Mud deals on Axial Wraith Rock Racer? (1 Viewer)

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IdahoDoug

IdahoDoug

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So, my 11 year old son has a birthday coming up in a month and he has been hinting for this RC car. I looked at one at a hobby shop on vacation and it is pretty impressive. The price is quite a bit more than we spend on a birthday. But if anyone here is an RC dealer, I'd be interested in seeing the money go to a Mudder. So, if anyone's got a connection, I'm interested.

In addition, any comments on this particular model good or bad? It seems to be a nice all-rounder in that it can crawl, but also generate a fair bit of speed. I like the "out of the box" solution vs trying to build one up.

Regards,
DougM
 
I've been drooling over one for some time and can't justify it...too many RC toys already...but I've liked my other Axial products!
 
By far the best out of the box RC!
Be prepared to upgrade things as they bust.
First thing for me was the servo arm, but I have heard of the stock motors burning up rathere quickly.
Here's the IH8MUD of RC Crawlers:
http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/axial-wraith/
And my 11 year old having fun:
Cole and the Wraith, Barview OR August 8 2011.jpg
 
If no one here can hook you up, I would say either support your local hobby store (i you have one), or try Tower Hobbies, they have a "easy pay" payment plan where you make 3 payments(1 a month for 3 months). Also you will need batteries and a charger.
 
I just got an rtr one as my first rc and it is heaps of fun. I'm already up for a new servo after 3 days though. And they flip real easy. But damn it's fun! Go get one, but be prepared to pay for some upgrades in the near future.
 
serenity said:
I just got an rtr one as my first rc and it is heaps of fun. I'm already up for a new servo after 3 days though. And they flip real easy. But damn it's fun! Go get one, but be prepared to pay for some upgrades in the near future.
Click to expand...

A qiuck and free mod to lower the center of gravity (flip less) is to take the lower link/shock mount on the axles and turn it over.
You'll be suprised how much difference it makes!
 
billybongo63 said:
A qiuck and free mod to lower the center of gravity (flip less) is to take the lower link/shock mount on the axles and turn it over.
You'll be suprised how much difference it makes!
Click to expand...

I have read that elsewhere, but I've been hanging up on my axles including the lower shock mount as much as I've been flipping it. Might give it a try though. Was planning on buying an upper shock mount lowering kit and a battery forward kit though, I'm a sucker for spending money.
 
Great RTR RC, be prepared as mentioned above you will need to upgrade parts. My son's RC needed a new servo arm, motor and recently he stripped the main reduction gear in the gear box. I would go with the Wraith that you assemble, it comes with alot of upgraded parts.
 
The motor? How does that get trashed and how to avoid? Is it just common sense - don't hold the throttle wide open when it can't turn the tires like trapped against a rock? Or is it just from ordinary but frequent use? If the latter (use) would it make sense to upgrade the motor or will that just expose other things to breakage right away?

If anyone with experience could suggest what to get if I go the "assemble it" version which has no remote, motor or batteries, what bits make sense to get so I can get these bits at the same time? Thanks in advance - can't believe I am considering this.

DougM
 
Well if you want to crawl it then I would go with a Tekin 35T and the FXR speed control (I think that is the right designation) they sell the motor and ESC as a combo. I would do either a Spektrum or Futaba radio/receiver combo, I would recommend a 3 channel Pistol grip. Hitec servos, metal or titanium gear, for steering. I have started using Savox servos, supposed to be great quality and about half the price of a comparable Hitec. I will have report back on longevity.

On the motor side, the lower the turn the faster it will go, so for super low crawling 55T is where it is at, but they are VERY slow. The RTR version comes with a 27T motor. For all out speed you will be down in the 12T range but I would probably stay away from that. Whatever you select, make sure the ESC is rated for the motor. I would also try and get a Li-po safe ESC. Even if you use regular stick batteries to begin with, having the ability to go to Li-Po is worth it. If you are starting completely fresh I would recommend just going Li-Po from the start. The run times are much longer with them, especially on a crawler.

Clear as MUD! Hope that wasn't to much info to get you started.
 
I run 2.2 comps with 35t motors in my XR and fxr esc's. They work great and give me the wheel speed needed at times. Typically the hardest thing on the motors is the instant and constant forward/reverse throttle to recover from rollovers.
Savox does make decent servos, I have ran one in the past. For the most part though I stick with Hitec, they have been great to me on warranty work. The 7954sh can be found for around $90-100 and gives you up to 400oz of torque.
For a radio I have been very happy with the Futaba 4PL, a lot of features for it in the $240 price range.
But to be sure to avoid a lot of electronic gremlins, get a bec from Castle Creations to supply power for your servo. The high torque servos have too much drain on the bec circuitry in most esc's. Hope this helps in some ea.
 
Well, a complete change of gears at the last minute. I realized his two buddies have Traxxas 2WD Slashes. So I was concerned he'd have fun by himself with the Wraith, but at the most fun time when they're all together he would be out classed on speed and they couldn't even come near the terrain his Wraith would b able to tackle with ease. So I talked to him a bit and he agreed a Slash would be better so he could race and horse around with his buddies. I ordered the new VXL Slash with the new brushless motor and LiPo battery for his birthday. So he will be able to slaughter them and when he's driving it alone it will have a ton of power to play with. The thing will go 60mph! So I will spend a bit of time with him at first, in hopes he does not stack it up before getting a handle on that power.

Thanks for the advice on the Wraith. Heck, I want one of those things!!!

DougM
 
Nice catch there. If he is playing with his buds, they would have smoked him in the wraith. Agreed with the RPM parts. They are tough as nails and a perfect addition to any basher's RC, especially a new driver with that Kind of power to control.

Oh and you are a frikin' awesome dad. Hope you guys enjoy it.
 
GCRad1 here on Mud works for Axial. I'm surprised he hasen't chimed in yet!
 
Jynx,

Thanks for your kind words. I really dig being a Dad. The package is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I'm going to have to hide it until next week. Where else but out in the LandCruiser I don't drive anymore which brought him home from the hospital when he was born? Perfect. I was thinking of opening it, charging the battery, loading batteries in the remote and confirming it works before repackaging. The local shop also has a 3 cell 6400 lipo battery they're selling for $100 that was used a few times. Bet it would be crazy fast with that thing and I wanted to get him a 2nd battery so he can run the thing to his heart's content. I might snag it when I'm out that way tomorrow. Was thinking of hiding it for a couple days and whipping it out of my pocket just for fun. The shop put it in a truck for me and it's like the same truck but on crack! Wow.

Standby as next week I'll probably be asking where to get the parts that he's likely to crunch. It's snowy up here, so I'm going to have to find him a big space to drive it indoors or a plowed parking lot. A few years ago, we used to take the Cruiser out to a field and I'd sit on the tailgate watching him drive a smaller RC car. Memories. Time for some new ones to augment those.

DougM
 
Doug, Look into a charging container to put the lipo's in while charging. They do bad things when something goes wrong. Read up on lipo safety, and show your son some of the videos on what can happen when one fails on a charger (or even in general).

Oh yeah, dont put that big battery in your pocket...you might not like the jolt ;)

Enjoy the bonding. Ive got great memories with my daughter flying rc planes, and rc sailboats
 
Good advice on lipo safety.
Check www.hobbyking.com for good prices on lipos and also all the dimensions. If you order in stock batteries from the usa warehouse they should be there in a few days.
Happy Bday to your boy!
 
Hey wow - thanks for the heads up on the lipo safety. That could suck. So I looked at the hobby king site and with the lipo warning, are their lipo batteries the equiv of the pricey Traxxas units in quality? The hobby king lipo sells for literally 1/4 the price of the Traxxas lipo at roughly same output 6000 hobby king vs 6400 Traxxas. Are they cheap junk, or OK product but the Traxxas branded batteries are essentially a sticker on the outside and a ripoff?

Doug
 
This is random, but I know I typed a pretty long post about the batteries and about charging and storing and since I don't see it here, then either it didn't make it up or there is a very odd post in the wrong forum....:meh:

Anyway, not sure about the Hobby King packs. I agree that charging safety is important and I use a two drawer steel craftsman tool box with a deep top to store my charger and it also makes a great place to charge the packs. The drawers are good for tool storage and other misc spares.
 
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