Emaxx 3905 budget setups?

Hey guys. I've come to the realization that I want an Emaxx. I've always yearned for a big freakin' 4wd monster truck, and now that I got a job this summer, I'll have some decent cash flow to fuel this money pit of a hobby (can't spend it all of course....3/4 of what I make is for school/gas money/groceries in the Fall and Spring terms).

Anyways, I was looking at the brand new 3905 Emaxx, and since it's advertised as "brushless ready" for a decent price of 360ish bucks, I figure that's a good platform to start off with for larger scale brushless.

So I have a few questions for those of you who have brushless maxxes (specifically the 3905).

What would be a good motor to run? I'm leaning towards the Monster Max as the ESC, so no issues there (I like their products, and from my experience with the MM, they have fine ESCs). I have an HV4400 motor I could use if the motor is going to end up putting me above my rough budget limit too (I can always buy the 45 dollar 5mm shaft upgrade). I would prefer a motor that would be a good 5s candidate, as that's what I'd rather run than 4s.

Also, should I run 4s or 5s? I was looking at the Zippy packs from Hobby City, and they look like a slammin' deal if they can deliver their rated performance, but I'd like some feedback on those as well. I was eyeing the 4s1p 5000mah 20C packs since they're about 85 bucks a pop (not bad, but if they just can't handle a monster truck, I'd appreciate someone pointing me in a different direction). I think there are also some 5s1p packs that have a good C rating, around 4500mah capacity, and still come out to about 100 bucks a pack. As I stated in the previous paragraph, I'd like to run 5s, but if 4s works out cheaper and will move the truck around with decent power, runtime, and the motor will stay relatively cool, then I'm willing to go 4s too.

I also found a charger on there that is identical to the Venom Pro Charger that is going to come out, for about half the price (about 60-70 bucks for an AC/DC unit, which this charger is EXACTLY what I'm looking for), so that is the charger I am leaning towards (does 1-6s at .1-5 amps and balances, so yipee!). I'm in need of a new charger anyways, so I'm probably going to end up getting this charger regardles of whether or not I do this little project.

So, any advice oh mighty gurus of RC-Monster?

I'm trying to keep this as low cost as possible too, so any "cheapy" solutions for things such as the motor would be nice. This is, of course, not to say that I won't upgrade later on. I like my 50mm medusa, and if I can afford another one in the 60mm flavor, then that is a viable motor option down the road. But to start, I won't complain about using a cheapy KDA 30 dollar motor from hobby city (I know it'll run somewhat warm, but I can tolerate it for a little while until I move on to a better motor). I just need something to get rolling for now.

Keep in mind that I may have to do this in stages as well, and most likely won't start until about a month from now, or possibly two! If I find that the cost is climbing a little too high (above 700 or so as my uppermost limit), I may have to abandon this idea altogether. I am open to any other large scale vehicles to go brushless with though! Maybe an 1/8 conversion is in order if it comes out cheaper...

Thanks in advance guys!

-Joe

[E-Revonut]

My advice is to skip the E-MAXX! Especially if your gonna be waiting a month or two anyways. Traxxas is releasing an E-REVO, still brushless ready like the E-MAXX but the Revo is a much better platform. It's a little more $ for the E-revo but I think it will be way better than the E-maxx, I've had both in nitro form and the revo will kill a maxx as far as handling and durability. I have pre-ordered on hobbypeople.net and with shipping its about $420, I ordered my nitro revo from these guys without a problem, and I'm hoping that about the time this comes out CC will be releasing their neu based motors for the MMM. I'll be running the titans until they do! However if you really want a BL maxx I'm going to be selling mine in a week or two. I could do it complete with MM/CC BEC/8XL or without so you could stick in what you want. If interested PM, my price will be reasonable for what I'm offering!

I don't have the money right now; that's why I'd have to wait about a month so I could save up. Sorry. I appreciate the offer though.

I also don't want an E-Revo because it's about 90-100 bucks more than the E-maxx, and with the setup I have in mind (at least a MMM, 5s lipo, and whatever motor and that charger), the E-Revo will run way over what I'm trying to stay at or under (I did think about the E-Revo though, but it's just not within my budget; the maxx may not even be within my budget depending on what type of suggestions I get). :(

[E-Revonut]

E-revo $420 or E-maxx $360
MMM $170
8xl or 9xl $75
charger u found $70
2x 2s lipos aprox $200

no matter what ur going over budget if U buy new!
I know of a certain BL E-maxx with a decent setup that will sell for a little more than a new 3905. When ur ready hit up ebay, thats where mine will prolly wind up, you can find BL E-maxxs in the $400 range all day but most are the older ones and running Novak setups. The HV-Maxx is nothing compared to a MM/feigao setup, biggest problem with mine is the need for a wheelie bar, I've destroyed my crowd pleaser body flipping over backwards but the original isn't to bad.

[TexasSP]

Keep an eye on ebay, I am sure now that the e-revo is coming out that you can probably score some nice deals on a good used 3905 maxx. While the revo is certainly a better platform, the maxx is no slouch and with the upgrades to the 3905, it's a pretty decent truck.

[Gee]

I don't have the 3905 I skipped it and built a e-revo. My maxx was already better then the 3905 but thought I would add some input.

E-revonut has some good advice. But if you can't swing the $$ and you going to be doing this in stages. I save up some money and watch ebay or the forums. Should see a large number of 3905's going up for sale so they can get the e-revo. Pick up the MMM and run the Novak until the MMM motor comes out or you save up enough for a nice motor. The 4.5 does real good in the maxx on 4s when geared right. If your going cheap on the lipo you will probably have to buy another one by the time you get your list filled. The batteries are tough, can't run 5s on the Novak but you could pick up some 2s pack and run four then add a 3s to run 5 . No experience with the zippy packs but you get what you pay for.

Alrighty guys, I'll have to watch Ebay/forums I guess. So many things to buy....never enough money...lol!

I guess this little "project" will have to be put on hold for a very long while (can't buy a lot of this stuff outright at the moment, new or used).

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

[lincpimp]

If ypu want to get a deal on used stuff, try rcgroups, and rctech. Lots of good deals there. The traxxas forum is a good place to get good deals too.

Thanks for more resources linc! I'll have to window shop around a few places it looks like.

[lincpimp]

Yeah, keep an eye out there, lots of good deals, especially for what you are looking for, as most of the guys are on road electric or nitro there. Rcgroups is also a great place to find deals on lipos, in the battery, and electric heli sections.

I'll have to see what's out there. I may decide to just spend some money on my existing RCs and now that I'm getting into helicopters (an aerospace major should have SOMETHING that flies, right?), I'm finding that crashes happen...errrr....more than I'd like?

Joe, if your only going 4s why not stay with the MM and a Medusa 36-50-2200(or 3300). My 3905 was clocked by a bushnell radar gun at 42 mph through grass on 5s A123(nearly the same voltage as 4s lipo)and a 15t pinion with the 36-50-3300. I have not seen the motor over 120f and the ESC is hitting 98f w/fan. Looking at the specs for the 2200 I would guess you could get nearly the same performance as me with a 22-24t pinion on the stock spur. I'm just not sure if the 36-50 is a large enough motor to pull that tall a gear ratio. I also worry about running the 3300 at 46+k RPM but it runs very well for me so far.

Cant wait for my MMM, Neu 1512, FLM Hybrids, and misc other RCM goodies to arrive, spending my tax rebate on good stuff made in the USA! Hope I have enough left over for diffs, LOL budget e-maxx, at least that was my plan a few months back;)

BTW what heli you flying I have a whole pile of them, 4 ready to fly right now, 3 semi retired, and a couple more in boxes.

Buzzsaw, I thought about using an MM, but knowing myself, I would definitely want to step up to a 5s or even 6s setup in the future (if I don't start out with a 5s to begin with that is), so that's why I'd rather stick with the MMM. Plus, I love how much power the MMM can handle. I'm paranoid when it comes to heat, and that's why I was so happy to find a decent motor that will push my Rusty to 40+ but not run over around 130F.

I forgot completely about the Medusa motors for larger scales though. The 60mm versions aren't too much more compared to the 50mm versions IIRC. I also have a big heatsink that came with my 4800kv 50mm, so if I need to, I can run the heatsink and a 50mm motor to save some money (thanks for the suggestion!)...

I think I have this all figured out. I'm just going to do it in stages, and if I can, I'll buy stuff used. First I'll have to take the dive and get the Maxx or E-Revo (I'm starting to like the E-Revo...lol, my wallet isn't though!). The only thing is that if I get an E-Revo, then it'll probably be new (I doubt a lot of people want to sell their E-Revos since the thing just came out). Then, next purchase will be the MMM (I can run the HV4400 with a 5mm shaft upgrade for the time being I suppose, and I have some GP3300 packs around here somewhere). After that, batteries and motor. I'm probably going to order that one charger I was looking at soon, because I'm getting sick of charging a 4500mah lipo at 2.5 amps, so that's pretty much decided on... Basically, many many baby steps. If I'm lucky, I'll finish by Christmas (probably the very end of this summer realistically, and in that case, I can take this beast to college with me!)...LOL!

I'm flying an E-sky Honey Bee Mk3 Fixed Pitch. I'm getting better at it. A week ago, I could hardly get it off the ground, and when I did, it crashed after 10 seconds. Now, I can actually hover it about 5 or 6 feet off the ground for 30-40 seconds, and then bring it down safely. Broke a paddle bar frame though....so I'm out of the skies for a few more days (I have an order that should be getting here soon; ordered it before I even broke the part, so it's a good thing I stocked up on doubles and triples of these little parts!).

Helis are difficult, but it's so rewarding when you do finally get the hang of it.

[TexasSP]

realflight4 is your best friend. I am spending ample time on that thing before I dive in and spend the money on a real heli. I have a cx2 but want to buy a trex 600. I plan on waiting a while before I do it though.

I've read on numerous forums that if you can fly a smaller (mini/micro) fixed pitch heli, you can handle the larger CP helis no problem (especially the much larger, more stable ones). My heli isn't a coaxial either, so it's that much more of a pain in the butt to fly in windy conditions here in Florida (I'm about 14 miles from the coast, so during the day, there's always a breeze- most of my flying is in the very late afternoon and into dusk).

The Honey Bee came with this flight sim software, but unfortunately, it's only for windows XP. It won't work on Vista (which is what I have on my laptop). I did toy around with it on my mom's PC which still has XP though. I think that's partly why I'm able to get it off the ground and actually hover it for a decent amount of time before the wind kicks up and I have to bring it down. It definitely helped me develop more finesse so I can correct the heli ever so slightly.

I'm not buying another heli until I can fly this sucker perfectly though. When I get to that point though, I'm going to upgrade to a Trex or Belt CP; preferably something larger that comes with a brushless outrunner in it already.

Just a quick update: I got the Imax B6 charger. Decent price, does 1-6 lipos, 1-15 NiMH. I needed a new charger to begin with (my dynamite vision peak ultra just can't charge fast enough since it only has a 2.5 amp MAX charge rate for lipos).