formula87

New here, recently dusted off my Tamiya Nissan King Cab and dism it, runs okay but not like all my buddies at work, they run nitro/meth Traxxas trucks around whenwork is slow. Mine runs and operates as an 18 yr old rc truck should. What are options to do to it to make run better?? ie engine, speed controller. Thanks.

The Mad Modder

Nice truck, the king cab was a great truck. While you could make it just as fast as a nitro by using a brushless motor, I (personally) would be careful with that truck because it's a classic Tamiya and a motor with too much power could damage the gearbox.
You could upgrade the:

Speed Control
If you have the original servo moved manual speed control(msc), you could get and electronic speed control(esc).
ESCs apply power much more smoothly than a msc and you don't have to worry about burning up a resistor by driving slowly for low periods of time.

Shocks
If you have pogo(no damper) shocks or friction shocks(using friction between the shaft and a hose inside the shock), you may want oil filled shocks for smoother and more damping action.

Motor
It appears that you have a stock silver can motor. For a bit more speed, you could try a Sport Tuned motor.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGE34&P=7

Tires/wheels
I'm not sure what kind of wheel hub the KC uses. You could measure it and if it uses 12mm hexes and/or bearings in wheel design 2.2 wheels and tire will fit.

If you're interested in seeing other people's king cabs(and how they upgraded them)...
http://www.tamiyaclub.com/userrides.asp?id=81
Tamiya club is a good resource for all things Tamiya.

If you have any RC questions ask or PM me and I'll do my best to answer them.

formula87

I bought it when I was 15 i'm 37 now just got it out to show my kids.  I think the tranny my be going the servos work also.  It looks like the "sport tuned" motor should plug right up.  Alsothe charger and battery I have are old as well.  could that be part of my performance problem?  I've been told to get an electronic speed control, where would I go for that? can it just plug in or do I have to fab and wire it up?
Thanks

formula87

Also it has oil filled shocks and I may want a little more perf than the sport tuned motor I may upgrade the tranny also. And I joined Tamiya club as well

The Mad Modder

If the battery is anywhere near as old as the truck, it definitely needs to be replaced.
Tower hobbies and Stormer are the two stores that I do the most business with. You might also check to see if you have any hobby shops near you that carry RC supplies. Most ESCs and batteries come with the white Tamiya/kyosho type battery plugs, which is a very common plug. Almost all brushed motors use standard bullet connectors, so if should be easy to find a ESC that just plugs in.

The Mad Modder

Since it's been around for quite a while, you may want to check the shock oil and change it if it's dirty. If the shocks leak, they may need a rebuild.

More motor options

Tamiya
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKAL9&P=SM
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXGYS0&P=SM
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXMVR1&P=SM
Trinity
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXSWS7&P=SM

formula87

Thanks for all of your help, There is a hobby shop that is very near me,  a guy who works with me just got the new Revo with the brushless motor and extra batts, that thing is sick smokes the nitro trucks the other guys have where I work....  What would I expect perf wise out of the sport tuned motor going up in perf. 2 times the perf of the sc540 that is in the truck now?    I may sell it before I do anything to it and get something else...........Anyway thanks for your help

The Mad Modder

No, it's not going to be 2x as fast with a sport tuned motor. It's with the Trinity chameleon or Tamiya RZ, though. You may get better performance with just a new battery. How old is your current battery?

formula87

I tried a new battery and it preformed slightly better.  I have talked to a few people who said I shouldn't mod it at all sell it and get something else.  If I do change the motor and speed cntrl, what would I do to the tranny?

The Mad Modder

As long as you don't upgrade to a brushless motor system and use a motor that has 19 or more turns, the original tranny should handle the power fine. I'm not sure if there are any upgrades for the transmission.

formula87

I have pulled it down even more this time, careful so I know where everything goes when I assemble back after cleaning.  Used soap and water on all parts. When I assemble back is there a type of grease I would use for suspension peices and shock oil?
Thanks

The Mad Modder

If you wanted to lube the suspension pivots, I would use graphite or some other type of dry lubrication. When I used regular plastic grease on the suspension parts, dirt kept getting in and making it worse. For shock oil:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXJH30&P=SM
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXTDT5&P=SM
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LX3306&P=SM
If you decide on the traxxas oil, you probably want to get 2 to be sure you have enough.

john01374

The King Cab was a decent truck in it day. The only down fall was the stock Ball diff. The Cast metal diff halves would split if you tried to put too much pressure on the diff. Problem with that was you had to tighten the diff down pretty far or the ball diff would slip like mad and burn up. That truck with a gear diff would be excellent.

If you are looking to go fast then sell the King Cab and get yourself a VXL rustler or E-Firestorm Flux and a couple of Lipos. If you just want to relive you childhood then buy some new batteries, a decent 27T stock motor and just do a basic clean up and rebuild of the truck. I personally love old tamiyas but they are not good for being speed machines.

formula87

well got it all torn down and back together and cleaned and painted the body with my 5 year old, good project.
friend upgraed his new traxxas (slash?) and will sell me his 550 12t motor and esc but we don't think the esc will work with my futaba contlr?????

The Mad Modder

Sounds like a Titan. Check it's temp often on your first run. They have a tendency to burn out in a puff of smoke with rustlers and stampedes. You probably won't have any problems, though, since traxxas vehicles usually come overgeared.

formula87

Yes it is a Titan, put in it and works fine, I would like to put the Traxxas ESC that was with the motor in also, since my friend upgraded motor and ESC to brushless. Where would I get a new crystal so my Futaba Controller will work with Traxxas ESC?

The Mad Modder

If you are only changing out the motor and ESC, you shouldn't need to change the receiver at all.

formula87

Huh....... I was told my controller will not work with the Traxxas ESC freq....... and that I would need a new crystal. So if it will I just hook it up, how would I get it to (sync)? with my controller and servos?????

The Mad Modder

Told by who? The frequency of an ESC only indicates how the power is applied to the motor.

formula87

Told by someone whom I guess dosn't know much......... So how can an old system as my Futaba Contrler work with a Traxxas ESC,  will it controll the engine or the steering servo as well?

The Mad Modder

You may have to set up the esc for your truck, but it should just plug into the receiver port that the servo for your manual speed control was in.
If you need the instructions for setting up the esc, you can find them here on pages 17 and 18.
http://www.traxxas.com/PDF-Library/3798_manual_2006.pdf
Traxxas has no separate instructions for their ESCs, they're built into the manual.

dudecat

Yep most esc's are plug and play nowadays. Especially traxxas has good plug and play. I would reprogram it for your truck though. Other then that it should work fine.

formula87

Thanks for all the replies I don't want to destroy this truck so I am leaving old tires on it so it lacks some traction.
plugged right in works great, took alot of stuff looks bare now..............def quicker with using a7 cell 8.4 nicad if I am saying that right....I was running 7.2 batt but I need 8.4 6-7 cell where is the best place to get those? also a charger too.

The Mad Modder

The places where I do most of my online shopping are:
Stormer
http://www.stormerhobbies.com/
RC planet
http://www.rcplanet.com/
tower hobbies
http://www.towerhobbies.com/

For a charger, I use the MRC Super Brain 959, they've been updated, though.
http://www.rcplanet.com/product_p/mrcrb960.htm

How much are you willing to spend on a charger? There are much fancier ones out there that will charge lithium batteries and even lead acids.

formula87

With the Traxxas ESC adn Titan 12 turn this thing has been a blast !!!!! except I think I ruined the diff I know eventully I would mess up a spur gear or something but took apart the tranny and all gears look great but the diif spins free so I may lock it. Has anybody done this?