nitro dave
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Okay....I have spent the winter slowly putting together my Maxx with some upgrades. I took it all apart and bought a few things here and there. I finally put it back together and got the chance to run it a little bit this weekend.(the rain held off long enought to get a few tanks through) Here is what I did and my impressions:
New Chassis: This is what started it all off for me. I bought a chassis off ebay for $30.00 it's a RC Raven chassis I believe. The sucker is thick, like 4mm. It came with longer screws for those place you need them. It has lots of cut outs to make it lighter. It is pretty stiff, and I like it so far. It definately looks cooler than stock, and we all know that looks are important. You can see the picture of the chassis here:
https://www.rcnitrotalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3061
New Engine: I bought a Fantom FR.15 off ebay for $100.00. The price was great. I didn't have too many problems with cutting the crank or installing it. I did some research on this site and found where you have to grind out the bottem few threads on the clutch nut. After I did that I was good to go. I am still breaking in this little guy, but early indications are good. My biggest complaint is the carb. The idle screw sits too damn close to the air intake, and I have to custom cut my new motor saver to get it to fit. Fantom has redesigned there carb for 03. I may put the trx carb back on....we will see. I can tell that this engine will love the high rpms. I will probably have to change the gearing to get some low end grunt. I also fitted the engine with a new AE pipe and duratrax header. The header needed to be cut to get the pipe to fit. It still isn't a perfect fit, but I didn't want to cut anymore off the header.
New Radio System: I purchased the new JR XS3 from Hobbytown USA of all places. They had em for 209.00. That was cheaper than anywhere else I was able to find em. I have to say that I love this radio. I am still getting used to the navigation and figuring out what everything does. I installed the two servos, and I must say that the metal geared servo is really much nicer than stock. I still don't understand why they include small flimsy servo horns only. They should include some beefier ones in the kit. I purchased the horns(General Silicone) I needed and I am good to go. I felt like I had to learn to drive this thing all over again. I was so sketchy. I figured out that it helps not to up the steering end points all the way up, so I backed em back down to 100% and things are much better. I do love that the new servo will turn the wheels on the ground. This servo has changed the way the truck handles dramatically. If anyone is in the market for a new radio, you should really check out the XS3.
Misc: I added a FOC. I can't believe that I didn't do this sooner. I never fully realized that it would help this much. The response is so smooth from a standstill with no hesitation or jerking. Reverse really is for electics and little kids.
I also added threaded inserts to my tranny case. I did this because I stripped my case. I do like having the tranny bolted down with metal to metal contact. I also added new clutch shoes and a few things like that.
Well that's it folks.....for now. I am looking at adding a new reciever tray with a hump pack. I'll let you know. Now I just need to finish breaking in the fantom, I hope the rain holds off.
New Chassis: This is what started it all off for me. I bought a chassis off ebay for $30.00 it's a RC Raven chassis I believe. The sucker is thick, like 4mm. It came with longer screws for those place you need them. It has lots of cut outs to make it lighter. It is pretty stiff, and I like it so far. It definately looks cooler than stock, and we all know that looks are important. You can see the picture of the chassis here:
https://www.rcnitrotalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3061
New Engine: I bought a Fantom FR.15 off ebay for $100.00. The price was great. I didn't have too many problems with cutting the crank or installing it. I did some research on this site and found where you have to grind out the bottem few threads on the clutch nut. After I did that I was good to go. I am still breaking in this little guy, but early indications are good. My biggest complaint is the carb. The idle screw sits too damn close to the air intake, and I have to custom cut my new motor saver to get it to fit. Fantom has redesigned there carb for 03. I may put the trx carb back on....we will see. I can tell that this engine will love the high rpms. I will probably have to change the gearing to get some low end grunt. I also fitted the engine with a new AE pipe and duratrax header. The header needed to be cut to get the pipe to fit. It still isn't a perfect fit, but I didn't want to cut anymore off the header.
New Radio System: I purchased the new JR XS3 from Hobbytown USA of all places. They had em for 209.00. That was cheaper than anywhere else I was able to find em. I have to say that I love this radio. I am still getting used to the navigation and figuring out what everything does. I installed the two servos, and I must say that the metal geared servo is really much nicer than stock. I still don't understand why they include small flimsy servo horns only. They should include some beefier ones in the kit. I purchased the horns(General Silicone) I needed and I am good to go. I felt like I had to learn to drive this thing all over again. I was so sketchy. I figured out that it helps not to up the steering end points all the way up, so I backed em back down to 100% and things are much better. I do love that the new servo will turn the wheels on the ground. This servo has changed the way the truck handles dramatically. If anyone is in the market for a new radio, you should really check out the XS3.
Misc: I added a FOC. I can't believe that I didn't do this sooner. I never fully realized that it would help this much. The response is so smooth from a standstill with no hesitation or jerking. Reverse really is for electics and little kids.
I also added threaded inserts to my tranny case. I did this because I stripped my case. I do like having the tranny bolted down with metal to metal contact. I also added new clutch shoes and a few things like that.
Well that's it folks.....for now. I am looking at adding a new reciever tray with a hump pack. I'll let you know. Now I just need to finish breaking in the fantom, I hope the rain holds off.