Electric Rustler Improvements

[SpeeDFX]

Hey everyone , my little brother got a Electric Rustler for Christmas and all he has is this stock motor that comes with it (I think its a 20 turn) and the elctric speed control that comes with it, we haven't modified it or anything but I have no idea what to do to electric cars. Do you guys know of any useful hopups from a RTR electric Rustler?

[dockman]

Save your money and run it like it is. Just have fun with it for a while. If Im not mistaken the RTR combo you have dosnt have bearings in the wheels. At this point the bearing upgrade for the wheels would be the only thing I would change. Put the money into a good peak charger and some more batts before you worry about upgradeing the truck.

[losi man]

i got the best hopup for you
Get a e-maxx or a xxxt

[chucksolo]

I have an electric Protrax Rustler with full ball bearings and a Trinity Speedgems Ruby 16T Triple wind motor in mine and it has great acceleration and torque. I have the stock Traxxas XL-1 ESC in mine too. Traxxas says the limit for the Xl-1 ESC is 17 turns, but with the proper gearing, a 16 turn motor will work too. When you go to a lower wind motor, it is essential that you gear the truck down. I went from a 18t pinion to a 16t so I sacrificed a little speed for more torque. The motor and ESC get a little warm with this combo, but not really hot. The ball bearings help a lot. The truck requires 8 ball bearings. four for the front wheels and four for the rears.

[R_C_MAN]

If you plan to get bearings I would get the RPM hub carriers because they allow you to use bigger bearings so that they wont blow out so easily as the smaller stock bearing size.

[The_Ne-Go-She-Ate-r]

Make sure you get the rpm hub carryers before you get the bearing becouse if you run bearings in the stock hubs they will blow out after a couple of runs!, i had a stampede at one time and i remember the biggest problem was the shocks! go for the t6 alluminum ones that traxxas makes, they will make your car handle so much better and you dontt have to worry about the plastic shock cap breaking off!

[SpeeDFX]

yeah I I'm pretty sure it has bushings so I think I might get my brother some bearings as a surprise or something, thanks!

[electroman]

I have a electric rustler and heres what i got:
~I got a Traxxas XL1 speed control, than got ride of it and got a duratrx blast

~Dirt hawgs all around

~most importamtly spend time tuning your suspension to the type of surface you are running on and your sliper clutch
I

[dockman]

Ive had my Stampede for 2 or 3yrs with the stock rear hub carriers and still have the original bearings in them. Never had a problem.

[SteveP]

Traxxas constantly makes running upgrades to their trucks, so if there was a weakness in the hubs as suggested, there's a good chance they may have changed the part to make it more durable.
I'm with Dockman - leave it stock and have fun. Bearings are a nice addition if you want to add anything. Go for rubber sealed bearings if you decide to upgrade. Run the life out of the stock motor, then you can upgrade to a mild mod motor like a Chameleon or other machine-wound mods in the 16 to 19-turn range.

[JP]

Dont run under 17, 17 is the fastest motor the ESC can handle, and thats with good gearing.

[DC_Racing]

I've got a Stampede which is the same basic thing as a Rustler. None of the upgrades are neseccary, but I've been spoiled by a $800 Touring Car so a stock Stampede just isn't quite as much fun anymore. http://www.rccaraction.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Full Bearings, RPM carriers, Big Bore shocks, Rebel ESC, 15turn D3.5, HiTech 605MG servo, RPM Talonz rims, '39 Ford Woody body, many different shock oils and springs.

Just remember... NONE of the hop-up parts for the Stampede/Rustler/Bandit are needed! It's a blast to drive stock, but even more fun to drive modified!


Has anybody tried the Ball Diff or CVDs for a Rustler/Stampede/Bandit??? I've been thinking about getting them, but how much do they help???

[RCJunkie]

I have CVDs in my rustler and my stampede. You get a little more acceleration and some longer run time because of efficiency. I just like them because they are bullet proof.
For the original question, get the heavier bearing carriers and bearings then run it stock for a while. A rebuildable stock motor and more efficient speed control (you dont need to spend a fortune) will make it fly. Put your money into batteries and a couple of good chargers first though. It doesnt matter how fast your car is when you are sitting around waiting for your batteries to cool off or to charge up.

[XXXER]

Actually, traxxas DOES have a conversion for the rustler/stampede/bandit for the hub carriers, it is in the FAQs section of their website, they take pieces from the SRT and stuff, i priced the whole thing out, it is around 30 dollars, but the RPM ones are only 20, and a ton less work putting on, i have them, and not one problem, and the great thing is, THESE ARE GUARANTEED NOT TO BREAK! i have hit things pretty hard, not a wimper. good luck with it!

[Timz]

Once your brother gets used to it, get a 17 turn Monsters of Touring motor($16.00 at Tower Hobbies) Then maybe get a set of new tires like Stampede tires or something. Don't forget the ball bearings!

[jayskiia]

ok i am not going to touch the bearing thing cuz it is a dead issue. i agree you need to adjust the suspension to the surface you are running on, but dont change the tires just yet. let them wear down, cuz with mine i have ran great on dirt and blacktop with the stock tires. a duratrax streak is a good esc to move up to, as is an fma earthquake, and they are cheap too. i have a 13t double speed gem 2 motor in my truck with several possible gear combos, and it flies. the best advice anyone can give you right now though is to drive it, learn to tune it to the conditions and get a better steering servo(traxxas servos strip gears really fast).

[The_Ne-Go-She-Ate-r]

MY cousin just bought a rustler not very long ago too, and blew the bearings in the front and rear hubs after about three or four runs, as faras i know they havent ungraded the truck with different hubs in the stock kit , so id watch those bearings they tend to just disapear

[mark38090]

The problem with the stock bearing carriers is the size of the bearing. Stock 5x8 bearings are to small once you go to a higher rpm motor. RPM sells bearing carriers that will let you put 5x11 bearings and they are $9.00 front and $9.00 rear and they will last forever. I have 2 Rustlers and a Stampede and all 3 have the RPM upgrades.

[greg_in_michigan]

ive got an electric rustler. the first thing i got were ball bearings. they were very nice. and then i got a p2k pro motor cuz my stock motor can stripped. and then, for the past 3 years, ive gotten proline tires and rims, a proline chevy 2000 silverado body, traxxas slipper, a novak fusion esc, trinity 2400 matched battery, trinity speed gems 2 garnet 13turn duble, cvds, dynamite mega peak charger (this thing is awesome~!!!) traxxas slipper clutch, traxxas big bore shocks (highly reccomended. they totally kick butt) losi oil and springs, different spur gears, and just about a month ago after having the origonal bearings and hub carriers) i got the rpm hubs, and duratrax bearings. and a bunch of little stuff.

i really luv the big bore shocks. they are awesome. and the esc and motor rule. id say this thing goes atleast 35-40mph. i dont liek the cvds. the little pin popped out, i lost the grub screws, and they bent badly.

[RS4_MT_DUDE]

I've had 2 rustlers and no problems other than the shocks. I would recommend the aluminum shocks. I Gave them to my brother. One of them is in pieces and the other one I'm helping my brother build for on road performance. I put a midnight moter in it. It's got 78 Tooth spur and a 22 tooth pinion from my HPI RS4 MT. I'm waiting to put a 13 triple in it. Since I have 2 tranies to play with, I tolk the one out of my brothers truck and loded the diff with hot glue to make it possy traction. It is great for slick pavement.

[BadRacer]

Bearings and better shocks. Other then that he has a great truck.

[gubbs3]

I don't know what everyone else does differently than I did because I had a Stampede with the stock shocks for 2 years and never blew a cap off. I built right too so there wasn't a ton of air in the oil either. Or maybe I'm the only one who didn't beat the crap out of their's...