Notorious Notorious 6S mods and upgrades

[rengel]

Hey guys,

I’ve recently got a new Notorious 2019 Spec (Model ARA106044T2) and taken it from a couple of runs on two types of batteries:

Prime 5000, 50c, 14.8v (4s) as well as a 5500, 45C, 22.v (6s) which just transforms the car.

The car is running 100% stock parts and I’ve already managed to crash it a few times.
Not badly but one of the front axles came out so I had to take off one of the steering blocks AR330505 and when I went to put it back to together I threaded one of the front hub nuts (ARA320467) into the steering block in the process, so I’ll likely need to replace steering blocks + all the bolts.

I’m pretty sure I also rounded (as it used the wrong hex/allen key) the front grub nut (part number AR724505) so would likely need a set of new bolts for that also.

Rather than going stock hard plastic, do you guys have any recommendations on putting in metal ones instead (to replace the steering blocks)

And are there any other out of the box upgrades you would suggest for the notorious? Such as a stronger servo, front bumper, heat sync fans on the motor, etc?

I’ve been watching a few clips on a Kevin Talbot’s YouTube channel on how to further improve the drive and responsiveness of the 6s notorious, two key takeaways based on this clip (

) are to upgraded to a faster servo and a different radio.. keen to get your thoughts?

Kevin has suggested this for the servo - https://www.banggood.com/JX-Ecoboos...al-Gear-Digital-Coreless-Servo-p-1319881.html

And this for a different radio -

https://www.banggood.com/Flysky-FS-...-Screen-for-RC-Car-Boat-Models-p-1306766.html

Or cheaper but effective -

https://www.banggood.com/DumboRC-X6...0-Rc-Car-Boat-Tank-Model-Parts-p-1454329.html

Apparently this “fixes” the delay experienced when driving the car and brings the connection back between the driver and the truck.

Do you have any recommendations or suggestions?

I’m based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia)

Cheers

R.

 

[FatCatRC]

first off kevin is an idiot. Take what he says with a big grain of salt. Second I'm selling a fully loaded noto with m2c chassis and towers. Too bad you grabbed this one instead. I'll try to find my build thread with all the parts I used and send you the link.

 

[SrC]

>Radiolink RC6GS. Radio RC4GS is the cheaper 4 channel version. Great range.
>Amazon DS3235 servo. USe a 35kg at a minimum whatever you go with.

I have to agree with @FatCatRC, If you are fairly new to this, I would look to other "role models" for RC advice. KT is great for the entertainment.
That's all I watch him for. If I can stand all of 2 minutes of him. A laugh!!! If I am in a laughing mood I may watch some. KT is not a dummy, just that if you Learn RC his way, I garranty you will get burned out fast. Wallet and all. Been doing this hobby for 35+ yrs if that means anything. He is a bait click, So easy with swallowing all of his stuff. New RC'ers get mesmerized easily. There are more realistic ways of RC'ing. My spin.
Here at AF, you will find the real skinny with Arrma products. And there are many other better influencers out there.

 

[WoodiE]

I can't. I just can't. I've tried and I have tried but I just can't watch his videos.

But fear not, we already have a great thread about Arrma 6s upgrades that I would suggest you check out, Recommended Arrma Kraton & Talion Upgrades 2021

 

[GraniteFox]

i added Rpm wing mount, rpm rear skid and front bumper, exb front upper hinge pin bracket, aluminum servo mount, added some e clips to the stock servo saver spring.…was too loose. So far so good.

 

[rengel]

first off kevin is an idiot. Take what he says with a big grain of salt. Second I'm selling a fully loaded noto with m2c chassis and towers. Too bad you grabbed this one instead. I'll try to find my build thread with all the parts I used and send you the link.

Cheers for the response! I had no idea that I hit such a raw nerve with this KT guy
I was actually 'given' the car by a friend of mine who bought it brand new, stock did nothing to it, drove it twice around the block and never used it. He decided to give it to my 5 y/o son, so I'm teaching him how to drive it and respect it, fix it when things break etc.. I also bought my 4 y/o daughter a Maverick Quantum so that she has something to drive as well and doesn't feel left out!
Thanks again for your help! I'm very new to RC as you can see, so learning as we go... Cheers @FatCatRC

>Radiolink RC6GS. Radio RC4GS is the cheaper 4 channel version. Great range.
>Amazon DS3235 servo. USe a 35kg at a minimum whatever you go with.

I have to agree with @FatCatRC, If you are fairly new to this, I would look to other "role models" for RC advice. KT is great for the entertainment.
That's all I watch him for. If I can stand all of 2 minutes of him. A laugh!!! If I am in a laughing mood I may watch some. KT is not a dummy, just that if you Learn RC his way, I garranty you will get burned out fast. Wallet and all. Been doing this hobby for 35+ yrs if that means anything. He is a bait click, So easy with swallowing all of his stuff. New RC'ers get mesmerized easily. There are more realistic ways of RC'ing. My spin.
Here at AF, you will find the real skinny with Arrma products. And there are many other better influencers out there.

Thanks @SrC this is really helpful .. and apologies again for the KT comments!! I'll play the newbie card one last time

 

[rengel]

I can't. I just can't. I've tried and I have tried but I just can't watch his videos.

But fear not, we already have a great thread about Arrma 6s upgrades that I would suggest you check out, Recommended Arrma Kraton & Talion Upgrades 2021

Thank you @WoodiE I'll take a look at that link

 

[rengel]

>Radiolink RC6GS. Radio RC4GS is the cheaper 4 channel version. Great range.
>Amazon DS3235 servo. USe a 35kg at a minimum whatever you go with.

I have to agree with @FatCatRC, If you are fairly new to this, I would look to other "role models" for RC advice. KT is great for the entertainment.
That's all I watch him for. If I can stand all of 2 minutes of him. A laugh!!! If I am in a laughing mood I may watch some. KT is not a dummy, just that if you Learn RC his way, I garranty you will get burned out fast. Wallet and all. Been doing this hobby for 35+ yrs if that means anything. He is a bait click, So easy with swallowing all of his stuff. New RC'ers get mesmerized easily. There are more realistic ways of RC'ing. My spin.
Here at AF, you will find the real skinny with Arrma products. And there are many other better influencers out there.

Hey @SrC with the two items you mentioned above (the RC6GS and DS3235 servo) are any major mods required to install the servo or can I rip out the old one and install the new one? Is there a guide on how to get the RC6GS working? Again.. newbie here .. I'm keen to learn, fix, upgrade, mod myself but just need some guidance

 

[SrC]

Pretty much its a drop in servo. You may need a 25 spline servo arm/Horn to match. If yours says Spektrum on the Arm, it is a 23 spline arm and wont fit 99% of upgrade servos, including this DS3235 (a 25 spline servo) . Def. need to setup the servo Endpoints or you will stress and burn out the servo, any servo must be setup this way. RC6GS is a popular radio and simple enough to setup like most are. Just swap out your old radio receiver (Rx) with the new one included with the radio.
Instructions can be found online and YT.
Help is here. Many threads here on radio setup.

 

[rengel]

Pretty much its a drop in servo. You may need a 25 spline servo arm/Horn to match. If yours says Spektrum on the Arm, it is a 23 spline arm and wont fit 99% of upgrade servos, including this DS3235 (a 25 spline servo) . Def. need to setup the servo Endpoints or you will stress and burn out the servo, any servo must be setup this way. RC6GS is a popular radio and simple enough to setup like most are. Just swap out your old radio receiver (Rx) with the new one included with the radio.
Instructions can be found online and YT.
Help is here. Many threads here on radio setup.

Thanks @SrC here are some pics of my notorious.. so you can see the servo... also one of the front wheels looks (alignment?) a little odd.... what's the best way to fix this? hopefully you can see that in the picture...
FYI @SrC

 

[SrC]

You don't need the 25 spline servo arm. You have it there already.
I just don't see which wheel you mean, and whats wrong. Pix is decieving me.

If Front wheel Toe is not correc,t adjust at the ST turnbuckle(s) with a small wrench. 5 or 5.5mm I believe. Small ignition wrenches. If you have a set.

Front wheels should point outward a slight bit, and equally L+R. So it will track straight.

 

[rengel]

You don't need the 25 spline servo arm. You have it there already.
I just don't see which wheel you mean, and whats wrong. Pix is decieving me.

If Front wheel Toe is not correc,t adjust at the ST turnbuckle(s) with a small wrench. 5 or 5.5mm I believe. Small ignition wrenches. If you have a set.

Front wheels should point outward a slight bit, and equally L+R. So it will track straight.

See the left front wheel is pointing more outward than the right wheel? Yup, I think the turnbuckle just needs an adjustment... I don't have a set but I'll buy some...
I also just bought a Traxxas 8711 7 piece hex bit master tool set + dynamite DYN2806 5 pc metric nut driver assortment to get me out of trouble when fixing _stuff_

 

[SrC]

Great idea.
Never use those L hex wrenches.
Hand drivers are best.
With the turnbuckle. I would get both wheels straight using something straight to align both first. Then gradually bring each wheel out ever so slightly with equal turns of the wrench for each side. Eye it from there. Roughly being Toed out 1-1.5 degrees. That should be enough. From there, Toe is personal preference, as you get to drive your rig. For fast off road rigs on dirt or loose terrain, you start with toe out most of the time. Even new out the box, these settings are not correct. Impacts and hit scan tweak these settings. Just re adjust periodically as needed or when it wants to drift left or right. Make sure you absolutley have the rig with running weight and powered ON with your radio and servo centered on a flat surface, when you do this. Most important to get it correct, No other way it can be done well enough.

 

[rengel]

Great idea.
Never use those L hex wrenches.
Hand drivers are best.

So tell me @SrC is the standard issue Radio that the Notorious ships with REALLY that bad? (e.g - delayed, etc as our mate KT talks about?) and would a new Radio and Servo (as you have suggested above) make a massive difference in response times, etc?

 

[SrC]

If you have the STX2, deep six that garbage. I felt it was too dangerous to use. Response/Latency was horrible. Felt like I was driving a $10. ToyRus toy RC. Not lying. Def. not good for any powerful fast 14 pound rig.
I got 2 rigs with them, (Kraton and Noto) and used it when new for all of 5 minutes and just took my rig back home. It was that bad for me. I always knew it got bad reviews. just wanted to see for myself. And yea, its crap. You cant get the most out of driving with it. It feels disconnected with the rig. Been doing Rc for 35 years. Never seen any radio that bad, except a few that I damaged myself obviously.

 

[rengel]

If you have the STX2, deep six that garbage. I felt it was too dangerous to use. Response/Latency was horrible. Felt like I was driving a $10. ToyRus toy RC. Not lying. Def. not good for any powerful fast 14 pound rig.
I got 2 rigs with them, (Kraton and Noto) and used it when new for all of 5 minutes and just took my rig back home. It was that bad for me. I always knew it got bad reviews. just wanted to see for myself. And yea, its crap. You cant get the most out of driving with it. It feels disconnected with the rig. Been doing Rc for 35 years. Never seen any radio that bad, except a few that I damaged myself obviously.

Indeed I have the STX2

 

[SrC]

Upgrade that ASAP. The rig will drive/feel better. You will drive more confidently. Your Noto will thank you. JennysRC couldn't even sell them for $5.00 (new take offs) at one point. No one wanted them. I actually have 3 here, that I couldn't give away.
My Mojave V1 came with it also. It never saw action. Out the box before I even ran it, I swapped it out. Never even put AA batts. in it.

 

[rengel]

Upgrade that ASAP. The rig will drive/feel better. Your Noto will thank you.

OK, so the two things I'll look to buy are:

DS3235 (a 25 spline servo)
RC6GS Radio controller

..now I just need to find a local stockist in Australia otherwise with everything that's going on at the moment I won't receive the parts until 2097!!!!

 

[SrC]

I think by 2097, RC rigs will be controlled with FPV goggles. No hands.
I got both radio and servo on Amazon.
All my 6s rigs run the DS3235's. Tried the expensive brands. For bashing these are best. Servos get abused and I consider them consumables at some point. If I get over a year, I got my moneys worth. My oldest is over 2 years. Runs fine. I've had a spare one sitting on standby here and haven't needed it yet.
I'm putting it in my TLR Typhon when it comes tommorow.

 

[rengel]

I think by 2097, RC rigs will be controlled with FPV goggles. No hands.
I got both radio and servo on Amazon.
All my 6s rigs run the DS3235's. Tried the expensive brands. For bashing these are best. Servos get abused and I consider them consumables at some point. If I get over a year, I got my moneys worth. My oldest is over 2 years. Runs fine. I've had a spare one sitting on standby here and haven't needed it yet.
I'm putting it in my TLR Typhon when it comes tommorow.

Great advice and I shall look to get this ordered now! Thank you for your help @SrC I will highly likely come back with some advice on installation... more than likely followed by 20 photos of my notorious in 50,000 pieces and me pulling my hair out (HA!)
Lead times for delivery from amazon are 5 weeks+ at the moment if stock is coming from the US.
I also found the same servo here -> which model is it the SSG180 or SSG270?
https://dronesxpress.com.au/product...f5VFtSx5zu48cuSZGnz1EvhfpOJKHJLoaAgePEALw_wcB
Same deal for the RC6GS Nothing that I can find in Australia.. it would either be coming from Amazon US (which takes a gazzillion years) or China.... still 5 weeks +