Praising the t-maxx

[schima]

Hello everyone,

i'm relatively new to the R/C scene. Bought a t-maxx a month ago.
First MT truck but from what i've seen so far it has impressed me a lot.
Quick enough for me.
from what i've read and heard most say the trx.15 engine is underpowered for the maxx. I think it's adequate. a .21 would certainly give a much larger perfomance headroom but for a newcomer it's enough i think.
It's easy to tune as long as you do the carb flip.
The EZ start system is a very nice feature and seems bulletproof.
The other components are very rough. as a newbie i hit a lot of stuff including a solid wall at 20mph.Didn't break a thing. Also hit a tree with only one front wheel at a decent speed.thought i ripped a wheel but all is intact.great truck, jumps great and handling is ok.
Only upgrades i did was the carb flip, glued the tires and installed a fuel filter.Removed all eight shocks and refilled them with "heavier oil" and topped them up. The suspension was very soft for me.After changing oil and refilling them properly(they were only 3/4 full) the truck handles much better.
Next on the list is opening the diffs and take a look inside. Grease the right.
The alu parts are lovely but too expensive.the day i break something i'll upgrade to the alu stuff. otherwise the stock plastic works fine for me.
Just my humble opinion. and as said this is my first nitro truck so nothing to compare to...
upon my purchase in NY of the maxx i asked about the EK 4 and the hobby shop owner told me to go with maxx. he said it's a headache to tune and it breaks down a lot due to the tremendous power.
I'm happy with the maxx.
Thanx for reading

Bruno

[moorerc]

I'm Glad to hear someone saying something good about the Maxx. It's good that you are having fun with it, and you did the upgrades that make the truck a ton of fun (although, running without glued tires is interesting, as the tires fall off the rims alot).

[HammerTime2K4]

I've got a Maxx and love it as well. It is a VERY durable truck, and the speed was enough for me when I got started. Now, after 2 and a half years of fixing and fiddling, I'm getting an .15 O.S. CV-X! I can't wait for it to come in the mail. I should be able to pull wheelies now, and that's something I've always wanted, but the trx pro hasn't been able to do.

I agree that the Al parts look pretty, but they are spendy. If you don't wanna get them, look at RPM's stuff. It is cheaper than the Al stuff, but just as strong. And if any of their parts break, they will replace it free of charge!! The only thing you need to do is pay for mailing it to them.

I hope you have a long and fruitfull relationship with your Maxx. I know I have!
~Cody

[schima]

glad somebody shares my opinion.
friends of mine went totally crazy over the maxx. i have two on back orders for the end of the week as i'm visiting NY again.
my main problem seems to tune it right. the engine runs great it's very fast ,tons of low end torque and a respectable top speed.the only thing i worry about is running it too lean as the cooling head gets very hot.yesterday went through 3 tanks of fuel and the glow plug was gone(broke away).this is not a good sign. i richened the mixutre a bit ran again through 3 tanks of fuel and all seems fine.what i don't understand is that there is always a trail of blue smoke and the engine runs perfect, no stalling,no bogging??!!can't make it out.maybe a larger cooling head would be nice??anyone tried this.
Everyone tells me the trx engine runs very hot so maybe it's a worth while investment.

[Got Speed]

Who couldn't like thier maxx!?:confused: :D I couldn't live without mine! :p Good choice the EK4 does have many problems and the engine itself is one of them. I have a .21 and I must say it is VERY cool. But they can become expensiveThe plastic stuff will break after a while or in some crashes. As far as upgraded parts I like all the RPM stuff except their arms because thier arms get a bow it them after a while which looks bad, weakens them(Id think), and gives you bad handling. If you go with aluminum I would suggest either none or all the way. Alot of the cheaper aluminum will just bend if you hit it wrong or hard enough, so if you get aluminum get some high quality aluminum.

The TRX engine has always run hot. I highly suggest a temp gauge. Really you are supposed to tune to sound but you use temerature as a guide. I have a Traxxas On Board Temp Gauge and it works great and has been very helpful. If you plan on keeping the TRX engine an aftermarket head would be very helpful but if you plan on replacing the engine when it wears out I wouldn't bother with a new head.

I have a .21 and I must say it is VERY cool. But they can become expensive

[schima]

I'm planning to keep the trx engine.I think it's adequate and i have a hard time controlling the truck as it is.(only use it off road)needless to say more power=more hits=more broken parts.
i like the truck as it is. i wouldn't have bought it in the first place if i knew i would be unhappy with it :))
i'd like an engine upgrade which would not shatter the tranny and drivetrain into bits and pieces. it's expensive to upgrade these parts + the engine.so when i'm fed up with it i'll sell it and buy a more powerful truck.don't know which to choose,though :))
as for the cooling head i'll have a look around....if it's not too expensive i'll buy one.

Another thing. maybe the skid plates in alu are a good idea. just broke my front one today :)

[nascarfreak88]

Wow, i dont see these very often.

I've had my maxx for over a year now. I had nothing but problems with the TRX, but i'm starting to think that it was my fault, i didn't know how to tune the engine. I only messed with the high-end needle and nothing else, it ran WAY rich. The head turned from blue to golden around most of the bottom half.
Put it this way, that engine has had 3 piston & sleves in less then 2 gallons and 1 year. It was a mess.

I hated my t-maxx then.......


I just put in a Megatech M16, and holy cow!! i LOVE IT!! i ran 1/2 gallon in like a week!! it starts every time, runs like hell, easy to tune, keeps its settings.... for a $90 bolt in job its AWSOME!!!! i would recomend the engine to anyone!!! when i stab the gas it goes.... the power it produses is fine for right now where i live, there isn't any room for a .21 (though once i pay off my '92 F-150 and save up some money i think i'm going to do that XTM 24.7 conversion, man that thing must scoot!)


The only reason i had problems is because of my stupidity, i didn't know how to tune an engine...... but the truck it self has lasted up to some big crashes, handles very well, has a crap load of hop-ups, and just about every Hobby Shop has at least 1 person who owns one..... every time i call mine the guy knows just what i'm talking about......

Welp, I'm glad your Happy with your truck, schima.

Post Copyright 2002 Nascarfreak88. All Rights Reserved.

[Got Speed]

Im glad your pleased with your truck. I am with mine.:) For an enexpensive yet good quality and performance engine I would suggest either the M16 that nascarfreak mentioned or a O.S. .12 CV-RX. The M16 claims 1hp and the CVRX claims a little over 1 hp. If you find them the same price I would suggest the CV-RX but other wise they are fairly similar. As far as getting a new truck when you feel the T-Maxx isn't enough for you, it is alot cheaper and imho better to upgrade to a .21 with a nylon tranny, and better clutch.

For skid plates I would either suggest RPM skid plates($20 for the full set front/rear/center I think), or Titanium skid plates. If youre not too hard on alum skids(ie not boulder bashing or 10ft jumps) you shouldn't have a problem but if your not careful with them they will bend alot, that's why I suggest RPM or titanium. Alum, and plastic arn't too bad for the rear and center but the front one will probably give you problems. If youre jumping it hard or hitting things like sidewalks and trees you might want to really consider some alum chassis braces. If you happen to be unlucky enough as me :D(I hate tabletops) you will break your front skid from the stock braces and your chassis will fold.

[schima]

hello everyone,

thanks for all the info.i just finished clenaing the truck and tomorrow will be another day of violent backyard bashing :)
nascarfreak your right about something:owing a nitro vehicle is one thing, tuning it right so it doesn't lean out or run too rich is another dimension.These little engines are so delicate with temp change etc.that you have to adjust yr needle everytime you run!Indedependant which engine you use!
Don't say it'll hold it's settings.It's the worst you can do to engine like these
What i usually do is use up the first tank of fuel just to get it into temp range to tune it right.
From then on i leave the needles alone for the next hour or so.
But i'm always looking out for that thin trail of blue smoke, a sure sign it's tuned right.
Again thank u all for the infos

[PCC]

I guess you can say that I have a love-hate relationship with my T-Maxx. I almost sold it a few times (buyers backed out) but I think I'll just keep it and upgrade it some more (it's mostly stock except I moved some of the components around on the chassis to fit a longer pipe on it for the Hot Bodies .18 engine).

[racer t-maxx 20]

I put the .21 in my t-maxx and LOVE it, It have so much POWER and the only bad thing is you have to get aluminum gear.

[Got Speed]

aluminium tranny gears? Is that what your talking about? If so, there is also the nylon alternative to which I prefer because it's lightweight, just as durable as alum, and will cost less.

[racer t-maxx 20]

What gear should i get???

[Got Speed]

I would suggest the Supermaxx Nylon FOC.
www.unlimitedengineering.com