Need Help Choosing

[MarkF]

RC10b3 or an (older) HPI MT. I'm looking for something that will run well on (tall) backyard grass so I like the 4WD of the HPI. Mostly I'm looking for a solid basher and I'm not looking to hop it up.

So what do you guys think? Factor in parts availability.

Thanks

[z-man280]

welcome aboard Mark,....solid basher? check. parts avail.? check. stock ability to take a BEATING? check. My personal opinion, the NEW Traxxas Stampede, fast motor, good speed control, and takes a good pounding in stock form. only drawback, NOT 4WD.

http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/stampede2006/trx_stampede.htm

remember, just MY opinion, but I really think its track record speaks for itself. Hard to beat for "bang-for-the-buck". ( $184.00)

~Ron

[Tamiya4ever]

Well, for electric either the new Stampede, E-Maxx with both have great parts avail, or for nitro the Savage X or T-Maxx wich also has great parts avail. The Stampede is way cheaper, but only 2wd and not as big as the others.

[z-man280]

Well, for electric either the new Stampede, E-Maxx with both have great parts avail, or for nitro the Savage X or T-Maxx wich also has great parts avail. The Stampede is way cheaper, but only 2wd and not as big as the others.


good point....i guess its my nature to assume this would be your first truck, and i still am a firm beleiver of electric first, graduate to nitro..however, it would not be right of me to judge you or your mechanical aptitude. the above mentioned trucks are also excellent choices.

[MarkF]

I definitely am looking electric since I already have a charger and batteries. I was also looking in the used market to save some $$.

[Mini-TBasher55]

I definitely am looking electric since I already have a charger and batteries. I was also looking in the used market to save some $$.

I think getting an electric is a great idea and I like the idea of the new Stampede. I understand why you want to buy used, but a new car will be more reliable. Also, sometimes its a better idea to save your pennies and buy the car you really want rather than cutting corners to save a few cents.

I hope you enjoy whichever car you get!

[MarkF]

Back when I was teenager, I had a Tamiya Grasshopper and Pujaro. Now I just bought for my son a grasshopper. Unfortunately it gets caught on the tall spots of grass in our yard. It is a great runner on the driveway and we are having lots of fun with it. But I wanted to get something that will run well on grass either primarily because of clearance (truck height) or 4WD.

The bulk of the expense was in getting a good quick charger and the 3000 batteries. So I look at the next truck as incremental cost, plus my 3 girls are jealous and they would ike to play with one too. Not to mention my own rekindled interest.

Having said all this the Stampede seems to fit the bill, but i still like the HPI.

[z-man280]

Since it is no longer made, best of luck on your searches for that hpi, and if you find one, lemme know, i want one too! I really think you will be happy with the stampede, pretty user-friendly,and unless you are going thru DEEP grass, it will be fine...

[MarkF]

Thoughts about a Rustler?

[Vato Loco]

The Pede and rusty share much from each other! The rusty has a longer wheel base and lower chassis (Common ST Chassis) The rusty Handles better IMO but suffers in tall grass due to the lower chassis. The pede on the other hand has a higher ground clearence and also has a shorter wheel base! better handleing in tall grass and stuff that you might want to roll over! The two are only diffrent in the chassis and a few suspension parts! If you get one and don't like how it handles you can get the nessary parts can convert it to the other! I like both worlds, my rusty pede shows that;-)!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/CMHCMH/100_0947.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/CMHCMH/100_0780.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/CMHCMH/100_1019.jpg

[z-man280]

Thoughts about a Rustler?
Mark,
rustler is another great truck, dang near bullet-proof. if you felt the urge, heres a interesting twist- buy a stampede. Then, but a rustler lower and upper chassis, part # 3722 and #3723, $15.00 and $5.00, respectively, a bellcrank set up, #3743, $4.00,tie rods, # 3139, $2.00, body mounts, #3614, $5.00, your choice of tires, because they use the same wheels, and a body.

So, for $31.00, ( minus body and tires)your time of swapping parts, ( which much can be modular, simply undo the chassis braces and screws to chassis, and remove entire rear trans, motor, suspension, as one unit, bolt it STRAIGHT to the rustler, and like-wise with the front, swap electric, ect. so in. In just a few hours max, you can go from monster truck, to stadium truck....just a thought :)


~Ron

[MarkF]

Interesting stuff!!

So can I start with a Rusty and convert it to Stede? Or you have to start with a Stede and convert it to a rusty?

[z-man280]

you can go either way!! thats the beauty of traxxas in my opinion.oh, and just another tidbit of info, look at the buggy.the bandit, basically a rustler with different tires, gearing, body, and remove the front body mount and replace with the buggy mount...for the stampede, you would be looking at buying the taller body mounts, the chassis, the front bulkhead, chassis braces, and a few other odds and ends..i will do a breakdown, but i honestly think you could have the bandit buggy, rustler, and stampede at your disposal for about an extra $100....of course you would be tearing it mostly down each time, but hey, nothing like learning how everything goes!

[z-man280]

Mark, after a little digging, i got ya this:

http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/rustler/blueprints/050915_rustler_parts.pdf

http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/bandit/blueprints/050915-bandit-parts.pdf

http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/stampede/blueprints/050915_stampede_parts.pdf

if you notice, MANY part#'s are shared, which makes these great cars to interchange with, you can have all three for little investment....IF you are willing to take the time to swap parts,. As you will see in the below pics, the stamped chassis is very different, but look close, and you will see MANY MANY parts interchange from the stampede, to the rustler, to the bandit. :)

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/bandit-chassis-xl1.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/bndt-3qtr-chass-xl1.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/rstlchss.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/stmpchas.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/stmpside.jpg


hope this helps ya!

~Ron

[MarkF]

Very helpfull stuff. Thanks. I'll let you know which way I go.

[MarkF]

OK I just bought a rusty. Now I need to figure out the parts to get more height like pede. Z-man you outlined the Pede to Rusty if you have time can you go the other way for me to make sure I get what I need?

Also what bumper is a good idea to get? My kids hit lots of things.

[z-man280]

ok, looking everything up...might be a bit.

[z-man280]

whew :o ....ok Mark ,this SHOULD do the conversion, MINUS body and tires of your choice...

Traxxas part # 3614- body mounts, fr & rr $5.00
# 3627- receiver and battery hold down $4.00
# 2622- Main chassis $10.00
# 3623 -skid plates fr & rr $7.00
# 1844 -servo saver $4.00
# 2336 - tie rods $2.00

unless i over-looked something, that should do the swap. The stock chevron tires are available as well, but @$15.00/pair, there are many other tires that will work better in my opinion, such as the proline M2K's, Moab's, ( my personal fav.), or from IMEX that mimic the Interco TSL boggers.
check around, you can find a 2 color stampede body online for about $5.00, and i am almost certain from here on out its just time to tear it down and put it back up. you can keep many parts "together" for this as well, the enitre trans/suspesion for one should swap right over.

Best of luck, enjoy :D

[MarkF]

Thanks much - U Z MAN!!!!!

[MarkF]

A few more questions: Why do I need a new body? I thought the body was interchangeable?

Also doesn't the rustler & stampede have the same size wheels 2.2" all around? I know the rustler has a different tread front and rear but I though they were same size.

Thanks again

[Vato Loco]

A few more questions: Why do I need a new body? I thought the body was interchangeable?

Also doesn't the rustler & stampede have the same size wheels 2.2" all around? I know the rustler has a different tread front and rear but I though they were same size.

Thanks again
Yes, they run a 2.2" Rim. the tires sidewalls are what changes. a typical pin type tread tire typicaly is lower than a AT treaded tire. You can still run the rusty body you'll just have to remount it buy changing the body mounts!

[z-man280]

think of it this way on your car, a 15" wheel w/ a 205/50/15 tire is about 24.5 inches tall, on that same wheel, you can mount a 31/10.50/15 off road tire. one is a low profile, one is for a truck. Same rules apply for the rc tires, even tho the wheel size is the same, the circumfrence of the tires can vary. look at the above pics of vato loco's truck, those are proline moab tires, same as on my stampede. 5" tall. the same wheel on the ruslter has a tire of 3.5" tall ( rough guess). So, with 1.5 inches of difference, your gearing changes HUGE! also, ground clearance is increased with the larger tires. yes, you can run your rustler body on the stampede chassis, as a matter of fact. I merely mentioned it if you wanted to do a TOTAL conversion.

[abew330]

get a old school thunder king.. its only 2wd but for backyard bash and other stuff this truck is really good.. i believe it dual motor.. i dont know now but it was the biggest 1/10 truck when it came out

[MarkF]

Say no more about the tires. I have a 98 Jeep Wrangler on 35"s.

I dug up my Tamiya Pujero (Raider), at least I think that was the name, it is probably over 20 years old. It has a much bigger engine 540 vs 380 and the tires are a bit taller. It is a shorter wheelbase than the grasshopper and a bit taller so it has a wheelie bar in the back. Anyway I moved all of the electronics from the grasshopper to Pujero. Tomorrow morning before work I'm going to test it on the grass and see how it does. Of course my new flat 6 cell pack doesn't fit because it was designed for humpback pack over the rear tires. So I made a wire cage mount for the battery back and mounted more forward and lower. Hopefully that will help with tippyness I remember from my youth.

My Rusty should be here early next week.

Thanks again everyone for the education

[MarkF]

OK so Z-man so now you touched on gearing which I know about from my real Jeep when I went from 28" to 35" tires I changed from 3.55 to 4.88 gearing.

So on the rustede, when I get the bigger tires what do I do with the gears? Smaller pinion or larger?

[Vato Loco]

Smaller pinoin for torqe less top end, Larger for less torqe, More speed! Or Larger spur gear more torque less top end and small spur gear less torqe more top end! The rustys manual will have a gearing chart and explans it better than I can, but you'll get the idea! The rusty comes geared 18/84 you might want to pick up a 15,16,17 and 20tooth pinions along with a 87t spur gear to boot!

[MarkF]

Got it thanks. Now I see it like my jeep. The gear ratio is the spur/pinion. Larger tires require a higher ratio to generate more torque to compensate for the larger (and heavier) tires.

84 15 5.60
84 16 5.25
84 17 4.94
84 18 4.67
84 19 4.42
84 20 4.20

87 15 5.80
87 16 5.44
87 17 5.12
87 18 4.83
87 19 4.58
87 20 4.35

So if 18/84 is stock (4.67) and I go with larger and need more torque by droping down the pinion or raising the spur.

Thank you very much

[z-man280]

BINGO! you got it now! see? just needed to find common thinking ground. i owned a lifted truck years ago as well, depending on what you want, lets say, we sacrifice a few mph for torgue and runtime- 13t pinion with 87 spur...WHEELIES from a dead stop, no reverse to forward, just instant wheelie, even with the stock stinger motor. i actually have a 13/84 combo on my stampede, and i am happy with it for speed and run time, and if i tighten down the slipper a bit, she will carry the front tires for about 18"under acelleration from a dead stop, then squat down and go.
thanks for the input as well Vato!

Ron

[Vato Loco]

I see you've got it but this is a cool read too: http://www.misbehavin-rc.com/pit-lane/gearing/er-gearing.asp Tells about motor timing and a lot more, you might want to explore the whole site lots of great info!

[MarkF]

Well the Pujero was a complete disappointment, bringing back the memories of my youth. Too much torque I can't keep the front end down even the battery as far forward as I can go. It didn't have enough height for the lawn either. Plus the short wheelbase causes it to lift up on 2 wheels during tight turns.

The only good thing was that the Pujero has better shocks than the grasshopper (not saying much) and I will move those over to the GH.

Hopefully the Rusty will not disappoint.

Say no more about the tires. I have a 98 Jeep Wrangler on 35"s.

I dug up my Tamiya Pujero (Raider), at least I think that was the name, it is probably over 20 years old. It has a much bigger engine 540 vs 380 and the tires are a bit taller. It is a shorter wheelbase than the grasshopper and a bit taller so it has a wheelie bar in the back. Anyway I moved all of the electronics from the grasshopper to Pujero. Tomorrow morning before work I'm going to test it on the grass and see how it does. Of course my new flat 6 cell pack doesn't fit because it was designed for humpback pack over the rear tires. So I made a wire cage mount for the battery back and mounted more forward and lower. Hopefully that will help with tippyness I remember from my youth.

My Rusty should be here early next week.

Thanks again everyone for the education

[z-man280]

Mark,
while doing a clean-up on the pede, i thought i would take this opportunity to show you the difference in the rusty and pede... this is what you will need to make the conversion, which you have ordered. pics of stock pede tires along the moabs are for reference as well.

Ron
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/P7240050Small.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/P7240051Small.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/P7240052Small.jpg
and those are just stock pede/rusty wheels

[MarkF]

thanks

[z-man280]

no problem, as you can see, 8 parts total (12 including tires) make the conversion. as i re-assemble, i will take pics of things in their modular state, so you will see how far you do or dont have to tear the rusty down to make the swap, if ya want.

[MarkF]

That would be great. Perhaps it should be in its own thread?

[z-man280]

That would be great. Perhaps it should be in its own thread?
possible, but i didnt want to start another just based on that. There is proabalby one out there anyway :p
So, anyway, here is your front and rear sub-assemblies. i dont have a rusty to show you the tear down process, but you will see it in your manual
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/P7250064.jpg
now the chassis-
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/P7250067.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/P7250069.jpg
note the "notches" in the chassis, which go here:
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/P7250070.jpg
w/ skid plate
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/P7250071.jpg
on to the front:
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/P7250072.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/P7250073.jpg
and now servo placement. the servo gear goes to the rear of the truck, with servo saver"tabs" toward the front
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/P7250077.jpg

[MarkF]

I should have all of my parts in by Thursday. So maybe I'll do this over the weekend, tho I do want to spend some time with stock Rusty first to get a feel for the change when I go to the Pede.

Thanks

[zack221]

well i have been setting here reading this thread and it helped me out alot so thanks zman and markf but zman when u where talking about making a rusty into a stampede and you said tie rods do u mean the actual tie rod or tie rods with tie rod ends also i cant find tie rods what website are those part# too i am buying everthing else off of ebay
THANKS ALOT TO BOTH OF U B/C I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO TURN MY RUSTY INTO A STAMPEDE AND PUT TWO MOTORS ON IT WHICH I KNOW I CAN WITH THE RUSTY BUT I JUST WANT SOMETHING THAT SETS HIGHER

[MarkF]

I did nothing but ask the questions it is all Z-man.

[skylineTT]

Z-man and vato loco know their stuff! thanks for helping markF. and markF i hope things go very smooth for you. if you want to upgrade the motor and ESC in the future, id go with the new Titan 12T and xl-5 from traxxas! it is fast, and it has a no-maintenance motor. traxxas has the best customer support too!

[z-man280]

:o aww shucks, thanks skyline! As for the tie rod question,..what you are basically doing is spinning the tie rod ends off the turnbuckles of the rusty set up, and screwing them on the tie rod/turnbuckles for the stampede. you need to do this because the rusty uses bellcrank steering, and the stampede simply a servo saver. With the bellcranks, you can run shorter tie rods, due to the design on the bellcranks, where the stampede, using simply a servo -saver, needs the longer one. I looked all parts up off Traxxas's website, if you select the model you are looking for, click on its parts list, and you will find all the part #'s you need there. Turnbuckles are part # 2336, $2.00, which are the same length as the rear camber rods, and if you want to buy the ends, part # 1942, for $7.00, gives you everything you need.

[z-man280]

well i have been setting here reading this thread and it helped me out alot so thanks zman and markf but zman when u where talking about making a rusty into a stampede and you said tie rods do u mean the actual tie rod or tie rods with tie rod ends also i cant find tie rods what website are those part# too i am buying everthing else off of ebay
THANKS ALOT TO BOTH OF U B/C I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO TURN MY RUSTY INTO A STAMPEDE AND PUT TWO MOTORS ON IT WHICH I KNOW I CAN WITH THE RUSTY BUT I JUST WANT SOMETHING THAT SETS HIGHER
Just thought i might give you one more option on that dual motor idea. Most people simply add another trans, and motor, reverse rotation , and a dual motor esc, ect. I'm trying just a bit of a different approach on that, using a Tamiya TB-01 chassis and gearboxes, ect.
http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?t=222210

my humble little thread on Tami-A-Pede :D this has surprisingly gone very well, with a majority of it being a straight "bolt-on" process. I will keep ya posted on how the package works as a whole, but i almost can bet ya you can find an old tb-01 roller cheaper than the parts needed to convert the conventional way, i.e., 2nd trans, fab'd front kickerplate, extra motor, dual motor esc, ect.

[zack221]

Just thought i might give you one more option on that dual motor idea. Most people simply add another trans, and motor, reverse rotation , and a dual motor esc, ect. I'm trying just a bit of a different approach on that, using a Tamiya TB-01 chassis and gearboxes, ect.
http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?t=222210

my humble little thread on Tami-A-Pede :D this has surprisingly gone very well, with a majority of it being a straight "bolt-on" process. I will keep ya posted on how the package works as a whole, but i almost can bet ya you can find an old tb-01 roller cheaper than the parts needed to convert the conventional way, i.e., 2nd trans, fab'd front kickerplate, extra motor, dual motor esc, ect.


i got the second motor (actually i got 7 extra motors) but in the traxxas rustler forum one guy showed me pics of his and he just used 1 tranny

[MarkF]

OK ran the rusty today stock, had a lot of fun. It came (used) with an 84/19 setup. After some backyard fun I tought the ESC and motor were too hot (but it was 98* today), so I changed it to an 87/19. We (my kids and I) went to an empty parking lot and had some fun with the Rusty and the GrassHopper. The GH was completely unstable compared to the Rusty. The GH can make tighter turns and with the 540 in there it was too fast for the tight turn radius and it would roll/flip. The Rusty had a very wide turn radius and it was able to turn full throttle. with he 87 in there not very fast and no wheelies. The stock Traxxas ESC doesn't have a brake like the ESC on the GH. I preferred the GH ESC.

Anyway I came home and did the Stede conversion everything went fine until I had to do the steering. I did not have nuts and bolts to attach the turnbuckles to the servo saver. Also I'm not sure I have the correct screw/bolts to mount the steering servo. I guess I'll have to hit a hardware store for some small stuff.

Thanks again for the photo's helped alot.

[z-man280]

Anyway I came home and did the Stede conversion everything went fine until I had to do the steering. I did not have nuts and bolts to attach the turnbuckles to the servo saver. Also I'm not sure I have the correct screw/bolts to mount the steering servo. I guess I'll have to hit a hardware store for some small stuff.

Thanks again for the photo's helped alot.

UUUUGHHH!! :mad: i KNEW i forgot to tell ya something!!! darn it anyway..glad you guys had fun Mark, thats what it really is about. I feel your pain with the no brake ESC, set your throttle to the 70/30 setting, pretty doggy in reverse, but it does help for stopping..

[MarkF]

What is the ideal setup for converted Pede? I am running a Venom 21T motor. I would like the ability to pop a short wheelie, run on grass and have a decent top speed. I'm generally running 3300 packs.

Right now I was running the stock Rusty tires/wheels but I have the stock Stede wheels and tires that are ready to go and eventually I'll get the Moab's on there.

I have either a 19 or 18 on the motor and I changed from an 84 to an 87. It seemed like I lost alot of torque and speed when I moved from the 84 to 87, but I also changed packs as I was testing a bunch of used packs I received.

[Vato Loco]

I get a lot of wheelie action by using a Reedy Quad mag 19t Motor geared 18/87! Make sure your peak charging and your getting the most out of your batteries!

[MarkF]

Vato is that on a Stede? I was still running on a rusty setup which I'm thinking might be harder to wheelie than the Stede. As soon as my missing bolts come I'll test it out with the current gearing and report back.

[z-man280]

geared with a 14/84, my pede wheelies good, and yeah Mark, the rusty wont wheelie very well at all, but isnt made to. with the higher center of gravity, the pede will pull them up tho... another plus with gearing low, more run time!!!

Ron

[Mini-TBasher55]

I have read through this and learned a lot, thanks to all you guys. My brother is thinking about a Stampede (the new one) and he almost got one tonight. My question is why instead of getting a Pede you got a Rustler and converted it? Good luck and have fun with the rustede!

[MarkF]

I got a Rustler b/c I wanted the stability. I was hopeful that the Rustler would have the height to run through my grass. Once it was determined that it did not have the height necessary, I decided to convert it to a Stede. I got a good deal on E-bay and excluding tires and body the conversion cost me about $35. I used a spare servo so I actually have the rusty front end still intact and I can do the conversion in about 30 minutes, probably less with practice.

I ran the Rusty on pavement and it was great fun, very stable and pretty fast. I can not see the Stede being as stable on pavement as the Rusty do to the higher center of gravity. Now with a little planning I can either the Rusty or the Stede which ever is right for the occassion.

[z-man280]

Mark, with the stock stampede tires, you will be surprised at the on-road prowess of the stampede. Only with aftermarket tires that offer more bite do you run into a stability problem, i.e., flipping, as the stock tires allow it to slide rather than flip. No shock collars and 20t, oil in the front, 30 w.t with medium collars in the rear will make the stampede corner hard, and actually, off throttle, will turn hard enoguh to 3-wheel, lifting the inside rear, and under acceleration, will lift the front inside tire thru the exit of the corner, it looks pretty neat, and actually, you can make that pede handle pretty well on pavement with just some shock oil, piston, and spring preload adjusting.


Ron