Zoodles95

So...

Again here is the look of the Rustler with Trenchers. Just seems to make it look too much like a Monster truck which it isn't. I know it is classified as a "Stadium Truck" but it kind of reminds me of a 2WD Rally Car or like an enclosed desert runner. At any rate the look just doesn't work for me.


It is not a Monster Truck. I have something else which fills that role:


Put the worn stockers back on to get a perspective of what I want. The fronts are not that bad. The previous owner wore the rears pretty good as he trashed the poor Rustler...



Hmmm... Might be fun to try but it is more the width that drives me nuts; not so much the height.



I found a possibly solution by hitting the Proline website and then youtube. A good number of people are running Proline Dirt Hawgs on their Rustlers and they seem to work really well while giving me more the look I am looking for.



These are a couple of examples I found from a simple google search. I think this is a nice upgrade over using stock tires without giving it that over the top Monster Truck look.
On rear only:


On all four:


They seem to only come on 2.8 (which is the stock rim size anyways). My plan was to either buy some blue wheels or perhaps buy some white wheels and dye them but the ones I am finding are 2.2.

As much as I wanted to individualize the wheel choice on the Rustler I may just go for a prefit set of these on Desperados. These wheels are holding up really well on my Stampedes and I do have to admit that it is easier to keep a set of these clean than chrome ones.

Anyone here running Dirt Hawgs? Particularly on a Rustler?

Zoodles95

Thanks for the suggestions and input. Darn these trenchers! They just seem to make the Rustler look too much like a Monster truck which it isn't. I know it is classified as a "Stadium Truck" but it kind of reminds me of a 2WD Rally Car or like an enclosed desert runner. At any rate the look just doesn't work for me.


It is not a Monster Truck. I have something else which fills that role:


Put the worn stockers back on to get a perspective of what I want. The fronts are not that bad. The previous owner wore the rears pretty good as he trashed the poor Rustler...



Hmmm... Might be fun to try but it is more the width that drives me nuts; not so much the height.



I found a possibly solution by hitting the Proline website and then youtube. A good number of people are running Proline Dirt Hawgs on their Rustlers and they seem to work really well while giving me more the look I am looking for.



These are a couple of examples I found from a simple google search. I think this is a nice upgrade over using stock tires without giving it that over the top Monster Truck look.
On rear only:


On all four:


They seem to only come on 2.8 (which is the stock rim size anyways). My plan was to either buy some blue wheels or perhaps buy some white wheels and dye them but the ones I am finding are 2.2.*

As much as I wanted to individualize the wheel choice on the Rustler I may just go for a prefit set of these on Desperados. These wheels are holding up really well on my Stampedes and I do have to admit that it is easier to keep a set of these clean than chrome ones.*

So, anyone running Dirt Hawgs on Rustlers out there? How are they holding up? How are they off road and pavement? I am looking at 70% to 80% off road use. There is a high school across the road with public ball diamonds and parks attached to it. Lots of wide open soccer fields, ball diamonds and other places to blast this thing around.

Any interesting wheel options out there

Zoodles95

Now looking at Duratrax tires... Hmmm...

If I go 2.8 these guys come up for Stadium Trucks.

We've got the Bandito which is very much a street look tire:


The Picket:


The Pistol:


And the Six Pack:


From the Duratrax usage chart shows that the Picket, Pistol, and Six Pack have the exact same ratings across the charts. The Bandito has better ratings for abrasive surfaces but no ratings for grass. So... Bandito out.

Now just to learn more about the Picket, Pistol, and Six Pack to see how they are performing for people.

Zoodles95

So...

My wife and I took the RCs out the other day. She was giving "Crash" the Stampede a good workout.


"Rusty" the Rustler was all set for its inaugural run. I had been testing it out inside. Well... A glorious 10 feet ensued before... Well... Lots of motor whine but no motion. I brought extra batteries but no tools so Rusty went 10 feet on 3S power. Short lived but it threw grass everywhere and it was a very fun -albeit extremely short- run.


So... "Crash" got the lion's share of the work and go driven hard. We went through the 2S battery pack and 2 3S battery packs. The new fan on the ESC kept its temperature in check but the motor was... HOT! So... I may need to look at a motor fan setup of some sort unless I look at an aftermarket motor and ESC for Crash.
[/YT]

No doubt which RC worked and which one did not...



Despite all of the abuse... er... hard driving... "Crash" took it was still in one piece after. Nothing broke! Despite that improvements are still in the pipeline for this Stampede. Tekno "big bone" centre driveshaft and a King Headz motor mount are on the way in the mail. After that I am going to explore 17mm hubs.

So... What happened to "Rusty"?


The grub screw decided it did not want to stick around and be abused. I wonder where it went? Small wonder the motor was working away but nothing was happening.


I cannot believe I do not have spare grub screws. I have tried to make a little "Tuck Shop" with extra screws, washers etc. I have ordered 3 packs of grub screws. That is 36 grub screws folks. That should solve this problem once and for all.



And then something cool happened. I just happened to put my hand on the carpet and felt something there. I thought it might be a piece of unpopped popcorn or something. But no... It was the missing grub screw! It must have backed out and fell out when I opened up Rusty to investigate. So... I am able to go forward with Rusty again. Needless to say those 36 grub screws are still coming in!


Okay... too much blue locktite but there is proof that I do own locktite and use it. LOL!


Cleaned up and everything is working.



Back to the look I like and prefer...


I am leaving Rusty overnight to give that locktite as much chance as I can to make a proper bond. Tomorrow I am going to double check that grub screw is as tight as it can be and then I will button down the Rustler again and try it outside on a gentle 2S learner mode and give it a gentle drive on my street.

New wheels and tires are coming. My LHS is bringing in some Proline options for me to look at and I have emailed the folks at Louise RC to see if they have stock and what pricing it would be to send some goodies to me in Canada.

May is my target date to have the Rustler in solid running condition and I am well on my way to that goal.

seedygreenute

Nice !

seedygreenute

Always good to have some tools on hand .
Cross wrench and allen keys ( fit in your pocket ) get you out of most trouble .
You will have that Rustler going soon !

Zoodles95

I took out the Rustler today. The DirtHawgs did pretty well in the grass and held up to the pavement use I gave them as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D6i8Zj4FB4 These are some of the recent goodies to make their way to me. The heat gun is for the shrink wrap I have coming. I realized after I ordered it that many people have been able to just use a bic lighter on the shrink wrap. Oh well, nothing like having a extra tool.


This has been an ongoing issue with my RPM gear cover. It does not matter how many times I remove and reintstall it. I am hoping that enough plastic gets shaved off that this does not happen anymore or whatever else ultimately resolves it. There are other options like the Hot Racing one if this one does not work out. The rest of the RPM transmission case seems to be working well though.


The aluminum turnbuckle wrench which came with the Traxxas kit is a really nice piece. I also bought a Yeah Racing one off of ebay to cover other sizes. I do have to admit though that the dedicated 5mm Traxxas wrench is much nicer to work with.


These new Turnbuckles are really nice. I was initially concerned about them being aluminum because in my experience while aluminum is lighter; it is often weaker than steel. However, these seem thicker; uet are lighter. So, I think these will have comparable strength (if not stronger than) the steel stockers while having a nicer appearance.


Yup, a much nicer part.


I also swapped out the old wheel hex for nice blue aluminum ones.



In the end I decided to just put the front top turnbuckles in today. Another day I will tackle the other ones.



This Rustler is always going to be a bit of a work in progress for me. Am looking at trying a different gear ratio to get some more speed out of it. Then, that will likely tax and heat the stock motor and ESC which will get me wanting to try an aftermarket alternative which could lead to more work.

Zoodles95

I took out the Rustler today. The DirtHawgs did pretty well in the grass and held up to the pavement use I gave them as well.


These are some of the recent goodies to make their way to me. The heat gun is for the shrink wrap I have coming. I realized after I ordered it that many people have been able to just use a bic lighter on the shrink wrap. Oh well, nothing like having a extra tool.


This has been an ongoing issue with my RPM gear cover. It does not matter how many times I remove and reintstall it. I am hoping that enough plastic gets shaved off that this does not happen anymore or whatever else ultimately resolves it. There are other options like the Hot Racing one if this one does not work out. The rest of the RPM transmission case seems to be working well though.


The aluminum turnbuckle wrench which came with the Traxxas kit is a really nice piece. I also bought a Yeah Racing one off of ebay to cover other sizes. I do have to admit though that the dedicated 5mm Traxxas wrench is much nicer to work with.


These new Turnbuckles are really nice. I was initially concerned about them being aluminum because in my experience while aluminum is lighter; it is often weaker than steel. However, these seem thicker; uet are lighter. So, I think these will have comparable strength (if not stronger than) the steel stockers while having a nicer appearance.


Yup, a much nicer part.


I also swapped out the old wheel hex for nice blue aluminum ones.



In the end I decided to just put the front top turnbuckles in today. Another day I will tackle the other ones.



This Rustler is always going to be a bit of a work in progress for me. Am looking at trying a different gear ratio to get some more speed out of it. Then, that will likely tax and heat the stock motor and ESC which will get me wanting to try an aftermarket alternative which could lead to more work.

seedygreenute

Good to see you got through a battery .
You would have lost a little top speed going to a smaller diameter tire .
What gears are you running ?

Zoodles95

That is a whole 2 sessions with "Crash" the Stampede surviving and one with this Rustler.

The Stampede is coming into its own. With the new King Headz Motor mount and the Tekno "big bone" centre driveshaft due to go in it will be even stronger. On stock 3S power it is showing itself to be a pretty study truck. If I put a new motor and ESC into it and ran it on 4S I think it would nuke itself. However, with the mods in place it seems to tolerate 3S bashing pretty good (credit especially to the MIPs driveshafts and Proline Power Stroke shocks).

Zoodles95

I'm pretty sure I am on the stock (and slow) 25/83

So...

I am guessing I need a 31 gear Pinion.
Traxxas Part #2431

And a 76 gear Spur Gear
Traxxas Part #4676

These should work correct?

seedygreenute

That should give you a nice jump in speed .
Do you have a temp gun ?
Pretty sure Traxxas gearing/speed charts are based on paved/on road conditions . If running on the grass alot you might want to drop a tooth or two on the pinion .