INVADER - Nitro Slash drag car

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johnnydmd

Beer drinker and hell racer
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RC Driving Style
  1. Racing
During my Weirdo-Maxx build I had comtemplated converting it into a drag car, since that's really what that style was all about, but I enjoy having a hot-rod monster truck too, so I decided once that was done to start up a new project for the Winter to work on that would be a similar style for a dedicated drag car. I spent a few weeks doing research and trying to envision what I wanted to do, finally settling on a gasser styled Traxxas Slash after seeing the popularity of the platform and aftermarket parts.

While I know that the majority of the No Prep scene is all about electric, there was no way I wasn't doing this as a nitro. To me drag racing screams for nitro, the sound, the smell, what is more authentic than having it burning nitromethane? At some point I picked out a body style, which was Parma's 55 Chevy body, perfect for an Ed Roth styled gasser. At some other point I decided to give it a retro sci-fi theme, and make an Ed Roth styled version of the Martian from Mars Attacks as a driver. This gave me lots of ideas for color, design, and logos. Thus, "INVADER" was born (on paper).

The plans are as follows:

Chassis: Carbon fiber with alloy suspension, and alloy where possible. I *want* some weight. I've already seen the videos of similar builds that don't have enough weight, and the problems of flipping and traction loss. The suspension will be green anodized, and other parts will be orange. STRC wheelie bar for the rear, not sure how I'm going to mount it, going to get the allow motor protector for the electric version probably, and mount it to the CF chassis in some fashion or another. Not sure if I will replace the rear A-arms with the Bandit versions or not, depends on if I want to tuck it any, or keep it old-school gasser style with a raised rear. Might lower the front too, to keep air from getting under some(which means I won't go with the wider front a-arms from the Rustler).

Drive train: LRP .32 (rated at 4.5 hp). Will add nitrous oxide injection. Steel drive shafts. Alloy gearbox with steel gears.

Wheels and tires: Mickey Thompson 2.2/3.0 beadlock alloy rims. Pro-line Pomona's in the front(or if I can find suitable alloy substitutions). Pro-Line Hoosiers or the new belted slicks for the rear. Hoosiers up front.

Body: Parma 55 chevy. 3D printed decorative engine with blower(more weight for front). Vacuum formed PETG .60 bubble with flange that screws down onto the body positioned similarly to my Weirdo-Maxx for the driver. Will be symmetrical and more oval, and with a functional scoop on the top to drive air down onto the engine/air intake area. Driver is Mars Attacks Martian in Ed Roth style. Color - Green natural flames fading into purple flames, with black background.

Odds and ends: Green fuel tubing, and various other green bits where possible. Overall color scheme will infuse a lot of black/green/orange. Also, importantly, no donor car. All built from bought aftermarket parts.

Will add more to this OP as I think of it. Currently the price is 1200 dollars or so. Might be a few things I've left off. Will document as I get stuff and go along. Should be fun!
 
I have a lot of pics already of the process that I need to get off my phone, but here was just a few of printing and painting the driver:

The design in meshmixer
119893


My computer painted guideline
119894


Printed and painted - this was supposed to just be a prototype, using my crappy little Davinci, and I broke it a few times getting the supports off, but I'll use it I guess. I really wanted to practice on this one. I might post pics of the painting process so I don't forget how I did it.
119895


I've already done quite a bit on the bubble form which is kinda interesting, lol. Will post them later.
 
During my Weirdo-Maxx build I had comtemplated converting it into a drag car, since that's really what that style was all about, but I enjoy having a hot-rod monster truck too, so I decided once that was done to start up a new project for the Winter to work on that would be a similar style for a dedicated drag car. I spent a few weeks doing research and trying to envision what I wanted to do, finally settling on a gasser styled Traxxas Slash after seeing the popularity of the platform and aftermarket parts.

While I know that the majority of the No Prep scene is all about electric, there was no way I wasn't doing this as a nitro. To me drag racing screams for nitro, the sound, the smell, what is more authentic than having it burning nitromethane? At some point I picked out a body style, which was Parma's 55 Chevy body, perfect for an Ed Roth styled gasser. At some other point I decided to give it a retro sci-fi theme, and make an Ed Roth styled version of the Martian from Mars Attacks as a driver. This gave me lots of ideas for color, design, and logos. Thus, "INVADER" was born (on paper).

The plans are as follows:

Chassis: Carbon fiber with alloy suspension, and alloy where possible. I *want* some weight. I've already seen the videos of similar builds that don't have enough weight, and the problems of flipping and traction loss. The suspension will be green anodized, and other parts will be orange. STRC wheelie bar for the rear, not sure how I'm going to mount it, going to get the allow motor protector for the electric version probably, and mount it to the CF chassis in some fashion or another. Not sure if I will replace the rear A-arms with the Bandit versions or not, depends on if I want to tuck it any, or keep it old-school gasser style with a raised rear. Might lower the front too, to keep air from getting under some(which means I won't go with the wider front a-arms from the Rustler).

Drive train: LRP .32 (rated at 4.5 hp). Will add nitrous oxide injection. Steel drive shafts. Alloy gearbox with steel gears.

Wheels and tires: Mickey Thompson 2.2/3.0 beadlock alloy rims. Pro-line Pomona's in the front(or if I can find suitable alloy substitutions). Pro-Line Hoosiers or the new belted slicks for the rear. Hoosiers up front.

Body: Parma 55 chevy. 3D printed decorative engine with blower(more weight for front). Vacuum formed PETG .60 bubble with flange that screws down onto the body positioned similarly to my Weirdo-Maxx for the driver. Will be symmetrical and more oval, and with a functional scoop on the top to drive air down onto the engine/air intake area. Driver is Mars Attacks Martian in Ed Roth style. Color - Green natural flames fading into purple flames, with black background.

Odds and ends: Green fuel tubing, and various other green bits where possible. Overall color scheme will infuse a lot of black/green/orange. Also, importantly, no donor car. All built from bought aftermarket parts.

Will add more to this OP as I think of it. Currently the price is 1200 dollars or so. Might be a few things I've left off. Will document as I get stuff and go along. Should be fun!
really excited to see progress on this, love the theme idea.
that character looks awesome!!!!
one thing though is i would not add nitrous though if you are going to run it. running nitrous adds more air to the fuel which with efi, is a good thing, but these engines do not have a variable fuel injection to allow for more fuel to compensate for the increased amount of air injected into the carb. it will run very lean whenever you use the nitrous, damaging the piston and sleeve, because of the lack of oil. also with how these are ported, the intake and exhaust (think its called the transfer port) is open at the same time, so much of the nitrous is going to be blow-by.
kind of same deal as the superchargers, they just pump the mixture right past the cylinder, and what little they do add to the cylinder, there isnt enough fuel to be running at the correct mixture. unless you run it stupid rich at the bottom, but likely wouldn't be able to take off at any decent amount of acceleration.
just kind if a thought as well, had you considered maybe a jato platform as well? Jato has a two speed transmission is the only reason i bring that up. there were some people modding the slashes/rustlers to use a jato transmission.
 
really excited to see progress on this, love the theme idea.
that character looks awesome!!!!
one thing though is i would not add nitrous though if you are going to run it. running nitrous adds more air to the fuel which with efi, is a good thing, but these engines do not have a variable fuel injection to allow for more fuel to compensate for the increased amount of air injected into the carb. it will run very lean whenever you use the nitrous, damaging the piston and sleeve, because of the lack of oil. also with how these are ported, the intake and exhaust (think its called the transfer port) is open at the same time, so much of the nitrous is going to be blow-by.
kind of same deal as the superchargers, they just pump the mixture right past the cylinder, and what little they do add to the cylinder, there isnt enough fuel to be running at the correct mixture. unless you run it stupid rich at the bottom, but likely wouldn't be able to take off at any decent amount of acceleration.
just kind if a thought as well, had you considered maybe a jato platform as well? Jato has a two speed transmission is the only reason i bring that up. there were some people modding the slashes/rustlers to use a jato transmission.
Nailed it on the nitrous thing
Looking forward to this project
 
Yeah I think I'll pass on nitrous. Might consider the Jato trans, I already have a Slash trans, but it was only 10 bucks. Will take a look at what's involved with the Jato conversions though, thanks!
 
And really the .32 is probably more than enough power on it's own, just gotta get that to the pavement.
 
I really need to post some pics soon, there is some progress. I got a little distracted due to tearing down my T-maxx project and replacing the bulkheads. However, the parts have been flowing in for "Invader", and I made a good amount of progress on the body mods.

I created a form of a small portion of the 55 Chevy Parma body to attach the driver bubble to using water putty. It was tricky, but in the end I saved quite a few dollars doing it this way. Tonight I'll do the vacuum forming and attach the bubble to the body, cut out the necessary areas for that, etc. Been working on the decorative engine too, which is similar to the T-maxx build version, but the entire thing is 3d printed, and it's a little more detailed and larger.

I received a good bit of parts, including the chassis, transmission, wheelie bar, shocks, some other odds and ends. Enough that I've been able to start the chassis build anyway. Mounting the wheelie bar is a little challenging, because it was designed for the electric Slash, but I have come up with a solution that should work well. A lot more parts are coming this week, and I should have a roller pretty soon. Will post some pics soon.

So much of this build is "theory", I have never raced or built an rc drag car before(but have built real hot rods), which is scary, but fun. I've watched quite a few vids and articles to see problems people have. 99.99% of these Slash conversions are electric, but after seeing what most of the problems are, I feel nitro will have some advantages in classes that don't overly restrict it.
 
Pics of the body work thus far. I have the bubble and support mounts finished. The engine is printed and I've begun painting an detailing.

120038


The form I made to create the bubble.
120039
 
The Invader is starting to take some shape on now. Steady flow of parts now, and everything is ordered except for the engine(more on that later).

Got the decorative engine finished. Cannot mount it yet until the chassis has the body posts set - as it cuts it "real" close - and I might even have to Dremel out the edges of the valvecovers where the mount nut is, if I want to use the provided one(which I do). Yeah, I got a little ahead of myself, but we'll see. I think I'm micrometers in the clear :) Also, the green fuel tube will go from the driver's can of green nitro down through the body, then back up through and attaches to the intake on the engine with an aluminum fitting I fashioned. Once mounted the blower drive belts will go into the body through a hole. The decorative motor has an actual function, which is to provide some front weight. Already seen videos of the 55 gasser style cars flipping over or becoming wildly unstable at 50+ mph. The car will be raked down in the front, but this should help too, I hope.
120064


The chassis slowly coming along. I 3D printed a prototype adaptor for attaching the wheely bar. My plan is/was to send it out to be CNC'd, but the thing I printed(solid piece of PLA with a reinforcing bar to prevent flex) is actually strong as hell. I'm debating on what to make this out of, or even just using the prototype piece. Guess I could see how it holds up. The CNC'd piece cost 130 dollars...so...

The rear suspension is set up, and it's currently using the Slash arms. I want to see how it fits with the body and the wheel/tire combo I am using. If I cannot tuck it in, I'll order Bandit arms and swap them out. I also would have to either modify or change the shock springs, so hence why I want to see. The wheels are Mickey Thompson aluminum beadlocks(super sweet wheels!) and will hold the Pro-Line Hoosier slicks. My eyeball test seems to indicate that I will probably need to get the Bandit arms. The transmission in this pic is temporary - I have an aluminum case coming soon.
120065


So now all that is left on the list to order is the engine and radio. I've been wrestling with the engine choice. There does not seem to be a BB mount available anywhere for the Slash. That's not a huge issue though, I could design one in Meshmixer, prototype it and I do have an SH .28 sitting in the Hurricane in the back of the picture that I could use to test out fitment. Or, do I get an O.S. .21TM, which is a direct fit, and no issues with exhaust either. The LRP .32 is twice as powerful, but I don't know the actual powercurve of each. I also have to wonder if the .32 is simply TOO powerful. The drivetrain is all steel, so I don't think it's going to blow up, I just wonder if it's just not going to be wasted HP that I'll never get a vehicle of this size to plant into the pavement. I'm leaning towards the O.S. right now. This also would allow me to compete in Pro Mod class, since .21 is the max allowed.
 
The Invader is starting to take some shape on now. Steady flow of parts now, and everything is ordered except for the engine(more on that later).

Got the decorative engine finished. Cannot mount it yet until the chassis has the body posts set - as it cuts it "real" close - and I might even have to Dremel out the edges of the valvecovers where the mount nut is, if I want to use the provided one(which I do). Yeah, I got a little ahead of myself, but we'll see. I think I'm micrometers in the clear :) Also, the green fuel tube will go from the driver's can of green nitro down through the body, then back up through and attaches to the intake on the engine with an aluminum fitting I fashioned. Once mounted the blower drive belts will go into the body through a hole. The decorative motor has an actual function, which is to provide some front weight. Already seen videos of the 55 gasser style cars flipping over or becoming wildly unstable at 50+ mph. The car will be raked down in the front, but this should help too, I hope.
View attachment 120064

The chassis slowly coming along. I 3D printed a prototype adaptor for attaching the wheely bar. My plan is/was to send it out to be CNC'd, but the thing I printed(solid piece of PLA with a reinforcing bar to prevent flex) is actually strong as hell. I'm debating on what to make this out of, or even just using the prototype piece. Guess I could see how it holds up. The CNC'd piece cost 130 dollars...so...

The rear suspension is set up, and it's currently using the Slash arms. I want to see how it fits with the body and the wheel/tire combo I am using. If I cannot tuck it in, I'll order Bandit arms and swap them out. I also would have to either modify or change the shock springs, so hence why I want to see. The wheels are Mickey Thompson aluminum beadlocks(super sweet wheels!) and will hold the Pro-Line Hoosier slicks. My eyeball test seems to indicate that I will probably need to get the Bandit arms. The transmission in this pic is temporary - I have an aluminum case coming soon.
View attachment 120065

So now all that is left on the list to order is the engine and radio. I've been wrestling with the engine choice. There does not seem to be a BB mount available anywhere for the Slash. That's not a huge issue though, I could design one in Meshmixer, prototype it and I do have an SH .28 sitting in the Hurricane in the back of the picture that I could use to test out fitment. Or, do I get an O.S. .21TM, which is a direct fit, and no issues with exhaust either. The LRP .32 is twice as powerful, but I don't know the actual powercurve of each. I also have to wonder if the .32 is simply TOO powerful. The drivetrain is all steel, so I don't think it's going to blow up, I just wonder if it's just not going to be wasted HP that I'll never get a vehicle of this size to plant into the pavement. I'm leaning towards the O.S. right now. This also would allow me to compete in Pro Mod class, since .21 is the max allowed.

Nice build ,I would say stick with the OS 21 ,as I really don't think the 32 an larger is all of that ,the 21 engines seem
to have more tollarence in quicker throttle response from low torque to top end power ,an the tuning also maybe
more stable if it is for drag racing in short distances!
 
build looks good!!!
if i had the money i would also lean towards the O.S. .21, (they are quite pricey at 300$ though, but the quality is amazing.
I'm thinking more of the weight to power ratio. i would think unless you geared it way, way down, the .32 would be way to much engine. as soon as the power band was hit it would spin out. had you looked into the dynamite .19 at all? they are around 110$ many people love them in their T-maxx's, rustlers, and Jatos. and direct bolt in for traxxas.
 
I have a B-block 1/10 Ld3 with a Hyper 21 ,power band is instant rendering the car useless ,I can't even drive it ,
It never even is able to use the 2 gear before it spins out or even time to turn it around when you run out
of road!
 
D3MON, I do have a Dynamite .19 in the Tmaxx right behind the Slash in the pic. It's a great engine, lots of power for sure. The OS .21tm is at 279 now at Amain, I'm really tempted to pull the trigger. It's rep for holding tune is swaying me in that direction, though I've had no issues with the Dynamite. Also 3 needle carb...I would think would lend itself to better tweaking for drag racing.

Looks like my Winter project is turning into a Fall project...came together a little more quickly than expected.
 
Ok, drivetrain and all the rest of the parts are ordered other than the radio. I'll worry about that later, I have an old Tmaxx radio I can use for testing, etc.

Not sure of the total cost yet, I didn't have any unexpected issues, so I think it's under the 1200 I had calculated prior. I'm sure there will be a few items I'm missing, but nothing major.
 
D3MON, I do have a Dynamite .19 in the Tmaxx right behind the Slash in the pic. It's a great engine, lots of power for sure. The OS .21tm is at 279 now at Amain, I'm really tempted to pull the trigger. It's rep for holding tune is swaying me in that direction, though I've had no issues with the Dynamite. Also 3 needle carb...I would think would lend itself to better tweaking for drag racing.

Looks like my Winter project is turning into a Fall project...came together a little more quickly than expected.
(just looked back at your "weird-o-maxx" build and realized that you even posted in that thread you had that .19 in it, and i even read through that thread at least twice... woops)
that is a good deal on that O.S. for 279$, would be sweet in that rig, am curious if it still might be bordering on the "too much" line lol, i guess if its still overpowered just gear it as high as you can.

i dont know if you have looked into them yet, but so far i have been very pleased with my FlySky GT3C, only problem i have with it is its almost too light in your hand. (GT3C model has a lipo battery in it charged with a regular phone type charger) GT3B is quite heavy as it does take 8 AA's
and as far as usability my only forwarning is to make sure to press "enter" when you dial in your trim while saving it to a model, otherwise it wont save it.
if you are wanting to go for a higher quality system, i hear alot of people loving their Futaba 3PV, 3PL, 4PV, 4PL systems. Spektrucm DX5c i hear is also really good. i have the DX2E and its decent, not the best, definitely good though.
 
Thanks, I'll check out the Flysky GT3C. [Edit] - checked it out - that's a no brainer for that price, thanks!

For gearing, I got the 20t clutch bell. I got 2 spur gears that came extra with a slipper clutch I bought, 70 and 72t. I'm not sure if either is a good size, I feel like that could limit top end too much, and like you said, maybe too much power at the wheels. I wonder if a 56t would be a better choice? I would like top end to be 60+ if possible.
 
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Thanks, I'll check out the Flysky GT3C. [Edit] - checked it out - that's a no brainer for that price, thanks!

For gearing, I got the 20t clutch bell. I got 2 spur gears that came extra with a slipper clutch I bought, 70 and 72t. I'm not sure if either is a good size, I feel like that could limit top end too much, and like you said, maybe too much power at the wheels. I wonder if a 56t would be a better choice? I would like top end to be 60+ if possible.

Well ,if all else fails at 70t ,at least you have a wheely bar!.....LOL
I only see those tall gears on a t-max or something big ,on my GT10 with OS cvr 18 ,it does close to 60 ,an
actually flips on its back from hydro plane at full speeds with the body off ,I have to keep the body on at
full wot speeds ,it has a 64t spur with 20t bell!

But ,I am not sure with your trans. ,an ,I am not sure with that drastic change to a 56t ,however ,on my street
cars ,even though that they have smaller tires with 2 spd ,the one spur is only a 45t....LOL ,yea ,go figure!

I did one time put some bigger SC truck tires on an ran it ,I liked the car then ,because it tamed the donuts
down!

This is the Ld3 with Hyper 21 ,I know that it is different from your build ,but it does show the power
of a 21 in a 10th scale rig ,an it was never at full WOT ,this one scares me to run at full WOT!

 
Holy hell that thing is fast! Wow.

Yeah I really don't know about the spur gear, I believe those are the stock size options for the Slash. I'm likely going to upgrade it to a metal gear anyway, so I'll test some with the 70t and see how fast it is.

You mentioned the problem with air and flipping...which is something I have seen with the gasser style drag cars. I've seen a lot of people say you have to make sure air can get out of the back or it acts like a parachute of sorts. These were electric though, with no engine cutouts that would let air escape. Still, I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to cut out the rear a bit.

Got my wheels and tires last night put them together, those MT wheels are really nice. Propped them up on the a-arms just to get an idea of the fitment with the body. Looks like they'll be pretty tucked in, though I don't think I'll be able to drop the body fully, but being a gasser style I wasn't going to put it on the ground anyway. So maybe I won't need the Bandit arms...which are out of stock for another month anyway. Also the shade of green seems to be slightly different for them, and I'm already pushing the multicolor boundary a little much, lol! Maybe when I actually start running it, and aerodynamics prove poor, I'll change my mind.

120072
 
I think that you are doing an awesome build ,not too many people out there that will take the steps to do
something different , I use to ,an I did start a drag car build a quite few years ago ,but a different way ,mine
was more of an experiment though ,I lost interest of it an quit!

Another thing to watch out for on your maiden voyage of that on your first speed run ,is braking ,at full speed ,
to stopping is crucial ,2 wheel drive cars don't do to well on braking from full speeds ,you will need to slowly
brake the car ,or it will spin around on you an it will be out of control!

I can show a vid of what happen to my car when the front brake was canceled out!
 
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