A lot of good info on here for sure! I figured I'd chime-in and share the set-up I'm running which continues to amaze me and my friends in the club I belong to; Mid Michigan Crawlers. First off, I decided being waterproof wasn't a concern for me as I didn't want to be limited on choices for the optimal set-up. Also, I've seen a few guys running "waterproof" Traxxas XL-5 escs that stop working in the water and mud. It's just my opinion, but I also prefer rust-free bearings
. The esc I run is a Mamba Max Pro, its been rock solid and the programing options can't be beat, not to mention the 7amp internal, switchable bec. The beauty of this speed control is that it works great in crawlers, but down the road it can be used in whatever you want pretty much because it can run sensored or sensorless, brushed or brushless. I have a friend who runs one in his Savage on 4s. It can handle up to 6s and 550 brushless motors too! As far as a motor the clear choice to me was a Novak Ballistic 13.5t brushless 540. AWESOME low speed crawling torque and decent high end speed, it all depends on how you program the esc and gear ratio. I'm running a 4:1 ratio right now, which is stock for the Wraith. Also, the Ballistic motors' stator can be changed out for about $40, so if you don't like the speed or torque or lack there of it can be easily changed. Anything from 4.5t to 27.5t is an option without buying a new motor! For a servo I went with a water-resistant, high voltage Savox 1268sg rated at 347oz/in at 7v, since my esc has a switchable bec, I can also use servos rated at 6v or even 4.8v. Since I've found Savox servos, they're all I use and I've been in the hobby for 25 years. And last but not least, the battery I'm using is one of the new Traxxas 2s lipos. It has a 25c discharge rate and a 7600mah capacity. I've been getting almost 4 hour runtimes and if you move your battery up front just ahead of the dashboard, it actually fits so well it supports the frame slightly!
As far as the rest of the truck, I'm using XR-10 wheels so is have the adjustability of running weights for crawling or none for bashing on Hot Bodies Sedona tires which have turned out to be great tires. Other than that, I went through the tranny and replaced all the plastic gears and spur/slipper with Robinson Racing hardened steel. The new Gen3 Robinson slipper for the Wraith is awesome! It handles brushless power with ease, no more on/off effect like the stock slipper gives. Again, these are just my opinions, hope this helps someone! Not to toot my own horn, but I have yet to see a better set-up for this truck for crawling ability. Ryan