Off-Road Setup

[akapants]

Hey guys, so I have had my Rustler VXL setup for the street. I want to set it up for dirt and off-road bashing in the desert by my house. I want to know things that are smart to do to the Rusty to make it perform better in the desert. What shock oil do you recommend using? Right now I have tubes of 45wt and 40wt. If I need to buy another wt then that is cool. I run 3s lipo. So what gearing? What tires?

Here is a list of the upgrades:
RPM Wide Front Bumper
RPM Rear Bearing Carriers
RPM Front Bearing Carriers
RPM Caster Blocks
Traxxas Cooling Fan
Traxxas 2.5 rate rear shock springs
Traxxas Aluminum Shock Caps
ST Racing Concepts Aluminum Front Bulkhead
ST Racing Concepts Aluminum Heatsink Motor Plate

Are there other upgrades that I should do to boost its performance in the desert?
Any adjustments to the camber or toe? I am not very familiar with camber and toe adjusting so if some could help, I would be very happy.

[joe831]

Sand paddles and low low gearing for sand

[Kansei]

+1 to paddles in the rear - a must for deep sand , i think ribbed tires for the front . Gear it low to get the wheels spinning and keep the wheel speed up . If your surface is hard packed desert - Look into some pinned tires like the SC trucks are using - and gear it up higher . On 3s and the word "desert" makes me think HOT so cooling and gearing would be very important .

[chadkillzone]

Not sure on the cooling fan and sand mixed together? Never have run in the sand but it seems it would take the life out of them a little sooner. I could be wrong on the fan, but I would play around with your gearing and look into a aluminum tranny case to help with the heat.

[akapants]

The desert around my house is not sand. Thanks for the help with sand though. It is gravel.

[chadkillzone]

Lol I thought Nevada was a big sand pit! Still want to go there .... Some day I hope

[akapants]

Lol I thought Nevada was a big sand pit! Still want to go there .... Some day I hope

Not sand.. A lot of dirt but dry dirt. Desert dirt not sand.

[joe831]

Well if you have street tires, then tires for gravel. The stock tires should work well. And put some spacers on the shocks to raise the ride height. That's pretty much all you need.

[akapants]

What about shock oil? I have 90 wt in there right now.

[joe831]

It pretty much comes down to what you prefer. The 40 or 45wt you got should be good.

[akapants]

It pretty much comes down to what you prefer. The 40 or 45wt you got should be good.

Lighter or heavier in the rear?

[joe831]

I'm not an expert, I still have the stock wt oil in my shocks, but I would say same all around or maybe 45 in the back and 40 in the front? If you already have both.

[akapants]

Ok.. Thanks! Maybe others can help out more as well.

[akapants]

Ok so what I did was mix 90 wt with 45 wt in the rear. Should I put 40 or 45 in the front?

[Desert JATO]

Sand paddles and low low gearing for sand

well said. plus an aluminum trany box.

[akapants]

Well since I am not driving in sand, what are some good tires to use?

[Desert JATO]

i'm going to advise you wth what i did try.
for good traction, long life tires, go with geolanders, but you need a 2.2" wheels to use them.

i read that some other guys recommaned talons and trenchers too, but they are more for off road than paved or asphalt imo.

[akapants]

i'm going to advise you wth what i did try.
for good traction, long life tires, go with geolanders, but you need a 2.2" wheels to use them.

i read that some other guys recommaned talons and trenchers too, but they are more for off road than paved or asphalt imo.

Where can I buy the geolanders? And the trenchers are really big, therefore temps run really high. Do they make short course tires that are good for offroading, that I can put on the Rustler?

[joe831]

Google HPI Geolanders

[Desert JATO]

Where can I buy the geolanders? And the trenchers are really big, therefore temps run really high. Do they make short course tires that are good for offroading, that I can put on the Rustler?

here :

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXEXA3

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...e-S-Compound-2

[WildCard]

id recommend trencher or badlander tires and an rpm gear cover to keep that dirt and small gravel out of your pinion and spurr gear. the stock cover has a hole in it that lets in a lot of stuff wich could get in your gear mesh.

also while the larger tires can gen more heat from your motor its a simple thing to just add a smaller pinion or larger spurr to make up for the added height of thetrenchers thus loqwering your heat out put back to wear it should be.

[akapants]

id recommend trencher or badlander tires and an rpm gear cover to keep that dirt and small gravel out of your pinion and spurr gear. the stock cover has a hole in it that lets in a lot of stuff wich could get in your gear mesh.

Ok thanks. I was also recommended these tires. Has anyone tried em?
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-Truck-Tires-2

Also I understand what you are saying with the RPM Gear Cover, I have one on my Slash, but I want to add telemetry and Traxxas has the special gear cover with another opening up top for the Telemetry Wires. So what if I put electrical tape on the bottom hole. Unless the new RPM Gear Cover has the telemetry with it now. Thanks

[joe831]

I put tape over my gear cover hole, no problems so far. The gladiator tires are another popular tire here on the forums. They should work well for you too.

[WildCard]

Ok thanks. I was also recommended these tires. Has anyone tried em?
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-Truck-Tires-2

Also I understand what you are saying with the RPM Gear Cover, I have one on my Slash, but I want to add telemetry and Traxxas has the special gear cover with another opening up top for the Telemetry Wires. So what if I put electrical tape on the bottom hole. Unless the new RPM Gear Cover has the telemetry with it now. Thanks

tape will work but you run the risk of the tape comeing loose and getting in to the gears it self. imo its a remote chance but just some thing to watch out for. also i would prob use some good duck tape like gorilla brand duct tape. its got the strongers hold iv seen on tape. electric tape will work but id trust it less.

as for the gladiator tires, iv not used them but iv heard good things from people who have.

[akapants]

Ok, thanks for you guy's help! I don't understand why Traxxas leaves a whole in the bottom though. What is it used for?

I think the only problem I am worried about now, is the other opening for the wires.

[rjm2519]

The cover was designed for a lot of different spur applications including a now discontinued 93t spur that will not fit with an rpm cover.