ASK Cub Reporter- 01.12.2012- Look At The Letters The Cat Drug In

What Nitro Truggy?

Hey Cubby,
I’m looking to get into the race scene next year, and have recently sold off a few of my bash machines to finance a new vehicle. I know you guys aren’t about the nitro, and you’re all about bashing, but If you
were looking for a good 1/8 nitro truggy kit, what would you be looking at first. I’m really leaning towards an RC8T at the moment, and plan to build it up over the winter. Do some research on which motor might be best for me, servos, etc. Thanks for any advice you can offer. In Cubby I trust!
Vince M.

Cubby– Yo what’s up Vince? Thanks for the letter.

So you sold off some of your bashing machine to raise capital for a “racing machine”? I guess you are looking for a new challenge in the rc world, I hope your racing experience goes well (read- I hope the locals don’t run you off via cursing, throwing stuff, and generally being a-holes). Best of luck with that… LOL You say we “aren’t about nitro”, and while that’s possibly an accurate statement, we’d actually really like to love nitro. We love the smell and the noise of nitro, it’s just we refuse to put up with all the issues that current nitro tech brings to the table. Guys here still run the stuff, it’s just a pain.

I attempt to only give first hand advice, if I haven’t personally used a product I try not to recommend or to condemn it. I have run the Associated RC8 series before, and it is a good platform. They handle well with standard settings, they are fairly durable, and parts are fairly easy to get your hands on, basically everything you are looking for in a new racing machine. While the RC8 series might not be the best at any one thing, it’s a solid choice for a racing truggy. On the other hand, Bill “The Wrench Guy” and Craig “The Ramp Builder Guy” run Losi 8th scalers, and knowing both of those guys, they simply do not put up with platforms that break very much (especially Bill). If your local hobby shop stocks a lot more Horizon/Losi parts than AE, I’d transfer my vote over the Losi. If they stock more AE then go for the RC8T.

As far as engines go, they all might run “ok” for a while (some a VERY short while… LOL), but they’ll all be a PITA at some point, most sooner than later, so good luck. On one hand a poor running nitro engine is something everyone needs to experience, on the other I’ve been there done that, and don’t care to ever do it again. LOL

Help Wanted

Hey, I need some help choosing what esc I should upgrade my sidweinder sct to, the motor is good, so I’m keeping that, but I really want more power, that combo on 3s isn’t good enough, I want the esc to have at least 4s capability, and I do know that 4s is carzy in a 2wd vehicle, in this case, a 2wd lcg slash. So should I go with a mamba max pro, or a hobbywing ezrun or xerun combo. NOT HOBBYKING
Henry

Cubby– Henry, you are definitely a BigSquid kind of guy- a person that thinks 3S brushless in a 2wd SCT is simply not fast enough. You remind me of Craig “The Ramp Builder Guy”, and Brian “The Editor”, and Bill “The Wrench Guy”, and Jim, and Tim, and Adam, and well everybody here at BigSquid. LOL

Btw, you’ll want the Castle Max Pro. It’s good for up to 6S and has taken a lot of abuse in the hands of the BSRC Bash Crew. Oh and… if you should happen to burn it to the ground, they have some pretty awesome customer service over there.

The main thing I want you and everybody else reading this to know is- when you go up to those higher cell counts you really need to gear down. If you pop 4S (or higher) into a low-center-of-gravity 2wd Slash (or pretty much any truck/buggy/car for that matter) you’ll want to run the smallest pinion and largest spur gear that you can mount up. Unless you are simply making one pass drag runs, lower gearing will help keep your motor temps down, meaning more fun for longer periods. The worst thing you can do for motor life is to retain stock gearing after upping the cell count, so be smart with your gearing as the voltage rockets skywards.

And… even with lower gearing you’ll still want to keep an eye on motor temps. Buy a temp gauge and use it. 140 degrees F and below is where you want to be, you may have to limit your run times not to go over that temp on higher cell counts.

Quick Question

I am building a Wraith Kit, and have loved your site for a while now! I love how you guys write the review in plain language and hold nothing back, and even give some damn fine tips as to how something can be made better, even if you’re not a fab master. I was really wanting to ask if there is anyway I can get some stickers for the body on my Wraith, as it will be a custom job?
Hunter Y.

Cubby- Thanks for the props Hunter, and congrats, you made the front page.

First off- next Tuesday we’ll be publishing our most brutal review EVER from a truck we just got done testing. I won’t mention the name of the truck yet, but it scored lower, in fact much lower, than anything we’ve ever tested before. Absolutely brutal review, but a must read for anybody looking at buying a new truck in the next few weeks/months.

Secondly- Early on Brian insisted that we write everything in a very basic form- use common language, don’t dive too far into the tech aspects of the hobby, etc. While some of the writers here wanted to up the tech factor, I was, I mean, those people were shot down. BSRC isn’t heavily edited, nor is it heavy on tech, it’s purposely written like our readers could have written it. The BigSquidRC Bash Crew isn’t a bunch of high zoot suit types, we are a bunch of guys that love to destroy toy trucks, nothing more, nothing less, and we want our reviews to come across that way.

Lastly (and to finally answer your question)- Where do you get those mega-uber BSRC stickers at? From right HERE. Wanna show everybody at your local bash spot you are wayyyy harder core than they are? Yup, just show up with BigSquid stickers on your truck. 🙂

That’s it ya bunch of freaks. Shoot me your letters and questions and what not to
Cubby at BigSquidRC dot com!

YOUR Cub Reporter