New Absima AMT3.4 Truck - First run issues

[Cuiken]

So, the truck is great. got the brushless one and it's fast, stable/unstable enough for a few thrills and fairly tough except for:

 

1. Steering servo failed on first outing. Bit disappointing but the wheels are huge and so were the jumps we were doing. Looking for a replacement that will fit but the stock servo seems quite small. Has anyone successfully replaced one of these (from any Absima 3.4 model) and what did you use?

 

2. The ESC seems to be terrible. Not 'irritating', I mean barely functional. I can't believe it's meant to behave like this:

• At take off, the ESC does not deliver much power initially, it seems to require the truck to 'get going', just get the wheels turning at all. Then, whoosh, it's off (very fast). It's fine on smooth tarmac as it gets moving fairly easily. However, in anything longer than fresh mown grass it seems unable to get the initial movement required to get to the 'whoosh' phase of takeoff and just stalls. Similar story on any kind of gradient or uneven terrain. It just doesn't get going and then stalls.
• After a couple of attempts to 'get going' the ESC seems to cut out entirely and needs to be switched off/on to reset. Given how easily the truck 'stalls', this reset is needed very regularly.
• My ancient Ansmann buggy with hobbyKing 60A brushless ESC just works, not 'startup issues'. Pull the trigger and it's off (at the possible expense of the Diff). Do people think the Absima ESC is behaving as normal or is it buggered? FYI, I've tried all the various 'punch' settings. They only affect the 'whoosh' phase of takeoff. The initial 'get going' phase is just the same.

 

Thanks.

 

[fnknan]

I got the kit so I can't help you with the absima electronics but any standard size servo should fit well. Don't buy a low profile servo though as you'll need to modify the mounts to fit it in.

[Cuiken]

Hi fnknan (resident Absima Hotshot expert). Thanks, I've ordered a fairly generic metal geared servo off of Amazon. Hopefully it'll fit/last.

 

FYI, I also snapped a shock tower but that really was my own fault through attempting a really silly jump.

 

Arguably a Traxxas Rustler would be tougher but it would also have cost ~£400. That said, the price of a new ESC and a new servo right off the bat starts to push up the 'bargain' price of the Absima.

 

I'm going to email the shop and see what they reckon tot he ESC behaviour. I'm not sure it's actually broken though. My mates HPI Maverick Strada brushles does exactly the same thing. Possibly it's just a feature of cheap RTR brushless cars. I guess the lesson would be not to buy a brushless RTR but that seems a shame, they are convenient.

 

Cheers.