Does anybody race the rustler offroad?

[mule321]

I just left my lhs and I didn't see any rustys. Their were 73 people signed up to race. Maybe I overlooked one but I didn't see any in the 1st races. Didn't see any in the pits either. I don't have any doubt that a rustler could contend I just wonder why their weren't any there. Do you guys race offroad? I've got a rustler that im upgrading to race there. Any suggestions? When I do race it I wont to represent a strong rusty. Thanks

[upbasher]

There are lots of guys that race rustlers and supposedly they are awesome on the track.
I know they totally shred when you're bashing!

[O.G.]

The Rustler has a hard time competing with the XXX and Associated trucks. They're much better at bashing than racing.

[winstonperil]

I've seen a couple of guys at the track running rustys that are competitive. You have to be a better driver, but it could happen. My experience is that once guys get that good and experienced, they switch to the equipment with more of a racing pedigree.

[mule321]

What equipment are you talking about?

[harry697]

I used to race a Traxxas SRT a few years ago. It was a very nice truck and much more capable than a Rustler on a track. But it was still a fairly dated design compared to the T4, XXX-T, RT5 and all the other brands. I could drive it pretty good compared to a lot of the guys with newer trucks, but was still limited. I could pretty much always make the a-main and finish in the top 5, but it took a T4 before I could win a championship.




Here's an old grainy video. The truck would definitely hold it's own against all the Losi and AE trucks, but it surely took more effort.





And here's another SRT I built back in 2010. Raced it a couple times and won the a-main every time I took it out.








My advice would be, if you want to race competitively with a Traxxas stadium truck, find yourself an SRT instead of bothering with the Rustler. It's way better equipped right from the start.

[mule321]

Man! That's what I call a response. Thanks alot. I'll check into it. I really appreciate the advice. I'm still gonna put the rustler on the track and try to drive the wheels off but my next purchase will be one of those trucks.

[rjm2519]

Better start looking now, they aren't easy to come by. You may also want to check out Jang's ultimate rustler, he did a purpose built racer. Lots of work and time put into it.

I have run against a couple losi buggys at a local track just having fun, and they beat the pants off my vxl with their brushed buggys. It wasn't that they were faster they just had better control and weight distribution so instead of plowing through corners and fighting a losing battle with grip on the rear, they were in and out of turns like they were on rails.

[O.G.]

Harry, that's a sweet track!!

[Emaxx2.0]

The Rustler is dated and lacks the setting you would like to change on a race truck. You can win with a Rustler but it's like actually takes work to drive fast. Trucks like the T4 RT5 22t makes it easy to go fast and control. With my T4 it's like a nimble jet fighter compare to the Rustler which is like a bomber. I can undercut the tight corner so easily without braking where as the rustler i had to brake and cut the steering to make the tight turn. Good thing about the Rustler is if you do catch up to the the other trucks you can easily snowplow right through them.

[-Hawk-]

That was a great track and vid! Thanks for sharing!

[mule321]

I found a team associated T4 online. Factory team. About $250. Ready to run out of the box. Is this the car you're talking about?

[rexvillerustler]

just going by the picture, that SRT looked just like a rustler VXL with a different chassis

[DeanSky]

How about a LCG Slash (i.e. a Rusty with the STRC LCG kit)?

[harry697]

just going by the picture, that SRT looked just like a rustler VXL with a different chassis

Sorta, but not really. The suspension is all the same as the Nitro Rustler. Rear arms have toe-in, front spindles with bearings in the wheels, trans has an aluminum motor plate and guard, replaceable rear arm mount for toe and squat adjustments, fiberglass chassis and towers, big bores standard, ball diff,etc. Same basic design, but much more race-oriented.

[harry697]

I found a team associated T4 online. Factory team. About $250. Ready to run out of the box. Is this the car you're talking about?

The Factory Team version is a kit and isn't RTR out of the box. They also offer a RTR version, but it's not the Factory Team. Both of them are right around the $250 mark.

[AZ Racer X]

How about a LCG Slash (i.e. a Rusty with the STRC LCG kit)?

This would probably be your best competitive option while sticking with Traxxas name. Puts you on par with all the other big names in SCT class.

Great handling truck.

[harry697]

This would probably be your best competitive option while sticking with Traxxas name. Puts you on par with all the other big names in SCT class.

Great handling truck.

Keep in mind that it's for 2wd stadium class. Not exactly sure the limits, but that may very well make the truck too long. Some tracks they may not care, but considering they're running a 13.5 class, chances are they follow ROAR rules to some extent. And for a Rustler, the LCG kit won't actually lower the CG at all, just make the wheelbase longer.

[rexvillerustler]

somebody oughta make a list of parts to convert to a SRT, sounds like it wouldn't be very far of a conversion

[AZ Racer X]

I haven't seen him post on here in awhile but Mr.Wolf pretty successfully races Rustler and LCG Rustler at his local race track with his son. And he uses the SRT front shock tower I believe on both with some other tuning but they seem to be very competitive. It is definitely 70% driver when it comes to racing imo.

[Emaxx2.0]

somebody oughta make a list of parts to convert to a SRT, sounds like it wouldn't be very far of a conversion

If only you can easily get the chassis, top deck, towers and transmission from the SRT. The truck was really ahead of its time and my all time favorite. What sad is that transmission should be standard in all 2wd Vxl models

[rexvillerustler]

i know, traxxas needs to wake up and engineer another racing truck, seeing the techology we/they have today, it could kick some serious tail!

[harry697]

If only you can easily get the chassis, top deck, towers and transmission from the SRT. The truck was really ahead of its time and my all time favorite. What sad is that transmission should be standard in all 2wd Vxl models

I tend to make my own chassis and towers. They're easy enough to reproduce on a sheet of .093 and/or .125 g-10. The hard parts to get are the battery boxes and motor plate and guard. The trans cases and rear bulkhead are getting a little harde to find,but not too bad yet.

[Emaxx2.0]

Harry. You are lucky to own a SRT. My favorite vintage RC car of all time. It has that awesome vintage look but still very modern to keep up with todays electronics and competition.

[rustlerMLB]

judging by the pictures it looks like the same thing i dont see why people are saying theres a big difference

[tyrustler99]

I drive my rustler at my track. I have only.been there like twice and I didn't even have any dirt tires but I'm going tomorrow and I finally have some dirt tires! I'll post as soon as I drive the thing around the track.

[tyrustler99]

Also I think that 4wd cars perform a little (ok maybe a lot) better than 2wd and so I'm guessing since that's a lot of people going there, they probally want to bring good 4wd cars at the track so that they can look like better drivers and show off in front of the're buddies

[Emaxx2.0]

judging by the pictures it looks like the same thing i dont see why people are saying theres a big difference

The SRT and Rustler have nothing in common. The SRT is a more superior truck and probably even more durable then the Rustler (thicker components in the front and far better transmission). I can honestly say the SRT is the best rc truck ever made.

[harry697]

judging by the pictures it looks like the same thing i dont see why people are saying theres a big difference

If you mean the Rustler and SRT, you should probably invest in a new computer monitor.

[SRTracer121]

indeed.

on oval which is what i race, the rustler and slash are great! but then again a lot of guys still race rc10's as well so what does that tell you. the srt and rustler have some basic design flaws with the geometry for (biggest one are the lower arm spacing is too wide and the gearbox IR is too tall for modern BL/lipo) but the srt is much better of the 2 because you have that adjustability and the small little features that just make things easier.

i know this is a bit taboo to say on the trx forums but the t4.1 and other racing oriented cars are that much better. but if you know your stuff, you know how to setup a car and pick tires, and you can drive ok then there is no reason you cant run right there at the front.

one of the local offroad racers, felix "china monkey", runs traxxas stuff and does very very good at the club and state level but there again he can make a brick get around the track better than most of us.

if traxxas made a 2wd buggy, st, and sc to race they would really hit the mark with the core rc'ers

[Desert JATO]

Harry... that's really fun and enjoyment video .
i wish if there's like this here so the kids would have great time .

Thanks for sharing

[harry697]

Just wish I had more recent vids. I have a couple qualifiers from the same day as the above vid, but that was back in 2008 or 2009. Been so long I don't even remember.