General maintenance tips for beginners?

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Splattered23

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Arrma RC's
  1. Granite
  2. Senton 6s
  3. 4x4-Mega
Hello!

I'm new to the world of RC vehicles and decided to just dive in and pick up a Kraton for myself and the Granite 4x4 Mega for my 12 year old son for Christmas. We are typically gamers/indoor nerds so I wanted to find something we could do together outdoors and so far we are loving these things! :)

I've looked over this forum a bit and it seems like a great place for information, but i'm wondering if there are any other good sources for general maintenance and repair? I've googled a bit and looked at some YouTube videos but I really don't know where to start. Looking for something one stop all encompassing if I can find it. On this site I've seen the upgrades and tools threads, but i'm hoping someone has also put out a list of oils/lube/cleaner and how to do everything properly.

Not planning on doing anything crazy with our stuff, but I know i'm going to need to perform maintenance from time to time. So far all I've done is blow debris out with the air compressor and wipe things down a bit. (3 runs so far)

On a side note - My son can jump his Granite fairly easy and it almost always lands level, but when I jump my Kraton it almost ALWAYS spins forward and tumbles no matter how fast or slow I go on a jump or say off a steep grassy hill. I know i'll eventually figure this stuff out but can anyone tell me the reason for this and how to correct it? I know these things are meant for bashing but it makes me cringe when try anything mild and it just goes tumbling haha

I also plan on picking up something like the Traxxas M41 boat in the future as I live on the lake and that looks like a lot of fun. I bought the Prophet Sport Duo charger and two DuraTrax 5400mah 3s batteries for the Kraton and i'm wondering if could use these in the boat to help save money.
 
You'd be able to use the batteries but you'll either have to change the connectors on the traxxas boats esc or get some adapters. Probably better to change the connector on the esc though. :)
Also just speaking from personal experience and not just fanboying here, I'd stay away from Traxxas.. they are huge money pits.

far as arrma videos, tutorials, etc, here's two decent ones to get started:

Tp-parts-rc-xtreme has some good maintenance how-to vids: https://www.youtube.com/user/ThomasP74/playlists?sort=dd&view=50&shelf_id=5

Rich Duperbash also has some really good tutorial/tips vids besides being damn entertaining to watch as well:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOOdsPkyvfE-xixplv6-Alg
 
This is the short short version. I could go into greater detail but I would be here for while.

As far as maintenance goes, just visually inspect things before and after a run, clean and replace things as they wear out. Shocks and diffs depending on how your driving conditions should be good for 20-40 runs. If you drive in dirt/sand a lot I would cut this number down to 15-20 runs. The stock bearings because they are only metal shielded ideally should be cleaned and relubed after each run, they are not sealed so anything and everything gets in them, I recommend replacing them with Fast Eddy Bearings or Jim's Bearings. You can also buy bearings in bulk off eBay for 0.99 cents a pop, it never hurts to have spare bearings.

We do have a sticky someplace about cleaning your rc but it doesn't go into detail about cleaning things like shock, diffs or bearings.

Cleaning shocks just use paper towels and qtips to clean out the out shock oil.

Diffs, the easiest way I have found to clean diffs is to get one of these some Naphtha and a glass mason jar with a lid. Put all of the diff parts inside the tea infuser, the cups probably wont fit, fill a jar about 1/2 way with the naphtha set the tea infuser in the naphtha and let set for about 5 min. After 5 min stir the tea infuser around in the naphtha for about a min or so and all of the old fluid should now be removed from the gears. For the diff cup you can just dip that straight in with a needle nose or something long.

Rubber sealed bearings are pretty simple as well and much easier to clean than most metal shielded bearings. Remove the rubber seal and put the bearings inside the tea infuser spray the bearings with brake parts cleaner, let them dry and test to make sure the bearings spin freely, if they do not spray with brake cleaner again until they do spin freely. Relube with lube of your choice(most use Marvel Mystery oil or synthetic motor oil and let them soak for a few hours in it) reapply the seals and wipe off any excess lube.


As far as the nose dives, make sure when you are coming off the ramp you are not at 100% throttle, you want to save about 20-30% throttle so you can correct in the air. By this I mean come off the ramp at 70% throttle, when the truck starts to nose dive give the throttle a little tap, it can take a little bit to figure out how much of a blip you need to make at first. If it starts to nose up give it a little brakes. And don't let off the throttle right after you come off the ramp stay on the throttle until just before you hit the ground,(DO NOT be on the throttle when you hit the ground though) the magnets in the will start to slow the motor down and this force also causes the car to nose dive.
 
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Hello!

I'm new to the world of RC vehicles and decided to just dive in and pick up a Kraton for myself and the Granite 4x4 Mega for my 12 year old son for Christmas. We are typically gamers/indoor nerds so I wanted to find something we could do together outdoors and so far we are loving these things! :)

I've looked over this forum a bit and it seems like a great place for information, but i'm wondering if there are any other good sources for general maintenance and repair? I've googled a bit and looked at some YouTube videos but I really don't know where to start. Looking for something one stop all encompassing if I can find it. On this site I've seen the upgrades and tools threads, but i'm hoping someone has also put out a list of oils/lube/cleaner and how to do everything properly.

Not planning on doing anything crazy with our stuff, but I know i'm going to need to perform maintenance from time to time. So far all I've done is blow debris out with the air compressor and wipe things down a bit. (3 runs so far)

On a side note - My son can jump his Granite fairly easy and it almost always lands level, but when I jump my Kraton it almost ALWAYS spins forward and tumbles no matter how fast or slow I go on a jump or say off a steep grassy hill. I know i'll eventually figure this stuff out but can anyone tell me the reason for this and how to correct it? I know these things are meant for bashing but it makes me cringe when try anything mild and it just goes tumbling haha

I also plan on picking up something like the Traxxas M41 boat in the future as I live on the lake and that looks like a lot of fun. I bought the Prophet Sport Duo charger and two DuraTrax 5400mah 3s batteries for the Kraton and i'm wondering if could use these in the boat to help save money.

When you're jumping the Kraton, let off the throttle as soon as you hit the jump. If the nose goes down, hit the throttle while it's in the air. Just a quick Crack of the throttle, don't hold it. If the back end of the truck drops, hit the breaks for a second to bring the front end down. I highly suggest getting a set of Fast Eddy bearings. They have removable rubber seals that makes cleaning and oiling them much easier. Plus the rubber seals helps keep dirt out of them.
 

Hope it helps. Pretty straight forward. Good luck.
I always liked his videos, the best ones are the Let's Break Redcats series. Dude seriously drives them off a cliff.
 
Awesome thanks guys!

Funny you say Traxxas is a money pit... when buying these I was doing research and read the same about Traxxas in several youtube comments and various forums and that's why I decided to go with Arrma. I actually got a brand new Traxxas 1/16 4x4 Slash for free at the same time as my other two and I even bought the ac/dc adapter for the wall but haven't opened any of it. Been having too much fun with the Kraton and Granite to bother with the Slash. I wish I could trade someone for a Senton haha

I did read that the Traxxas M41 is one of the best vehicles they make but that there are alternatives out there like ProBoat? Need to do more research on boats before I pull the trigger this spring. If anyone here has experience with boats please feel free to give advice or send me a PM or something :)
 
Lots of people bash traxxas because of their business practices (like suing the pants off of Arrma) and some are just plain fanboys. I'm just speaking from my own personal experience with them. I own a stampede 2wd vxl and a rustler vxl and have spent probably just as much as the cost of each car in necessary aluminum upgrades/broken replacements, and that was just in the fist two months of ownership with no heavy bashing. (not talking skateparks here at all) I had to warranty servos in both (twice in the stampede), and just replacing things and doing routine maintenance I've broken or stripped out their cheap plastic parts and had to replace with RPM or Tbone. I'l never buy another Traxxas vehicle. I'm picking up a Tekno EB410 or ET410 kit this summer for the 1/10 track and I'm selling my Rustler, and will most likely toss some paddle tires on the Stampede and use it as a winter/snow junker at this point.

But back on topic... I believe this is the comparable M41 in Proboat form.
https://www.horizonhobby.com/veles-29-inch-catamaran-brushless-rtr-p-prb08029

 
Man I'm torn today... I'm sitting at my in laws for our traditional Sunday lunch but I'm stuck to my phone researching smaller scale trucks haha

I like the idea of the smaller slash 1/16 size for portability but it's a traxxas. The more I read about these the more I am reading that they do break a lot.

Wondering if its worth sinking some money into this to make it more durable (not as concerned about making it go a lot faster) or if I should be looking at another brand/truck altogether?

Like I said I got this thing for free, so any upgrades would be a minimum investment for me to hopefully make it last longer/perform better.
 
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Man I'm torn today... I'm sitting at my in laws for our traditional Sunday lunch but I'm stuck to my phone researching smaller scale trucks haha

I like the idea of the smaller slash 1/16 size for portability but it's a traxxas. The more I read about these the more I am reading that they do break a lot.

Wondering if its worth sinking some money into this to make it more durable (not as concerned about making it go a lot faster) or if I should be looking at another brand/truck altogether?
Like I said I got this thing for free, so any upgrades would be a minimum investment for me to hopefully make it last longer/perform better.

If you stick to 2s the axles won't break and the diffs won't constantly strip.

If you want something different that's in that scale range, might I suggest the LC Racing EMB-SC or Tacon Thriller brushless. Same trucks, Tacon is the distributor for LC Racing in the US. I have the LC Racing EMB-T and the Traxxas doesn't even come close.
You can get the LC Racing from here
http://casterracingmi.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=173&product_id=1747

And the Tacon here
https://www.nitrorcx.com/25c109-14-thriller-sct-red-brushless.html


Do note that the Tacon is cheaper however it comes with a Pvc body that is notorious for shattering. The LC Racing comes with a clear lexan body.
 
Awesome thanks! Just because I'm new to all this could you give me some of the advantages these have over the traxxas? I see they have aluminum shocks and a brushless motor for example..
 
Awesome thanks! Just because I'm new to all this could you give me some of the advantages these have over the traxxas? I see they have aluminum shocks and a brushless motor for example..
Its not made entirely out of plastic and won't break every time you use it. Much easier to work on when you need to do maintenance on things like the diffs.
There is a lot of information in this thread. https://www.rctech.net/forum/micro-mini-scales/681066-lc-racing-emb-1h-official-thread.html
 
Sorry to keep bumping this thread Haha

Made a deal with a LHS they are gonna take the slash in trade and let me buy the Senton 3S BLX and pay the difference. Pretty stoked but just realized the new Senton uses the EC5 connector and I only have the XT90 batteries for my Kraton. D'OH! would I have any issues putting adapters on my batteries when I run the Senton or would I just be better off buying new batteries for it. I also plan to get the Pro Boat Veles 29, just checked and that also uses the EC5. All I have for a charger right now is the Prophet Sport Duo too. Kinda wish I had paid more and got the Quad version now haha
 
Sorry to keep bumping this thread Haha

Made a deal with a LHS they are gonna take the slash in trade and let me buy the Senton 3S BLX and pay the difference. Pretty stoked but just realized the new Senton uses the EC5 connector and I only have the XT90 batteries for my Kraton. D'OH! would I have any issues putting adapters on my batteries when I run the Senton or would I just be better off buying new batteries for it. I also plan to get the Pro Boat Veles 29, just checked and that also uses the EC5. All I have for a charger right now is the Prophet Sport Duo too. Kinda wish I had paid more and got the Quad version now haha
If your comfortable with a soldering iron, I would switch all connectors to one type. It's pretty easy to do the esc, but when doing the batteries, only do one wire at a time, so there's no chance of the two touching. Adapters are ok, but more connections equals more resistance, and ultimately, loss of power. Might not affect you depending on the way you operate, but there's also the increased risk of connectors coming apart during operation. From what I understand, EC5 is the way to go, based on what the guy at my lhs said to me. I just converted all my batteries and esc's to XT90 once I bought the Notorious. No plans to add to the collection for a while.
 
n00b question here... I have my Kraton sitting on a shelf about eye level and the shelf surface is straight and flat. Noticed that the front driver side wheel is sitting at an angle, more so than the passenger side. Rear tires both seem straight up and down. Is this normal? It doesn't seem like anything is broken or tweaked that I can tell. Used my hands to move the tires around a bit and try to straighten them but doesn't work. Haven't actually used tools on this thing yet as it's my first RC and I've run it a few times so haven't needed to as far as I know.
 
Thank you! Googled it and have more of an understanding now. Sorta. Haha I have a long way to go with learning how all this works. But that's half the fun, right?
 
If you stick to 2s the axles won't break and the diffs won't constantly strip.

If you want something different that's in that scale range, might I suggest the LC Racing EMB-SC or Tacon Thriller brushless. Same trucks, Tacon is the distributor for LC Racing in the US. I have the LC Racing EMB-T and the Traxxas doesn't even come close.
You can get the LC Racing from here
http://casterracingmi.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=173&product_id=1747

And the Tacon here
https://www.nitrorcx.com/25c109-14-thriller-sct-red-brushless.html


Do note that the Tacon is cheaper however it comes with a Pvc body that is notorious for shattering. The LC Racing comes with a clear lexan body.

Alright for a smaller RC I've gone back and forth between Traxxas, LC, Tacon, Dromida, Team Associated and I think I've settled on the Tacon Soar. I've been reading that you can use 2s and 3s Lipo batteries but every time I click the suggested link for the battery the links no longer work. What type of 2s battery should I be looking for? What kind of connector will I need? I see on ebay they sell the banana to XT60 adapter that is mentioned a lot but wondering what other connectors would work/could be better? Also, looking at the NitroRCx website it seems like none of the Tacon parts are in stock??? I will probably want to buy some upgrades for this thing but not sure where to look yet.
 
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