Popular Post Kpowell911 Posted December 1, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted December 1, 2021 I know what youre thinking, another Traxxas 🙄 but hear me out…… I was after the new Traxxas Supra….. however, theres no UK release date, and the more I went into it, the more I got put off. £349 for a brushed RC without the “expensive” TSM Radio…… it would end up being Infraction money… So I decided against it….. I appreciate everyones negative thoughts towards Traxxas. Theyre business practices are a bit suspect, and their RCs are old and expensive. But their electrics go for decent money used, so you can sell them and put better stuff in, they also seem to hold their value and sell easy-ish. Thats my excuse anyway. No idea why Ive justified the above to you all, but on we go haha. The Rustler VXL is pretty much A 30 year old RC. Its not changed a whole lot over that time. Its got faster….. and A LOT more expensive! Honestly, it has no right being a £379 RC, especially as its far from perfect. That said, Im familiar with them, Ive had 5/6 of them, and they can be great trucks….. I used to be dead against used RCs….. but my last 2 used Maxx’s have been decent, and theres not much to go wrong with one of these, so I made a silly cheap offer on eBay, expecting to enter negotiations, and they guy accepted….. there was also a 10% off offer on eBay on used items, it also came with a genuine Traxxas charger/lipo worth £100, so its close to a £500 set up new….. it arrived today, and other than a front tyre on the rear, it all works as it should…. However, its been picked up by Santa’s Elves now, so it wont be seen till Xmas….. 🎅🏻 Its obviously going to be upgraded, so I guess watch this space 🤓 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turok007 Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 A few years ago on the Traxxas forum i said the price of the rustler arms should have dropped in price as it was so old but a MOD said they will once tooling costs were made back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turok007 Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 (edited) once the diff is sorted and get some RPM arms it is a nice car Edited December 1, 2021 by turok007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted December 1, 2021 Author Share Posted December 1, 2021 Dunno wether to go with Traxxas HD arms or RPM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted December 1, 2021 Author Share Posted December 1, 2021 Went with RPM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turok007 Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 Would they be green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
froggy8 Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 1 hour ago, Kpowell911 said: Went with RPM nice one! looks like you got yourself a bargain 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted December 2, 2021 Author Share Posted December 2, 2021 8 hours ago, turok007 said: Would they be green Nope, blue colour scheme for this one, but black RPM arms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted December 5, 2021 Author Share Posted December 5, 2021 Had a load of parts come for this...... but its gone to Santa so cant work on it 😞 Guess thats what Im doing Boxing Day then 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 What you gonna wait till boxing day ????? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted December 6, 2021 Author Share Posted December 6, 2021 22 hours ago, Stormbringer said: What you gonna wait till boxing day ????? My hands are tied, Santa has it now, my Mrs paid for it all so I cant argue 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted December 26, 2021 Author Share Posted December 26, 2021 So Santa has been, and he delivered some upgrades too. Now, it didnt need much but I do love a slightly modified Rustler….. so as Boxing Days are boring…. Here’s the start, all it REALLY needed was a new rear tyre as its running a front on the rear: Some upgrades: Stock set of wheels and Tyres Alloy Shock Caps Alloy Rear Hubs Alloy Front Hubs Alloy Castor Blocks Alloy Front Bulkhead Alloy Steering Bellcranks RPM Arms Stock new style chassis and upper deck. This one has a longer battery tray, I also dyed it black Ill get a better transmission case and MIP driveshafts soon: E clip has been fitted since I dont like running wheelie bars, but I like the cage to support the motor, and its only £5ish A new servo and driveshafts are on order, not really got a use for this, but its nice to have. May pick up a new shell too 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steephill Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 Looking good👍 The black chassis chassis looks way better. What transmission case are you going to be using? I had the rpm case on a 2wd slash but prefer the hot racing aluminium case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted December 28, 2021 Author Share Posted December 28, 2021 26 minutes ago, steephill said: Looking good👍 The black chassis chassis looks way better. What transmission case are you going to be using? I had the rpm case on a 2wd slash but prefer the hot racing aluminium case. Probably a black alloy hot racing one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 Few bits and bobs Was struggling to find some upgraded rear axles in the UK, so went with A Main: MIP Rear CVDs STRC Blue alloy Battery Bar. I forgot to dye the grey one so wasted some cash on this RPM Front and Rear Towers. Because RPM I browse eBay/etc every day for used Traxxas stuff and snagged the following: Traxxas Turnbuckle set (blue alloy) Used Traxxas rear tyres. When I got this it came with 3 fronts. This gives me a second complete set 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted January 22, 2022 Author Share Posted January 22, 2022 (edited) Pretty decent Rustler now if I dont say so myself. Fitted all the above, the MIPs were a pain as they needed a 1mm allen key…. Which is rare. Also added a Power HD 18kg servo for some reason? Ive rectified the toe/camber post pic. I could do with better shocks, but we will see. Edited January 22, 2022 by Kpowell911 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted January 27, 2022 Author Share Posted January 27, 2022 Flat out crash into a light pole 🙄 The plus side, all my new parts survived…. But the rear transmission case split, so upgraded alloy one on the way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted March 6, 2022 Author Share Posted March 6, 2022 So, better late than never. Waited ages for this, its just a cheap aluminium transmission from china. But the quality is genuinely amazing. However it doesnt seem to come with any screws that fit? So Ive used my own. Ive also took the opportunity to gear up Lighting is terrible in my new room, so will need to sort that Old vs new All in good order internally I need to get a new style hinge pin screw as its a horrible Cross Head As you can see, doesnt really protect the motor, so Im going to look at “adapting” the stock motor cage. I didnt get any further as I went to see The Batman 🦇😄 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Kpowell911 Posted March 6, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 6, 2022 So managed to fab up something to use the motor cage for motor protection Its crying out for new shocks I know. The Rustler 2WD platform holds a special place in my heart. I must have had 10/15 of them over the years. My first one was a kit with a clear shell. Yes. A Traxxas kit pre RTR! Traxxas were very small in the UK, and you could phone their UK Distributor direct for parts via mail order!! I spent a lot of my teenage years staying up late on the US Traxxas forum which was immensley busy! I remember buying everything (upgrades wise) in drips and drabs from TOWER Hobbies using discount codes. I even managed to go Brushless with a Novak SS5800 system! Took me years to get the money together for that, I worked weekends at Sainsburys 4 hour shifts of a weekend to buy bits. Then my Nan and Grandad who lived in Devon bought me a Stampede when I was 15/16, and I converted all the upgrades over to it from my battered Rustler. Funny thing is, due to my finances compared to now, this is probably the best ever Rustler 2WD Ive ever had, and yet its probably my worst RC and wont get much use. Think thats why Im so close to Traxxas even though theyre a completely different company these days! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertberr Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 Good to have memories like that of when you first got into RC. I remember being proportionally far more chuffed / happier back then with what I would consider now to be a fairly small or insignificant upgrade. When you have less of everything, even the little things mean so much more... think there's a lesson in there somewhere! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted March 6, 2022 Author Share Posted March 6, 2022 (edited) Full Spec: Traxxas Rustler VXL Stock VXL ESC & Motor Traxxas Motor Cage Power HD Servo Dyed Black 2022 Chassis and Upper Deck Blue Aluminium Steering Bellcranks Blue Aluminium C Hubs Blue Aluminium Steering Knuckles Blue Aluminium Rear Hubs Blue Aluminium Front Bulkhead Blue Aluminium Shock Caps Blue Aluminium Turnbuckles Blue Aluminium Steering Links Black Aluminium Transmission Housing STRC Blue Aluminium Battery Strap RPM Front Arms RPM Rear Arms RPM Front Shock Tower RPM Rear Shock Tower MIP CVDs Edited March 6, 2022 by Kpowell911 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted March 6, 2022 Author Share Posted March 6, 2022 7 minutes ago, bertberr said: Good to have memories like that of when you first got into RC. I remember being proportionally far more chuffed / happier back then with what I would consider now to be a fairly small or insignificant upgrade. When you have less of everything, even the little things mean so much more... think there's a lesson in there somewhere! I remember having that Novak brushless SS5800 ESC/Motor. I was 15 I think working at Sainsburys but the way the wages worked was a Sunday was paid at an hourly rate plus a premium rate. I was on £2.86 I think an hour but the premium part was adult rate, was maybe £6? So Id be on £8.86, not paying Tax. Thats the only way I could afford it. I brought the Novak system from Tower, it was alien to have a brushless set up then! Especially in a budget Rustler! I just typed the spec of this above, this would have been like the absolute dream ultimate RC back then! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yrkoon Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 On 06/03/2022 at 16:17, Kpowell911 said: So managed to fab up something to use the motor cage for motor protection Its crying out for new shocks I know. The Rustler 2WD platform holds a special place in my heart. I must have had 10/15 of them over the years. My first one was a kit with a clear shell. Yes. A Traxxas kit pre RTR! Traxxas were very small in the UK, and you could phone their UK Distributor direct for parts via mail order!! I spent a lot of my teenage years staying up late on the US Traxxas forum which was immensley busy! I remember buying everything (upgrades wise) in drips and drabs from TOWER Hobbies using discount codes. I even managed to go Brushless with a Novak SS5800 system! Took me years to get the money together for that, I worked weekends at Sainsburys 4 hour shifts of a weekend to buy bits. Then my Nan and Grandad who lived in Devon bought me a Stampede when I was 15/16, and I converted all the upgrades over to it from my battered Rustler. Funny thing is, due to my finances compared to now, this is probably the best ever Rustler 2WD Ive ever had, and yet its probably my worst RC and wont get much use. Think thats why Im so close to Traxxas even though theyre a completely different company these days! that is one tidy looking rustler and i agree that the 2wd traxxas are super fun, got a very old rustler and a bandit here and i love them 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpowell911 Posted March 12, 2022 Author Share Posted March 12, 2022 Gave it a run today. Honestly, in 2022, 2wd and 3S doesnt work. Its so twitchy, gets stuck on everything. Im sure this would benefit from new tyres, but dont think Im gonna put any more effort into this, may even sell it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.