My first rc18
 

hey guys,
i just got my first rc18b today.. i traded my friend my MRS4 for his rc18b(kinda dirty) and a set of 1/10 rims/tires for my rustler... i just wanted to start off by asking what are some of the best upgrades for this car to make it goo off-road...
Problems: what i first ran it, what driving it it sound like there is a loose screw and the axles are going to burst and break, even tho nothing is wrong.... my guess is that there is some dry/hard dirt in the diff or by the axles .. but any other ideas?

i want to go brushless... and was thinking of going with a castle creations set.. 5400kv because i do not want lith... but i will be getting a batter battery with more MaH for longer drive time

EDIT: pix are up
i took them while i was disassembling it.. so u can see more of the dirt
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/rc18b001.jpg http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/rc18b002.jpg
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/rc18b003.jpg http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/rc18b004.jpg
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/rc18b005.jpg http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/rc18b006.jpg
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/rc18b007.jpg http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/rc18b008.jpg
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/rc18b009.jpg http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/rc18b010.jpg
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/rc18b011.jpg http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/rc18b012.jpg

Linked thread deleted.

First off, congrats on the purchase! You'll love the RC18 series. :nod:

Give it a good, hard cleaning and see if the noise persists.

CC5400kV is a great start. Lots of power. ;) You don't need LiPo to run brushless; I run a 9200kV brushless off of a 1100mAh NiMH with plenty of speed, power and punch (obviously LiPo will give more, however). ;)

Cheers,
Kyle.

thanx Donzii!
And any tire suggestions? the tires he gave me are toast

I laughed at myself when I bought them, but, you may want to see if you can find some ProPulse tires at your local RatShack. They work great and are really inexpensive (especially at the time when they were only a dollar!). You may have a hard time finding them now, though..

I would also suggest Road Rage by ProLine. Never had them personally, but I've always heard great things about them.

Cheers,
Kyle.

Thanx donzii for all the help.. i think this is my last question
what wings are compatible with the rc18b wing? cause it didnt come with a wing... and i wanted to get one, and the only one atomic sells kinda looks ugly.(preferable form atomicmods cause im gonna buy everything from there)

Not sure, I've never looked into aftermarket wings (don't have a 18B). But, Tower does sell a replacement wing:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLRC1&P=Z

Edit, sorry, forgot you said AtomicMods..
Here's the wing: http://www.atomicmods.com/Products/T...rs__13561.aspx
AtomicMods doesn't have a picture of the wing; open the Tower link to see the wing picture.
And if you need the standoffs, too:
http://www.atomicmods.com/Products/T...29__13560.aspx

BUMP pix are up the car is still "under construction"

I have a nice set of NIB pro-pulse tires and rims if your interested. Propulse = RC18 Clone :)

ill think about it... now ive run into another problem... the wheels wont spin(because its awd, when u spin 2 wheels all should spin.. but it gets locked and doesnt spin... i cleaned it and put it back together.. im guessing it a diff or something i misplaced) =/ why must they make it so hard to reach the diffs!!!!!!!!!! i need to take apart the whole car AGAIN :(

all 4 wheels don't always necessarily spin, it depends on how tight the diff is.
you might also have a small pebble or sand in your spur/pinion, that sometimes binds up the drive train a bit and would cause all 4 wheels not to spin.
propulse tires do work pretty sweet, I grabbed a bunch of them too when they were on sale for $0.99.. my favorites are the ones that look like proline mashers and the dirt hawg copies. the only ones that doesn't hook up for me very well were the street ones.

Just one question.... Reedy 8000kv brushless or Mamba 8000kv... i decided that if im going to spend money i might as well get the faster engine :)

Either one is a good call; stick with Associated and get the LRP/Reedy or go with Castle Creations and get the Mamba. I love my Mamba system, but I also know a lot of guys who swear by Associated's LRP/Reedy. Either way's a good call, so pick whichever you think is the best deal.

To my knowledge, though, the LRP/Reedy cannot be programmed as much as the Mamba25 can. Maybe later on down the road you'll want that capability? Just keep that in mind. ;)

Cheers,
Kyle.

edit: and just like in xmods, it's a motor, not an engine. ;)

its a really hard decision.. its either pay $135 and get a good and very up to date system or pay $85, save the $$ for other upgrades but get a non up-to-date system....

I'm a mamba fan all the way. I have it for my 1/18 and 1/10 trucks(I have 2 for 1/10)
you can't beat the programmability of the mamba.

Its electric therefore its a motor.

You have to decide whether you're going to do with your 18B...if you plan on serious racing you should consider a 380 size motor can to get more torque and cooler running temps but if you're just having fun the mamba is more than adequate. i've had mambas for over five years now and I've been very satisfied with the level of power for the price point.

not into serious racing atm.. just once in a while ill enter a stock rusty race and ill win some $$$ but other than that... nothing serious.. but ive encountered another problem.....
I want to get a heat sink with a cooling fan...
1. IDK how the cooling fan works can someone fill me up on this?
2. checking the space under the rc18b body, there is no space.. so i think ill be transferring to a rc18t once i order new parts
3. i cleaned it, put it back together.. charged the battery(finally) and the noise is still there... atomic said it is a bad spur or pinion gear but ill recheck or add some WD40 and see what happens then

Depends on what you get. Most cooling fans are a low voltage DC electric motor that you run off of the spare terminal on your receiver or from a separate battery pack. In some rare cases I have even seen them spliced into the brushed motor leads, making it run only when voltage is supplied to the motor. They're similar to a CPU cooling fan on a computer, but those are typically AC, not DC.

How to the teeth on all of the pinions and gears look?

Cheers,
Kyle.

Emm well on other forums ive been hearing that brushless doesnt get hot at all compared to brushed, so im guessing a heat sink is not necessary?

the gears look good.. i can take pix if u like

Not necessarily true. My 9200kV Dynamite C4 gets very, very hot even on just 1100mAh NiMH (stock AE battery). This happens because I have such a high gearing and push it the hardest I can. However, I do not run a heat sink but also do not run it more than one or two runs at high speed in order to keep the heat down as much as possible.

Do you need a heat sink with a fan? No, certainly not. Will it help with heat problems if they do occur? Of course, it's more air moving over your motor than would be without it. Even with a heatsink/fan you should pay very close attention to the motor, ESC and battery temperatures--those two things will take some of the worry away from high temperatures, but it certainly will not eliminate it.

Oh, and, yeah, I would agree that the brushless motor tend to stay cooler than their brushed counterparts, but there certainly is still heat being generated.

Good or great? One bad tooth could create a click and at that many revolutions it can be greatly exaggerated. Give them a good once over just to be sure and to rule them out. ;)

Cheers,
Kyle.

it all looks great... the front gear on the center drive shaft was kinda i'd say.. damaged from a screw going into it from the bottom, but that didnt effect the noise.. the noise was way before that happened.. it happened after i put it back together and i found that the screw has kinda cut through the bottom of the gear teeth and was stopping it
hence the small problem i had.. but even before that when it was dirty it was very loud and annoying... i
'm really confused now.. with my geometry proofs and r/c problems.. lol but anyways do u think WD40 might help?