ASK Cub Reporter, 06.06.2013, Version- Quenching Your Thirst For Answers With Shady Rhetoric

I Have a stock brushless 2wd Slash and want to upgrade to Anza LCG or Proline LCG chassis but keep everything else stock. I bash w/ some backyard racing. Which would you recommend?

I’ve looked closely at both BSRC reviews but Proline review was w/ completely upgraded parts & Anza was stock. I know proline is a sponsor and don’t want to create problems so will not post response. Any help you can give is much appreciated. Keep up the good work. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jerry H.

Cubby– Congrats Jerry, I proclaim your email as the “letter of the month”. Shoot Brian your snail mail (don’t forget your shirt size) so we can ship you out a new BSRC t-shirt.

Actually, both Pro-Line and Anza (Firelands/HobbyTown USA) are advertisers with us. Thankfully both “get it” and know we don’t hold punches for advertisers. If I said one or the other totally sucked I’m quite confident neither company would freak over it. They advertise with us because of who we are, because we aren’t afraid to say what needs to be said.

To get to your actual question- I’ve driven both chassis kits on Slashes that were bone stock. But… I’ve never driven them back-to-back.

Due to the fact we haven’t driven them back-to-back with stock running gear I can’t give you a real world, definitive answer on this one. Both kits improve cornering, both are well made, and both take a pretty serious beating in the field. It would really take a shootout to give you a proper first hand answer and I don’t see that happening any time soon.

However… if it was up to me (and cash out of my own pocket), I’d go with the Pro-Line. IMO it’s slightly more sano, slightly easier to install, and replacement parts can be found easier (Pro-line parts can be had by most any hobby shop in the country, where as Anza parts are a HobbyTown USA exclusive). But, and there is always a but, if you have a HobbyTown USA close to you and you like the look and/or price of the Anza, it is a quality unit, don’t hesitate to bust out the cash. To boil it down, both are very good, you won’t be disappointed with either.

Hi, so I put sand tires on my blitz and after the first time I drove it, the spur gear got destroyed, I mean, all the teeth got destroyed, the center of it got all messed up, and the slipper pads look like they melted.

It is all stock except for a strc motor plate, a sidewinder 3 system, 3s lipo, and aluminum rear shocks. Are there some upgrades, and techniques you guys know so that doesn’t happen every time I drive it in the sand. I really want to turn my blitz into a really high performance sand machine, that is very reliable.
thanks,
James D.

Cubby– Hey ya James, thanks for the email. Shoot Brian your info (Brian at BigSquidRC.com) so he can send you a BSRC sticker pack for your Blitz.

Ok, James, there are two things you can do here.
1. Extensively mod your Blitz by “bomb proofing” your entire drive-train.
2. Take some time and carefully set your slipper.

Route #1 is expensive and can take some serious wrench time, but in the end you should be able to drive your Blitz like it owes you money without any issues.

Route #2 just takes time.
At one time a slipper was used as a type of traction control coming out of slick corners on a track. Now days, under huge Lipo power, it’s used more like a shock absorber for your vehicles drive-train. But the problem is- setting a slipper on 2S is a snap, setting it for 3S is harder, and setting it for 3S on a high grip surface (like sand) can be a real challenge.

From your email it sounds like you initially had your slipper set too loose, therefore it got hotter than the core of the sun and melted down, eventually locking up completely. After it melted, becoming one mass of semi-molten goo, you ended up blowing out your spur gear because the slipper was no longer working.

My recommendation to you is to go the cheap way first. Put in the time to properly set your slipper for your power and traction level.
Here is the process-
1. Pound the gas from a dead stop. If it slips it’s too loose. Keep tightening until it doesn’t slip from a dead stop. If it slips from a dead stop it will get too hot under hard driving conditions.

2. Bust out a temp gauge. Seriously, trust me on this one, do not be tempted to use your fingers. Drive your Blitz hard for one minute (no more) then pull it in and check the temp of the slipper. If the temp is above 140 F, tightening it up a bit. If the slipper is ambient temp, it’s not working at all so loosen it up slightly. Keep driving for short 1 minute stints until you find the setting where it’s not getting too hot, yet is still actually working.

3. If you have to error, error on the side of the slipper being slightly too tight.

4. You’ll need to re-adjust your slipper for different traction and power levels. Time consuming yes, but just the way it is.

Have fun, go fast, and hook us up with some sweet 30 foot rooster shots of your Blitz when you get it dialed.

That’s it for this week ya freaks. Shoot your questions, manifesto’s, and rants to Cubby at BigSquidRC.com. If your email makes the big-time you’ll get a free sticker pack, if I proclaim yours as “letter of the month” we’ll hook ya up with a brand spank’n new BSRC t-shirt (even in your size!).
YOUR Cub Reporter