New Rustler Owner

[Kustrud]

Quick intro....I'm 38 now but back when I was 15 or so I had a nitro RC10GT. I remember everything about that truck and absolutely loved it! I'm very mechanically inclined and knew how far electronics/batteries have come since then and had a random urge to get a good RC to mess around here and let all the kids drive it in the fields and woods we have in our neighborhood. I wanted something that resembled my old truck I had, but something electric, and something 2wd for simplicity. Rustler was an obvious solid/safe choice (bought last week, 2wd XL-5)! I immediately got the Traxxas EZ-Peak charger as well as their 2s Lipo battery......night and day difference by the way running that battery vs. the nimh that came with it! WAY quicker and much longer lasting! Blown away with the performance for the $ spent. Does great in grass, street, etc. etc. and knew the low/wide stance would handle really well and lessen chance of flips/rolls with kids driving it too. I was right, great driving little truck!

So of course I'll be upgrading this over time as that's half the fun! This is the latest XL-5 so it already has many upgraded HD parts, all-metal trans, etc. vs. some of earlier years.

I think next I want to go to a 2s (but 3s capable of course) brushless setup. I know the Traxxas Velenium (however that's spelled) is an option.....but what are some other recommendations?

Also, what are some other areas to upgrade on this thing from a durability standpoint?

Please do not suggest another truck.....I'm sticking with this and want to eventually make it as bulletproof, nice, and fast as possible!

 

[Lostinthewoods86]

Welcome in!

another truck

You can lie to yourself all you want but us addicts know this won’t be the last one

 

[Chubaka]

Welcone to the site. I'm happy with castle. The sidewinder 3800 is close to the vxl (vileneon system) it's around 130. A little more or less depending on the shop and or shipping.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=sidewinder+3800&_trksid=p4432023.m4084.l1313

I'd say ditch traxxas plugs and electronics when you upgrade. For the same price there are better options.

Welcome in!


You can lie to yourself all you want but us addicts know this won’t be the last one

Besides everyone needs a back up. Some need a few more back ups then others. Besides a few spare parts and with upgrading you'll have a second truck sooner or later.

The best part, stampede, slash, and bandit parts are interchangeable with rustler. You have alot of categories there.

 

[Suburban_Hooligan]

anything RPM makes is a good durability improvement for those trucks.
also captured hinge pins, as the originals are prone to backing out. https://www.amainhobbies.com/st-rac...hinge-pin-for-traxxas-slash-sptst3640s/p34392

 

[332_RC]

Welcome to RCT!

 

[Kustrud]

Thanks for the replies!

I guess more specific....what should I focus on upgrading along with adding more power?

 

[Suburban_Hooligan]

if you start running 3s lipo a lot you may want to upgrade the driveshafts. the stock ones are prone to wearing out and/or popping apart. and under high power, high traction situations they can twist and not telescope properly. there are several aluminum upgrades out there.

 

[WickedFog]

Welcome to RCTalk!

 

[Doom!]

Welcome!

 

[9x19]

Welcome to RCT

 

[jojobeans]

The HD kit on the newer ones pretty much takes care of the weakness the front end the original had. The new 272r transmission isn’t necessarily stronger, the old trans was plenty strong, but it does have a sealed diff so you can throw some thicker fluid in there for better handling. Metal motor mount too, it’s an upgrade for sure and very welcome to the platform!

Slash/nitro rustler rear arms will add some rear toe, although it will shrink your wheelbase in the rear, so you’ll need different offset wheels in the rear to make up for it. That alone makes a huge difference to the rustlers handling, especially if you put brushless through it. Wheels for a nitro rustler will have the proper offset.

Shocks, if you do big jumps, you’ll eventually pop off the caps. Cheap aluminum caps fixes it. Don’t worry about buying name brand, just some cheapies on Amazon will suffice. TiNi coated shafts will take care of the shafts bending when/if that time comes. Stock shocks are very good for what they are once you throw a few bucks at them. Avoid the aluminum “big bore” shocks Traxxas sells, they’re actually a smaller bore than the stock Ultra shocks and aren’t worth the money IMO. GTR shocks are good, but there’s better shocks for the money. Avoid no name aluminum shocks, Integy shocks, GPM shocks, etc. They leak like a son of a gun and really aren’t much more durable IMO.

Avoid the upgrade trap. Do those small thing and just drive it and see what YOU break. You’ll find it to be pretty durable… you overdo it on any car and they become temperamental lol.

 

[Doom!]

I keep having to check my cattle with so many Rustlers on this forum!

 

[Suburban_Hooligan]

hey, my rustler never started as a rustler it was a pile of aftermarket parts. so... yeah...

 

[RetroThutmose]

RPM makes good tough parts. Avoid aluminum arms, they look pretty but are not good for crashes. Jennysrc is a great resource for cheap OEM parts. I use almost exclusively hobbywing ESCs and motors. They have great support if anything goes wrong and are well stocked at hobby shops. just make sure you buy from authorized retailers not random shops on eBay and Amazon. Hobbywing website is pretty good about describing what systems and kits are good for different applications. You'd probably be good with one of their 80amp quicrun ESCs and 3300 or 3600, maybe higher, motor. I'm not sure if you can fit the larger cans on that motor plate.