So I thought it time to start keeping track of what I have don't to my Talion. I bought it used but in VERY good shape. It came with a Markor carbon top deck which I do like a lot ?. It also came with a Leopard 2000kv motor that i have since swapped out for a Castle creations 2200kv motor. I thought I was having issues with the leopard motor but shortly after switching to the castle motor my factory BLX185 quit on me so now I'm thinking maybe it was just the ESC on its last leg. I have since replaced it with a new Hobbywing EZrun Max8 and my hats off to Hobbywing on how much stuff comes with their ESC's. I am running a DS3225SG servo that I got off Banggood. Quick enough and strong enough to get the job done.if I find I need more power or speed in the future I will change it but for the moment it is working just fine. The factory servo was to slow for me and started to become inconsistent.
The truck also came with the HR motor mount and center diff support. Having never seen the factory mount I can't say how much better the HR one is but I have had absolutely no issues with it and it is super easy to remove the motor and set the mesh.
Currently it is winter in the Northeast USA and the most popular tire choice right now is my Traxxas 3.8 paddle tires. Let me say that if you have never had the pleasure of powering massive wheelies across snow you are missing out, it is one of the most fun things I have ever done with my RCs. Normally running my Talion on home built tracks my tires and set up are all based on track running.
I have been trying out running my truck without the side mud guards since the winter started. I like the idea of making the chassis and the weight as narrow and centered as possible for better handling, both on and off the ground, but I also found that more stuff got stuck in the mud guards than without them on at all. My plan is to try and find a middle ground running trimmed guards but for now I'm happy to shed as much snow as possible. Also to help in doing this I am running a different battery tray. Arrma part # 320192. It uses a much simpler 2 strap hold down and is just a much simpler mount. Personally I have never had any issues with simple mounts like this and prefer the easy loading and unloading over the other style tray that the truck came with.
I also have a few simple upgrades to my truck. I made my own front bumper to replace the stock on that broke in one run.
A simple design that bolts on exactly like the stock on but is solid aluminum. I have considered making a few more for others to try. I don't like the big wide front bumpers running on a track but I also need something to keep the hindge pins in that won't break of so quickly. Also in the picture I am running HR stainless steel skid plates front and rear. Thus far they are doing exactly what they are supposed to do. This winter I have regularly launched onto pavement and so far nothing beyond scratches on the skid plates.
Another thing I made was the rear mud guards on the control arms. Nothing special just some black G10 fiber glass cut to size and using the factory holes that already exist for mounting.
As far as set up goes I am running 60k diff fluid front and rear with 100k center. I might increase the center a bit. I usually prefer a locked center but the center diff does allow for some tight turns which is a nice advantage on the smaller tracks I run on. I believe I am running 80w(1000cst) shock fluid front and rear. Honestly this is a guess because it was a while ago that I rebuilt them and I'm very bad at writing this stuff down. For springs I have Tekno blue springs (5.73lb/in) in the front and I'm not sure in the rear. I believe they are stock rear springs but having bought the truck used I have no way of confirming that.
I think that is all I have for now. I can honestly say I have beat on this truck a fair bit and haven't broken anything except for the little front bumper. I have been surprised many times watching it clip a tree or case a jump only to find it come rolling right back unphased. I will keep this post updated with any changes that come about. Thank you if you read it all. There will be more to come ?
The truck also came with the HR motor mount and center diff support. Having never seen the factory mount I can't say how much better the HR one is but I have had absolutely no issues with it and it is super easy to remove the motor and set the mesh.
Currently it is winter in the Northeast USA and the most popular tire choice right now is my Traxxas 3.8 paddle tires. Let me say that if you have never had the pleasure of powering massive wheelies across snow you are missing out, it is one of the most fun things I have ever done with my RCs. Normally running my Talion on home built tracks my tires and set up are all based on track running.
I have been trying out running my truck without the side mud guards since the winter started. I like the idea of making the chassis and the weight as narrow and centered as possible for better handling, both on and off the ground, but I also found that more stuff got stuck in the mud guards than without them on at all. My plan is to try and find a middle ground running trimmed guards but for now I'm happy to shed as much snow as possible. Also to help in doing this I am running a different battery tray. Arrma part # 320192. It uses a much simpler 2 strap hold down and is just a much simpler mount. Personally I have never had any issues with simple mounts like this and prefer the easy loading and unloading over the other style tray that the truck came with.
I also have a few simple upgrades to my truck. I made my own front bumper to replace the stock on that broke in one run.
A simple design that bolts on exactly like the stock on but is solid aluminum. I have considered making a few more for others to try. I don't like the big wide front bumpers running on a track but I also need something to keep the hindge pins in that won't break of so quickly. Also in the picture I am running HR stainless steel skid plates front and rear. Thus far they are doing exactly what they are supposed to do. This winter I have regularly launched onto pavement and so far nothing beyond scratches on the skid plates.
Another thing I made was the rear mud guards on the control arms. Nothing special just some black G10 fiber glass cut to size and using the factory holes that already exist for mounting.
As far as set up goes I am running 60k diff fluid front and rear with 100k center. I might increase the center a bit. I usually prefer a locked center but the center diff does allow for some tight turns which is a nice advantage on the smaller tracks I run on. I believe I am running 80w(1000cst) shock fluid front and rear. Honestly this is a guess because it was a while ago that I rebuilt them and I'm very bad at writing this stuff down. For springs I have Tekno blue springs (5.73lb/in) in the front and I'm not sure in the rear. I believe they are stock rear springs but having bought the truck used I have no way of confirming that.
I think that is all I have for now. I can honestly say I have beat on this truck a fair bit and haven't broken anything except for the little front bumper. I have been surprised many times watching it clip a tree or case a jump only to find it come rolling right back unphased. I will keep this post updated with any changes that come about. Thank you if you read it all. There will be more to come ?
