j-boy

Dear Losi... thanks for a great product! The DT is awesome truck. Handles like a dream, durable, and looks awesome too! And now on a more personal note... you can take your mini lock nuts and shove em where the sun don't shine!

I mean seriously... love the DT but I hate stuff thats put together with hardware that is unique to the item in question. I posted earlier and at that time I said that losing the ball stud nuts in the steering linkage was no big deal. That was before I knew that those nuts dont exist on anything else under the sun. I tore apart cell phones, old appliances, coupla power tools and an old phone or two, and nothing... nothing had a 4-40 nut with thin walls like the nuts on the DT have. I refuse to wait a week to fix my toys. I used a standard 4-40 nut from a my toolbox but I had to dremel out the plastic recess that the nut is supposed to fit into cause standard nuts are a lot bigger in outside diameter. Anyway to sum it all up I spent a good 10 hours today refastening my steering linkage. Does anybody else find that a bit rediculous?

OK sorry guys but I had to vent a little. On a lighter note, after finally gettin the front end fixed, I installed an old Orion Method R 13 turn I'd been sittin on for a while. I think I have a descent shot at comin off the line ahead of my buddy's Slash. Just gotta watch the temps. Everythings runnin quite a bit hotter than it used to. The manual suggests max temps for the battery and motor. Anybody know how hot is too hot for the stock ESC?

bashingozzy

Surfing the forums iv notice alot of ppl talking about the Slash and i have to say it looks like a toy from Big W lol

callmesamael

I'm surprised by the Slash. I thought it seemed really cool when I first saw it and actually bought it before returning it and getting a DT. The reason I say I'm surprised though is because I always thought hobbyists weren't so drawn by fads like regular consumers (what with our toys costing $200 just for RTR, which is only half the money you'll spend) but the Slash became this huge phenomenon...SCALE! I still think it looks tight, but wow, people got all sorts of biased with it.

powerslider

The Slash is an awefully fun truck when setup right, I installed a killer brushless system, run on 3s and swapped out the tires for some with good traction. The longer wheel base makes this truck handle high power better than shorter wheelbased vehicles but it certainly won't corner like the DT. I ran 8 packs through my DT yesterday and after switching tires to step pins rear and old Losi bar type fronts this thing is an absolute rocket that now handles great. I have the Xcellerin 6400 system for power on 7 cells and it runs strong but with the stock tires it was a real challenge to drive, just couldn't get the power down but that's cured now. Both the DT and the Slash are great trucks, just for different types of racing/bashing.....[8D]

callmesamael

Powerslider, how's the 6400? I have the 4800 and I don't have any problems with handling it, but I do sometimes wish I had the 6400. I'm a bit bitter but the guys from Horizon said that 4800 would be my best choice for the DT. Kind of curious if they were full of it. Too late to return it now, but I am curious what I'm missing as far as pros and cons with the 6400.

So I think the tires on the DT are great, but what's really the best all around? step pins? I know slicker is better for on-road, but I'm curious if there's any better compromise between on and offroad than what the DT comes with stock. Don't know if the realistic looks are actually better than step pins in regards to RC.

powerslider

For me the 6400 is all the power this truck needs. I never planned to run over 7 cells with my concerns about the trans strength (plastic idler gear) but that so far has not been a problem. Your 4800 should be pretty good though just add voltage if you need more speed, 3s would be killer with that motor. I don't think Horizon steered you wrong, just on the conservative side. As for tires really you need more than one set for on/off road, the stock tires are pretty heavy and that eats power but for on road they may be ok. For me running in grass they just don't hook at all so the step pins are the ticket on the rear. I ordered some M3 Gladiators for it and may stick with the stock fronts for now but the old tires from my racing the XXT really hook up great in the grass, you can really push this thing hard and be in control the whole time where before with the stockers it was basically a non-stop powerslide....

callmesamael

Interesting...never really thought there was a weight difference with RC tires of same size...Maybe I'll look into those m3 gladiators. I don't know much about brands and what's what, are m3 gladiators some of the best as far as step pins? I'd like to upgrade my truck with something that'll keep it fun and driveable on asphalt but won't do more than donuts on dirt. The stockers don't seem that great...but Ive been playing on some really loose gravel and around baseball diamonds. Annoying as heck cleaning this truck out after causing plumes of dust from dug-out to dug-out.

On that note, how often are people here cleaning out there DTs (i.e. bearings, maybe transmission box)?

xNightWolfx

see now im left with a decision

keep the slash and have more fun or sell it and get the dt

j-boy

Allright Gentleman, my slipper nut backed out on me and I guess I tightened it down too much cause I ate the spur gear sunday.[&o] Anybody know if you can get a metal spur that fits the DT. It'll have to have the recess for the sliper pad and all. I've been looking on line but haven't come up with anything yet.

powerslider

Look at the Proline tires on Tower to get pics and more detailed info, step pins will wear faster than the Gladiators. On my Slash which is running a MM/Medusa setup on 3s (bigtime power) I installed a set of Proline Lugnuts (step pins) and it hooks up great but the power and weight of the truck were wearing the tires pretty quick so I switched to the Gladiators and while it still hooks up hard the tires aren't showing any wear yet. I ordered a set for my DT which should arrive tomorrow. For onroad though I would switch to different tires like Road Rages (Proline) or something similar.

Cleaning I use compressed air, paintbrush, toothbrush and if need a spray bottle with some water. On the bearings in dust if they feel rough at all definitely clean them and relube when needed...

powerslider

You don't want a metal spur, your pinions will wear out, get a new spur, slipper pads and a nut and make sure your gear mesh is right.

powerslider

Definitely keep the Slash and get a DT too....

j-boy

I was afraid of that! OK no big deal at three bucks apiece I can get a handfull so's I got some back ups. I use the piece-of-paper method to set gear mesh but I am used to meshing at two slivers of papaer thick which works fine on my 1/8 scale nitros. It looked a little loose on the DT but I still think it was the slipper bein to tight. Hard to say really. I was also runnin offroad with the cover off of the spur and slipper. I was tryin to get some heat off the motor so I left the cover off. I may have picked up a rock or something. I don't think it was gear mesh cause I picked it up when I heard the "bad noise" and it wasn't a bunch of uniformly worn teeth. It was just missing like 5 or six in a row. I actually made it halfway around the track again before it ate the rest of em! [>:]

powerslider

Yeah you might of caught a stone or something, I never run without a gear cover, your gears will not last long in the dirt, it just chews them up. Set your mesh so there just a slight amount of clearence and no binding as you rotate the spur around. Those teeth are pretty small so you need to be right on the mesh to make them last....

callmesamael

Thanks for the help powerslider. I'm going to check soon if any stores around me have gladiators. As for cleaning out the truck though, I was more asking HOW OFTEN people are cleaning their trucks out. When I clean my truck, I generally just pop out all the bearings and hit them with brake cleaner and then relube.

Meanwhile, I've heard a lot of people talk about binding and how it's bad, but how can you tell? I use the one paper trick too, and generally try to be more generous with the space since my gearing already causes over-heating issues (rather strip a spur than melt a motor), but I don't know when I'm in danger of bindings things up. Does it just mean your teeth are rubbing too much and grinding since they're close together and require extra torque =more heat?

bar321

it means that something in the drivetrain is rubing casing more strain on the motor

powerslider

Just rotate by hand the spur, you'll feel any tight spots. It should spin very free, the spur gears don't usually rotate in a perfect circle, they have a high spot or two. I set mine as close as I can without any feel of binding as I rotate the spur. I can't remember ever stripping a spur gear in all the years I raced indoors/outdoors, and always ran a cover...

I got My Gladiators today, gluing them up on new rims now. they're just slightly shorter than the stockers but they'll grow under power. The tires/rims I have on the DT now are 2.75 ounces each, the stockers are 4.75 and the Gladiators on stock rims come in at 4 even so you can see there's difference in weight which affects power and runtime. Lighter is faster lol...

Another thing I did was to install the switch harness that comes with the truck kit into the lights so you have the option of running with or without the lights on by flipping the switch...

callmesamael

Thanks for the info powerslider. What are those rims you're talking about that shed 2 oz off (I don't even know what 2oz feels like)? Meanwhile...what switch harness!? (rummages through crap)

It's sort of frustrating that RC Elec cars don't have as much to mod as real cars (yet infinitely cheaper!). Or rather, I don't know what upgrades are most worthwhile. I guess tires make the most sense. They're the most important things on cars too.

powerslider

That 4 cell battery holder (reciever pack) and switch that came with the truck kit, you can unplug the battery holder and use the switch inbetween the receiver and the plug for the lights. Gives you the option of easily turning them off/on.

The rims are from a XXT but the XXXT versions should work also, the tires are the main weight differences though.

callmesamael

Maybe I'm confused. You said your current tires and rims are 2.75. But just the m3 tires (which I assume you have on right now) with stock rims are 4.0. Stock everything you said it was 4.75. Aren't the tires reducing only .75 (4.75-4.0=.75) then? Meanwhile the rims are making a 1.25 oz difference (4.0-1.25=2.75)? Am I dumb and missing something?

Meanwhile, since your tires have a slightly smaller diameter, I guess you're getting better acceleration with slower overall top speed?

callmesamael

On an unrelated note, I dropped my DT with its brushless esc ($130!) in a fountain yesterday....I was driving it at night on my school's campus and I thought a small group of rocks around an obelisk was just...a small group of rocks around an obelisk...I was at the edge of my transmitter range and didn't even know it when my truck did a flip into the water. When it didn't "crash" though, I knew something was wrong...ran over and it was backside up in the water...sinking fast. I ripped it out of the water and unplugged everything...noticed the ESC had colors blinking (not good). Took it home, cried a bit, then took a blowdryer to it. Freaked me out because it wasn't working for awhile (no throttle), then all the sudden...RESURRECTION! Cleaning out the bearings right now to ensure no rust...not out of the woods yet though...Still haven't given it a proper test run. *crossing my fingers*

powerslider

The weight of the Gladiators was taken with them mounted on the stock DT rims. The diameter difference is very small but the Gladiators will grow more under power so no loss of speed.

Good luck on the swimming fiasco, you might want to take the speed control apart to make sure and get it dried out completely, If they coat the board like Castle does you should be ok but that's risky business for sure...

callmesamael

PHEW! The truck seems okay. Got through half a battery with no problems. Man, I'm not one to take my truck for granted (how can you when you drop $600 on it?), but man, I was so grateful for my baby after today...Now, I'm off to go see how big a jump has to be before shocks explode.

powerslider

Well I got out tonight to annihalate the yard with the Gladiater equipped DT and got through 1 1/2 packs before the tranny let go, idler gear has no teethgo figure. Some times I guess too much power is just that, too much. So I think I'm going to boil the new gear in water a bit to see if it will last longer, that's supposed to make the gear less brittle so maybe the teeth won't sheer off.[]

callmesamael

Really? Boiling? Man, that sucks. Yeah, I guess that's why the guy from Horizon suggested the 4800...he said I'd rip my tranny apart (can't say I still wouldn't prefer it). What happens if you just start upgrading the parts one by one as they start breaking? I hear you end up bending and breaking more expensive parts...? Or can you play around with the the software? You have an xcelorin right? I don't know that much about troubleshooting but maybe lowering the motor timing? Acceleration? Throttle curve?