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Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Land Models / July 2005Best Electric Stadium Truck
I may be looking at getting a better stadium truck for racing soon, I already have a Traxxas Rustler with a new steering servo, (having trouble getting the steering centered by the way. . . so if anyone can tell me how to do this I'd appreciate it), Speed Gems Amber 17T motor and some other minor hop ups, but was looking for another stadium racer that I could move these parts over too. If you think the Rustler is a good truck just let me know, so far I like it but am having some problems with the steering as noted above and the ESC gets hot although the motor stays cool. Maybe a new ESC will help give me greater control over the speed as well. I really need to get the steering fixed to enjoy the truck, just yesterday it started pulling hard when I went through loose dirt and sometimes even on pavement, somehow the steering got so out of whack that even with the steering trim turned all the way to one side or the other it wouldn't quit pulling. To try to fix it I tried alot and the last one seems to have helped but I can't be sure it won't do again alot of what I tried worked fine for a few minutes and back to the problem. To fix it I unscrewed the white gear from outside of the servo assembly and took it off, then I turned on the remote/radio and car. Then set the steering trim to zero and put the white gear back on keeping the wheels as straight as I could. Now to keep the car straight I have to move the steering trim to the left just a bit. In the dirt it still pulls but only loose dirt and I think that is because I've almost worn the stock tires completely out on the inside of one of them. Sorry for any grammar or spelling errors, It is 7am here and I havn't been to bed since 11am yesterday. Hope to hear from you guys soon about how to fix the steering or center it and also about a better stadium truck if there is one. Keep in mind the Rustler was only 150 bucks for the RTR kit. I don't want to spend much more than 250 bucks if I were to get a new one. As soon as I can afford it I will get new rims and tires but that is 50 bucks and I wanted to try to hold out until the tires I have are worn out, I plan on getting Proline Dirthawgs and probably RPM Clawz rims in white, want to dye them to match whatever body I get. I think I'll get an Atomik F-150 prepainted body. I also have RPM bearing carriers in the rear but not the front even though I have the carriers for the front. I thought you only needed one bearing for each wheel instead of two so I only ordered four bearings. So now they are all on the back wheels and I still havn't installed the front carriers. My LHS only had shielded in stock so I'm just going to wait for sealed. The truck is actually very fast atm. That is all I can think of at the moment due to my sleep deprivation, lol, see you guys on tomorrow. Are you sure it is the steering that is pulling? Do the wheels look straight? All 4 wheels must spin freely, as a bound one will cause it to pull to that side. Like you said, it may be the tires worn causing it. It could also be your diff. When one tire breaks loose it will get all the power. In soft dirt I can see this happeneing with a fast motor. You said one tire was more bald, is it one of the rears? This is a sign the diff is spinning that tire more then the other. Run on pavement and if it goes straight there, but pulls in loose dirt then your steering is fine. I have never run anything hotter then a 27 turn in my Rustler or Stampede so I can't tell you from experience. The Rustler has a planetary gear diff. My T4 has a ball diff, much better at keeping the power even to the rear wheels. They make a ball diff for the Rustler but it's not cheap. As for a race truck, I would run the Rustler first. After a few races, when you start getting the hang of it, you can consider upgrading. The Rustler's advantage in Beginner's Class Racing is it won't break as easily as the race designed trucks. When my nephew (9) wanted to start racing I bought him a Rustler. I told him when I saw he was no longer running into everything at full speed I would upgrade him. On his last birthday I got him an Associated T4. I have seen adults race Rustler's as well so that's not just advice for kids. Once you get to the point that your not bashing into everything and are actually racing, see what the other drivers are driving. I love my T4, but if nobody else around you has one and the LHS does not carry parts for them then it might not be the best for you. Both the T4 and XXXT are great trucks very closely matched. I would also like to see you TRY racing before dropping lots of cash on it. You might need a different motor, at our track beginner have to have Stock class motors, but you won't be out a bunch of cash. If you decide you don't like racing for any reason your not trying to sell off a bunch of stuff. > Are you sure it is the steering that is pulling? Do the wheels look > straight? All 4 wheels must spin freely, as a bound one will cause it [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > decide you don't like racing for any reason your not trying to sell off > a bunch of stuff. I've already replaced the factory motor :( Yes one of the rear tires is more worn than the other but only on the inside, I think this is because the truck is so fast that when I turn it ends up spinning around and doing a 180. It drives straight on the dirt and pavement at lower to middle speeds but at high speeds it tends to go off to one side like I'm steering it off., especially on pavement with gravel or dirt on it. >> Are you sure it is the steering that is pulling? Do the wheels look >> straight? All 4 wheels must spin freely, as a bound one will cause it [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > speeds but at high speeds it tends to go off to one side like I'm steering > it off., especially on pavement with gravel or dirt on it. Set your front toe 1-2* out, and your rear toe 1-2* in, this will help stabilize the truck at high speeds. Doc >>> Are you sure it is the steering that is pulling? Do the wheels look >>> straight? All 4 wheels must spin freely, as a bound one will cause it [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > > Doc I'm not sure how to adjust the toe, what does 1-2* mean? > I'm not sure how to adjust the toe, what does 1-2* mean? Ok, here's a lousy demonstration (looking at truck from above): Zero toe: ! ! --> Your wheels are pointing "straight" Toe in: / \ --> Your wheels are pointing "in" Toe out: \ / --> Your wheels are pointing "out" The numbers I mentioned are degrees. 1-2* toe-in = 1-2 degrees pointing in. I'm not sure if the rustler comes with adjustable tie-rods or not, but if they are, you can toe in by lengthening the tie rods (by turning the tie rod ends on the threaded shaft) and you can toe out by shortening the tie rod length. Camber can also affect stright-line stability, but not as much as toe settings. HTH, Doc >> I'm not sure how to adjust the toe, what does 1-2* mean? > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Doc You said toe in on the front and toe out on the back? >>> I'm not sure how to adjust the toe, what does 1-2* mean? >> [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > You said toe in on the front and toe out on the back? Yeah, they have opposite effects front and rear, so you want 1-2* toe out on the front and 1-2* toe in on the rears. Doc You can adjust the front on the Rustler. The silver rods that go from the steering to the wheels, lengthen them. Hitting things tends to give you a toe-out condition so this is something you need to check every once in a while. You can't do it on the back so don't worry about that. > You can adjust the front on the Rustler. The silver rods that go from > the steering to the wheels, lengthen them. Hitting things tends to > give you a toe-out condition so this is something you need to check > every once in a while. > > You can't do it on the back so don't worry about that. Lengthening those rods will produce a toe *in* effect like I would have suggested. Doc/Techpreist, I think we are kind of all on track, except I think we are all explaining it in different ways :) As far as I know (and have practiced): front toe in = straight line stability front toe out = better turn into corners (but at the expense of straight line stability) yay/nay? Cheers Dre I was just trying to be "Rustler-Specific" and did not even notice the conflict above. I will have to disagree with Doc on the toe-out in the front. My personal experience has been that any toe-out makes it wander and not track straight at any speed. This fits not only RC but the real cars I have driven. I am no RC expert and, like all humans, remember stuff wrong on occasion so I went to Associateds website and pulled up their very helpful RC Handbook. Copied from RC Handbook V2- "Front adjustment. Changing toe on the front wheels is probably the best way to get that last little fine tuning adjustment right. Adding a little toe-in will reduce turn in slightly, and produce a car that tracks well in a straight line. On the other hand, reducing toe-in, or adding a little (very little) toe-out can provide a slight increase in steering. As with all suspension adjustments - go a little at a time. Front toe adjustment should never exceed 3 degrees negative, or 1-degree positive toe (RPM make a great toe-gauge to help you measure exactly what you've got)." The RC Handbook was not written by AE and does not pertain to their products only. I would recommend it for anybody new to tuning. Their are also several other free guides on the site below. http://www.rc10.com/newprod/tuning_guides.htm > I was just trying to be "Rustler-Specific" and did not even notice the > conflict above. I will have to disagree with Doc on the toe-out in the [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > are also several other free guides on the site below. > http://www.rc10.com/newprod/tuning_guides.htm Hi, I really wasn't trying to nit pick :) I just saw a different view to what I was used to and thought it would be interesting to expand on the topic. The text above is what I've been used to as well. Doc, maybe your truck pulling to the right under power is due to your front toe out? Might be a solution to try maybe a degree of toe in and see how you go... Thanks all! Cheers Dre > >> Are you sure it is the steering that is pulling? Do the wheels look > >> straight? All 4 wheels must spin freely, as a bound one will cause it [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > > Doc I'm still stuck on the fact that your running toe out on the fronts!! Normally toe out helps turn into corners but at the expense of straight line ability. Normally if your having trouble with a car that doesn't drive striaght, you chuck some toe in on the fronts. If your having trouble with turn into corners, chuck some toe out on the fronts. Please correct me if I am wrong. Cheers Dre |
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