I am not sure I am introducing myself in the right forum but, I wanted to post something to say hello and in the future contribute to the ECX community you have here.
I raced 2wd 10th scale buggies competitively back when the RC10 still had a gold pan chassis and Team Losi had just released their JR series. My home track at the time hosted the Canadian Winter Nationals in 1991 which brought Team Losi & Associated to Canada to our event at Quintrax in Belleville/Stirling Ontario Canada to run 10th scale buggies at our indoor track. The Teams sent Gil Losi Jr and Joel Johnson to rep them - there were probably a few other of their drivers too but, those two were the guys to beat back then. We were already racing at a serious level so, having them show up to race us locals was a pretty big deal. Yeah, you guessed it! The teams cleaned up but, it was a competitive weekend and they also taught us alot about their cars at the time, shared their setups, tips, gave us swag, some of us received some free parts etc etc. The scene back then was great.
35+ years later...2021 - during Covid lockdown - I bought a couple HBX 16890 cars (Truly a fun little car) from Amazon for my son and I. After driving the HBX I am hooked again. Out of curiosity I started nosing around for hop up parts and discovered how much r/c has changed. Lipo batteries? Brushless Motors, Cheap Radios? Off to the LHS I go!
There are no tracks or anything organized happening in my city now but, the owners at my LHS are great people and provide access to all the parts and accessories for the ECX with quick order times.
Not wanting to invest much and knowing that I enjoy wrenching, I decided on the NIB 1/10 Ruckus from my LHS over a used Slash that was for sale locally. (I wanted the Torment and intended to buy that version of the 1/10 2wd ECX but, I could not take home that yellow and blue paint scheme.. Sorry ECX and no offense if you love that paint scheme.
So far this is where I am at with it:
* Switched shock oil to Losi 25W Rear and 20W Front as a test to see how soft I could go with out dragging skid plate (I capped them with zero rebound and full travel)
* Installed RPM bell-crank
* Changed all the plastic camber and front toe links to Traxxas adjustable links
* Installed an Amazon 2.0KG Metal Servo with aluminum Horn
* Installed a plug in the spur cover to have quick access to the slipper
* Installed a HobbyFang/SurpassHobby $30.00 Amazon flash deal 60A ESC and 3650 3100KV brushless combo
* Trimmed the front of the body and shaved the rear body mount to get the body to sit a bit lower
What comes next: I have the metal diff and gears kit, Dynamite 17T-21T 48P Kit, Dynamite SS Hardware kit (12.99CAD!) to install and then.... finally, to try and further reduce suspension/steering slop will be the rpm arms and knuckles. If they don't take all the slop out I'll be shaving and shimming things up and I might try the shave and shim idea on the stock arms before purchasing the rpm arms.
For anybody out there wondering.... The RPM bell-crank and a high torque servo did wonders for this truck even with the plastic rpm bushings, so far it's smooth and tight. Combined with the Traxxas links, the RPM bell-crank took a ton of play out of the front of the car. The reverse wobble is gone and the car tracks straight as an arrow.
I apologize for the long post - As you can probably sense.. I'm excited to be back in the hobby and I have a few other projects on the go which I will share later.
In the mean time I have a few questions too.
Do any of you know if we can use the front axles out of another vehicle in our ECX cars? Something hardened, straight and that is machined to seat in a bearing properly with out 2mm of play? lol If not I am sure I can figure it out by messing with some different axles and bearing sizes.
Spur Gear and Slipper Pads - So far I am thinking Kimbrough KIM313 combined with some AE pads. I am not worried about changing pitch right now and I see no reason to run a metal spur and pinion. Should I be looking at other, possibly better options that will offer more gearing potential?
Shocks - I am interested in upgraded shocks - Are the Aluminum ECX shocks springs the same rates that come on the plastic shocks? I am fine with the shocks being plastic but, spring options provided by ECX seem to be zero or are intended for the upgraded shocks? What's are the best shocks available for this chassis?
Motor Mount Flex - The whole transmission case flexes but, the motor mount flexing the way it does, it is no wonder so many people are stripping spurs. I was able to locate a discontinued product by, Hot Bodies? that was a horse shoe looking aluminum brace that stopped the motor from slipping around but, it's not available. Has anybody here tried to remedy this and if so, any success and how did you do it? TIA~
If you made it this far into my novel.. Thank you for the interest and possibly help.
Second pic... I toyed with leaving the ESC under the old ESC mount but, not enough room for the fan to draw in air and after feeling the difference in chassis flex the old esc mount is performing double duty as a rear chassis brace. I will post some pics of the body later as well. Just noticed I haven't taken any since it's been trimmed. As well these pics do not show the minor body mount mod.
I raced 2wd 10th scale buggies competitively back when the RC10 still had a gold pan chassis and Team Losi had just released their JR series. My home track at the time hosted the Canadian Winter Nationals in 1991 which brought Team Losi & Associated to Canada to our event at Quintrax in Belleville/Stirling Ontario Canada to run 10th scale buggies at our indoor track. The Teams sent Gil Losi Jr and Joel Johnson to rep them - there were probably a few other of their drivers too but, those two were the guys to beat back then. We were already racing at a serious level so, having them show up to race us locals was a pretty big deal. Yeah, you guessed it! The teams cleaned up but, it was a competitive weekend and they also taught us alot about their cars at the time, shared their setups, tips, gave us swag, some of us received some free parts etc etc. The scene back then was great.
35+ years later...2021 - during Covid lockdown - I bought a couple HBX 16890 cars (Truly a fun little car) from Amazon for my son and I. After driving the HBX I am hooked again. Out of curiosity I started nosing around for hop up parts and discovered how much r/c has changed. Lipo batteries? Brushless Motors, Cheap Radios? Off to the LHS I go!
There are no tracks or anything organized happening in my city now but, the owners at my LHS are great people and provide access to all the parts and accessories for the ECX with quick order times.
Not wanting to invest much and knowing that I enjoy wrenching, I decided on the NIB 1/10 Ruckus from my LHS over a used Slash that was for sale locally. (I wanted the Torment and intended to buy that version of the 1/10 2wd ECX but, I could not take home that yellow and blue paint scheme.. Sorry ECX and no offense if you love that paint scheme.
So far this is where I am at with it:
* Switched shock oil to Losi 25W Rear and 20W Front as a test to see how soft I could go with out dragging skid plate (I capped them with zero rebound and full travel)
* Installed RPM bell-crank
* Changed all the plastic camber and front toe links to Traxxas adjustable links
* Installed an Amazon 2.0KG Metal Servo with aluminum Horn
* Installed a plug in the spur cover to have quick access to the slipper
* Installed a HobbyFang/SurpassHobby $30.00 Amazon flash deal 60A ESC and 3650 3100KV brushless combo
* Trimmed the front of the body and shaved the rear body mount to get the body to sit a bit lower
What comes next: I have the metal diff and gears kit, Dynamite 17T-21T 48P Kit, Dynamite SS Hardware kit (12.99CAD!) to install and then.... finally, to try and further reduce suspension/steering slop will be the rpm arms and knuckles. If they don't take all the slop out I'll be shaving and shimming things up and I might try the shave and shim idea on the stock arms before purchasing the rpm arms.
For anybody out there wondering.... The RPM bell-crank and a high torque servo did wonders for this truck even with the plastic rpm bushings, so far it's smooth and tight. Combined with the Traxxas links, the RPM bell-crank took a ton of play out of the front of the car. The reverse wobble is gone and the car tracks straight as an arrow.
I apologize for the long post - As you can probably sense.. I'm excited to be back in the hobby and I have a few other projects on the go which I will share later.
In the mean time I have a few questions too.
Do any of you know if we can use the front axles out of another vehicle in our ECX cars? Something hardened, straight and that is machined to seat in a bearing properly with out 2mm of play? lol If not I am sure I can figure it out by messing with some different axles and bearing sizes.
Spur Gear and Slipper Pads - So far I am thinking Kimbrough KIM313 combined with some AE pads. I am not worried about changing pitch right now and I see no reason to run a metal spur and pinion. Should I be looking at other, possibly better options that will offer more gearing potential?
Shocks - I am interested in upgraded shocks - Are the Aluminum ECX shocks springs the same rates that come on the plastic shocks? I am fine with the shocks being plastic but, spring options provided by ECX seem to be zero or are intended for the upgraded shocks? What's are the best shocks available for this chassis?
Motor Mount Flex - The whole transmission case flexes but, the motor mount flexing the way it does, it is no wonder so many people are stripping spurs. I was able to locate a discontinued product by, Hot Bodies? that was a horse shoe looking aluminum brace that stopped the motor from slipping around but, it's not available. Has anybody here tried to remedy this and if so, any success and how did you do it? TIA~
If you made it this far into my novel.. Thank you for the interest and possibly help.
Second pic... I toyed with leaving the ESC under the old ESC mount but, not enough room for the fan to draw in air and after feeling the difference in chassis flex the old esc mount is performing double duty as a rear chassis brace. I will post some pics of the body later as well. Just noticed I haven't taken any since it's been trimmed. As well these pics do not show the minor body mount mod.
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