XV Pilot

Can you take the diff assembly out of the car and feel for any binding in the bearings that support the outdrives?

That would help, yes. Then you could feel how freely each back wheel spins independently of the rest of the drivetrain. I strongly suspect that you'll find that the rear left one is binding. Free this up and all should be well.

A good way to check rear diff function is to rest the front wheels on the ground so they don't rotate, and turn one of the rear wheels by hand. The opposite rear wheel should turn in the opposite direction. If it doesn't, there is a problem. However the problem isn't necessarily with the diff itself. Before pulling apart any major sub assemblies, it is worth checking the axles, dogbones and drive pins are intact and correctly engaged. If a wheel is slipping on its axle for example, or if one axle is binding causing the diff to transmit power to the opposite side, the car would also behave in the manner you describe.

Installed some mouse drivers:

I don't own one myself (yet), but over the course of the last few weeks I have fitted a couple of budget GoolRC sensorless brushless combos to mates' cars. Given that the motor plus ESC costs less than what I usually spend on a motor alone, I wasn't expecting much, but I daresay I have been pleasantly surprised, both by the performance and apparent build quality. Since you don't need the smoothness of a sensored combo for bashing purposes, perhaps this would be the way forward for your Levant?

Chances are the car came with a TBLE-02 ESC which feeds the RX via a single 3- strand cable as is the modern norm. I agree that some pictures would help though. Hopefully one of us will be able to spot the issue, or at least confirm that the wiring is correct.

Futaba and Sanwa feature great build quality and plenty of features. Spektrum is up there in the feature department but generally not quite as solidly built, but the lower price reflects this. Flysky is cheap and this shows in the plasticky build quality, but again features-wise you are unlikely to find them wanting. Are there any features you are particularly interested in? Multi model memory is a common one - many manufacturers now make radios with this feature.

If brushless isn't an option, the only way I see to work around the tall rollout brought about by the big truck wheels is to go for a higher turn motor, or possibly one with a longer can and armature for more torque, if it can fit.

Bearings, a steel pinion, oil shocks, an alloy prop shaft and an alloy motor mount are all good basic items to add to a TT before contemplating any significant power upgrade if you want to keep the car reliable. Although they look plasticky, the stock dog bones, drive cups and axles are surprisingly resilient. I wouldn't worry about upgrading them until the originals wear out, which shouldn't be for a while yet. To make the most of your new motor, you might also want to run taller gearing. The "speed tuned" spur gear set is a good start. Perhaps also give some thought to tyres. The kit tyres are fine for trundling around on the stock motor, but you might find yourself running out of grip when things get quicker. Sorex 32Rs with yellow inserts are a good combo, and are also race legal should you want to visit an organised race event.

I did not know that. Why is it harmful?

Some ESCs have reverse polarity protection built in. If it is behaving normally, it is probably one such ESC. No need to bin it.

One can get used to anything with time. I started my RC career with planes, so sticks were what I got used to first. I used them with my planes and later with my cars for decades, but when I made the switch to 2.4GHz about 8 years ago I saw the way the surface market was going and made the switch to wheel. It took a while - several months at least - but now I am just as quick with either type.

Very unlikely. If the motor works one way, it ought to work the other way too. It is far more likey to be an ESC setup issue. When you say nothing is working, so you mean nothing resolves the issue, or the car doesn't run? And what exactly did you swap around?

Sounds like you have the throttle and the motor wires reversed. You should need the double pump to engage reverse after going forwards, not forwards after going in reverse.

In your situation I would strongly consider the Gmade. I have some of their upgrades on my CC-01 and I must say I am most impressed - the quality is flawless. I would imagine that a whole vehicle built to the same standard would be brilliant!

Those KD "whels" and tyres look to be the same Chinese ones imported and sold by CML Distribution under their Fastrax brand. The difference being that CML make no attempt to hide their cheap 'n cheerful nature, and price them accordingly. Most honest retailers will let you have a set of 4 for around £30, maybe less if you shop around.

On 1/10s, bicycle chain dry lube works well. I see no reason why a similar dry lube designed for motorcycles shouldn't work just as well on the bigger gears of a 1/5.

De-Solv-It is total overkill for that sort of clean-up. I use it to take fully painted shells back to bare plastic.

A fair point - if the shell you are working on is cheap and easily available, you might want to just get another shell rather than stripping it. However for rare and/or multiple shells, it makes a lot of sense. One can goes a long way - I have completely stripped 5 shells so far and my can is still more than half full.

It is very good at its job, so I would be hesitant to use it on overspray as it is all too easy to accidentally remove the good paint too. For overspray clean-up I prefer Tamiya polycarbonate cleaner and a cotton bud or similar small apparatus.

Most threadlocks either eat plastic or cause it to go brittle over time. You can get cyanoacrylate based threadlock that is safe on plastics, but this is basically expensive superglue, so I just use superglue. Works just as well!

When the company was founded, the two founders were associated with each other via a business arrangement, hence Associated Electronics.

Good choice. For running purposes you don't need to paint the shell - it comes up nice and glossy with a bit of polish. Keeping it paint- free also means that repairs are easier if it gets scratched.

Glad you got it sorted! Let us know if you have any more issues.

Did you get to the bottom of why the motor was shorting with the motor mount fitted? Were the motor bolts too long? Sorry to read that your ESC is still giving a continuous beeping. Does it do this with the stock motor fitted too, or just with the BZ?