davido666

I have the axial 32 and it fits fine. Just rotate the carb a little more to clear the gear. I left the pull start on because when I am out in a field or the dirt I don't like to carry the roto starter around or have to remember to charge the battery. With the pull start it always starts on the first or second pull.

Wingwrecker

I did get mine in and it looks just like your pic, thanks. Very little room for error on this one, eh? Hopefully I can get a screwdriver in there; if not I see some burned fingers in my immediate future! Thanks to all of you for the help. Should be breaking her in today. It's gonna be about 65 here in Denver. Any plug reccomendations? I have a couple Traxxas long-mediums to go through.

Im going to start digging into the massive WH thread.

rcbeep73

go cold plug. they always work good for me

Wingwrecker

I can' find the thread, could you throw me a link?

Wingwrecker

So I didn't think to test fit the pipe before installing the engine. I can't seem to get it over the exhaust port. Does the stock pipe fit or have I run into another game-ending snag?

rcbeep73

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_36...tm.htm#3643360
click on the link above. the pipe will fit you might need to put some oil on it or you can use a different gasket if the one you have is to thick.

Wingwrecker

Thanks for the link. I used the gasket off the Super Crapper and it fits fine now. The spring was another matter! Got it on, but lesson learned...
Time to put the rear end back on, go buy a few plugs and a new air filter then I should be reporting back on this engine tonight!

ThermalRD

I put the RT-X on the track again today. This time with more of a setup, and some proper tires. I run indoor clay, so its hard pack. I ran some clay compound MT switches for this occasion. The truck steers well, and has 0 body roll on this track. The motor is surprisingly alive now. Yup, it runs hot... On my temp gun 300 is common. If im picky, and tune some more, i can get 290. But this gun temps about 40-45 degrees higher than most others. I chose to run it this way. As i mentioned before, same scenario. It idles, and runs well, without any erratic behavior. So back to the truck itself. I found the truck could use a bit more down travel. So my next adventure out, i really need to move the top shock mount down, to achieve that. And drop the spring rate, and oil rate, to get my ride height back where i need it. Other than that, it still handled really well. Jumps great, and level. With the motor coming to life now, its much nicer. I still have to say, for one of the "odd", or shall i say "not so popular" trucks that i've bought, i believe its a good one still. I think Duratrax needs to refine some things yet, but i still like it. As far as i can tell, i managed to break nothing today at the track. Though i didnt run it too much, i was happy when i did. Next time out, i'll have the right setup.

Wingwrecker

So yeah, WOOHOO - SUCCESS!!

As most of you probably expected, the Axial .28 was a breeze and I am very pleased with my purchase. I had a couple of scary moments with temps in the 295 range but this motor reacts instantly to adjustment and I was able to keep temps under control. After about 9 tanks I am running consistantly about 265 after WOT with good power and top speed. Not the fastest I've ever seen but it runs strong and starts very easily everytime with the pullstart. It only took 5 pulls to start her for the very first time and now that I know where she likes her throttle, she starts with 1 or 2 pulls.

I spent the last 3 tanks getting it dialed in and it smokes good and shifts close to where it's sposed to. I've read that you shouldnt tune for shift; it smokes good at low and high now but it could shift a tad sooner so I guess it's time to play with the trans. It does tend to take longer to shift until it's good and warmed up; is this normal? Either way this engine is kickin ass.. On the last tank I had the RTX spinning the tires/drifting during turns on blacktop! Not like smoking them, but it's still WAY better than the Super Crapper would do...

I used a modified new-school method for break in. More on that below for those who are interested.

Anyways, so far I am a very pleased RTX/Axial owner and can't wait to get this truck on the dirt! OH and I forgot to mention that I'm still on my FIRST plug! It's an O.S. A3 and I'll be buying more (if I need to!)

Stereodude:
My advice to you is to try and get Duratrax to replace your engine and then put it right up for sale on Ebay and the forums. Then get the Axial .28 or .32 and I promise you will fall in love with this truck...

Evvy

My Break in:
I started at factory settings and drove it 1/2 throttle from the start, but the temp wouldnt get above 135 and I read that break-in doesnt happen below 150 so I leaned it 1/4 turn at half tank to bring me to about 148 and finished the tank. I shut it down and got the piston to what felt like bottom dead center and let it cool.
2nd tank I started with 1/4 turn to lean and ran around at 1/2 throttle to get temp up to 170 and at half tank leaned 1/8 turn to 200 and ran more 1/2 throttle and let it cool again with piston at BDC.
3rd tank, no change in settings except for varying the throttle more out of boredom getting it to about 230 and then again, cooling with piston at BDC.
4th tank I leaned a bit and varying throttle got me up in the 250s, let it cool BDC.
5th tank I leaned to what sounded good, got ahead of myself and did some WOT runs and made her shift.. That's when I got into the 290's. I shut her down, got it to BDC and let it cool all the way down. Richened it back up and went easy on throttle again for the 6th and 7th tank to reassure myself and temps were fine.
2 more tanks later and I'm tuning and ripping!

ThermalRD

IMO, that breakin was not warm enough. I would have wrapped the head immediately to get those temps near 200. I wouldnt even wanna run a nitro engine at 150 for any period of time. Too much stress on the con rod, and too much wear on the piston/sleeve. But thats all just my opinion.

Wingwrecker

I've read that as well, but like I said it was a modified new-school break in. There's so much controversy over it and I figured I'd find a happy medium. So far so good!

Wingwrecker

BTW, what temp gun do you use? I have the cheapy Duratrax one. Anyone know what temp water boils at 6000 ft? Or another way for me to test this meter?

ThermalRD

Thats very true wingwrecker. Its a very opinionated topic at best. My experience has brought me the longest life, and best running motors, with warm break ins. So i stick with it. Running indoors i see too many con rods break on motors that are being run too cold. As for your water boiling method, i dont like that test for accuracy. I mean, theres a certain temp at which water boils. But it doesnt seem accurate to me. Does water only boil at one temp, and never get any hotter? I think not. Should it be measured the instant you see a bubble, or at a hard boil? All things that make me question that method of accuracy testing. BTW, i use a pro exotics temp gun. The PE-3. I've tested it next to the Exergen, which many consider the best. I was within 2 degrees every time i checked it. The temp gun is sold at A-main hobbies, and many online reptile specialty shops. I trust it with my snakes collection, so i definitely trust it with these motors.

Wingwrecker

The heat-cycle method does make the most sense. It's common knowledge that most of the damage done to regular car engines is during start-up/warm up.
I see your point with the boiling water test as well. So what is an accurate way to test my meter?

ThermalRD

I wish i had an answer for that. I'd love to have an accurate method as well. I wonder if temping some water, or any object with a standard "mercury type" thermometer would be more of an accurate comparison. And then comparing results with a temp gun.

Bria1

For some reason my temp gun doesn't read accurately when checking boiling water, unless water boils at 172 deg F lol. I think it has something to do with that emisitivity setting (or whatever it's called) being different.

Wingwrecker

Yeah I was just reading about that in my manual. Mines set for 95 and the manual says that for painted/powder coated aluminum it should be set for 72. Hmm.

Stereodude

About 200F

Stereodude

Actually water does boil at one temp and doesn't get any hotter than 212F / 100C (at sea level) when at a full boil. If the water is over 212F / 100C it will turn into steam. It's a self regulating process. If you pressurize the water to let it get above 212F / 100C and then drop the pressure back to ambient room pressure the water will instantly vaporize. [X(]

And to confirm that what I learned in all my Physics class wasn't all crap, I just put a thermocouple in water and brought it up to a boil to verify it. Sure enough, what I learned in Physics was correct.

Wingwrecker

I might just take a dump on my floor and take the temp of that! If it's not at least 98 degrees then I'm sick right? Wait.. I'm sick for even posting this. [&o]

Stereodude

You need to make the measurement from the side at an angle or you'll get steam on the lens of the sensing element in the IR thermometer which will cause it to read low.

Stereodude

It looks like there might be some sort of metal shavings in the lubricant that's dripping from the bottom of the chassis. There's something very fine and dark in it, but I'm not sure what it is just yet. []

Wingwrecker

So I already want to know what I can do for more power from this Axial .28. Not that it's not enough, but I always want more. I'm running the stocker pipe. Can I spend under $50 for a pipe that will make a noticeable difference and keep temps where they are? Does a different pipe even affect temps? I dunno!

ThermalRD

See, ya learn something new every day. I figured for sure you'd be able to get water well over 212 degrees... Anyway, im gonna do that boiling test. As for the metal shavings... Hmmmm... If thats actual metal shavings, thats bad. But those are usually sparkly. Does it look like glitter? Being dark like you describe, sounds like some "running rich" grime.

Wingwrecker

My Super Tigre spewed mucho 'running rich grime' during break in. When I'd turn it over to empty a flooded cylinder, this dark matter would pour out of the pipe stinger.