Traxxas Slash 4WD Durability???
 

Hey Guys. I'm thinking about purchasing a Traxxas Slash 4WD and need to know a few things.

How tough are these trucks and how well are they holding up?

I've been looking at the VXL systems and know there is room for improvement. :yes:

I really intend to replace the motor and the ESC. I want to run 4S, 5S, or 6S, depending on the mood I'm in at the time.

ESC of choice will be the Mamba Max Pro. Motor of choice will be the Medusa 36-60mm, in either the 1500kv version or the 2000kv version.

What are the available gearing options? Is 48 pitch gears used in the stock setup? If so, can this be converted to 32 pitch or maybe even Mod 1?

Just how much power can this drivetrain handle?

How tough are the diffs?

What hex does the wheels use? 14mm?

Sorry for so many questions, but any feedback or experiences you can share, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

PS..........I'm just about tired of replacing diffs in my E Revo and this looks pretty inviting to me.

A couple of those I can answer. I have 2 a pe and a rtr. I normally don't treat my stuff like crap, but I had sold the rtr to someone who beat the crap out of it, then bought it back cheap, so I have continued to beat on it, no maintenance whatsoever, plug a pack in and bash. The stock gears are 32p. The only thing broken so far is 1 rear hub carrier, and a couple popped off shock caps. I havn't had any problems with the axles everyone was breaking, although a couple have a little wobble to them. They don't run too bad in stock form on 3s, they might could use a little more top end, I have been lazy and havn't messed with the gearing but I couldn't see really wanting to take away from any of the bottom end it has. It does get pretty hot, but havn't burnt anything up with beating on it for a solid 25 minutes or so. I said in the other post I think running a blitz body has had a lot to do with the durability. The body is big, and covers over the wheels well so when it goes cartwheeling down the road, or landing from a 15ft fall on its lid it has walked away. I can't really comment on how the diffs would hold up with more power, but when you consider the small tires and lack of traction, I don't see you having much problem with it. I know your pain with revo diffs. The hexes are only 12mm but havn't stripped any yet. In my opinion it is a helluva basher, it is nice to have something to beat on rain or shine, minimal wrenching. I have kicked around putting a little taller tires on it to gain a little more ground clearance but thats about it.

What size is the Battery Compartment on these?

Roughly 49-50mm wide x about 170mm long.

I have the 2200 castle neu and the MMM ESC in mine. On 4s it dominates the open short coarse class. A member here sells adapters to mount losi 8 shocks which help dramatically with the extra weight of a heavy motor and battery. Ditch the battery bar thing, dremel some slots and run battery straps for larger packs. The diffs are the same as the e-revo so your good there, look up kingheadz bearing adapter, you will need this after you melt the plastic one. You can use mod one gears, but the stock 32p is pretty good. As for durability I would grade it A+ since I have not broken anything since ownership except some bent stub axles and melting that little adapter on the spur shaft. My next ups are some new racing tires and wheels. Here is a picture of it with it's old motor the 2650, which was pretty good on 3s and sickly on 4s. Oh and on 6s this thing is kind of squirrely, but stupid fast.

http://img38.imagefra.me/img/img38/2...7m_9d3a51f.jpg

I have 2 PE's and run them on the track only, they are holding up awesome ! Not a broken part yet.
The weakest point is the drive axles, using the slipper rather than the CD will help avoid damage.
I'm running both of mine w/MMM and 1509 2Y on 3s, Low temps and great power and run times.

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...S/P5080001.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...S/P5080002.jpg

My new set up is similar but I tossed the rx box and mounted my transponder in that spot, and the 2200 comes out a bit further. I also upped for the Traxxas aluminum motor bracket, and drilled two extra holes in the motor plate so the heavier motor has more support compared to just the two screws. If you want I could throw the rx box in the mail your way if you decide to go this route, I'm not using it.

I had a PE and just sold it to finance other projects. I liked it alot, just wasn't the right truck for me. In the 2 months I had it I replaced 5 rear axles due to bending. And I found it didn't take very much to bend them either. A traction roll or two, sliding gently into track piping, etc and they were bent. So my advice is stronger rear axles from FLM, Tekno, etc. Other than that, and the stock motor getting a little hot on 3s (stock gearing) its a great truck. For the battery hold-down I agree with the strap idea. I managed to get away with using the balls of rod ends for spacers and longer screws, while unthreading the post a little in the front for my big 3s 6000 pack.

Edit: I also found the stock PE body to be thin and wonder how long it would last compared to the Proline version I used on a 1/8 buggy, which went through hell and is still holding up great.

Curious, what is your intended use? As A basher, after a couple months, I'm still up in the air about it. With stock sized tires, it's really not that much more capable then a 2wd, IMO. Which means a E-revo replacement, it's not.

I too was in this boat a few months ago. Even knowing about the axle issue, I went to the LHS with the sole intention of picking up one of these, but after talking to a couple other people there who have them (and the issues they were having), and seeing what you get for the price, I ended up walking out with the Losi Ten-T instead. Not the same kind of vehicle to be sure, but haven't been disappointed in my decision in the slightest.

But stock tires pretty much suck on everything.

Yes, I'm a basher.

I love the E Revo, and have been really abusive to mine. LOL

The rear diff needs replaced again. How do I bullet proof that without running a really loose slipper?

The Best stock tires in my opinion are the E maxx tires and wheels. Not the ones that come on the brushless version. Just the plain ones that come on the brushed version. Good Grip.

If a person went to a more aggressive, better gripping, tire and wheel on the Slash, that would worsen the driveshaft problem. Wouldn't it?

Does this truck have a center diff?

What's going out, case, spider gears, or ring? About the only thing I do is strip the ring gears, doesn't seem to happen very often though. I normally only run 4s, but generally around 50mph. I would say my slipper is loose enough to work, but not to much. I've never seen a trully bullet proof setup, and the cost to go even better, seems higher then just keeping a spare on hand.
I personally have not had any driveshaft problems, even running a HV 4.5 on 4s, I run Losi Zombie 320s, they seem to soften things up a little, without adding to much height. My slipper is a little loose, but I didn't feel like I wanted wheelies. The center diff is optional.
Mine's a little different , that might play into my opinions.
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL133.../384117493.jpg

I doubt motor torque or slipper setting have much to do with the axle issue. On RCTech it was speculated the axle issue is related to suspension travel, weight and the hardness of the axles used. Axle is the same hardness as a 2wd in a heavier 4x4. Also users who did the Losi shock mod (or other longer shocks) said the axle issue went away. The theory is when the shock bottoms out, the downward load is transfered to weakest link, being the axles. But like I said, I bent more than one sliding the rear into things that shouldn't have bent them. And they always bent right at the hole for the hex pin, at least it was easier to dremel off the bent part so the bearing wasn't destroyed getting it out. And I believe Traxxas has an axle that's supposed to fix the problem. Haven't seen in at the lhs yet, but supposedly they'll send a set if you actually used the product registration card instead of throwing it away.

My fix was going to be finding the right bearings to use older style Maxx shafts in the stock carriers. But I wanted something different and never got around to it.

I need to do my third rear diff replacement now.

First diff failed due to broken teeth on the pinion. Everything was chewing on those floating fragments.

Second diff failed due to stripped spider gears. I do believe I made the mistake of installing a slayer diff. This diff's spider gears are weaker due to the lack of the beefier carrier inside the diff cup.

This second diff did hold up to a K45 10XL for awhile. It was really insane. Pretty uncontrollable actually.

I then installed a Tekin T8 2000kv motor. Made a few runs and it's toast again.

Are you still running the Medusa in the E Revo?

That's one sharp Slash you have there. I like that. :yes:

Well if your on your third, you should be getting faster at changing them:) Really though, that's not to bad for your situation, I'm sure that 10xl played into it. I would just slap another in there, and shim the pinion gear. That has seemed to me , my best bets. I've been running a Tork CC/NEU 2200 for quite awhile now.

Thanks on the Slash. Not that I don't like a Corr truck, it's just not what I saw out of this platform. Mine handles so much better, and is lighter, that I think it plays into the issues of dependability.

I would work on shimming the diffs, it can provide a world of difference. Another option is aluminum diff cases and cups. This will eliminate the flex that can cause problems as well, but again shimming is imperative.

Shimming takes some trial and error and the diffs always have to be shimmed on both sides to keep everything straight. One side will usually require more than the other though.

These rims and tires from a Losi/10 T ?

Got a question while on the subject of 4WD slashes. Are they able to use any standard 2.2 wheel with 12mm hex?

No, The inside wheel diameter needs to be 2.8"+ due to the size of the C-hub and axle carrier.
UNLESS you find some 2.2 rims with a extreme offset ?

Those tires are what's on the 10T, the wheels are 30 series Torque. There are some different 2.2's with full offset that will work. One of which is the narrow RPM crawler wheels.

One thing that I don't like about the factory gear mesh, on brand new diffs is:

When I rotate the pinion by hand, they feel free on one side of the ring, then spin it to the other side and it feels like it's binding. There's something that isn't true from the start. The diff cup maybe?

I have thought about the aluminum cases and the diff cup. The diff cups that I have found, only have a cutout to accept the spider gear pin.

Are there any aluminum diff cups on the market that accept the bigger, beefier carrier found in the stock E Revo diffs?

@ Bondo

Your trucks are pushing alot of power. Wild rides to play with? How do they handle?

I like the idea of a Mamba Max Pro couple together with a Medusa 36-60-1500kv. I have a pair of Kong Power 6S 26C 2600mah packs that I think will work good with this. :yes:

Wow, you think I'm pushing a lot of power ? I'm only on 3s..

You want to run 6s with plastic axles ? E-gads my friend, forget it you'll never be happy. Buy a TANK.

Are there cvd's available for the Slash? That would be one answer if there are issues with the stockers.

Yeah, 6S. :yes:

The thing about it is, on 6S, gear it right, conservatively around............ooooooh let's say 60mph or so. Then tame it some with the ESC settings.

Loads of power, efficiently. :yes:

Of course efficentcy is the name of the game, I'm on 3s and I have more power than I can ever use on the track. I'm blowing buy the other Slashes and 1/8 buggys on the straits now as is.

6s WaaHoo !

http://www.teknorc.com/product_info....8a217800d142dd These seem to be the best offering so far, though they are new, so no real reviews yet, that I've seen. I've heard of quite a few problems with the FLM's.

All the driveshaft problems are what led me to making the Maxxslash, I haven't had any problems with it, and driveshafts. If you could think of some way for a bearing carrier to use cutdown Revo driveshafts, it would be all good. That's the only way I see it happening :)

Aaaah, I see what you're thinking.

In comparing the new driveshafts/carriers to the E Revo ones.

E Revo uses the same outer bearing, but the inner bearing has a 2mm smaller ID on the inner bearing.

I believe there is enough meat on the E Revo shafts to turn off 2mm of diameter and make them fit this bearing.

Hmmmm...........Are the Diff outputs on the Slash 6mm?

This suggestion you made, might be a do-able thing.

Once the E Revo shafts are cut down and made work, how about let's go with some bigger 14mm hexs, then open up our Tire/Wheel choices?

All it takes are the E-revo outputs. They drop right in. You might look at my Maxxslash thread, it could give you some ideas. But yeah, I would think the 2mm would be doable.

Very Nice Thread Asheck.

In the stock A Arm setup, is there enough room for the added diameter of cut-down E Revo shafts?

Have you ever had the Slash diffs apart? I was thinking it used the Revo diffs. I took a closer look and it doesn't look like it does.

Same gears inside?

?
Yes, there is plenty of room, on the arm side. The front shocktower does have to have a little shaved off the bottom of the link mounts. This is what weakened my first aluminum shocktower, that broke there, for the second one I ground off the shaft . But in these circumstances, I think a little off the mount would be fine.
I pulled the diffs apart to change the outputs. I had extras from old blown E-revo diffs, and they dropped right in. I too, was expecting to see the same diff as the Revo, and was surprised to see the differences, but it seems they are where it counts.

I wonder if we could raise some other people's interest, if Mike would make a batch of carriers that would fit the Slash, and use Revo bearings. I would imagine 1 set would be costly, but 5 sets might make it reasonable. Especially when the Tekno's are almost 100$ for a set of 4, and they are dogbones, which means they will wear. I could see the interest for these being high.

That's a good question. I doubt there's enough material to remove to accomidate the OD of the bearings inside the Tekno version.

If the diff-to-wheel drive shafts are the weak link, upgrades to that portion of the truck would be a hot seller.

The factory center drive shaft is pretty bullet-proof looking already.