ARG0220

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum, so sorry in advance if I'm reposting anything. But im in quite the hurry, I'm writing this at work and kind of shouldn't be. Anyways like the subject states I havea Redcat Caldera 10e MT. I have already eaten one of the 51t spurs up (pebble got lodged in tranny.) and I was wondering what other options were available as far as gearing goes. I've seena kid online with a 60 something tooth steel gear for his Volcano. I know the Volcano is a smaller MT but was wondering if any Redcat parts are innerchangable. Up until now my buddies Traxxas Rustler couldn't hang with my Caldera MT. But just recently he has slapped a Castle 3900 brushless system into it, and has upgraded to most of the hop ups. He's one of those (I always have to be better.) kind of people. So any help anyone can offer would be great. Also you'd be assisting me in sweet vengeance. Lets put his foot in his mouth, and his $700.00 Rustler up his a**. :-D

Dads like rc too

I don't think the spurs are interchangeable. The center drive is completely different. You could swap to a 15 tooth pinion. I think it comes with a 13 tooth. Do that and swap your nihm to a 2s Lipo battery and hand your friend a Kleenex.

nitrosportsandrunner

not sure on any direct spur gear swaps. A custom job is possible tho.
Easier way to help the stock spur gear last longer is to adjust the punch control on the ESC...especially if you are running lipos. That, and the braking force. A hobbywing program card is the best way to do this. they can be bought on ebay for $15 or so. It can be programed just with the radio (listen to beeps, count them ect...a real pain)

on to the rustler. Your caldera is heavier, and runs 4wd. It also has a 380 finned out motor...and not a true 540 can motor like the rustler. so, it doesnt have as much torque. and its stock gearing is pretty close to the max it can run without overheating the esc/motor.
You can install a 1/8 scale motor and esc and cream the rustler....but doing so will put more strain on the driveline than it was meant to handle. There are upgraded diff gears availible, but even so, the caldera has no slipper clutch or center diff (as is the case with most 1/10 and 1/8 brushless trucks) so there is no point in the driveline to absorb the shock/loads placed on it.
But it can be done. a buddy of mine did. He ran a 1/8 scale system...80a-4s lipo ESC with a 2500kv brushless motor. some chassis mod (or rather hacks) were needed. It was indeed fast, but no longer durable.

what type of battery are you running now? If you are running 2s lipo, you can up to a 3s as long as you swap the ESC's fan power lead to get power from the reciever and not the ESC itself. a 3s lipo will provide to much pwoer to the fan threw the esc and thus burn out the fan. wireing it to get power form the reciever will allow it to get the proper voltage no matter what battery you run.
If your friend isnt running a 3s lipo, then you should still be able to best him by running a 3s in your caldera. but if he is...or does in the future, his rustler will keep a higher top end due to less weight/drag/mass.

ARG0220

Thank you both. The info has been really helpful. I currently run Venom 5000mah nimh. I don't currently have the money to do the switch to lipo. I'd need atleast two batteries and a new charger which could prove to be a pretty penny. I also ordered a 15t pinion not too long ago from Redcat but it's inner hole is way big compared to the motors shaft, and so won't fit. I must have purchased the wrong one. I love my Redcat...don't get me wrong. I've thrown it in harms way multiple times and have walked away fine. I live out in the woods and there is a super steep hill that we've built a bashing ramp on, and the Rustler has had TONS of broken parts. But the lack of aftermarket support plus the lack of brand parts to modify kind of sadden me. But i'll look into the correct pinion, lipo, and ofcourse Kleenex. Thanks again!

nitrosportsandrunner

ah...a venom nimh.

well there is plenty of pep left in your caldera then. runing brushless on a nimh is like running a drag car on pump gas. It needs proper fuel. Im sure you nimh is pretty warm after its been run? Thats cuase the motor is trying to pull more than the battery can provide.
A 2s 5000mah pack will add a good 3-5mph more to your top speed....as well as improve acceleration.
A 3s lipo will add 15mph I think...maybe more.
You can buy a 2s 5000mah lipo and a charger for $80. Hobbypartz.com has some great stuff at the lowest prices. I run skylipo brand packs and have been for a couple of years. I use the thunder AC6 lipo/nimh charger. Both are sold on hobbypartz.com. You wont find lipo/charger for less and they ship from usa. You may have to save up alittle to go lipo...but it will be well worth the wait!

this pinion gear should work: http://www.redcatracing.com/11173-15T I do not reccomend gearing up tho. The gearing is very close to max as it is stock. improving your battery power is a safer way to increase speed. gearing up may cause the system to overheat and thus thermal shutdown.
the one you got is for the 8e models...their motors have 5mm shafts. the 1/10 scale models (except the twister) have motors with 3mm shafts.

there are many alloy upgrade parts availilble. kinda pricey tho. The front "C" hubs and steering hubs would be the upgrades I would buy.

Dads like rc too

Nitrosports is definitely the one to consult when it comes to questions regarding electric, I do want to say though that we've run a 15 tooth pinion on my son's Caldera 10e and have never had a problem. Now to be honest, I've never put the temp gun on it. I couldn't even tell you what the running temp should be, electric is really just not my thing. I bought this Caldera 10e used almost two years ago and really just never paid much attention to it. It's been bullet proof with the exception of the front steering knuckles which we eventually upgraded to aluminum. But other than that, I geared it up to the 15 tooth and swapped to 2s lipo and have been running it that way for over a year now without any issues. But I don't want you to take my advice and wind up burning something up, just telling you what has worked for me.

nitrosportsandrunner

it may depend on where you are running the caldera.
my friend had one that he put a tmaxx roll cage/body panels on. this added some weight. he had the stock gearing and ran a 2s lipo. In a sand pit he ran a full pack. when he put in a second pack tho, it only ran for a minute before it thermal shutdown due to heat. While he had stock gearing, the added weight combined with running in deep sand and up sand hills was to much for the motor.
If on flatter/harder ground, the increased gearing may be ok. I assumed based on my friends truck that gearing up might not be wise. But I havent done it myself. If Dads has run 15t without issue then it may be fine on the right surfaces.
I dont like to have my ESC's run over 140=150 degrees. Motors can run 160 and be safe. I have run a brushless motor as hot as 190 before without damage...but 160 is a better range for long life.
Temp guns are $15-$20...and worth the price if you want to experiment with gearing or different batterys or different tire sizes. Its alot cheaper than having to replace your ESC or motor because they got to hot. While the ESC has a thermal shutdown, you cant always rely on that stuff....and it doesnt kick in until the temps reach a dangerously high range.
My trusty duratrax temp gun has prevented me from burning up more than a few systems!

Dads like rc too

Where you run will definetly play a part in overall temps. My son just bashes around the yard mostly. I run it through the grass chasing the dog with it. Running through thick grass will usually overheat most equipment, so far it has not been a problem. We also have larger diameter tires on it " I think", they're zombie wheels and tires from Losi. This is giving it a little more top speed as well as probably compensating for the larger pinion. I can't imagine having the smaller pinion I. It or the smaller tires, the torque it has now crazy.

nitrosportsandrunner

im lost, are the tires you have smaller or larger? larger tires is the same as gearing up. if you have geared up 2 teeth and are running taller tires then gearing up alone will certainly be fine.
if you are running smaller tires with a larger pinion then the overall gearing may be about the same as stock.
lower gearing...or smaller tires alone will increase torque/acceleration
taller gearing or larger tires alone will increase top speed (untill its over geared and over heats) and can reduce torque some.

Dads like rc too

Yes, geared up with the 15 tooth pinion and taller tires which is also gearing up. I figured after what you posted about overheating with a bigger pinion, my sons Caldera should be smoking with his setup, but it's been running fine.

nitrosportsandrunner

what type of battery are you running?

Dads like rc too

4000mah, 2s. Turnigy 30-40c

nitrosportsandrunner

it appears I should retract my earlier statement. If you have larger tires, 15t pinion and a 2s and its not overheating then obviously just the 15t pinion will be fine. Perhaps my friends custom roll cage was heavier than I remember? I mean, a full 2s lipo pack was fine...but running a second right after the 1st was enough to cause it to thermal shutdown.
Ive had a caldera before, but never got to radar it.

Dads like rc too

Well as I said earlier I am just giving my opinion on the question. I want to reiterate to other members reading this that I would consult Nitroports before myself on electric related questions. I am definetly geared more towards nitro equipment. My electric experience is minimal and personally, I've watched Nitrosports answer questions on the forum about electric equipment that I could not. I know his personal interest is in electric related whereas mine is almost strictly nitro. I am certainly not attempting to correct you about the gearing issue. I'm sure what you said makes perfect sense, just for me, I've never had any heat issues with my sons Caldera running back to back packs.

Eshore

I run either I desire (20-21T pinion) with a 100amp Hobbyking Esc & a Leopard hobby 3300kv with Traxxas Telemetry. I've mostly run 2s on hard dirt track and my temps are good, and if it does reach 145 degrees I usually will let it sit a while but I've been pretty good, and my speeds are blazing. But I will throw the 3s lipo in and smoke the street and this trucks hasn't giving me much problems besides me having to make another screw hole for the 21T pinion to fit. lol
Big thanks to nitrosport for guiding me along with the transition.

nitrosportsandrunner

thats a good safe temp. You could almost gear up a tad more...as I have run 160 degrees. Most brushless motors can run as hot as 180-200 at the max before damage is done. so 160 is a good "max" all-around temp. Naturally, running under that will mean your motor lasts that much longer.

Eshore

Did your friend have a brushed Rustler and then went brushless, because I have 2 Rustlers VXL's and they will blaze straight out the gate. I will admit that I haven't had much problems with my Caldera, but I also have one of my Rustlers still stock with only a broken castor block ever happen, but maybe I'm not hard enough on them. I've run both on my small track out back and with jumps and I can do well with the Caldera and that 4wd does nice on the track, but the Rustler runs great on the track. Now if I use my Stampede, The Caldera makes it look dumb on the track, but if I go to the streets with them. My one Stampede can whip the Caldera in straight speed, but I have added weight to the front of the Stampede and lowered the shocks and changed spur/pinion gears.
But overall the Caldera 10E is a very solid truck and built pretty durable. I love mine and can whip folks with it if they sleep on it. Lol

nitrosportsandrunner

the big diff between the caldera and traxxas vxl models (other than price!) is that the caldera has a rather small brushless motor. While its fast for a $200 truck, it will not match a lighter-2wd traxxas with a full 540 sized brushless motor. That vxl motor more powerful for sure. Even if you took the caldera motor and put it in the rustler or stampede it would not be as fast cause it just doesnt take as much amps.
But that is one of the reasons a 1/10 vxl is near $400 while the caldera is $200.
Its great tho that there are now a few 1/10 4wd models on the market with these lower power brushless systems at a lower cost. They may be smaller brushless motors, but they are still WAAAYYYY better than the brushed motors that used to be the norm.

Guys, when I first started with electric rc's I was happy to get 25mph without overheating my motor, and 10 minute runtimes were the norm as well. And that was on a 2wd chassis! Now a $200 4wd truck with a $30 lipo battery will do around 35mph and run for 25-30 minutes!

Eshore

Very true Nitro, Because that same Stampede I got is the same one that only ran 25mph back in the day. It was an original 3610 model from the 90's, and to see todays cars and then look at a brushed truck today and then seeing a Redcat brushless for less price makes my day fun. I can purchase something fast and powerfull for the price of a brushed car price, and still have money in the pocket to put towards something else. I love RC's despite the brand, shoot I still have a few Radio Shack Rc's(Lightning & F150 truck) in the basement and still wish I had my 1st Rc, the Tyco Turbo Bandit, but in todays market if I can get a nice built one and priced less makes my day fun...Lol