+100 I would definitely buy steel parts! As long as they cost less than the current aluminum upgrades. I mean really, $55 for a front shock tower?! Who in the hell would pay that?!

hehe, $55 is enough to buy a 6' long 3/16" x 4" plate, which could make at least a dozen shock towers. i might just have to give it a shot.

Well, Im up to page 58 in this forum. Only wish I had found it about 8 years ago when I got my ST Pro off of eBay. The brushed 15T Havoc that came with the ST was fine at not pushing the original tranny to it's limits. After my buddy got me back into racing buggies, I purchased the Mamba Max 5700kv combo (insane power!!) for my B4 . That's were I got the taste for brushless power.

After a year using the 15T motor it was time to take the leap for the ST. I found myselft a EZrun 9T combo, like others have used in the forum, and 4 complete trannys and numerous diff gears/idlers/top shafts ordered off eBay...I too fell victim to Duratrax's money pit. The ST sat for a very long time until I saw reincarnations of the ST come about. That brushless EXT was a godsend. After studying manuals and part #s ...Tower Hobbies order was placed...USPS delivered the near "bullet proof" tranny that is saving Duratrax's butt.

Anyway...I'll soon try to get some action pics or even video and links posted.

Welcome, Rusty! You up to page 58 in TEC part 1 or part 2? ;) This is a long thread!

Sounds like you made a good scour of ebay for extra parts. My suggestion is to get a good bumper set. T-Bone Racing makes a front AND rear bumper for the Evader. Will save you many times. http://t-bone-racing.net/C102-TBR-Th...2-ST-p183.html
http://t-bone-racing.net/C202-TBR-NM...2-ST-p158.html

Those will save your car from crashes. To save the tranny from breaking the drive cup retainer pins in the diff (you got the all metal diff, yes?) get some K&S Precision Metals music wire, stock #502 .047in (1.19mm). Under brushless power, those pins will eventually fail, and if you don't stop immediately, you'll munch the gears in the diff. Just replace those pins with the music wire pins, and you'll have no worries. Wheel drive pins can be made from the #504 1.57mm music wire. http://www.ksmetals.com/17.html I get it from the hobby store, three 36in lengths for a couple bucks. Lifetime supply of pins!

Get some TrakPower Waterproof Gear Grease for the diff and tranny, and service them every 15-20 packs.

The aluminum motor mount will help keep the motor cool.

Oh, in case you didn't notice, Tower Hobbies has two parts lists, one for the EXT2 and one for the (discontinued) Brushless model. Lots of parts of course overlap, but some don't, so peruse both lists. Parts List DuraTrax Evader EXT2 EP RTR TowerHobbies.com Parts List Duratrax Evader Brushless 2.4GHz RTR

Yes the T-Bone bumpers are one of the best upgrades purchased. And I did have to send the first set back...too brittle/broke within a week. TBR came through and sent another set, but this time the more flexible came and haven't broke since 2008.

Now Im on page 60 something reading about your (EXT2Rob's) Hyper OFNA 10-TT. I never knew that thing existed. That would be right up my alley. I just sold 2 money pit 1/8 scale truggys on eBay...ZD Racing's ZRT-1. The ZRT-1 has quality control issues just like Duratrax's Evader ST problems. The ZRT-1's front universal drive shafts (CVDs) kept snapping every few runs. Let me tell you...4S LiPo battery pack, and a 2100Kv motor turning them big 6" tall tires; connected to a 8lb hunk of aluminum...THAT gets the adrenalin going. But, @ $15 for one cvd...it adds up quick. I couldn't take anymore. I got one more ZRT-1 to get rid of and that's the end of my 1/8 scale journey.

Me running my ST Pro and not stripping the tranny is a great feeling. Now I just gotta find a rim that holds up to brushless power. I have a set of XXT rims ready to tryout, waiting for Holeshot/Duratrax rims to fail....

I KNOW! I never knew about that little truggy. Someone suggested I have a look...and like you said, right up my alley. For the price, nothing else came close as far as build quality, design, and features. And, it wasn't 22in long! Cool truck, I love it.

The thing about the Evader's design that always bugged me was the front bulkhead / chassis "hinge". A "feature" that is more of a PITA, and, a weak point. I was fortunate enough to get one lf the last remaining Graphite chassis, cheap. Still have it. But bumpers really help solve any breakage issues.

Where are you running, primarily?

My ST Pro is a eBay purchase from 2006 I believe. I took a chance and won with a bid of $114 with Futaba Magnum 2PL tx/rx; Intellispeed 12T ESC, and Havok 15T motor(brushed). The guy had run the ST twice and broke a front arm (graphite) and didn't want to pay for a new graphite arm. The truck is graphite everything, and I have not had any issues with the "brittle" stuff.

I'm still using the 75mhz 2PL (you all can laugh about the long antennas) it works and is highly adjustable. I too picked up a HobbyWing EZRun combo 9T 4300Kv BL motor with 35 amp ESC, and I probably had that about 5 years or so. Swapped out the steering servo for a Hitect HS-625 (highly recommended). Last mod was the Brushless EXT's entire drive train (no mods needed to fit EXT tranny on a ST Pro rear chassis plate).

Still trying to figure out sumfur (sorry, country hick term we use in PA) hex adapter possibilities, 'cause of Duratrax's lame excuse for rims. Oh, and uh...the front tires Pro Lines "The Edge" are the same ones from 2006...and yes I have been running this great handling truck about once a day at least (since the brushless tranny), but only on dirt. I can tell you one thing for sure...Holeshots are a joke on my track anyway. I only got 7 good runs on a set of them before the center pins start disappearing (picture).
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2007455http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2007462http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2007461http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2007463http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2007464http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2007465

Graphite A-arms is only askin' for one to break. The only graphite part worth its price is the chassis and the tranny brace. But on a-arms? No way. Go with the standard ones.

Nice lookin' ride! Looks in good shape. Body graphix are sic, as the kids say. :o

Try the ProLine Gladiators. Great dirt grip and good tread wear too. I usually got 4-6mo on a pair. Your fronts are good.

Keep an eye on your lower shock caps, where the shaft comes out. They can loosen, and if it takes a harsh hit, can break off the threads it screws onto, and the shock is ruined. I run the ST-spec aluminum "bottom loading" shocks. Better strength I think (tho I have to replace the caps/shaft-guides fairly often), but my buddy is still running his original plastic shocks, and they work great.

Usually it's the threads on the plastic cap that break off, but they offer a shock rebuild kit for like $8 I think it is. So not a terrible thing if it happens. I've never had the threads in the aluminum shock body break off or strip. It's always the plastic ones.

Nice ST Pro BTW!

You should look into upgrading your radio to 2.4Ghz though. Old style radios and brushless don't mix too well. The radios glitch and when high power brushless motors go full throttle on your work area, you go insane. That happened to mine. The FlySky radios are a good, cheap upgrade and work well. As far as I know, Rob, his friend, and I all run them. Here is a link to a couple of them:

Expensive: http://www.hobbypartz.com/79p-ct3c-3...lcd-green.html

Cheaper: http://www.hobbypartz.com/79p-gt3b-carradio-lcd.html

That's what I meant. Did I make it confusing? Sorry.

I never understood DTX's design logic on their plastic shock. It has this....thing..that unscrews off the bottom of the shock...for what purpose? Only succeeds in making it easier to break the shock. Glue them. The cap on the aluminum ones (where the fill cap and shaft guide is the same thing) are nothing to write home about either. But if you assemble a couple at once, and glue the snap-on caps that seal the shaft guide and seals in the cap, they work ok. And if you have one start to leak on you, it's easy to swap in one of your pre-made ones, and off you go.

I've never glued those caps. That explains why when they leak and I take it apart, the cap is always popped up and doesn't want to pop back down. I will be gluing them down on my next shock rebuild in that case...

Never had a glitch with Futaba radios. The Magnum 2PL ,IMHO, was a great radio for the ST Pro kit back in the day. It almost equals my Magnum 3PM 2.4Ghz with all the trims and EPAs that it has. But I did get a Flysky GT3C for my other three Associated kits that are still in the boxes. If Futaba could make a R603FF receiver for $25 or under...I would outfit all five of my cars with them. Those receivers are $79.95 each.

As for the Hard Anodized shocks...I have yet to rebuild them. I do change the oil maybe once a month and clean them "head to toe" ; replace an o-ring if torn, and if not, I just green slim 'em. Great upside down "DTX's design logic" shocks...they don't leak, and haven't stripped the cap yet. The design comes directly from... Losi. I had a XXCR briefly, and that had almost the exact same shocks as the ST Pro. It's a learning curve if you're use to top filled shocks.

Plastic shocks?...what's that? Just kidding. I never had the displeasure in using plastic shocks in any of my RCs...even my Frog didn't have plastic shocks. It had a spring in the front, but not plastic...LOL

Now I'm putting a date on myself.

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Im just got done shootin' some video. Now gotta figure out how to post it. I never put a video on YouTube.

I'll figure it out though.

Here is my first attempt of making a video. Sorry about the quality...loses quality when converting from .vob files I guess...don't know.

Also, I have my throttle EPA set to 75%. If I set it to 100% those Duratrax rims just won't hold up to the track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0AKmZaT-SI

Very cool track. Your wife musta thought you were nuts when you told her (or she saw you) tearing up the sod to make a dirt track for your RC. Woulda liked to been a fly on the wall when that came down! Ha ha. Seriously, that is a really good idea...you don't need track barriers, like drain pipes, you've got GRASS BERMS. Brilliant. Now, if you just lay in some nice CLAY.... When can I come to your house and race? ;)

That looks like an awsome track. Id love to drive on any kind of track these days. Theres just no local ones around anymore. I noticed that it is on a hill? How is that working out for you?

Thanks for the kind words. Most of the jumps are washed away, but still it's my "happy place". And yeah, dtsandtrx, the track is on a hill. My best guess is a 10 degree slope. EXT2Rob is the track dusty enough for ya? LOL I too like a track after a day of rain, but dust is OK in my book # rooster-tails. I was never much of an asphalt type of person.

The wife said, "do what you gotta do, but keep it away from the house!"

HubSwap
 

I got a couple of Associated parts coming to make a swap of the Duratrax ST's hubs/axles. I must have a hex conversion or at least the option to use pin or hex driven rims! When I get the parts and have time to install them, I will post pics.

I've tried Associated hex adapters, you must grind/remove a little lip off of them for the pins to seat deep enough. And that was with the front adapters put on the rear axles (offset is too great). The rear wider Associated adapters you would have to grind/remove a lot more of the adapter to get Duratrax's axle pin to seat in the groove. Then you would end up with the same thickness as the front adapter, thus causing one to have a narrower rear overall width than normal.

How's that Ofna Hyper 10TT doing Rob? I love the was it looks. It reminds me of my 1/8 ZRT-1 Truggys I just rid of...just smaller. You had mentioned about the front drive shafts giving you some problems, and that gave me nightmares of running the large ZRT-1. Something was always happening/going wrong every couple of runs to that front drive train.

Do yall know what time it is? Late June is coming up. I curious to see how long Tower will have parts for the Evader/EXT.

I think that Tower will carry Evader parts for a LONG time. The Evader is about the least expensive stadium truck you can buy, which makes it a popular "first RC". And DTX's first-year replacement parts warranty usually seals the deal. (Despite the fact that they take forever to send you the replacement parts) The Evader is one of the longest running RCs out there. No worries.

The Hyper TT is doing great. I think that front drive shaft issue I had was due to the fact that I had a bearing fail, and I failed to notice. So it wore out the front center drive shaft. I do a better job of checking all 14 bearings these days. My buddy and I run the same EZrun motor combo in the Hypers that we do in our Evaders. But the motor is under the body in the TT, not hanging out the back like on the Evader, so we got some Integy fan-sinks and installed them on the motors. Dropped motor temps by ten degrees, allowing us to race on these warmer days. We also installed LED lights in the body for running at dusk. My buddy had the idea of prepping another body for daytime racing, to save damage to the LEDs, so that's just what I did. My first body, with the LEDs, was the first body I'd ever painted. Came out great. Except I accidentally used a silver paint for plastic bodies for the backing coat (D'OH!) which caused the paint to start flaking off. Didn't make that mistake this time, so this body should look good for a long time now. Looks like a brand new car now! It really is a tough little truggy since putting on the T-bone bumpers. I also installed aluminum steering knuckles. I'm very impressed with OFNA/HoBao.

Awesome track Rusty! Those grass walls are a good idea! Looks like you had a well thought out design and layout before starting. Great job!
I mentioned the 2.4Ghz because I was having trouble with the stock ST radio from like 10 years ago. Futaba is a quality brand which explains why your having such good luck. If it doesn't break why stop using it, right?

DTXandTRX- It would be cool to meet up at like Battlefront hobbies or something and do some practice laps. If you ever feel like it, shoot me a pm and maybe we can plan something out. I have to fix my Evader first though. Should have it setup in the next week or two.

Sounds like a plan. First ive got to find a electric truck to run. Nitro has been tearing up the neighborhoods lately haha. Its always fun annoying the neighbors!

I do hope you're just being flippant about annoying the neighbors, mate. From someone who has been dealing with annoying neighbors, I'm here to tell ya, it is no joke. Worse still, the offending neighbor is a relative. He's got a flippin' moto-x track in his back yard. The sound of 2-stroke motors and sport exhausts will drive you mad. It's not suitable for even a rural neighborhood (which this is). And I'm not talking about the occasional moto-x romp, it was getting to be a daily, all-day occurance. I finally got a coalition of neighbors together to take our case to the County. Finally, after a few choice words and the realization that he was pissing off all his neighbors,and getting the attention of the County, the activity all but ceased.

DON'T piss off your neighbors. It's not a kind thing to do. There's enough crap going on in this world causing us all stress (more people on anti-depressants now than ever) that we don't need the additional impetus.

that's why i like REAL rural living. there's rural as in 10 miles from the nearest Walmart or mcdonalds, then there's rural as in 20 miles from the nearest paved road! that's where i want to live.

You've got it all wrong about annoying the neighbors. They don't mind the rc trucks at all. The folks across the street actually bought a couple. Whilst I was out running a couple days ago one of the men came up and asked if he could take the truck for a spin (which he had done before). I don't mean any annoyance or harm to anybody while running the trucks. And if anybody does say anything, the trucks go inside for the rest of the day. No questions asked.