STEEL_CITY_CRAWLER
RCC Addict
well, i wanted a basher truck to take with me on vacation in may, and i wanted something low buck to run in sportsman, too. so last week i pulled the trigger and oredered up one of these new Exceed 2.2 shafty's they are selling.
i haven't had much time to go try it out outside yet, but her are some pics and intial thoughts.
the drivetrain looks to be IDENTICAL to a Redcat Groundpounder, so i am not too worried about durability issues there, especially with all the success that rig has been having on the monster truck racing scene.
the links are fairly beefy metal links, they look pretty solid.
the included shocks with this rig are a VERY pleasant surprise! they are really smooth, aluminum, threaded body units, with a cap with a ball joint already built into it, similar to Revo shocks.
the body is not comp leagal, it is just around 11.5 inches long. this is a shame, because for an RTR body, it is actually pretty nice. the only thing i can think of that needs done to it is lowering it, it sits pretty high on the truck.
yikes! that is a lot of "dead space" between the top of the chassis and the body!
and here is the culprit causing it to sit so high on the rig:
the built in battery box for stick packs! luckily it just bolts off and on, so that will more than likely go, since i am running lipos over the front servo.
here is a naked shot of things. the chassis is pretty solid. it reminds me of back in the day when guys were making crawler chassis themselves using square aluminum tubing. the inside width is decent, there is room in ther to mount either an R2 tranny or even a trimmed up Pede tranny.
the stock tranny is where i am having some concerns about. it has this set up where the motor mounting plate is not attached to the tranny housing, but to the chassis.
i also am not fond of the fact the bottom of it hangs down like a big meatball with out a skid. this is why i am thinking either an R2 or pede tranny in there, to fit it flush to the bottom.
here's a shot of the bottom of an axle, the rear one to be exact:
and an axle from the top, the front one:
it has fairly decent steering for an RTR. the included servo "claims" to be a 9kg unit, but, i plan on replacing it with a towerpro unit soon.
it's a bit wide, but i think with wheels with the right offset, that can be narrowed up a bit
out of the box, the wheel base is only 11 7/8". i will have to do some adjusting to get it out to 12.5"
the electronics included with it aren't too bad. the radio system is a rebadged Flysky system, and i haven't heard too many complaints about those. the ESC isn't too bad, it has a nice drag brake on it. when i was running it in the house,, the instant i would let off the throttle, it would lock all the wheels up and skid to a stop. there is no reverse delay. the silvercan motor needs to go, i plan on just upgraded to a simple 35T integy lathe motor.
so far, my biggest thing with this truck has been the wheels. the tires are actually a nice feeling compund, but i think the wheels are going to SUCK! i took one apart for "exploratory"/venting/adding weight reasons, and the inner bead on the wheel crumbled like a stale cookie! not to mention, the hexes are VERY shallow on these. i am remedying this by replacing these wheels, and tires, soon. i order a set of venom crawler tires for $13 shipped, and plan on getting a set of the RPM crawler wheels. $26 and i will more than likely have my wheel worries taken care of!
well, that is all i have on this rig for now, i will be back updating this as i play with it more!
i haven't had much time to go try it out outside yet, but her are some pics and intial thoughts.
the drivetrain looks to be IDENTICAL to a Redcat Groundpounder, so i am not too worried about durability issues there, especially with all the success that rig has been having on the monster truck racing scene.
the links are fairly beefy metal links, they look pretty solid.
the included shocks with this rig are a VERY pleasant surprise! they are really smooth, aluminum, threaded body units, with a cap with a ball joint already built into it, similar to Revo shocks.
the body is not comp leagal, it is just around 11.5 inches long. this is a shame, because for an RTR body, it is actually pretty nice. the only thing i can think of that needs done to it is lowering it, it sits pretty high on the truck.
yikes! that is a lot of "dead space" between the top of the chassis and the body!
and here is the culprit causing it to sit so high on the rig:
the built in battery box for stick packs! luckily it just bolts off and on, so that will more than likely go, since i am running lipos over the front servo.
here is a naked shot of things. the chassis is pretty solid. it reminds me of back in the day when guys were making crawler chassis themselves using square aluminum tubing. the inside width is decent, there is room in ther to mount either an R2 tranny or even a trimmed up Pede tranny.
the stock tranny is where i am having some concerns about. it has this set up where the motor mounting plate is not attached to the tranny housing, but to the chassis.
i also am not fond of the fact the bottom of it hangs down like a big meatball with out a skid. this is why i am thinking either an R2 or pede tranny in there, to fit it flush to the bottom.
here's a shot of the bottom of an axle, the rear one to be exact:
and an axle from the top, the front one:
it has fairly decent steering for an RTR. the included servo "claims" to be a 9kg unit, but, i plan on replacing it with a towerpro unit soon.
it's a bit wide, but i think with wheels with the right offset, that can be narrowed up a bit
out of the box, the wheel base is only 11 7/8". i will have to do some adjusting to get it out to 12.5"
the electronics included with it aren't too bad. the radio system is a rebadged Flysky system, and i haven't heard too many complaints about those. the ESC isn't too bad, it has a nice drag brake on it. when i was running it in the house,, the instant i would let off the throttle, it would lock all the wheels up and skid to a stop. there is no reverse delay. the silvercan motor needs to go, i plan on just upgraded to a simple 35T integy lathe motor.
so far, my biggest thing with this truck has been the wheels. the tires are actually a nice feeling compund, but i think the wheels are going to SUCK! i took one apart for "exploratory"/venting/adding weight reasons, and the inner bead on the wheel crumbled like a stale cookie! not to mention, the hexes are VERY shallow on these. i am remedying this by replacing these wheels, and tires, soon. i order a set of venom crawler tires for $13 shipped, and plan on getting a set of the RPM crawler wheels. $26 and i will more than likely have my wheel worries taken care of!
well, that is all i have on this rig for now, i will be back updating this as i play with it more!
