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I told my friend in Physics class that I was considering getting a Nitro car since I've been telling him of all of my micro r/c endeavors. You know he says to me, he says, "You can have mine, I barely use it." Yes that right, he gave me his Traxxas S-Maxx.

I was astounded to say the least. I went to his house and he showed me the ropes and gave me everything I needed. He gave me two starter batteries, a 3/4 full can of Nitro fuel, the tools and little gas pump. He gave me the trickle charger and a spare body too. Check out the pics.

Do any of you guys have any advice or tricks for me. I have the manual and know to clean the filter and all of that. Anything else?





P.S. The body dirt is from me. In the last picture you can see that I cleaned it all up.

I'm jealous!

I'm a total nitro newb myself. So I have no tips to offer. Anyone got any tips to offer me?

Shit dude, that's a total score. Nice friend you have there.

I have some tricks and tips for you, but alot of is going to be learning as you go.

Nitro is really fun, but can be finicky as the tune on your engine changes with tepms and wear on the engine itself.

How much compression does that little 2.5 have left? How hard is it to turn the fly wheel over by hand?

There are a ton of after market parts available for the Maxx line of trucks, so makin it a one of a kind is no problem. I would just drive it the way it is till you get used to it. Or start breaking parts on it. Once you do, you can replace the broken stuff with better parts. There are actually a bunch of new parts on the new 3.3 Maxx that will drop straight on to your truck. Like the sealed diffs, servo saver steering rack, beefy air filter, axles, tranny, ect...


You know you need to keep the air filter clean, or change it out after about every half hour of run time.

ARO = after run oil. This stuff will extend the life of your little engine and keep it from rusting on the inside. The methonal <sp? in nitro draws in moister and will wreak havoc on your internals.

A 5 cell hump pack to replace the double A batts for the Rx is a must. Much longer run times and better servo reaction.

You can do a spring mod for your brakes. This will keep you pads real close, but not rubbing, so no brake drag. Use a spring from a ball point pen. I'll post pics if you want to do it.


As for the EZ start. They DO NOT like being held on constantly. That will burn up your OWB (one way bearing). Once you get the fuel line primed, use the EZ start in 1/2 sec bursts. Starts alot easier and saves your starter batt and OWB.

I know the Maxx line like the back of my hand, so if you have any more Qs, just let me know.

Now go find a track and enter your first race...






silla

nice score man!

damn, am i the only one around here NOT GETTING FREE STUFF!





ohh yes, after run oil is a miracle worker, you know how to use the stuf eh?

pour it right down the ol intake?

not to much though, or you'll have a hell of a time getting er started again.

5 easy steps.

your gunna take the air filter off then pour the oil in the intake valve.

(now would be a good chance to clean/replace the filter)

1) close the throttle

2) pour the oil till it fills to the rim,

3) open throttle.

4) close after the oil has gone into the engine.

5) put the filter back on.

there you go!

great friend! I'd offer some advice but I'd be guessing since the only nitro stuff I've playd with was made by cox... I'm guessing things have changed by now.

sidewinder wrote:great friend! I'd offer some advice but I'd be guessing since the only nitro stuff I've playd with was made by cox... I'm guessing things have changed by now.

Yeah, there's no spring on the wheel to start it with.

What about a big plastic "flywheel"/cooling fan that you spin to start it? That was the high tech way!

Well I'm at it again. Sunuva b***h. Different friend, different Traxxas. This time it's a 4 Tec 2.5. As always, could anyone provide a little info on them other than the site rather lacking description?




As far as I can tell it is all in good working order. I left all my Nitro stuff up at Sacto thinking I wouldn't have time for it and now I don't have my charger, new fuel, or tools. So the TX and servos still work.

Wow, that 4-tec is clean.

What kind of info are you wanting?

I really need to get my self some better friends.

Haha really. Rich little town I reckon. Just the best top speed you've every gotten, anything particular about this model to watch out for. Any advantages and disadvantages. Basically just personal experience. Save me from making mistakes you all might have done, or guide me into a trap. You know how it goes...

Those are some great friends... ah, have they asked...well.. you know...for anything in return? Not that I'm saying they may like you too much but... well, if you go on a camping trip with them just be sure to wash up well afterwards and get a penicillin shot

It's a Traxxas and it's alot like your S-Maxx.

They have the same engine, and starting system, so if you can work on that, you'll be fine. Just go look at the exploded views over at Traxxas.

It's way fuckin faster, so easy on the gas (assuming the engine isn't blown) and you'll be fine there too.

Make sure your brakes are set BEFORE you run it and get some foam tires for it.

Let us know how it goes.

Your friend rocks. Give him my address please...






silla

Well as an update, it turns out that the 4-Tec required/s alot more work than the S-Maxx did. All I had to do on the S-Maxx was clean her up and tune her for the area. With the 4-Tec I couldn't get the piston to turn by hand (via the metal gear thing...) or with the EZ start. So I ended up taking the whole engine apart including the carburetor and EZ start.

• First the EZ start hoping that the pinion was stripped and just not turning the piston over. Wrong.
  
  Then I went to the engine hoping that my friend left fuel in the engine and the oil just gunked up the piston. Right.
  
  Then I put it all back together and tried it out. Couldn't get fuel to go from the tank to the carb. Tried sucking it out to see if was the carb or fuel line. Stupid.
  
  Next I moved to the carb hoping that fuel was just gummed up in the intake. Wrong. Ended up swapping with a spare carb. Right.
  
  Got her to run a little today for the first time. Ran out of fuel and after refilling couldn't get her to start again. Something sounds funky after a few turns and I think exhaust is escaping from between the heat sync and cylinder.

But today I'm packing it all up and moving to my duplex for college. So in a few days I should have time to finish working on her.

I always liked the nitro noise but I can't imagine being patient enough to deal with it. Anyways, sounds like you're getting a handle on it.

sidewinder wrote:I always liked the nitro noise but I can't imagine being patient enough to deal with it. Anyways, sounds like you're getting a handle on it.

It test my patience, but I need to work on my patience, and the pay off makes it all worth it.

I just keep telling myself, air, fuel, compression, spark, it's gotta go, and every time I have a problem, I'll later realize I missed part of the equation.

Then I put it all back together and tried it out. Couldn't get fuel to go from the tank to the carb. Tried sucking it out to see if was the carb or fuel line. Stupid.

Mmmm, don't you love the taste of nitro in the morning?

I pulled a stupid one time and blew into the wrong line to prime the carb. The back pressure filled my mouth with fuel. I'm freaking out because its all tingly, and the wife is laughing. So I grabbed her Monster to rinse it out, she didn't like that.