Yeti XL RTR Unbox, and battery fit pics

[borfoo3]

Hey all,

Just unboxed this baby today, can't wait to hit the dirt!

As many are concerned with battery fit issues in the YXL compartment, thought I'd share some closeups..

Also taped up the rear battery compartment vents as I'm based in Edmonton, AB, Canada and its snow pretty much most of the year, with temps around -4c (24f) these days so overheated batts are not an issue. Concern is (as I've learned from belly landings with my Vampire EDF plane) that it would scoop in snow from the deeper runs and/or pickup debris kicked back from front tires, so hopefully the batts will stay dryer this way..

Battery specs: Bias 50C 3S 5000mAh 11.1-volt Lipo Battery:
Battery Type: Lithium Polymer (LiPO Battery)
C Rate: 50C
Volts: 11.1
Capacity: 5000mAh
Cell Count: 3s
Cell Configuration: 3S1P
Continuous Discharge: 50C (250A)
Max Burst Rate: 60C (300A)
Max Volts per Cell: 4.2V
Max Volts per Pack: 12.6V
Min Volts per Pack: 9V
Charge Rate: 1C (5A)
Wire Gauge: 12 AWG Soft and Flexible Low Resistance Silicone Wire
Plug Type: Venom UNI Plug. Compatible with Traxxas Plug, Tamiya Plug, Deans Plug & EC3 Plug.
Dimensions: 133 x 46 x 32 mm / 5.2 x 1.8 x 1.3 in
Watt Hours: 55.5
Weight: 14.1 oz (400 g)

 

[borfoo3]

Here she is

Battery in place, defintely some wiggle room left.. 2-3mm I would say in height. No room in width though, its spot on in size almost.

Vents taped..

 

[Onewheelsqueel]

I've got a 3s 50c 6000mah I'm hope'n will fit. Of so I'll ord another.

 

[borfoo3]

Okay so first run on 6s wasn't the smoothest.. bashing around snow and a few jumps here and there I noticed the front two tires were not moving when I accelerate. Thinking it was a Diff issue, figured it was a good chance to have a look in there. All seemed well at first sight..

Having read the RTR is known to have low diff fluid from factory, opened her up for a refill, and behold the sight of splines in a box almost as dry as the Sahara. Manual gives a clear indication of how high to fill, but clearly the factory guys hate using it as much as I do :mrgreen:

Good news is front diff was mechanically fine.. filled the rear diff as well. Just before opening up center trans box, I noticed front main shaft drive cup was turning fine when rolling the wheels, so closer inspection yielded this:

Yup sheared the set screw on first ride.. probably due acceleration on a bad landing.. Interesting end to the story was finding a mistake in the YXL manual for part #s while looking for the replacement. Found a 12mm length set at the local hobby shop vs Axials 13mm, so far so good on the 2nd run.

 

[borfoo3]

Post #3

3rd run on 6s, stock servo dead. Just didn't work on startup. I believe all the melted snow around it may have fried the circuits.. Replaced with Hitec HS5646WP with roughly same torque but completely waterproof. Yes I would have liked more torque, but its good enough for me and moisture/ snow around here makes short work of regular servos.

Run after replaced servo and the rear locking wheel washer AX31087 came loose and is a goner. Damn near impossible to find any in stock anywhere!

This is my first Axial product, and as an RTR I'm much less than impressed so far.. my HPI Baja 5T had almost no issues out the box, at least nothing that kept breaking/ malfuntioning this early on. Still believe this thing is a beast with high fun potential, but reliability and part availability are becoming an issue for me :/

 

[crockins]

Much less than impressed? You are running it on 6s in snow. I'm not saying it doesn't have room for improvement but to be fair, that's kind of the worst case scenario for RC longevity. Most people running max power in harsh conditions expect some carnage and/or some upgrades, and usually still some carnage.

Oh, and the HPI comparison? Isn't that beast in the $1200 range? That extra $500 would buy you an XL kit! A spare of every single part and most of the major upgrades you need! ;-)

 

[borfoo3]

Much less than impressed? You are running it on 6s in snow. I'm not saying it doesn't have room for improvement but to be fair, that's kind of the worst case scenario for RC longevity. Most people running max power in harsh conditions expect some carnage and/or some upgrades, and usually still some carnage.

Oh, and the HPI comparison? Isn't that beast in the $1200 range? That extra $500 would buy you an XL kit! A spare of every single part and most of the major upgrades you need! ;-)

You make a fair point, and I do run my machines hard.. The 5T has seen close to +58c (136f) weather and had its crying moments! Also, have a ton of upgrades coming in to build this thing up to what I like to see!

However, strictly speaking about a factory RTR of a supposedly decent brand (i.e. not a cheapo knock-off) my unpleasent impressions come from things like: Dry Diffs, under filled shocks, sub-par wheel lock nut setup (especially for a thing this big and powerful!), sub-par servo, uninstalled shims (weren't even in the box, some say later versions are factory shimmed, or could have been forgotten in my case, need to confirm this)...etc. I won't complain on the rx tx combo since every RTR I've tried had crappy ones, YXL actually is bit more decent than some I've tried.

For what's supposed to be Axial's biggest baddest machine, I can't help but feel that this RTR was 'rushed' out and could have been 'baked' a bit more in the lab. Either that or I have been spoiled by the 5T :mrgreen:

Otherwise, I do love the ESC + motor combo, center trans, diff box design and access, as well as the overall chassis layout (and that mad, terrain conquering solid axle) which I think have been done right!

 

[crockins]

Dry Diffs, under filled shocks, sub-par wheel lock nut setup (especially for a thing this big and powerful!), sub-par servo, uninstalled shims

Ok, those are also fair points.
Where did you see 136 degree weather!!? Around 120 is the hottest weather I've lived through (Pheonix), and brother that was hot!! I can't imagine 136!

 

[borfoo3]

Ok, those are also fair points.
Where did you see 136 degree weather!!? Around 120 is the hottest weather I've lived through (Pheonix), and brother that was hot!! I can't imagine 136!

That was back in Kuwait. When you see palm trees catch fire, you KNOW its messed up..:shock: