RoadRash19

Hi Everyone-

I purchase an 8ight-t RTR from Ultimatehobbies for $589 yesterday. Estimated delivery from Fedex tracking is for tomorrow. I don't do any organized racing. We have a 40 acre field behind my house where a few friends race/bash around. I'm definatley a beginner. I'm pretty mellow with the bashing compared to what I've seen others do...My previous ride was a Revo with the 2.5. I had fun with it but it didn't hold a tune very well. I upgraded it to the 3.3, and wasn't that happy with that engine either. I also got tired of breaking something just about every ride. Parts are cheap, so I figured out quickly to order 4 of the same part when it would break (shipping cost more than the part most the time). With the Revo, the only way I got it to handle very well was to lower the suspension to be more truggy-like (didn't know there was a such thing as a truggy at that point). About 6 months ago, I got so pissed at the revo that I gave it to my brother in law, and thought i was done with the hobby (did a 20mph endo and cracked the frame, motor mounts broke, and snapped 2 a-arms). I then started flying helo's. Now there's an expensive hobby for a noob...done with that...tried a few other things, but nothing did it for me like the trucks..so I started reading up on getting another monster truck, found people talking about truggies, and after spending the last 3 weeks doing hours of online searches/reading, I decided to try the 8ight-t. I went with the RTR figuring that I could upgrade parts if I started having problems with breakage. It seems like a great place to start. One of my field racing buddies (LST2), is talking about do some organized racing, so I might give it a shot. I don't know yet though, because I've seen videos (in my last three weeks of searching) of guys that can handle a truck that make me realize just how bad I drive! lol...

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi to everyone in here. And, ask for my type of skill/driving if you think I should do any upgrades to the 8t before I get going. I've read where I might want to replace the shock towers, caps, throttle servo, and put silicone in the diffs. What is the consensus on what I should replace right away? Also, if I was to buy some spare parts to have on hand, what would you guys suggest to order up? Nothing worse than having something break on a new truck and having to let it sit for a week while you wait for parts to come in. The LHS support around here is horrible. Only parts they carry are for the revo.

slayerphonics

If all you ever messed with is traxxas, get ready to actually enjoy the hobby
Truggies are 100% easier to work on, and use all Hex drivers no phillps crap, and far more durable

Oasis TR

Get some extra diff cases..A set of front hubs and a set of A arms..Not really anything weak but you should have a few spares in your box..you never know, I have seen guys crash their Revos at speeds faster than that and never break anything..Sometimes you just hit wrong..Like a Boy Scout..Be prepared

madmax22

cool. get what oasis said. those are the main parts that break. its mad hard to break a truggy but hit it hard and at the right spot somethings going to brake.

IL2mSturmovik

You made a good choice, IMO the 8T RTR is the best RTR

revoskid32

yes, very good decision.
i cant STAND my revo [:@], but i'm getting a truggy and my dads the revo taking because hes a very conservative driver. Also, we wanna drive together :P.

Anyways, as slayer said, prepare to enjoy the hobby and welcome to the forum.[8D]

RoadRash19

Thanks Oasis, I'll order spares up now. Nothing worse than having to pack it in for the day because something breaks.

Well, the wait is killing me. I keep checking the tracking number with Fedex. I can see that its at the distro center about 35 miles from here. I might call them and try to pick it up down there tomorrow if it doesn't go out on the first trucks. I don't think I can wait for an afternoon delivery...lol...

Thanks for the responses. I feel pretty good about the choice I made with the 8t. It seems like you really can't go wrong with any of the high end trucks. They are all pretty incredible. Here's the killer, I gave away all my rc truck stuff, everything, to my brother in law. I spent a small fortune purchasing stuff today at the LHS. That, and some bling for the new ride. My wife doesn't even know I bought the truck yet, wait till she finds out I blew almost another $400....but one thing I learned from my other hobby, dirt bikes, don't ask, just buy it...deal with the consequences later.

Thanks again for the comments and help guys...Weather here is supposed to be great tomorrow, so I should have a great day ahead.

cherokee180c

FYI to anybody else looking for an 8T RTR or roller. I just received my RTR yesterday for my son at 20% less (Sub $500) by using a 15% off cupon from modhobby.com. They are also running a blow out special on the race roller right now, which I picked up for myself at $429!

RoadRash19

Too bad the forum didn't have a running sticky post with the latest prices people are getting. That would be pretty cool. Cherokee, did you post the coupon code up somewhere for others? Without it, I see they are still $20 less than ultimate at $569.

Got the 8t today, then I spent a few hours going through it checking to make sure everything was snug and adjusted. Then I spent the rest of the time breaking it in. I was running my 5th tank through it when it was dark. I'm still taking it pretty easy on it for a few more tanks.

The only other truck I had was the revo. So WOW, what a difference. So easy to tune. I'm still running a litte richer than needed, but it goes from mid-70's during the day, to 45-50 when it's dark, so I'd be fighting against myself at this point to get it perfect. I kept the temps at about 205-210. Did I say this thing was easy to tune?

Handling so far is crazy. It turns on a dime. I kept worrying I was going to flip it. On a flat surface, I don't think I can. I can't wait until its fully run in and everything is adjusted the way I want. My friends with their MTs are gonna get killed..lol....Only thing I need to work on a little bit is the clutch. It slips a lot before engaging.

cherokee180c

Anyone can PM me and I will give them the code. Not sure what the rules are on posting.

Roadrash, I noticed the clutch takes a lot to engage as well. Let me know how you adjust if you get it better as this is my first nitro vehicle. Let us know what you upgrade as you go and why. I am not one to upgrade stuff just because everyone else thinks you need it unless it really does impact performance. Everything else I can wait till parts break to upgrade. I have been reading the the outer hinge pins bend easily, which from what I can tell are only on the rear near the wheel. I will probably get a set of aftermarket ones as spares now and then wait for the stocks to die. I also believe you have to put silicone in the diffs if you want to race.

RoadRash19

Hey Cherokee, I planned on only replacing things as they broke, and then got excited in the store and bought some stuff I probably don't need. I read that to adjust the clutch you have to change out the clutch springs. My revo was just a adjuster you turned.

I didn't get to run it much today, only 2 more tanks. Stupid holidays ruin all the fun! lol...I think it's still breaking in a bit because tuning was all over the place. And I kept having problems with it getting air in the lines and losing its prime. Seemed to happen right around half a tank. It didn't want prime up for me very easily unless it had a full tank again. Have you had this problem? I got frustrated trying to get a good tune on it today. But again I tried to run it between them times when the temp dropped almost 20 degrees in the time I was out there.

Tomorrow I'm going to work it again during steady temps, and hope to get it out in some dirt and try things out for real...

Styk97

i cant believe that ultimate hobbies has the RTR so cheap.. other places i have looked its been anywhere from 650-750....

cherokee180c

Modhobbies is currently $100 cheaper with the 15% off code!!!!

sloppyG

the OP already got a smoking deal at ultimatehobbies

Styk97

sent you a pm

cherokee180c

Did you buy?

Styk97

ya i ordered it this morning before i left work... Ive checked my email about 20 times today looking for a tracking number.. hopefully it doesnt come until monday, I have too much stuff to do this weekend and i know that this will definately distract me. thanks for the code. Ive been doing a lot of reading, getting ready for it. I am going to go to my local track www.barnstormersrc.com this friday and check it out. I cant wait to get into racing..

Styk97

Just called modhobby because i checked online and it showed the truck as being back ordered... They said it went out today UPS and I should have it by the weekend.. which is great and bad at the same time.. cant wait to get started.. anything is better than my MT2 that wont run through a tank of nitro..

luisev

Great decision and welcome... first things you should do...

Replace the shock caps with the aluminum ones
Replace the diff grease with diff oil
Make sure the throttle servo is set properly to avoid blowing it prematurely
Make sure the steering servo saver is set properly to avoid stressing the servo case and blowing it
Cut holes in the front windshield for proper air flow

Break in the motor properly and enjoy...

Styk97

do you have a part number for the shock caps?

RoadRash19

lol...I blew the throttle servo about 2 hours ago. I'm in the market now. And, I have no idea about the steering servo saver. Can you point me in the right direction on that? As you can see, I'm pretty new at this. Still frustrated that I blew out the throttle servo. I was just out tuning a little more. Feeling pretty good with my settings. Did a couple high speed passes, let off the throttle, made a turn, and no throttle response (thank god it happened when it was shut down, and not wot). The gears inside the servo seem fine, but the motor itself is dead. I'm going to buy from the lhs who has hitech and futaba. Not sure what to get. Hopefully something that will last. Any suggestions? Oh, I went through and checked the throttle servo before my first tank of fuel. It seemed fine to me from he factory. But obviously, it was not fine, or do the stock servos just blow up regardless?

Anyway, any info on the servo saver would be great, and suggestions for t/b servos. Thanks!

luisev

Sure... LOSA5420

luisev

Sorry to hear that you blew it already... it's a typical issue, so make sure you follow the instructions exactly and set your end points properly so there is no strain on the radio tray/TB Servo.

http://www.losi.com/ProdInfo/Files/L...e_Addendum.pdf

http://www.losi.com/ProdInfo/Files/8...ndum_LoRes.pdf

For the servo saver, you can see basic info here:

http://www.losi.com/ProdInfo/Files/8T-part1.pdf

I usually tighten it until it doesn't engage while at rest on my carpet and then tweak it once outside.

TB recommendations... I use JR Servos, but Hitechs are also a good choice. I've heard that people had good luck with the following:

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...oducts_id/7417

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...oducts_id/6775

My next TB will be an Ace servo:

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...oducts_id/5994

cherokee180c

Don't forget to send the throttle servo back to Horizon for free replacement. The 270's are basically worthless though. Put the 650 steering servo on the throttle and buy a Hitech 5955 or Ace 1015 for the steering.

Luisev,

Can you tell us how to adjust the steering servo saver? I found out where the adjustment screw is, but mine seems very tight (RTR). How should you set the amount of tension.

Styk97

how long is the warranty on the stock servos?