New 1/16 Summit VXL Owner Tips

[jrmbtr]

Hello,

I just received a fairly new VXL 1/16 Summit and I'm looking for information. Aside from the obvious RPM upgrades, is there anything else I should be looking to do? I saw something about Revo rockers or something making a difference in the driveline. Please let me know what I should be looking out for. This is my first 1/16 vehicle. Also, what SPC batteries work for this truck?

[Redsawacs]

many folks will talk about "shimming the differentials" - Contact Jimmie neutron, he has a tutorial or step by step process. This keeps the gears from stripping out under the power of the car.

If you're new to RCs, you'll learn about power on jumps - they are bad! when you land the summit from a jump, make sure you're off the throttle or you'll pop a driveshaft.

I would HIGHLY recommend brushing up on the slipper clutch operations of this vehicle and allow the slipper to work on the summit. Mine seizes up from rust when it gets wet so I have to constantly break it loose when I drive it....sure i'll be replacing it soon.

Drive it like you stole it and replace as you break. its a nice car - I cut the rear lower roll cage out and lowered the body way down and now I have little issues with roll overs. I had to shorted the body mounts too...I have pictures if you're interested.

Congrats, you'll like the VXL summit - its a "good time" car, or, if you're from the south "5-pound bass"!
"Red'

[jrmbtr]

Thanks for the info!!!

I'm new to 1/16 but I had a Slash 2wd VCL (before there was one) and a Rustler VXL a few years ago before getting out of the hobby. A few months ago I jumped back in with a Slash 4x4. All I do is bash, but nothing crazy or YouTube worthy. So lowering the body will help with the rolls? I literally haven't even run it yet.

[Redsawacs]

yes, lowering the body does WONDERS! that and the extended wheelbase (10 mm to the rear) helps with wheelies too.

Congrats and Welcome back to the hobby....again.

"Red"

[jrmbtr]

Should I be OK thermal-wise if I stick to 2S? I'm guessing with the parrallel connector I can run two of those for extended runtimes.

[robl45]

Should I be OK thermal-wise if I stick to 2S? I'm guessing with the parrallel connector I can run two of those for extended runtimes.

Run one and let it cool, mine gets real hot after a battery

[jrmbtr]

Really!? So it's worse than the 1/10 VXL? What is getting hot for you: motor or ESC?

[dcfox]

If you're new to RCs, you'll learn about power on jumps - they are bad! when you land the summit from a jump, make sure you're off the throttle or you'll pop a driveshaft.

He's right... I've had mine about a week...and just ordered the upgrade metal driveshafts for it.
I'm currently running 2WD until they come in.

If you like the Summit with the included Nimh battery...you'll be blown away by the speed with a Lipo in it.(be sure to change the settings on the ESC to Lipo mode when you run a Lipo and back to Nimh mode for a regular pack.)

[Jimmie Neutron]

Changing a few things can help with heat.
I have a MERV, (similar, but not the same) and with taller than stock tires (buggy rear Hawgs on Rebels) I am able to run 2S in parallel for 1 hourish run times without heat issues. I have a ********* 60 ESC and a few other upgrades.

This is what I had when I very rarely walked away broke.

Steel hollow balls (7028x) to reduce slop
3M mushroom tape along battery doors to hold the body on
Aluminum knuckles to reduce slop and add strength (I have HR but recommend GPM or GH)
A BlueBird 390 servo due to the stock being known to fry/strip itself
RPM a arms at all four corners (Front-80692, Rear-80602)
Center differential (7014) upgrade to help handle the power of
2200mah 2S 20C LiPo's ran in parallel for ~1 hour run times
23/50 gearing gets me to ~30mph yet keeps temps in check
Shimmed front and rear bulkheads... *LINK*

Especially do that last part... extremely cheap preventative procedure.

[jrmbtr]

Changing a few things can help with heat.
I have a MERV, (similar, but not the same) and with taller than stock tires (buggy rear Hawgs on Rebels) I am able to run 2S in parallel for 1 hourish run times without heat issues. I have a ********* 60 ESC and a few other upgrades.

This is what I had when I very rarely walked away broke.

Steel hollow balls (7028x) to reduce slop
3M mushroom tape along battery doors to hold the body on
Aluminum knuckles to reduce slop and add strength (I have HR but recommend GPM or GH)
A BlueBird 390 servo due to the stock being known to fry/strip itself
RPM a arms at all four corners (Front-80692, Rear-80602)
Center differential (7014) upgrade to help handle the power of
2200mah 2S 20C LiPo's ran in parallel for ~1 hour run times
23/50 gearing gets me to ~30mph yet keeps temps in check
Shimmed front and rear bulkheads... *LINK*

Especially do that last part... extremely cheap preventative procedure.

This is great!!!!

Where do the hollow balls come into play?

Mushroom tape -- can you elaborate?

I'm so used with seeing the center diff not being recommended for bashing in 1/10 but you're saying it's suited for the 1/16?

Can you different weight oil in these diffs to adjust performance?

[Jimmie Neutron]

Hollow balls are in the rod ends.

3M dual lock... I found it in the office supply section at WalMart.

I like the center diff... some don't. I feel it makes the RC more fun to drive... it also completely stopped my axles from breaking.
I do, however, suggest taping or strapping your tires if you go with the center diff.

You can put different oil weights to tune. I have 30/50/30, but might go to 30/100/30 next rebuild.

[pavmentsurfer]

You should be able to run 2S with the stock gearing without many heat issues. If you find the motor is getting too hot (max save temp is 180, once you hit 200 your into the danger zone. Anything over 200 and your damaging the magnets in the motor) you can gear down a bit (smaller pinion). You can also look into a 380 size motor heat sink. The ones without the fan seem to work OK at mildly lowering the temps on the motor. Its not a huge help, just a little. If you lower your body, less air gets on teh motor so a vent or 2 does wonders if you find your motor getting hot. The MERV and Rally seem to have more problems with this but the summit with the body run way low (which looks awesome) will have the same issue.
Servo is a weak point on all the 1/16s. There are lots of aftermarket options that work great. I dont know of any that are waterproof. If your going to get it wet, consider a dual servo setup. If your not planning on getting it wet, go with a metal gear servo upgrade.

[50togo]

And if its a new ring & pinion usually will need another shim after you break them in

[jrmbtr]

3M dual lock... I found it in the office supply section at WalMart.

Velcro?

You should be able to run 2S with the stock gearing without many heat issues. If you find the motor is getting too hot (max save temp is 180, once you hit 200 your into the danger zone. Anything over 200 and your damaging the magnets in the motor) you can gear down a bit (smaller pinion). You can also look into a 380 size motor heat sink. The ones without the fan seem to work OK at mildly lowering the temps on the motor. Its not a huge help, just a little. If you lower your body, less air gets on teh motor so a vent or 2 does wonders if you find your motor getting hot. The MERV and Rally seem to have more problems with this but the summit with the body run way low (which looks awesome) will have the same issue.
Servo is a weak point on all the 1/16s. There are lots of aftermarket options that work great. I dont know of any that are waterproof. If your going to get it wet, consider a dual servo setup. If your not planning on getting it wet, go with a metal gear servo upgrade.

OK...so lowering the body helps with rollovers at the expense of less ventilation...is that right? To lower, do I just move the mounts down and trim the lower posts to clear the suspension movements?
I thought I read somewhere that dual servos caused issues since they're always fighting each other. Is that just the tradeoff to keep them waterproof?

I ordered a single lipo that will fit the chassis, as expected my 1/10 lipos aren't even close. SPC was out and didn't have a lead date, so I went with another Vendor in the interim. I'm excited to see how it is with the power.

Anyone try the Dusty Covers shroud?

I charged a nimh that came with it and ran a few minutes in the dryest spot I could find. Decided to video it for my wife to see my new puppy playing with my new puppy (I'm steering with tension from my rain coat against the wheel):

[yellowufo]

Better velcro the puppy down or keep the truck high i bet if given the chance your tires
Will get vented... tran that pup to hush up and not chase it if ya hit that guy the vet bill
Will b higher then the truck cost ya.

[jrmbtr]

I cut the rear lower roll cage out and lowered the body way down and now I have little issues with roll overs. I had to shorted the body mounts too...I have pictures if you're interested.

"Red'

Do you have those pictures? I'm guessing the only way to shorten the posts is to drill new holes and then cut the excess off on the bottom of the post?

[jrmbtr]

Well, I dropped the body. I cut the rear posts too much and will have to get a new one to re-cut. I curved the rear of the body as best as I could without proper scissors.

[jrmbtr]

Are the RPM arms for the Revo the same for the Summit?

[Jimmie Neutron]

Fronts are, rear are not.