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XTM Rage 1/18th Monster Truck
I didn't really know where to put this thread so, I figured here would be fine enough. I have this same review on a few other forums. so if you've already seen it, please bear with me.
This is going to be a pretty long review, so go grab a drink and some popcorn before you read this. Here's a fun appetizer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKcXs9cQW9A |
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Just got mine in today! It looks good so far. At first glance it looks exactly like a Mini Quake chassis, but there are indeed a lot of little differences. I plan to break down the chassis tonight, but before I do that, I want to get at least one run in with the truck in box stock form. I'm currently waiting for my first charge to finish, so I'll give you guys a little feedback of what I think so far.
Shocks: As most of you already know, this truck comes with 8 oil filled shocks with aluminum caps. The shock bodies are made of plastic and they are filled with what seems to be very light oil. The shocks are held in place by a 1.5mm st screw up top and a kingpin/e-clip combo on the bottom. nothing new here. Finally, the springs are similar to the stock white MQ springs in stiffness. Lower arms These look identical to the mini quake, yet are slightly different. The plastic seems to be made of a different compound, but is still flexible like the MQ arm (which is a good thing). Upper arms Simply stated, they rock. They are two piece arms with an aluminum tie rod installed. Camber adjustments are finally possible. This is a much appreciated upgrade. The plastic on the upper arms are also thicker than the Mini Quake upper arms. Knuckles Not much to say, except there is an additional ball stud hole for extra toe adjustments. Shock Towers Are very similar to the MQ, but have a slightly different design. More plastic is used and there is no upper chassis brace mount since the Rage uses an upper deck. Upper Deck Seems to be made of 2mm thick fiberglass. I like the concept vs the MQ upper brace, but it needs to be stiffer. A good 3mm carbon fiber upper deck would fit the bill nicely. Wheels/Tires Another high point of the XTM Rage. The wheels have a nice wide off-set and the tires have a pin type pattern with a very hard compound. Good for its main use: bashing. I also think these would be good in damp/wet packed tracks. For dry or loose dirt, you're going to want something else. MQ and Vendetta ST tires should work on these wheels. If you need tires for racing, I suggest a visit to the Vendetta forum and read Jaejw1's tire review. Battery/Charger The charger is your standard cheap-o wall type charger. It has no peak detection and there no led to let you know if its even working or not. The charger has an output of 0.5 amps. The battery on the other hand was a nice surprise. On the back of the battery you can clearly see the manufacturer: KAN. These guys are one of the better nimh manufacturers, so I expect some good results from this pack. *edit: A few other things. The battery uses a mini tamiya connector (?), so a standard 1/10th size tamiya plug will not work. The battery also comes with 15awg wires which is actually thicker than most. Not bad... ok.... that's enough for one post. Here are some pics... enjoy. |
Dude, you have the perfect salesman voice! You need to be selling pogo sticks to retired people (old farts) or maybe icemakers to eskimos!
Sorry if I insulted any of our "seasoned" or "experienced" members with that last comment! I really like the duratrax rage, or xtm mini quake, or what ever that thing is! |
Holy crap it looks fast (even if you say it's slow).
I just finished mounting the brushless stuff to my Rage, and still running with the stock battery. I also removed the crap stock servo that stripped its gears within the first battery, and replaced it with a Hitec 225MG - which is a fair amount larger than stock (required modding the chassis). |
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XTM Rage Review Part 2.... :yes:
Drivetrain: The Rage comes equipped with steel cvd's in the front along with steel dog bones in the rear. This is a pretty trick feature if you consider the price. No other RTR mini features steel cvd's at this price point. Nice job XTM, you get points for that. The dog bones work fine, and upon closer inspection, seem very secure. I don't think they'll fall out unless you break the arm. Ok, I do have one gripe though. The steel cvd's are not the highest quality. They are strong and get the job done, but you won't mistake these for hudy spring steel. The cvd's are not very smooth and required a bit of sanding (by hand) and lubrication. I used dry teflon powder to lube, since this is an exposed part. Also, if you decide to take apart the cvd. You will need a .005 hex driver (I believe) and very steady hands. Don't strip the grub screw or you'll be kicking yourself. I also have a pic of an XTM cvd next to a MQ cvd below. Please note that in all the pictures, the XTM rage parts are on the left and the Mini Quake parts are on the right. The Front and Rear diffs are open style gear diffs. These are actually thinner than MQ and are NOT compatible. Ok, everyone say it all together now.... "BOOOO, HISSSS, GRRRR, ....... Hey Batter... batter... Swing"!.... [&:]... I actually noticed that the diff housings seemed a little thin from the outside, so I was expecting something different. To be honest with you, I'm not impressed at all by their looks. They look cheap and brittle, and one of mine is white while the other is an off shade of yellow...? There are two things that can cause this during the manufacturing process. 1) not blending the plastic pellets well enough before injection molding, resulting in an uneven batch color. 2) melting or injecting at a very high temperature causing the plastic to discolor. Either way, the plastic used doesn't look good, but seems to work fine. Ok, here's the silver lining in a so far dark cloud. The outdrives are made of steel and are fastened to the bevel gear with a screw. This is actually one of the high points on the diff. Good outdrives. Gearing on the diffs is significantly different from the Mini Quake. The front/rear diffs of the XTM Rage are geared at 12/41 vs the MQ's 15/38. This gives allows the Rage to have better low end performance and faster acceleration. Add another point for XTM. Turnbuckles Not much to say, they are nice. One thing to note. The ball studs have a tiny screw in them which prevents the turnbuckle from "popping off". I think that's a cool little feature. Steering Uses a dual bell crank set-up similar to the MQ, but like everything else.... slightly different. The outer plastic housing is identical to the mini quake... right down to the size of the bushings used. *Tip* to reduce steering slop, install four 4x7x2.5mm bearings in the steering column.** Ok, here's the difference. The alum support column on the Rage features a "half moon" mounting pattern vs the "hexagon" pattern of the MQ's support column. Obviously these are not compatible. You should, however, be able to use a GPM alloy MQ steering column with the XTM's support columns if desired. Since the outer part of the column is the same, there should be no problem. Electronics/Motor The XTM Rage features your "run of the mill" rtr electronics: 27mhz am radio, generic 400 size motor, low budget esc, and low budget mini servo. The Rage differs from the MQ in that it uses a lighter mini servo vs a standard size. Actually, I believe a standard size servo will NOT fit in this chassis. The chassis is molded for a mini servo and is held down by double sided tape and a little "L" brace on the top. One thing to note about the servo... its strong, but sssllloooowww.... you won't win any races with it installed... that's for sure. The XTM Cirrus radio is similar to an old school kyosho mini-z Perfex radio or the current proboat rtr radios. I'm not sure who makes these... (ko propo maybe?) but its gets the job done ok. It has about a 50 yard range, and does not suffer from glitches like the MQ RTR futaba set-up. The esc is actually pretty good. It has good throttle response, smooth brakes, strong reverse, and only got to 117 deg F after a full battery pack. The motor is geared at 16/41 I believe, but I'll have to double check when I start dropping different motors in there. Lastly, the motor leads are attached with a jst connector. Shame on you XTM. lol. These are obviously here to save money, and should be replaced post haste. Hardwire, bullets, deans, etc... anything is better than this. Performance and Drive Testing So far the initial performance is promising. The diffs are surprisingly stout and the electronics perform quite nicely. Although the diffs don't look good, the performance isn't bad with the stock motor. I honestly tried to bust the diffs last night and I couldn't. I was doing 3-4 foot jumps and landing at a dead stop, reverse, full throttle, etc... I was even going from full reverse to full throttle on deep carpet, and amazingly, the diffs held up with no worries. I even flipped the truck a few times doing that. Hmmmm.... not bad. We shall see if they can handle brushless power this weekend. Here's a nice piece of news for you all. I talked with a Global Hobby Rep and he tells me the XTM R&D guys have plans for a ball diff, but nothing in production as of yet. I hope they don't delay this too much. The Rage is decently stable in the air and adjustments were easy. A little blip on the throttle to bring the nose up, or tap the breaks for an aggressive landing. The wider track also helps when landing off center. I found it pretty easy to recover from a missed jump. Also, please keep in mind that this was done on a street and not at a track. The truck should perform similarly, however. I actually like the XTM rage over the MQ in pure box stock form. There is little to no glitching, and the truck runs very smooth. Top speed is around 18mph give or take a few, and acceleration is surprising. The truck does tend to push into turns and seems a little sluggish coming out of them. I believe it would be much more agile with the correct oil, springs, and a faster servo. The wide tires and low stance keep the truck firmly planted on most surfaces and does a pretty good job at reducing body roll. Again, slightly thicker oil and stiffer springs will help. And finally, don't plan on seeing a roll bar anytime soon. There are no mounts for one. whew.... ok, that's enough for this post. enjoy the pics. |
Linc... I started out as a financial planner if that tells you anything....Now I sell wine. :lol:
Sorry this review is taking so long to post. Trying to cook dinner at the same time... I wrote the review last night, but cut/pasting is taking a while...:intello: Anyways, Here's another video of some wheelies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X8j-OEH5DM |
Naw, you don't sell wine, the wine sells itself!
Any chance you could demo me some wine, you know, for testing purposes. |
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you know, Sonoma County r/c plans to release a vino powered engine late this year. I think its going to be a .21 so it'll be ROAR legal. They say it runs best off vintage 1987 Cabernet Sauvignon. They also plan to release a "sport" tuned engine than can run off Franzia box wine. :party: Almost forgot... more pics. |
wait how the fuck did you get one. my hobbypeople store has not even got any yet. and my reginal manager says the warehouse has not gotten them yet.
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would the xtm driveshaft work with miniquake?
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I pre-ordered online in October last year. So, maybe that's the difference? Mine probably shipped from their main dist warehouse. Wallot, I don't think so. The length seems ok, but the shaft adapter won't fit with the MQ input pinion adapter. If you own a MQ, you'll know what I'm talking about. Look on the first pic of post #8. Each diff input pinion has two parts. A shaft adapter and the pinion itself. The MQ and XTM shaft adapters are different, and by the looks of it, are not compatible. Out of curiosity, why? is this just to have another source of spares? You would not gain anything from changing the center shafts. of either truck. |
well i just looked and the warehouse has tons of them so we might be getting some in on wed.
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List of compatible Parts: MQ vs Rage
- upper arms - lower arms (with slight modding... need to make the hinge pin holes larger) - turnbuckles - bumpers - wheels and tires (w/ 12mm hex on MQ) - shocks - knuckles (but not the bearings) - outer steering column. - motor mount - gear pitch - battery brace (Rage to MQ is ok, but MQ to Rage will not work. MQ battery brace is actually 5mm too short to fit on the Rage) List of Non compatible parts: - Diffs (everything... input pinion, ring gear, etc) - Diff cases - Main Drive shaft - Spur gear - Driveshafts - Main Chasssis - Shock Towers - Tower Brace I'll be keeping this list up to date as we find out more. If you see anything on that list that needs updating, please let me know. |
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A little tuning update:
- I found out the stock oil is 10wt. I switched it out for 40wt all around and switched the springs to white Mini Quake springs. The white MQ springs are actually softer... contrary to what I said before. I also found out that Xray M18T springs will fit, and work very well. The Black M18NT springs would be a great choice. - I also modded the knuckles with some screws for extra strength. (pic is of a MQ knuckle, but same thing applies for the Rage) you will need a 1/16" bit with a 2mmx10mm screw. You may also need to dremel off any exposed screw on the inside of the knuckle. |
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Rich, how is the stock servo holding up for you? Your Rage has a lot more power than mine did when one of the servo gears stripped. Also, how are the temps on your Mamba 25 with that heatsink? Last night I drove around my Rage with the KMS 2213 3200kv outrunner (about 28mm outer diameter and 25mm length) on the stock battery and with the Mamba 25. I had to change some settings around on the Mamba 25 to get it to run well, but then I ran into a problem - the stock battery can't dish out the power required by both a Hitec 225MG servo and the outrunner motor (even though it was only geared for ~20mph). Tonight I will see what my 3s Lipo options are from what's available at Hobby People, but I'm guessing there won't be much. |
I haven't had any problems with the steering as of yet. Chances are the servo will fail in my first hard crash, but luckily it hasn't happened yet. The temps on the esc aren't bad... I didn't bother to check with my temp sensor since I could keep my finger on it without taking it off. the heatsink is just an associated rc18t xps esc heatsink that you can get anywhere. The motor does get hot though. More than I would like.
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Another guy I work with got a Rage, and also stripped out a steering servo gear in the first day.
Today I got lucky, I was in need of a 3s Lipo that would fit in the chassis with minor modifications, and JUST today our store got new Impulse 1330mah Lipos in! The width is perfect, the length is a bit shorter than stock, and the height of the 3s is perfect! The Trinity 3s 1350mah pack is about 3/8" too long to fit, but otherwise would fit. 3s on the outrunner is too much for the lack of traction of the stock tires. Geared with the stock 16t pinion (bored out to 1/8"), it runs about 30mph with LOADS of torque. Running on the pavement yields good temps on both the Mamba 25 and outrunner, so hopefully the temps won't skyrocket when I put on a 22t pinion. As far as gear strength, this outrunner isn't helping. It has a considerably larger moment of inertia than a comparably size inrunner, which keeps the motor spinning faster than the tires want to turn after releasing the throttle. Occasionally I do hear some slight clicking, but nothing that has yielded any worn gears or anything to worry about. |
i also work for Hobby people and sell these rages... they seem to be alright if you have the mindset that you will need to put some money into them (ie a servo, motor, etc etc...) but personally ide take a RC18 anyday
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Sorry dude, had to do it, especially when you used my favorite word as a verb modifier (not quite an adverb)! Dropping the f-bomb is quite a rarity on this forum, thanks for stepping up and being a man about it! Also what is a reginal manager? Is his first name Reginald? (Note heavy traces of sarcasm in this post) |
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This is definately the best mod to do to a mini quake. I have most likely broken at least 5 sets of knuckles. Finally drilled the knuckles and installed the screws like the pic and they have held up just fine. Definately worth the work! |
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I'm not saying its the best truck out there, just fun for the money. And you don't have to dump money into this truck more than any other mini on the market. The truck is already pretty fun in stock form. The main reason I switched everything out, it because I already had all the upgrades on hand. It was curiosity over necessity. If you asked me to choose any mini right now, I'd say Xray M18T pro, with the vendetta coming in at close second. The rc18t doesn't even make it to the my top 3. |
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Vendettas can hold up to brushless just fine. All you need are cvd's and one ball diff for the rear. You can get away with gear diffs if your motor is mild. Everything else beyond that should be tuning upgrades like better turnbuckles, tires, etc... but not needed if you plan to only bash it.
these are how my detta's are currently set-up. |
Of all people, rschoi would know about bl detta's :wink:
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i hear ya but for me associated is the brand ill stick with for some time... Xrays are awsome cars i used to race them at the indoor mini track in rialto a long time ago... i just hate having to drive to O.C. to get parts :( |
tell me about it. I order all my parts online. Every xray kit I've bought, is like buying two kits after all the spares are factored in.
Ok, a little update. I've had this truck for a little over a week now, and must say its really fun for a mini. I've broken a lower arm and the front bumper so far, but the breakage was my fault. I ran right into a curb in a parking lot. This does need different tires if you plan to run it on the street. Also, I've been hearing more and more stories of people running 3s lipos on the stock esc and motor. I have not tried this yet, but apparently the truck holds up just fine. Its nice to know the stock diffs can handle it (... cough... mlst.... cough...). Any of you losi guys getting this? |
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well any cheap 28mm dia motor should work fine. I'd say keep in between the range of 3500-5000kv... depending on how many volts you want to run. I know united hobbies sells some Hextronic 28mm motors for like $20. You can also go with a GP ammo-28-35-3900 or 5100. As for the esc, I like castle products, but the mamba can't handle some of the "hotter" motors. Lots of people are switching over to the sidewinder 1/10th esc for the price, and specs.
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I've also been running my truck for a while, but I don't think it likes being powered by an outrunner...
In the front diff, a single tooth was stripped from the ring gear. In the rear, a tooth was stripped from the diff pinion gear. Also, at some point the motor must have shifted (despite heavy tightening of the motor mount screws), and that stripped the spur. Surprisingly the internal diff gears are fine. So, one bag of parts fixed all of this. And I packed the diff gears with Traxxas lithium grease, to help decrease the diff action. At the same time as I replaced the gears, I also added some HPI touring tires and wheels (6mm offset 26mm wheels with X-Pattern Radial tires in D Compound) and installed the 22t 48p metric pinion that finally came in. All I can say is WOW. The truck took off SO fast, and had an awesome top end speed. If I punched it hard enough, the truck just couldn't handle it, and flipped over from diffing out (I think because of the torque twist). On one such occasion, the truck tumbled at least 5 times, and snapped a rear toe-link ball stud in the rear bumper. So now I not only need a front bumper, but also a rear bumper and a ball stud. |
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I've been reading over this and hope you guys can answer a few questions for me.
Is the spur in this metric 48P like the MQ? What Lipos fit the stock location? I noticed you mention the Dualsky lipos...are these the same 1700's that fit the MQ/Detta? Is the stock servo a mini servo? Sorry for the questions, but it's not like there's a ton of info on these from what I've seen. I may be interested in picking one up to bash with, but want to make sure I know how big my budget needs to be before I do so. |
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The battery tray will fit packs that are maybe 1/8" wider than what the RC18T can fit, but about 1/2" shorter. Mine has an Impulse 3s 1330mah pack that fits perfectly aside from being about 3/8" shorter than the battery tray. The servo is something like a mini, I think its about the size of a Hitec 85. I have found that a Hitec 225MG fits with the removal of some small ribs on the chassis, and cutting the tabs off from the servo. |
Thanks for the info MM. Now I have to decide if I want another mini or not.
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This truck is actually my first mini. A while back I was given a RC18T for free that only needed maybe $20 in parts to be operational, + electronics and battery. I gave that truck to somebody, and basically waited for the Rage to come out before getting a different mini. All in all, I'm glad I did so.
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Skellyo, the dimensions of the battery tray are 90mm L x 34mm W x 15mm H. Its a little longer than a standard MQ battery compartment since the XTM rage uses end caps on their stock shotgun style batteries. The height can always be changed by raising the battery posts. One thing to note, the xtm rage's battery compartment is molded for nimh's, so you may want to dremel off those ribs as well. The dualsky lipo I mentioned is the same lipo that will fit in a MQ. They currently have a 1300mah 25C lipo that fits perfectly. |
Ok, so I broke down and bought 1...err, ok so I bought 2. :mdr: I just couldn't help myself since I was able to get them both shipped for $190 total. I'll now be looking around at electronics for at least 1 of them for now. I may keep one stock to drive inside the house for now.
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let us know how it goes sean. good luck with them.
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Hi,I just got one :) Mines a haiboxing marmot,but it's a clone except the shell.Does anyone know if the esc'll handle a 3s lipo.I've trawled everywhere else.I've got a hobbywing 5200kv and 35A esc,but don't want to wreck the tranny, like the ml$t2 :(
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Hi.I took it out to a cool bashing spot today.It's a great truck.I've fitted mini mega beetle tyres,gonna try it out tommorrow :)
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Hi guys.I broke the front left A arm,and the caster adjuster.Any hints to alu caster adjuster? Thanks in advance :)
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