New Ascender RTR out of the box checklist

[Adubscsr]

Hi RCC'ers
Total and I mean total newb here. Not one minute of RC experience so what the heck, dropped the $$$ for a K5 Ascender RTR. Of course I thought RTR meant put in batteries and drive. Done a lot of reading here on the Ascender forum all foreign language to me but I'm stoked to get into it !
So what I'm asking is for a little guidance on what to address with the rig right out of the box. I DO NOT plan do do any upgrades at this point until I learn more and have some experience with the rig.
But.....Things like
"out of phase" axles
Shock adjustment
Bumper tuck
Etc./Suggestions

Thanks much RCC'ers !!

Adub

 

[rag6]

The very first thing I would do, knowing what I know now... Lower the body. You remove the body from the truck and look at the body posts. All 4 have a screw in them. Remove the screw with the 2mm hex wrench. The body post can be moved up or down. Move all 4 posts down 2 holes, and put the screws back in. You will probably have to trim the wheel wells a little bit when crawling over large obstacles. Get a set of curved body scissors, take off very little at a time until the tire clear the openings. Very easy.

You Dont have to spend hardly any money to upgrade this truck. You will have to invest in some tools though.

After lowering body, then do natedogs shock mod. Just those 2 little projects will give you a massive gain in performance for the price of scissors, a drill bit, and a 4$ bottle of shock oil...

 

[rag6]

Oops... Ya got the k5. The body is different so disregard above. Do nates shock mod....

 

[tjohanne]

Oops... Ya got the k5. The body is different so disregard above. Do nates shock mod....

Isn't it the K5 that should be lowered?

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[Itali83]

The k5 definitely needs to be lowered. Go down 2 holes front and rear. Tuck the side sliders in by removing spacers, tuck the front and rear bumpers I by removing or swapping spacers around, at least lower ride height by backing spring adjusters off but the best would be to internally limit down travel by 5-10mm all the way around.

These free simple mods will make a huge difference and you'll be happy. Read natedogs thread or mine titled "my baby blazer" and hopefully that'll help you out.

Welcome!
Ben

 

[rag6]

Sorry. My brain is fried from too many hrs working. My first post was accurate

 

[Yeti.stealth]

You dont 'need' to do anything to enjoy and use a completly stock RTR Blazer, its fine right out of the box.

But, like me when I first got mine and was a complete newb, I didnt know how to drive or crawl with it very well, so the very first thing i would do is back the slipper clutch off so it will slip in a bind rather than snap something, mine was set real tight when new! Tighten it up later as you learn and want more drive.

All the other things like lowering the body and bumper adjustments just enhance and improve crawling performance, but not absolutely neccesary.

What is a must, is trimming the wheel arches, cause i just hate that horrible sound it makes when the tyres rub and catch on the body!

 

[rag6]

Yettistealth is right. Drove mine for over half a year without changing anything but the ride height adjusters... And had a blast.

 

[Yeti.stealth]

Also one other free thing to do is set your throttle and steering End Point Adjustments (epa) on the stock radio to make sure you are getting full power to the motor and full steering angle in both directions.

Here is how i do it-

RTR radio switched off, steering dual rate knob turned all the way up. Throttle and steering trims turn fully counter clockwise.

Power up truck and set it on the ground upside down, make sure its not gunna go anywhere, cause the radio is off!

Hold the trigger in full reverse while switching radio on, green light starts flashing. ADDITIONAL INFO! Some later model RTR radios need the steering held full right and throttle trigger held in full reverse to get into epa set up mode!!!

Release trigger, ( or trigger and steering if later model radio ) the radio is now in EPA mode. Throttle and steering trims are now EPA adjustment knobs to be used in next few steps. Wheels on truck probably running cause the throttle trim is turned, thats why its upside down!

Hold throttle trigger at full forward speed, while holding down trigger turn throttle trim knob to set your desired maximum forward speed, then release throttle trigger. ( ignore what the wheels on your truck are doing after you release trigger because the throttle trim knob is turned up) forward EPA is now set. Wait a second or two for radio to record new setting.

Hold full reverse speed and adjust throttle trim knob again to set desired reverse max. speed. Release trigger and reverse EPA is now set. Wait two seconds again.

Turn throttle trim knob to the middle to stop wheels turning on upsidedown truck.

Turn and hold steering control fully to the right, while holding adjust steering trim knob to set maximum desired steering angle, release steering control to center, right steering EPA is now set. Wait two seconds.

Turn and hold steering to the left, adjust steering trim knob to desired maximum left steering angle then release steering control to center, left EPA is now set. Wait a couple seconds.

Now center the trim knobs and switch off the truck and radio, job done.
Now you can enjoy the full steering angle available on the ascenders, mine was set at a reduced angle out of the box.

 

[LSXGMC]

My advice should be taken with a grain of salt, but what I always have done since my very first RC is completely disassemble my RTR, take pictures and notes of things as you go, then using the kit manual, reassemble the truck. That's always been the best way for me to learn just how the truck is put together and understand this like gear mesh / shimming, link geometry, and any upgrades a little better. In your case, drive the truck for a while until you're wanting to upgrade, get bored, or have some bad weather, then have at it. I enjoy working on them just as much as driving them, if not more, because the engineering behind these things is awesome (may be a bit biased working in the engineering field professionally).

Far as the truck goes, shock piston mod helps alot (looking back is never have upgraded to aluminum shocks, the stockers work great when modified), bringing the side sliders in as suggested above, that's really about it. You'll find stuff to upgrade as you go. Most of them are just for the sake of change to be honest. Stock Ascender is really capable of of the box. Stock tires work pretty good, but aluminum beadlocks are a nice upgrade, and I always like switching tires up.

Good luck!

EDIT: oh, and read Natedog's thread. Just do it. Tons of great info there

 

[Adubscsr]

Thanks so much for the feedback guys....I'll explore more details on the suggestions. Eventually I'll post a newb's journey into the unknown... !!!

 

[Natedog]

Also one other free thing to do is set your throttle and steering End Point Adjustments (epa) on the stock radio to make sure you are getting full power to the motor and full steering angle in both directions.

Here is how i do it-

RTR radio switched off, steering dual rate knob turned all the way up. Throttle and steering trims turn fully counter clockwise.

Power up truck and set it on the ground upside down, make sure its not gunna go anywhere, cause the radio is off!

Hold the trigger in full reverse while switching radio on, green light starts flashing.
Release trigger, the radio is now in EPA mode. Throttle and steering trims are now EPA adjustment knobs to be used in next few steps. Wheels on truck probably running cause the throttle trim is turned, thats why its upside down!

Hold throttle trigger at full forward speed, while holding down trigger turn throttle trim knob to set your desired maximum forward speed, then release throttle trigger. ( ignore what the wheels on your truck are doing after you release trigger because the throttle trim knob is turned up) forward EPA is now set. Wait a second or two for radio to record new setting.

Hold full reverse speed and adjust throttle trim knob again to set desired reverse max. speed. Release trigger and reverse EPA is now set. Wait two seconds again.

Turn throttle trim knob to the middle to stop wheels turning on upsidedown truck.

Turn and hold steering control fully to the right, while holding adjust steering trim knob to set maximum desired steering angle, release steering control to center, right steering EPA is now set. Wait two seconds.

Turn and hold steering to the left, adjust steering trim knob to desired maximum left steering angle then release steering control to center, left EPA is now set. Wait a couple seconds.

Now center the trim knobs and switch off the truck and radio, job done.
Now you can enjoy the full steering angle available on the ascenders, mine was set at a reduced angle out of the box.

Nice, have to try that with my RTR radio. "thumbsup"

 

[djadub]

I just received my RTR ascender K5 blazer, this is my first 10th scale crawler and I was wondering if anyone could help me out with an issue I am having? When compressing the springs the collars on the shock bodies where the 2 springs meet seem to be catching on the threads of the shock bodies and kinda making a clicking noise and making the travel a little rough, is this normal? I seem to have a new version of the blazer rtr with a new and even cheaper version of the DX2E radio (all black, no rubber grips) just wondering if they may have cheaped out on the actual truck too.

 

[tjohanne]

I just received my RTR ascender K5 blazer, this is my first 10th scale crawler and I was wondering if anyone could help me out with an issue I am having? When compressing the springs the collars on the shock bodies where the 2 springs meet seem to be catching on the threads of the shock bodies and kinda making a clicking noise and making the travel a little rough, is this normal? I seem to have a new version of the blazer rtr with a new and even cheaper version of the DX2E radio (all black, no rubber grips) just wondering if they may have cheaped out on the actual truck too.

I don't know about the Ascender, but I think this is a general problem, at least I have it with all my Axial double-spring shocks. Solution is to replace double spring with a single spring. It will bend less and not hit the damper. Or you can probably turn the springs around a bit and find a position in which they don't rub, but it doesn't fix them problem.

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[Yeti.stealth]

Mine still catch from time to time or jam up with mud and grit. Just use it and they will wear in and deburr themselves.
Some people sand the unused lower threads off the outside of the shock body too, i imagine that would free things up a lot.

 

[djadub]

Thanks for the info guys, its probably just more annoying to me than really affecting performance, if it doesn't wear in ill have to try and sand them a bit

 

[Chris81]

To be honeat...and this is also comming from a noob...but I would drive it "as is" to get a feel for it, Figure out what you like, maybe see areas that could be improved upon and go from there...mods and upgrades are fun, but personally I lime to know what the baseline is like too...makes the mods and upgrades even more fun because you see a change and improvement from baseline.

 

[rag6]

I've noticed the spring retainer rubbing too. Being that the top spring compresses first, the threads nearer to the top are the ones it is rubbing on. I don't think the spring is rubbing. I really don't want to damage the threads that high up in case I ever switch to a shorter single spring, I may need those threads. Maybe slightly reaming the upper and lower edges of the collar would be a good solution? This way maybe they will not catch the threads as much?

 

[Natedog]

Strange but I don't notice any of mine rubbing while crawling, no loss of performance, no binding, no noise, nothing. Occasionally on the bench, my new plastic shocks mak light rubbing sounds. My original rtr Blazer doesn't do this, but it's been run a lot.

I would run it as is and if it's a bother later, then I'd try what Rag6 said.

 

[rag6]

When I just modded my stock shocks, before and after the massage I noticed it while the shocks were off the truck, cycling them by hand. Have not noticed any performance issues at all. I'm just gonna leave them as is for now. Maybe if I switch to alum bodies I'll worry about it more then