EMBUE - E-Maxx Brushless Ultimate Edition FLM/RPM build

[petraeus]

Yet another post of an E-Maxx Brushless Edition 3908 upgrade.

I will name it EMBUE (E-Maxx Brushless Ultimate Edition)

But please let me start with this write up:

I absolutely love the E-Maxx Brushless Edition - I think those who like this truck, does because of its character:

It's:
A real monster truck, Fun, Fast, Brutal, Good Looking, Good for general bashing, Farily good handling and a lot better than you read.

But:
It's not build like a tank, Not made for stupid high jumps with back- and frontflips, Not for racing, and it's not as bad that some people claim.

It's one heck of a brutal, powerful, fun and good looking monster truck - in my opinion the best looking available. And it actually handles somehow well out of the box, although traction rolling is a known issue - but it's really not awfully bad.
It's really fun on gravel, grass, and general off-road bashing, but it's not meant for racing on a track, although it could be used for it, if driven correctly.
It's not the best jumper either, and seems to have a struggle keeping level when jumping, but proper use of in air throttle/brake adjustment makes up for this.
Because of design, it also bottoms out fairly easy when landing high jumps
Since everything but the ESC is waterproof, it's easy by use of CorrosionX to make it 100%
waterproof if needed.
When you look at it and drive it, it looks bad and strong, and just asks for fun and trouble, which
leads to the downside to the E-Maxx Brushless Edition - durability.
I knew this before I ordered, so right away with my order I had it full RPM upgraded:
Front A-Arms, True Track Rear A-Arms, Axle Carriers, Skid/Wear Plates, Shock Towers, Bulkhead
braces, Front/Rear Bumper - the RPM works!
On my very first drive, RPM shock towers was not yet mounted (backorder) and when trying just a
small 3 feet jump that didn't land well, rear Shock Tower broke and 2 shock shafts bend!
Some weeks later I hit a light pole with it at full speed (I know, bad driving). It was the exactly
same light pole I one month earlier had hit with my Slash 4x4 at same speed (I, know - I, Know). At
that time, damage to the Slash 4x4 was - nothing, zero, nada.
With the heavy E-Maxx, it was a different story. Front and Rear bulkhead, Chassis, Chassis Braces,
Servo Saver and Suspension Pins literarily splintered. And all 4 front shock shafts bent to. I
fixed her up like new - but from then, I was always a little bit more careful when driving it.
Since then, I've actually only broke 1 more rear bulkhead, in my own stupidity driving it over steep hill to fast, which let it fly over to the other side, where it landed 15 feet down. That was an
awesome sight when it landed. It actually broke in 2 halves. But amazingly, only the rear bulkhead
broke, and 1 shock shaft bend.
I've never experienced any problems with the diffs what so ever. I mostly run 4s Lipo though, and
rarely on 5s lipo.
I've read so many posts, how fragile and bad (not good) the E-Maxx Brushless Edition is. I simply
don't agree after owning and driving it for 8 months. Seems like some people tends to abuse these RC cars way too much.
For sure, the E-Maxx will not hold to up to same kind of abuse as a ThunderTiger or even the Savage
Flux as seen of YouTube vids. But even the (characterless) ThunderTiger breaks when it gets pushed too hard. I know - I've got one

But now, that's up for a change..

I just recently received:

FLM10900 Chassis
FLM18750 Rear Ultimate Bulkhead Combo
FLM17750 Front Ultimate Bulkhead Combo
FLM16010 Transmission Skid Plate
FLM19000 Shock Towers
FLM15500 Rear Skid Plate
FLM15600 Front Skid Plate

Now I just need the time to put it all together...

Costs (approx) so far:

[bentrocker]

Cool name nice to see another flm build. You won't be disappointed.

[upbasher]

Wow nice writeup!

[MAXXXMASHER]

Your truck should be bulletproof with your new upgrades! But this list with prices is not good! I have almost all the same stuff! What if my wife stumbles across this!?!

[Captain_Rusty]

^^^LOL.
Listing prices is a dangerous game haha. I'm pretty sure I'd be on the couch for a very long time if the wife knew how much was actually spent on my RC stuff in comparison what ive told her about haha. Hiding the truth is practically as much a part of the hobby as driving the trucks are LOL!
Awesome write up though, looking forward to see the final product.

[upbasher]

^^^LOL.
Listing prices is a dangerous game haha. I'm pretty sure I'd be on the couch for a very long time if the wife knew how much was actually spent on my RC stuff in comparison what ive told her about haha. Hiding the truth is practically as much a part of the hobby as driving the trucks are LOL!
Awesome write up though, looking forward to see the final product.

What if your wife sees this THREAD ITSELF AND YOUR POST?

[GaiginRC]

Sounds like a beast in the making. The wife won't let me blow the entire tax return on that much RC goodness but I did sneak in a $175 worth of upgrades last night. Oh those charges? That's for the "kid's" E-Maxx.

[lbourgoin4]

Cool name nice to see another flm build.

[petraeus]

And so I've started.

FLM didn't provide any instruction at all - no surprise. All in all everything looks to be excellent quality.

First I mounted the chassis braces, and then took the 1/8 Castor diffs apart and replaced the drivecups with the stub axles. The diffs used 3 paper gasket, I left only one to minimize slop.
I then filled the diffs with silicone oil: Front 5K, Rear 3K.

Then shimmed the diff to the bulkhead - the included shim was surely not enough, and I used an additinal 7-8 more 86598 HPI RACING WASHER 13X16X0.2m in each diff. Just for fun I tried to fit a HPI Vorza Diff - it was a direct fit - not even 1 shim was needed. But with a 4.30:1 gear ratio it just wouldn't work well.

With diffs installed in bulkheads the first problem showed up. Stock 5451X Traxxas Drive Shafts would not fit to the diffs stub axles. This is caused by the fact that the Castor diff is actually a bit smaller than it should be for the FLM Hybrid Bulk and then the stub shafts sit to far into the bulkhead.
Since FLM had promised to include longer stub axles to all new shipments, I believed that I already got the longer stubs - but apperently I didn't. So I contacted FLM and they quickly responded and told they would ship 2 sets of the "Longer Stub Shafts".

Feeling a little impatient. I tried sanding the Traxxas Drive Shafts a little - then suddenly one side with
fewest shims could fit. The other side with more shims needed a good sanding, and then they would fit too. But it's a really tight fit, although I thing it'll work out fine.

The front RPM arms was a direct fit on the bulkhead but the upperarms rear part needed some sanding not to touch chassis
The rear RPM truetracks needed some light dremmelwork to fit the bulkheads.
For hingepins I used 3.1 mm Injector Pins - I just left the pinhead on for easier removal. They were secured by the grub screw in the bulkheads.

With FLM shocktowers installed, I had a small problem lining the E-Maxx body up with the body posts.
Apperently the stock Traxxas body posts are a little bend in one direction, and all I needed was to turn them in the right direction - then it was a perfect fit.

[bentrocker]

Looking good, Have you thought about going to a single servo and upgrading your shock springs?
My servo didn't last long after I went to the new chassis. I upgraded to a Hitec 7955 awesome sevo. I found my bigbores started to bottom out more too stiffer springs should help as well as some thicker shock oil.
I you are going to do any jumping you are going to end up bending those skidplates. I cut off the end that bends back to the bulkheads. Then I bought t-bone racing bumpers front and rear they instal over the alum skids. So i still have the strength of the skids and some really cool bumpers.

[petraeus]

Thanks for advice.
Time will tell if the servos hold up - I actually like the double servo setup :-)
If I upgrade I will use a Savöx SC-1256TG.
So far I've just added 8x5x2.5 bearings to the non servo saver side
And even if the BigBores (65wt and using stock springs) are brand new and never used, I've already decided to order 8x UE Supershocks.Seems like the right choice to me.

[Popoxx]

This FLM/RPM build is a classic now Nice job ! How are you going to install the lipo packs ?

[petraeus]

This FLM/RPM build is a classic now Nice job ! How are you going to install the lipo packs ?

Thanks to you :-)
Duct tape perhaps :-)..... How much did you pay for your RCM custom trays ?

I just kinda regret buying the "FLM Ultimate Hybrid Bulks" - should just have bought the "FLM Hybrid Bulks" and then the HPI Trophy Buggy Diffs (HBC8084-1 - Front - Rear Differential Hardened) they are easy to get hold of lots of places in EU.
And for stub axles - modified Traxxas Stub Axle Steel Revo (2) TRA5454 - easy mod, just cut threaded part off.
The FLM provided Caster Diffs and Stub Axles are not a nice fit..

[bentrocker]

You can purchase a set of battery trays and straps from tekno They are holding up great in mine.

[Captain_Rusty]

What if your wife sees this THREAD ITSELF AND YOUR POST?

She doesn't know who I am on here, it's a safe zone LOL.

[petraeus]

Looking good, Have you thought about going to a single servo and upgrading your shock springs?
My servo didn't last long after I went to the new chassis. I upgraded to a Hitec 7955 awesome servo.

Having second thoughts about the servo - after all this is an EMBUE, right.

See this chart

Is it just to install a single servo and then remove the linkage to the former second servo?
No BEC needed?

[petraeus]

Would this One be overkill?
Seems like a monster..

Savox SA1283SG

Dimensions(mm):* 40.8x20.2x37.4
Weight(g):* 80.0
Speed(@4.8V sec/60):* .16
Torque(@4.8V oz-in):* 347.2
Speed(@6.0V sec/60):* .13
Torque(@6.0V oz-in):* 416.6
Gear:* Unique Steel
Bearing:* 2BB
Case:* Full Aluminum
25 Tooth spline

[bentrocker]

That is a badboy servo there. I don't think it is overkill . If you do go with a servo in that range a BEC is a must. Also with the bec you could bump that servo up 6.0v and see its full potential. I run my servo at 7.0v.
The reason I say it is a must ,when my buddy did his erevo conversion he was having glitching issues. Had good lipos and a Futaba 3pk I belive. Castle tech said running the mamaba monster and the hi torque servo, they recomend a BEC. It did solve the glitching issue. I run a BEC on most rc's I have.

[petraeus]

Any recommended BEC - I have no experience what so ever at this!

[bentrocker]

I use a castle bec.

Castle Creations 10 Amp Adjustable BEC
[CSE010-0004-00]

Specifications:
Current Output: Peak: 10 amps
Continuous: 12V input = 7 amps / 24V input = 5 amps*
Output Voltage: 5.1V - User may set output voltage from 4.8 to 9 using the Castle Link (sold separately).
Input Voltage: 5v to 25.2v (2S to 6S LiPo)
Length: 1.2” (30mm)
Width: 0.6” (15mm)
Height: 0.4” (10mm)
Weight: 0.4 oz (11 grams)

[Popoxx]

How much did you pay for your RCM custom trays ?

$45 each case (total $90), I've never regretted the purchase
My lipo packs are well secured and I my single strap system is great.

Cheaper solutions are available of course :

TCM trays. Look at beaufort12 build thread.

X-Pro trays. Look at sevenie build thread.

Novak trays. I used them : build thread.

KD trays (the last one). Look at scotthw build thread.

And Tekno RC trays as bentrocker said.

[MAXXXMASHER]

I used pieces of carbon fiber to cover the chassis grooves where the batteries sit, and have Velcro straps crisscrossed over the batteries. Holding up well. I went the single servo route and am using a Hobbico 333 oz. Titanium Servo with an aluminum dual screw arm. No such thing as overkill when it comes to servo strength. I found the spot where the second servo should sit is a perfect place for an Axial receiver box. The holes line up perfectly.....Truck looks great! (Exactly like mine)

[A468BU]

In the New Castle link I see a Setting for a BEC, would i still have to install a external one?

[bentrocker]

In the New Castle link I see a Setting for a BEC, would i still have to install a external one?

Send castle an e-mail and see what they have to say about the new ones. I like using an external BEC because it is easier on the esc.

[Captain_Rusty]

I believe that bec setting is for the internal bec of the MM.

[pinit96]

kick butt man

[petraeus]

I've ordered the Savöx SA-1283SG - hopefully it'll be good. And I've ordered the Castle Creations CC BEC 10A.

Then I also tried ordering 2 sets UE Supershocks - but so far UE are not accepting Visa cards outside US - I'm in contact with Robin about this, but awaiting his answer. Also they do not accept PayPal.

And since my wife only search shoes and clothes online, and have no interest in my hobby what so ever....

Build list now looks this:

[bentrocker]

You could try cvds and losi 8ight shocks.

[petraeus]

Hmm - image problems - here's the build list:

[petraeus]

Robin @ Unlimited Engineering got back to me, explained no PayPal and foreign credit cards was accepted, but he would accept Western Union for payment to the UE Supershocks......
A lot of scammers are using Western Union - are UE and this Robin reliable? Feel a little stupid asking this, but I'm just being precautious.....

[A468BU]

He is very reliable

[Popoxx]

^^ yes don't worry. I used Western Union as well with Robin, no problem.

[petraeus]

Thanks - nice to know. Order placed and money wired. No just waiting time - again. Waited 2 months for FLM parts. Savox Servo arrives tomorrow, Friday.

[bazookamaxx]

robin wont email you its shipped or confirm anything, but it always shows up pretty much normal shipping time

[petraeus]

robin wont email you its shipped or confirm anything, but it always shows up pretty much normal shipping time

Hopefully - he seems like a nice guy, a bit to the, ehm, quiet side

[bazookamaxx]

yeah he's umm eccentric sha'll we say ?

[electronorth]

Nice setup, what do you think of the other flm chassis with the lower battery compartments, I am torn on which one to buy

[petraeus]

I have no experience with the FLM LCG Chassis (don't think that many are using it). But personally I don't like the looks of it.
I think most are using the standard FLM10900
Beleive it or not - I might mount my batteries in trays - beneath the chassis!
I nearly never run any of my RC cars in rocky conditions anyway.

[lbourgoin4]

Wow nice writeup

[electronorth]

Where can a guy get these trays