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-   -   Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No??? (https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/1-16th-1-18th-mini-micro-rc-cars-235/11326973-looking-craigslist-buy-vendetta-st-go-no.html)

rcphanatik 12-10-2012 05:30 PM

Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
Hey guys, it's been a LONG time since I've been on rcuniverse, and I used to be involved in the 1/10th scale scene. I had a Rustler, a Jato 3.3, and a Redcat POS.

Now, I'm looking at getting my foot back in the door with an 1/18th scale, so I've come to you guys.

Firstly, I'd love to hear all of the best things and worst things about the Duratrax Vendetta ST.

But, Secondly, I'd like to know if this is a good deal (http://kansascity.craigslist.org/ele/3432201547.html) and what kind of ESC I should be looking at to replace it. Obvoiusly the original is discontinued. Also, I'm guessing that this isn't a common problem, and likely has to do with overpowering from the 2200 mah LiPo.

Suggestions? Thanks!

SyCo_VeNoM 12-10-2012 08:33 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
a 2200mah lipo is not overpowering it...
only if it was a 3S would it be overpowering it as that would be 11.1volts pumped in.
a 2S lipo is about equal to the voltage a 6cell stick pack puts out.

I can't say anything on that model, but I can say some general things.

Personally I wouldn't touch it as replacement parts don't look plentiful. I did a search on ebay and only found 4 pages of stuff related to it (most were generic parts). This is coming from someone that owned discontinued RC's also finding parts is a PITA.

I'd put in a little more money and get a RC18 like http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKCC2&P=ML
I have the RC18b (not the B2) that I got last year, and honestly it could take quite a beating without breaking. I've cart wheeled mine, clipped it tires, flipped it, and jumped it with no broken parts yet. Vs other similar RCs that I owned like the HPI recon which my ESC started on fire the 2nd time I used it, and the RC after its first time I clipped a tire required so many parts to repair I could have bought a new RTR one for less than the replacement parts.

rcphanatik 12-10-2012 08:41 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
Gahhh... I wish I didn't have to give up this lead. I always liked being the odd one out (and a Vendetta is kind of that way).

One secondary line of approach consists of this: snag the car, buy his lipo charger for cheap (which he is also selling), and just do a straight upgrade to brushless. I've heard good things about Hobbywing's ESCs, and I'm guessing that the brushless package isn't so bad. If I were to talk the guy down to 65-70 on the car, 25 on the charger, and got the Hobbywing Ezrun 25A brushless setup for 51 bucks on ebay...would I be looking at a potentially fast and reliable little truggy?

Sorry for the slight topic change. ;) When I get involved in something, I spend hours chasing down info on it. Thanks for replies!

SyCo_VeNoM 12-12-2012 06:50 AM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
I have pretty much every HW esc they make from 18A through 150A and had no issues with them lol

Just know with BL if you hit anything in this scale while using the system chances are its gonna break, and some RC's the diffs can't take it and will strip easily.

tyhodge07 12-12-2012 07:19 AM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
Personally I would grab it but offer a few bucks less. Just because eBay doesn't have a variety of parts, doesn't mean their hard to find. Hobby town USA can order every part for this car still as of 2 months ago. I owned 5 of these and never couldn't find the part I was looking for. Not to mention the vendetta is branded under other names like Anderson racing, lrp shark I believe. These are great fun cars also. If you prefer or don't mind spending more and upgrading more parts to get to a good racer, the rc18 is a good choice as said above.

flipside7 12-12-2012 09:28 AM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
The vendetta is still available, it's the Anderson mb4, and the Leo shark, it's just not sold in the us anymore. Plenty of parts, and it is the dominant racer for the scale, out shining the rc18

rcphanatik 12-12-2012 01:26 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
Sweet guys. :) Just called him back and asked him to call me when the car is near KC and is available. I'm definitely excited to be back with you guys.

Also, @Syco Venom, I think that they may sell a ball diff set for this car. I'm going to go check it out.

As for the price, I'll see what I can get him to when he is in the area. He lives a ways away from KC, if you search the city name... like 2 hours...

SyCo_VeNoM 12-12-2012 01:58 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 


ORIGINAL: tyhodge07

Personally I would grab it but offer a few bucks less. Just because eBay doesn't have a variety of parts, doesn't mean their hard to find. Hobby town USA can order every part for this car still as of 2 months ago. I owned 5 of these and never couldn't find the part I was looking for. Not to mention the vendetta is branded under other names like Anderson racing, lrp shark I believe. These are great fun cars also. If you prefer or don't mind spending more and upgrading more parts to get to a good racer, the rc18 is a good choice as said above.
hmm didn't know that it was sold under something else

rcphanatik 12-12-2012 03:49 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
Actually, it was. I went ahead and looked it up, and it appears as if at least the buggy shares a near-identical platform with the LRP Shark. I'm not sure if the ST has a counterpart, but a lot of the stuff swaps. It is apparently sold in the UK at least. It's probably now just a European product.

EDIT: found this (not sure as to truth):
Narrow: LRP Shark, FTX Blaze, DTX Vendetta, Anderson MB4
Wide: LRP Shark Monster, DTX Vendetta ST, Anderson MB4 Truggy, 'Blaze ST'

tyhodge07 12-13-2012 08:26 AM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
Yes that is correct on the models. I couldn't remember off the top of my head. A lot of the best parts are made in the UK. They are big on racing these and are pretty top notch competitors.

and yes there are ball diffs. I ran them in my buggy. My buggy was loaded with a ton of parts. Miss that thing. The parts are so easy to make yourself in carbon fiber rather then orders. Just grab a sheet offline for cheap, put your part on the cf and drill a couple holes through the cf that go through your part from where you part was mounted (not new holes) put a couple screws in with a nut and tighten it. This will secure the part the the sheet. Use a routing bit on your drimmel and trace around the stock part. Through the holes etc. Here is a post on my blog of the parts I made. Look around and u will find a lot more stuff on the dettas.


http://tylersrc.blogspot.com/2011/11...parts.html?m=1

rcphanatik 12-13-2012 06:21 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
Lol, guys. I was looking through craigslist again today, and I quickly realized that I was FAR too impatient to wait a week or more for this guy to call back when he was in town. I've set up a meeting with someone else tomorrow for an AE SC18. ;) 60 bucks for it, though it isn't running, (brushed motor good, ESC crap...Brushless ESC good, BL motor burnt...[&:]) and it comes with extras :) I'm hoping it's worth it, and I'll post pics as soon as it's bought (hopefully). It has a bunch of CF parts, as well as Integy arms and whatnot. I hope he has lipo stuff.... but if not, I'll get it eventually.

SyCo_VeNoM 12-13-2012 07:30 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
If you get it buy the RPM arms off the bat Integy is pretty much synonymous with the 2 words complete crap ;)
well as well as anything else that says integy on it :D

$60 even non running don't sound too bad in all honesty(depending on the rest of the condition though) could get a BL motor cheap if the ESC is ok.

rcphanatik 12-13-2012 08:04 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 

ORIGINAL: SyCo_VeNoM

If you get it buy the RPM arms off the bat Integy is pretty much synonymous with the 2 words complete crap ;)
well as well as anything else that says integy on it :D

$60 even non running don't sound too bad in all honesty(depending on the rest of the condition though) could get a BL motor cheap if the ESC is ok.
LOL...;) I suppose that I've only had one Integy part before...and...come to think of it, while the Integy alum. front bulkhead was on my rustler, I managed to strip nearly every bolt hole. xD

RPM sounds good. I had their arms on the Rustler as well.

What kind of BL motor would you suggest? I've looked around a bit, but I'm not sure how to structure a search for a 1/18th scale BL motor. All I (easily) find are 1/10 scales...

EDIT: found a BL motor that I had wanted while looking at the Detta ST. http://www.hobbypartz.com/96m03-car-2040-4120.html I'll probably buy it tomorrow if I've bought the SC18.

rcphanatik 12-14-2012 08:35 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
Well, here it is to anyone who wants to know: my new (old) SC18, bought for 40 bucks missing a brushless motor, lipos, and a charger, which I have already ordered. What do you think? And suggestions?
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps320dbd7d.jpg
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps888778af.jpg
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psf07d3ed5.jpg
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps36341042.jpg

SyCo_VeNoM 12-15-2012 10:43 AM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
solid buy specially at that price.

rcphanatik 12-16-2012 11:50 AM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
:) sweet. My parts are shipping tomorrow:
Tacon BL 21T 4000some-odd kv
2 Sky Lipo 2200 mah packs w/charger. :)
a Program card for the 18A Hobbywing ESC that the car came with :)

I'm set. 'cept for a damn radio... -.- I don't have FREAKING MATCHING CRYSTALS!!!! anyone got some that they'd send me in an envelope??

EDIT: random fact. I was rolling it about in my bedroom floor (what else could i do?) when I heard some snapping and binding in the dogbones, and found that they weren't covering the distance very well... I spent easily and hour and a hlaf researching how to fix it, then looked at the suspension more closely...apparently, the guy I bought it from had mounted the arms backwards all of the way around, meaning that the dogbones had bout 1.5 mm extra travel. I fixed that right quick... :D

tyhodge07 12-16-2012 10:26 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
I thought the arms looked weird in the first pic. Just didn't say anything cuz I wasn't sure if it was the lighting or just the angle and reflection of the pic.

rcphanatik 12-17-2012 01:24 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
Yup. Backwards.

Also, as a further correction to the problem (the arms were still quite loose), I ended up making dogbone springs from a pen spring, cutting it into VERY small coils and putting them in the diff. output cups. They are large enough to keep the dogbones engaged, but not so large that the create undue friction on the bearings. How's THAT for a DIY?? :)

rcphanatik 12-22-2012 08:50 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
Well. Last night was my first chance to run it, and it was a blast. I popped in the Lipos (straight out of the package!) and got about 15 mins of run time each.

...I thought that they had been fully charged...

I was SO wrong.

When I had gotten them, there was some sort of residual charge left on it, and THAT is what I used, flat out, for 15 minutes. TODAY, I finally whipped out my charger, and plugged a battery in. And I waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Nearly 1.5 hours on 2.3a (1C) charge, and it wasn't done? Hell naw! I pulled it off of the charger, thinking it was overcharged and the charger was faulty.

Boy, was I in for a surprise.

I popped the (likely close to fully-)charged battery in the SC18, and it HAULED.
And hauled.
...And hauled...

I drove it for ONE HOUR STRAIGHT before I began to become seriously worried. Was the ESC not cutting off? Was the battery going to blow?

Nope. The battery was cold as the snow on the ground, and even the BL Tacon motor was hardly as warm as my hand.

I duplicated the event again, on the same battery, all in one day. That thing rocks.

The only issues I've had: busted a rear outdrive cup and a spring cup. So, for now, it's FWD. xD

SyCo_VeNoM 12-23-2012 03:36 PM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
yea smaller RC's run for a long time on lipos
1.5 hours at 1C charging? did you over discharge em or was it a balance charge?
if it was a balance charge and they were really outta whack yea I can see it going that long

rcphanatik 12-24-2012 10:18 AM

RE: Looking at a craigslist buy: Vendetta ST. Go or No???
 
Well, it WAS a balance charge...but after that first time I charged it (when it didn't actually say that it was done), I charged it again yesterday and it got all of the way to the full charge mark (charger stopped) in an hour and a half again! It ran for another hour and a half. :O These things are amazing. Charge time=run time? xD holy crap!!


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