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FTX Tracer / HBX 16890?


bertberr

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Hi Folks - first post.

I also recently picked up the Hbx Destroyer brushless truggy and have had so much fun with the thing.

My only real experience with electric cars was building the Tamiya Holiday buggy as a youngster so please forgive my ignorance.

I fitted the oil shocks,  and have the wheel axle kits on the way and was wondering what people would recommend next in terms of upgrades?

It's fast out the box but I'd love to make it go faster. I see it comes with a Li on 7.4v battery can I swap that out for a 7.4v Lipo battery with a higher mAh?

I understand the chassis is a 16890 and shares parts with the 16889, there also seems to be a car made by SG?  1602 that looks very similar and after reading this thread, the Ftx Tracer appears to be the same car, quite confusing for an old guy from the 70's

If I smash the chassis/arms/bumpers can I fit Tracer parts as replacements?

I'm sorry about all the questions on my first post but, this little car has me quite excited considering the state of the world.

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7 hours ago, Captain Howdy said:

I understand the chassis is a 16890 and shares parts with the 16889, there also seems to be a car made by SG?  1602 that looks very similar and after reading this thread, the Ftx Tracer appears to be the same car, quite confusing for an old guy from the 70's

If I smash the chassis/arms/bumpers can I fit Tracer parts as replacements?


I’ve not got one of these myself but from what I’ve seen when I looked into them they do all share the same base components so you should be fine taking spars from any of them to use on your car. 

 

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I fitted the front metal drive shafts and metal axle cups (one piece unit) for the Hbx 16890, they went in no problem, the rear metal axle/cups were a bit more tricky.

The cups needed drilled out a little to allow the drive shaft to sit in properly and allow the suspension to work.

 

Took it out for a run today and the whole thing seems much smoother.

Waiting for new metal diffs, spur gear, drive shaft and diff cups.

Found a 2s Lipo 1500mah on Banggood from Wl toys that should fit. I hope to try it on 3s for as long as it lasts, then replace the motor, esc and receiver.

Could a Castle Mamba x micro combo be made to fit?

Loads of fun for the money this little car

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I used a Hobbywing 16BL30 when I did the brushless conversation on my XLF F16. I don’t know how it compares to the Castle ESC but it is fairly small and seems perfectly happy running on 3S. 
 

The F16 looks to have a slightly different layout to your car with the original ESC/receiver being stuck up on the top deck brace. If your shell has the space you could try something similar To get yourself so extra room for parts. 
 

A78416D4-99D3-4C2B-974A-D00BA2AA77FF.thumb.jpeg.89b563c8735e58e9cd0bd49518b2696a.jpeg

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  • 2 weeks later...

This battery is clearly designed for the Tamiya Dancing Rider trike.

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/arrowmax-lipo-3200mah-7.4v-t3-01-dancing-rider-431887

3200 mah, 2s lipo.

It appears to be the perfect sized battery (when turned on it's side) for the 16890/Tracer chassis.

Anyone got one of these?  seems expensive at £40.

Any ideas 

 

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@Captain Howdy, that does seem fairly pricey. I think I got a couple of these for our lads Q901 truck :

 

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-nano-tech-850mah-2s-25-40c-lipo-pack.html

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-800mah-2s-30c-lipo-pack.html

 

I had to swap the connectors on them to get them to match up with the car but otherwise they have been running quite happily and were a lot cheaper than the one linked above. The only slight issue with them just now is that there doesn't seem to be any in stock in the UK warehouse so shipping might be a bit steep. If it is a bit high they have these ones in the UK which might work out better:

 

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/graphene-800mah-2s20c.html

 

Or some from amazon that might fit:

 

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/SUNPADOW-Battery-Helicopter-Airplane-Quadcopter/dp/B08S2WLLNG

 

 

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With more than a helping hand from a friend today, I got the rest of the metal drive train parts installed in the 16890.

 

Looking at the way the motor is mounted made me a bit concerned as to how a different motor (Castle mamba x micro) might attach.

Would also be cool to be able to adjust the front toe in, with some small turnbuckles.

 

Still well chuffed with this cheap little car, had it jumping about 12 feet (like a novice) in the garden before the upgrades.

Spotted a shell from Phat Bodies called a Kaboom that should fit, looking forward to trying to paint a little shell. 

 2s and 3s lipo's next.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just to confirm, if anyone was interested, that the Arrowmax battery I asked about above

 

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/arrowmax-lipo-3200mah-7.4v-t3-01-dancing-rider-431887

 

Fits incredibly well into the 16890/Tracer/Sg chassis with no mods at all needed.

It would probably also fit into the 16889 chassis but I can't check that

Its obviously heavier than the stock battery so will probably upset the balance of the car?

I had a hard time keeping it straight and it seemed to show up a problem I have with having to adjust steering trim after every corner? (servo issue) ?

 

Anyway night and day change to the performance, didn't get a chance to see how long a run time I could get though from 3200mah

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 05/04/2021 at 08:13, bertberr said:

Good jumping sess with this yesterday, the 3mm ali front skid did its job well, though I have some steel on the way for a mk2 version. Had to reinforce around the front body post holes on the already reinforced body, but overall, it was a blast yet again.  The only serious design fault on these (which is magnified by jumping on concrete) is the pathetic little screws that hold the wheels on. Really need those optional axles, must order today!

 

 

Just ordered one of these under a different name from banggood, do you have any pictures of the skid plates you made? 

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1 hour ago, lorrylemming said:

 

 

Just ordered one of these under a different name from banggood, do you have any pictures of the skid plates you made? 

 

This is the first one made from ally sheet, has done the job protecting the chassis/diff case, but is not ideal as on harder hits, it bends and doesn't bend back (obviously!), so pushed up on the front bumper mount.  I've made another from HDPE sheet, which should be better in this respect, but is also strong and fairly abrasion resistant.  Needs slightly longer screws into the diff case, I just went with around 2mm longer, as I countersunk them in (that's with 3mm ally, will differ depending on what thickness you go with).

 

IMG-3601.jpg

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I won a Tracer in a raffle on FB, so far I've only put the oil shocks on it (as yet untested) but I'm impressed with it in terms of what it is and how much it costs.

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Yeah only mod/upgrade I have is the oil shocks, which are much better, essential really. Was going to go with all the upgraded axles, outdrives etc but the (admittedly) poor standard items are still going strong, well they work still, just make the wheels look like they're permanently buckled!  But when you're driving you don't notice... only replace when broken is my mantra with this little rig.

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I didn't realise  there was a PRO version of the truggy as well, love the look of the shell.

 

After upgrading my HBX 16890/FTX Tracer with all the metal upgrades and using the Arrowmax 2s 3200mah (50c) battery, I've found the steering to become a problem.

Adjusting the trim works until you take a sharp corner, then it all seems out again.

I'm hoping to find a performance Savox servo exactly the same size or close to the stock HBX/FTX one to fit in and hopefully solve the problem?  (any help would be appreciated)

I usually practice jumps in the garden with this little car but since the steering issues, it's not had much use.

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I've found my Tracer's servo has a bit of an issue lately. You can hear it jittering away to itself when stationary, still seems to run alright but the steering trim does occasionally seem off but then it seems OK again. TBH it drives like a hyperactive ferret with it's tail on fire most of the time so it adds to the fun 🤣

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Yeah, all the metal upgrades seem to come installed, no drilling out rear axle cups. I take it a metal spur gear would be included (just read the review and it does)

 

I hope the shell will be available on its own, it seems a bit longer than the original "Destroyer" truggy body, as it covers the top of the back shock towers and fits around the wing mount.

 

Great price, if I were to buy another one, I wouldn't bother with the multiple battery options as I've found better batteries to use with it.

But for someone starting out like I did, having a few batteries come with the car would have been great, even if it had taken 6 hours to charge with the included usb charger.

 

 

Edited by Captain Howdy
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Mine arrived today in the Flyhal FC600 flavour. Given it a quick run and I'm impressed. Only negatives unique to this version is the sticker sheet seems half finished. Doesn't really make sense for the bodyshell. 

 

 

I was going to put in a HW esc and futaba receiver but I'm actually quite impressed with the stock one. Nothing to complain about. 

 

 

I've already done some mods, packed the front diff completely with grease and half packed the rear diff. This has given a big improvement to the handling, corners better on power and is calmer accelerating. 

 

 

Next project is finding a set of springs so I can lower the ride height a little. I've got some on order but I'll post about them once I know they fit. Also got some banggood wheels on order but I'll test them as well. 

 

 

 

IMG_20211013_153015.jpg

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