Hey all, I currently have a T Maxx .15, and Im gettin annoyed with it. I was looking over the Fun factor monster truck or stadium truck, and wondering how good or whats needed to race this truck?
How reliable is it?
Overall thoughts would rock, Thanx

Diff cups, CVD's and dogbones are fairly weak. I have bent and snapped quite a few, especially if you mod the cups to make them stronger, as this just shifts the weak point to a more expensive item. Trouble is if the rear (unmodified) diff cup breaks you end up losing the dogbone anyway!! SO modify the rear only as the front cvd's are too expensive!
As this is the only Nitro truck (MT2) I have ever owned its hard for me to compare it with anything.
Stock radio and servos are crap.
Overall the truck is fairly reliable, see the post "Next generation Funfactor" for others views on ways to improve it.

whats the difference in the MT and the MT2? If anyone knows.

pack:

The MT and MT2 are identical except the Body Theme. The MT2 is actually a very competitive race truck, we ran a pretty much stock MT2 and won the Norrca National with it.

Don't buy cen. There radio equipment is worthless and they don't have much thought into their designs especially for racing. If you have any abnormal problems with a t-maxx (aside from the reverse and one other flaw in the trans) then you aren't doing something right. With any nitro you get its going to be a lot of maintence and if you don't maintain them your only going to have problems. If you get a cen or any other nitro keep them clean and look them over at least once every 5 or 6 times you use it.

the only thing that hasnt been mentioned is the sheer speed of the cen trucks. they are very fast and built quite light - many noobs buy them as they are cheap, then moan when they destroy it in a 45+mph crash...

if u get one be sure to buy a failsafe with it!!! the standard radios are very poor, but then if u are in the US, u can use cens exchange program to get a better radio.

there are a few hopups available, but nothing like tmaxx parts, in fairness u dont need all that much, most of that crap is just bling anyways. the jt chassis, alloy brake seat, alloy steering link and a hi torque servo with a 6v batt pack will make the truck a lot stronger and able to turn better. some better shocks are worthwhile if u want to race it, if indeed ur track will let u race it - there is/was some kind of issue apparently with sanctioning bodies and cen trucks (in the uk at least) - someone else may be able to shed more light on that tho...

Little Stampy, do you own or have owned a CEN truck? If not please keep your opinions to yourself. I have owned a T-Maxx and couldn't get rid of it fast enough but I will never get rid of my MT2.

pack, from what I can find out the only classes that you will be able to race in is stadium and unlimited. I have e-mailed various race promoters and sanctioning bodies to find out exactly why and have had no response. Your local track rules might be different you will have to ask.
The biggest problem with CEN's truck is parts availability and the fact that they don't use enough or any lock-tight and the radio gear.

azzman, I don't mean to sound rude but I am using a diff cup mod on the front and rear and have never broken a dogbone or cvd in fact I am still using the the original cvd and dogbones that came with my truck and I am going on my third motor, 1 stock motor, 1 rebuilt stock motor converted to .18 and now an O.S. cvrx. Trust me I am not nice to my truck. If you are still having problems with the cvd's and dogbones you need to look at how your suspension is set up.


rolland

Sweet mate, any tips you can give me on suspension setup will be greatly appreciated!
On another note how did the NT 18 upgrade go? How does it compare to the CVR.

Cheers

I just picked up and installed the O.S. motor yesterday and I'm waiting for it stop raining to break it in. The only reason I replaced the .18 conversion is that I stripped the glow plug hole and I got a really good deal on the O.S. The conversion motor had no problems keeping up with Revo's with the O.S. motors in them and it would smoke the ones with stock motors.

When I first got my truck I read every post on wildhobbies and rcu paying particular attention to the ones CEN made about their trucks setup and this is what I came up with.
Make sure that your pillow balls are not screwed in to tight, I like a little bit of play in my cvd's and dogbones and I don't use the rubber o-rings I believe that they will eventually cause binding. Set you arms so that when the truck is under power the arms are straight out to the sides. I know it cuts down on ground clearance but it really improves handling and cuts down on binding. I set my suspension a little on the soft side and set it so the truck doesn't bottom out going over all but the largest jumps, those you just slow down a little bit for so the truck doesn't bottom out.
I am also using the JT chassis and aftermarket shocks. The stock chassis and shocks didn't hold up after a full throttle head on with a tree. I got a really nice u-shaped center dogbone.
However after what I have read about the O.S. motors I think I am going to find another axle solution especially so that I can run T-Maxx wheels and tires for more traction.
There is also a possibility that I am incredibly lucky.

rolland

Thanx for the info, Im not 100% sure what I plan on doing yet.
As far as maintaining my Tmaxx, I have face and hands on it regularly, after every race. The thing thats getting my down on it so much, I was planning on running at Hobby Hut sunday, but due to the fact I removed my reverse gear, my trans wont stay tight on the chassis, also my engine wont hold a good tuning, always runs way to hot, its a megatech .16 and hits 320f, I plan on changing it.

This really is the wrong forum for T-Maxx advise. In the monster truck section there is a forum for Traxxas.

The CEN trucks in my opinion are the best truck for the money but they do require work and like I said parts availability are an issue.

rolland

my tmaxx shafts are still holding up good rolland...

That is good to hear. The O.S. has about the same hp as the .18 conversion but it has a lot more torque, mind you I am now on my 6th break in tank and I can already tell that traction is an issue with the stock tires.




rolland

Rolland I never owned a cen and thats because I've worked at a hobby shop for a long time. They do have decent trucks if you get rid of the radio and motor. As for racing yeah good for the average backyard racer but as far as bringing one to a big event you aren't going to win a race with one unless you get lucky. They don't put as much thought into their designs like Team Losi or Traxxas's revo which handles great on the track right out of the box. The only thing they have is cheaper prices especially when compairing to a traxxas, losi, or kyosho product (mainly their 1/8 scale buggies). You do get what you paid for though.

whats wrong with the standard motor?

and what about last years win with the mt2s?

not starting a fight, just pointing a few bits out - ive never had issues with the cen motor. the halfshafts, and radio are the only major bugs. with the exception of the way u have to change spurs, its pretty easy to work on too.

just what should we be looking out for on other manufacturers trucks that we dont have on our little cens?

We have all but destroyed the original question regarding this post. Sorry about that Pack.
This is the last time I will comment about this in this post.

The Losi and Traxxas trucks that are winning the big races don't use the stock radio or motors either. Chances are they are using and M8 radio and an O.S. 18 motor as well as aftermarket servos. If stock they are so great why change?
The CEN MT2 is a respectable racer right out of the box also and I would put it up against a T-Maxx any day. The only reason that I have upgraded mine is for the most part the same reason the factory teams have upgraded theirs.

As far as getting lucky tell that to the Team CEN racers or any team racer I'm sure that they have a whole different opinion on whether it is luck, skill or even the equipment. I'm pretty sure that luck will be at the bottom of the list.

I'm sorry if the thought that a CEN truck is about equal to, or in my opinion superior to a T-Maxx bothers you, but bottom line is that you have your opinion and I have mine. Unfortunately this discussion is taking place and trashing this post when it doesn't have to.



rolland

I agree and I don't like trashing posts. Cen is just one of the lower manufactures. I'm experienced in 1/8 scale buggy racing and the smallest differences make the largest changes no matter what your running and everything needs to work together from the length of the chassis and suspension arms to where weight is placed. Cen as the company doesn't look as deeply into racing and into developing what they make to be at the top of their class. Of corse you need to drive and if you can drive fast you have a good chance of being in front but when you want to go past being the backyard racer cen will just limit you. They don't have the experience and engineering in their designs compaired to brands like traxxas putting years of track time finding what would work best on track with their revo or Losi with their stadium trucks and kyosho with their 1/8 scale buggies. I haven't followed whats winning in monster trucks but there is a reason why all of the top racers are running kyosho in 1/8 scale buggy and losi for 1/10 truck is they are overall just brands who thrive to be the best. If you want something you can bash around and still blow everyone away with at the track the Mammoth ST has been one of the best trucks out of the box on the track. It comes with a 75mhz hitech radio and a killer motor. Of corse its more money but you'll spend a lot less time putting money into it after you buy it. The only problem I noticed with it from people who run them at my local track is the stock servo saver. The arm that the linkage from the servo hooks up to flexes to much and takes away your steering. Quick fix is to brace it with some type of metal by bending it to the arm or buy an aluminum servo saver.

I think it is funny that you consider traxxas to be a company with years of track experience, last I heard the have yet to win a national title with any of their trucks, much less try to create a true race truck before JATO. Granted CEN has not been on the race scene as long as some companies, but I see the difference they are making with theit 1/8 scale in peticular. Having 1 driver running a prototype car and consistantly finishing in the a-main looks like Kyosho/mugen may have a true challanger soon. As for the MT2, it is an excellent truck, fast, nimble, and diff cups aside very durable.