Fat Freddy

@300bhp/ton Just to prove myself wrong....... Modelsport do a 12t mod 0.6 pinion for £3.65. Goes to show, there’s a lot of rubbish spouted on forums eh? I still reckon a steel spur is the way to go, fit and forget.

Would you be prepared to split and if so, how much for the transmitters?

Oh? Ok, well I DID say “relatively” but I struggled. Mine started life as a vantage and I faced some of the issues I mentioned above when I swapped the wheels to larger Carnage wheels. The ftx spur/pinion are mod 0.6 pitch (whatever that means lol) My gearing problem was easy to solve. Swap the vantage 23t pinion for a carnage 17t. Simple. (Note:- that’s a difference of 6 teeth to allow for a similar wheel size difference that @zlab faces. But @zlab would, I think, need to go smaller than 17t and maybe I looked in the wrong places but the smallest I could find was a 16t. I’m not sure dropping 1 tooth would be enough.... but as I said, I’m no expert. And I guess it’d be worth spending £3 odd on a 16t pinion to find out. Or better still 13t (??), if you know where to find em? It’d be cheaper but I’m pretty sure those big heavy wheels will eat plastic spur gears for breakfast whereas the steel spur gear will eat small children for breakfast 😂 (without burping). +1 @F1aw1ess on the carbon top plate. Another little tip on carbon upgrades (not that anyone asked) is to get the carbon fibre shock towers but NOT the “pro” ones. They have lots of cut outs which look cool but make them easier to snap. The standard carbon towers are cut from a solid sheet, cost less and are stronger (although maybe a gram or two heavier).

Hi there, Forgive me if I’m patronising you and sound negative here but... (And please, anyone else who thinks I’m talking crap, please pitch in, I’m no expert) These are intended for MUCH more powerful cars than the carnage and are going to cause you a few problems. The first being gearing. The extra diameter is going to raise your gearing. This will lower your acceleration and increase your top speed. Not necessarily a bad thing, less wheelspin when pulling away and who doesn’t want extra speed? But this will put extra strain on your motor and in turn your Esc. Easy fix... a smaller pinion. Drop a couple of teeth on your pinion (I’d guess) and you’ll return the gear ratio to something like the original. This presents you with a new problem as the standard FTX spur gear is a (relatively) unusual pitch, and the choice of compatible pinions is limited. The next problem you may encounter is weight. I’d bet they weigh considerably more than the standard wheels? This will also put extra strain on your motor, as well as your drivetrain, which is likely to result in a damaged spur gear. Possibly worse. (God I’m being a killjoy here aren’t I? Sorry) I bought a hardened steel spur gear from @daveyboi73 and that would negate a lot of these problems. It is hard as nails (no way a brushed motor will strip it), widens your choice of pinion size and is way easier to maintain. An extra bonus is when set up right, it’s much quieter too. Best add on I bought for mine hands down. Anyway, sorry but I haven’t finished yet. Another likely problem could be steering. That extra weight and extra wide footprint is likely to slow your steering a bit, especially if you still have the stock servo which is a bit weak. And then there is clearance. I don’t know how the offset compares when turned fully left or right I’d also bet they’ll foul the body shell?? (Would be interested to see em fitted) All that aside, they do look cool as **** 😄👍 Good luck with em Fred ps, himoto do a few sets of wheels VERY similar sized to the ftx stock ones. Alas, similar quality but also similarly priced.

Re the chassis plate.......imho you are better off with the plastic chassis and the carbon top plate. Once an Alu part bends you’ll never quite get it back to its pre crash condition. Whereas the plastic parts are cheap as chips. Add the carbon top plate and it stiffens everything up, and reduces flex massively.

Thanks anyway. 👍

Ok so I have an ftx Vantage which has been hugely fun. Even though I’ve probably spent more time fixing it than using it. I only use it for bashing, it’s never seen a track. Its a bit of a mongrel now with parts from other cars and truggy wheels/shell on it. It’s still a work in progress, but I have a yen for that new rc feeling. (on a v tight budget) I tend to take it up local trails and quarry’s where out and out speed = breakages. So I was thinking about a crawler.... The Carisma coyote sca1e kit in particular. I like the idea of building from a kit but I’d have to save up for the transmitter and electrics later. Or, for much less there’s the ftx Mauler RTR (which includes a transmitter etc but I’d guess is less capable?) But I’m not sure the snails pace of an out and out crawler would still have that fun factor. I kind of want something halfway between the two. Is it a realistic goal to set up a crawler so it still has a modest turn of speed when required but still retain some of its crawling ability? Advice and suggestions please... I have a Christmas list to write for Mrs Santa 🎅

Let me know if it falls through eh?

Presume this now sold?

Btw, any alternative suggestions would have to be around this price bracket......

Hi folks, just thought I’d resurrect this thread with a couple of questions. So, I’ve never had a crawler and have very little knowledge of what would be best to get.......for what I’m likely to use it for. I’m on a low budget and the SCA-1E keeps popping up as great value for money/capable etc etc. I’m happy to take time building and add the extras later when I can afford them. Although I fancy something a bit slower and less frenetic, I’m unlikely to ever enter any comps or get to hung up on the scaler thing (although I can see the appeal of both so don’t rule them out). I’m more likely to take it out for a “Walk” in the countryside and enjoy getting past whatever obstacles present themselves. (Is this what people refer to as trail running?). This is how I’ve ended up using my FTX vantage “mongrel” but it keeps getting stuck/rolling as the suspension, Esc/motor set up etc just isn’t up to it. I’d still like something that can show a moderate turn of speed, do some modest jumps etc etc but be fairly competent at low speeds too. So I basically want a jack of all trades but without spending daft money. Does such a beast exist and would the Coyote fit the bill? One thing I’m not sure about is the axles. Are the diffs locked? If so, surely the thing wants to roll when cornering at any kind of speed? Any and all comments welcomed...... hopefully before I put my order in with Mrs Christmas. 😂👍 Ps, by “modest turn of speed” I only mean 15mph ish. I find much faster than that is only fun in open spaces and in real world situations just leads to breakages........ (= I’m a rubbish driver 😂)

@Fly In My Soup I would have thought the diffs would eat themselves with that much power 😂

A bit late to be responding to this but wtf? Real? Or just sort of balanced together as a joke? Surely it’d just pull itself apart?

Thanks. 👍

Hi there, thinking of asking Santa for the carisma sca-1e kit for Xmas but noticed modelsport out of stock. (Not really looked elsewhere yet as Xmas a way off). Noticed this, at only a few quid more..... https://www.modelsport.co.uk/index.php?product_id=440250 Anyone had any experience of a Hobbytech crx-v2?? I really know NOTHING about scalers or crawlers so no idea if these things even comparable but at first glance the CRX looks to be better spec. Am I right? Fancy the the idea of trail running and crawling. Also fancy the idea of building from a kit rather than RTR but really in the dark about which way to jump in. advise me please folks 😀👍 thanks Fred

Not wrong but tbh the gear cover still let's small stones in. My advice is ask @daveyboi73 to sell you a hardened steel spur. For and forget, easier to set gear mesh, quieter and eats small stones for breakfast!

Yep, usually nyloc. 👍

+1 on @Addwhite 's advice except, if you using loctite on wheelnuts, make sure it's the removable kind but tbh I don't think loctite necessary, just check they all right before each bash. 😀👍

@Bajadre @Tug thanks for the input anyway. 👍

Nope. Didn’t work. New Esc it is. shame.

Definitely worth a try. Need some heat shrink if I solder direct but that’s even cheaper than connectors!

Fingers crossed I understood correctly. New connectors way cheaper than a new Esc!

So are you saying that if I replace the connector(s) it might be ok? It might NOT be a fritzed Esc?

Saw a YouTube video of a small boat making its way up a stream. Obvs fairly powerful as it was picking its way, crawler style around stones and stuff, then when it came to a small waterfall, boom, up it went. Then saw another vid of what I THINK was the same boat (they all look v similar to me) on a lake absolutely shifting and pulling these great carving turns. Anyways, I thought it looked like fun. So, don’t want to spend loads but still want it to be fun. What would you guys recommend? What’s the go-to brand/model for beginners like me?

Took my FTX Vantage to the woods yesterday. My lad showed me a good spot where some of his mates have made a bmx track. After some pretty big jumps and a couple of epic crashes. (Off a jump, sideways into a concrete fence post 3ft off the ground anyone?). Was surprised nothing bent or snapped tbh. Planned to try and get some aerial footage and it stopped moving. Still have steering so receiver and battery ok. Nothing seized or jammed. My first thought was motor but when I plugged another one into ESC, (firstly spotted burn marks on a connector) I got no response from a motor I know works. So that just leaves the Esc? It’s a hobbywing quicrun 1060, I thought they were pretty unburstable? Would the burn marks be a symptom or a cause?