The stock electronics you have are really good. Could at some point use a better steering servo, but I would run it as is and dial in the stuff you have been working on.
Anyone else into RC rock crawling?
- Thread starter oldschoolsdime92
- Start date
The stock electronics you have are really good. Could at some point use a better steering servo, but I would run it as is and dial in the stuff you have been working on.
Yeah I'm doing fine for now. I see steering servos being upgrade #1 on almost every build I see but since I ditched the 5Ah battery I had in there for a 1300mAh it's performed well enough that I haven't come across a good reason to upgrade.
The only thing reason a better brushed ESC or brushless interested me at all is i program electronics for a living so I'm used to being able to tune stuff. I haven't identified an actual need for it.
I love my high HP hard body large scale stuff, but this thing brings me great joy.
Started out as an Axial Wraith kit, lowered .5", all steel trans gears, MIP driveshafts, Hitec 645MG servo, brushless Tekin motor, Novak Goat ESC
, Castle BEC, 2S, and Axial XR10 beadlocks. Caught 2 Novak ESCs on fire, got annoyed, and shelved it. Reduced it to roller status gutting it to build the green 1.9 Barbie Jeep.
A friend of mine was buggin me to hit the local crawl spot with him, but its more comp crawler friendly so I put the Wraith back together.
I dubbed this my Build Back Worser build
Basically a hot garbage looking sleeper built mostly with the stuff everyone throws away.
Wraith kit roller, all plastic OG AX10 trans, cheapest possible Amazon stainless driveshafts, stock Axial AE2 brushed ESC (has drag brake and programable), shitty brushed 27t Axial motor, Axial XR10 beadlocks with the internal weight setup (6oz each front wheel), crappy stock Axial Ripsaw tires (but sticky compound
), 6 cell NIMH powered. Its not fast, fairly light, and the balance point front to rear is at the dash.
Want to make guys with $2000+ Associated and Axial Capras really angry? Play dumb and spank all the "bounty lines" they struggle on with your pink nickel powered brushed nonsense
Started out as an Axial Wraith kit, lowered .5", all steel trans gears, MIP driveshafts, Hitec 645MG servo, brushless Tekin motor, Novak Goat ESC
, Castle BEC, 2S, and Axial XR10 beadlocks. Caught 2 Novak ESCs on fire, got annoyed, and shelved it. Reduced it to roller status gutting it to build the green 1.9 Barbie Jeep.A friend of mine was buggin me to hit the local crawl spot with him, but its more comp crawler friendly so I put the Wraith back together.
I dubbed this my Build Back Worser build
Basically a hot garbage looking sleeper built mostly with the stuff everyone throws away.Wraith kit roller, all plastic OG AX10 trans, cheapest possible Amazon stainless driveshafts, stock Axial AE2 brushed ESC (has drag brake and programable), shitty brushed 27t Axial motor, Axial XR10 beadlocks with the internal weight setup (6oz each front wheel), crappy stock Axial Ripsaw tires (but sticky compound
), 6 cell NIMH powered. Its not fast, fairly light, and the balance point front to rear is at the dash.Want to make guys with $2000+ Associated and Axial Capras really angry? Play dumb and spank all the "bounty lines" they struggle on with your pink nickel powered brushed nonsense
I was all gungho on this shiite till you started speaking in French.
ESC is electronic speed controller, it's what takes the signal from the receiver (throttle position) and supplies the right electricity to the motor to make it do what you want.
Since motors spin, the magnets inside have to switch between pulling to pushing as they pass each other to keep moving. Easy for AC because the voltage alternates, but DC motors have to be commutated, which means switching the voltage supplied to the electromagnets. Brushed motors use a little metal flap called a brush that jumps between the stator and rotor assemblies and reverses the flow of electricity based on the position of the motor and where the brush is making contact. Brushless means it's a DC motor that's electronically commutated, the ESC takes care of flipping the voltage back and forth and opens up new possibilities with how you can control the motor speed and torque output. Most RC setups have a separate ESC and motor.
I work in HVAC and brushless motors have been taking over the fan motor world for over a decade now. They all have really advanced configuration capability (the manuals are hundreds of pages) and the ESC is built into the end of the motor. All I have to do is tell it how fast I want it to go and it goes, plus I can read all the telemetry back from it like actual rpm, power output, fault codes, etc. The Hobbywing Fusion product is a brushless motor with the ESC built in like the ones I deal with at work.
What is it about the design of the brushless motor which makes them more powerful?
I have a theory, but I'll wait for the experts to chime in to validate it...
My theory has to do with the resistance of the brushes themselves. Since its a carbon metallic pad, more or less, held to the commuter with a spring, you have power loss through resistance and power loss through friction.
A brushless set-up's ESC is supplying power like an AC supply would (its switching the voltage to keep the rotor spinning). I would surmise then you can bump the power as well as reducing the power robbing traits of a brush.
Not an expert but that's the gist of it. I think there are some more freedoms with the physical design of the parts that can make them dissipate heat better as well.
In an RC crawler the overall power output is less important than low speed controllability, and in that area brushed motors actually do pretty well. To get a brushless motor to do the low speed stuff it has to have sensors to give the controller feedback on how the rotor is oriented or it'll lose track of the commutation and the motor will rock back and forth undesirably.
One of the key differences that makes me interested is that with brushed, you give it voltage and it responds with torque, and the speed output will vary with the load (like holding a constant throttle position in your TJ). A brushless motor can be controlled in such a way that you tell it how fast to go and it varies the torque output as necessary to maintain that speed, like crawl control.
OK - Not a rock crawler (Rock Bouncer, maybe), but does dog chaser count? This is my daughter's Golden Toby chasing my X-Maxx.
I may be late to this party, but I would advise to avoid dealing directly with Axial/Horizon if possible, as their customer service is REALLY difficult to deal with.
1. I originally placed an order for their SCX10.3 Early Bronco, which at the time said Backorder but I was willing to wait for it. The order sat unfulfilled as expected for a week or so and I logged in to check the status and noticed the product status itself had changed from Backorder to Discontinued. I let it sit for another week or two before contacting their customer service and they confirmed it was discontinued. I guess they were just gonna let the order sit there forever and never tell me?
2. Once I got that one cancelled, I ordered the SCX10.3 Basecamp, which was also backordered but had no indication that it would immediately be discontinued as it's one of their most popular products and it actually had an expected ship date in August. After 3+ weeks of waiting I happened to be in a local hobby store and saw they had one on the shelf. So I used my phone to get on Axials website and used their chat to contact and cancel the order. They said I would get an email confirmation of the cancellation, and I bought the one at the store and felt good about supporting a local business.
3. I never got that cancellation email, and then a week later saw the Backordered status had gone away, so I contacted them again to make sure it had been cancelled and couldn't get through to a human for some reason so I used the chat and it gave me a case number and said they would be in touch. Nothing ever happened, and about another week later got an email that my order was preparing to ship. I again contacted them and asked to cancel and they said it was too late.
4. I waited for it to arrive and immediately made contact and received an RMA, and shipped it back. It delivered to Horizon on 9/13. I just contacted them again this morning because the refund hasn't processed yet and was told refunds take 4-6 weeks. In 2023.
So at this point I've learned my lesson and will be buying exactly zero things from Horizon Hobby unless I get it from a retailer.
1. I originally placed an order for their SCX10.3 Early Bronco, which at the time said Backorder but I was willing to wait for it. The order sat unfulfilled as expected for a week or so and I logged in to check the status and noticed the product status itself had changed from Backorder to Discontinued. I let it sit for another week or two before contacting their customer service and they confirmed it was discontinued. I guess they were just gonna let the order sit there forever and never tell me?
2. Once I got that one cancelled, I ordered the SCX10.3 Basecamp, which was also backordered but had no indication that it would immediately be discontinued as it's one of their most popular products and it actually had an expected ship date in August. After 3+ weeks of waiting I happened to be in a local hobby store and saw they had one on the shelf. So I used my phone to get on Axials website and used their chat to contact and cancel the order. They said I would get an email confirmation of the cancellation, and I bought the one at the store and felt good about supporting a local business.
3. I never got that cancellation email, and then a week later saw the Backordered status had gone away, so I contacted them again to make sure it had been cancelled and couldn't get through to a human for some reason so I used the chat and it gave me a case number and said they would be in touch. Nothing ever happened, and about another week later got an email that my order was preparing to ship. I again contacted them and asked to cancel and they said it was too late.
4. I waited for it to arrive and immediately made contact and received an RMA, and shipped it back. It delivered to Horizon on 9/13. I just contacted them again this morning because the refund hasn't processed yet and was told refunds take 4-6 weeks. In 2023.
So at this point I've learned my lesson and will be buying exactly zero things from Horizon Hobby unless I get it from a retailer.
Tower Hobby used to be my go to for online shopping. And I'm lucky to have two great local shops.
Can't believe I hadn't found this thread sooner. I've had RCs in various forms since I was a teenager. JRL 65 Shelby Mustang, Tamiya GrassHopper, Kyosho Raider, Losi T4, Traxxas T-Max 2.5, RC10 GT (x3 still have 1), T-max 3.0 stretched frame, Traxxas Slash 4x4 VXL (still have it), and most recently TRX4 Land Rover. The Slash has been upgraded with steel spur grear and 1/8th scale steel pinion gear. With the 3s battery it has been clocked at 68mph with the local Sherrif's radar gun. The TRX4 has by far been the most all around enjoyable with the high and low transfer case and selectable lockers. It's still got the brushed motor and I only run it with 3s LiPo batteries, so the run time is phenominal per charge, just don't stall it out under throttle... Brushed motors don't like that too much...
Where it all started, JRL 65 Shelby Mustang.
TRX4 in stock form,
With the Traxxas lift, Traxxas HT steering servo, brass portal drive housings up front, and 2.2 Rock Crawler Tires 140MM 5.5" w/foam inserts (very soft).
Thin Lexan Bronco Body for mashing and bashing...
All the TRX4 pics are taken out behind the property where I live.
Where it all started, JRL 65 Shelby Mustang.
TRX4 in stock form,
With the Traxxas lift, Traxxas HT steering servo, brass portal drive housings up front, and 2.2 Rock Crawler Tires 140MM 5.5" w/foam inserts (very soft).
Thin Lexan Bronco Body for mashing and bashing...
All the TRX4 pics are taken out behind the property where I live.
i finally wheeled hard enough to bend a tie rod.
On a whim I picked up some new rubber and metal beadlocks for my little Axial. Damn, there are a gazillion of these tiny screws - I think it took almost as long to mount these as it does the real things... 
But after just 6 hours of work...
And then after a little sheet metal work:
The tires and wheels weight a whole lot more than the entire rest of the rig, so the CG goes way, way down. Makes a crazy amount of difference crawling.
Fun little project.
But after just 6 hours of work...
And then after a little sheet metal work:
The tires and wheels weight a whole lot more than the entire rest of the rig, so the CG goes way, way down. Makes a crazy amount of difference crawling.
Fun little project.
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On a whim I picked up some new rubber and metal beadlocks for my little Axial. Damn, there are a gazillion of these tiny screws - I think it took almost as long to mount these are it does the real things...
View attachment 469070
But after just 6 hours of work...
View attachment 469071
And then after a little sheet metal work:
View attachment 469072
The tires and wheels weight a whole lot more than the entire rest of the rig, so the CG goes way, way down. Makes a crazy amount of difference crawling.
Fun little project.
Make sure to re-torque after a few miles so you don't have an accident and take out a school bus
On a whim I picked up some new rubber and metal beadlocks for my little Axial. Damn, there are a gazillion of these tiny screws - I think it took almost as long to mount these as it does the real things...
View attachment 469070
But after just 6 hours of work...
View attachment 469071
And then after a little sheet metal work:
View attachment 469072
The tires and wheels weight a whole lot more than the entire rest of the rig, so the CG goes way, way down. Makes a crazy amount of difference crawling.
Fun little project.
same, man. I was glad to have those 6 bolts on the inside face to split the rim apart when I changed tire inserts so I didn't have to do all 24 per beadlock ring.
LONGJP2
TJ Expert
Sold the Slash, bought a used 1st gen Deadbolt that already had some nice upgrades.
Local park has an RC crawler park.
Local park has an RC crawler park.
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Myself, sons, and a number of wheeling buddies have SCX24’s, including @Sunny Side Up.
A group of us hold periodic competitions and the winner takes the traveling trophy.
Here’s my rig.
A group of us hold periodic competitions and the winner takes the traveling trophy.
Here’s my rig.