nitrosportsandrunner

I have a new tremor model arriving this tuesday!

I will have a full unbox/review/driving vid up by wednesday.

A few things I can point out already about this rig.

It comes with a li-ion battery. Not lipo. But it is 7.4v. coupled with the standard 380sized motor and it should be peppy. The li-ion should put out more amps than a NIMH while still weighing less.

From what I have gathered, the driveline has ball bearings, but the wheel hubs have bronze bushings.

Redcat already has alloy capped oil filled shocks and ball bearing upgrades availible. As well as a motor heat sink.

At this point, the only neg I can see is the 3 in 1 ESC. The ESC/reciever are 1 unit, and the servo is a 5 wire deal. This is fine if you want to keep the truck stock. But if you want to upgrade, you will need a new radio/esc/servo.

But, at its price its the only RTR I know of that comes with a battery better than a NIMH.

And while the ESC/reciever are 1 unit, at least it is a 2.4ghz system. No glitching or interferance. also nice for a sub $100 model. Should be great for anyone with a small indoor track. 2.4ghz means you can run several models at the same time. So the tremor may make for a cheap race model for your basement or simillar indoor race track.

I will say at the start, I dont care for mini's or micros. Yet, every year as winter comes I usually buy a used one to drive indoors. But I usually only run it a few times before it goes on a shelf. Poor handling, low runtimes ect usually cut the fun down for me.
And I usually buy a used model, cause the losi and other common RTR mini's are simply too costly new for the amount of use I know they will get.
But for $100 shipped the Redcat tremor seems a good deal.

Ill be bashing mine in my garage for sure. I dont take it easy on any of my redcats. So we shall see if it holds up as well as the EPX Pro models I love so much.

Anyway, I hope to do a good review for you guys. I hope to review other new models in the future as well!

nitrosportsandrunner

well my truck came a day early

Dont have enough video yet, and it may take a few extra days since the storm will be here tomorrow and wednesday.

but I have driven it in my garage. Its far quicker than most brushed 1/16 models I have driven.

I dont know if I mentioned this, but it has a slipper clutch. This is not common for 1/16 or 1/18 4wd models. This is a good thing if you wanted to go brushless, but I think that Redcat did this because the ESC has no delay from reverse to forward. So if you are backing up and peg the throttle it goes straight to drive and you can hear the slipper clutch take up the jolt.

My garage floor is pitted, going from reverse to full throttle I actually got it to wheely a couple of times[:-]

The wheels use a screw to hold them on...but behind the wheel is a standard hex. So it should still be possible to run standard 1/16 wheels that other brands have.

The remote uses 3 "AA" batts. Its light, feels nice and its a tad smaller than the other Redcat 2.4 radios. This is good if you want it for your young kids. Its a good fit for most children....but not so small that it feels weird in my hand.

The friction shocks seem to work well. Oil filled shocks are availible as an upgrade tho.

The motor does get warm. I would reccomend the heat sink as the best/first upgrade!

This thing can do some sick doughnuts. The steering is quick and fairly tight for a 4wd.

At this point, im pretty happy with the truck. I may take it to the hobby shop's indoor SCT track this weekend. I recon I can get it around as quick as most 1/10 SCT trucks.

nitrosportsandrunner

This isnt a review vid per say, just some bashing the tremor at a skate park.

Its not a super fast model, but it has quick acceleration!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49vSxDRsJLU[/youtube]

nitrosportsandrunner

I have run a couple of packs threw it so far. Its held up well.

I had alot of fun doing the drifting around on the sandy pavement

More video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su8tBXtl2n0[/youtube]

nitrosportsandrunner

finnally did a review vid.

Its my 1st ever review video. Not top notch stuff, but should give you a better idea of the model.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlJ-odJ1gio[/youtube]

Apstoltz

I just picked up the tremor as well. Fun, fast little truck so far. I do have a few questions. I have an onyx charger and not sure what to set it at to charge the li-ion battery. Also, I want to get two additional batteries, any aftermarket recommendations.

nitrosportsandrunner

Well, as I understand it Li-ions when fully charged are 8.2v. LIpos charge to 8.4v, so I do not think they can be charged on the lipo setting.

My thunder AC6 charger doesnt have a li-ion setting.

I do not know if the onyx charger does or not.

Im gonna call redcat tomorrow to see if Lipos can be used. I think they can, as the ESC does have a LVC. I already have a 2s 1000mah pack with the same battery connector. Its a standard Radio battery plug (or reciever plug)

Once I know for sure if lipos can be used, hobbypartz should have some good, cheap lipo packs that will work.

nitrosportsandrunner

I spoke with Redcat today and they confirmed that a 2s lipo is fine to use. The ESC has LVC so it will not damage a lipo battery.

I have a 2s lipo ill try running soon.

Ill measure the stock li-ion and see whats the largest 2s pack that can be used.

Apstoltz

Good deal, let me know some options I should look at.

nitrosportsandrunner

I just found I already had a gens ace 2s 800mah pack. Its only a tad longer than the stock pack and fits nicely.

its on hobbypartz: http://www.hobbypartz.com/98p-20c-800-2s1p.html

It measures 55mm by 30mm. Thats about the max size thats gonna fit without modding.

I may look into making a custom battery tray that goes on top of the center chassis plate. There is a good amount of room there and one could easy fit a 1200mah-1800mah normal 1/18 scale battery pack that way.

But since packs like the gens ace 800mah only run $5...it would be easy to pick up 3 or 4. At 10-12 minutes of runtime per battery that would add up to plenty of play.

Dads like rc too

Nitro, let us know how this truck holds up. I like the video you posted but it still seems to me like this is the sumo alternative for rainy days in the house. It looks good in the video, but it just looks so cheap I don't know if I want another project like my two sumo's. They're a lot of fun In the house, but man they break easy. I love working on these things but I really cringe when I have to tear those little sumo's apart.

nitrosportsandrunner

I keep you up on the truck as I drive it more. But 2 packs threw it with no issues (other than the shock that stuck due to the sand getting into it) And the 2 packs Ive run equal 4 packs of the kind of driving most people will do with a model like the tremor. There were more jumps at the skate park which are not in the video. and the really high ones put the chassis to the test.

This is a very different truck than the sumo IMO. While it does have plastic gears (I havent opened the diffs, but judging by pics) it has a slipper clutch. Thats a big thing IMO. It will save soo much on the driveline.

The radio setup seems good as well. I havent owned the newer 2.4ghz sumo...but I had a FM version and the radio was lacking.

This truck is really too fast and large for indoor driving. If you have a basement thats 20x20 then maybe. but anything smaller than an open 15x15 space will be to small for the tremor. Its quick. Top speeds only 15mph...but it gets there in a hurry.

nitrosportsandrunner

well today I had an issue with the truck
the steering started cutting out....then quit
the servo makes noise when you give steering input, but doesnt move.
I put in a warrenty claim (like 1 hour ago) and they have already shipped out a replacement servo.

I do wonder if the driving I did the other day is to blame. That sand has salt in it (trans dept stores that dirt/sand for road use) and that could have done something to the electronics.

Even given the servo issue today, I like this truck. Im finding many places which 1/10 scale models wouldnt be alot of fun...are fun with the tremor due to is size. It takes a smaller bump or jump or alittle sand to make it fun to drive.

I just went on redcat's site and ordered the heat sink and oil filled shock upgrades.

Heres more video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29X7oJjxMK4[/youtube]

nitrosportsandrunner

vid of the driveline guts:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujJY4oOn1wI[/youtube]

knorris05882

can anyone tell me if  my sumo transmitter will bind with the 3 n 1 esc/rec on the tremor trying a little expermint

nitrosportsandrunner

I dont know, but i doubt it.

the Tremor radio does have a "pair" button, which I assume is for binding.

does the sumo radio have a bind button?

can you post a pic of the sumo' radio. Ive owned a sumo, but it was the earlier FM version. So I dont know much about the 2.4ghz version.

86MOmo

Figured I would bump this and post here since its the closest "OFFICIAL" Tremor ST thread.

nitrosportsandrunner

do you mean trying to hold the steering shaft? the 2 screws which hold the steering collums upright also hold the front diff/bulkhead to the main chassis. But there should be 2 screws up top on the upper plate as well. these may have to be held in place to get the lower screw to break free.
its been awhile since I had mine, but I went to redcat's site, parts page, and downloaded the manual f0r the tremor which has an exploded view.