My Slash journey

DuceTheTruth100 · 22 May 2022 04:34

About a month and a half ago I bought an old Traxxas Slash 2wd that had been sittin in my homies garage just collecting dust. A year ago I had asked to buy it but wasnt successful, so needless to say I had to look at it in the same place every time I stopped by to visit which is at least a couple times a week. Fast foward the clock and the same thing happened, only this time I was given the option to purchase!! And purchase I did…been havin so much fun since then.

Never done nothing like this before but imma try to keep yall updated on this build/journey.

It started out with a dead Novak esc, a Novak brushless motor and stock electronics and servo.

I upgraded to a new Sidewinder 4 Esc and Castle brushless setup running 2s Lipo, and a Spektrum DX3 controller.

I’ve already broken a few things and fixed them. I stripped the left inside axle nut(thought i was gonna have to tear apart the transmission) , lost the right 12mm hex that holds on the tire, and the right rear A-arm.

Not only do I drive it, but my 7 year old daughter likes to drive it too……soooo its lookin like I may have to get her one too.

Ive been getting used to it getting it dailed in for the past couple of weeks, so ive been mainly driving on 50% power…pussyfooting…i know. Just recently though, I started driving on 75% and found out that it CAN do wheelies.

So yea, today me and my daughter was at the park down the street from my house going wheelie crazy. It was all good untill my daughter gassed it one good time…did a SUPER WHEELIE…and when it came back down, the engine was going…but the truck wasnt

Ended up breaking the differential output yoke something…

Went to the hobby shop and bought 2 new Traxxas rear axles. I could’ve upgraded to metal dogbones…but ill wait.

New axle going on…

All put back together with the rear end sitting up a bit higher and stiffened rear shocks…

DuceTheTruth100 · 22 May 2022 05:07

I wanted to do it today but hopefully tomorrow i can get started on gluing tires to rims. I purchased a set of crawler tires and rims from a Traxxas Trx4. Its not going with my on-road intentions for this truck, but they look good for now.

Knugcab · 22 May 2022 06:03

Yeah, better get the girl her own one because sooner or later something will break, probably better for your dad-daughter relations if she breaks her own one then.

RC cars is interesting, though I haven’t tried for ages. Had lots of fun with the Tamiya Clod Buster I had as a kid, well… Except for when there was some interference problems, so the remote for my friend’s Monster Beetle seemed to affect what my Clod Buster was doing but of course the Clod Buster remote did nothing on the Monster Beetle… Of course, we were kids and knew nothing about crystals etc. back then.

I have looked every now and then into getting one, I have a friend that said that he thinks a crawler would be something for me.

…why not, since I have seen that there is 3d printed bodies of the Swedish army TGB11 (Volvo C303) available, that would be cool to have.

kalan · 22 May 2022 07:07

The main reason RC models break down is the lack of variable power steering and the lack of a nudge gas control. Oh, I hate that kind of control knob!

Fun. All this time I thought you were 15 years old.

DuceTheTruth100 · 22 May 2022 22:30

Yea man, i definitely gotta get her one. We went to the hobby shop yesterday and watched the 1/10th scale buggies race around the indoor track and she loved it…actually, I dont know who loved it more, me or her.

I remember wanting the RC10 back in the Tamiya Clodbuster days. Moms wasnt buying that though. Shoot, i even wanted EVERY rc from Tyco at the time, MAINLY the 9.6v Turbo Bandit…didnt get one of those until years later.

Since ive been RC parts hunting on offer up ive seen 2 3d printed bodies so far. Ive also started looking at crawlers too. Those things are super sick!! I like the fact that they look like real thing, from the frame, suspension links and axles. One of the hobby shops I go to, the owner has his RCs’ around the whole store and its like 80% crawlers.

DuceTheTruth100 · 22 May 2022 22:35

I highly doubt thats the main reason they break. If anything its from high speed crashes. And everything is programmable nowadays. You can adjust steering trim, and Castle has a system where you can adjust the throttle AND torque curve on computer or app from a phone which is SUPER dope.

Im 43, how old are you if you dont mind me asking?

kalan · 22 May 2022 23:09

Programming electronics was absolute news to me, although I know that there are centers for programming robots in some places our country.
I myself love the electronics very much, and so for example, cool set up my PC, including the maximum protect its workability and a variety of data. For example, such a nuisance as a system crash is absolutely no problem for me.
At this moment, I’m 25.

DuceTheTruth100 · 1 June 2022 12:55

Came outside last Saturday and seen my neighbor who fishes AND knows alot about RCs’. Apparently he used to race them back in the day. Lucky for me because he took one look at my truck and said your camber setup is all wrong!! He offered to set it up properly and I didnt object. With the use of a set of needle nose pliers and 15 minutes of adjusting and rolling, magic happened.

Front and rear camber was set.

Handling is a night and day difference.

Now this thing can take a corner decenty. Its cool watching it take corners on blacktop watching the body lean and the front wheel lift depending on which way your turning.

Still got some things to do to improve handling tho…stay tuned.

Lanson · 1 June 2022 17:44

Ahh yes, short course racing rc. I used to run two trucks for some time before the hobby burned too many holes in my pockets. One was a Team Associated SC10 and the other an OFNA/Jammin SCRT10. The TA was for the stock class, and the Jammin ran the modified 4wd class. Fun racing but the amount of support gear and equipment paired with spare and upgrade parts (which cost sometimes as much as 1/4 real car parts) really got to me. In the end I made a clean break with the hobby and parted everything out.

The hobby helps with mechanical education and getting the mind to think about the little details. For an RC car, changing the battery plug from a Molex to a high current type can make a significant difference, for instance. Or swapping a geared planetary diff to a ball diff with a clutch. Also, learning how to play nice with others competitively without being in a “sport”, though chasing a car down and putting it back on the track as fast as you can is a good bit of exercise.

DuceTheTruth100 · 21 July 2022 06:02

Update: Sold the Slash back to the friend who I originally purchased it from. Then I bought another 2wd Slash, but this one has the low center gravity chassis. They handle COMPLETELY different. Oh what a difference chassis and suspension setups make. With the black & gray one you have to really slow down in turns or you’ll roll it. The white one shines in the turns, its like an ace, makes you feel like a real pro. Despite those differences they are both super fun…and fast. And these are only 2S.