Jato 3.3

[donasdux]

Tomorrow (hopefully) I will be getting my hands on a Jato 3.3. I was told that the car was used for 1 week on road, so I am expecting a near mint car. My concern is the engine. I can almost guarantee that it was run wide open for the "week" the person used it. He told me he hit a curb and broke some of the suspension, fixed it and never started the car again. Do you think I should replace the piston & sleeve or leave it alone until spring? It's kinda tough to break it in in the winter here in NJ. I will hopefully post pics tomorrow. I bought it from a girl I work with, offered her $150 and she jumped at it. I figured if I have to go as far as replacing the motor I still got a great deal.

Thoughts?

 

[srusinek]

Sounds like a good deal and I think you can two ways with this one. You could use this motor for the winter months and then trade it in using the traxxas exchange program. If your like myself and only run in warmer weather then you could see how it runs and go from there and trade it in later. From what I've heard the jato is stupid fast so running it in the winter with slippery conditions could be more trouble than its worth. Hope this helps, Steve.

 

[cwal1774]

If the engie was boken in properly it shouldn't be a problem if the truck is only a week old. These engines are made to run wide open. As far as trading the engine in on the Traxxas engine replacement program goes TRX 3.3s can be found brand new on ebay for about the same money I'm assuming it's still 115 dollars for a trade in. I've seen them on there for 95 to 110 dollars. Piston and sleeves go for about 45 to 50 bucks as compared to 65 to 70 ordering them from Traxxas.

 

[Rooky]

nitro motors are designed to work with full throttle driving and bashing.

so if its only been runing for a week, doesn't rly matter how she runs it, it is still great.

 

[HPI-Killer]

so if its only been runing for a week, doesn't rly matter how she runs it, it is still great.

I disagree, it does matter how a nitro motor was ran, weather it was properly broken in, or if she was running it super lean, you can do alot of things to an engine within a week of bash time.

--

When you get it, set it back to factory needle settings, and retune before you go play, after you get her dialed in, you will be able to pick out the problems of the rig.

 

[BamaFan]

nitro motors are designed to work with full throttle driving and bashing.

so if its only been runing for a week, doesn't rly matter how she runs it, it is still great.

I can destroy a nitro engine in about 10 min if I wanted to. A week of running it wrong can do a lot of damage to the car and engine. Nitro engine's are not designed to run full throttle for more than a few sec at a time. Thats how the engine cool's it's self is the fuel and if your running wot all the time your depriving the engine of oil content and fuel to cool it.

 

[cwal1774]

If they aren't designed for wot then why are they rated above 30,000 rpms? They are also air cooled that's what the fins on the cooling head are for so the faster you can move air over them the faster the heat is taken away. Plus when you squeeze the trigger you are putting more fuel and oil through it not less. These are 2 stroke engines and 2 stroke engines are made to be run on the pipe. Not putted around like 4 strokes.

 

[BamaFan]

If they aren't designed for wot then why are they rated above 30,000 rpms? They are also air cooled that's what the fins on the cooling head are for so the faster you can move air over them the faster the heat is taken away. Plus when you squeeze the trigger you are putting more fuel and oil through it not less. These are 2 stroke engines and 2 stroke engines are made to be run on the pipe. Not putted around like 4 strokes.

There not designed for wot for a extensive amount of time. Yes they are air cooled but if you hold it wot for a extensive amount of time you are depriving the engine of fuel and oil because it is going so fast through the engine it does not have time to cool and lubricate the engine properly. Do you think your engine will run cooler at idle or wot? If your engine is running cooler at wot than idle it's the first I have ever heard of it. If your temp on your engine does not drop from a wot run when your letting it idle for a sec then your too lean.

 

[cwal1774]

Never said it ran cooler at wot than it did at idle. Dont' put words in my mouth dude. All I was saying is that if the engine was properly broken in and tuned than a weeks worth of bashing probably didn't hurt it. Plus he never specified where she was running the truck or if she ran it everyday. For all we know it was run a parking lot or her front yard for a couple of days for the week that she owned it. Neither of which would allow wot for an extended period of time anyway.

 

[donasdux]

OK,
Yesterday I got new fuel tubing, a starter and the glow plug wire. After about 8 seconds, the car fired up. Used Byron's Gen2 20/12%. Richened the needle a 1/8th turn, let it warm up and let it rip. This thing is fast. It is not as pretty as the seller told me (you can see the caked on dirt/nitro fuel) but it runs and runs fast. Opinion time. Should I get aluminium parts, the plastic from RPM or I have seen a carbon fiber "upgrade" which includes front/rear arms battery cover, receiver cover etc. I like the look of the CF, but I like the duarability of the anodized parts. I heard very good things about the RPM line, just wondering what you all think.

 

[HPI-Killer]

RPM all the way until I'm dead in the ground, I have RPMs all around my jato, wicked fast and an allow arm will never work out in the end.

 

[donasdux]

RPM all the way until I'm dead in the ground, I have RPMs all around my jato, wicked fast and an allow arm will never work out in the end.

Do they make anything else besides the arms? I haven't seen much else from them. Also, where do you buy besides fleabay?

 

[HPI-Killer]

I go AMainHobbies.com or RPPHobby.com they make a couple things, nothing near the slash but I havnt seen nor heard of a break with RPM hop ups

 

[donasdux]

I havnt seen nor heard of a break with RPM hop ups

^^^^^^^^^^= Lifetime guarantee. That's why. Good products can offer a guarantee like that.

Just curious as to why you're not fond of alum. parts? I would guess price is a factor, but what else?
Anyway, I went to RPM's site, and they only have arms, bumpers and a head protector for the Jato. I was looking for a complete bulkhead, shocktowers, roll bar & stoneguards. And probably a few other things.............
And thanks for the suggestions, as I have been dealing with amain for a few years now. I also deal with rcboca.com. Great customer service, and when I am in Florida on vacation, I usually stop in and say "Hi". Great people, not like most of the shops here in NJ.

 

[MudSlinger33]

Aluminum bends and does not absorb impacts like plastic will.

 

[cwal1774]

Aluminum bends and has no flex to it plus it adds weight which will hurt performance and put added stress on the engine. Although for some parts like bulkheads alloy isn't a bad idea. Most will use aluminum down the center and RPM at the corners. Carbon fiber is a good choice too if you can afford it.

 

[donasdux]

ok, thanx for the explinations. Looks like the alum is for show more than go. Alum down the middle and rpm on the ends.

-Jeff

 

[MudSlinger33]

Yep, aluminum makes great shelf queens.

 

[Precision1]

This place has the cheapest RPM stuff around (around the internet at least).

 

[wacmartin]

I think this guy here ^^^ works for this company up here ^^^ lol