Need pre-op setup suggestions, new Nero with brain arriving today

[Combatjeep]

Just checked my tracking number. My new Nero will be delivered today. Of course the first thing I will do is read the manual. I'm hoping some of you RC veterans can advise me on things I need to check and do prior to operating my Nero. I've read dozens of posts where people have stated many things that the manual is unclear on or doesn't state at all. Help me learn from your experiences so I can best prevent screwing something up too soon.
Here's what I got so far:
Two 3s 5400mah 50c lipos, two 3s 5400mah 75c lipos, Venom dual charger. I'm receiving the white and blue Nero with diff brain; I'll also be receiving the t-bone basher front skid, t-bone v2 wheelie bar, and t-bone bottom solid skid (to keep the beach sand out). I have dust covers to place over the internals also to keep out the sand. I'm going to try out the balloon shock cover mod also. Thanks for any suggestions you may have for me!

 

[mrfurious40k]

Make sure the retaining screw on the steering linkage is tight and check it after the first couple battery changes. That is known to come loose and get lost when the Nero is new. The first time you have the Nero torn down for repairs put some blue loctite on that screw.

Other than that, I run my Nero with the factory setup except for the wheelie bar and dirt guards.

 

[Fiery]

What's the balloon mod? And I would put the shocks in the second hole to the middle. Also, why did you get four batteries? You might want to take the 50c back and get some smc batteries because the 50c are known to puff up really fast.

 

[lonee]

1. Change the "upper" position of the shocks more to the middle, as much you can.
2. Rewire the rooting of the motor cables after changing shocks position.
3. Bla bla bla screwa and loctite.
4. Have fun!

Maybe you should think about mud guards, they will keep mud, sand and stones away from the axles.
Otherwise the red aluminum parts will be like sandblasted after a short time!
On the front is is not sooo necessary, but on the back..
I have made some DIY, if you like, I can give you an g-code for a CNC mill.

Be sure that it is impossible to keep the sand and dirt outside the car, I do also use a dusty motors cover
and covered the chassis with a fine mesh.

At least.... the body is a little weak. Maybe it is better to cover is soon from inside with mesh and zap goo.

Regards,
lonee

 

[Combatjeep]

What's the balloon mod? And I would put the shocks in the second hole to the middle. Also, why did you get four batteries? You might want to take the 50c back and get some smc batteries because the 50c are known to puff up really fast.

The balloon mod I read about is using an elongated balloon and stretching it over the shock.
What c rating and mah of SMC should I use? Thanks for the advice so far everyone!

 

[chevyrumble]

Double check the servo saver. I had to tighten mine out of the box on my Big Rock and have seen a number of other people say they had to do the same thing.

 

[Fiery]

I got the 5200mah 90c

 

[lonee]

The balloon mod I read about is using an elongated balloon and stretching it over the shock.
What c rating and mah of SMC should I use? Thanks for the advice so far everyone!

The shocks itself have a rubber cover inside the spring.

 

[Combatjeep]

The balloon mod I read about is using an elongated balloon and stretching it over the shock.
What c rating and mah of SMC should I use? Thanks for the advice so far everyone!

Any suggestions on recommended driving style setting on the beach? I'm gonna guess "blast".

Also, I've read of the steering horn getting chewed up and was recommended by a friend to get an aluminum servo saver and aluminum horn. So 23t, 24t or 25t?

Wow. This thing has crazy torque. Just took it for a test run in the empty parking lot by my condo. All factory default settings. Very sensitive throttle. I did tighten the servo saver and steering linkage screws as recommended. I've got my homework cut out for me on this. I sure wish there were an English only manual that explained things better and wasn't so vague. Maybe my kid can help interpret it. She reads picture books all the time, lol.

 

[Fiery]

Be careful not to jerk the throttle on other modes. For the beach I've never been but make sure to clean really good after and we'd-40 the screws before and after and stay away from the water.

 

[chevyrumble]

There is a good chance the stock steering servo is going to feel slow or under powered in the sand. I have not run my Big Rock in sand, but my next mod is an upgraded servo. The stock servo is good on asphalt and hard pack dirt, but on grass I find it struggles to move even the stock tires. I understand that this is a monster truck and it's not going to have the steering of the drift car, but unless you have a very large open space to run it the steering can be an issue. I have seen a number of videos of people trying to jump their Nero's & Big Rock's on narrow tracks and for every one good jump they miss the ramp 3-4 times because the turning radius is quite large and they have problems getting the truck lined up properly while just having good time bashing. Through in the power these have on 6S and a supper sensitive throttle, as you have already discovered, and you can find yourself with a broken RC real easy. If you do look into a replacing the servo, please be aware that the stock Arrma ESC has a 6.0V BEC built in that is not adjustable. If you want to run a high voltage servo at 7.4V or higher, with the stock ESC, you will have to install an additional BEC that is connected directly to your batteries. There are a couple of threads in the "Nero, Big Rock & Fazon" section of the forum that discuss steering servo's if you are interested in more info or want to see what others have upgraded to.

 

[Combatjeep]

There is a good chance the stock steering servo is going to feel slow or under powered in the sand. I have not run my Big Rock in sand, but my next mod is an upgraded servo. The stock servo is good on asphalt and hard pack dirt, but on grass I find it struggles to move even the stock tires. I understand that this is a monster truck and it's not going to have the steering of the drift car, but unless you have a very large open space to run it the steering can be an issue. I have seen a number of videos of people trying to jump their Nero's & Big Rock's on narrow tracks and for every one good jump they miss the ramp 3-4 times because the turning radius is quite large and they have problems getting the truck lined up properly while just having good time bashing. Through in the power these have on 6S and a supper sensitive throttle, as you have already discovered, and you can find yourself with a broken RC real easy. If you do look into a replacing the servo, please be aware that the stock Arrma ESC has a 6.0V BEC built in that is not adjustable. If you want to run a high voltage servo at 7.4V or higher, with the stock ESC, you will have to install an additional BEC that is connected directly to your batteries. There are a couple of threads in the "Nero, Big Rock & Fazon" section of the forum that discuss steering servo's if you are interested in more info or want to see what others have upgraded to.

Excellent points and advice on that, thank you!

 

[Toolzero]

Buy some high end two sided tape and remount your ESC. It will break loose and crash around after a few runs if you keep it stock.

Use Break Free CLP to lube the insides of all the red aluminum drive shafts, every bearing, and every screw head.

Require the battery cables from the ESC so they do not go between the shocks. Move all shocks to the middle most position.

Buy the mud guards.

For the body Shoe Goo and drywall tape the entire front half, the back tailgate area and triple reinforce the rear mounting holes. You will rip the pins through the rear holes very quickly.

 

[lonee]

Right, I also forgot the kind of mounting the ESC. On my Big Rock the ESC was loosen after 3 runnings, but in wintertime.
I made an plate from aluminium like the original from hobby wing for the max8. 4 screws from below into the ESC and 2 into the chassis.
Now the ESC will never go it´s own way!
I have no separate pic, just mounted.

 

[Combatjeep]

Put the t-bone front bumper and skid on. Put the wheelie bar on; it's a bit big and obnoxious looking. I may pull it off and trim it all down, shorten the bar and rethread it for a more proportion look. Going to move the shocks to center now. Can anyone send me a pic of where they rerouted the wires? The three main wires are a bit tight.

 

[chevyrumble]

Here are two pictures of wiring from my truck. I think most people count the shock holes from the outside in so that is how I am counting them here. I have moved my shocks to the 4th hole (inner most). When I did that I had to pull the motor cables out from between the shocks and move them to the outside of the right shock, which is directly above the motor. Just so no one is confused, yes, there is an extra black wire with a plug end on it in these pictures next to my motor wires. I have added LEDs to a custom body that I made and the extra wire is a plug that goes to the LED controller which is mounted on the body of my truck. Anyway, you can see how I have run the motor wires on the outside of the shock in these pictures.

One other note about wiring. If you do any work on the ESC or open up the Receiver Box for any reason be careful to make sure the throttle control wire that runs form the ESC to the Diff Brain doesn't get to loose (on a none diff-brain Nero it runs from the ESC to the receiver). I didn't realize how long the cable was and after putting my truck back together one day and taking if for a test running this wire ended up getting caught and chewed up by the spur gear. Fortunately I was able to cut out the damaged section and resolder the wires, but it's a lot easier just to learn from my mistake and double check that none of the smaller wires are hanging loose near the spur gear after working on your vehicle.

 

[Combatjeep]

Here are two pictures of wiring from my truck. I think most people count the shock holes from the outside in so that is how I am counting them here. I have moved my shocks to the 4th hole (inner most). When I did that I had to pull the motor cables out from between the shocks and move them to the outside of the right shock, which is directly above the motor. Just so no one is confused, yes, there is an extra black wire with a plug end on it in these pictures next to my motor wires. I have added LEDs to a custom body that I made and the extra wire is a plug that goes to the LED controller which is mounted on the body of my truck. Anyway, you can see how I have run the motor wires on the outside of the shock in these pictures.

One other note about wiring. If you do any work on the ESC or open up the Receiver Box for any reason be careful to make sure the throttle control wire that runs form the ESC to the Diff Brain doesn't get to loose (on a none diff-brain Nero it runs from the ESC to the receiver). I didn't realize how long the cable was and after putting my truck back together one day and taking if for a test running this wire ended up getting caught and chewed up by the spur gear. Fortunately I was able to cut out the damaged section and resolder the wires, but it's a lot easier just to learn from my mistake and double check that none of the smaller wires are hanging loose near the spur gear after working on your vehicle.

View attachment 9627 View attachment 9628

Where did you plug in for power? Is there an empty spot in the box or do you have a direct battery connection? I would like to add some simple head/tail light LEDs to drive it at night. Also, can I get caps to place over the balancing wire connectors on my batteries to prevent them getting wet?

 

[chevyrumble]

I don't know about caps for the balance plugs I never even thought to look, I have not run my truck in or near water. If you are planning on running at the beach on the sand near salt water it might be a good idea to find something though. A quick Google search and I found a couple things that are called "Balance Plug Savers" although these are not quite what you are looking for. These snap on to the base of a balance plug to make it easier to hold onto and do not cover the plug end. The only cover I can find is made by a company RJX Hobby. I am kind of surprised that something like this is so hard to find considering how many waterproof RCs there are now. From the pictures on their website it looks like these covers work along with the Balance Plug Savers which is why I mentioned them also.

www.rjxhobby.com/rjx756?search=plug%20cover

As for the LEDs, I have an overly complicated setup running 2 LED controllers, 23 individual LEDs, and 2 LED light bars. So I have a separate battery that powers just the LEDs. I believe it would be possible to run a much simpler LED setup with one controller and get power from the receiver or diff brain. But I would recommend that you really spend some time taking a look at the stock wiring setup and make sure you really understand where each of the wires is going in the receiver and diff brain. It took me a couple tries before I was able to get everything (Receiver, Diff Brain, & LEDs) all working together. It is very easy to plug one of these wire in backwards, especially on the Diff Brain, and that could fry the whole system if your not careful. I actually have a build thread with quite a few pictures of what I have been doing if you are interested, I will put a link to it below. I don't have a picture of the wiring in the receiver box because it just looks like a bunch of servo wires and you can't really tell were anything goes.

https://arrmaforum.com/threads/big-rock-custom-body-leds-more.3109/

 

[Combatjeep]

Well. I screwed something up. Think I burnt up the steering servo. Dunno. It turns left but not right. I may have tightened something too much. I removed the horn and everything though and it would only rotate one way. This sux.

 

[chevyrumble]

Contact Arrma support they are pretty good about replacing failed parts (or at least they have been for me), but it might take a few weeks for you to get the replacement part. I broke a lower rear suspension arm on my first run with my Big Rock. Arrma replaced it at no charge, but it took 4 weeks for the part to arrive. I ended up buying a set at my local hobby store so I could get the truck back up and running faster. Which wasn't a big deal for a $10 part, but a steering servo is more expensive so it might be worth it to wait for that. I am not sure what your plans are for the truck, but if you plan on putting larger wheels and tires on you might just want to get a better servo anyway. The stock servo works, but like I said before it's a bit under powered for any kind of surface that is really loose or soft. I have not replaced mine yet, but that is probably the next upgrade I will do to my truck. I think I will probably go with the Blue Bird BLS-H50B, it is rated for 620oz-in @ 6.0V and 0.12sec operating speed and the price seems really good for the specs. @Havoc put one of these in his Nero and said it was a good servo except that it got water damaged which is the one thing that is kind of weird about this servo. Some post say it's waterproof others don't say anything at all. Anyway, there are a number of other forum threads that people talk about the servo's they have upgraded to if you just look through the Nero, Big Rock & Fazon threads. A lot of people like the Savox servo's. @BigSilly450x went with the ProTek 370TBL, which is probably my second choice if I don't go with the Blue Bird. The ProTek is a bit more pricey though.