My review Of the Redcat Racing Twister XTG

Well I have owned this truck for a bit and admittedly I have very few runs for the amount of time I have had it . So I'm just going to cut to the chase I'm terminating my usage and ownership of this model due to breakages and the cost associated with said breakages.  I had High hopes that this truck would be durable and take a good bit of abuse , After seeing a review and driving video from a trusted source " Ultimate RC " on You tube of the buggy version . I  really though it would be a good candidate for me to run through its passes. My conclusion is that the additional length of the control arms on the truck and the bigger tires are the main problem they allow additional leverage to be exerted on the components I have been breaking .  

The cost :

Given that the truck sells for around $190 on ebay  $53.74  in parts after less than 5 packs " if  ordered direct from Redcat " is a hard pill to swallow . 


Pro's:

The esc is Hobby wing compatible so a programing card is easy to come by . The esc can also have its firmware upgraded to hobbywing v3.0 spec's . The esc can operate both sensored or non-sensored motor's This means there is alot of bang for buck in the esc department since its ready to power all but the most power full motor's found in 2wd racing . It can also be legal in a stock blinky class with a firmware change ."sensored spec motor is not included"

The included motor is a 540 size senorless brushless motor and is plenty powerful for the model and when combined with a 2s lipo makes the car a bit wheelie happy at low to medium speeds .  

The quality of the shocks is pretty good for a Budget RC I have no complaints about them .

The truck comes with full bearings .

The factory suspension has all the adjustments expected of a RTR racer and if you decide you want to be able to adjust the rear antisquat there is a upgrade kit to add that adjustment as well.

The tires are better than a lot of RTR trucks out there if you plan to play on a track or other packed dirt surface . For general yard play the rears could use longer pins and a bit more space between the pins .

The body is made from a material that is a huge improvement compared to those by other manufactures in this price range.

The battery compartment is large and spacious.


Con's :

Front portion the chassis can not take abuse associated with a brushless 2wd RC stadium truck  the parts in question make this less durable in a "bashing" "fun run " beginner environment than many of the race oriented models on the market .

Servo is of really poor quality even compared to most RTR servo's that are considered poor. 

The included transmitter feels like a toy I wish it had a rubber grip for the steering wheel and the fact it uses a odd number of AA's "3" bothers me .

The rear shocks are mounted at a angle and causes them to sweep towards the rear and causes the shock tower to rub the upper cap and could cause problems with heavy use .  

The front uses a fixed spindle with the bearings located in the rim and the rear uses  cross pin to engage the wheel . This was the standard not to long ago but the industry has for the most part switched to 12 mm wheel hex's on all 4 corner's and this can limit sources for new wheels . 

Well that pretty much all I have to say about this truck I hope you find the information help full . 

Ground Pounder main hub

Stuff that has Broken on the Redcat Racing Ground Pounder

ESC used in the Groundpounder as of 1/14/14

RedCat Ground Pounder 1/10th scale Monster Truck updates

Ground Pounder spec's

What pitch is the stock Ground Pounder Pinion and spur

Redcat Racing Gound Pounder Quality .

Fixing the stiction on Redcat Racing's Ground Pounder shocks

Motors I have tried in the Ground pounder

My list of recommended upgrades and modification for the Redcat Racing Ground Pounder ( part 1)

My list of recommended upgrades and modification for the Redcat Racing Ground Pounder ( part 2)

My list of recommended upgrades and modification for the Redcat Racing Ground Pounder ( part 3)

GP video

Made a new Ground Pounder video .

Fixing the stiction on Redcat Racing's Ground Pounder shocks

Stiction

Stiction is the static friction that needs to be overcome to enable relative motion of stationary objects in contact. The term is a portmanteau of the term "static friction", perhaps also influenced by the verb "stick".Wikipedia

The stock shocks on the Ground Pounder have seem to have issues out of the box with shocks wanting to stay in one position instead of reacting to forces that should make them expand and contract . The severity of this issue seems to very greatly as my step fathers truck shows hints of it but my rear shocks where down right horrible .

So what is the fix for this . Some people buy new shocks from other brands such as HPI . Others fix the stock ones . 

I elected to Fix the stock ones so here is what I did .

Depending on the condition of your shocks your's may require more or less work than mine did my rear shocks where the worst and took 2 hours to do both . My front shocks took ruffly 1 hour .  

Remove the shocks from the model . Always rebuild / maintain your shocks in front or rear pairs so they preform equally

Remove the spring and lower and upper spring retainers.

Remove the upper cap and drain fluid in a clean container if you plan to reuse. Buying a bottle of fresh shock oil in the 20-30 wt rang is recommenced to insure you have enough to fill the shocks completely.

Remove the lower eyelet / ball link . Use pliers with a padded jaw or protect the shaft with a soft material if using normal pliers to prevent the shaft from becoming scored .

Slide the shock shaft out of the body and then remove the lower cap from the shock . There will be two seals in the body under the lower cap as shown in the picture . Set the smaller thinner o-ring / seal to the side as it will not be used during reassembly.

The inclusion of the small o-ring and the hole in the lower cap being undersized is the cause of the sticking in many of these shocks . 

Many people drill hole out to a larger size . Since it helps keep the shaft running parallel in the bore of the shock body I elected to use rubbing compound to increase the clearances but still keep slop at bay.

Just add a little bit and work it up and down the shaft .

After a while the compound will became gray- black wipe the shaft down test fit the cap on the shaft it should be just loose enough that it will slide down the shaft  by just gravity. 

Next clean the shaft up with polishing compound it will remove most if not all scratches on the shaft .

Apply just a bit 

Polish till it shines. 

Now reassemble for a test fit .

Insert the large o-ring back in the housing covered in plenty of silicone based grease.

lubricate the shaft with silicone grease and slide it though the body and the seal install the lower cap and tighten a few threads at a time while working the shaft back and forth to allow the seal to seat . When cap is snug move shaft through its full motion . If it moves  smoothly refill the shock with oil bleed out the air , re-install the upper cap lower eyelet , spring and the spring retainers .

If everything isn't silky smooth :

First loosen the lower cap a bit and see if the ruff spot is now in a different spot if so the hole in the lower cap is probably of center a bit and the drill bit method might be the best way to go .

If there is no change by loosening the lower cap inspect the shock piston it may have a bit of flash not removed at the factory . Light sand the outer diameter and retest .

If your still having problems there may be a flaw with the shock bodies bore it's self .

Role up a small piece of sand paper and rotate it in the bore . Start with a large grit piece and work down to a fine grit like 1000 . Do another test fit if you feel a improvement move on to using rubbing compound and then polishing compound . Test fit once more when the bore is nicely polished .