Tmaxx to short course truck?

[mikegigabyte]

So I got a HPI truck body and am going to mount on my tmaxx no matter what. I spent around $100 on wheels and tires that fit, the wheel is the same diameter as the tmaxx but the tires are really thin. They are the hpi short course tires.

Will this affect my speed and performance.
Also I was planning on shortening the A arms in 1 inch so the wheels wont stick out as far, but its alot of work and once I do I can't go back to stock tires.

The hpi body looks alright but I guess there truck must be a little longer so the fenders are cut a little wider but the tires dont really fit in the center.
If I use my t maxx tires and wheels they are so much bigger the fender openings will be cut open more and it wont look as bad but I loose the look of the tires.

So will the smaller tires mess up my gearing to much. I should of ran it but I dont want to mess up the tires incase I have to return them, they are still perfect now.

very little of the tire is under the body

 

[mikegigabyte]

Well I decided to return the wheels and tires and cut up the frnders for my old stock ones. I dont want to screw up the truck or the performance as it really handles great and has good speed. Maybe tomorrow I will put it all back together and get get some better pics all put back together.

here was my dads version with his old monster pirate, mine will have more fender cutout then his as my tire treads are alot taller

 

[Mickstix]

Couple of nice lookin trucks!!

 

[CosmosGoat]

Should be cool when finished. I think you will be much happier sticking with the stock tmaxx tires size.

 

[mikegigabyte]

Here are some rough pics, got the fenders trimmed out, may tweak the rear more. Havent cut out for the glow plug or drill starter yet.

Here is a before pic

Will handle better now without the heavy roll cage

 

[mikegigabyte]

Just made a front bumper from solid steel tubing. Copied the traxxas slash as well as I could. Had to really think out how to use the mounts and this was the best way I could think of.

Just using the stock screws now but will be buying bolts and nuts today for a stronger fit. Has a little slop because of the plastic parts so hopefully moderate hits wont tear apart my maxx. I only run the risk of hitting rocks where I drive. I'm debating on putting a solid piece of tube between the mounting screws and tapping it so the screws thread into it, it would give it a solid mount from side to side.
Havent driven it yet with the bumper to see if it effects performance.

 

[drdoom405]

Dude, you MADE that bumper? That thing looks sweet...Nice job.

 

[SteelCityNitro]

best damn home made bumper I've ever seen..

 

[mikegigabyte]

I will let you all in on a secret, I used a crappy mig welder and the welds looked horrible, so I found to coat the whole thing with jb weld, instead of bondo and it covers all sins. Bondo dries the paint different and you can see where its applied, jb weld dries hard and soild, and can even be sanded and it really cleans the welds up, thats why it looks so smooth. Believe me if it wasn't on there it would look crappy.

Did a test run and it held up to crashing into a curb, some reason 5 feet away the spektrum cut out a few times today and one of those times it was near a curb. I did bend the crappy screws but no damage to the truck or bumper. I bought better screws today and will fix it up better. Handled the same so no added weight could be felt. I'm probably just going to extend the rear bumper out and not make one.

The truck overall is still heavy and the tires dont handle to well, but they are 7 years old so I'm due for some new ones, possibly a better flatter type of tread. I finally fixed the brake and it will skid to a stop and reduced the steering throw on my new remote and endponts dialed in so now it turns the same amount left to right with no rollover on asphalt at full speed turn. For an old truck, and never had broken a part on it, its a blast to mess around with even with the .15 engine.

 

[eezzyk]

I have been wanting to do the exact same thing. I was considering cutting down my suspension arms too. I just didn't want to hack up an expensive body and then end up throwing it away.

 

[mikegigabyte]

I have been wanting to do the exact same thing. I was considering cutting down my suspension arms too. I just didn't want to hack up an expensive body and then end up throwing it away.

Well I didnt cut down anything like I was thinking. It all worked out in the end, I havent driven it in a few months though. Maybe soon since the rain has seemed to stop my driving place would of been covered in mud.

 

[eezzyk]

Well the truck looks great really nice work on that bumper.