nitrosportsandrunner

I recently picked up a used twister XB roller.

I want to fab up some stronger parts, upgrades and any mods I can think off.

But also wanted feedback as to what parts break the most?

What areas do you think need to be stronger?

Dads like rc too

Your brave. I don't own one but they look pretty weak. I know you said your going to mod it so I'm sure it will all work out the way you want it. For me though, they only looked good for the track, too lightweight for the gravel pit.

nitrosportsandrunner

the main area Im gonna work on is the front.
the center chassis and rear are pretty standard stuff.

the front is a bit funky tho. There is a plate which sits on top of the lower arm mount. This plate is what the camber links and the shock tower connect to.
So, the arm mount, upper plate and shock tower are 3 parts which all bolt together. The multi-bolt points leave the whoel think kinda weak.

My basic idea is to make a metal plate which will add to the upper plate/shock tower bolt points.

The main thing the xb and xtg needed tho is a good front bumper. the xb's is a joke.

I know that tbone racing makes bumper for them.

Another idea I had was for the battery door. Its a good IDEA, how it loads from the bottom. but the tabs which release the door are too thin to grab onto. And you have to pull the door a tad before it comes out.

The upper part of the battery tray I think I can add a spring to. This will push on the door, so that when you squeeze the release tabs the door will just drop down on its own.

I may also look into different shock mount locations to see if it adds to the durability any.

If I can fix the front end points, I think it will be a good buggy. The shock towers, arms and hubs look to be decent (thickness wise)
The laydown servo and linkages are all pretty standard stuff.

Dads like rc too

I know this is crazy, I should probably just look at some pics on the Redcat site before thinking out loud, but do you think it's possible to modify the front lower plate assembly from a Caldera to the twister. Maybe you could just cuttoff the front chassis of the twister and modify it to accept the front lower chassis from the Caldera. I know you would still need the front diff in place to bolt the control arms to, but you could leave the case empty if you wanted to also leaving the front dogbones and front center bone out for weight reduction.

nitrosportsandrunner

dont think that would be possible.
for one, the caldera uses a upper chassis plate for reiforcement. The twisters have sides to the chassis for this.
If you cut the front of the chassis and bolt the front of a caldera to it, it would be flimsy. And since the upper part of the battery tray is in the center, it would be in the way of making an upper chassis plate.

But an interesting idea. And thats what im looking for....ideas!

Dads like rc too

Well I figured it was a long shot, probably should have looked at a few pics before I just spewed useless information. I wonder if attaching sides like on the hurricane would help support it, oh well I'm sure you've thought of the possibilities. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Reading about your project actually sparked a little interest. My last mod was that Tornado that I put the 2.8's on with the Volcano tranny. Problem was I had to run such a big clutch bell, it barely fit and was notorious for self destruction. I wound up eventually putting it all back stock and selling it to a member on here. I could use a new project, I could probably get away with that setup with the Tornado Pro, hmmmm.

Dads like rc too

Did you see the two new models, very disappointing. I was hoping for something a little more durable looking. I like the idea of 1/16 scale, it's become very popular amongst the Revo crowd, but it looks like they just made a category somewhere between Sumo and Twister when it comes to design. Granted I've not seen one yet, but looking at the pics it's hard to believe guys like you and I could do much more than run one of these things in the house or on the street. Obviously these fill the gap for Redcat in a scale that's growing, hopefully they will offer a more serious looking version in the future "pro series".

nitrosportsandrunner

hadnt noticed the 2 models listed yet.
just looked at the pics tho.

sandstorm looks like its a epx chassis. Nothing new, but the body is pretty cool.

The tremor has been around before.

Interesting that it has a brushed motor but comes with a 2s lipo. Thats something a bit different.

nitrosportsandrunner

also, those 6 teaser pics....
3 are now accounted for. 2 were the Tremor and 1 the baja.
But there are 6 models total coming out.
And 2 of the other pics look to be the same onroad car.
So there are 3 models which we have no idea what they look like. These redcat is likely waiting to release after the hobby show.
I expect that these will be more impressive. They most likely put the tremor and baja on sale now as they are not "all new" but jsut a reshell of an epx and a bringing back of the tremor line they used to have.

billymare

Hey niro... I put a lot of hpi blitz parts on the front, so now I can use any wheel with a 12mm hex. the knuckles are almost a bolt on. it was a long time ago, but i think you just have to shim the outer hinge pin to remove any slop. I break a lot of rear drive axles. the FIRST thing you should do in get rid of the plastic diffs. Its a fun truck, just hard to keep the front wheels on the ground!

nitrosportsandrunner

cool, I will keep that in mind.

I am mostly searching for ways to make the model stronger. I dont really intend to keep it, as I have 2 other 2wd buggies. But I got the roller in a trade and figured Id see if I can make any custom parts to make it tougher. And the front seems to be the weaker area.

But this is the kinda stuff that can make people enjoy their redcats more. If all twister owners are able to find out that a HPI part is an easy swap for the front hub then that will make parts easier for them to get.

I need to take some of my models down to the hobby shop and stare at dogbones for a bit. I am certain that hpi or losi must have some dogbones which can be used in place of stock ones.

wait till I get my 1/5 rock crawler done. Its taking up most of my time right now. Just broke a bench vice while making the chassis rails[&:]