No upgrades, stock..... but it's already a very decent monster truck! My first Traxxas car - liking it!

OH the upgrades --- don't have money for them yet...and I can't see anything that I really need to upgrade unless you're racing it I guess but maybe the servos, steering link, wheelies, stiffer springs (stocks are fine btw).

The RED TRAXXAS TUBES™ FOR E-REVO look really cool but the stock shinny silver steel Push Rods/Links are already very durable and look okay

Here is a very boring video of me running in the Truck the other day (Gears, Slipper and etc), Traxxas support suggest me to take it easy on the first 2 runs to run in the moving parts FIRST, then tighten other parts (like the slipper clutch) as needed. It's very smooth now and I have finely tuned the truck as much as I know how to like the steering links (replaced to use the max servo limit brace, I found it was too limited on the amount of steer you can have with the original setup), camber, alignment, Pivot ball caps (pain in the butt to get them right tightness), check screws tightness, lubed the center gears and pinion , thread locked the wheel nuts and etc...

My new Traxxas E-Revo Brushless Edition Monster Truck (5608) (1 min 53 sec)

Originally Posted by carrotcake

OH the upgrades --- don't have money for them yet...and I can't see anything that I really need to upgrade unless you're racing it I guess but maybe the servos, steering link, wheelies, stiffer springs (stocks are fine btw).

The RED TRAXXAS TUBES™ FOR E-REVO look really cool but the stock shinny silver steel Push Rods/Links are already very durable and look okay

Here is a very boring video of me running in the Truck the other day (Gears, Slipper and etc), Traxxas support suggest me to take it easy on the first 2 runs to run in the moving parts FIRST, then tighten other parts (like the slipper clutch) as needed. It's very smooth now and I have finely tuned the truck as much as I know how to like the steering links (replaced to use the max servo limit brace, I found it was too limited on the amount of steer you can have with the original setup), camber, alignment, Pivot ball caps (pain in the butt to get them right tightness), check screws tightness, lubed the center gears and pinion , thread locked the wheel nuts and etc...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKI5FkQYtQE

Is there someplace to read about your suggestions, and what you did to
yours and why ??

I just got a brand new one yesterday, and dont want to drive it untill I know what to do to keep it perfect for a very long time
****(and I did NOT get it for a trophy queen)****

VERY nice. I'm green with envy.

Looks like you never got above about 1/3 throttle in that vid, hehehe.

I'm sure you're out there ripping up some dirt area by now though.

Personally, I'm torn between a 4WD monster truck and a 4WD buggy. Leaning toward a buggy for better stability and cheaper power system. On short grass like you've got there, I think it would be fine.

Let's see some more videos on some more hardcore offroad surfaces!

Thanks for the comments guys! - I will post some videos once I get a chance and yes I am bashing my truck right now tho not going crazy ! Still trying to get a feel of driving this thing...it's much different than my 1/10 buggies and 1/18 cars/truck....because mainly of it's size and it's a monster truck . Even though it's handling is already very good compared to other trucks in it's class but still it's a monster truck after all and you just have to get use to it's turning, acceleration and braking.... etc...

moparmyway - I really didn't do much with the truck except getting broke by paying for the spare wheels/tires for this truck (man they're so damn expensive!!!) and Lipos, an aftermarket set of Shocks and some minor spare parts. As to waht I did I pretty much said it above...but if you have any questions...feel free to ask and I will see if I can answer - I ain't no expert btw so dont' expect much :P cheers and good luck with your truck! And most importantly, have FUN !!

Originally Posted by carrotcake

moparmyway - I really didn't do much with the truck except getting broke by paying for the spare wheels/tires for this truck (man they're so damn expensive!!!) and Lipos, an aftermarket set of Shocks and some minor spare parts. As to waht I did I pretty much said it above...but if you have any questions...feel free to ask and I will see if I can answer - I ain't no expert btw so dont' expect much :P cheers and good luck with your truck! And most importantly, have FUN !!

OK, COOL !!!
I understand what youre saying here, but because I havent even torn open the plastic, I lost you in the above post.(max servo limit brace...pivot ball caps tight..???)

I guess I will start by re-glueing and balancing my tires

I will take some time to read manual and explore truck before I ask you anything else.........................Planes seem easier (newbie to this E-REVO or truck/buggy stuff)

Originally Posted by moparmyway

OK, COOL !!!
I understand what youre saying here, but because I havent even torn open the plastic, I lost you in the above post.(max servo limit brace...pivot ball caps tight..???)

I guess I will start by re-glueing and balancing my tires

I will take some time to read manual and explore truck before I ask you anything else.........................Planes seem easier (newbie to this E-REVO or truck/buggy stuff)

I am a noob too!!!!!!! Yep. I did the same thing too. I opened the box, looked at the beautiful truck many times and then start reading the Manuals (over and over again) - but you don't need to go through the whole booklet unless you really want to.

Tips for reading the manuals:
1. All you really need to read are the User Manual and the addendum page for the Castle MMM and TQ radio stuff - oh..maybe these are the only manuals included - Duh! sorry hehe

2. Anyway, if I were you, new to R/C Monster Truck of this scale but have some R/C knowledge, I would just go through page 5, 6, 9 (just the radio TX, forget about the twin motor stuff on the right), 12, 13, 14, 20 to 31. Use the Addendum sheet for reference only like to sync your radio and the MMM ESC and if you need, and to see the basic function of the radio tx.

That's pretty much it.

To make it a little easier to read here I will try to highlight what I did with my new truck ---- these are IN order how I did them:

1. Suspension tuning - sounds complicate? NO - you can refer to Manual Pages 21, 22, 28, 29 and 30. BUT, if you're like me, just using this truck to have fun for bashing...and perhaps running this in Tracks - NOT Racing then really you should Leave your truck with Stock or original Settings. The only thing I did was adjusted the Spring tension by turning the the threads on the 4 suspensions's or "pre-load" in the manual. I made my shocks stiffer.

2. Toe adjustment - page 23 - just turn the toe rods to your liking. I used Factory settings except I have a tinny bit more than 1 degree toe in for the REAR.

3. Pivot Ball Caps - page 22 - This one IS tricky! Well just time consuming - for ME. Maybe it's different with other ERBL but from my experience, you need to find the right "tightness" for the Privot Ball Caps to have your suspension or pivot ball (inside the Pivot Ball caps) move freely. I strongly suggest you find the right "tightness" before you do the Camber Adjustment in step 4 below. OK OK - for me I turned the Pivot Ball Caps to FULL tightness - DON"T go crazy or over tightening the caps or you might break something! And then back off abt 3/4 of a Turn. In ANY case, you FULL tighten the caps, put on the Wheels, and press on the front or rear end of the car to test if the suspension moves smoothly. Of course if you have the Pivot Ball Caps all fully tighten you will for sure notice the suspensions seem "Stuck". That's why you have to "Loosen" the caps to the level of your liking (at least at a point the suspensions move freely). "OVER" loosening the caps may affect your alignment and your handling / Turning - especially high speed turns on concrete surface. Someone pitch in here if I miss anything but just don't over loosen or tighten. Some people say to revisit the pivot ball caps settings but for me I will just leave them alone unless I notice anything wrong with them....they're a pain! For me and I hate to unscrew the wheel nuts for this process (to take off the wheels/tires) especially when they're all tighten with Thread Locks!

4. Camber Adjustment - page 23 - again I used factory setting or I should say you can just leave this alone unless you really have some noticeable "strange" negative/positive camber set with your ERBL. I actually have maybe tinny wee bit close to -1 to 0 degree camber setting (I tend to like my tires flat on the ground - maybe different for you).

5. Steering - page 26 - could be very time consuming. First off, the stock steering limiting "stopper" is in my opinion NOT ACCEPTABLE but after you do a first run of your ERBL with 6s lipos, you will understand why. But still, the stock setting is not acceptable to me in any case. I changed to the optional max. steering travel stopper (comes with the ERBL). Refer to page 26 to change it, it's easy. But before you do that, you may also want to adjust the length of the 2 steering links. FORGET about the length that's indicated in the manual, adjust the length of the links so that when the servos are at Neutral, the Steerling travel stopper is "Horizontal" as per the Picture in page 26. Yes, there will be a lot of screwing and unscrewing of the screws that attach the steering link to the stopper and/or servo arms. I am sure if you don't do this tuning your truck can still turn but for sure you will hear the servos fighting each other while both are trying to center themselves at the same time (to me, this is sounds like wearing out the servos).

6. Motor Pinion Gear and Spur Gear Meshing. Open up the case (page 25) and see iff the Pinion is aligned "properly" with the Spur gear. Very easy check and only ONE single screw to unscrew! Also, cut a small piece of plain paper strip (width should be fairly close to the width of the motor pinion) and put it through between the pinion and spur gear. Rotate the pinion or spur gear to 'drag" the strip of paper in and check the "tension" yourself by looking at the strip of paper when it comes out from the other end. If the strip of paper is pretty "flat" that means the meshing isn't proper or there is too much distance between the teeth of the pinion and the spur gear. Adjust accordingly, I think you know how to do this anyway but I thought I just writei t down anyway. I put some Grease on motor pinion gear and the spur gear - my preference (http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-gre...2-p-24588.html)

7. Don't need to thread lock your wheels YET, but do tighten the wheels. Go for an Easy run or Two...take it EASY! Don't go full throttle To run in the Gears.

8. Tighten the Slipper Clutch as per page 24 and back off 1/4

9. Thread lock your wheels - the blue ones

10. Check all screws's tightness

11. Run it and see if this is good!! Good luck hope there are no problems for you!

12. Optional - if you have a Castle USB "LINK" abt $20 USD. Program your MMM ESC using this. To program using the LINK you need to open up the receiver cover and hook up the "orange / brown / forgot the other color" cable to the LINK cable. The "orange / brown / forgot the other color" cable should be the cable that leads to your ESC. Ultimately, you can program your MMM using the stock radio TX. Goto castlecreations.com to download the User Ed's manual for instructions how to program your ESC using the Radio TX or the "LINK".

There must be TONS of tunings you can do with this truck but so far after doing the above my truck is running very smooth - touch wood.

Originally Posted by carrotcake

I am a noob too!!!!!!!
There must be TONS of tunings you can do with this truck but so far after doing the above my truck is running very smooth - touch wood.

Carrotcake,
Thank You for that great writeup.

It certainly takes out some of the guessing as to what to expect !!

I really appreciate your efforts and will do as you have suggested.
I got the 2200 motor, but it is already out and I got something else in there.

I tightened that slipper clutch and loosened 1/4 turn, slightly more, but not close to 1/2, will see if she heats up.

What glue do you reccomend for glueing those big fat tires ??

I have many Phoenix 125's and 180 ESC's, and run CC BEC on just about every plane I got, so Castle Connect to me is second nature !!!

Originally Posted by moparmyway

Carrotcake,
Thank You for that great writeup.

It certainly takes out some of the guessing as to what to expect !!

I really appreciate your efforts and will do as you have suggested.
I got the 2200 motor, but it is already out and I got something else in there.

I tightened that slipper clutch and loosened 1/4 turn, slightly more, but not close to 1/2, will see if she heats up.

What glue do you reccomend for glueing those big fat tires ??

I have many Phoenix 125's and 180 ESC's, and run CC BEC on just about every plane I got, so Castle Connect to me is second nature !!!

Hey! You're very welcome! I hope the write up can help you a little.

Using super glue such as "Krazy" and "Locite" are just fine. But be sure to use the "Liquid" ones and don't drop too much..just start and drop a little in the groove of one area on the wheel and let it "slide" or "drip" in one direction - you're not going to get the whole wheel circle in one shot of course...so do it in perhaps 4 -5 sections. One section at a time. Remember to assemble or put on the foams and tires on the wheel "properly" before gluing. Once you have everything in place, hold the tire and rotate the wheel to help align the foam / tire / wheel properly. These are all for if you're putting together the tires/foams/wheel from scratch. If you just need "touch" up on spots where they missed gluing on an assembled wheel/tire, use the "GeL" super glue. Krazy and Locite have them. I find it easier to use Gel than Liquid glue to touch up in this case.

Whatever you decide to use to power your ERBL, hope they will serve you well.

Again, I am just sharing my thoughts - I ain't no expert for sure. So feel free to ask or share anything about the ERBL or any Electric powered R/C cars you have --- I have a Honey Bee King 2 Heli but I don't think they would allow to talk about helis here in this section Anyway I will try to answer any questions you might have if I can

Cheers!

looks good hope you have fun it must be pretty strong from what it looks like any bits that brake easily i should know about because im selling me nitro and buying the 1/16 scale e-revo

Originally Posted by rangamatchstic

looks good hope you have fun it must be pretty strong from what it looks like any bits that brake easily i should know about because im selling me nitro and buying the 1/16 scale e-revo

I have the 1/10 scale as you know but I guess design wise they're similar in many ways.

Nothing has really broken on me yet ( knock on wood ) but I heard a lot of people needing to replace spur gears and such. Also the center drive shaft. But in my opinion, they must be driving the hell out of the Truck...so it really depends how much abuse you want to do to the truck.

I have not really heard of any "Weak" spots for the Truck...so all in all you just have to figure out which part gets hit a lot and common breaking parts like the A-Arms, wearing out gears like the Spur and Diffs...but these are common to all R/C vehicles.

The 1/16 looks so sweet! I really want to get one too!!!! However, I don't like the FM radio that comes with it. I think the TRAXXAS brushless ESC and motor are very decent - they're water proof too! The red shinny tie rods and links look awesome! The bigger E-Revo doesn't have those!

Good luck and hope you get the 1/6 VXL or something E-Revo! Post some pictures/ videos once you get it please

Any idea what Battery are you going to run with the 1/16 E-Revo? It's 2s or 3 s lipo compatible.

This thing has a wicked diff design - it uses metal diff gear, too! - http://www.traxxas.com/products/elec.../mini-diff.jpg

Originally Posted by carrotcake

Whatever you decide to use to power your ERBL, hope they will serve you well.

Cheers!

Dude, this truck is something else !! I have the Medusa 36x70x2300 and have been running it on 3s. WOW, I cant even imagine 4s. Batteries are on order for 4s and 6s. Found out that 100% brake is WAY too much !!!

Have the MMM set to slowest acceleration and she still wants to pull wheelies and/or just jump up and spin them !!!

Thanks to you, my slipper clutch hasnt gotten even warm. Nothing broke, but 2 wheels fell off from those nuts coming loose. Do you Loctite them on, and if so, are you using blue or red ??

Thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by moparmyway

Dude, this truck is something else !! I have the Medusa 36x70x2300 and have been running it on 3s. WOW, I cant even imagine 4s. Batteries are on order for 4s and 6s. Found out that 100% brake is WAY too much !!!

Have the MMM set to slowest acceleration and she still wants to pull wheelies and/or just jump up and spin them !!!

Thanks to you, my slipper clutch hasnt gotten even warm. Nothing broke, but 2 wheels fell off from those nuts coming loose. Do you Loctite them on, and if so, are you using blue or red ??

Thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Slap on the Hand! - You didn't read my post above! Item #9 told you to locite or thread lock your wheels!!! WITH THE BLUE ONES!! -- hehe just kidding it's all good..

Yeah use the Blue ones, they're enough. But if you need to take out the wheel nuts it's still do-able without having to "heat" the thread lock to loosen the nuts if you were using a stronger thread lock or locite (I think like the purple ones or something...anyway, just use the blue ones)

By the way - Update - I ordered a Black Stock body for my truck. Also with the Exo-Carbon Finished Wing..think it will look good. I was debating if I should get the Pro-Line "Stripline" body for the E-Revo but didn't like it much and the fact that the cost of the Pro Line Body is 1 buck more than the Stock Body (which is already all trimmed and painted) - I guess I'm just too lazy

Link to proline body: http://www.prolineracing.com/p-664-s...ts-e-revo.aspx

Check out this yellow proline 1/8 buggy/truggy wing too: http://www.prolineracing.com/p-414-h...-wing-kit.aspx

Ok, I am going to use 20/ 58 Gearing. I just ordered the Robinson Racing .8 module 5mm bore 20T pinion and the 58 Spur gear. I am going to try if the truck can handle that with my cheap 3s 15C 4000 lipos and my 3s 25C 5000 Zippy Flight Max lipos. - I will let you know how that goes!

Yeah, I missed that part, sorry
Will be running 4s later today..............I cant wait !!!!
Bad part of all of this is that the more I drive my E-REVO, the less batteries I have for my planes !!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by moparmyway

Yeah, I missed that part, sorry
Will be running 4s later today..............I cant wait !!!!
Bad part of all of this is that the more I drive my E-REVO, the less batteries I have for my planes !!!!!!!!!!

I run into this problem as well with my other R/C cars