FTX Vantage/Carnage owners Thread

[Ant.p]

58 minutes ago, Scottyb said:

Nvm i just put them on the charger and they are both 3.4V per cell, i got about 40mins out the first one on gravel with zero traction which i thought would run it down quicker and 20ish out the 2nd one on grass so must be the surface i'm using it on!

Also depends on how you’re driving. Flat out constantly around a large field will flatten it quicker than intermittent use with varied speeds on a more technical course.
I’ve had mine last over 40 mins on one battery messing around in a skate park.

[Scottyb]

It was over a long grass bike track so it was going flat out for about 5 seconds at a time so that's probably why it died so quick, i'll go to the short course gravel bmx track in the next town over tomorrow and see how long i get there then

 

There's a tarmac one up the road but i've just rebuilt and don't wanna destroy it again yet 😀😀

Edited April 13, 2021 by Scottyb

[Gtiracer]

Does anyone know if any of the vantage clones have stronger diffs that are interchangeable with the vantage? I wanna take it to 3s but I hear some many things about the diffs being the weak point 

Edited April 13, 2021 by Gtiracer

[Iain .R]

2 hours ago, Stormbringer said:

the surface you run on can take more or less out of battery and grass tends to take more out than tarmac or gravel 

That's right I was out on monday and I was on one part gravel for a out 30 to 40 mins going most falt out  donuts  so on   then when that died I went over on to the grass I was a bit long    one point it was over the outlaw   (cant use the carnage ) but I got less than 20 mins out same size battey . 

 

[Scottyb]

For sure the surface, I've just been out again drifting on a gravel car park and got 40 mins out of it 👌 Would i be ok putting Vantage wheels on it? Traction is pretty bad on gravel lol

Just seen this on ebay, BSD Desert Assault shell on a Carnage chassis, doesn't look like you can buy them now though, sucks, mines already battered not even had it a week yet 😁

 

Edited April 13, 2021 by Scottyb

[Iain .R]

1 hour ago, Scottyb said:

For sure the surface, I've just been out again drifting on a gravel car park and got 40 mins out of it 👌 Would i be ok putting Vantage wheels on it? Traction is pretty bad on gravel lol

Just seen this on ebay, BSD Desert Assault shell on a Carnage chassis, doesn't look like you can buy them now though, sucks, mines already battered not even had it a week yet 😁

 

That's a nice body/shell  I like the look that . 

[Redback]

5 hours ago, Gtiracer said:

Does anyone know if any of the vantage clones have stronger diffs that are interchangeable with the vantage? I wanna take it to 3s but I hear some many things about the diffs being the weak point 

vantage, outlaw, banzai, carnage all use the same diffs and you shouldnt have issues with them on 3s if fitted and shimmed right.
i run 4s through these diffs and havent had any issues

[Ant.p]

8 hours ago, Redback said:

vantage, outlaw, banzai, carnage all use the same diffs and you shouldnt have issues with them on 3s if fitted and shimmed right.
i run 4s through these diffs and havent had any issues

Would you be able to explain further with photos if poss please to show exactly how you fit and shim your diffs ‘right’, as I have clearly been doing it wrong and am having endless troubles with mine on 3s.

I have a feeling my heavier/larger wheels have a big part to play in the destruction of my diff gear (specifically front though, but same wheels front and back) as this only became a problem for me after changing them.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

Edited April 14, 2021 by Ant.p

[Gtiracer]

8 hours ago, Redback said:

vantage, outlaw, banzai, carnage all use the same diffs and you shouldnt have issues with them on 3s if fitted and shimmed right.
i run 4s through these diffs and havent had any issues

 

I too would be interested to see how you have them setup. Do you mean you put shims behind the cogs to push them closer together and allow less play in movement?

 

Pictures would be much appreciated if you happen to have any from when you did it? 4s would be crazy, what motor and esc do you have that can handle that?

Edited April 14, 2021 by Gtiracer

[Jens]

16 hours ago, Scottyb said:

Got through 2 batteries with loads of somersaults and no breakages today 😁😁😁

 

I'm only getting 20mins out of each battery though and @Jens said I'd get around 40mins each with my setup. The low voltage cutoff is set to intermediate on the esc from factory, I don't know if I should change it to low?  Have multimetered them both when I got back and they both read 6.9v but the car won't go anywhere. There's no guide in the book as to what voltage the cutoffs are. I'm guessing low would be something around 6v.

I don't think it's the thermal cutoff as the motor is hot but not hot enough for me to not hold my hand on it

 

I would say the driving time depends mostly on driving style, surface, motor/ESC setup and battery quality and of course the capacity.

Something similar to real life. 

 

So when I say my son runs one battery for 40 minutes, it would apply only to my son.

It might just give you a little reference, but I would say it cannot be directly compared.

 

 

 

[Iain .R]

Well I guess I just burned out my 1st servo . 

Just been bashing my carnage on gravel/ road carpark   and its started to go left and had bit of a time keeping it str8   then it just went in circles  wont turn right so turned it off turned it back on and the servo goes full forward wheels lock  started sputtering sound and servo creaks back and forth.   

 

So I guess its burned . 

 

Also on the back of the car the two screws holding the rear suspension holders arms to the car   the two small screws have come undone   they not all the way out but the one suspension arm came out  as the back wheel looked odd so I picked up the car and seen the small metal bar that goes in to the holder had come out  . 

 

I just tightened them up last night as I was checking the car over and seen there was one small screw had come lose so had to take the back end the car apart to do the screw up . 

 

So do I put I  longer screws or do i lock tight it    it's in to plastic   not metal?? 

 

[Stormbringer]

no dont locktite into plastic as it melts it 

you could use a dab of super glue on it tho that can help keep the screw in place and if needing undone in future it just comes away 

[Scottyb]

Loctite doesn't melt plastic it just goes hard...super glue melts plastic.....

 

Ripped my bumper off the chassis today, Bugsta really wasn't meant for tarmac, so unstable 😌

[Iain .R]

Which is it   aaagggghhhhh    lol  anyway iv put in some longer screws and that's it till I know  lol  swapped the servos over from the custom build to the carnage so I can use it.  As I got lipo batts and do t have a storage charger so need to use the batteries .

 I'm getting one for my birthday end of this month so mean time I must  play with the carnage   to keep the batts safe and working   lol 

[Scottyb]

Does anyone know if i would need a higher tooth pinion if i tried the vantage wheels out? i've got the 47 steel spur and 12T pinion atm and the motor runs fairly hot but the only surface it's stable/goes in a straight line on is grass and gravel, would like to use it now and again on mud/tarmac but i'm finding the bugsta wheels/tyres pretty bad on anything else but don't want road tyres

 

[Ant.p]

14 minutes ago, Scottyb said:

Does anyone know if i would need a higher tooth pinion if i tried the vantage wheels out? i've got the 47 steel spur and 12T pinion atm and the motor runs fairly hot but the only surface it's stable/goes in a straight line on is grass and gravel, would like to use it now and again on mud/tarmac but i'm finding the bugsta wheels/tyres pretty bad on anything else but don't want road tyres

 

You wouldn’t ‘need’ a higher tooth pinion, but the top speed will reduce if you don’t.

I found the carnage very unstable. I have done the following which has improved the handling no end:

 

sway bars front and back

heavier wt oil in the shocks (I used 50wt)

better wheels/tires and firmer inserts.

18kg steering servo 

 

the tires hardly balloon now, even at top speed, the shocks combined with the sway bars can now handle the extra speed and acceleration. The servo steers the car with much more precision, strength and speed. Altogether improving the handling no end!

 

my motor never runs hot. I used the original heat sink on the replacement motor if you haven’t? Could make a difference?

Edited April 14, 2021 by Ant.p

[Scottyb]

Cool i'll give the sway bars and servo a go for sure, the original servo is pretty terrible tbf

I'll give one of the 20kg chinesium ones a go 😁

Edited April 14, 2021 by Scottyb

[Scottyb]

Any advice on where to get a selection of screws from? Pref not FTX ones or allen head as they are just crap 😆

[Gtiracer]

Anyone tried putting same length shocks on the back of the vantage as to what's on the front? Or does the longer ones at the back help keep the nose down a bit more for handling?

 

Are any of the shocks on banggood worth a go?

[Ant.p]

11 hours ago, Gtiracer said:

Anyone tried putting same length shocks on the back of the vantage as to what's on the front? Or does the longer ones at the back help keep the nose down a bit more for handling?

 

Are any of the shocks on banggood worth a go?

I’m curious... do you mind me asking why you would want to do this? 
 

The shock towers at the rear are taller, so would make the back lower if you replaced with a ‘front’ shock? You could lower the ride height of the car by raising the threaded collar above the springs if this is what you’re trying to achieve?

 

After doing a fair bit of research looking into replacing my carnage shocks, I learnt that the stock shocks were actually good enough quality, but just not setup correctly for the added stresses given from the increased performance as a result of the more powerful motor etc. I found that the original shocks were massively improved by replacing the factory shock oil with a heavier weight. Stock is 30wt and I used 50wt when modifying the carnage.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Ant.p

[oscart2005]

2 hours ago, Ant.p said:

I’m curious... do you mind me asking why you would want to do this? 
 

The shock towers at the rear are taller, so would make the back lower if you replaced with a ‘front’ shock? You could lower the ride height of the car by raising the threaded collar above the springs if this is what you’re trying to achieve?

 

After doing a fair bit of research looking into replacing my carnage shocks, I learnt that the stock shocks were actually good enough quality, but just not setup correctly for the added stresses given from the increased performance as a result of the more powerful motor etc. I found that the original shocks were massively improved by replacing the factory shock oil with a heavier weight. Stock is 30wt and I used 50wt when modifying the carnage.

 

14 hours ago, Gtiracer said:

Anyone tried putting same length shocks on the back of the vantage as to what's on the front? Or does the longer ones at the back help keep the nose down a bit more for handling?

 

Are any of the shocks on banggood worth a go?

I also did thicker oil in the shocks and it definitely does help but the front does seem to bounce around a lot more on the vantage if the springs are wound all the way down, definitely a lot better though👍

[Ant.p]

1 hour ago, oscart2005 said:

 

I also did thicker oil in the shocks and it definitely does help but the front does seem to bounce around a lot more on the vantage if the springs are wound all the way down, definitely a lot better though👍

Glad the thicker oil helped. I did it to mine on some good advice from the guys at Modelsport and it made all the difference for me.

 

The springs are more for the ride height than the dampening. Maybe try raising the collar a bit, so the spring doesn’t cause the car to bounce with aggressive rebound.

[Gtiracer]

4 hours ago, Ant.p said:

I’m curious... do you mind me asking why you would want to do this? 
 

The shock towers at the rear are taller, so would make the back lower if you replaced with a ‘front’ shock? You could lower the ride height of the car by raising the threaded collar above the springs if this is what you’re trying to achieve?

 

After doing a fair bit of research looking into replacing my carnage shocks, I learnt that the stock shocks were actually good enough quality, but just not setup correctly for the added stresses given from the increased performance as a result of the more powerful motor etc. I found that the original shocks were massively improved by replacing the factory shock oil with a heavier weight. Stock is 30wt and I used 50wt when modifying the carnage.

It was mainly because I had been looking at uprated gmade shocks and could find some in the length that I needed for them front, but not the rears, so wondered if they could be put the same, but I hadn't thought of the shock tower being higher, I thought for some reason the back wheels would be extended lower, essentially putting the front in a nose down kind of fashion. But what you said makes a lot more sense.

 

I shall try adding some different shock fluid and see how it goes. Do I need any kind of sealant after taking them apart and putting them back together to keep the fluid retained?

[Ant.p]

1 hour ago, Gtiracer said:

It was mainly because I had been looking at uprated gmade shocks and could find some in the length that I needed for them front, but not the rears, so wondered if they could be put the same, but I hadn't thought of the shock tower being higher, I thought for some reason the back wheels would be extended lower, essentially putting the front in a nose down kind of fashion. But what you said makes a lot more sense.

 

I shall try adding some different shock fluid and see how it goes. Do I need any kind of sealant after taking them apart and putting them back together to keep the fluid retained?

Provided all parts are intact and not perished in any way (if the cars relatively new they will almost definitely be in good condition) you will need nothing more than the replacement oil and some patients.

 

there are lots of videos on YouTube explaining in detail the procedure of servicing your shocks. Basically you unscrew the top, empty contents into a container to disguard, clean out with some cotton wool buds etc. to remove as much original oil as possible. Refil by around half and slowly move the piston up and down to release any trapped air. Rest them for a while to give last air bubbles a chance to escape, then top up, rest for short period, screw cap on  with the piston compressed by about half, and done.

 

the skill is in putting the correct amount of oil in. The piston should only slowly move back to half its fully extend position by itself after full compression.

 

if it moves beyond half you have too much oil in there.

if it doesn’t extend half it needs a top up.

 

Hope this helps, good luck!

[Lone-wolf]

New pb with the Vantage 53.99 mph, up from 48.99 mph