Traxxas Nitro Sport

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Domijan91

Domijan91

RCTalk Basher
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Location
St. Louis, MO
RC Driving Style
  1. Bashing
Anybody have a traxxas nitro sport or a rustler? What do u think of them? Specifically the sport. I'm thinking of getting one. I want to go traxxas as my local hobby shop is a big traxxas dealer and it will be easy to get parts for. So what do u guys think about this truck?
 
I have both, out of the two, I'd get the Rustler. It has the 2.5 engine while the Sport has the Pro .15, the Rustler also has a full aluminum lower chassis while the Sport has a plastic front half. The Rustler has a better steering set up, and it also comes with a 2.4ghz radio, while the Sport is still running a 27 mhz. Other than that though, they are basically the same, if it fits the Rustler, it'll fit the Sport.
 
The Pro .15 in my thoughts is kinda going " out with the indians " sort of speaking & there alot more better powerplant's out on the market now... although both Rig's are good starter Rig's but I am a 4x4 kinda guy myself I would drop the few extra bucks & pick up a nitro stampede 4x4 Traxxas now has a PEDE with the 2.4 Gig RX system & beleve it's in an RTR setup & think it has the EZ - Start TRX 2.5R nitro engine already installed in the RIG
 
Grave said:
The Pro .15 in my thoughts is kinda going " out with the indians " sort of speaking & there alot more better powerplant's out on the market now... although both Rig's are good starter Rig's but I am a 4x4 kinda guy myself I would drop the few extra bucks & pick up a nitro stampede 4x4 Traxxas now has a PEDE with the 2.4 Gig RX system & beleve it's in an RTR setup & think it has the EZ - Start TRX 2.5R nitro engine already installed in the RIG
Click to expand...
The Stampede is 2wd, and comes with a 27mhz.
 
But Traxxas will upgrade the the standard 27MHz to their 2.4 GHz radio for a small charge.
 
I have a stampede with the trx. 15 and I have to say its one of the easiest engines to tune and plenty of power for the smaller rigs and its lasted through a lot of abuse and bashing
 
If you're just starting out, or want to just mess around in the parking lot, the Sport is the way to go. I have one, and while those Pro .15's might be going out with the Indians, as Grave said, they are on hell of a motor that can take quite a beating. They're super forgiving, and if you run 'em a tad rich, they last forever. I've got one that's on gallon 18 that I have yet to have to do any major repairs to.

I actually have a Rustler that's I've done the whole gamut on: aluminum shock towers and carriers, RPM control arms, aluminum top plate, etc, that I take to the local skate park to do little tricks with. Believe it or not, I actually took the 2.5 out and replaced it with a Pro .15. The Pro .15 has a tendency to have to spool up a bit before it tranfers power to the wheels, which makes it ideal for running it on the slick coated metal surfaces that the skateparks around here use.

It kind of has the effect of starting out in second gear with a stick shift when it's snowing out. With the 2.5 in there, all that power just makes the tires spin, and it's harder to control (in my experience).

Motors aside, though, I'd go with the Sport, but one thing makes me choose the Ruster instead: bellcrank steering. It steers much, much tighter than the direct servo steering of the Sport, and makes the car feel more responsive, imo.
 
Like I said before, out of the Rustler and the Sport, I'd pick the Rustler, unless you can get the Sport for a lot less than the Rustler. At the $30ish difference though, it only makes sense to go with the Rustler. For $30 you get, a 2.4ghz radio system, bigger engine, better steering and a full aluminum chassis.
 
SchrodeMode said:
Like I said before, out of the Rustler and the Sport, I'd pick the Rustler, unless you can get the Sport for a lot less than the Rustler. At the $30ish difference though, it only makes sense to go with the Rustler. For $30 you get, a 2.4ghz radio system, bigger engine, better steering and a full aluminum chassis.
Click to expand...

The only thing I'm worried about with the rustler is the engine! Everyone keeps saying that the .15 is the way to go and that it's supper easy to tune, what about the 2.5? I'm not worried about having to follow directions to break it in or taking care of it, I'm just worried that it's my first NITRO engine and I'd like to start with something easy and forgiving to get the feel of things before I start getting bigger and better! I am mostly bashing and using my own ramps. Some racing at my own track or just running at the local tracks for fun. No competition.

And also, what's the big difference with the 2.4ghz controller. I have the standard 27mhz radio with my stampede and it works great!

What additional info should I know about the engines and/or radios sin order to sway my vote (rustler or sport) one way or the other.

Thanks guys.
 
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go with the sport then later on upgade
i've got all 3 engines here (.15,2.5 and 3.3) and i still think the .15 is by far the easest engine to tune all i did was break it in proper and set for performance and have never changed the needles since and that was 4 years ago and this thing still go hard
if you do go with the .15 i've found that it runs all day on 15%nitro and traxxas plug #3230 never had a prob with this
 
well that answers my question about the engine.

can anyone help me with the remotes? what is the big deal with the 2.4ghz controller?
is it just different channels to run you car on? does it affect the performance in any way? what kind of controller do you have and what do you think about it?

thanks
 
2.4Ghz controller is a marked upgrade. Personally I like the 2.5 better than the .15. While I do agree that the .15 is marginally easier to tune I dont find the 2.5 difficult at all to tune. Back when i had 2 nitro Rustlers I had a .15 and I had 3 different 2.5's. The reason I had 3 of them cuz one was in a MGT 3.0 that I bought used. The other one came with the used Rusty that had the .15 in it. It was brand new. The guy that sold me that Rusty told me the .15 was broken and didnt run right anymore. After getting the kit I took the head off and spun the flywheel around a little bit. Seemed like it was a little gummy but seemed to be in decent shape. I cleaned it up and it worked just fine. I guess that guy didnt know what he was doing with it. I left it in that kit for my wife to play with and just kept the new 2.5 as a back up. Eventually I sold the nitro Rustys in favor of the electrics. ( I have both nitros and electrics). I personally think the 2.5 is a better engine. The 3.3 however is questionable IMO. I agree with Schrode on this one. get the Rustler over the Sport IMO. I also prefer the aluminum chassis plate.
 
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I have run a Spektrum 3-channel TX/RX since I got back into the hobby a few tears back. I have had no problems with their radios. The best thing about 2.4 GHz radios is the almost complete lack of interference. I'm currently running a DX3s with telemetry capability. It has great range and will handle up to 10 models in its memory.
 
My 2x 2.5s are really easy to tune, I cracked one and put the internals into the case of one that was going to traxxas for the upgrade, it's still running great. I also have a 3.3 that was in a T-Maxx that my LHS gave me, it was so gummed up that it wouldn't turn over, I soaked it in simple green, then WD-40. I don't know how much fuel was through it when I got it, but I've added another gallon and it's running fine. My Sport and my Rustler both came with Pro .15's, neither one of them ran very good, I was chasing tunes, and they seemed under powered after I put Dirt Hawgs on. The Rustler was in rough shape when I got it though, the guy probably fried it before I got it.

---------- Post added at 4:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 4:18 PM ----------

As for the radios, the 2.4 is virtually glitch free and you'll more than likely get better range. I believe the radio that will come with the Rustler is multi-model capable, you'll just have to get compatible Rxs.
 
my .02, STAY AWAY FROM ANYTHING WITH A .15 FROM TRAXXAS! Its a decent engine, but not near as powerful as their 2.5, and is relatively unreliable.
 
3_Stroke_Motor said:
my .02, STAY AWAY FROM ANYTHING WITH A .15 FROM TRAXXAS! Its a decent engine, but not near as powerful as their 2.5, and is relatively unreliable.
Click to expand...

I have to interject on this. The Pro .15 is not as powerful as the 2.5. But it is by no means unreliable. I have 2 Pro .15's that have are approaching 20 gallons run through them (each) and they're super reliable.

There's a reason that the Pro .15 is a "beginner's" motor...it's really forgiving, runs just fine in almost any weather, and can take a beating.

If you want to race, the Pro .15 isn't the way to go. But if you want a nitro car with minimal fuss, with a motor that you won't need to fiddle with too much, it's a great choice.
 

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