kahmann Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Up until a couple weeks ago, the only R/C cars I've ever owned have been cheesy AA powered cars from Target, Wal*Mart, and the like. They obviously never inspired enthusiasm, so I never understood the hobby in general. But after watching a guy who works for me break his new nitro powered Traxxas T-Maxx in at work a couple of Fridays ago after work, I decided I needed to step up to the big boy's toys. I asked him which truck he wished he could have and he told me the new Revo 3.3. Two hours later, I bought the only Revo for sale in the county. This little guy is a serious kick in the ass to drive. The engine break in procedure was very tedious, but once I was done with that, I've been busy ripping up my 5 acres of land. In the first 5 days of owning this thing, I broke the front upper right suspension arm 3 times. I recently upgraded the front upper and lower arms to RPM arms and have a set of Integy aluminum arms as spares. I also bought a new set of rims/tires, which are built for the electric version of this truck (the E-Revo). Even though this thing does 50 mph, I've already started looking at faster racing engines to swap into it. I've also got a new electric Traxxas Ken Block Ford Fiesta on order, so I can have some fun on the pavement too. So far, my wife is pretty thrilled with it too, mostly because the mods are a whole lot cheaper than the mods I typically do to our full size cars! Anyway, here are some pics I've taken of the Revo. Is anyone else here into these things? If so, post up some pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Some photos I took today of the new E-Revo rims/tires, Traxxas wheelie bar, RPM suspension arms, and stock car decals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbowles22 Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 I have a older model Jato which was awesome to play with. Once it started breaking every time I took it out, it got old fast. Definitly fun to mod them though, I've been meaning to fix mine but just haven't gotten around too it. Beautiful truck btw, these things have really started to take off in the past couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt350lp Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Great Photos....Looks like fun.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 I have a older model Jato which was awesome to play with. Once it started breaking every time I took it out, it got old fast. Definitly fun to mod them though, I've been meaning to fix mine but just haven't gotten around too it. Beautiful truck btw, these things have really started to take off in the past couple of years. Thanks man, I really like the look of this truck too. I hear ya on the maintenance of these things though. I was pretty discouraged the first several days of having to chase down parts and constantly fix the truck, which made me realize that I'll be spending more time wrenching on it than actually driving it. For now, both aspects are really enjoyable, but I can see how one could get burned out on it after a bit too. I'm hoping the electric Fiesta won't be as tedious to maintain, so I can always have something to fire up when I feel like driving instead of wrenching. Great Photos....Looks like fun.... Thanks lots, it really is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL SHELBY Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Ken, you just found a whole other level of addiction! I've been in to the R/C world (Cars/Trucks - on & off pavement including drag racing, as well as Planes, Heli's) since I was 13yrs old. My Dad was asking about my cars just last night. When I started Nitro wasn't big so I've always gone electric. In my running stable I have five. A Traxxas E-Maxx and HPI Racing RS4 are my two newest and hardcore beaters I also have an old Tamiya Midnight Pumpkin (20yrs old) which is a wheely riding cartoon of a monster truck, and an even older Tamiya Fox dune buggy (24yrs old). Lastly I have an Xmod which is a 1/28 scale '05 Mustang in Vista Blue! I'll post up some photos later. Moding these things is just as big of a bottomless pit as the real deal and you can easily drop thousands into these 'toys' but the turnaround from busting to driving is a hell of a lot kicker. Just like their bigger counterparts when you start moding you will start chasing the weakest link in the car but that's part of the fun! I've nearly picked up a Trophy Truck from either HPI or Traxxes a couple of times, but I've been into micro helicopters for the last few years. With the Nitro's you can build up the engines just like the full size toys. New heads, pistons, exhaust, hell you can even go supercharged! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 ^That's awesome Jason, I figured there had to be at least a couple of R/C nuts on here! I definitely want to see some pics of your rides. Sounds like you've got a hell of a collection man. How on earth have you kept those old ones running so long?? The nitro engines are really cool, but a serious pain to tune, especially as the weather changes. The 'after run' care is pretty tedious too, but if it's not done right, the engine will be junk in no time apparently. I've found a couple of Traxxas forums online and from what I can tell, I can expect to be able to run 5 or 6 gallons of fuel before having to shop for a new engine or at least rebuild parts, as long as I take care of it. That's another reason I want to have an electric laying around. Anyway, thanks for chiming in. I'm curious to see some pics of your stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL SHELBY Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 There are pro's an con's to both Nitro & Electrics. The most appearent is run time. You can get twice the time out of tank of Nitro over a battery, but as you said there isn't the fickleness with electrics. Nitro's will need time to cool after some really hard running but then you have to wait for batteries to recharge. Plan on picking up at least two but I would go with 3 or 4 battery packs and invest in a good digital charger where you can adjust the trickle rate based on the battery type and number of cells. This will help make sure your batteries have a long life and don't overheat. As a kid I was annal about caring for these cars. Most are build like tanks, and it's damn hard to destroy one so keeping them running for 20+ years is not difficult and spare parts are plentiful, even for the older cars. You can easily run your Revo off the roof of the house and it will keep going if it lands upright. You will learn to control the pitch of the truck in the air using the throttle making wheels down landings easy. There are cages you can add to the truck helping to protect the motor. Since the Revo has cantilevered shocks, shock tower damage is not a concern. But you will break A-arms and bend steering arms shock rods/shafts. That is the awesome part, ever part of these cars are rebuildable; motors, chassis, gearboxs, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL SHELBY Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Photos. I have a '65 Mustang body for the RS4, I just haven't gotten around to painting it. The plan has been to make it a Terligua tribute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL SHELBY Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Bump for photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted February 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Thanks for the pics man, I love that old Bronco! Have you heard about the new Boss that Traxxas is due to release next month? I just read about it today. http://mustangsdaily.com/blog/2010/12/06/traxxas-to-produce-116-radio-controlled-mustang-boss-302/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL SHELBY Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Yes I have seen it, pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firekiller Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 I have been into the R/C fun as well for the last year. I bought 2 Traxxas Slash short course trucks, 1 for me and 1 for my 8 yr old son. We have had a blast playing outside and at local hobby store with indoor and outdoor tracks. These things are almost indestructable, althought you doo have to watch the A arms. Yes these things are as addicting as modding the big cars. I already have modified mine to the brushless motor to kick it up to about 65mph. These things are great for fun as well as racing and good for sharing some good times with my boy and teaching him how to work on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL SHELBY Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Brushless would be cool. I've looked at converting the E-Maxx I few times just never pulled the trigger. A truck that size needs that kind of power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted February 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 I like the idea of brushless a lot too. The more I read up on them, the more I like them. Firekiller - you have any pics of the mods you've done to your trucks? Here's a video I just uploaded of me monkeying around with the Revo in front of my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firekiller Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 I like the idea of brushless a lot too. The more I read up on them, the more I like them. Firekiller - you have any pics of the mods you've done to your trucks? Here's a video I just uploaded of me monkeying around with the Revo in front of my house. I don't have any videos or pics of the truck, but if you go to youtube and look at some of the brushless slashes its pretty much the same thing. We play outdoors at the house and race mostly indoors at the hobby shop. My son is 8 yrs old and most of the jumps at the outdoors track are pretty big for him right now. Here are some videos shot from our hobby shop where we race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL SHELBY Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Damn, you two are getting fired-up over RC again. I may be picking me up a brushless 4wd Slash.... Boy would that piss-off the wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
03 DSG Snake Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 I haven't used my R/Cs in a few years, but after visiting the Traxxas booth at SEMA I am very close to picking up a brushless Slash 4x4. Currently I have a Savage .25, HPI MT2, Micro RS4, and an old Tamiya TL-01. I want to convert the Savage to brushless as well, I'm over the Nitro bit for now. I also want a drift setup for the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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