First of all, thanks to everybody for the valuable information contained in this forum. It has helped me a lot in breaking in my S-Maxx (which is my first ever nitro RC).
I have attempted to find answers to these topics by searching the forum, so I apologize if they have already been aswered somewhere else.
1. I bought a 5-cell battery pack for the receiver. Not knowing how to install it (cable was too short to connect directly to the receiver), I cut the original battery holder cables, and soldered them to the battery cables. Then I covered the soldered cables with heat-shrinking tube thingies (whatever they're called), and stuffed them in the battery box. The question is: am I running any risk by having the batttery cables soldered to the switch cables? I can't see why this would be a problem, but then again, I'm 100% newbie. =)
2. During my first few runs after break-in, the head reached 372 or so degrees (ouch!). I only found this out because my friend had a temp gauge around (I bought my own today). Performance temp on the 2.5 is supposed to be 300-320 (even though it appears that everybody around here likes to run it cooler). Yesterday was also really hot (95 or so) and humid as hell, which of course didn't help, and on top of that, I was running the S-Maxx on grass for a while. One more thing: I checked the temp on an almost-empty tank, so I was running leaner at that point. The truck is not showing any trouble, or at least my untrained eyes/ears/nose don't detect anything wrong with it (freaking thing is still pulling wheelies on the pavement, so I can't think I fried it too bad). Is there anything on the obvious side I should be checking for after having reached such ridiculous temperatures? Only thing I checked was the glowplug, which seemed fine to me. Other than that, I didn't know what to check except for overall performance.
3. Yesterday I added a fuel filter. My friend told me it didn't matter which way to put it. Later on I found out there is a right way, so I cleaned it and turned it around. This is a Patriot filter, and when you unscrew it, the inside is basically a long filtering tube. Just double-checking: the filter should be installed so that the "bag" (filter itself) catches the crap, right?
4. Today I installed a reverse upgrade kit (yeah, I know, I could've bought the T-Maxx for the same price), and noticed that now the S-Maxx jerks a little when starting to move. At first I thought my mixture had gone to hell, and started messing with the LSN. It took me a while to find out by later searching this site that the T-Maxx (with reverse by default) does this, and that it is not necessarily a problem. I just wanted to confirm this behavior with T-Maxx owners. It basically jerks a little when you gas it slowly (rocks maybe 2-3 times before fully engaging), either forward or reverse. I'm assuming it's the added clutch, but then again, I got a big newbie hat on right now.
5. Time flies when you're having fun. That's a problem here, because I have let the tank run out of gas a couple of times, and that can't be good. My questions is: how bad is it really? Should I worry, even though no apparent side effects are noticeable at this point?
6. So... I left the fuel can open for maybe 10-15 minutes when it was 85 or so outside. Is the fuel ruined? Will it give me trouble with the tuning? I don't really feel like wasting it, but I will if it can be a problem.
OK, I'm done. For now. =) I haven't searched the site much regarding questions #5 and 6, so please don't bother to answer those if the answers are readily available somewhere in the forum (I'll search for them tomorrow).
I have to say I am having a blast with the truck, and I can't wait for the engine to "age", and for me to work the minor kinks out of tuning the thing. I'm only doing this on a recreational level (just bashing it I guess), so I hope it doesn't turn into my wallet's worst enemy.
Thanks again for all the helpful information posted here. You guys seem like a nice bunch.
Peace!
Mexico
I have attempted to find answers to these topics by searching the forum, so I apologize if they have already been aswered somewhere else.
1. I bought a 5-cell battery pack for the receiver. Not knowing how to install it (cable was too short to connect directly to the receiver), I cut the original battery holder cables, and soldered them to the battery cables. Then I covered the soldered cables with heat-shrinking tube thingies (whatever they're called), and stuffed them in the battery box. The question is: am I running any risk by having the batttery cables soldered to the switch cables? I can't see why this would be a problem, but then again, I'm 100% newbie. =)
2. During my first few runs after break-in, the head reached 372 or so degrees (ouch!). I only found this out because my friend had a temp gauge around (I bought my own today). Performance temp on the 2.5 is supposed to be 300-320 (even though it appears that everybody around here likes to run it cooler). Yesterday was also really hot (95 or so) and humid as hell, which of course didn't help, and on top of that, I was running the S-Maxx on grass for a while. One more thing: I checked the temp on an almost-empty tank, so I was running leaner at that point. The truck is not showing any trouble, or at least my untrained eyes/ears/nose don't detect anything wrong with it (freaking thing is still pulling wheelies on the pavement, so I can't think I fried it too bad). Is there anything on the obvious side I should be checking for after having reached such ridiculous temperatures? Only thing I checked was the glowplug, which seemed fine to me. Other than that, I didn't know what to check except for overall performance.
3. Yesterday I added a fuel filter. My friend told me it didn't matter which way to put it. Later on I found out there is a right way, so I cleaned it and turned it around. This is a Patriot filter, and when you unscrew it, the inside is basically a long filtering tube. Just double-checking: the filter should be installed so that the "bag" (filter itself) catches the crap, right?
4. Today I installed a reverse upgrade kit (yeah, I know, I could've bought the T-Maxx for the same price), and noticed that now the S-Maxx jerks a little when starting to move. At first I thought my mixture had gone to hell, and started messing with the LSN. It took me a while to find out by later searching this site that the T-Maxx (with reverse by default) does this, and that it is not necessarily a problem. I just wanted to confirm this behavior with T-Maxx owners. It basically jerks a little when you gas it slowly (rocks maybe 2-3 times before fully engaging), either forward or reverse. I'm assuming it's the added clutch, but then again, I got a big newbie hat on right now.
5. Time flies when you're having fun. That's a problem here, because I have let the tank run out of gas a couple of times, and that can't be good. My questions is: how bad is it really? Should I worry, even though no apparent side effects are noticeable at this point?
6. So... I left the fuel can open for maybe 10-15 minutes when it was 85 or so outside. Is the fuel ruined? Will it give me trouble with the tuning? I don't really feel like wasting it, but I will if it can be a problem.
OK, I'm done. For now. =) I haven't searched the site much regarding questions #5 and 6, so please don't bother to answer those if the answers are readily available somewhere in the forum (I'll search for them tomorrow).
I have to say I am having a blast with the truck, and I can't wait for the engine to "age", and for me to work the minor kinks out of tuning the thing. I'm only doing this on a recreational level (just bashing it I guess), so I hope it doesn't turn into my wallet's worst enemy.
Thanks again for all the helpful information posted here. You guys seem like a nice bunch.
Peace!
Mexico
Oh, well, if this engine doesn't last me too long because of all my screw-ups, I may just have to replace it with a 3.3 :mex:
