Traxxas Jato 3.3

[AC48]

Well I got my Jato 3.3 and finished the break in. I just took it to the parking lot to check out the speed yesterday. Keep in mind this is my first 2wd st.

My initial reaction, holy sh*t this thing is fast! I was never able to hit full speed even in a wide open parking lot...the speed just keeps climbing...and I was suprised to see this thing stay on all fours at these speeds. This thing has some serious power and could be geared to go even fast if wanted. Not only does this thing really go at least close to traxxas' claims it has some good acceleration too.

The tires get great grip in a straight line, but the handling of this truck is not all that great. At slow speeds the handling is great, it has one of the tightest turning radius I've ever seen. On power the jato has some serious push. Probably becuase the 3.3 has such brutal power the front wheels are barely on the ground under power. Give the breaks a quick tap and it helps but don't hold the brakes for too long or the rear end swings out and you'll be facing the other direction.

In stock form don't plan to do much off roading. I'm sure with a tire changed and a nice dirt track it would be great, but with the stock tires pavement is really the best place for it.

The weelie bar is nice too, as it helps keep the truck right side up if you give it too much throttle.

Overall I am very happy with it...but I wouldn't be if it was my only nitro. Its a fun toy but I would not reccomend it as a first or only nitro as its not very vercatile. It sure is fast as hell tho

 

[Nitro_Freak]

awesome! the lhs I work at just sold out of them so they're pretty hard to get. how is the 3.3 in terms of tuning? my 2.5 is a piece of cake to tune...

 

[AC48]

I've barely touched the needles at all. I've leaned teh HSN a bit from factory but much at all cause I've been doing a lot of WOT haha. So far its been a breeze to tune.

 

[AC48]

I just took it out again and wow! I had the rear tires spinning soo fast I blew a tire off the rim...time to break out some more glue haha.

Another note on its off-road ability...I just mowed the grass today and its just about worthless on the grass. If you give it more than 1/4 throttle you burnout and start spinning. Not that its meant to go offroad but still...

Its on-road ability still blows me away.

 

[cvec7]

Yea, most of the cons you described are typical of just about any 2wd ST. Especially the grass thing. A Nitro Rush was my first truck (HPI 2WD nitro ST) and I could never do it on the grass no matter what...
We have 2 or 3 of them in at the shop I work at but we're not sellin them so fast because most of the people we get in the store are complete noobs and so we try to reccomend them something slower. And all the non-noobs just aren't interested. I know I've been tempted tho, lol.

 

[AC48]

Yea, this is my first st so I guess I was a bit surprised by it...but the tires are poopy for grass...I mean it may be a bit better with some better off-road tires? idk all I wanted was to actually drive a nitro that can really hit 60...and I can say that I thought my old RS4 went like 45-50 ish...but I was wrong haha it was probably like 35-40 in reality...this jato is FAST.

 

[cvec7]

Yea, it does good in the grass with either like bowties or M2K's, or something along those lines.

 

[Nitro_Freak]

Yea, this is my first st so I guess I was a bit surprised by it...but the tires are poopy for grass...I mean it may be a bit better with some better off-road tires? idk all I wanted was to actually drive a nitro that can really hit 60...and I can say that I thought my old RS4 went like 45-50 ish...but I was wrong haha it was probably like 35-40 in reality...this jato is FAST.

just keep in mind that when traxxas (and pretty much any other manufacturer) tests out the top speed, they do it in a place about as long as an airport runway and lean the engine out WAY too much just so they can get the top speed. in reality I'd guess the jato 3.3 is good for 50+ (that's in normal circumstances, with the engine running a bit on the rich side).

my biggest problem with the jato though is the 2.8" rims it uses. almost impossible to find any tires for it, and if you try a 2.2" it will rub on one of the screws.

 

[AC48]

I know tha it probably doesn't do any more than 60 or so...but I saw a vid of a rustler with a 3.3 and it did 71...which makes me think this thing which doesn't weigh much more at all than a rustler, could actually hit these speeds. Can it do more than 65? probably not, but I would bet 60 is possible with it.

 

[DavidS302]

The stock tires on the Jato were terrible. They would just spin and balloon then send the car off in some unknown and unwanted direction usually ending in some weird spin. I installed a set of Traxxas Stamped tires today and the difference was unbelievable.

I turned the tires inside out and put one wrap of duct tape on them then turned them right-side out and mounted them. The theory is that the duct tape won’t stretch so the tires won’t balloon. I haven’t tried these tires without the tape but they do not balloon with the tape.

It was really cool watching the car go straight when I hit the throttle. It will now throw a grass rooster tail while pulling a wheelie. The only thing is these tires are taller than stock. The anacondas were 4.1” and the stampedes are 4.8”. It will put a little more strain on the drivetrain.

 

[psunitro]

Imex makes 2.8 wheels and tires, dont know about the quality though?

 

[cdc2711]

Just got one of these as a rolling chassis with a load of spares and stuff. It should be here tomorrow morning. Any ideas on a good cheap engine for it, I was looking a a GO.18 cxp on ebay, any good?

 

[mtaylortank]

in dirt a set of paddles are insane just dont stand behind it at all!!! you will regret it quick if you do!! I use the stock tires and go through dirt and pavment you just gotta practice alittle more and you can get the swing of the 2wd.. and yeah the right gearing you can hit 80-85 when I got mine used my friend had a few gears he had used with a cop tagging his speed and hit 85 with stock tires on it and different gear setup I will dig them out and try to let you know the combination.. i am happy with it as is for right now!!! I really like how it swings around like a real car would in the dirt and way overdoing the acceleration......

 

[cdc2711]

I'm all excited, can't wait to see this thing go past me at 65mph.
I have an xxx-nt and a rwd tmaxx with a .28 engine so I hope this handles as well or better than them

 

[mtaylortank]

as long as you can keap the front tires down when you need to turn it does pretty good. s big diff from a maxx!!! just always make sure the brakes are working before you do high speed runs with it!!!!

 

[cdc2711]

yeah the guy says he has a racing brake put on it, ill put a failsafe on it aswell.
hers a link to what i got http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260828130809&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT think i got a good deal?

 

[rgreen]

The imex pin rear 2.8 tires are great! I have a set on the back of mine. Hooks up hard on grass, on any surface and are wearing very well. I'm now runing 2.2 proline padels on mine as i've been playing in the sand hills mostly this summer. Mine started as the 2.5 Jato wich came with off road tires stock. It now has a Dynamite .19 with THS pipe.This eng holds a tune very well. I love it . The Jato is a blast to drive, but is a handfull because of its speed, but thats its charm!!!!!!

 

[Jasontiff1]

I just ordered my jato nitro. It's my first nitro. I have the brushless rustler and e-maxx. I can't wait to pull the trigger and let her go, however I want to break it in correctly. What is the best way to break in the 3.3? Also is the phone linkage correct at all or any good?

 

[Rooky78]

Welcome to the site! I follow the break in in the manual on Traxxas engines. The link and app are handy, but there have been some issues with the latest updates. Try it out and see if it works for you.

 

[Jasontiff1]

Welcome to the site! I follow the break in in the manual on Traxxas engines. The link and app are handy, but there have been some issues with the latest updates. Try it out and see if it works for you.

Holy cow I just got the jato broke in and it is everything you could wand as fast as speed. Gonna look into some tires for better grip. Any suggestions?