Got the SCX10 Chassis built up and it's looking cool.

Saddleback Leather Messenger - Quest for "The Ultimate Wine Bag"

Saddleback Leather Messenger Bag
Quest for "The Ultimate Wine Bag"
by Tony Arnold

As the husband of a certified sommelier, I am the designated wine pack mule for lugging wine to more dinner parties, events, and restaurant outings, than I care to remember. My marital task drove me on a two-year quest for a better wine bag and littered my basement with dozens of bags in all shapes, sizes, and styles. Until recently all the bags failed me in one or several areas of function, durability, capacity, style or utility, however the search is finally over for the "ultimate wine bag".

Over the last two years, I made some observations about all the bags I tested. Functionally, I looked for a bag to safely and comfortably carry the magic three bottles of wine. Duffle bags had the capacity, but I broke at least two bottles from bottles tossing around inside and a duffle is not the most stylish of things.

The three bottle capacity out'ed more than a few stylish briefcases and the combined requirements of durability and style made me pass on anything synthetic or trendy. Messenger and computer bags held the wine, were durable and offered daily briefcase and computer lugging utility outside of wine toting, but lacked a timeless style and made me look like a middle-aged graduate student.

Hours of web surfing netted bag salvation in the form of a classically styled leather messenger from Saddleback Leather (www.SaddlebackLeather.com). Saddleback focuses on classic legacy quality leather suitcases, briefcases, and messenger bag designs with a promoted slogan of "they'll fight over it when you are dead". Saddleback's classic styles remind me of a time long gone when bags were functionally built tough to last generations instead of months with the ability to show daily wear and tear as beauty marks of pride instead of scars.

Given my growing "Imelda Marcos" type bag collection, I thought why not and picked up the Saddleback Messenger bag. In an era of marketing hype, the Saddleback Messenger bag surpassed my highest expectations. Not only did it hold three wine bottles perfectly, but it was the epitome of durability. The bags are made from 1/8" thick full grain leather, thick industrial thread, and has no zippers or snaps to break - imagine a messenger bag made to Harley Davidson leather specifications and you get the idea. That type of quality is not inexpensive. Saddleback's Messenger is priced at $350, which is just under upper tier'ed leather competitors such as Cole Haan, Coach and Hartmann. The difference is that Saddleback delivers a different type of product, where Coach and Cole Hahn deliver more of a purse quality feel and Hartmann more of a luggage style, Saddleback has a feel of classic brutal durability. When you are hauling around $1000+ worth of wine, the security of knowing the bag will not fail is the most important feature, but this messenger bag has style as well.

The 14"x 12 3/4"x 4" pictured bag has now endured almost a year of torture and still looks great, hasn't lost a thread, split a seam, or popped a rivet. It has survived being tossed & thrown, dropped, an attempted tug-a-war theft, daily commutes and numerous cross-country trips. It has hauled untold amounts of wine, pulled daily duty as a laptop case and even used as a food transport cooler - slip a 9x9 panned gratin into the messenger and it will be piping hot at the party. The Saddleback leather messenger has become my Leatherman multitool of bags and even has room for said tool, wine key, and pens in the internal dual pockets. On the exterior, a couple exterior pockets are perfect for sunglasses and electronics and rear stash folder pocket is handy for my earplugs, iTouch, and blackberry or when I am just too lazy to open the bag. The Backpack conversion feature is especially handy just as you realize you are late for your connecting flight... at the other end of the terminal and need to dash. Sometimes perfection is simple, handmade craftsmanship, full grain leather, and a size that is perfect - I think I have found bag'utopia. The Saddleback Messenger is so good you don't have to wait until I'm dead, I'll fight you for it now.

Sources - www.SaddlebackLeather.com - Saddleback Leather Messenger Bag

Review & Test of the New 2006 Traxxas XL-5 Stampede, XL-5 Rustler, and XL-5 Bandit

Review & Test of the New 2006 Traxxas XL-5 Stampede, XL-5 Rustler, and XL-5 Bandit

Street Price as tested about $170 each.

Initially when I first wrote this I begged for the opportunity to evaluate some test units from Traxxas, so I had to steal some test time with friends' new XL-5 rigs, but since then I have gotten my hands on both of these models and also the new Bandit as I reviewed in the July 2007 issue of RC Car Magazine. Done full tear downs, and detailed inspections.

The Initial Gut Review - Style Points
Although not new from the ground up, Traxxas has done a great job of bringing some cool to the party with these newly updated entry level R/Cs. To barrow a phase from Paris Hilton, the first time I looked at the pair I though "That's Hot". Traxxas definitely hit all my urban redneck buttons on this redo with the style update. Both just look fast even standing still - that is if have the willpower to just let them sit there.

Although a skeptic of the new gray chassis material, it does look a lot better in person than the old black. I noticed in our little test that gray also doesn't show the dirt like the black chassis did, so that is a plus as well. I think my wife also told me gray was the new black... must be the reason for the color switch. At any rate, it looks good and I am thinking that gray plastic will look much better imbedding in my arms and forehead as it spins in a molten state from my Dremel when the chassis modifications begin. The arms and various other parts stay the same basic black.

The wheels and tires are just too cool. Yes gone are the redneck cowboy 1990'ish hard as plastic "when the heck are these going to actually wear out so I can buy good tires." In are some Jato inspired low profile style tires with stickier compound and an actual usable tread pattern. Oversized rims retain standard overall tire dimensions all while performing better and providing that slammed look unlike any stock tire/wheel combo available.

Both bodies have a little more up-to-date graphics than the 90's Lexan cover shells of old with groovy 90s paint themes. Sorry same actual bodies from last run including the super outdated Bandit body, just different graphics. Frankly I never really warmed up to the old Rustler body why O why didn't they use the Jato body for the new Rustler I will never know. But I may be the only one in the crowd with that look on my face over the Rusty's body, most people think it's great and from Traxxas' perspective it sells well too, so what do I know. Although still not favorite body, the new Rustler adds some sharp graphic looks on it's new body - love the silver accents. Between the two, the new Stampede body graphics won the big style points and the cool award, with the Rustler being tastefully updated at least into this decade with a screaming loud color scheme that puts it on top of the ready-to-run stadium truck heap among it's competition.

Again thinking that Paris Hilton phase, the ESC looks like a mini nuclear fusion reactor dressed in yellow. Personally I love it. An ESC with style, leave it to Traxxas to bring it with a little of "the my ESC is better than yours and mine is stock" look with technical specs to back it up. I would image there will be a lot of these little buggers sold as upgrade ESCs for the vintage electrics still out there in circulation. Way to go Traxxas.

The Titan, is not much in the way of looks, stainless can with a torque sleeve and sticker applied, but it sure does look beefy. And perceptively bigger than the old Stinger.

The gray shocks I could take or leave. My initial impression is that they are attempting to make you think they are aluminum. After a second look I would imagine that the new material color combo was simply used for major components (chassis to shocks) and as a result the shocks were also gray like the chassis. Sure, whatever, my R/Cs tends to spend more time in use than as art work, so as long as they work, (they should work even better now with improved seals), I am a happy camper. Others in the market are offering adjustable camber links, bearings, and adjustable shocks at this price so Traxxas better start to step up a little with the amenities.

The new transmitter gun includes updated graphics, but other than that it seems and feels like the same old reliable transmitter that has been wedged in my hand over the last couple of years. No complaints last time, none now.

The Want List - Give it to me Now!
Like the little brat in Willy Wonka, we all want it all and we all want it now, whether actually feasible or financially do-able. Let's take a look as the top requests for the new Rustler and Stampede and what everyone was hoping for and see whether Traxxas delivered.

More Power & Speed
Did Traxxas deliver? Yes, definitely with a new XL-5 ESC with low turn limit and a huge fan cooled torquey 550 sized 12 turn motor.

The real answer is that it depends on you RC experience. If this is one of the first R/Cs you have purchased or are even a seasoned RC'er, you are going to be mighty impressed with the power that Traxxas has dropped in these new ready-to-race models. There is a ton of torque and both models supply some pretty incredible speed compared to anything else on the market for the same price or less.

Luckily, if you are just starting out or have a "less experienced" driver taking the wheel, such as your father, son, daughter, or best friend's kid, Traxxas' new XL-5 has a "Training Mode" that comes to the rescue preventing damage from the less experienced drivers. It does this all while allowing you to be the generous person people know you are, remember it's nice to share your toys but it's also great that your toys not get trashed in the process. Never fear. This handy training mode cuts the power by 50% of the battery's power and also doubles the run time - very nice. Crashes are thus taken down to a breakage limiting speed of about 10-15 MPH. The new XL-5 also features a "Sport Mode" (Forward / Brake / Reverse) for normal use and "Race Mode" - (Forward / Brake) for track runs, 12-Turn motor limit for high torque low current 550 size motors,15-Turn motor limit for standard 540 size motors, Integrated push button on/off switch, Traxxas EZ-Set one-button setup, Large heat sink for cooler running, and high-efficiency MOSFET transistors for lots of power. Another benefit is that the XL-5 is bolted (yes not taped) to the chassis. So no more of your ESC flopping about during nasty tip/flip overs.

Yes, we were able to get the Stampede to wheelie. The Rustler? Nope, sorry, not going to happen not unless you plug in more than 6 cells, it wants to but lofting the wheel on command is not in the cards. Wheelie test aside, the acceleration and torque was outstanding and more than expected.

An oversized "speed pinion" is even included for use on smooth road surfaces, however it should be noted that it didn't work the best in grass and rough off road surfaces. The "speed pinion" is for on road high speed endeavors and not intended for off road use. Personally I would never use the bigger pinion more than a couple times, but nice it was included. According to our handy GPS we saw speeds in excess of 45 MPH for both vehicles with some 8 cell GP3300 battery packs. Although my buddies are all excited about the ability to use 6-8 cell packs, I was happy that both models performed well with industry standard 6 cell packs as I am just a 6 cell kind of guy and unless it involves stacking 6 cell packs, I have never really liked the trouble and expense that come with higher cell count packs.

The other part of the answer is that if you are a crazy as hell RC modifier, such as yours truly, you are not going to get brushless level performance from the new XL-5/motor combo. You will get a level of performance that is darn close to a Trinity Speed Gem 14-15 turn motor - very good, outstanding in fact, better than anything else out there good, just don't expect brushless level performance. The combo will blow away almost everything else out there with a nice 8 cell set of charged batteries from the entry to mid level electric R/Cs category and quite a few of the vintage nitro R/Cs. At 30MPH'ish you have something that can really move and considering the customer target of the Stampede and Rustler, this is as fast as most of the entry and re-entry level folks can handle without making parts replacement a job instead of a hobby.

The motor although more menacing looking than the old finger blistering Stinger motor and certainly a HUGE upgrade, it still looks cheap compared to... well any other motor. Both my buddies had already performed my old Stampede Project "remove the sticker and brush with a ScotchBrite pad" mod to bump up the bling factor of the motors which now looked pretty sharp. Thankfully the new Titan is not the heater the old Stinger was and runs at about the some temperature as any standard aftermarket motor. I think a lot of this is due to the fact that both the motor and ESC are now designed to handle the power of the newer battery packs everyone is now using. Back at the introduction of the old XL-1 and Stinger, 1500Mh packs were the best available and NiCad were still all the rage. Today we have 4400Mh pack that delivery 30 Amps per cell and now we have a stock motor and ESC designed to handle that power and delivery it to the ground efficiently.

Better Tires
Did Traxxas deliver? Yes. As mentioned in the "Initial Gut Review", the Jato inspired tires have style a plenty and in my opinion are simply way cooler than any other rollers I have seen on an RC coming directly out of a stock box. The Stampede tires are now a modified terra pattern with a lot of extra pattern, looks cool works great. The Rustler's new skins feature the some style of track oriented tires as the last version but with significant overall grip and design changes that equate to much more aggressive tires. Nice job Traxxas - very impressive.

The tires are also loads grippier than their predecessors. Are they Proline level grippy? I think so close you probably won't notice and so cool looking you will probably replace them with the same stock units once they wear out. Although my buddies' RCs were only a couple days old, the tires were starting to show the type of wear I see from my Proline tires, the type of wear you should see from good tires after a week of hard use. This is a good thing and means these tires are doing their job. Unlike the old terra style (Stampede) and pin and rib (Rustler) versions, the new tires will wear much quicker than the vintage versions' mega-hard compound. But that is fine with me, I would rather have a tire that grips and wears than one that makes the car irritating and hard to drive which to old version did.

The Jato inspired tires really are pretty good all around performers and provide a good combination of on and off road traction and cornering performance. Traxxas also promises the tires to limit tire ballooning during terminal velocity speeds. Like any good racer will tell you tuning your tires to the track is 90% of the tuning battle so you may still need a couple various sets of tires for the track, but these new stockers should get you through your first couple of track sessions without worry and may perform better than a less than optimal aftermarket tire on the track. Again I am betting lots of vintage rigs get upgraded to this new stock Traxxas part that proved great all around performers.

Better Servo
Did Traxxas deliver? Yes, the good old heavy duty 2055 is now the resident servo for both the Rustler and Stampede. This dependable high torque servo has some more durable internals and more power that the 2018 of old, which is exactly what both of these tough R/Cs require.

Although later upgraded in the later Stampede releases to the 2055, the older 2018 servos simple didn't have the might to get the job done in the steering department on the old Stampede and Rustler models. As a result this was a pretty big complaint from owners as steering response was greatly hindered due to the lack of servo power. The reliability of the 2018 never seemed to wear out as long as you don't mind a gear replacement here and there, as an example after 3 years of service my old 2018 servo has taken up residence in the Tri-Pede as it's steering servo. The 2055 has proven itself over the years to be even more durable and is much less prone to gear breakage. The 2055 was and is a much better choice and is up to the task of making both units change direction with authority. Sure a super high torque metal gear servo would have been nice but not necessary in for this application. The 2055 is the same servo I have in all my Traxxas rigs and is great servo for the job and takes crazy amounts of abuse.

Improved Motor Mount
Did Traxxas deliver? Yes and no. Through a simple upgrade to wider washer head screws, a portion of this frustrating problem has been eliminated. No longer will your motor mount screws burrow deeply into the motor mount when you snug up and adjust the motor. No longer will these mini-caverns make it all but impossible to properly adjust your pinion/spur gap. And no longer will you have to fuss over the washers you used under each motor mount screw to prevent this issue. The wider washer head screws work.

The down side is that these new fangled wide washer head screws are still Phillips head screws and the heads will eventually still strip although it may now take a little longer. Why hex head machine screws were not used for this application is beyond me, but I would eventually end up going back to machine screws with washers to assure a nice tight worry free motor-to-motor mount union.

Improved Slipper
Did Traxxas deliver? Yes, in a big way.

Although once upgraded from slipper pegs to differential balls, I have had zero problems with any of my vintage rigs. That said, the new and improved Revo inspired slipper clutch should be a better all around performer right out of the box and a whole lot easier to tune. The foreseeable downside is that now we can ONLY use Traxxas spur gears and can't grab whatever X brand is available to fix a broken spur. All be it probably less prone to breakage, I will also bet that those Revo inspired spur gears are going to be a tad more expensive to replace than other standard gears available.

On the flip side new slipper clutch should be much more durable over the life of the RC and allows spurs to be changed easily WITHOUT changing or altering slipper settings. Unscrew three spur bolts, remove spur, install new spur - done all without touching the slipper. This is a huge deal as the old slipper was a complete pain to tune properly and once set you didn't want to tear it all apart to swap out a different sized spur gear for track tuning. Further the Revo inspired slipper is much easier to actually tune. Thank you Traxxas.

Aluminum Idler Gear
Did Traxxas deliver? Kind off the new Idler gear is black and seems to be tougher. I hope the durability is improved in some way that their marketing department missed (unlikely), this is still an ongoing issue. Although this is a easy and simply upgrade, I believe this is an issue which will start to rear it's ugly head as the stress of the higher output motor and ESC is delivered through the transmission. I blew my idler with a Trinity15T Titanite, the new 12T 550 motor looks to have about the same power and certainly the torque so I would expect a rash of broken idler gears in the next six months. My guess is the 7-8 cell bashers will need this replacement quickly.

Should this happen, the $10 aluminum idler gear upgrade will take about an hour and all will be forever well after that upgrade. I just think this should have been part of the Stampede and Rustler update upfront. Personally I would do the upgrade before I put one hour on either RC, because picking pieces of a blown gear out of your tranny and then cleaning it to a surgical level is not fun.

5x11 Bearing and Carriers
Did Traxxas deliver? No

My speculation why Traxxas passed on this upgrade was simply due to expense. This upgrade would have easily pushed the price of the new R/Cs well over a $200 street price and easily added $30-$50 to the price of the units. Although some would argue otherwise, full bearings and carriers would have been nice, they were not really a required upgrade for this class of RC. I think Traxxas would have been pushing the intended price point of these new models past what most people are willing to pay for a starter RC.

Stuff is getting competitive in this category - time for bearings Traxxas.

Wide Conversion
Did Traxxas deliver? No

I have some mixed feelings on why Traxxas didn't widen out the Rustler and Stampede. On one side I really think it is nuts that Traxxas have different front and rear wheel offsets and the screwball front wheels. This just makes wheel buying and tire rotation a pain. I personally along with tons of other folks swear by the wide-pede/wide-rusty conversions, however that doesn't necessarily make it the right thing to do for everyone. On the other side of the argument, doing a proper wide conversion and designing it correctly into the whole RC would have entailed more than a simple update than Traxxas provided on this go around. Still some new extended front arms would have been all that would have been required and...hint... would be a great upgrade part.

Stiffer Chassis
Did Traxxas deliver? Yes

Contoured identical to the old chassis the new gray is an upgrade all be it slight. Stepping into the voodoo that is plastic chemistry, Traxxas is using a new graphite impregnated material that is harder, stronger and marginally lighter than the old black stuff. Although not immediately noticeable, the chassis is also stiffer when flexed than the old black chassis. Don't argue with the chemists - it's better and it's gray.

Better Shocks
Did Traxxas deliver? Yes

The Ultra-Shocks are back and now new and improved with X-Ring seals and made from the newer, supposedly more durable, gray plastic composite material. The X-Ring seals promise, longer life, a better seal, and lower friction than traditional O-ring seals. The new springs aside from color remain unchanged, although some have said the front springs are a little lighter on the Rustler (I didn't find that when comparing my buddies' R/Cs to my stock springs). They looked like the same length and weight as the old versions and are still too hard to provide a full range of adjustment. On the Stampede that harder spring rate is fine, because almost everyone is going up in height not down. On the Rustler it's and issue. Without adding any spring pre-load spacers the springs still run the arms a wee bit too high so if you are really serious about competing with the Rustler, I would suggest picking up a couple sets of softer springs to play around with. Not that we all have the new super light and high output LiPo batteries out such as the one's in one in my buddies Rustler, the ride height is just a little to high and the need for softer springs is apparent.

Lighter Overall Weight
Did Traxxas deliver? Kind of.

Most of the components have either gone down in weight or are the same, however the new motor and ESC tip the scale to slightly heavier R/Cs than last year. I personally think the weight increase was worth it, new ESC, motor, motor mount, heavier servo, and tires and wheels, all great things that are worth the extra ounces and will more than make up for the weight with enormous performance increases.

On the Rustler - Make it an E-Jato and for the Stampede - Make it like an E-SportMaxx
Did Traxxas deliver? Kind of and kind of not. I think we were all hoping for a complete top to bottom redo of both trucks where we would see the Rustler receive a super high performance chassis and steering system and the Stampede get a little wider, meatier looking, and have the option for even a drop in 4 wheel drive kit.

Overall I think the Stampede seemed to make the biggest change toward meeting expectations simply because it has less of a distance to go than the Rustler. On the Stampede you accept the limitations of direct servo steering and the chassis as the trade off of amazing bashing durability. The design goals were to simply tweak a great design. I think that Traxxas really missed the boat with not doing a wide conversion and really should have been an update on this version of the Stampede. This would have simply required two new molds for front arms and would have guaranteed ancillary sales of everyone upgrading the vintage Rustler and Stampedes with this easy upgrade part.

On the Rustler there was a little further to go. We have seen three generations of better steering linkage systems, huge leaps in chassis design, wheels, transmission designs, and overall looks come to market. This was a lot to expect and are pretty lofty goals for a sub $200 RC. We now have a better chassis material, wheels and tires, slipper, and even cutting edge brushed power. Big updates but still a long way from the cutting edge engineering of the Jato.

My Take on the Upgrades
The designers and engineers at Traxxas can only do so much while maintaining a reasonable price point. Overall Traxxas took a giant leap forward on performance that actually makes the Stampede and Rustlers pretty impressive 1/10 scale R/Cs. Upgrades cost money and there is no way around that material fact. Would we have liked it better with this upgrade and some additional that, absolutely, however we would have been looking at a whole different price point on these new Traxxas rigs instead of sub-$200 prices.

If you buy a new Xl-5 Stampede or Rustler will you still feel compelled to upgrade? With the new upgrades, the answer is yes but without as much urgency as the older units. The last round required...no mandated, an almost immediate upgrade to a better ESC and motor - that big upgrade already done upgrades are not as pressing. Personally, if I was to suddenly come into possession of one of these new units (hint to the Traxxas marketing department as your number one and highest visited Stampede and Rustler resource), aside from my personal little tweaks, I think an RPM bumper and the bearings and carriers upgrade would be about it for a while until wore out a couple sets of tires. It used to be that a stock Stampede or Rustler would literally get eaten alive right out of the box, with these new versions that has changed. These new Traxxas R/Cs are back on the top of the heap with loads of top speed, power, and performance and will do a fair job holding their own in all but the most competitive environments and engagements. Also with the Training Mode on the ESC, this is truly a long-term RC that a newbie or youngster can grow into for a long time to come all while giving the more advanced driver in the house plenty of excitement in regular modes all from one RC.

Grumbles aside I think, Traxxas has done a great job on this go around, although I might request the NEXT revision not take another 10-15 years.

Is the Stampede Track/Race Worthy?

Is the Stampede Track/Race Worthy?

This has been a huge topic of discussion on the Traxxas Forums, on both the Rustler and Stampede posts, that I though I would expound on it a bit.

A post from Midge - Monster.Traxxas.com
"The more I read on places other than the Traxxas forums, the more I hear about stampede's and rustler's simply not cutting it on the local track. Don't get me wrong, even if this is true, I have absolutely no regrets about getting a stampede as my first car. The availability of Traxxas parts, the help I receive on this forum every day, and other great things about Traxxas made it the right choice for me. I just wanted to know, is there truth behind these rumors? As far as electrics go, I honestly do not see that huge a difference in performance as far as the base of the car goes. I was under the assumption that two 2wd's with similar components will perform similarly, is this not true? Do people just say it because some of the stock components are sub par? Just interested to see what some of you think."

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My Response

When I was looking at getting "back" into RC when I purchased my Stampede, there were three types of RC design categories - 1. Race specific, 2. Race Oriented 3. Fun Durable Project R/Cs.

The Rustler falls into category #2, and the Stampede into #3.

Although it is possible to get the Stampede and Rustler into category #1, you are pushing the limits of the car and the design, keeping in mind those cars designed for that category are already that much ahead of the Stampede and Rustler right out of the box. From and inverse perspective, taking a car from category #1 and attempting the absolute idiotic behavior we all do with the Stampede (and or Rustler) would be an expensive experiment in breaking plastic.

Traxxas makes great trucks, very durable trucks, easy to maintain trucks, but durable and easy to maintain does not typically equate to a really light, and a set it and forget it track winning race RC. Pick you battles. For example - I focused on Shear Durability (on this site StampedeProject.com), Jang focused on Racing, Swami on Speed, Mis-Behavin on documenting the heck out of everything as well as some great upgrades. It's hard to take a potato and make it an orange so I have some great respect for those people like Jang and Swami who can and do make it happen.

Learn to drive. I was just at a huge regional event here in Omaha for indoor racing and these guys were incredible... no they were astounding drivers. I watched for almost an hour and didn't see one barrier hit, not one missed turn, about 50 racers running on a track at 30-40 MPH like slot cars - AMAZING

From my experience driving is the key more than anything else. Timmy with 6 months of experience who's daddy just bought hit the latest greatest "whatever" with blah blah blah upgrades will get blown away by a seasoned R/C'er on the track running some Frankenstein looking bashing RC and man is it embarrassing - I have seen it happen over and over and it isn't pretty.

Learn to drive.
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More on the Topic
Learning to drive on the track, not hitting anything, taking turns efficiently, and picking a good driving line and be able to do it consistently over and over again is how to beat others on the track. Racing and winning is 95% or more driving skill and only 5% the car. My example above is referencing that fact that so many people believe that just by buying Z brand of RC that it makes them a better R/C'er than someone else with X brand. What makes a great R/C'er is practice, patience, and skill.

The Stampede is capable of being a race placing competitor with the right tires, suspension tweaks and maybe even moving under-mounting the battery such as Jang's famous Stampede on UltimateRC.com, but most importantly only if you know how to drive it. Additionally, I believe that if you learn the skill to tune the Stampede to be competitive, once you have the driving skill you will be a tweaking master with a higher end race oriented R/Cs. Learn to drive and you will win.

FAQs on the Traxxas Stampede, Rustler, and Bandit.

FAQs on the Traxxas Stampede, Rustler, and Bandit.

Which should I buy the Stampede, Rustler, or Bandit?

All three models share the vast majority of their parts with the exception of body, chassis, and tires so even if you "pick the wrong one, you can easily convert it to the other with about $50 in parts (although I would just buy an additional RC). The Rustler and Bandit are almost identical with the exception of tires and bodywork so converting a bandit to Rustler and vise versa takes a body and wheel swap and a spur gear change.

If you desire to be a professional track racer or at least spend some quality time at the track cutting your teeth on racing, go buy a Traxxas Rustler or Bandit there is no better starter trucks than a Traxxas Rustler for the beginner racer. If you want to just have fun, jumping, bashing, and in general running amuck in your neighborhood and grassy areas of your yard, the Stampede is your RC. Sure the Rustler will do this but will require big wheels being added like Moabs or Masher 2000 added and a spur gear change to have the same abilities as the Stampede. I also believe the Stampede chassis to be much more suited to handle extreme abuse more so than the Rustler/Bandit chassis. Whatever your decision buy the RPM Wide Bumper right away for either, this must have $5 upgrade will save you the pain, agony and cost of replacing front end components.

Whether you just like to terrorize the neighborhood or are a seasoned RC veteran, the Stampede, Rustler, and Bandit are durable, low maintenance RC trucks that provides tons of fun in stock and modified forms all at a price that is hard to beat.

What length should me antenna be?
The stock replacement length is 22 3/4"-"23 measured from the edge of the receiver. Adjust accordingly.

What is the lowest turn motor I can gear properly for the Stampede/Rustler/Bandit?
With the stock MSC and old stock XL-1 ESC the limit is 17 turns, however with a higher performance ESC you could go as low as a 14 turn motor without having problems properly gearing the new motor. Almost any brushless motor will work as the power of the brushless motors makes all by the lowest turn brushless motors very gear-able in the Stampede, Rustler, and Bandit and work on a different set of rules and can be geared appropriately regardless of their specified "turn". The new 2006 XL-5 can handle 15 Turn regular 540 sized motors and 12 Turn larger Maxx sized 550 Motors.

What are the some of the standard modifications most people make to hop up their Stampede/Rustler/Bandit - yes for the most part even the new 2006 models?

Below is a list of some common modifications that can increase durability, speed, and your overall enjoyment of the your RC.

• RPM Bumper - $5 (a must have item, if you buy nothing else, buy this)

• Washer backed motor mount - $0-5 for parts

• Make it easy, measure you antenna length and write it with a permanent marker on the receiver or better yet on a piece of paper and put it inside the receiver. That way if you shear off an antenna (and you will), you can just cut a new one and re-attach it. You will thank me later.

• Traxxas Aluminum Shock Caps - $10 (Once on - never had a problem)

• Shock Strengthening - Add two Silicon O rings per shock to gently limit shock over travel - $0-5 for parts (insurance against breakage)

• RPM Gear Cover - $5 (insurance against breakage)

• Floppy Antenna Fix with shrink wrap or electrical tape - $0 (Fixes an annoyance and protects antenna)

• Aired Tires - $0 (better performance & traction)

• CA Glue tires/rims - $5 (better traction - less tire to rim spin under torque)

• Adjustable front camber links - $10 (corrects camber alignment issues)

• RPM 5X11 Bearing carriers and stainless steel sealed bearings - $30 (more spin)

• Various Pinion/Spur gears - $25

• Differential Repack with heavy grease - $2 (like a limited slip differential.)

• Converted pivot screw on rear shock to a pivot ball - performance and durability

• Replace stock front shock tower with a Nitro Rustler Front Shock Tower

• Traxxas aluminum idler gear - you Will break the plastic idler, everyone does, but will probably never have another transmission problem after replacing the idler gear with aluminum I never have will the exception of a differential replacement.

• All power connectors upgraded to Deans Plugs or Power Poles - $20 (More Power!)

• All power wires upgraded to Deans or equivalent 12 Gauge Wire - $5 (More Power!)

• A higher performance ESC and motor - the stock 2006 model is pretty good already.

• Wide-pede conversion - performance and stability.

• Aftermarket tires - performance and durability - the stock 2006 are really very good.

• RPM Lower shock cups - Longer, deeper, and stronger than stock - less likely to break or pop off.

• Custom lightened chassis - $0 (Shaved weight but it took time and patience)

• Lowered/Shaved body mounts to lower body. - $0 (Dremel-ed them down for a lower look)

• Suspension Kingpin e-clip upgrade (insurance against breakage)

Is the XL-1 a good ESC (electronic speed control)?

The XL-1 is a great ESC to get you going in the hobby. The second part of the answer is that Traxxas has attempted to provide a good quality ESC affordably and as such it may not compare with as many features, have as much power, or as low a motor turn limit as other speed controls available which can cost significantly more. As your skills increase, you may want to add a more feature rich and more powerful speed control which can accommodate lower turn limit more powerful motors OR go directly to a brushless system which will put you money ahead in the long run.

Is the new XL-5 a good ESC (electronic speed control)?

The XL-5 is a very nice ESC and should provide you with everything you need from and ESC until you move to a brushless system - which by the way should be your next move from a cost efficiency perspective.

How should I gear my Stampede, Rustler or Bandit?

The pre-2006 models come geared stock at 78/18 Bandit, 84/18 Rustler, and 87/18 Stampede. The general rule is to run a stock sized spur (the big gear) with 2 teeth less for the pinion (the small gear) than the Turns of the motor. So let's say you pick up a Trinity Pro-Amber 17T or a new SV2 17T, you should probably gear at 15/87 on the Stampede as an example.

On the new 2006 models the spurs are available in 76, 83, 86, and 90 tooth sizes with the 86 being stock. The new pinions from Traxxas range from 18, 19, 23, to 25 teeth.

The 5 Second Rule applies to gearing where if you can hold your finger on the motor for more than 5 seconds the gearing is fine. If not your need to go down one or a couple teeth on the pinion until you find the point where the motors operating temperature runs cool enough to pass the 5 Second Rule.

Go Fast Cheap High Speed and Short Run Times...they are related.

Go Fast Cheap
High Speed and Short Run Times...they are related.

So you are either too cheap or cash strapped to buy one of the Castle Creations Mamba Max 5700 brushless systems, but still want to go really fast with your brushed motors. OK but this will take some work, tweaking and there are some pretty significant compromises. With this setup it is for one purpose and one purpose only, going really fast on the road. Additionally, your run times will be about 2 minutes, you batteries and motor may become extremely hot, and off-road use will be non-existent. ...And yes you could seriously damage lots of stuff in the process - consider yourself warned. It worked for me but as I make no warranties to this build.

It goes without saying that I have at least 10 or so ideas bouncing around in my head at any one time - some good and some down right stupid. This was one idea that has some merit.

The thing is I am sick and tired of everyone saying you can�t make a Stampede go over X MPH with anything other than a brushless setup or you can�t severely over gear the Stampede, or you can�t use this or that motor because you can�t gear it properly, this is just wrong.

Yes, under typical situations those statements are correct and a 14 turn motor is the lowest gear-able motor, but you can make a lower turn motor work with the right �tuning�. The notion of �can�t� (gear, motor, or MPH) is contrary to every piece of proven physics and science available. Transmissions, gearing, clutches were all designed to make cars faster, torque-ier, more efficient all with less power. They have 81 MPH bicyclist, not even 1 HP and 81 MPH ...makes you think.

After looking at a motorcycle wet clutch system and hydrostatic systems (I will let you look up how they work), I began to think, if I really loosened my slipper clutch (with dif balls installed) to the point that it would let�s say be tight enough to just get the Stampede moving it would in theory prevent damage to the battery, esc, and motor from severe over gearing. In theory, it wouldn�t fully lock up until about 20-30MPH. It would start to slip as soon as more torque (slower speeds) are required or obstacles encountered, and slip less when more HP (top speed) is needed and as the speed increases. This is not a wheel popping or even decently accelerating setup rather a high-speed only vehicle setup.

Always keep in mind that a slipper clutch has three basic settings and only two purposes. Setting #1 is very loose, #2 is set to slip a little to protect the transmission, #3 is cranked all the way down (like most of us do) and provides little, or no, transmission protection, and performs as a fixed gear retainer (and of course produces those wonderful wheelies). The two actual purposes are to either to protect the transmission with limited slip OR act as more of a centrifugal clutch to control and smooth torque and power transfer between the motor and the transmission. Many race winners know that a looser clutch can be the secret for smooth power output. My setup is way on the far end of the second purpose and slips like crazy. I WANT TO STRESS DO NOT OVER GEAR WITH A LIMITED SLIP OR LOCKED SLIPPER THIS WILL BE VERY BAD.

In a VERY simplistic way this is exactly how a hydrostatic transmission or wet clutch works, the motor runs in its higher RPM all the way through the speed range. At a higher RPM the speed of the motor approaches or matches the speed of the transmission shaft and at that point operates as if it was hard geared such as how we typically operate our Stampedes (with the slipper clutch cranked down).

So what did I do with this new found knowledge, I installed a Titanite 15T motor with 32T pinion and 87T spur, tightened the slipper clutch just to the point where it would move the Pede up a small incline and headed to the road. What happened was amazing. The clutch did exactly what it was supposed to do, slipped less and less until about 35+MPH and the you could hear is stop slipping and actually lifted the front end a bit and acted as though I had just shifted gears and took off even faster. I could still use the brakes, and as I slowed and sped up the whole process started again.

I ran 3, 6 cell packs through the setup geared at 32T/78T, Novak Rooster ESC, Titanite 15T, Moab Tires. The motor was no warmer than it normally is, the same with the ESC, the batteries were pretty toasty, but not hot. The down side of this really loose slipper setup is that you only get about 4-5 long runs (about 5-8 minutes) before the battery runs out of juice. After all, you are running everything at full throttle. Even ran it through the grass for a bit just to see if anything would break. Although the slipper was slipping away, the motor revved high, traversing the grass was way slower than normal but it did work.

Acceleration...is horrible! Geez i'm geared 32T/78T with a slick as snot slipper, it accelerates like a slug but the top end is amazing.

The Stampede Project Squirt-Pede (Practice use - flower watering)

The Stampede Project Squirt-Pede (Practice use - flower watering)

Pretty simple project and recipe for fun.

1 - TQ3 Three channel Transmitter and Receiver
1- Squirt gun of your choice small enough that your RC can carry it
1- Spare servo of your choice (I used a old 2018)
1 - Short servo horn
1 - Package of "Industrial Velcro"
2-4 - Zip Ties

Install receiver on vehicle as usual. Velcro servo to squirt gun, fashion servo horn to a zip tie and that zip tie to another one going around the trigger. Velcro the squirt gun assembly to the body and plug in servo. Typically nets 5-6 foot range. NOTE if you have a smart dog as mine is, he will run in fear as soon as it squirts just once.

Let it be known that all manner of devices will don the Ultra-Pede. Now where is my air horn and paintball gun...

RC Antenna Replacement Resources

RC Antenna Replacement Resources

I have replaced my antenna probably 2 or 3 times at this point and never really had a problem previously, because I had it written down before. This little issue just recently reared it ugly little head during what should have been a routine antenna replacement on the Ultra-Pede. This last time I sheared off my antenna on the Ultra-Pede I had the craziest time finding the right length. Problem is the wire length I was using didn't work right.

Antenna Length Calculator if you so inclined (using this just tended to aggravate me)- Tamiya Antenna Length Calculator Calculate the exact "usable" antenna length for optimal reception. Usable antenna length does not include the approximate 1" of antenna that runs from the entry point into the receiver to the solder point. The general rule is 27 inches of wire for 27 MHz. If you're receiver operates in the 75 MHz range, you'll want to use around 20 inches. Don't forget to add about 1" for mounting. Go about an inch longer initially than you need then trim back to length after soldering and remounting the receiver.

For example my "Traxxas Red" 27.045Mhz chip set the optimal (usable) receiver aerial wire lengths should be:

138.56cm 54.551 Inch OR
69.28cm 27.2755 Inch OR
34.64cm 13.638 Inch OR
17.32cm 6.81889 Inch

Please note: The longer the aerial wire the better the reception (in theory).

Google - Find a Metric to English Converter or use this one.

but it didn't work right, so I started with a 55" antenna and started trimming 1/4" at a time.

What I found was a 22 3/4"-23" antenna wire worked correctly measured from the edge of the receiver. Note install the new antenna, then trim to length.

Post problem resolution, I measured two new different chipped Traxxas receivers (one from my TQ3 purchase and one from my newly acquired Rusty) they ranged from 22 3/4" - 23" from the edge of the receiver is the rule for stock antenna length so I would use those numbers as a starting point. I would also recommend buying "antenna wire". Seems that a different gauge of wire can also make things a little wacky.

If you seem to eat antennas on a regular consider an internal antenna such as this although I haven't had much luck with internal antennas. Everyone says they don't affect your range, but I am either doing it wrong or their statement is incorrect. According to this site modification of your antenna of any kind affects its use.

Here are the links you need which will provide you with a variety of opinions. Some I found don't seem to work although logical. Make it easy, measure you antenna length and write it with a permanent marker on the receiver. That way if you shear off an antenna, you can just cut a new one and re-attach it. What I found was a 22 3/4"-23" antenna wire worked correctly.

Spektrum 2.4Ghz systems - At some point you will get ticked enough and spring for a 2.4Ghz transmitter and receiver. Spektrum is the obvious answer, however there are other options. Traxxas is supposed to have a 4-channel 2.4Ghz setup by spring of 2009 and would make the below Squirt-Pede a ton-o-fun, and the often ebay'ed Losi DSM 2.4 gHz Transmitter & Receiver (expect about $50-$60) is Spektrum compatible and worth every stinking penny for that price. I promise you that 2.4Ghz is THE way to go for a transmitter.

The Old Capacitor Trick

The Old Capacitor Trick - and some background on why and when to use it.

The problem
Bought a Novak GTB 4.5R Brushless "Current sucking hog" and had tons of glitching.

So I slapped that brushless system in the Ultra-Pede yesterday and glitching problems galore. Geared 13/87 - which from the online threads seems to be a little under-geared. Just like a Lady Gaga sound... Da..da..da..da..daaaaaaaaaaaa.. Like it's attempting to send Morris code.

I get zero glitching and non-existent cogging (as advertised) when running with the wheels off the ground, however the moment the Pede hit the ground I get glitching when attempting a full throttle take off. If I do a slow start no glitching then I can punch it full throttle without glitching. I also get some glitching at extended 20+ foot ranges. I also seem to only get a feel of the full power and speed when the wheels are off the ground otherwise when on ground it only seems to only have about twice the power of the old Titanite.

Batteries are standard PowerMax Pros, GP3300s and similar style stick/shotgun packs with Deans Wet Noodle and plugs added. Even after resolving the glitching issue, to get the full power of the brushless system and I had to do a high current battery pack conversion - see this.

Attempting to move the antenna around to see if it was a antenna/power wire related issue, but did nothing. Tranny is packed with plenty of Lithium Grease to minimize radio interference. Dropped a new battery in and thought for a second that cured the issue but started glitching just as before. The ESC was set at factory default, with the exception of running Drive Profile 2 (100% F/R mode). But have tired other profiles with the some glitching results. Drive frequency is fixed in brush-less mode on the GTB.

The esc is mounted in standard placement with the power wire side of the ESC on the left (antenna side of the Pede) and the receiver and wire harness bundle is on the right. This points the blinky ESC lights forward and allows the two separate groups of wires to go around each side of the rear shock tower. I also twisted each group of wires to shorten them and hopefully cancel out any potential other interference problems. That process in itself did not relieve the major glitching issue but may reduce any other issue that may have occurred - i.e., still needed a capacitor. Just covering all the bases in advance.

The Solution from the conversation with Novak

Talked with Novak tech support. Their recommendation was two fold.
A. Separate the power and signal wires, currently my are all zip tied together in a 1/2" bundle. That did nothing.

B. Purchase a capacitor to plug into the battery pack slot on the receiver or use a battery pack. That should provide enough juice to the receiver to get through the initial current hit on the battery during hard acceleration.

What they say occasionally happens is that there is such a huge initial current draw that the receiver current drops low enough (a brown out of sorts) that you momentarily loose signal because there is not enough power to run the receiver, then of course everything rebounds and the process starts over again and then the voltage pogos until you let off the trigger. To you it looks like glitching.

Novak was correct in diagnosing my issue. Moving the cable did nothing, although I left them separated as it seemed like a good idea.

The receiver was in fact experiencing a "brown out" during full acceleration and with the addition of a simple 1000uf (1000mf) 35V polarized capacitor from Radio Shack the glitching issue was resolved although everything worked even better after going to the Novak 5700mF Cap.

The glitching issue was history after this very minor "The Old Capacitor Trick" upgrade and will take longer to explain than do.

What Capacitors do for your RC car

Caps store energy, like a battery, so think of a capacitor as very short term battery backup for your receiver or ESC. They can be used on the ESC or the Receiver whichever needs it. I found one article which indicated that your should have a cap on both your ESC and receiver as a standard piece of equipment to prolong the life of each which is typically shortened from continuous voltage fluctuations. Think of it also as a power conditioner for your electronics.

What to Buy

If you can go buy the Novak 5700mF cap ($5), you will be most happy with it when used in connection with a high current brushless system. That said I initially used a 1000uf 35V Axial-Lead (polarized) Electrolytic Capacitor from Radio Shack that worked and killed the big glitching issues. The key when looking for a cap at Radio Shack is that it needs to have arrows on the label of the cap (a polarized capacitor), be of decent quality, 10+ volts (35V is the norm and is overkill since you BEC and receiver or only 6V max) and be at least 1000uf (same as 1000mf), but preferably 4000-6000mF. The bigger the number the more current it stores, but keep in mind there is a point where bigger is just bigger.

The 5700mF is all you need up to doing timed high speed runs where the motor is pulling so much current continuously that the cap doesn't have a chance to recharge. In that situation you really are better going to a receiver battery pack and disconnecting the BEC. Although I originally thought a 4700uf (4700mf) was plenty, the 5700mF makes every setup run with no glitching, so my recommendation to everyone is to use the Novak 5700mF capacitor.

The Radio Shack ones are rated for 35V whereas the Novak are for 10V and are therefore about 1/2-1/3 the size and are more easily mounted and still deliver the same power. Your BEC and receiver only kick out 5-6V so, anything over 10V really is overkill and adding weight.

How do I make one of these things: It took some digging on how to hook it up.

The arrow on the cap. points in the direction of current flow (from + to -) so the tip of the arrow is - and the back of the arrow is +.

Scrounge a spare receiver jack and solder the red (+) lead to the + end of the capacitor and the Black (-) lead to the - end of the capacitor. Remove the third lead. I also picked up the variety grab bag of Radio Shack shrink wraps and shrink wrapped everything up so no sparking could occur. I also put a nice big shrink wrap over the whole cap for protection - gee looks just like the Novak on the ESC. Then plug it into the spare battery slot on receiver, the same one you would use if you were using a battery pack on your receiver and tucked the cap around the front of the receiver. That's it - super simple. The capacitor will charge from the power supplied from the ESC as needed and will discharge when current drops suddenly.

Crude picture but you get the idea of how to solder it together. Make sure you shrink wrap everything well. Capacitors can spark. Capacitors generally can last a very long time but don't last forever, so if you get a year or two with heavy use you are doing great.

I also want to re-stress that even after resolving the glitching issue, the potential of your brushless system is almost solely dependant on the quality and build of the battery pack. 3000Mh batteries are an absolute minimum, GP3300 are better, and 4200Mh are preferred. You spent the cash on the brushless system, don't get all cheap on the power source. To get the full power of the brushless system either buy your packs already set up in a side-by-side configuration or do a high current battery pack conversion yourself - see this. As a brushless system will melt stock Tamiya connectors and overheat stock power wire, I am assuming you already know that you should be using either PowerPoles or deans as connectors and something like Deans Wet Noodle power wires.