got a new e-maxx brushless, any parts need to be replaced right away??

[meljones777]

just got one recently. i do light bash only, no racing. just wondering if there is anything i should replace with rpm products right away before i start breaking parts?

thanks.

[makaveli72]

IMHO, no part needs to be replaced out-the-box. Replace/Upgrade as you bash and break is my motto. Since i've had my EMBE the only major breakage i've had was a twisted rear driveshaft. I replaced those...I did get the Traxxas CVDs but i've yet to open the box to upgrade them. The stocks are holding up to the 6S power...for now!

I had the Rustler XL-5 once, upgraded to the MM7700 system. I could understand peeps babbling about upgrading that truck with RPM parts etc. to make it stronger and such, but the Maxx is much better out-the-box.

Edit: With that said I don't "race" either, nor do I bash like a maniac. But I do bash.

[Randopolis]

IMHO based on my experience only, I say get the RPM suspension arms in the front, True Track suspension for the rear, and quality aluminum bulheads.. particularly the front ones. Stay away from the RPM shock towers because they flex and cause the truck not to handle as well under brushless power. Oh yeah... I recommend getting front, center, and rear RPM skid plates also.

I only run on 4s so shafts have not been a problem... but I did upgrade to CVD shafts down the center.

Have fun!

P.S. I bash pretty hard though... run it up the side of trees and such. hehe

[meljones777]

thanks a lot for both of you for ur inputs! i think i will just start playing it and see how it goes first, if something breaks, then i will replace it with alternatives. the RTR package itself was already expensive, i dont feel like throwing in another $100-200 right now...

[orion]

I'm like makaveli72, I don't generally replace parts unless they break or I find them very poor quality.


However, I will recommend you get some RPM wear plates. The front and rear wear plates sit on top of your stock skid plates, and the middle one replaces your middle skid plate and closes up the middle to rear between the chassis braces.

They're well worth the investment.

http://www.rpmrcproducts.com/product...Pts3.htm#skids

Look for "T/E-Maxx Three Piece Skid Plate Set - Black" or "T/E-Maxx Three Piece Skid Plate Set - Blue", those sets include all three pieces.

[Jay 313]

Does this skid plate cover the entire drive shaft?

If I'm not mistaken, on a stock Maxx, there areas of the driveshaft that are exposed, which I think is ridiculous. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[DONMAXX]

It has never created a problem for me. The RPM skids cover the back section, which I believe is the more susceptible to damage.

[meljones777]

so should i get the rpm skid plates or not?

[DONMAXX]

I have them on my emaxx and they have saved a lot of wear on the traxxas skids. Before I put on the RPM skids i replaced my front traxxas skid plate like three times, and I have not had any problems since installing the RPM skids

[orion]

Does this skid plate cover the entire drive shaft?

This is how it is stock, just uh, dyed red.


Edit: And here's the underside with the RPM plates installed. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the RPM plates, especially the center near the rear and rear plates really are soaking up a lot of scratches and punishment saving the stock plate. The front RPM plate, its lip anyway, has taken the brunt of many nose dives into dirt and gravel.

I'd still have the stock front plate, but a hunk of ice, high speed and an inadvertent maneuver changed that.





When you install the RPM wear plates, you remove the center skid. The RPM center skid covers from the front of the tranny all the way to the rear skid plate. It effectively seals in middle to rear.

The front bit is still exposed, where you see the forward drive shaft, but that's only an issue if you drive in reverse more than forward.

[DONMAXX]

I like the dye man, it definitely gives it a unique custom look. You just dyed the gray stock plastic? Probably took some pretty strong dye and long soak time. I have been dying some white RPM parts but have not tried the traxxas gray parts.

[Jay 313]

Thanks for the pics, orion. I would definitely get that.

[orion]

DONMAXX: Yup, I completely disassembled my E-Maxx and I took every stock part that was gray plastic and dyed it. Being that I started with gray and used normal red dye, instead of getting bright red I got maroon. I've seen people do blue dye jobs and those come out really nice too. Black also comes out well too.

Here's the before and after. If you notice in the after, I threw in my broken rear bumper for the heck of it. It came out some weird metallic orange. I'm not sure what the brushless E-Maxx bumper would look like though, it's a black chrome whereas mine was a matte silver.



I was worried about it being too much maroon at first, but once I got the RPM wear plates on, which were black, it really broke it up and it looks nice I think.



But yeah, the RPM wear plates are definitely worth it. They save your chassis braces from abrasion, they help prevent things from jamming up the rear center drive shaft and they're extra insurance for your skid plates by taking the brunt of forces and taking up all the abrasion.

It also seems like they help give the bulkheads a more solid foundation and it holds them in place better, but that's just me speculating.



The only thing that bums me out is that the center RPM wear plate is only compatible with the stock chassis braces. Anything that deviates from the same curves and angles means you can't use it anymore.

There are ways around it though.

http://monster.traxxas.com/showpost....&postcount=851

[Jay 313]

LOL did you dye your wheel wrench, too?

[orion]

I was too chicken to dunk the parts in first, never did this before after all. So the two wrenches were the guinea pigs.

But hey, they're pretty cool looking wrenches now I must admit.


I was actually disappointed the 17mm splined wrench is black, I was hoping to dye it red too.

[Jay 313]

That's actually a really good idea. Better than tossing your entire chassis in there and end up hating it.

[orion]

Exactly. I did it to get my timing down on how long the parts should stay in as well. I would take the wrench out every few minutes to see how far along it is and to see if there was anything wrong.


I had black dye on hand if I totally fudged up the red. Could coverup any mistakes made and claim I was going for a Black-Maxx.