Here's how I broke the gears: I built the kit, wired up the electronics, adjusted the radio, set the model down on the carpet and went forward slowly. Then I backed up and stopped. Then I gave it full throttle in the forward direction and SNAP! I was thinking "you have to be freaking kidding me". A tooth snapped off two of the gears in less then 10 seconds.
I felt like I was back in the 80's when I got my Tamiya Frog for Christmas and spent a whole day building it only to take it outside and watch it get run over by a car.
That was my fault, these poor quality broken gears from Axial are not.
I knew before I started this thread that a bunch of people are going to try to flame me and say that I didn't build the kit correctly, that it was my fault, and that I abused it. None of that is the case at all. I'm 35 years old and have been building and running RC cars since I was about 9 years old. I am very mechanically inclined. I run my own successful automotive business. I have a good knowledge of fasteners and how to use them correctly. I have all the correct tools for the job.
I read a bunch of threads before I assembled the kit, and followed all the pointers. Although....why should I have to? It doesn't say you need internet access on the box, and are required to spend 3 days on the RC forums as part of a normal build that will not break the first time you run it. It doesn't say you will need to buy an aftermarket set of gears, and a aftermarket set of larger bearings if you want it to last more then one hour of runtime. Why are the kits coming with motor plates with the wrong sized bearing holes in them? I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice how sloppy the bearings are in the motor plate? It's a design error, period. The bearing housings spin inside the motor plate, just look at the bearings from the outside of the transmission as you turn an axle. If the bearings are failing as often as they are, why is there no fix from Axial for it yet? Look at how the gears failed, the teeth just broke off. That didn't happen from the gears not having the correct mesh. They are just cheap. I thought this was supposed to be a pro level kit right out of the box?
I am running two Novak 45's, a 3s 1750mah 45c lipo battery, and a Mamba Max, with a Punk dig switch. Front pinion is a 14 tooth, rear is 13 tooth. I don't think any of those items are beyond the recommended limits for the kit.
I felt like I was back in the 80's when I got my Tamiya Frog for Christmas and spent a whole day building it only to take it outside and watch it get run over by a car.
That was my fault, these poor quality broken gears from Axial are not. I knew before I started this thread that a bunch of people are going to try to flame me and say that I didn't build the kit correctly, that it was my fault, and that I abused it. None of that is the case at all. I'm 35 years old and have been building and running RC cars since I was about 9 years old. I am very mechanically inclined. I run my own successful automotive business. I have a good knowledge of fasteners and how to use them correctly. I have all the correct tools for the job.
I read a bunch of threads before I assembled the kit, and followed all the pointers. Although....why should I have to? It doesn't say you need internet access on the box, and are required to spend 3 days on the RC forums as part of a normal build that will not break the first time you run it. It doesn't say you will need to buy an aftermarket set of gears, and a aftermarket set of larger bearings if you want it to last more then one hour of runtime. Why are the kits coming with motor plates with the wrong sized bearing holes in them? I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice how sloppy the bearings are in the motor plate? It's a design error, period. The bearing housings spin inside the motor plate, just look at the bearings from the outside of the transmission as you turn an axle. If the bearings are failing as often as they are, why is there no fix from Axial for it yet? Look at how the gears failed, the teeth just broke off. That didn't happen from the gears not having the correct mesh. They are just cheap. I thought this was supposed to be a pro level kit right out of the box?
I am running two Novak 45's, a 3s 1750mah 45c lipo battery, and a Mamba Max, with a Punk dig switch. Front pinion is a 14 tooth, rear is 13 tooth. I don't think any of those items are beyond the recommended limits for the kit.
