Kawasakirider

Hey everyone, I got a new XXL a few days ago, I've been into R/C for years, but I've never owned an LST (even though I've wanted to for ages). I finally bit the bullet and got one after searching for one all over south east qld. Anyway, I have a few questions...

How good is the 454 engine? I plan to put a picco .28 in it in the near-ish future if I'm not 100% happy with it. I've been driving truggies for a while, but before that I had revo's with picco .26's and they were VERY fun with wheelies and things.

I have bought a new era roll bar and a dynamite engine brace. I took the engine out tonight to put the engine brace in, but the screws are loctited so hard that my allen key twisted into the shape of a drill bit. So then, I got my screwdriver with interchangeable bits and put on a bit that fit those screws and snapped the end of the bit off into TWO of the screw heads. Now I can't get them out. My plan is to just put the engine back in and break it in, hoping that the vibration will rattle the bits out of the screw heads and that the heat will loosen up the threadlock a bit. Do you guys think it will?

OK guys, we all now what a stock LST looks like, but here are some pics for you. I'll get some nice ones in the sun before I break it in, the iPhone takes much better shots outdoors in the daylight.









I know you all wanna see her naked









Got flex?











Can't wait to put some cash into this thing to make it tough and fast.

1QwkSport2.5r

You don't have to do much to an XXL to make it tough. They're tough out of the box. I haven't ran a 454 yet, but I have the SH version of that engine with the red head and I love it. It gives up wheelies easily, and for a 13 pound truck it flies (I have 2 LST2's). Unless you're a racer, that 454 is going to give up plenty of power. Just break it in right, run good fuel, and glow plugs.

I set my trucks up with the forward only kit, and removed Hi/Lo and Reverse which made a noticeable difference in speed. I also did the gear flip mod. The XXL comes with faster transmission gears than the LST2, but a lot of the rest is pretty much the same. If you really want to make it faster, the input and output transmission gears from the Losi Brushless conversion kit are taller than the XXL gears.

Oh, one more thing. If you run into trouble flipping the truck over doing a wheelie, put the Losi wing kit on it, and install a model airplane landing gear wheel on each side of the rear of the wing. Turns the wing into a wheelie bar.

Kawasakirider

Thanks mate, I've had wings on my MT's in the past and they work well with crowd pleaser type bodies, I dunno if I'm too keen on them on LST's. I'm going to try to turn this one into a pickup truck looking thing. I might put a wheelie bar on it if I have too much of an issue Do you think it will wheelie with the 454? Every youtube video of the XXL I've seen indicates that it won't.

1QwkSport2.5r

There isnt much of a difference between the XXL and the LST2 and I can even get my Mach 427 to pull wheelies which is a .26! If you want wheelies, convert the transmission to forward only and get rid of the high/low range. That drops a ton of weight and rotating mass. I see no reason why it shouldn't wheelie.

I wouldn't use youtube as a benchmark, either. There are a lot of RC guys that dont know how to tune an engine properly. If you know how to tune an engine, it'll do it. If mine wont wheelie, its too rich.

Fuel has a lot to do with it too. If you use fuel with a lot of oil, it will seem slower and slightly sluggish and may not give full power.

Kawasakirider

Cheers bud, the XXL doesn't have high and low range, just fwd and reverse. I do know how to tune, been into R/C for years


I put close to two tanks through it today, the needles were like 5-6 turns out!!! I set the LSN to about 2.75 turns out (a bit richer than advised, because 2.5 made it run a bit lean, probably the weather) and the HSN to 2.5.

I must say, the 454 really impressed me. Despite running pig rich and only giving it a small amount of throttle, I can tell that it will move the truck around with ease. The tyres were sliding on my driveway, which is concrete and was dry at the time. I think that the truck would wheelie with a different set of tyres, a stiffer suspension setting and a slightly tightened slipper.

Anyway, it would idle all day long and seemed to have quite a bit of power. My GF might be buying me a picco though, so I won't say no to that :P

I've got a course to do for the next week, so it will be finished off next weekend.

Flimflamman

Nice pics... I pick up my XXL tomorrow and will get that roll bar pretty soon, and will probably get the skids shortly thereafter. Should be fun!

HerrSavage

I have HPI Terra Pins on my second LST2. They are about the same size as the stock wheels, but MUCH lighter. You'd have to switch to 17mm hubs(not that hard - just get some buggy or truggy hubs and the right shims), and the new tires and wheels, but it would wheelie better. The stock tires last forever and are good for bashing around on most surfaces, but they do weigh A TON. The Terra Pins have shixxy foams(too soft and spongy) and rims(chrome flakes off), but they hold up well too. Excellent bashing tire setup for a Losi MT. Just an idea..

Muggy shocks and Terra Pins:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeBRnW1ct-c

ps And also, I personally am not a believer in FOC'ing.. I tried it and saw no difference. Bunch of hassle for no real benefit as far as I could see. Both my LST2's btw have XXL transmissions, with the higher gearing. The Muggy shocks do make wheelying easier. My first LST2 with stock wheels and shocks does not really wheelie. I keep forgetting to tighten the slipper and see. I generally keep my slippers loose-ish, because I care more about jumping than wheelies.. But it being so hard to find places to jump, I should probably just tighten it for wheelying around at the park..

Kawasakirider

Cheers HerrSavage. I have a really well set up 1/8 truggy and have tons of spares, I'm sure I'd have what's needed to convert to 17mm, although I don't really see the point at this stage as I don't mind the stock wheels (wouldn't mind getting some sort of badlands on them though). If the chrome flakes I'll get the oven cleaner onto them and RIT dye them black.

I'm sure it will wheelie with the right engine and suspension set up, I'd say with the right set up, it would go close now and I've only put the engine through 1.5 easy tanks. Time will tell, I'm very excited.

Make a ramp, I remember years ago seeing pics of your skateboard ramps and they seemed kinda small, I have those myself and prop them up, then have the best of both worlds, a huge park and jumps

Flimflamman, it will be good to see a new XXL on the block, it seems like not too many people own them, or at least they haven't documented it much on YouTube or the forums.

Flimflamman

Yeah I don't know anyone nor do the guys I bash with from work that has one (they have an E-Revo and Revo 3.3). It is my first real RC and I wanted something beefy. Big selling points for me, to name a few, was the quality of the product, telemetry, and the excellent balance and handling I saw in all the videos (I researched them for a few weeks).

Kawasakirider

I put this on before I ran it, but I didn't get a pic.



Today I ran some more and it's got almost 1L through it now. I cut the windscreen out with a stanley knife, as I didn't have my dremel. The stock body is really thick, it's as thick as a proline body. It impressed me for sure.



Turned the windscreen into an extra bit of protection for the rear.





Wound the springs right down so they actually work until I rebuild them and put some stiffer springs on. I'm happy with how it handles still, it handles much better than a savage even with the springs set stiff and the ride height increased. I actually nearly flipped it over on grass, it did a wheelie haha. I'll have to see if I can make it a constant thing once I start to lean it out. I'm committed to a picco now though, as fluffy has ordered a backplate for me in an order of his, shouldn't have any low end grunt problems with that!





I was right, the heat of the engine really loosened the screws up. I cracked one, but it was cold again by the time I went to crack another and I didn't want to push it. I'll just grab a butane lighter from the tobaconist next time I'm out.




SO impressed with the brakes on this thing, I was endoing it everywhere, flipped it over once :P

Can't wait to put a real engine in her and start bashing!!!

HerrSavage

Nice.. But give that 454 a chance.. Poor thing hasn't even had a chance to prove itself yet..

Kawasakirider

Haha, that's true, but my other MT's have been Revos, one with a picco .26 max and the other with an RB323, the picco was a beast for torque and what not.

HerrSavage

Just FYI, when you go to install your Picco, I believe they require some finagling to fit right. Shimming the mount, dremmeling the chassis, etc.. I'm keen though to see some vid of an XXL with a Picco..

Kawasakirider

I thought it was just a motor mount that I had to buy?

HerrSavage

Might be.. Maybe things have changed. But I think it used to be you just had to raise the engine on the mount with shims so it sits higher for the linkage, then dremel some off the chassis near the flywheel or something.. I've never gotten around to trying a Picco in my LST2's, but I've looked into it..

Kawasakirider

Thanks for the heads up, I'll look into it.

devious1

My Feedback: (15)

By the way, if i remember right the the 454 is an lrp motor .28 with a different carb...
just replace the carb from a lrp.28 and it should be plenty capable in your xxl, even without a different carb it will suit 70% of the drivers out there.
Someone correct me if i am wrong here as its been a while since i been in nitro...


My opinion if you were to upgrade there is a small difference with a picco .28 from a 454... (had both in a savy xl...) If you want a serious jump i would rock the lrp .32...
thats when you will see a big change...

otherwise give the 454 a chance i think you'll be surprised...