Build Complete: Traxxas Telluride

[fyrstormer]

Honestly, I'd still putty it first. My front wheels get bound first since they lead into the tight situations. Sometimes the rear never make it because I bind the front up and back it out. Quite often they get stuck between logs or something and something has to give.

That's what the slipper clutch is for. No reason to compromise the diff and reduce traction in order to get drivetrain-saving slip, when there's already a component in the drivetrain intended for that exact purpose.

If you aren't satisfied, takes 10 min to get the diff back out, open 'er up, and jb weld anyway. Putty isn't permanent, jb is. I would say who cares, diffs are cheap, but then you can put shafts, wheels, etc at risk too.

I agree in principle, but based on my experience with crawling, any slip on the front axle is a hindrance, because when you're crawling, sometimes the wheels are rotating so slowly that even the thickest diff fluids (including silly putty) can still diff-out enough to make the vehicle stop moving. Regarding over-torquing the axles, that's one of the reasons I went with the MIP steel axles; the motor I'm using will never generate enough torque to damage those axles.

 

[fyrstormer]

Blue Dawn?! I'm going to bave to look into that then!

Yep, the blue stuff is the strongest Dawn dish soap. Something I learned from my biking hobby. I still prefer to clean my bike chains using a (reusable) jar of paint thinner and Goof Off mixed together, but for everything else, Blue Dawn gets the job done.

 

[mwe-maxxowner]

How much modding did the 56 spur require?

 

[fyrstormer]

I trimmed where the 56t spur came close to the surrounding plastic bits, especially the bit of plastic that reaches up and over the spur/slipper assembly, to make it easier to remove in the future. I suppose the spur would've rubbed-away any plastic it actually came in contact with, but why add the extra load to the motor?

And yes, the brushed Stampede diff gears make a huge difference. That mod drops the gear ratio by 30%, and the 9/56 pinion/spur ratio is nearly identical to the stock 12/80 ratio, but with much larger and more durable teeth.

Also, I drilled a hole in the bottom of the spur guard to let water out, because I knew perfectly well that water would find its way in there if I drove in wet conditions. I was right.

 

[gtp_jmp]

Goodstuff! Good idea on drilling a hole ..I should do that also. Pretty annoying how much water gets in. Not sure if it's due to the clear cover not stealing like the stock one. Good to know on the gearing, I really suck at calculating that stuff. I put in a castle 3800 with this gearing, holy torque monster.

 

[fyrstormer]

Stock gearing = (12/80) * (13/37) = .0527 = 18.97:1
My gearing = (9/56) * (12/47) = .0410 = 24.37:1

I don't even bother to use the gear cover anymore. I have a JConcepts tray cover to keep debris out of the electronics tray, so I leave the gearbox open so water can evaporate more easily.

 

[wyd]

I have the 12/47 with the stock gearing 12/83 which is 27.41 overall but that is with the standard Traxxas 48 pitchpitch and spur gear. Not as bullet proof vs the 32 pitch you guys are using. So far no problems with this but. When I do get stuck I don't keep throttling to get it loose as I just pick it up so it so far has been ok with the stock gears.

I have an Outerwear on order to cover my chassis to keep debris out. Once it comes in and I install it I will get pics of it on my thread. It will let air in so shouldn't heat up my motor anymore than no cover would.

 

[fyrstormer]

Is it 83 teeth instead of 80? I replaced the spur/slipper assembly so fast I already forgot what size it was.

The issue with the stock spur/slipper assembly isn't only the small size of the 48-pitch gear teeth, it's also the small size of the slipper clutch. The 4Pede slipper clutch is much more robust and tuneable.

 

[wyd]

Is it 83 teeth instead of 80? I replaced the spur/slipper assembly so fast I already forgot what size it was.

The issue with the stock spur/slipper assembly isn't only the small size of the 48-pitch gear teeth, it's also the small size of the slipper clutch. The 4Pede slipper clutch is much more robust and tuneable.

The stock spur gear an 83 tooth. I know the stock slipper is small but since I'm only running the stock motor or switching to a 35 turn not been a problem. I have not adjusted from the box and not had any slipping. I actually have a brand new spare Slash 4x4 slipper setup never used so I can switch out if I find it to be a problem. I would guess with more power or if one crawls really hard then I can see a problem popping up. From reading your posts I will keep an eye on mine and if I have problems out it will come.

 

[fyrstormer]

The way I test slipper clutches on my crawler vehicles is to press my foot against the front bumper and pull the throttle trigger all the way. If the motor can't turn, the slipper is too tight, and the motor is more likely to burn out. If the motor starts turning well before I reach full-throttle, the slipper is too loose and the vehicle won't benefit from all the torque the motor can provide.

If you want lower speed than the stock motor (or the Dynamite 15t 550 that I recommend) can offer, you can install a 3:1 gear reduction unit from RC4WD. That will give the Telluride a whopping top speed of 6mph, without reducing the overall power output of the motor -- instead the power will all be converted to torque. A higher-turn motor will just be weaker, hence its lower top-speed, but it will also produce less torque than a lower-turn motor. The only benefit of a higher-turn motor is a reduced likelihood of burning-out if the motor is stalled for a long time.

 

[wyd]

fyrstormer I saw some Proline 2.2 Titus bead locks and was wondering if you know will they fit are Tellurides without hitting the the caster blocks or camber links? I have some but they are 1.9 Titus bead locks from Proline so I know they won't fit. I was going to take one of my 2.2 inch rear buggy rims just to see if 2.2 is enough clearence or not. I don't want to space out anything really wide and the rims will cost me 32 bucks for a set of 4 so don't want to be wrong but then again I can use them on something else down the road.

 

[fyrstormer]

fyrstormer I saw some Proline 2.2 Titus bead locks and was wondering if you know will they fit are Tellurides without hitting the the caster blocks or camber links? I have some but they are 1.9 Titus bead locks from Proline so I know they won't fit. I was going to take one of my 2.2 inch rear buggy rims just to see if 2.2 is enough clearence or not. I don't want to space out anything really wide and the rims will cost me 32 bucks for a set of 4 so don't want to be wrong but then again I can use them on something else down the road.

No, they won't fit. They won't clear the upper camber links in the front at full steering lock. Your best bet is still Pro-Line's short-course beadlocks.

 

[wyd]

Thankyou. That helps me out and saves me a few bucks for right now. Lol

 

[BJoe]

Have either of you tried locking the servo saver yet? I'm thinking about trying that with mine when I ditch the 2055 for a better servo (thinking of one of the Savox digital metal gear waterproof jobs for around $40). I've sworn I've heard the servo turn when the wheels haven't last time I had it out.

 

[fyrstormer]

I bought a Hot Racing servo-saver and cranked the spring-adjuster all the way down and superglued it in-place. It's stronger than the stock bellcranks, and there's no servo-saving action to speak of -- which is fine with me, because I have a super-strong servo in there with a clamping metal servo-horn.

 

[wyd]

For me I didn't touch the setting on my stock steering rack. All I did was to install my Futaba brushless servo and an a aluminum servo horn. Steering has been really good overall and no problems so far with my servo wearing prematurely or my stock rack having any problems. I may lock it down if I was purely rock crawling but since I'm not hard core and I do more trail runs with some rocks here and their so didn't lock it down.

 

[fyrstormer]

The truck survived a weekend at the mercy of children quite admirably. Lots of donuts were spun, and the gravel pile in the back field was no match for the mighty Telluride.

 

[alexchen86]

Wow...I am completely blown away by your knowledge and ingenuity. You completely modded out a roller Telluride into what appears to be a very capable crawler with just the right goodies and no unnecessary bling. This build needs to be in a magazine! I bet this rig will not only clear better gates than the huge "crawler" Summit, but actually out crawl it with smaller tires and waaaay less money than the Summit. Plus less moving parts in your rig means less things potentially going wrong on the trail. Excellent job!

 

[fyrstormer]

Thanks for the compliment. It hadn't occurred to me to see if any of the RC magazines were interested, I guess because the Telluride isn't a highly-respected vehicle and I didn't make a custom body or anything.

 

[fyrstormer]

Tiny update: I replaced the Traxxas aluminum center driveshaft with a TeknoRC Big Bone center driveshaft. The Traxxas center driveshaft was strong enough, but the TeknoRC Big Bone driveshaft uses a conventional dogbone design, which means the drive cups don't have to be perfectly aligned with the driveshaft before the front and rear bulkheads can be disassembled/reassembled. So it's really more of a serviceability thing than a durability thing. Still, it's worth noting, because if I had this vehicle to build all over again, I'd have gone with the Big Bone to start with.