Do I need Hex Wheel Hubs?

[mek]

I recently bought a brushless motor and sometime in the near future I will buy bigger tires for my la trax Teton. And I was reading that it is highly recommended to get aluminum hex wheel hubs when doing these upgrades is that true? Also do I need a heat sink for the motor due to the stress the larger tires cause?

 

[WickedFog]

Switching to brushless will put more stress on parts, for sure. So upgrades will likely be needed. One thing to note, chaging tire size changes your final drive ratio. You'll want to change your pinion/spur ratio to compensate.

Also, it is advisable to get yourself an infrared temp gun to monitor ESC and motor temps anytime you make chages to your rig. Keep everything below 160°F to keep from burning up your new electronics.

 

[mek]

As long as the hex hub things don’t break am I fine?

 

[WickedFog]

Yeah, of course. They may hold up. You will find the weak links anytime you upgrade something.

 

[bill_delong]

Plastic hexes tend to wear and round out, they will eventually start to strip out the hexes on the wheels which will create a bigger problem.

Investing in aluminum hexes will more than likely save you money and frustration down the road... pun intended, ha!

 

[DavidB1126]

Plastic hexes tend to wear and round out, they will eventually start to strip out the hexes on the wheels which will create a bigger problem.

Investing in aluminum hexes will more than likely save you money and frustration down the road... pun intended, ha!

Yea. Alum or metal hexes are a life saver. I found that plastic hexes do have some slop to them. I run aluminum hexes on all of my cars and MIP metal ones on my slash. The only car that has plastic hexes are my Mini B which doesn't really need metal hexes yet.

 

[WickedFog]

A lot of times, any strippage is due to loose wheel nuts. Not because of a plastic hex. I got in the habbit years ago of checking my wheel nuts before every outing. Even with aluminum hexes, a loose wheel nut will strip a wheel hex. You see it a lot of times in pics of peoples' wheels, where the bottom of the hex pocket is ok, and the damage is done on the outer areas. That is a sure sign the wheel nut came loose.

That being said, the op never even said what car he's running. Smaller and lighter RC's can be just fine with plastic hexes. I have 1/12 and 1/18 scale RC's that still run the OEM plastic hexes, even after brushless upgrades. But yeah, metal hexes would be best.

 

[FJC_GUY]

A lot of times, any strippage is due to loose wheel nuts. Not because of a plastic hex. I got in the habbit years ago of checking my wheel nuts before every outing. Even with aluminum hexes, a loose wheel nut will strip a wheel hex. You see it a lot of times in pics of peoples' wheels, where the bottom of the hex pocket is ok, and the damage is done on the outer areas. That is a sure sign the wheel nut came loose.

That being said, the op never even said what car he's running. Smaller and lighter RC's can be just fine with plastic hexes. I have 1/12 and 1/18 scale RC's that still run the OEM plastic hexes, even after brushless upgrades. But yeah, metal hexes would be best.

He said it's a LaTrax Teton if I'm reading the original post correctly.

 

[WickedFog]

He said it's a LaTrax Teton if I'm reading the original post correctly.

Lol, I completely missed that!

 

[Bogda89]

I recently bought a brushless motor and sometime in the near future I will buy bigger tires for my la trax Teton. And I was reading that it is highly recommended to get aluminum hex wheel hubs when doing these upgrades is that true? Also do I need a heat sink for the motor due to the stress the larger tires cause?

On latrax Teton most likely plastic drive shafts will fail before plastic hex

 

[mek]

On latrax Teton most likely plastic drive shafts will fail before plastic hex

Already bought those

 

[mek]

Switching to brushless will put more stress on parts, for sure. So upgrades will likely be needed. One thing to note, chaging tire size changes your final drive ratio. You'll want to change your pinion/spur ratio to compensate.

Also, it is advisable to get yourself an infrared temp gun to monitor ESC and motor temps anytime you make chages to your rig. Keep everything below 160°F to keep from burning up your new electronics.

I am kinda a noob at gearing which one do you recommend?

 

[WickedFog]

I am kinda a noob at gearing which one do you recommend?

View attachment 162236

Whatever the stock gearset is, you could just grab one or two teeth higher on the pinion. But make sure you test motor and ESC temperatures at one minute intervsls or so to make sure you aren't overheating it. An infrared temp gun is very handy here. Otherwise, if you put your finger on the motor and can't keep it there more than s couple seconds, you're likely running too hot. But I highly recommend a temp gun, and staying below 160°F.

Those gears are cheap enough I'd just order all of them and try them all

 

[mek]

Whatever the stock gearset is, you could just grab one or two teeth higher on the pinion. But make sure you test motor and ESC temperatures at one minute intervsls or so to make sure you aren't overheating it. An infrared temp gun is very handy here. Otherwise, if you put your finger on the motor and can't keep it there more than s couple seconds, you're likely running too hot. But I highly recommend a temp gun, and staying below 160°F.

Those gears are cheap enough I'd just order all of them and try them all

But is changing the gear necessary it also runs a 9t

 

[WickedFog]

But is changing the gear necessary it also runs a 9t

Maybe, maybe not. Every RC is different. And changing the motor typically means a gearset change will be needed to reach optimal performance. But maybe the best gearset is the stock one.

I am not familiar with that particular RC, and you haven't said what motor you are putting in it, so we would have nothing to go on for suggestions without that. But even with that info, it would still just be a guess on our part.

 

[mek]

Maybe, maybe not. Every RC is different. And changing the motor typically means a gearset change will be needed to reach optimal performance. But maybe the best gearset is the stock one.

I am not familiar with that particular RC, and you haven't said what motor you are putting in it, so we would have nothing to go on for suggestions without that. But even with that info, it would still just be a guess on our part.

Ok cool

 

[Rcflyer616]

I run the plastic snap-on hubs without issue. 2.8 wheels give me a larger selection of off-road tires. To reduce stress on parts and heat on the engine proper clutch adjustment is necessary. Since I run mostly in the dirt and mud top end is not important to me, I run 90/16 gearing for a faster take off.

 

[mek]

I run the plastic snap-on hubs without issue. 2.8 wheels give me a larger selection of off-road tires. To reduce stress on parts and heat on the engine proper clutch adjustment is necessary. Since I run mostly in the dirt and mud top end is not important to me, I run 90/16 gearing for a faster take off.

Where do you find a 16 that fits?

 

[Rcflyer616]

I use the inserts for proper spacing between the gears, 90/16 is on the list. Most of my purchases are on ebay. There are no hobby stores near me so I look for the best deals on the internet. When you use the spaces they come with instructions so that you can identify which spacer to use a,b,c Etc... these are all stock gearing configurations so you know they're going to work.