New Digger owner here!

[CandyCaner]

Hi, I just purchased a Grave Digger last Thursday, have run it twice, works great, yadda-yadda. I just thought I'd come here and ask about upgrades...but with a twist. Y'see, I'm all for pumpin' up the volume and making it beefier, but the problem is that some of the parts I'm wanting are kind of pricy, therefore, I plan on purchasing them one at a time, starting with a pretty LiPo (10000mAh...too much, I know), an expansion kit for said LiPo, and a charger (balance...cheap...takes forever...but will do the trick). My next step...I'm not so sure. I wouldn't mind having one of those sexy 2.4 GHz transmitters, but a brushless motor would be pretty nifty to have, too (and an ESC, since people here seem to dislike the one that comes with it). Would the transmitter need to be reprogrammed with the new motor? What adjustments would need to be made to the transmission, if any (I personally love the gear setup out of the box and wouldn't mind keeping it that way)?

...and if that paragraph is too long for anyone to read, I have a simpler question to ask. How much juice would the LED lights suck up?

[mark c]

You can trade up all your equipment (radio,reciever,esc and motor) to Traxxas for a fee. Take out the old box them up and send it off they will send you the upgraded stuff. If you've run the truck twice and didn't break it in first you're going to need a motor soon anyway. I'm not sure why Traxxas doesn't offer a brushless digger version anyway. Guys like you who want one have to do what you're doing and upgrade out of the box or buy a vxl and spend 200 bucks on a body and green parts.
LED light kits aren't going to rob much power from your battery I would worry about that at all.
Welcome to the forum!

[felixx4]

Hi, I just purchased a Grave Digger last Thursday, have run it twice, works great, yadda-yadda. I just thought I'd come here and ask about upgrades...but with a twist. Y'see, I'm all for pumpin' up the volume and making it beefier, but the problem is that some of the parts I'm wanting are kind of pricy, therefore, I plan on purchasing them one at a time, starting with a pretty LiPo (10000mAh...too much, I know), an expansion kit for said LiPo, and a charger (balance...cheap...takes forever...but will do the trick). My next step...I'm not so sure. I wouldn't mind having one of those sexy 2.4 GHz transmitters, but a brushless motor would be pretty nifty to have, too (and an ESC, since people here seem to dislike the one that comes with it). Would the transmitter need to be reprogrammed with the new motor? What adjustments would need to be made to the transmission, if any (I personally love the gear setup out of the box and wouldn't mind keeping it that way)?

...and if that paragraph is too long for anyone to read, I have a simpler question to ask. How much juice would the LED lights suck up?

Congrats on your new Digger!

I would start out with getting a LIPO batter pack, LIPO charger and ball bearings. You wont have to change anything else with your truck. It will be an easy upgrade.

As you break parts, replace them with better RPM parts.

Save your money for a brushless upgrade. Youll need a brushless ESC, brushless motor, and more than likely a FM transmitter and receiver (most people have interference issues with AM radios and brushless motors...i did). Like mark said, you can send all your electronics (esc, motor, transmitter and receiver) to Traxxas for their power-up program and get the vxl brushless esc and motor and the FM transmitter and receiver. The only bad thing is that you ll have to wait for Traxxas to send all the parts. You could also just piece it together, buy what you want and not do the power-up program with Traxxas. Also, check with your LHS as they may offer the power-up program at their shop. This way you wont have to wait for the parts.

Afterwards, once you have your brushless electronics, youll already have your LIPO's, ball bearings, and charger. Youll be set to go. In my eyes, this is the most logical way to go especially if your on a budget.

Hope this helps.

[CandyCaner]

I broke in the motor the way the manual said to...I guess I should've said that the first one wasn't necessarily a "run," more like a...reasonably-paced oval, with all four wheels on a smooth surface the entire time. Opened 'er up a little today, not too shabby!

Thanks for letting me know about the lights, maybe I'll get to work on affixing those tomorrow!

Now to wait for today's order...the battery and charger will be here tomorrow, but the expansion kit won't be until...no idea, free shipping certainly puts a damper on fun for a period of time.

[SlashDigger]

Welcome fellow Digger fan
The first upgrade you should do is replace all of the bushings on the axles to bearings. This is a must before going brushless. Personally I think 10000mah Lipo is too much. You would be better off getting 2 5000mah lipos (you can charge them faster and the runtime on a 10000mah is likely to overheat the motor and esc)... just my 2 cents. I went brushless before I upgraded the radio but you can use the Traxxas power-up program for both (most hobby shops participate). I run the Velenion system in my Digger and I think it is the perfect mix of low end torque and high end speed in a pede. I have geared mine at 19/86 and it works great for all around bashing.

[DiggerPede]

Oh man!!!! Good good truck there my friend. You have tons of upgrades you can do to the truck. Traxxas offers good Digger green alloy for the C-blocks & carriers on all 4 corners. If you want a little cheaper STRC has the same & also offers the bulkhead in a green alloy. RPM has all the Green plastic A-Arms. If you love green you can do a lot of nice updrading. You can seriously take this truck to the next level.

If you dont do any mud or water running i'd suggest moving up to the Castle Creations Sidewinder 3800 combo. It has a 4-pole motor which can be geared taller and runs cooler. One of the best deals IMO. I went with a little better ESC by them, the MMP. One totallly awesome setup. The VXL-3S 3500 from traxxas is also great to, I ran it for a couple of months. You can do the upgrade like said above or purchase one from the MP here or eBay or your favorite Hobby Shop.

A couple of good places to get a Lipo from are SPC and ProMatch. They have great pricing, & offer some of the best customer service around. If you do move up to Lipo please read up on the dangers and care of the packs. Like storing, charging, & storage charging them. Storing - you will want to keep them in a Lipo Sack, or metal box ( cash box or military bullet case ). Charging - balance charge them every time. This keeps them in perfect condition. Storage charge - after you run the pack you need to bring them to a storage mode, 3.7-3.8v / cell. A 2S pack would be 7.4-7.6 for overall voltage. On the back of the pack it should tell you what rate you can charge at 1c, 2c, or 5c. This is not the same "c" rating on the front of the pack. To figure this: mah x "c" / 1000 = charging amps.

Since your main objective is to move to Lipo you will need to change all the bushing in the carriers to bearings 5x11x4 X 8. There are 2 per carrier, one inner and one outter. That is one very good upgrade. When you look at chargers spend a little more this is something that will carry you throughout the hobby whether short or long period of time. I'd suggest something in the $100^. I've used Dynamite Passport Ultra & Racer's Edge Surecharge 2010. They both charge at 8A. If you cut the budget here you will be wishing you had spent the few extra dollars later on. Both of those are $130ish. There are other in the same budget range too.

Here are picks of my Digger. Soon I will be posting some surprises to it. I'm excited.....but everyone will see.





My Lid is a little scuffed up. LOL

Hope this helps ya man.

[CandyCaner]

I'll definitely pick up a set of bushings/bearings. Sorry if I sound...dumb. It's a long story, but it involves my dad never allowing me to be a mechanic, so I'm kind of playing this all by ear. Thanks for all your input, everybody!

Also, I just got the LEDs popped in. Very nice! Like what was said before, I wish they'd sold this particular truck with the upgrades mentioned included to reduce the amount of headaches on people such as myself who just want the best to start out with so it's not such an ordeal.

[DiggerPede]

I'll definitely pick up a set of bushings/bearings. Sorry if I sound...dumb. It's a long story, but it involves my dad never allowing me to be a mechanic, so I'm kind of playing this all by ear. Thanks for all your input, everybody!

Also, I just got the LEDs popped in. Very nice! Like what was said before, I wish they'd sold this particular truck with the upgrades mentioned included to reduce the amount of headaches on people such as myself who just want the best to start out with so it's not such an ordeal.

It's kewl man. It's a fun learning experience. Anything you have questions on or need help with we are here. If you want make this your post for questions, so if you need to reference back all your answers will be here.

This is the second time i've added LED's to my Digger. The first set got busted up at my local sk8te park. The last set i purchased a couple of months ago included a couple sets of light tubes. They look sweet at night.

[CandyCaner]

Sooo...the motor/ESC combo and bearings are on their way! Still debating on the transmitter, but I think I'll go with the Traxxas program to do that. Bye-bye, antenna! I appreciate all of your help, guys!

As for the rest of the setup, I think I'll replace things as they break. Sure, those alloy C-blocks and carriers look swell, but it sounds more fun to test the limits of the existing parts first.

SlashDigger mentioned 19/86 gear setup...can someone translate this to Stupid for me?

[scoobe dog]

[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

Here's a couple pic's of mine. I built this one piece by piece. Truck started as a red stampede xl-5.

I built this truck the way the guys here suggested..... and it is tough as nails!

You can't go wrong with RPM parts. You will want the a arms and shock towers.

If you are going to stay brushed for awhile, pick up a S-600 motor for WHEN the titan 12T dies. But the VXL..... you will fall in love!

If you are running the monster jam tires, you will want to get rid of them and grab a set of prolines... no better tire out there.

The led's are powered by a 9 volt battery.

Hope this get's you started!

[SlashDigger]

SlashDigger mentioned 19/86 gear setup...can someone translate this to Stupid for me?

Sorry should have explained a lil better... The first number (19) refers to the pinion gear on the motor and the second number (86) refers to the spur gear on the gear box.

[CandyCaner]

Nice, scoobe! The shocks 'n stuff look killer in green. I'll definitely invest in green metal parts as the originals wear out. I think I'll keep the stock wheels and tires for now, though. I dunno, I just like the feel of the foamless squishiness.

Amazing how hurredly I've gathered up the right parts with y'all's help. Without this forum, I'd be stuck with a burned-out motor (it isn't showing any signs of doing so, but after reading the horror stories here, it'll have its time to do the same) and a 200-buck useless hull with no idea what to do with it. I think I'm in love with this place already!

I'm counting down the weeks (roughly a month, depending on how quickly I jump on the 2.4 gig transmitter) until I can bring it in to work and show the rig off at lunch. Speaking of the transmitter...how many vehicles can run simultaneously with it? Just thought I'd ask before my coworkers get jealous and start bringing in competition. :P

I'll keep an eye out for the 19/86 on eBay, there's only one listed right now and it isn't BIN, so I guess I'll wait a lil'.

[scoobe dog]

This place will steer you in the right direction every time!

The problem I had with the MJ tires was my kid would roll/flip the truck sooo much, that it knocked the brushes out of the motor. You go with a set of tires that have foam inserts..... the handleing is a night and day difference.

The springs are from an integy kit. Comes with 5 different color sets I believe. Around $11 on ebay.

All the other green is RPM parts. $$Cheap$$ upgrade and if you break them, they replace them.... can't go wrong with that.


19/86 is a great bashing gear. All my stampedes are geared this way.

[CandyCaner]

I love the fact that pretty much every chassis part is replaceable and cheap. Why hadn't I discovered Traxxas years ago? :P

I'll definitely look at RPM every time something breaks, Digger'll gradually grow more green over time.

Though I don't know if any Youtube posters are here, but seeing videos of how to switch out parts (just now looked up one on the bearings) has made doing upgrades easier and--dare I say--more exciting. I went from "awww crap, I don't wanna have to do this stuff" to "yay, this is gonna be fun!" after watching through said videos. I'm totally ready for my parts to arrive, even though they're hundreds of miles away. :-X

[CandyCaner]

So...after looking through videos for LiPo charging and care...I'm terrified. Not only do I feel like an idiot for getting such a massive battery, but DiggerPede's warning against getting a cheap charger makes me feel terrible, because I purchased the cheapy Traxxas wall charger...it's Traxxas, they wouldn't put out something that could kill me, right (other than the XO-1, but that's an entirely different story)? I also feel foolish for not doing more research than I did, all that I could see was that the most mAh was better, and that 10000 would work for the longest time of all the packs available. Should I be as worried as I am? It's not like the waiting for it to charge is going to be that big of a hassle, but causing a fireball in my house is not exactly my idea of a good time.

Oh well, at least one of Dad's empty ammo boxes will be good for something (unless one of you scare me out of having anything to do with the LiPo and/or charger I purchased in any way).

[felixx4]

Candy,

Yea, you kind of got a funny setup there with the battery and charger. You went overboard with the battery and too low with the charger. Im assuming the charger that you bought was the Traxxas 2935 lipo charger?

So, i dont think anything bad will happen with the battery and charger that you purchased, but the charger wasnt meant to charge a battery with that high mAH (specs say 1400-2200 mAH). It will just take a longer time to charge. The charger is rated for 2 or 3 cells and has a balancer which is good. I would just use a lipo bag or ammo box when charging (which is standard procedure for anyone charging lipo's). Overall i dont think youll have any issues other than waiting a long time to charge the battery.

Im not sure what you paid for your battery and charger, but with an Onyx 235 charger ($90) and a SPC 2S 5000mAH pack ($30) your looking at $120 plus shipping. Can you possibly return what you bought. I think youll be much happier with a slightly different battery charger setup (mine was just for pricing example, but are both good quality).

Hope this helps.

[NewbieToTraxxas]

Protrac dramatically improves handling and decreases rolling. Here are two forums that layout the stampede community's general upgrades/replacements. You NEED a better front bumper as listed in these threads:

Link 1

Link 2

[CandyCaner]

Yeeeah, I was gonna see how it reacted to the new stuff before deciding what to do about bumpers. I'll definitely take that into consideration, though!

felixx, no returns. I'll try it once and see how it goes. If I don't like it, I'm sure I could sell each off to make at least half of the money back. At least I have the stock battery to go back to if all else fails...

[scoobe dog]

With lipo's, make sure as stated to use a lipo charging bag.

[CandyCaner]

With lipo's, make sure as stated to use a lipo charging bag.

Yep, my ammo box is in position for its arrival!

[ghettocar]

Without this forum, I'd be stuck with a burned-out motor (it isn't showing any signs of doing so, but after reading the horror stories here, it'll have its time to do the same) and a 200-buck useless hull with no idea what to do with it. I think I'm in love with this place

Don't get too freaked out about the motor. My son has a Titan in his Slash, and he's been using it for over a year with no break-in and just about no maintenance. My other son and I have over six months on our properly broken-in MJ 'pedes. I suppose we could just be exceedingly lucky, but I suspect the Titans are a lot more robust than the horror stories would suggest.

[scoobe dog]

Sometimes you get lucky with them........ I never did.

[DiggerPede]

My first XL5 Titan 12T is still running strong. Used it for over 4 months with tons of usage. It's maybe at 85% power with over 100 runs on it. Now it just sits in a box. LOL

[scoobe dog]

My first XL5 Titan 12T is still running strong. Used it for over 4 months with tons of usage. It's maybe at 85% power with over 100 runs on it. Now it just sits in a box. LOL

You should frame it, lol!

[CandyCaner]

Had a good, smooth run today...which means I only flipped it once. Lost a clip somewhere during the process, but there's a bag of a hundred of 'em on eBay for pretty cheap. Also ordered a 2.4GHz transmitter/receiver, meaning all the expensive upgrades have been purchased! Now to wait and see what shows up when (so far, only the battery expansion kit has arrived).

The listing for the transmitter and receiver said the double-sided tape used for the receiver may be torn or completely missing. What grade of tape is used? Is it readily available? Also, the ziptie holder for the lights came off, is it safe to use electrical tape to stick it back up? I'm thinking of doing that for pretty much the entire line under the hood portion of the body if it's safe.

That'd be SO nice if I get everything I ordered by next weekend so I can get it all done in one day. Here's to hopin'!

[CandyCaner]

All of the stuff is either here or will be this afternoon!...except the pinion/spur and bearings, so I'm pretty much stuck with just pieces 'til I get those so I don't burn everything up. At least I can put my transmitter and receiver in 'n try it out tomorrow or the day after. I picked up a roll of automotive detail tape to stick the receiver in, figuring that'd work well enough for what it needed to do (plus it'll be inside of the box, so I'm doubting it'll move around much in there, anyway). The motor and ESC are so shiiiny!

[CandyCaner]

Popped the new motor in. All I can say is yowza! I never would've thought brushless would be THAT much of an improvement. Still waiting on the pinion/spur, which will hopefully keep it a little closer to the ground upon tapping on the throttle.

[felixx4]

CC,

Sorry if i overlooked it in the post, but what BL motor and ESC did you buy? Also, did you happen to use that Traxxas charger and 10000 mAH? If so, how do you like it?

[CandyCaner]

CC,

Sorry if i overlooked it in the post, but what BL motor and ESC did you buy? Also, did you happen to use that Traxxas charger and 10000 mAH? If so, how do you like it?

VXL-3s 3500. For some reason, the screws aren't quite reaching all the way to where they need to go, so I'm currently on the hunt for longer screws to sink 'em in (used the aformentioned auto molding tape to stick it on until some 3x12s arrive). I hadn't used the LiPo yet, I still need the bearings (should be here today)...I may just go with two 5000mah like what was suggested, I'm somewhat afraid the 10000 is gonna blow things apart.

I gotta say, even with everything else stock, the brushless makes a world of difference. It may not have gone much faster, but the motor sure made a heckuva lot less noise.

[f687s]

Oh man!!!! Good good truck there my friend. You have tons of upgrades you can do to the truck. Traxxas offers good Digger green alloy for the C-blocks & carriers on all 4 corners. If you want a little cheaper STRC has the same & also offers the bulkhead in a green alloy. RPM has all the Green plastic A-Arms. If you love green you can do a lot of nice updrading. You can seriously take this truck to the next level.

If you dont do any mud or water running i'd suggest moving up to the Castle Creations Sidewinder 3800 combo. It has a 4-pole motor which can be geared taller and runs cooler. One of the best deals IMO. I went with a little better ESC by them, the MMP. One totallly awesome setup. The VXL-3S 3500 from traxxas is also great to, I ran it for a couple of months. You can do the upgrade like said above or purchase one from the MP here or eBay or your favorite Hobby Shop.

A couple of good places to get a Lipo from are SPC and ProMatch. They have great pricing, & offer some of the best customer service around. If you do move up to Lipo please read up on the dangers and care of the packs. Like storing, charging, & storage charging them. Storing - you will want to keep them in a Lipo Sack, or metal box ( cash box or military bullet case ). Charging - balance charge them every time. This keeps them in perfect condition. Storage charge - after you run the pack you need to bring them to a storage mode, 3.7-3.8v / cell. A 2S pack would be 7.4-7.6 for overall voltage. On the back of the pack it should tell you what rate you can charge at 1c, 2c, or 5c. This is not the same "c" rating on the front of the pack. To figure this: mah x "c" / 1000 = charging amps.

Since your main objective is to move to Lipo you will need to change all the bushing in the carriers to bearings 5x11x4 X 8. There are 2 per carrier, one inner and one outter. That is one very good upgrade. When you look at chargers spend a little more this is something that will carry you throughout the hobby whether short or long period of time. I'd suggest something in the $100^. I've used Dynamite Passport Ultra & Racer's Edge Surecharge 2010. They both charge at 8A. If you cut the budget here you will be wishing you had spent the few extra dollars later on. Both of those are $130ish. There are other in the same budget range too.

Here are picks of my Digger. Soon I will be posting some surprises to it. I'm excited.....but everyone will see.





My Lid is a little scuffed up. LOL

Hope this helps ya man.

this IS beefed up, wow

[CandyCaner]

Bwahahahahaha, I got the gears and bearings in. Tomorrow is gonna be fuuun.

[CandyCaner]

Okay...so...I may have made an incorrect adjustment. Now when I hit the throttle, the gears whir and...the wheels are barely turning. It's so bad, it won't even go upwards on a slight slope. Any idea what I could've done wrong?

[o0wiz0o]

Not tightened the slipper clutch and spur enough?

I changed something on mine and it needed to be tighter than I'd have thought.

[CandyCaner]

By "tightened," what do you mean? I have them pretty well-meshed, they're turning okay as far as I can tell...though I forgot to check that while I had it open...or do you mean tighter onto where they're mounted? I thought I'd screwed them in as tight as I could without stripping them out, but I'll definitely check on that here in a minute (had to take a breather, it's already 85 degrees outside). Any other ideas just in case that isn't it?

[o0wiz0o]

The spur gear has the spring and then nut in front. If this is not tight enough the car fails to move or the slipper slips to easy. I thought I had mine tight enough but it would not wheelie again until I tightened it a little more.

[CandyCaner]

How do you tighten the nut? Is there a way to do so without pulling the transmission apart? I'm thinking that might be what the problem is, because I, uh, thought that the nut and spring were what was holding the spur in and attempted to loosen it. Though I didn't think I loosened it any (since it rotates and I wasn't holding on to anything else), that's probably what I did.

[o0wiz0o]

You don't need to remove anything but the cover over the Spur/Pinion. The transmission stays intact. If this is the cause you need to hold the spur gear to stop it spinning and the you can adjust the nut and spring that sit on top.

[CandyCaner]

Okie-doke, I'll do that! Thanks a lot for your help, wiz! I'll letcha know how that goes!

[felixx4]

Heres a couple pic's that might help:

[CandyCaner]

That did the trick! The gear setup SlashDigger recommended is PERFECT for what I wanted it to do! Lots of speed on pavement and just enough power to pop a wheelie whilst in the grass/gravel/dirt. I had a smile from ear to ear for the duration of its running, I had such a blast! Got the battery on the charger (stock one, I'll get those LiPos and charger in a month or two) so I can tear up my girlfriend's backyard tonight! A couple more questions popped up on my walk back home...

How many tumbles can the body take before it shows terrible signs of wear? Yeah, I've got some barely-noticeable scratches on it now, but I plan on running this thing for a while and want to know if I should invest in a spare shell and have it waiting for when it may be needed. Also, are the body washers absolutely necessary? I know it hops around a little without, but they're kind of a hassle to stick on when I'm fiddling around with the lights or wires (and my cats love playing with small, plastic items) and are constantly falling off when I'm trying to get it set up just right.

Is it safe to run it without the body? I've been doing so for the past couple of days to ensure the ESC is getting enough air to keep it cool when it's REALLY hot out, but figured I'd consult with y'all to determine I'm not killing it.

Also, is it safe to store two LiPos in the same container? I ask this because I plan on charging two at once so I can run it twice (with a cool-down break in between, of course) and burning the house down doesn't sound like a fun time.

Once again, thank you all so much! You've made me into a big-time lover of the RC world to the point where the "suggested videos" list on my Youtube is predominantly RC-related. What a crazy and satisfying couple of weeks it's been!