ASK Cub Reporter, 05.12.2011- The Questions Pour In, Wisdom Pours Out

I got $500 from my Uncle as a graduation present and I am thinking about spending it on a RedCat Avalanche XP. What have you heard about that truck?
Kevin C.
Fort Worth, Texas

Cubby– I think you are crazy if you spend five large of grad money on a Redcat, or any brand of car for that matter. First off- it’s a graduation present, something you are gonna wanna keep forever (read- you are never gonna sell it). Secondly- a car (unless it is a shelf queen) will get beat up and look (and drive) like death in less than a couple years.

So… with those two things in mind, I’m gonna recommend you pop that $500 on something that is not only an awesome present, but something that won’t be getting all torn up. I’d pop that money on an uber transmitter. Which transmitter? The Futaba 4PKS. Why the 4PKS? Because it’s the best. Period. It’s got the best range, the most options, and feels ridiculously good in-hand. Better still, it’ll still be uber 5 years from now, and everybody at your local bash spot will give you crap because it’s so cool. So buy it and send me a thank you card when you realize I am right on this one.

You’re welcome.

Cubby I hope you answer this letter becuase I need help. I have a Slash 4×4 2.4 and the steering keeps reversing itself. I swear I turn of fthe truck and the next time I turn it on the steering is reversed. I have two questions. IS this normal and how do I fix it?

Jeremy F.

Cubby– What’s up Jeremy? Thanks for the email.

I didn’t run this question past our buddy Peter V over at Traxxas, which I should have done because I’m certain he would have a proper explanation about why your servo is getting reversed. Instead, I’m gonna answer it from the first hand experience we’d had with this issue around the office.

Is it normal for your servo to mysterious reverse itself after you run? No, it’s not normal. But… we’ve had two Traxxas TQ 2.4 Ghz Link trucks here at the office suffer from this problem, but we’ve got 4 more that never had an issue. Btw, this issue has nothing to do with the servo, it has to do with the TRX 2.4 Ghz Link transmitter. There is another version of the TRX 2.4, one with a manual switch to reverse the steering, but I’ve never noticed any issues with those. Sounds like your Slash 4×4 came with a Link version.

How do you fix this problem? You’ll need to look at the programming menu for the TRX 2.4 Link transmitter and reverse the steering direction. If you don’t dig the fact that you might occasionally have to do this, contact Traxxas customer service and tell them about your issue. Traxxas has some of the best customer service in the industry, I’m quite certain they’ll make sure you are a happy camper.

Hello Cubby,

My latest car is a B4 and I’ve found it doesn’t have enough ground clearance. I want to know how performance will be affected if I put on larger tires.

Mike

Cubby– Yo MTV raps what’s up Mike?

Oh boy are you in luck. Slapping on bigger tires is going to be easy on your B4, simply put Associated T4 front and rears on it.

So how will this affect performance? You are in luck again! Associated makes larger spur gears intended for the T4 that will fit right on your B4 to compensate for the larger diameter tires. You see- when you pop on the bigger tires it not only gives you more ground clearance, but it works your entire power system much harder. The larger diameter tires drastically change your gear ratio, plus they are heavier than the smaller buggy tires. So you’ll want to install a larger spur gear and a smaller pinion to ensure you don’t overheat your motor/speedo/battery. Once geared properly you can enjoy the added ground clearance to get over obstacles and the larger tire diameter that will roll over bumps better.

That’s it for this week folks, submit your questions, rants, raves, waterboarding stories, etc to Cubby at BigSquidRC dot com!

YOUR Cub Reporter