Jato Assembles a TRX-4 Sport Unassembled Kit

[JSterrett]

Not impressed at all on 6.0V. It is slow and it struggles to move the tires. Much better can be had for the price of you're willing to put up with the Savox noise. I can upload a video.

I have one PM470, running in my IFS bomber at 8V. It seems pretty good at that voltage. Has no problem turning the big 2.2s on high traction surfaces....

I have reached a point where I don't even notice the noisy Savox servos any more.

I notice, I just don't care, lol

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[JatoTheRipper]

I have reached a point where I don't even notice the noisy Savox servos any more.

I have not. In fact, the more I hear the Savox buzz the more it pisses me off.

I have one PM470, running in my IFS bomber at 8V. It seems pretty good at that voltage. Has no problem turning the big 2.2s on high traction surfaces....

I'm kinda surprised. 470 oz-in isn't all that much for 2.2 IMO.


Here's video of my PM470 on 3S, but it goes through the Mamba X and the internal BEC is set to 6.0V. The video makes it look fine. I don't know - maybe I'm becoming a servo snob. But it does struggle at the end to get to full lock on both sides. I should have turned slower. You can see it best in the beginning before I start going side to side faster.

Apparently embed isn't working now so click on the image below to see the video.



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[JatoTheRipper]

I've had cogging issues with my Holmes Revolver from the start. I tried a multitude of settings on the Mamba X and nothing seemed to make it better. I contacted Holmes Hobbies and they want me to send the Revolver back for some testing. Because of that, this truck is getting a heart transplant.

I am putting in the Holmes TrailMaster Sport 550 in the 21T flavor.




First up is some soldering since the motor comes without leads. I had 12 AWG wires in my soldering box so that's what's getting used here.




And here's the motor installed and hooked up. I would have changed the pinion, but AMain decided they would ship my order to somebody in Sacramento, CA. I live all the way across the country in PA.

 

[JSterrett]

I'm kinda surprised. 470 oz-in isn't all that much for 2.2 IMO.

Here's video of my PM470 on 3S, but it goes through the Mamba X and the internal BEC is set to 6.0V. The video makes it look fine. I don't know - maybe I'm becoming a servo snob. But it does struggle at the end to get to full lock on both sides. I should have turned slower. You can see it best in the beginning before I start going side to side faster.

Mine's mounted to a plate in the cage because it's IFS, and it will twist the cage if I don't have the endpoints set correctly...

Maybe my problem is the opposite of yours though... The next 2 highest power servos I own are a 1210sg and 1230sg...

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[JatoTheRipper]

I wanted to revisit my above post now that I think about it. I've done a lot of praising of the TRX-4 kit because it deserves it. The motor mount is not an area the deserves that praise. The motor mount makes it easy for newbs, but in the end it plain sucks that half of it is built into the skid plate. This means the lower part of the motor mount is always going to be plastic. When changing out motors this weekend I found that, even using the aluminum motor plate from Traxxas, there is a ton of slop with the motor installed and the three screws tightened down. There's too much play between the motor plate, bottom half and top half of the motor mount/spur cover. You can change the angle of the motor with your hand with little to no force. It's probably not enough to cause major issues, but I'd be surprised if some people aren't experiencing uneven wear on the spur gears.

This is probably the worst design flaw of this kit and it's not easily fixed without and entirely new skid plate. Metal skid plates suck so I have no interest in that. 3D printing could be the savior here if this mounting system turns into a weak spot or problem area. Up to this point I've had no issues on my Bronco nor with this Sport.

 

[LSXGMC]

I wanted to revisit my above post now that I think about it. I've done a lot of praising of the TRX-4 kit because it deserves it. The motor mount is not an area the deserves that praise. The motor mount makes it easy for newbs, but in the end it plain sucks that half of it is built into the skid plate. This means the lower part of the motor mount is always going to be plastic. When changing out motors this weekend I found that, even using the aluminum motor plate from Traxxas, there is a ton of slop with the motor installed and the three screws tightened down. There's too much play between the motor plate, bottom half and top half of the motor mount/spur cover. You can change the angle of the motor with your hand with little to no force. It's probably not enough to cause major issues, but I'd be surprised if some people aren't experiencing uneven wear on the spur gears.

This is probably the worst design flaw of this kit and it's not easily fixed without and entirely new skid plate. Metal skid plates suck so I have no interest in that. 3D printing could be the savior here if this mounting system turns into a weak spot or problem area. Up to this point I've had no issues on my Bronco nor with this Sport.

I think you kind of answered your own concern here. I haven't seen/heard of one actual issue relating to this, other than speculation or concerns. I don't believe it has materialized into anything, otherwise we'd all know about it. And folks are throwing a LOT of power through these trucks. Sure the design is a little unorthodox, but is it really stupid if it works?

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I think you kind of answered your own concern here. I haven't seen/heard of one actual issue relating to this, other than speculation or concerns. I don't believe it has materialized into anything, otherwise we'd all know about it. And folks are throwing a LOT of power through these trucks. Sure the design is a little unorthodox, but is it really stupid if it works?

IMO just because something works doesn't mean it's not stupid. There are lots of designs that work, but could be done in better ways. But, of course, this is just my opinion and we know what is said about those! :lmao:

 

[LSXGMC]

IMO just because something works doesn't mean it's not stupid. There are lots of designs that work, but could be done in better ways. But, of course, this is just my opinion and we know what is said about those! :lmao:

LOL - for sure. I guess I just meant that I agree it could have been done better, but it ultimately works, and it’s pretty easy to swap a motor out on this truck without having to disassemble a bunch of the chassis to do so. I think the concept is on the right track, but the execution could have been improved. However, like I said, it still works. Maybe the TRX4ii will fix this. They do after all need SOMETHING to improve for a future release.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

LOL - for sure. I guess I just meant that I agree it could have been done better, but it ultimately works, and it’s pretty easy to swap a motor out on this truck without having to disassemble a bunch of the chassis to do so. I think the concept is on the right track, but the execution could have been improved. However, like I said, it still works. Maybe the TRX4ii will fix this. They do after all need SOMETHING to improve for a future release.

True. And, like I said, it may never even be a trouble spot.

It is freaking easy to change the motor which is so awesome, but more difficult to change spurs. I guess that's a price you pay, at least partially, for a transmission with such a low center of gravity!

 

[Inspector86]

I have not. In fact, the more I hear the Savox buzz the more it pisses me off.

That's pretty much how I feel about the Revolver motor.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

That's pretty much how I feel about the Revolver motor.

:lmao: I'm not going to disagree with you there. But it's really not loud unless you're creeping. The problem is you creep a lot when crawling so...

 

[OSRC]

... Maybe the TRX4ii will fix this. They do after all need SOMETHING to improve for a future release.

Ever seen a late model Stampede, Rustler, or Bandit? :lmao: Pretty much the same platform for 15 years.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

A little update. Parts have been slowly rolling in. The dwell in parts from China is delaying my "Stage 1" upgrades to this build. Very frustrating. We'd be screwed if China ever went on strike.

I did send the Revolver off to Holmes per their request. They deemed it defective as they said it was rougher than normal at low RPM. My replacement is in the mail and it's scheduled to be here Saturday. Fantastic customer service from Holmes as always. I'm hoping the replacement is as smooth as what I see on PooTube.

I'm anxious to get this truck out on the trail. It's hella fun in my backyard.

 

[DukeMinnix]

Before I assembled my kit, I read your posts about the motor plate and that skid and kind of skimmed over them as much a do about nothing, but after having assembled mine, I can give my roc412 a little throttle and watch the motor shift a few degrees to the side. I don't like this. I can't say yet whether its going to cause issues, but I now fully understand your gripe.

Another I have is this servo mount. Why have such a non standard size opening? I have a bunch of different servos from holmes to savox to the cheap ds3218s of whatever flavor you like and NONE of them fit in the opening correctly. What a bonehead maneuver that is by traxxas. :roll:

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Before I assembled my kit, I read your posts about the motor plate and that skid and kind of skimmed over them as much a do about nothing, but after having assembled mine, I can give my roc412 a little throttle and watch the motor shift a few degrees to the side. I don't like this. I can't say yet whether its going to cause issues, but I now fully understand your gripe.

Another I have is this servo mount. Why have such a non standard size opening? I have a bunch of different servos from holmes to savox to the cheap ds3218s of whatever flavor you like and NONE of them fit in the opening correctly. What a bonehead maneuver that is by traxxas. :roll:

Yeah the rocking of the motor is annoying. Like I said before, I'm not sure it'll cause real issues. I'm thinking the gears will wear unevenly, but only time will tell.

That's another annoyance albeit minor. A Dremel will fix that issue. Or you can get the Yeah Racing mount that I use and highly recommend.

 

[JSterrett]

I know the mount seems sloppy, but this has been in my truck and on 3S since June '17. Looks great except the back edge of the spur got chewed on a bit by the pinion screw...

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[JatoTheRipper]

I know the mount seems sloppy, but this has been in my truck and on 3S since June '17. Looks great except the back edge of the spur got chewed on a bit by the pinion screw...

Good to know! Thanks for posting those photos.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Leave it up to Integy to come up with a possible solution for the loose motor mount. This is Integy so take it with a grain of salt until somebody gets their hands on it. As most of us know their quality is hit or miss.

https://www.integy.com/st_prod.html?p_prodid=35134&p_catid=421

 

[Natedog]

I have not. In fact, the more I hear the Savox buzz the more it pisses me off.

I'm kinda surprised. 470 oz-in isn't all that much for 2.2 IMO.

Here's video of my PM470 on 3S, but it goes through the Mamba X and the internal BEC is set to 6.0V. The video makes it look fine. I don't know - maybe I'm becoming a servo snob. But it does struggle at the end to get to full lock on both sides.

I can't stand the buzzing and beeping either, like to be out in nature for peace and quiet. :ror:"thumbsup"

At first I was impressed with ProModeler specs, but after seeing and hearing others experiences, I'm unimpressed. HiTec for me, thanks powerful and quiet.

.....I've done a lot of praising of the TRX-4 kit because it deserves it. The motor mount is not an area the deserves that praise....even using the aluminum motor plate from Traxxas, there is a ton of slop with the motor installed and the three screws tightened down. There's too much play between the motor plate, bottom half and top half of the motor mount/spur cover. You can change the angle of the motor with your hand with little to no force. It's probably not enough to cause major issues, but I'd be surprised if some people aren't experiencing uneven wear on the spur gears.

This is probably the worst design flaw of this kit and it's not easily fixed without and entirely new skid plate. Metal skid plates suck so I have no interest in that. 3D printing could be the savior here if this mounting system turns into a weak spot or problem area. Up to this point I've had no issues on my Bronco nor with this Sport.

Motor mount slop is annoying.

That's pretty much how I feel about the Revolver motor.

X2

Leave it up to Integy to come up with a possible solution for the loose motor mount. This is Integy so take it with a grain of salt until somebody gets their hands on it. As most of us know their quality is hit or miss.

Try it and let us know, seems there's easier and less heavy and draggy aluminum skid answers. "thumbsup"

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I can't stand the buzzing and beeping either, like to be out in nature for peace and quiet. :ror:"thumbsup"

Yeah the Revolver has me left with the same feeling. I want to give an honest try to the new motor though since Holmes sent the replacement.

I guess I haven't even posted that update - I did receive a replacement Revolver that is certainly smoother. But is it smooth enough for me? TBD.

At first I was impressed with ProModeler specs, but after seeing and hearing others experiences, I'm unimpressed. HiTec for me, thanks powerful and quiet.

It's unimpressive, but I'm not a big fan of Hitec. I've only had one brand name servo fail in all my years of RC and it's been a Hitec.

Try it and let us know, seems there's easier and less heavy and draggy aluminum skid answers. "thumbsup"

I don't see myself trying it for the reason you mentioned - aluminum skid plate. But outside of redneck engineering solutions like electrical tape, what other options are there besides the aluminum motor plate from Traxxas?