Friday, January 17, 2014

So I bought a Redcat Racing Twister XTG PR0 .

After posting a lot about  the Zmt-10 / Turnigy stadium
king I got  several  Questions , responses , and opinions On here , on youtube , and on a forum about the Redcat Twister XTG being a competitor and I had to agree for the Average ebay Price of  $125.99 for the brushed version and $189.99 for the pro version (aka brushless) I had to agree it was definitely worth a look .

Well I bought the pro version simply because it offered the most bang for the buck "64 bucks more and its
brushless come on "  Well reality is life gets in the way of some things and it just sat in its box waiting patiently for its chance . So some time in September I  took it for a run in the yard and in the driveway with its included 2000Mah battery pack and pretty much it was about how I expected. it topped out at about  23-25 Mph and didn't really have a lot of viger getting there .  After cruising around for a pack I let the battery cool and then let it cycle a few times on the charger and the next run was
a bit better but nothing to right home about . I do feel the performance was appropriate for a first time buyer . Well then it got put back in its box for a while and I gave the stock battery to my step dad to use in his Ground Pounder .

Round 2 took place about mid December I grabbed a 3800Mah battery pack from my step dad that came with one of his caldera's and went for a spin around the yard . The 3800Mah showed considerably better speed and acceleration and made me really curious as to what improvement I would see with a lipo. but sadly about half way through this run I  ran smack into a parked truck tire and had my first breakage .

I had broke the upper and lower plates that locate the front suspension . Now I will say temperature probably did have role in this breakage as it was below freezing outside but I maybe wrong .

The good news is its already up and running bad news is there is snow outside and its a bit too deep for more driving  at the moment .

My indoor testing has shown that installing a lipo's may make the optional wheelie bar mandatory if you have traction and a twitchy throttle finger .


I will say there is one thing I don't like about the Redcat Twister and that is how the upper shock mounts to the Rear shock tower the aluminum cap ring actually rubs n the tower.



It would have made more sense to me to mount them on the back side of the tower to do that the body would need to be mounted differently.



Right now my only other annoyances if you will are with the transmitter. To be honest I kinda like the transmitter its lightweight well balanced and the adjustment knobs are a good size and easy to get to . What I don't care for is how small the range of movement is for the reverse/ brake side of the trigger range its too small for my taste and will make slowing down a fast model a less controllable experience " aka more wreck's". My second less than like on  this controller is the wheel . Its completely made from hard plastic and doesn't have a foam or rubber grip . I'm sure I can make something work but it just makes the radio feel cheesy . 




The last thing to note on the radio is that it doesn't take 8 AA batteries and guess what It doesn't take 4 AA's either . It takes 3 AA's . 












So as of 01/17/14 I may give it a thumbs up.
Check back and see if I have changed my mind later .

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Places to get parts for your ZD Racing 1/16 th scale 1/12/2014
















Parts that can fit or improve your ZD Racing 1/16 th scale .

http://www.hobbyking.com Many of the part's from there 1/16th scale monster beetle ,1/16  4wd buggy ,1/16 4wd mini rally -extreme edition,1/16 4wd nitro buggy and 1/16 mini trouper / short course truck will fit . 

http://www.gotnitroonline.com/ These guys sell parts for the acme / VXT  Vulcan and Photon this is a great place to get metal diff gears and aluminum parts . Be careful and look at the components before you buy .

Sunday, January 5, 2014

The stuff that has broke on the Redcat Racing Caldera XB SC 10E

This vehicle is not owned by me it is owned my my step father who is new to this hobby and is loving every minute of it. My hope is to keep track his breakages with this post and maybe help a future buyer with their spare parts list.


These where bought used the below is a list of items broke when they were received or it was obvious they had been replaced .




Spur gear  BS909-003
Pinion gear BS909-004







Spur gear  BS909-003
Pinion gear BS909-004
Servo  HX-3CP

Servo saver / bellcrank had been upgrade stock unit was in baggy.








Inner hub bearing mostly missing.

10x15x4mm bearing BS903-016







As of 02/ 05 /14 



lower Pivot screw for front hub loosened and fell out  










One cracked but not broken wheel due to collision . 



lower Pivot screw for front hub loosened and fell out  

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Stuff that has Broke on the Redcat Racing Twister XTG Pro

This vehicle is  owned by me My hope is to keep track my breakages with this post and maybe help a future buyer with their spare parts list. 

Opened September 15 2013

As of  April 2 2014


Two NIMH battery Packs worth of running plus 3 2s lipo packs 





2 Front Top Steering Mount 

Front collision at mild speed with a truck tire running on NIMH. 2nd Was doing some light jumping on the second breakage. 

http://www.redcatracing.com/KB-61004












2 Front Bottom Plate 

Front collision at mild speed with a truck  tire running on NIMH. Was doing some light jumping on the second breakage. 

http://www.redcatracing.com/KB-61002







1 Front / Rear Body Post & Mount.

lots of wrecking and skidding 


http://www.redcatracing.com/KB-62005









1 lansu steering servo 

broke pretty quick took it apart and its not that great probably the cheapest "as far as quality" servo I have torn apart. 




I will no longer being driving this Truck . The cost of operation for my uses is getting to high for my taste and I will be discontinuing my use and will more than likely keep the electronics and part everything else out .