FTX Vantage/Carnage owners Thread

[GeorgeWils]

Hi guys - repairing my brothers Vandal whilst he’s at uni -

 

Will the FTX shell fit? as the vandal one is OOS in HK.

 

Secondly can anyone recommend any

hop ups i should do immediately to it?

[Nickarla]

The FTX Vantage shell will fit. It's the same car.

 

As for hop ups, the original set up is probably best. Some upgrade the spur gear to stop it getting shredded. The pinion gear can be replaced by a RW  one which is the last one you'll ever need. The esc can be upgraded to the Hobbywing 1060 for more efficient, more reliable, (possibly) slightly longer run times. The servo saver e clip needs gluing if it's still there. The servo is ok but a Power HD LW20 is much more robust and is best replacing the stock one when it fails. It can be bought from hobbyking for reasonable money when they have it in stock.

 

My biggest gripe with the FTX models is the lack of hardened gears. If they could sort that then it would be a stunningly good value car. It's one of the most popular cars anyway so why no one has done this I have no idea.

Edited March 24, 2020 by Nickarla

[CletusKasady]

Hi everyone, 

 

I wonder if I could get someone’s advice. My son has an FTX Carnage 2.0 brushed and it appears that one of the three wires from the transmitter, has come loose from the ESC. As a result, whilst we still have steering, we don’t have forward or reverse. It looks like it needs soldering but it’s not entirely obvious where on the ESC it is supposed to connect to. Does anyone have a photo or wiring diagram for a correctly wired unit?
 

Not sure if the colour of the wires are always the same but in our case it is the yellow (possibly pale orange) wire of the three (the other two being red and black) that has come loose.

 

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

[RCJC]

Diagnosis complete on my Carnage.

The hobbywing ESC was delivered a few days before the motor, and a quick basic connection proved that the ESC was not at fault for my issue, it behaved the same as the stock ESC.

When the nee motor arrived I was nervous, but connected it up to the original ESC and got my startup tones, and then it powered. So my issue was the motor. A learning point for me in this is that the motor emits the startup tones, so if your ESC seems to be behaving correctly and showing the right lights, but no tones, there is a good chance it is the motor that has gone. Second lesson, keep a motor in your spares kit.

As I was re-assembling, I decided to put the hobbywing ESC in (following recommendations) and keep the stock one as a spare. And of course this is the first time I have tried to mesh a pinion!

Initial findings are mixed. First up, there is a whining noise especially prominent on forward power at very low power levels, maybe just a beeding in issue, and hopefully not me getting the meshing wrong. Secondly, in testing, motor action stopped several times with a slow flashing light on the hobbywing ESC until I restarted the ESC. I think this is probably because I was using the stock 1800 nimh in LIPO mode, it happened a lot less in NIMH mode, but I was hoping I could get away with leaving it on lipo mode as i dont want to forget to change it sometime.

I will test it properly when I can leave the house, but for now it *seems* to be fixed.

Thanks for all the help from the forum on sorting this. Any thoughts on my initial findings much appreciated.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[Jamil237237]

On 21/03/2020 at 08:50, Charlie007 said:

Hi, can anyone give me some advice please? My FTX bugsta brushed often won’t brake or reverse, sometimes it does but more often than not doesn’t. I’ve previously put in a hobbywing quickrun 1060 ESC and use 2s lipo batteries. I have burnt out a motor like this before. Could it be the motor or ESC? Any idea what the issue might be? Thanks.

The controller, its probably the neutral point shifting or something. My old transmitter had that issue and it disappeared with the new transmitter. 

 

As for burning out motors. Lipos do that. If you drive every day it'll last about maybe a month. If you don't want to replace the entire motor that often, get a motor with serviceable brushes. Also try breaking into your motor first. (I'm too lazy to do that lol). Or just go brushless. 

[super cowboyjon]

Picked up a brushed carnage 2.0 last week. 

 

It seems like a great basher for the money - we've ran it on 2s 4000mah lipos almost immediately and its plenty fast enough for our decent size garden. 

 

One thing I'd like to improve is the turning. The steering is not only super slow but the turning circle is pretty huge - probably even worse than the already barge-like ecx amp we have. 

 

Is there a reasonably priced upgrade to help this? I don't want to spend £50 on a better servo for what is effectively a £100 basher but as the car is just now we can't even use it on our garden race track. 

 

Any advice would be appreciated - I tried a Google search but it's a nightmare sorting through 5 year old threads. 

[Nickarla]

On 29/03/2020 at 08:05, Jamil237237 said:

 

As for burning out motors. Lipos do that. If you drive every day it'll last about maybe a month. If you don't want to replace the entire motor that often, get a motor with serviceable brushes. Also try breaking into your motor first. (I'm too lazy to do that lol). Or just go brushless. 

This might be why people get short motor lives. My son uses the FTX brushed motor and has replaced it twice in Just under 2 years. I do break it in first though.

[super cowboyjon]

On 14/04/2020 at 08:39, super cowboyjon said:

Picked up a brushed carnage 2.0 last week. 

 

It seems like a great basher for the money - we've ran it on 2s 4000mah lipos almost immediately and its plenty fast enough for our decent size garden. 

 

One thing I'd like to improve is the turning. The steering is not only super slow but the turning circle is pretty huge - probably even worse than the already barge-like ecx amp we have. 

 

Is there a reasonably priced upgrade to help this? I don't want to spend £50 on a better servo for what is effectively a £100 basher but as the car is just now we can't even use it on our garden race track. 

 

Any advice would be appreciated - I tried a Google search but it's a nightmare sorting through 5 year old threads. 

 

Thanks for all the help guys! 

[Nickarla]

No I don’t have any suggestions. I haven’t found it a bad turning circle. Has the e clip come out?

[Tintin]

Took my Vantage out for the first time in a while today, and what do you know within 10mins, it isn't working ☹️
 

The spur gear has gone, no teeth left. To be fair it is the original one, and I have had it for maybe 18 months. 
So the question is, what to replace it with? 
I have read back through some of the earlier posts in this thread, some saying just buy a stack of the cheap ones, some saying they have gone for the aluminium, and also upgrade the pinion. I see Modelsport also have a hardened acetal version.

Some of the posts are from a coupld of years ago now, so I was wondering what you guys reckon is the best way to go now?

 

TIA

[Nickarla]

If the original has lasted that long just buy another. I bought a few from Hobbyking, exactly the same but sold for pence as you don’t have to pay CML the privilege of putting it in FTX branded packaging.

 

[Olly73454]

Hey all. Would appreciate any suggestions around new wheels/tyres. I upgraded my Carnage a while ago to 3S, made a bunch of tweaks and to be fair, it goes really well. It has sway bars, 32dp metal spur, pinion, etc.  The one area it isn't great with the types ballooning when travellng at high speed. The balooning tyres can really affect the steering, especially when the diff kicks in, the wheels are at different diameters. I drive on rough ground, grass, bike tracks, etc so the tyre should have some decent grip and give.

 

I saw on previous posts suggestions for the Cuboid wheels https://www.modelsport.co.uk/fastrax-1-10th-mounted-cuboid-black-buggy-wheels-and-tyres-rear/rc-car-products/434085.

I also saw the Fasttrack Jigsaw https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/254558394293. I have no idea what benefit having the screws in is and what Jigsaw means in this context. My car is already a bit heavy, so don't really want much extra. These wheels may be good, but are they up to 3s RPM? Any advice welcome.

 

This thead has been really useful to me, and in the spirit of sharing, I thought I would share a little about my experience with the Carnage. Plenty of this may be mentioned in previous threads, but here we go:
1) Like others say, seal the covers around the spur gear. You may regret it sooner than you think.

2) The stock servo is junk if driven on bumpy terrain. If you get a new Carnage and want to drive off-road, get it out before it breaks and sell it

3) If you have the aluminium chassis, block up the bottom. I was lucky enough to have a broken wheelie bar that I bought in a box of bits. That was easily be modified to cover the hole

4) If you get the aluminum suspension arms, make sure you get them for both front and back. My car only has front ones, and drives along like it's front is stuck to the ground. Over really big bumps at high speed it flips. 🙃. Personally I probably wouldn't bother with the aluminium arms, as they do add weight and are not too hard to change

5) If you have plenty of money, know you are really serious about RC, don't get the Carnage. If you want to go in 'cheap' and like upgrading, repairing, the Carnage Brushless is fun. It will cost you more than you think. Having said that, I don't think I would ever have spend £400 on a car from the get-go, so if I didn't get the Carnage, I probably wouldn't have bought anything and would have missed out on the fun!

6) Strong velco is great for the ESC which makes it easy to clean.

7) Torx screws are nice. They are much easier to remove and even with cheap tools, they don't ever round out, and the screw driver bits don't break. They are more expensive, but if building a car from scratch, I would use them from the start. I replaced many of mine, but it is probably a bit excessive.

8 ) Don't drive it into trees.

 

 

[Nickarla]

Good tips

 

altgough the jigsaw wheels didn’t fit when I tried them...although I can’t actually remember what was wrong. They are also bigger and heavier, which the Carnage doesn’t like. Bigger wheels put more strain on the drivetrain and if you have brushless then it goes past breaking point.

Edited April 18, 2020 by Nickarla

[Olly73454]

Thanks for the reply @Nickarla. The diameter is certainly something to consider. I had a look and both the standard carnage and jigsaw have wheel diameters of 2.8" according to modelsport. I compared the images, and it appears that the tires may smaller diameter on the standard wheels, but i am guessing only a little, and probably a smaller diameter than the diameter when the standard tyes elongated on maximum speed on the 3s. The weight may be an issue though. I do have different gear ratios than the standard, which does mean more torque, and slower speeds. Do you run 3s? Perhaps they didn't fit because you can get two different offset versions of the jigsaw, and there might not be enought clearance with the zero offset version.

 

Looking back at the spec on the Cuboid, they are 2.2", so they would be quite a bit slower than the standard wheels without a gear change.

 

I'll have to look around at other options....

[SgtStress]

Hi all.

 

New Carnage 2.0 user here with a question! (surprise surprise). I have the version 2 which has the 2 part cover for the spur / pinion. I bought the carbon top plate, but on actually looking at this, i cant see how this carbon top plate can fit without having to totally remove the spur / pinion cover, thus leaving it totally open. Am i just trying to fit this incorrectly, or is it a choice between spur cover or carbon top plate?

 

Also picked up the hardened spur / RW pinion, and some sway bars after reading through this thread. Looking forward to fitting the sway bars, and hoping i dont strip the stock spur / pinion too soon!

[Jamil237237]

9 hours ago, SgtStress said:

Hi all.

 

New Carnage 2.0 user here with a question! (surprise surprise). I have the version 2 which has the 2 part cover for the spur / pinion. I bought the carbon top plate, but on actually looking at this, i cant see how this carbon top plate can fit without having to totally remove the spur / pinion cover, thus leaving it totally open. Am i just trying to fit this incorrectly, or is it a choice between spur cover or carbon top plate?

 

Also picked up the hardened spur / RW pinion, and some sway bars after reading through this thread. Looking forward to fitting the sway bars, and hoping i dont strip the stock spur / pinion too soon!

The carbon pieces haven't received an update at all. Yup, it's exposed. 

 

As for gears. Make sure they're the correct distance apart. Make sure you can fit a sheet of paper between the gears. 

 

As for sway bars, I don't have them so eh. 

[SgtStress]

Thanks for the confirm - i slapped that plate on anyway so will see how we get on. At least i have spare spur and pinion

[The FTX Lad]

sup guys thought i would come back to show the finished build of my carnage, it wont be getting much use from me anymore but with the new body and tires it looks damn sweet

[The FTX Lad]

update: the truck is no longer finished, the motor blew up after 30 seconds

[Jamil237237]

10 hours ago, The FTX Lad said:

update: the truck is no longer finished, the motor blew up after 30 seconds

*wheeze*.  How did that happen? Were you using the stock ftx motor with a lipo? Or was it a cheap brushless system? 

[The FTX Lad]

6 hours ago, Jamil237237 said:

*wheeze*.  How did that happen? Were you using the stock ftx motor with a lipo? Or was it a cheap brushless system? 

It's an updated brushless system but all that happed was a connector became unsoldered (shocking a factory soldered one and not my own) but I've fixed, again, and it's all working fine.

[Nickarla]

That’s a great looking Carnage/shell. Hats off to you.

[The FTX Lad]

24 minutes ago, Nickarla said:

That’s a great looking Carnage/shell. Hats off to you.

thanks man, was my first try ever painting a shell

i think it looks good too!

[RCJC]

That’s a great looking Carnage/shell. Hats off to you.

It is great!! Not even looked at creating my own shell, but that inspires me!! What is the base shell for this?

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[The FTX Lad]

13 minutes ago, RCJC said:

It is great!! Not even looked at creating my own shell, but that inspires me!! What is the base shell for this?

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
 

its a proline 1966 ford f-100, https://www.modelsport.co.uk/pro-line-1966-ford-f-100-clear-body-1-10/rc-car-products/380477, thats the link