]

Installed a Hot Racing overdrive 12T/33T helical ring and pinion to the Yeah Racing Aluminum front axle housing. Easier than I thought, but also messier than I thought with all the grease. I used Team Losi great grease for the ring and pinion gears and marine grease for the rest of the components. Everything fit together perfectly with the Samix brass components. Finished it off with a Samix brass differential cover. The setup is heavy!

[Got0wned]

My factory XL5 ESC malfunctioned today... it won't go into reverse. Any recommendations as to which ESC to upgrade to? Looking for a good ESC upgrade rather than a budget/good deal. I figure to "Buy once, cry once"

[Phildirt]

Are you sure it's the ESC and not the transmitter/reciever? Do you have another one you could swap out to that ESC to rule it out?

[Phildirt]

Fun fact: the other day I thought I 'fried' my ESC and it turns out I assembled the rear diff backwards after a bearing inspection/greasing - so the tires were turning opposite direction from the front lol. It did this weird hunching up thing when the throttle was applied...took me a minute to figure out and thankfully I didn't break anything in the process. Lesson to me: test it first laying upside down lol. All that to say sometimes the worst case scenario isn't happening and it's something simple/overlooked.

If you are set on replacing the ESC I don't have great advice there as I am a fan of cheap ones like the HW 1080.

[Got0wned]

Phildirt: I have not ruled out the transmitter or the receiver being the issue.. I contacted both Traxxas customer support and my local hobby shop. They both ruled out through their diagnostics to point out it is most likely my ESC being faulty. Since the wires on my ESC have been modified for my CC BEC, and I don't want to replace it with another XL5 ESC, I figured now would be a good time to look for an upgrade.

I've read the Mamba X would be a good choice in comparison to HH, Tekin RX4, Hobbywing 1080. I need guidance as to the kv for the motor. What's the advantage/disadvantage or suggestions for which I mainly do slow uphill/downhill crawling? 1900, 2280, 2850, 3800kv? Thanks in advance for your help and anyone else's help!

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

EDIT: Have you tried rebinding everything? I know I have to do that a lot on my TRX4.


For super technical crawling and nothing else, I'd go 1800kv. If i wanted a mix between speed and good torque, go 2200-2300kv. The higher the kv, the more speed. The lower the kv, the more torque. Personally, I'd get a 2200kv since I do a mix of trailing/crawling.

For a brushed setup IMO, you can't beat a HW1080/Crawlmaster 13/16T, especially for the price.

[Got0wned]

Originally Posted by ScaleLifeNewbie

EDIT: Have you tried rebinding everything? I know I have to do that a lot on my TRX4.


For super technical crawling and nothing else, I'd go 1800kv. If i wanted a mix between speed and good torque, go 2200-2300kv. The higher the kv, the more speed. The lower the kv, the more torque. Personally, I'd get a 2200kv since I do a mix of trailing/crawling.

For a brushed setup IMO, you can't beat a HW1080/Crawlmaster 13/16T, especially for the price.

Scalelifenewbie: I rebinded everything twice. Still no dice.. I'm leaning towards HH Puller Pro v2 in 2200kv and Mamba X ESC. What do you think of that setup? Seems like CC products specifically the Mamba X and their B-link are backordered everywhere I look including CC's website.

[PFongemie]

Originally Posted by ScaleLifeNewbie

EDIT: Have you tried rebinding everything? I know I have to do that a lot on my TRX4.


For super technical crawling and nothing else, I'd go 1800kv. If i wanted a mix between speed and good torque, go 2200-2300kv. The higher the kv, the more speed. The lower the kv, the more torque. Personally, I'd get a 2200kv since I do a mix of trailing/crawling.

For a brushed setup IMO, you can't beat a HW1080/Crawlmaster 13/16T, especially for the price.

I just removed my Mamba X and HH Puller Pro 2200kv for the new Hobbywing Axe R2 with the 3300kv. It is outstanding. Nice and quiet. 2nd gear full throttle is insane and 1st gear is smoother and stronger then before.