FTX Tracer / HBX 16890?

[shahidali619]

Also I'm also vary if a stone goes into the motor, I'm guessing it would be ok to put some mesh around the exposed part of the motor?

[shahidali619]

Also I have started to charge the battery and the manual says to plug in and I should see a solid Green LED and a solid Green LED, but all I get is a solid red LED (no green LED at all).

 

If I disconnect the battery then there is no red LED. If the battery is fully charged, the red and green LEDs should be solid. 

 

am I missing something?

 

 

 

 

 

[voorsk]

3 hours ago, shahidali619 said:

Also I have started to charge the battery and the manual says to plug in and I should see a solid Green LED and a solid Green LED, but all I get is a solid red LED (no green LED at all).

 

If I disconnect the battery then there is no red LED. If the battery is fully charged, the red and green LEDs should be solid. 

 

am I missing something?

According to the manual I've got (HBX 16889):

• During charging, the red LED is on solid
• The red LED will go off after the battery is charged (after about 3.5 hours)
• The red LED will flash if there's a battery issue
• It doesn't say what the LED does if it's plugged in with no battery connected

 

There is an additional note for an updated charger, which does mention the green LED;

• Red LED is solid as long as the charger is plugged in (even if the battery isn't connected)
• During charging, the red LED stays solid, and the green LED flashes slowly
• Both LEDs become solid on after the battery is charged
• If the red LED flashes quickly, there's a battery issue

Could it be that you have the older version of the charger that doesn't have a green LED?

Edited March 23, 2022 by voorsk

[shahidali619]

3 hours ago, voorsk said:

According to the manual I've got (HBX 16889):

• During charging, the red LED is on solid
• The red LED will go off after the battery is charged (after about 3.5 hours)
• The red LED will flash if there's a battery issue
• It doesn't say what the LED does if it's plugged in with no battery connected

 

There is an additional note for an updated charger, which does mention the green LED;

• Red LED is solid as long as the charger is plugged in (even if the battery isn't connected)
• During charging, the red LED stays solid, and the green LED flashes slowly
• Both LEDs become solid on after the battery is charged
• If the red LED flashes quickly, there's a battery issue

Could it be that you have the older version of the charger that doesn't have a green LED?

 

Having emailed them, they have confirmed that it will stay red until it's charged and then turn off!

 

Thank you

[Lone-wolf]

There is a new kid on the block in the form of MJX with gps looks a really nice 16th it may knock the tracer of its pedestal

[jamesmacc2008]

Hey Guys,

 

New to the forum but I have 2 X BlackIon Slyder's and 1 x FTX tracers and a Pro brushless HBX 16890. Bought 2 x Blackions for my son's xmas's as they break most cheap RC cars within days and when we took them out for a spin we all loved them. Found them very fast and really durable. Launched off skate ramps, failed backflips, full speed collisions with walls, they have seen it all. The kids didn't want to share so i bought myself one ( FTX tracer which is identical) and did a few mods,  3D printed battery tray from a member on here, 3S Lipo battery, Revo mini wheels and I have ordered metal driveshafts and diff outlet cups and metal shocks. The thing is absolutely mental on the 3S, way to fast, it backflips on full throttle and wheelies on anything more than half throttle. I've ordered a 2S battery instead and also a wheelie bar.

 

One of them is getting converted to truggy, i've ordered the truggy body, truggy posts and truggy wing. 

 

After reading this thread I ordered the HBX pro 16890 which arrived yesterday. Looks brilliant and i cant believe the value for money compared to the Tracers. For £20 more you are getting the brushless motor which is worth more than that alone and then all the medal hubs, shafts, driveline and diffs etc. I think it cost me £28 along for front shafts, rear dogbone and shafts and diffoutlets + delivery fee. I might try the 3S on this one as I think the motor will take it better than the Brushed Tracers.

 

In terms of damage, in 4 months, we have broken 1 shock at the mounting point, and bent 2 to the point they stick in the compressed position (stock ones are naff). Today we broke the rubbish screw off the front driveshaft hence why i have now ordered the metal upgrades.

 

This thread has been most useful in terms of upgrades and also the Pro HBX on banggood, i would have never found it otherwise.

 

Cheers guys,

James 

[everclear1984]

On 21/04/2022 at 14:43, jamesmacc2008 said:

Hey Guys,

 

New to the forum but I have 2 X BlackIon Slyder's and 1 x FTX tracers and a Pro brushless HBX 16890. Bought 2 x Blackions for my son's xmas's as they break most cheap RC cars within days and when we took them out for a spin we all loved them. Found them very fast and really durable. Launched off skate ramps, failed backflips, full speed collisions with walls, they have seen it all. The kids didn't want to share so i bought myself one ( FTX tracer which is identical) and did a few mods,  3D printed battery tray from a member on here, 3S Lipo battery, Revo mini wheels and I have ordered metal driveshafts and diff outlet cups and metal shocks. The thing is absolutely mental on the 3S, way to fast, it backflips on full throttle and wheelies on anything more than half throttle. I've ordered a 2S battery instead and also a wheelie bar.

 

One of them is getting converted to truggy, i've ordered the truggy body, truggy posts and truggy wing. 

 

After reading this thread I ordered the HBX pro 16890 which arrived yesterday. Looks brilliant and i cant believe the value for money compared to the Tracers. For £20 more you are getting the brushless motor which is worth more than that alone and then all the medal hubs, shafts, driveline and diffs etc. I think it cost me £28 along for front shafts, rear dogbone and shafts and diffoutlets + delivery fee. I might try the 3S on this one as I think the motor will take it better than the Brushed Tracers.

 

In terms of damage, in 4 months, we have broken 1 shock at the mounting point, and bent 2 to the point they stick in the compressed position (stock ones are naff). Today we broke the rubbish screw off the front driveshaft hence why i have now ordered the metal upgrades.

 

This thread has been most useful in terms of upgrades and also the Pro HBX on banggood, i would have never found it otherwise.

 

Cheers guys,

James 

 

I'm really fancying the 16890 Pro myself. Both of our Tracers and still bone stock other than the battery tray and they've proven tough little beasts, but I think the kids are ready for more poweeeer lol

[Microspeed]

Get on Amazon and search for 16889, looks like someone missed a 1 off the price, it’s up for £36 + p&p.  I’ve already got three, one stock, one brushless, one in bits, so can’t really justify more, so maybe you guys can grab a bargain?

It does say brushless and the pics back it up.

 

no idea how it works if it is a typo but I doubt Amazon would care much…….

 

my son has upgraded to a bugsta, so much more capable and fun, he can use the skills he gathered from running the tracer, so he’s found it a very easy transition, totally upgradable too, been impressed so far.

[lennylogknob]

On 23/04/2022 at 09:47, Microspeed said:

Get on Amazon and search for 16889, looks like someone missed a 1 off the price, it’s up for £36 + p&p.  I’ve already got three, one stock, one brushless, one in bits, so can’t really justify more, so maybe you guys can grab a bargain?

It does say brushless and the pics back it up.

 

no idea how it works if it is a typo but I doubt Amazon would care much…….

 

 

Thanks for the tip.
Ordered one and allegedly it's on the way, so let's see what turns up (if anything).

 

It looks like they're now 'unavailable'.

[jamesmacc2008]

Folks who have upgraded to metal hubs and had to drill them out to 5.5mm to allow enough travel in the joint with the shaft, do you also have to drill the diff outlets if you upgrade then to metal to or do they manage fine? 

[Microspeed]

4 hours ago, lennylogknob said:

 

 

Thanks for the tip.
Ordered one and allegedly it's on the way, so let's see what turns up (if anything).

 

It looks like they're now 'unavailable'.

You did well, I was going try it just to see, seemed one of them to good to be true tings!

 

be interested to see what arrives, if it’s legit you did very well indeed.

 

 

[lorrylemming]

13 hours ago, jamesmacc2008 said:

Folks who have upgraded to metal hubs and had to drill them out to 5.5mm to allow enough travel in the joint with the shaft, do you also have to drill the diff outlets if you upgrade then to metal to or do they manage fine? 

 

No, the diff outdrives were fine. Definitely a mod worth doing, the rear suspension works much better afterwards. 

[jamesmacc2008]

19 minutes ago, lorrylemming said:

 

No, the diff outdrives were fine. Definitely a mod worth doing, the rear suspension works much better afterwards. 

I've just gone to do it and the actual opening for the suspension arm seems to already be about 7mm diameter. is it the solid part of the shaft at the bottom of the opening that needs drilled out a bit? 

[lorrylemming]

Yes, you need to make the hole deeper rather than wider.

 

If you take the metal dogbone and push it into the axle cup, you can see it stops short. The diff cups allow the pins all the way into the slots.

 

 

[jamesmacc2008]

2 hours ago, lorrylemming said:

Yes, you need to make the hole deeper rather than wider.

 

If you take the metal dogbone and push it into the axle cup, you can see it stops short. The diff cups allow the pins all the way into the slots.

 

 

Thanks for your help, now where's that drill haha 

[jamesmacc2008]

Fitted my upgraded driveshafts, dogbones and springs last night. Anyone got a guide to fitting the diff outlet cups? When i pulled the diff apart i thought it would be a case of taking the pin out of the shaft and then slide the old ones off and new ones on but the new ones are a male fitment and the old ones are a female fitment. I separated the white plastic diff and found another small shaft with a white plastic spur gear on it. I cant get this white spur to attach to the part of the new metal axle cup that pass's through the white plastic diff cover.

 

Any pics or links to help a newbie out? 

[vms]

On 29/04/2022 at 14:31, jamesmacc2008 said:

Fitted my upgraded driveshafts, dogbones and springs last night. Anyone got a guide to fitting the diff outlet cups? When i pulled the diff apart i thought it would be a case of taking the pin out of the shaft and then slide the old ones off and new ones on but the new ones are a male fitment and the old ones are a female fitment. I separated the white plastic diff and found another small shaft with a white plastic spur gear on it. I cant get this white spur to attach to the part of the new metal axle cup that pass's through the white plastic diff cover.

 

Any pics or links to help a newbie out? 

 

[lorrylemming]

Just installed one of these Surpass/Rocker metal gear servos, pretty much a drop in fit. Cut the ears off and tidy up the longer wire. The only difficult part is the servo horn, if you want to use the kit servo saver you need a M2.5 screw the same length (or slightly longer) as the stock servo horn screw with a washer for the spring. I didn't have one of these so I instead trimmed one of the included horns to fit, this then left me without enough plastic at the end of the horn for the screw to hold, so I cut one of the other horns and doubled it up behind. If this doesn't hold I'll buy and M2 nut and bolt and threadlock it. Performance is marginally better than the stock servo but removing the servo saver has made it much more precise, hopefully this doesn't result in breaking the servo or the steering links. But I'll post on here if it does.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175260450298?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1r53MfvahSP2ZpAa14CQ1yA56&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=175260450298&targetid=1647205089800&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1007201&poi=&campaignid=17206177401&mkgroupid=136851690655&rlsatarget=pla-1647205089800&abcId=9300866&merchantid=189185749&gclid=CjwKCAjwve2TBhByEiwAaktM1DyqcyKqn4v34bl3H_6XEuW90dkWSYOzVWJW5Ow49oVexlxuRJQROxoCLLkQAvD_BwE

 

 

 

Also tried a set of these knock-off HPI WR8 wheels, they look great and are a good size/offset but the rubber compound is way too hard. Good for sliding around on tarmac but useless if you want grip. Don't really recommend. I might try swapping the tyres for some others if I see any I like, these are so stiff I didn't need to glue them on.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133859168700?hash=item1f2aa0d1bc:g:eSIAAOSwpt9hJkcY

 

 

 

EDIT:

 

Just mounted these tyres on the WR8 wheels which seems to be a good combination, the rims are almost the same width and diameter but the offset is much better on the WR8 wheels, the banggood ones are too narrow so the truck rolls over. Ends up costing the same as a set of Fastrax wheels for the mini revo so not sure its really worth it.

https://www.banggood.com/4PCS-Upgraded-Larger-Tires-Wheels-12mm-Hex-for-Wltoys-144001-144010-124017-124018-124019-RC-Car-Vehicles-Model-Parts-p-1889804.html?imageAb=1&p=O407199341113201703R&utm_campaign=QuadifyRC&utm_content=10589&akmClientCountry=GB&cur_warehouse=CN&ID=6312779

 

 

Edited May 11, 2022 by lorrylemming

[mcdodd]

hi, this might be a total newbie question but can I put a 1600mAh 2S LiPo Battery 7.4V T Plug 25C in these? my current battery is the 1000mAh 2S LiPo Battery 7.4V T Plug 25C

and any recommendations for reliable sellers please?

many thanks in advance

[BigGinge]

If you can get it to physically fit you should be ok with the bigger battery.  I’m not sure what size the pack is in these but you can often pick up decent batteries from Amazon or most of the usual RC shops like model sport or wheelspin. 

Edited May 26, 2022 by BigGinge

[mcdodd]

On 26/05/2022 at 10:11, BigGinge said:

If you can get it to physically fit you should be ok with the bigger battery.  I’m not sure what size the pack is in these but you can often pick up decent batteries from Amazon or most of the usual RC shops like model sport or wheelspin. 

many thanks, so as long as it fits in the bay then it doesn't matter if its 1600mAh? or if it's 25c or 35c?

[BigGinge]

Yep, as long as the “C” rating isn’t too low (probably anything above 20C would be fine) and the battery voltage/cell count is the same you should be fine. 

[mcdodd]

On 26/05/2022 at 10:11, BigGinge said:

If you can get it to physically fit you should be ok with the bigger battery.  I’m not sure what size the pack is in these but you can often pick up decent batteries from Amazon or most of the usual RC shops like model sport or wheelspin. 

many thanks

 

Edited June 3, 2022 by mcdodd

[BigGinge]

For the price these are probably worth a try; the performance will most likely be fine. it might be worth keeping a close eye on them the first few times you charged them in case the quality control isn’t quite as good. 

[mcdodd]

13 minutes ago, BigGinge said:

For the price these are probably worth a try; the performance will most likely be fine. it might be worth keeping a close eye on them the first few times you charged them in case the quality control isn’t quite as good. 

Hi, I just checked the dims and they don't fit, so it looks like I'll have to get the 'branded' ones from Modelsport..I just can't seem to get 1000mAh 25c T connectors from most sites, well not that I have found as yet.
One more thing though, I have the Overlander SD4 to charge batteries, do I set it at 4a?