FTX Vantage/Carnage owners Thread

[Charlie007]

Morning. Thanks again for the advice. At the risk of seeming tight fisted I only paid £60 for the car second hand and it’s just for mucking about with the the boy or for him to use when his is in bits so I don’t want to put to much into it, also I’ve just ordered a Tamiya to build with him so got to buy batteries etc to go with that. Would
something like this not do the job?
 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174069603022

 

thanks

[Nickarla]

I have no idea what that esc is and to be honest I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. I see it as £15 down the drain. I cant say what would be wrong with it but by the look of it and the price I highly doubt itll be hassle free in the long run. £60 for a brushless Carnage is very odd even for an etronix brushless set up. The fact that you got 2 years out of it is amazing, I certainly wouldn't be calling it a "bloody car". I'm wondering if you are trying to buy parts at the same proportional amount you paid for it. This would be almost impossible for the same quality. The car you have is a £200 car not £60 so £55 for a hobbywing esc is proportionate...plus the hobbywing is better than the standard Etronix one.

[Nickarla]

Also, where did you get that link? It did something weird to my tablet and now I'm getting pop up messages on my screen for that esc...

[Charlie007]

Maybe you’re right. Yeah I know how much they are, I paid more than that for the brushed version second hand, this one had a few things that needed fixing when I got it so I got a good deal off eBay. I’ll have a think about it but maybe go for the better quality one. It was ‘that bloody car’ because I spent hours on it yesterday with no result! Re the link I just shared it off eBay so not sure why you’re getting pop ups from it. 

[fnknan]

2 hours ago, Nickarla said:

Why are you recommending buying from banggood??? Buy from the UK at the same price from here.

Because it's out of stock and you can't trust estimations of when it will return.

[fnknan]

2 hours ago, Charlie007 said:

Morning. Thanks again for the advice. At the risk of seeming tight fisted I only paid £60 for the car second hand and it’s just for mucking about with the the boy or for him to use when his is in bits so I don’t want to put to much into it, also I’ve just ordered a Tamiya to build with him so got to buy batteries etc to go with that. Would
something like this not do the job?
 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174069603022

 

thanks

Yeah it should work fine, I'd only run it on 2s as some people have fried them on 3s. It's always a risk when buying the cheaper ones as the quality control is non existent, most times you'll get a good one sometimes you won't.

 

But if you can afford to get a more expensive one then definitely do that. I only recommend those kind of escs when people are doing budget builds with a set price.

Edited June 21, 2020 by fnknan

[Charlie007]

Food for thought. Thank you.

[Nickarla]

6 hours ago, Charlie007 said:

 Re the link I just shared it off eBay so not sure why you’re getting pop ups from it. 

This is what I’m constantly getting now. Anyone know why or how to get rid of it?

 

 

[daniel parkinson]

Hi everyone,

Picked up a 2nd hand vantage brushless recently and was looking for some advice from those in the know.

 

The stock tyres seem to wear very quickly on tarmac - any suggestions for a decent road set ( tyre and wheel complete so I can just swap as and when)?

 

Also the axel seems a bit short on the rear wheels meaning there is little for the nylon nut to hold. The front is fine, but that runs cvds. Would upgrading from dog bones to cvds on the rear help?

 

Thanks to advice here, I fitted sway bars and will replace the stock suspension arm holders with alu ones in time. I followed the advice from @Nickarla and also https://www.eurorc.com/page/105/how-to-seal-ftx-carnagebugsta-gear-cover to help stop stones getting into the spur/pinion (thank you!)

 

 

Are there any other upgrades that are recommended (or should I take the sage advice of run it stock and only upgrade when things actually break 😀)

 

I was actually looking for a Carnage/Bugsta but the Vantage was only £80 including the the stock 2s 3250mah voltz lipo. From the lack scratches/scraps looks like it has had little use - seemed like a good price compared to what others were going for. I had a budget of £150 so was able to get a decent charger (Skyrc t100) and a second lipo 😁 and not break the bank.

 

Apologies if the above questions have been answered, I have searched this thread but it so big now and a lot of the product links no longer work as they are years old.

Edited June 27, 2020 by daniel parkinson

[Nickarla]

I’ve not got any experience of the issues you’ve mentioned on the Vantage unfortunately but I would advise against buying the aluminium arms. The lower leverage of the Vantage arms and smaller wheels means it’s less of a problem anyway but in the event you have an impact that would break the arms you would also bend the aluminium arms rendering them pretty much useless.

Plastic is much cheaper than replacing the aluminium arms each time.

[daniel parkinson]

Hi, I probably didn't explain clearly, it's the length of thread on the rear drive axel that seems shorter at the back than the front.  https://wheelspinmodels.co.uk/i/115190/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3Nv3BRC8ARIsAPh8hgInO45iodvAVUF5GmcDnhBNoAET7j78Y3VoDBss7ZpJUclqzQUXenkaAoHoEALw_wcB

 

Is this normal and would replacing the stock set up with rear cvds help, such as these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FTX-VANTAGE-PRO-REAR-CVA-DRIVESHAFTS-FTX6389-/254621409888?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

 

 

[daniel parkinson]

....and yes, am steering clear of bits like alu suspension arms and chassis parts. It was the suspension pin holders that some have suggested are a worthwhile upgrade over the stock plastic ones. Am trying hard to stick to the "don't upgrade till the stock bit breaks" rule!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FTX-FTX6362-Carnage-Vantage-Alum-Rear-Susp-Holder-Set-2-/233475645630?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

[MrPeaski]

Hi Everyone

 

While waiting for my brushless Carnage to arrive I ordered some practical upgrades,

stock spur and pinion swapped for 49/13t RW 32DP versions
Aluminium front and rear suspension arm holders
Aluminium steering Ackerman (drilled out to take the steel inserts from the stock plastic part)
Front and rear sway bars
Aluminium Wheel hex hubs (Absima version, little wider than stock plastic part and also needed to be drilled and tapped to take a grub screw)
Rear dogbones swapped for front CVD's

The car was delivered just about a week ago, so the parts have now been fitted.

 

I've done a couple of mods as well

Motor mount holes blanked off to help keep crap away from the spur gear (the black plastic bit)

I might have a go at a 3d printed part in the future, but for now this will do

 

Hole under the motor blanked off

 

washers sandwiching the 'rear wing' and body to (hopefully) add durability and covered in carbon look vinyl

 

I was surprised by the amount of slop in the stock servo saver arm, so today I made a 3d printed part to add a bearing and eliminate the spring and circlip.

 

3D printed part after a little clean-up

 

 

Bearing inserted. The bearing is 11mm outer diameter, 5mm inner diameter and 4mm thick

 

 

Remove the C clip and spring, cut off 5mm from the top of the original part as shown.

 

 

Superglue the 2 original parts together, (watch the orientation)and then superglue the 3d printed part in place of the spring and C clip and when dry press the bearing in.

 

 

I also glued  washers on the underside of the top deck where it meets the servo saver posts to add durability

 

 

You will need a servo mounted saver now, I used an Associated Prolite one with the 2 smallest 'springs' fitted

 

 

The steering system is now much betterthan it was, it still has a bit of play, but this is coming from the multitude of ball joints.

 

If any one wants to do this themselves, the thingiverse link is here https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4515599

 

Thanks for reading

 

 

Edited July 1, 2020 by MrPeaski
added link to files

[daniel parkinson]

Hi, @MrPeaski

 

Some nice looking upgrades. 

 

Might be worth checking your slipper clutch, it looks to be done up pretty tight. May just be the camera angle though 😉

 

With the stronger RW pinion and spur it will transfer stress to the diffs. From reading this thread it appears the crown gears on the diffs, whilst metal, are a bit weak. If set correctly the slipper clutch should protect them.  Some have suggested sticking with the stock softer spur/pinion and accepting they are a sacrificial part as they are cheaper/easier replace - I guess it depends how often they need replacing!

 

 

[MrPeaski]

@daniel parkinson

 

Haven't had much chance to 'bash' much this week with the crap weather so haven't fully explored the slipper setting.

After fitting the spur I just tightened it fully then backed off about 2 1/2 full turns.

It is something I'll look into though

Edited July 2, 2020 by MrPeaski

[daniel parkinson]

@MrPeaski was just comparing it to what the slipper looks like on my vantage, you may be fine.

 

I found some YouTube videos regarding setting the slipper, but they are all with 2wd buggies. I may remove the centre drive shaft and use the 2wd method unless anyone else has any ideas/advice on how to set?

 

 

Edited July 2, 2020 by daniel parkinson

[TheFunkeyGibbon]

I had an unfortunate incident, I let a ham-fisted friend drive my Vantage and he promptly put it into the metal leg of a picnic bench. This has unsurprisingly snapped the lower suspension arm one side and by the looks of this bent the pin. The questions I have are:

1) Is there anything else that I should check for breakages at the same time? The dogbone looks fine but if I need to order parts I'd rather do it in one go.

2) Are aluminium suspension arms really worth the significant cost difference? £4 v £18 is a heck of a gap.

3) Modelsport aside who else are a good supplier for parts?

Many thanks for any and all answers, this will be my first repair so I want to do it right!

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

[Hardcore]

Hey all.

Digging out my Carnage again to do some beefing up of the durability.

Plans are to fit
Aluminium Wishbone mounts
Aluminium steering linkage / bellcrank
Carbon upper deck
Aluminium lower plate
Shim the diffs

It currently has.
Copy of a Hobbyking 120a sensored ESC (only running 2s)
Steel spur gear, of standard pitch (forgot what mod it is?)
Front & rear ARBs

I had a few questions.
I plan to use a standard 540 sized brushless motor. What KV would you recommend for 2s?
What is the smallest pinion size that can be meshed when using the stock pitch on the gears?
What is everyone using on the aluminium chassis to protect the spur gear?
Any other suggestions on worthwhile modifications for duribility?

[TheFunkeyGibbon]

Update: I found official FTX parts at my local hobby store who I hadn't realised had reopened and I just went with straight replacements, new suspension arm and pins. The repair seems to have gone smoothly although I haven't had time to take it out for a run yet.

Kinda happy how straightforward it was and it's given me the taste for potential upgrades in the future.

I do have a follow up question if anybody knows. As far as I was aware the Vantage Brushless RTR setup should be able to run a 3S LiPo even though it comes with a 2S. But when I asked about it at the store the clerk (a little condescendingly I felt) said that I should stick to a 2S as it'll either strip the gears or damage the ESC in fairly short order. Is he right? What's the opinion on 3S for a stock Vantage?

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

[daniel parkinson]

I just posted a topic in general electric looking for advice on using the etronix photon sbs 2.1 program card for my FTX Vantage - anyone help would be much appreciated!

https://www.msuk-forum.co.uk/forums/topic/243137-etronix-program-card-for-ftx-vantage-help/

[daniel parkinson]

17 hours ago, TheFunkeyGibbon said:

Update: I found official FTX parts at my local hobby store who I hadn't realised had reopened and I just went with straight replacements, new suspension arm and pins. The repair seems to have gone smoothly although I haven't had time to take it out for a run yet.

Kinda happy how straightforward it was and it's given me the taste for potential upgrades in the future.

I do have a follow up question if anybody knows. As far as I was aware the Vantage Brushless RTR setup should be able to run a 3S LiPo even though it comes with a 2S. But when I asked about it at the store the clerk (a little condescendingly I felt) said that I should stick to a 2S as it'll either strip the gears or damage the ESC in fairly short order. Is he right? What's the opinion on 3S for a stock Vantage?

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
 

I have seen videos of people running 3s and getting Vantages up to over 50mph, but the general consensus seems to be the ESC and/or drive train parts will give out with pretty quickly, particularly with hard acceleration/ braking/ general bashing.

 

By all accounts the stock 2950kv motor in the brushless version is good, but the ESC isn't. You could upgrade the ESC to 60 or 80a to cope better with 3s.

 

You can get steel RW brand pinions and hardened acetal spurs from Modelsport cheaply. There is seller on eBay doing hardened steel spurs as well which have been recommended by others.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264098795518 (these get produced in small numbers so seem to go relatively quickly). 

Just make sure the dp or mod is the same for both spur and pinion. The stock models use 0.6 mod. 32dp (same as 0.8 mod) uses fewer but larger teeth compared to 0.6 mod. Apparently this is a bit less efficient but more robust - if you are going 3s you will have loads of extra power so extra robustness is no bad thing!

 

From reading this thread (over about two weeks 😉) some have had issues with the crown gear in the diff stripping. Unfortunately there are no upgrades for this. The crown's are metal, just not high quality steel ☹️. Some have posted about how to harden by cooking at high temps and quenching - it all sounded a bit beyond my DIY skills.

 

If you decide to give 3s a try I'd be keen to know how you get on. I swore I'd stick with 2s when I got the Vantage but that little 😈 on my shoulder is saying "make it go quicker, you know you want to!!!"

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by daniel parkinson

[daniel parkinson]

17 hours ago, Hardcore said:

Hey all.

Digging out my Carnage again to do some beefing up of the durability.

Plans are to fit
Aluminium Wishbone mounts
Aluminium steering linkage / bellcrank
Carbon upper deck
Aluminium lower plate
Shim the diffs

It currently has.
Copy of a Hobbyking 120a sensored ESC (only running 2s)
Steel spur gear, of standard pitch (forgot what mod it is?)
Front & rear ARBs

I had a few questions.
I plan to use a standard 540 sized brushless motor. What KV would you recommend for 2s?
What is the smallest pinion size that can be meshed when using the stock pitch on the gears?
What is everyone using on the aluminium chassis to protect the spur gear?
Any other suggestions on worthwhile modifications for duribility?

The brushless version of the Carnage/ Vantage uses a 2950kv motor. 

From some research the basic principle seems to be upping the kv increases top end speed but reduces torque/acceleration. Again from reading the general range for 1/10 rc seems to between 3000 and 4000kv with the higher kv for road cars and lower for off road/monster trucks.

 

RW racing do 0.6mod pinions down to 9t but no idea if there is enough range in the motor mount to go that low sorry.

 

[daniel parkinson]

@HardcoreIf you scroll up a few posts I use part ftx 6332 spur cover then followed @Nickarla and others advice to seal better. The cover is not compatible with the carbon top plate though unless you got creative with cutting up the plastic cover and gluing bits to the carbon plate. Way back in this thread someone did suggest gluing/expoxying carbon rods to the plastic plate to add rigidity. With the aluminium chassis I'm not sure how much benefit the carbon top plate would be (other than bling factor - and there ain't nothing wrong with bling 😁)

 

Nothing seals 100% so it seems to be either seal as best you can or leave totally open (so stones can escape) and use tough/steel pinion and spur.

[TheFunkeyGibbon]

Thanks@daniel parkinson that was really useful. I think I might stick with 2S and upgrade in other areas. Speed may not be the most important thing at present. Then I can maybe get an RC that can properly handle it later on. [emoji106]

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

[Nickarla]

As above, it’s the stones that get in that shred the gears. Dirt will wear the teeth away slowly but it is the stones that ruin them in a single hit. By enclosing the spur gear area you will prevent this from happening. 
 

If you have the newer Carnage with the closed off under tray below the spur gear then I would say the carbon top plate would be a bad idea. It is this tray that collects the stones and the carbon plate will just allow stones in on mass. If you get the aluminium chassis it has the hole for the stones to drop out of and cause less damage. I would choose the aluminium chassis over the carbon top deck for this reason.