Improving Nitro sport on road character
 

Ive been searching through threads and I find mostly info about the rustler (I see they're extremely similar). I haven't quite found an easily explained post detailing what I can do to give my sport a bit more stability and also reduce how easily it rolls through turns. I have the largest set of spacers on the shocks that came with it and have heard of the tubing in the shock body to limit travel (somewhat confused on that) but are there any other easy fixes?

also I notice it tends to skew left or right even after steering is trimmed. Is that just a better servo issue?

The problem with the nitro sport in regard to the steering is mostly due to its direct steering. As in - the steering is driven directly off the servo and not a set of bell cranks as the Rustler and Jato is setup. What this means is you need a good servo, good servo saver, and tight linkages to have good steering, quick/accurate response, and less bump steer. Bell crank steering is a much cleaner/tighter/faster setup and is why the Rustler is often favored.

My Nitro Sport story made brief...
I had a Nitro Sport for several years. It was my very first RC car. It was an okay-driving truck albeit a bit uncontrollable with too much power. Mine came with the original sport .15 (silver head), I quickly changed to a Pro .15 (blue head) for more power and better carb. After I got tired of the low power Pro .15, I put a 2.5R into it. Stronger engine - made the truck more fun; but it's high speed stability was still crap. So I converted the chassis/steering to Nitro Rustler stuff. Basically I replaced the chassis and steering. All suspension, driveline, etc. all bolts right on. Much better truck; more responsive, and more stable at high(er) speeds it was capable of. Added a 3.3 Traxxas engine for more fun... The 3.3 sure made it faster, but it also got more squirrelly at high speed. So to cure that, I put Jato suspension arms/axle carriers onto it. Now it's ultra stable and can actually be run WOT for more than 2 seconds.

Morale of all of this - if you want to make it more stable and responsive, put Jato suspension on it. I believe all you need is arms, turnbuckles (longer), and axle stubs/carriers. You would probably need to switch to 2.8" wheels too - at least I had to with the Rustler. I suspect you will too if you do this mod. I think it's worth doing though - it made my Rustler a completely new truck - no BS.. I am willing to try making a 24t clutch/54t Spur work and see how fast a Rustler can go. I think that's the tallest gearing you can get stock for it.

this is exactly what I needed. I keep seeing the money vs just buying a jato argument and I see the merits but I do like the idea of slowly upgrading the entire truck myself. And I may spend twice as much but the hours I get out of it is kind of like my return.
Ill look into the jato parts next time I stop by the LHS. I'm likely going with the 3.3 or a similar motor so the twitchy steering is a flip machine haha. Plus Im installing lights so I really don't want to destroy them. Ill have to fab up a roll bar for it I guess. So many projects :).

Looking around at conversions- will I need to upgrade to the rustler parts first or will the jato steering actually just bolt up?

My truck was already setup with Rustler steering/chassis before I converted to Jato suspension. If it were my project, I would do the Rustler chassis/steering conversion first. Especially if you're going to put a bigger/stronger engine in it. The steering control is well worth it. The chassis is stronger too. BUT you can do the suspension conversion without the chassis conversion I believe. Your existing steering linkages/turnbuckles will be too short to connect to the steering knuckles once the longer Jato arms are installed. I used the stock Rustler/Sport steering knuckles and C-hubs; they should be the same size as the Jato parts. I have stock Rustler/Sport shocks and Shock towers installed.

Basically what you would need:
Jato arms
Jato turnbuckles for camber and steering
Jato driveshafts (I couldn't find any MIP CVDs which are much better than the stock driveshafts)
Jato rear axle carriers and related bearings
Modify the rear arm mount @ the chassis to fit the Jato arms. Use a dremel.

Ill post pics of my conversion.

Here's some photos.

okay now I see what your saying with the dremel needed. Yeah I think the rustler steering and chassis is going to help for a few reasons since it'll be more stable as a mounting point for a sturdy roll bar too.

Crazy how how much difference you can see with the arms once there lined up together

Yeah, it makes a pretty dramatic difference in how the truck drives. I have a Jato too and comparing the two trucks stock vs. stock, it's easy to see how/why the Jato handles so much better at high speed. That wide stance makes all the difference.

I thought showing the stock length arms versus the Jato arms would be a good example of how much wider it gets. I've heard of some guys putting Jato arms on the rear only and leaving the front stock, but I don't think that would be much help in the way of stability or control.

narrow fronts would make it worse I think- it would give it a roll point to the front left and right on turns I'd think aka reliant robin

Here's my old Nitro Sport. I painted the plastic chassis parts with Chevrolet Orange ceramic engine paint. The exhaust is the MIP Stinger kit. Along with the "turbo" mods to the engine, it was pretty quick for what it was. The engine was still on the anemic side for my tastes, but I'm awfully spoiled now. I know how to properly modify engines now, so I'll be seeing what can be done to a Rustler with stock gearing options for on-road speed. I'd love to tie-up even Steven with the Jato.
http://s153.photobucket.com/user/1Qw...edia/trx-4.jpg

Here's my old Nitro Sport. I painted the plastic chassis parts with Chevrolet Orange ceramic engine paint. The exhaust is the MIP Stinger kit. Along with the "turbo" mods to the engine, it was pretty quick for what it was. The engine was still on the anemic side for my tastes, but I'm awfully spoiled now. I know how to properly modify engines now, so I'll be seeing what can be done to a Rustler with stock gearing options for on-road speed. I'd love to tie-up even Steven with the Jato.
http://s153.photobucket.com/user/1Qw...edia/trx-4.jpg

Here's my old Nitro Sport. I painted the plastic chassis parts with Chevrolet Orange ceramic engine paint. The exhaust is the MIP Stinger kit. Along with the "turbo" mods to the engine, it was pretty quick for what it was. The engine was still on the anemic side for my tastes, but I'm awfully spoiled now. I know how to properly modify engines now, so I'll be seeing what can be done to a Rustler with stock gearing options for on-road speed. I'd love to tie-up even Steven with the Jato.

RCU's botched software will not allow me to properly post an old photo from Photobucket. This forum software is BS. I'll keep trying, but if I'm not successful, I could email it to you if you want to see it.

Yeah please, a guideline is invaluable for me - I'll pm email

We'll see if this junky forum software worked this time. If the picture shows up, don't mind the ad in the picture. It seems Photobucket is well saturated with ad BS too. So the ad in the attached picture is not advocated by me. In fact, Xfinity is a crooked company anyway.

The Rustler chassis is so much cleaner looking.

Did you notice issues with moving the weight back with the exhaust?

Not on the Nitro Sport with stinger exhaust, no.

The Rustler chassis is full aluminum on the bottom versus half aluminum and half plastic like the sport. The Rustler is much more rigid.

Randomly thought but do the sport/rustler chassis support a higher powered novarossi? I could buy another truck for the money I'm sure but I like having my focus on one instead and building it up. Plus it's fun.

I wouldn't put a balls out crazy engine onto a Nitro Sport. The chassis isn't strong enough IMO. Either work up a conversion on your Sport or sell it and get a Rustler. Or step up to crazy town and get a Jato.

okay so I'll stick to a rustler conv. With the 3.3 upgrade. I'll save all the crazy stuff for my 10 year old Frankenstein exceed buggy haha

I wouldn't hesitate to stick a stout Nova .15 into a rustler. The .15 will probably out-rev the 3.3 Traxxas anyway. Maybe not as wheelie happy though.

I would keep your eyes open for a Nitro Rustler roller for cheap and just move your good parts over. That's what I did - I got a nearly new Pro .15 roller for $30 from my LHS. I put my gone-through tranny into it and put my radio and engine into it. Converting the Sport over to a Rustler will cost you $120 or more just in parts. When I did mine, I think I had $140 in parts and then a couple hours to assemble it.

hows the engine mount match up on the nova motors when it comes to the rustler chassis? Any dremel modding needed?

Nitro RUSTLER - Shocks Towers, Upper Chassis Bumper bulkhead Battery Box 44096-3 | eBay

is this what I basically need?

I have no idea if the Novas use the same mount as the Pro .15 or the 2.5/3.3 engines. I've never had a non Traxxas engine in my Rustlers or Sport.

That kit from EBay doesn't come with the lower aluminum chassis plate or the steering bellcranks by the looks of it. Besides screws, basically you need the upper and lower chassis, all steering components, fuel tank support/structure, and a few more odd parts. I'll try to pull up the exploded view and highlight the parts you need. The suspension, shock towers, transmission, engine mount, battery box all transfer from the sport to the rustler. The chassis and steering are the only real differences I believe. I will double check for you though.

thanks- it's like if I had a rustler in front of me I'd be set but going by text instructions has me stumped. The rustler chassis and jato bits I think will get me where I need to be for a nice high output motor. Just seems like such a easy platform