Talion 6S Talion V4/Typhon V3 suggested preventative measures. (Q: Motor heatsinks needed if bashing on 4S?)

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Zonnashi

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Location
San Diego
Arrma RC's
  1. Talion
  2. Typhon 6s
My Wife and I are super excited to back into the RC hobby after years away and today we made the jump by getting a Talion and Typhon!

It seems that changing the oil and shiming the diffs is a commonly suggested practice in general for longevity/durability. Besides that, that are some smaller upgrades or preparations we can make while we wait till we have a chance to drive them in a week or so? Not trying to go down the rabbit hole of upgrades but we also want to save simple headaches later on.

Edit: Holy cow I wasn't expecting this many replies already, you all are awesome! Working through responding ^_^.

Edit 2: Seems like the consensus is ditch the STX2 radio, verify proper esc and servo endpoint settings, inspect diffs for good fluid fill and shim if needed, possibly upgrade to sealed bearings, and replace parts as they break based on my driving style.

Edit 3: Gotcha, I won't cover the spur gear opening on chassis, gotta let that debris have an exit! Also, thanks Yonic for suggestion the tire vent method by Rich Duperbash, such a clean way of doing that!
 
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Get yourself a set of sealed bearings, the stock ones are junk. If you buy a new 2019 model it should have a STX2 Spektrum radio. If so replace it also, its unreliable and problematic.
 
As preventative measure go, the two things I can think of are:

- shimming the diffs. Between the diff ring and pinion, make sure there are not too much lash and on the other end no hot spots. This will prevent the gears from wearing too quickly.
- set the end points for the servo correctly. You can kill a servo pretty quickly when the end points are wrong.

I would also make sure the diffs are filled properly, but I would not change the oils if they feel properly filled.

And of course verify the pinion mesh.
 
Sounds like fun, my wife will come out with me once and a while, she loves the Outcast because it just so silly.
My Kraton and Outcast are heavily upgrade with hardware and electronics but they were stock for a long time (typhon is still stock). To be honest I ran my Kraton for 6 months with out doing a thing except tightening the pillar (pillow, which is it?) balls when they come loose and replacing a couple arms. Not even bearings. To be honest again I’ve destroyed plenty of the sealed bearings but never replaced a bad stock bearing. They will get dirt in them and go bad but the ones with rubber seals are cheap too. When ever I have a diff, or the motor mount apart I just change themto the rubber sealed ones which might last a little longer. So if you like messing around with this stuff by all means wrench away, but if you drive them sensible they won’t need much. When you start breaking stuff, or have stacks of money lying around, then maybe upgrade.
I have no experience with the stock spectrum radio but there’s enough complaints about here to know they can be problematic. The stock tactic radio which came with the older models is solid and reliable. They will cost you around $30 on eBay. For the same price there’s the DumboRc from banggood which despite the name is very good, 6 channel, has a giro if you get a drift car, and you can buy other receivers to run other cars with it. Tactic you are stuck with just the receiver it came with though I’m not completely sure on that either.
A great place for replacement parts is https://jennysrc.com/.
Have fun! Talion and Typhon are great choices.
 
Having a set of sealed bearings to swap out as suggested is a good idea. You don't need to do it straight away but keep an eye on the stock ones for grittiness. The only part I can think of that could be useful to have in a preemptive sense that I can think of are another set of front a-arms. Both trucks are super strong and really do take a lot of beating and for most people will run stock for a very long time. I probably over did my Kraton a bit on hop up parts however I get as much pleasure working on them in my shed as I do driving them.

Stay conservative on the parts for now. Invest any extra cash you have on a good charger, batteries and if you solder, a good soldering iron.
 
Welcome to the forum @Zonnashi! You should continue to run and maintain your truck as stock as long as you can. Depending on how you plan to drive it, the need for repairs and replacements will determine how you choose to upgrade. Many don't upgrade at all as their driving style doesn't require it. Inevitably though, as you become more comfortable, so does your willingness to test limits of speed and distance/height when jumping. It's all a personal choice based on need and budget. Happy bashing!
 
Welcome to the Arrma Fam!

1) new radio if they came with STX2
2) set steering and throttle end points
3) set brake and punch
4) rubber sealed bearings
5) check diffs for leaks
a) no leaks, bash on
b) leaks found, tear them down and rebuild, shin if needed
6) upgrade the servo at some point, it will die eventually
7) metal chassis braces
8) you will bend the chassis at some point if jumping, but wait for it to happen before spending money on that
9) thicker shock towers if/when you bend the stock ones
 
FWIW I just did the diffs on my v4 Typhon 6S. I had about 20 or so packs though mine. All three of mine already had shims in them and I felt no excess movement of the gears. I went 200K on the center, 10K front, 7K rear. Stock is 100K center 7K front/rear.

I also swapped out the Spektrum radio for my trusty Futaba 4PK and a new digital steering servo (A Futaba brushless)

I also have done all the bearings. I used the TRB RC bearings.

I also added the Voltage RC front and rear skid plates. I mostly run on gravelly surfaces and the chassis bottom was taking a beating.

Lastly, I swapped in a set of Proline Badlands MX tires.
 
Oh, I forgot the most important preventative measure of all - VENT THE TIRES.
otherwise the foams will be destroyed in a pack or two, the mass of the sand/water will tear the tires and stress the diffs
 
@arrmadillo - The Talion came with the STX2, but luckily we got a TTX300 in the Typhon, small victory! Will definitely look into sealed bearings, it's quite dry and sandy in our area so I'm sure that gets into all sorts of nooks and crannies.

@Yonic - Gonna have to order me some shims! Awesome reminder for the servo endpoints and tire venting. I know when I had my Summit in the past, I remember hearing the servo get quite angry as the endpoint wasn't properly set. For the vents, do most people just snip a small hole or two inside the tread patterns? I had done that in the past for the Summit as well.

@Jimbob - That's awesome that your wife comes out with you as well from time to time! I tell myself I'm going to drive sensibly but I know myself well enough that I'm gonna bash this quite rough in no time. One of the RCs is running a STX2 so a new radio does sound like a heavy suggestion. I didn't realize the tactic might be more limited to an extent, I'll keep that in mind and look at your suggestion.

@Lazy Bushman - Good to hear, a spare set of A-arms sounds like something I will likely find myself needing. I got carried away in the past replacing any part I could 'justify' on another RC, found myself breaking a fair number of them until I found a balance between a few upgrades complimenting the stock parts. Probably work towards that balance as the components show which ones break under my driving style. I have an older Hitec X4 charger and 30A power supply so that's got us covered, though my insanely cheap soldering iron likely could use an upgrade... or braces with how jagged the tip is XD!

@Notorious J - Great mindset to have! My first hobby grade RC I went on an upgrade spree and wound up with far more broken "upgrades" than I'd like to admit. I'm happy that ARRMA really seems to set us up quite well off the bat without very many true glaring issues from what I can tell. My wife will likely be fine with the stock Typhon pretty much forever with her driving style, I on the other hand will definitely push this Talion to its breaking point haha. Time will tell what upgrades I push my Talion to need.

@jondilly1974 - I thought for sure when I decided to move from the idea of a 3s ARRMA to the 6s line that I'd be ditching that STX2 in the process, but alas, it persists even up at this price point! Nobody seems to like that thing haha. I'm glad you and Yonic mentioned endpoints and overall radio/esc setup, I definitely would have forgotten to look into this! The Talion is coming with a chassis brace already so I've got that going for me!

@Phaedrus - Oh wow, do the V4 come pre-shimmed? Our Talion is V4 for us but the Typhon is V3. I don't have any spare radios on hand so I'm gonna have to buy the change out for this darn STX2. The skid plates sound like a great idea, I had briefly looked at T-Bone, cause I expect to go over sand/gravel/hardpack the most. I love the look of Badlands! Once I get my use out of the stock tires I think that is what I'll be rocking next.

Oh follow up question, the bottom has an exposed spur gear through the chassis, should this be covered to prevent any dirt or rocks popping up into there?
 
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No. Leave the cutout under the spur gear on the chassis open to let small pebbles and debris out before getting caught in the spur gear.
 
For the vents, do most people just snip a small hole or two inside the tread patterns? I had done that in the past for the Summit as well.
I like this method by @Rich Duperbash the best. it requires a drill and a brass pipe.
and don't forget to tape the venting holes in the wheel.
 
No. Leave the cutout under the spur gear on the chassis open to let small pebbles and debris out before getting caught in the spur gear.
Gotcha, that makes sense. It feels so wrong to have it exposed, but clearly nobody has mentioned it like the rampant STX2 replacement suggestion, so I'll leave it be. Thanks!
I like this method by @Rich Duperbash the best. it requires a drill and a brass pipe.
and don't forget to tape the venting holes in the wheel.
That is such a clean way of getting the vent hole! My previous ones look like kindergarten quality compared to that haha.
 
Another question, if I plan to bash on 4S in mostly offroad/gravel/hardpack/sand and a light sprinkle of grass, would it be a good idea to look into a motor heatsink?
 
I like having heatsink and fans on my motors, but I rarely run stock gearing. Depends on your ambient temp and how many packs you run back to back.
 
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