Road Warrior

My Feedback: (1)

I am going to sell one of my trucks so I can get a on road car. I was going to post it on here just to give you guys first dibs before it goes on ebay. It doesn't come with a radio or receiver, but there is a extra set of rear arms and mounts, stock tires a brand new lrp .18 and 2 extra hitec mg servos. One hs-625mg super torque and a hs-615mg ultra power. For you guys $150 it will be on ebay for $175

JUBE

very very nice that fire fastandloud

mercerbeef

looks good fast, making me rethink a new body lol. the lhs has a porche cayanne body on the shelf for sale

Blueroost40

Hey guys quick question brought on by a youtube vid. A guy toom an empty cylinder like object, closed one end and attached a fuel line to the open end. He drilled a hole below his carb/high speed needle, added a nipple and put the other end of the fuel line on the nipple. Anyone know what the hell this accomplishes?

JUBE

someone knows what spur gear can be adapted to change the relationship

nitro-rob

Jube - as far as I know there is only the 50T spur gear for the storm unless you are willing to switch to 1 mesh gearing. Then you have a pretty wide range of gearing available to you.

I have no idea what that can would do other than maybe increase the void capacity of the crankcase for pressure reasons or something. Was it a nitrous canister? Can you post a link to the video?

JUBE

I saw that someone on this forum to put a spur gear of another truck

nitro-rob

It was Road Warrior and I that did that. I assume you want to go faster and not slower? He used the revo spur gear and I used one from a TNX. You have to reduce the size of the slipper clutch plates to do this. Its pretty easy once you do that, though, just cut down slipper pads to fit in the new gear and assemble it in a similar way to the the stock truck.

The description and image are on page 188 and there was a lot of discussion on this topic around there.

JUBE

thank nitro im go to see that

Road Warrior

My Feedback: (1)

Blue you are talking about a boost bottle. I have one on my car that you can see in the last pic in my profile. They are supposed to ballance out the positive and negative pressure that is created in the crankcase. It is very hard to explain. Simplified it will reduce the amount of blow back that comes up through the carb from the piston going down while the crank is still opened and it allows for the fuel to travel into it when it is closed. Then it gets sucked into the motor when the crank opens back up. It is supposed to give a smoother powerband and a stronger bottom end. It is not a major improvement but it does work. Not worth drilling a hole if you have no experience unless your motor comes made for it with a screw in the side.

controlliner

Has anyone tried to put a .12 engine in their Storm to make it more suitable on a smaller technical track? If so what were your results.

Road Warrior

My Feedback: (1)

I personally have not but have read on other forums that they have with good results. If you compare it to the gt2 they are pretty much identical platforms so you know you can't go wrong. They are even the same down to the gearing the storm has a 4.11 trans and the associated is a 4.09.

nitro-rob

Road Warrior - thanks for that information. I wondered how boost bottles worked and figured it had to do with crank case pressure but wasn't sure. I may do the mod some time, I guess it just needs a nipple and a hole tapped.

Controlliner - I have never heard of anyone doing this. People usually go big instead of small. I know a few people that put .15's in their storm but it was just because they had the motor around from another truck.

Road Warrior

My Feedback: (1)

No prob man. The only thing with boost bottles and I know what video he is talking about. You cant just take and empty a marker out and connect it to the case. The volume inside the bottle is supposed to be the same as that inside the crank case.

1ne8ighty2wo

My Feedback: (2)

If anyone wants the manual, decals, and DVD that come with the firestorm feel free to PM me. I'll send them to you for free if you pay for shipping (should only be a couple dollars). I sold my firestorm and just found the laying around so I don't have a use for them.

mercerbeef

Is anyone using or have tried the carbon fiber shock towers? I saw them on the E-firestorm thread, I was thinkking of ordering some for all 3 trucks(nitro storm, estorm, and blitz)


http://www.xtremercracing.com/FIRESTORM.cfm

SwissBoy

Sup guys, I'm looking at getting one of these as my first nitro...I am an experienced rc guy, and a good driver. I want to get one of these mainly because of the price...it's like $100 cheaper than a nitro Rustler, which two of my friends have. I want to know if I'm gonna be able to give them a run for their money (quite literally) with the firestorm? It looks a lot tougher, and it obviously has a bigger engine...but is it around the same speed as a Rustler?

Thanks...

nitro-rob

I had a few nitro rustlers and the 2.5R engine is a lot stronger than the G3. Its hard for a side-exchaust engine to compete with a rear exhaust. Chassis-wise I would say the storm is a lot better. Its a newer design and the plastic upper plate of the rustler is quite dated. The best way to beat them, though, is to be driving your firestorm while they are replacing the piston and sleeve every gallon and a half.

SwissBoy

Alright, but how can a 3.0 be less powerful than a 2.5? Sounds like I will definitely outlast them, and perhaps beat them in the off-road? Are there any modifications I could do to the 3.0 or the car itself to make it faster?

nitro-rob

The engines are totally different. Rear exhaust engines produce a lot more power. You can push a lot more mixture in and out of a rear exhaust. Cylinder porting has a big effect on power and the specifications between the two engines are very different. For example, there are .21 engines that can destroy a .28 or .32 engine for power. Smaller engines generally have faster throttle response.

There aren't many avenues to make a G3 more powerful. It can be ported and an aftermarket exhaust can be installed but it won't be enough. The best way to beat them is to install a big block. They are pretty popular in this forum if you read back, especially last spring/summer, you can see some of the setups. A .21 makes the truck come to life nicely. You can also install an OS .18 TZ engine. Its very powerful and will walk on the traxxas 2.5R. There are other small blocks that would make the storm beat the rustler as well that are .15 and even .12's.

A stock firestorm goes 35-40 mph.

I forgot to say welcome to the forum.

SwissBoy

Thanks, I've been here a while...but just never post, lol. I have been very active over on RCGroups with airplanes, but this happens to be where the Firestorm thread is. :P

Ok, thanks for the examples. I'm (attempting) to do this on the cheap, so is it going to be really expensive to upgrade the storm with a new engine? I would leave it for now, but in the future. How much do the various engines you mentioned go for? And is it a big task to replace one?

I like driving 2WD trucks, just like the way they handle, and I have driven my friends new rustler a few times now...fun stuff!!!

I wonder why HPI made it a side exhaust engine then, since it is so inferior?

Thanks for da help.

nitro-rob

The big block kit is 38 dollars plus shipping (which is expensive) otherwise you would need to adapt a big block mount to the chassis by drilling holes. Big block engines run from 120-500 dollars but you can expect to spend between 100-200 for most. The .18TZ is something like 150-170 and its a bolt in but you also need to get an exhaust header and better exhaust ($?). To go with the stronger engine you would need to upgrade the gearing (15-25$), see page 188 and the discussion around there about that.

Changing engines is very easy. The big block mount kit from neweramodels is a direct bolt in and there is loads of help available in the thread here to set up the exhaust and throttle servo and taller gearing.

Before big blocks came to surface RC side engine small blocks were the industry standard. They are reliable motors that produce enough power for their purpose. Many manufacturers have them in their cars and truggies still. The firestorm in stock form with a G3 is peppy and fun as it is for 90% of people who buy it. The big block movement is purely overkill and in my opinion usually part of a specific application like drag racing or a challenge (or chest beating/grunting).

SwissBoy

WOO! That .18TZ looks like a beast... I think in the future I may do the engine upgrade to something like that one, but will have to be satisfied for now. Good thing for the web! I'd be sooo lost in this hobby otherwise, lol.

Haha, yeah, "chest grunting" is just what I had in mind.

Would you know a "short list" of things I need to be prepared for with the Storm? Like stuff that I should do before I run it (outside of what the manual says). I notice the steering servo might be inadequate compared to others...how does it hold up? So yeah, any necessary upgrades I will have to do? What parts are most frequently broken? (My lhs will want to know, )

nitro-rob

The steering servo is a common upgrade but other than that the truck is solid. I run that servo in my e-firestorm and its not a big deal to run it in the nitro either since its 2wd the front end is lifting off the ground so much anyways. I think part of the bad rap the servo has is that its was traditionally used as a throttle servo.

The rear tires don't last too long but they are a standard 2.2". Its not a bad tire, its just that pin tires wear quickly in general. Also get a hump pack and replace the battery harness. A set of four 3x6.2.5 bearings are good to get for the steering so you can replace the crappy bushings in the steering. The RPM bumper from the associated T4 provides good protection. A front bulkhead set, dogbones (they are hard to find if they come out), spare slipper pads, spur gears and servo saver kit is worth having in stock. A popular upgrade is the savage 3-shoe flywheel and clutch over the two shoe setup with spring that breaks often.

There are loads of upgraded parts for the e-firestorm and blitz most are compatible with the storm. Integy, teamstrc.com, neweramodels.com are the best place to get aftermarket stuff.

If you go bigblock you will need to check the differential shim.

Honestly, if you did no upgrades you wouldn't have a problem with the truck. If you want high speed and power and want to push it then it goes on forever what you can do.

Once you get the truck you should check the spur gear mesh, tighten the servo saver nut and apply loctite to it, check if the servo's are centered properly then break it in (I recommend heat cycling versus the idle method in the manual) and just drive.

Blueroost40

Since we're on the topic of alternate engines, i have 2 question about the .18 tz. 1) I looked at a pic of the .18 tz (rotary carb) and it looks like the pilot shaft is different from the slide carb .18 tz., is there a way to make the roatary carb .18 work on the firestorm? 2) Is there a way to make the .18 tz (slide carb) work with the firestorm b/c from what ive gathered the throttle linkage wouldnt pull the slide carb in the proper direction to properly pull the carb open.