drugOFspeed

so ive done quite a bit of research on rc cars and have decided to get the jato 3.3. ive owed up to at one time 7 different models. sold all except 1. thats my electric team associated TC3. i miss the roar of a nitro engine. i miss the tuning spending time of turning wrenches for a few hours. so anyways... my question is more geared towards current jato owners or past jato owners. please tell me your experience with the vehicle pro or con. if you still have it, WHY?.. and if you sold it...WHY? to sum up my expectations of the truck, i think it might need a bit of attention to tuning correctly. its seems like it could be a very exciting truck and seems strong and well built. oh yeah and i expect to be buying new tires along with the car lol. but these are my assumptions. please tell me what you think.

quietnas1

I love my Jato and I don't think I will ever get rid of it. I have had mines since christmas of 2007. So let me give you a run down of my experience with it.

TIRES: The stock Anaconda tires are actually pretty good for on road use. For off road not at all. They do get warm and sticky and perform quite well. If you're want to run off road then you need to buy of road tires.

SUSPENSION: The suspension offers a wide variety of tuning options from running low to the ground to lifting it for off road use. It also had some pretty good suspension travel. The suspension arm are pretty durable. I never broke assn arm but I upgrade to RPM Arms after having it for about 5 months. I still have the stock arms as spares.

BRAKES: The brakes flat out suck. After a few runs you will notice that the truck just wants to keep going as if it had no brakes. It is a very simple fix though and I will post it a little later.

ENGINE: The TRX 3.3 is not the best by any means but it is no slouch either. Its got alot of get up and go and can hit some good rpm's. That being said it is a little touchy to tune but not impossible. I am personally an OS ENGINE fan but I was happy with the TRX 3.3 until my Jato was run over by a car and split the engine in half. When I rebuilt it I got an OS .21TM which is easier to tune and holds a tune alot better.

TRANSMISSION: The tranny dies just fine with the stock engine and pipe but once you upgrade to a pipe that will produce more power or an engine that makes more power or both your transmission will turn to crap. I have replaced the internal gears 3 times. I finally loosened the slipper clutch a bit and my tranny is now going on almost 2 years with no trouble. Keep in mind I am running the OS .21 TM engine, a BUKU pipe, and a filter from a HPI Savage. Alot more power than stock.

OVERALL BUILD QUALITY: What can I say, this is one of Traxxas better vehicles and can take a pretty good beating. Besides regular maintenance there is nothing else I have needed to replace. In the 5 years I have had it not counting the time it got run over I have replaced 1 one way bearing, 4 spur gears, tranny gears 3 times, and that's out. My RC10GT needed alot more replacement parts. Oh and of course tires.

Overall the Jato is a blast and now comes with a 2.4ghz radio. It is fast, and durable and I don't think you will be disappointed.

quietnas1

Here it is with on road foam tires.


Here it is with off road tires.


And this is what it looks like now.

quietnas1

And finally here is the brake fix.






No link to the metal disc brakes. These ate older pics but if you want to know were to get then just let me know.

drugOFspeed

wow thats awesome quietnas1, thank you for the information. nice jato! i love that it can be adjusted for on road and off road. ive been also reading a lot about those brakes not having enough stopping power when u need it. did u buy the extended X hub or make it by buying an extra brake hub and drilling the holes? i cant even believe how overall excited i am to be going to get the truck. .. i feel like christmas is a week away. i just read a bunch of user reviews on RCU about the truck and im glad to be hearing a lot of positivie feedback about the truck.

 i have a list on what im planning to purchase

Jato
after run oil
front and rear rims n tires (off road)
temp guage
fuel
glow plugs
spare spur gear
extra brake kit or dual brake kit

i have been also reading that the ez start works better when you disconnect the wire to the glow plug and use a ignitor. so i might consider that. what are your thoughts on that? and also do you have much problems with rear tire balooning? have u ever had to reinforce them with tape or anything?

please feel free to suggest or recommend anything that will help with performance or having more fun. thanx

mattster1971

I love my Jato 3.3. Its new to me. Ihaven't had an rc car since Ireceived my Kyosho Javelin when Iwas a young man. Irecently bought a Jato for my son and loved it so much Ibought my own to run with him. He is 8, Iam 40 lol. Your never too old to love this sport. My Jato has lots of upgraded parts. I love the blue, shiny blue. I rebuilt it after recently running full speed into a fence post so it looks kinda like new. Ialso just finished my new body. I did find the brake lacking and replaced it. I don't mind the tires but these new ones from Proline really work well.

mattster1971

more pictures

quietnas1

Well the extended brake hub and dual discs is a whole kit. Here is the link. http://www.hobbyetc.com/item.cgi?part_id=58791 . It is extremely easy to install but that alone won't fix the brake issue. Follow everything I posted in the previous post. As far add the tires I do add to even layers of duct tape to the inside of any tire I by cuz this bad boy will balloon any tires you put on except of course for the foam tires.

I do use the EZ Start with a glow igniter. It does work alot better than using the wire that goes to the glue plug. Other than that I really can't think of anything else. Your going to have a blast with this bad boy.

By the way mattster1971 yours is looking good as well and proline does make some very good on road tires.

drugOFspeed

yeah mattster that is a nice ride. i like the paint job too. i think if everything goes well, i should have the car tomorrow. the only sort of bad news is that there is a forecast for sat and sun for rain so we'll see how that goes. yeah i noticed the gas tube over the spring for the brakes. i'll do that too and get a glow ignitor. also, it seems 20% fuel should be fine. how much differences in performance do 30 and 33% offer? seems like higher fuel percentages could make tuning a bit more difficult.

hey mattster, i personally like the polished alloy pieces but i read a tread once that was discussing aluminum A arms vs stock plastic and how they are there, in a way, protect vital parts on the truck from getting damaged. i guess they were saying they actually absorb some of the impact if an accident were to occur. what do you think about that?

mattster1971

I know that the aluminum parts do add some weight. And they do bend rather than break if hit. There really is no benefit to them except for looks. Some people find the lifetime warranty and the plastic RPMmore desirable. Ithink that it is purely for looks. Some people have said to buy the front bulkhead in aluminum and leave the a-arms plastic so that they absorb the shock, but Idestroyed the front bulkhead which was stock and the a-arms were fine.The bulkhead was cheaper than buying new a-arms so I think that it makes more sense to leave the bulkhead stock since its so cheap to replace stock but one of the most expensive aluminum parts. My question is what vital parts? Icrunched my bulkhead and my top plate which contains both the servos and the receiver. Both those compartments were completely toast but the receiver survived. The servos, not so lucky, although they worked the screw down points were broken on both. Even the main chassis was slightly bent in the front, I put it between two blocks of wood and pounded it back to exact flatness. Everything went back together flawlessly. Ilike how things are easily available, its important as Ihave spent more time broken then running.

drugOFspeed

well guy. Im loving this jato!!! i got it friday and even called my job and told them i couldnt make it, (told them my girl was sick) anyways i got the car home and peakcharged my battery for EZ start. i had been reading through theinstruction manual a few days before so i ready for break in. my LHSdid sell traxxas fuelso i ended up with byron fuel GEN 2 premium rc fuel. so it was set four turns from close and was having problems keeping the engine running. so like the manual said, i turned it couterclockwise 1/4 of a turn, which was richening, car ran worst. so by thirdtanki ended up havethe screw setabout 1/4 - 1/8 turn pastthefactory setting,leaning it out. car worked perfect throughout thebreak in,the temp outsidewas about 50. i even at one point wrapped the head with aluminum foil because the temp was onlygetting up to 148 degrees. tanks7,8,9,10, 11th ..... and soon were freakin awesome!!boy im driving in a cemetary across from where i live so the pavement is very narrow. but i managed to get it up to 56. i downloaded a speedometer app and strapped my phone to my car lol. i also also made the brake mods of dual disc and tube over spring. works great. love the wheelies. great handling! great one traxxas. so speaking of traxxas, i go to the jato page on the website and see that now it comes equipped with the "TQ1" radio or something... wow, i missed by like a day. but im still happy

mattster1971

Hey Drug, I'm glad that you are enjoying your Jato. Love mine obviously. Iran mine a bunch this weekend and stripped out the spur gear. I think its from stopping so quickly with the dual steel brakes. Iam going to my local shop at lunch for some parts. Want to see if Ican get a steel spur and maybe a little beefier clutch. The clutch shoes had chunks out of them also. I guess Iam a beast on parts. Do you think it stripped because Itightened up the slipper clutch too much? It was slipping too much so Itightened it.

drugOFspeed

im not sure, i want to say yes. but it might also depend on how you drive too. i never pull the trigger 100% throttle from a stopped position. i ease on the gas and when im at about 50-60%, it shifts and i accelerate more. also, do you use any thread lock on your engine screws? because all it takes is the mesh to loosen up and a high horsepowered engine to strip those gears. boy those tires get sticky after theyve heated up. mattster, do the street tires with threads get as sticky?

quietnas1

Glad your enjoying it brother. I love the dual disc mod you made yourself. Awesome job. I've called out sick a couple of times from work just to play lol. I even ended up taking my toys to work so I can run them on my lunch break.

Also best thing you could have done was stay away from the Traxxas fuel. It is total garbage IMO.

quietnas1

Oops. Double post.

quietnas1

Hitting the brakes to hard does not kill your spur gear. If your clutch had chunks out of it then it might be the clutch killing the spur gear. If the clutch stays engaged while you have the brakes applied it will rub on the clutch bell making it very hot and making the teeth on the spur gear soft or even melt thus stripping your spur. Does your Jato move forward without the brakes applied at idle? If it does then your clutch is staying engaged.

Also make sure your engine mount screws are nice and tight.

1QwkSport2.5r

Stripping a spur gear means either the chassis flexed too much, or the mesh isnt right. Make sure the mesh is set properly and locktite those metal to metal screws! Engine mounts should get blue locktite every time the screws get loosened.

Also, steel spur gears are going to eat your clutchbells for lunch. I tried one on my rustler and (with the mesh set properly, mind you.) it ate 2 clutchbells the same week. (They still worked but the teeth got really sharp).

Notebook paper is perfect to put between the clutch and spur to set the mesh perfectly.

mattster1971

Well, I won't get a metal 54 tooth then if its just going to eat up my clutch bell gear. The pads on the backside of the slipper clutch are what cracked apart. How do you move things to mesh the gears properly? Does the engine move or the transmission move?

1QwkSport2.5r

The engine is what you move to set the mesh. There should be 4 big screws in the bottom of the chassis plate. Loosen these just enough to move toe engine mount but snug enough to hold a position once you get it there. Stick a small piece of notebook paper between the CB and Spur and push together tight. Tighten your screws on the bottom of the chassis and pull the paper out. This should give you a perfect gear mesh.

mattster1971

Thanks for the help. Did anyone get anything with their Jato that showed the required maintenance and duration of use between them? I guess Ishould have noticed the gears were not meshed up tightly. Actually, Ithink Idid notice that but didnt think much of it. Just thought they were wearing from use. Ibet Iloosened or moved the engine position slightly when Ihad the accident that made me rebuild the whole front end. Well now I know what to do, thanks guys.

1QwkSport2.5r

In my experience, the spur and clutch wear very slowly if the mesh is kept proper. I dont see why a spur gear shouldn't last 5 gallons or more. Its all about those little details.

mattster1971

Well why do they sell the metal spur gears in all those different sizes if they will end up destroying the bell gear? What is the MIPclutch kit and where does it go? Is that a replacement for the shoes that engage the slipper clutch?

drugOFspeed

well ive had the car over a month and ive done a few upgrades; including racing clutch, battery pack, aluminum a arms, c hubs, turnbuckles and shock towers. im finding it a bit hard to hit wheelies. you guys out there with aluminum upgrades, can you still pop wheelies? if so, are running it stiff in the back, soft in front? one thing i know that preventing wheelies in the battery pack. it hasa shorter cable than the stock pack with AA's so i could only run it in the middle compartment. so i know its lacking that weight in the rear. thats one thing. and i guess i should weighed the pieces before i installed them but does anyone know if the aluminum parts are heavier or lighter than stock plastic?

quietnas1

I can't tell about the weight of the aluminum but that baja body is looking sweet.

mattster1971

Hey Drug, That is looking interesting. You definitely have a mix of colors there. To answer your question, yes, the aluminum parts do add weight and it does cause a lack of wheelies. Idon't think that is such a bad thing, the wheelies cause you to lose control quite a bit and is usually the culprit of a flip over. Idon't wheelie often at all and Istill have the rear battery box. I did stiffen up the rear shocks with harder springs and stiffer oil but Iam also using the piggyback shocks from Integy.