Full Speed E-Maxx + Rock = New RPM Upgrades

By Charles | July 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

I want to start off with sincere apology for not taking a few pictures of the carnage but, I’m new at this and I just wasn’t thinking. It really is too bad because the lower arm and hinge pin snapped leaving the front shocks bent at a perfect right angle… it was ugly. The lesson learned here is, don’t let your truck so far away that you can’t tell the difference between a rock and a pile of seaweed on the beach.

The upgrade was pretty straightforward so, I don’t think there is any need to go into great detail but, I did want to note that the new RPM suspension arms were very snug where they met the stock bulkheads. It becomes painfully obvious that the stock spacers are no longer needed and you are going to need to break out a file, Dremel, or sandpaper to remove a tiny bit of material around the hinge but, don’t remove too much, you don’t want any play in the hinge.

Continue reading →

Tagged , ,

Unboxing the Traxxas E-Maxx 3903

By Charles | January 13, 2011 | 3 Comments

The long awaited day has arrived, I finally picked up the new E-Maxx from my local hobby shop and officially completed the Christmas T-Maxx swap.

Unboxing this RC truck might not be all that exciting since the E-Maxx 3903 doesn’t come with a million parts to put together or a bunch of accessories to review but, we can talk about what it takes to get the ball rolling and take a look at the last time it will ever look this clean.

The first thing I have to recommend you do is take a few minutes to read the manual. I am not some kind of stickler for directions but, this truck really does have a ton of working parts that you should take your time understand them.

Continue reading →

Tagged , ,

Thunder AC6 Charger – Hands on Review

By Charles | January 10, 2011 | 16 Comments

After a number of people recommended the Thunder AC6 charger as the perfect, flexible, and most cost effective charger, I decided to take the leap of  faith – and I am glad I did. At this point, I am obviously still a know-nothing so, try and keep that in mind as I walk you through why this was a good choice for an E-Maxx owner, like me.

When I began to ask around and read reviews, the price point was not my number one concern but, as it turns out, I wound up getting this charger on sale for $44 from Amazon (regularly $79.95). I was surprised to pick up something so seemingly versatile and with such great reviews for under 50 bucks. If price is something you are concerned with, you are going to be hard pressed to find a better deal.

What was my number one concern was finding a charger that could not only handle charging 14 NiMH cells (7 cells 8.4v x 2) but also handle the possibility of upgrading to LiPo in the future since the 3903 E-Maxx is brushless ready.

The AC6 Thunder actually handles NiCd, NiMH, Pb and all three types of Lithium batteries – LiIo, LiPo and LiFe… it’s nice to be covered.

Continue reading →

Tagged , , ,

Trading in the new Traxxas T-Maxx for an E-Maxx

By Charles | January 1, 2011 | 2 Comments

After being out of the RC game for 15 years, I was recently given a new Traxxas T-Maxx for Christmas. Apparently my loved ones are telling me… I need a new hobby.

The idea of an RC truck that does 45+ mph was quite appealing to me but after spending a few hours researching what I was in for, I decided the Traxxas E-Maxx might be a better option.

Some of you are probably going to curse me out in the comment section below but, the 5 tank break in, after run procedure, inability to run in wet conditions, and the idea of tuning the Nitro truck in the cold wintery northeast was not for me. Not yet, at least.

For those of you who don’t know, the T-Maxx requires a 5 tank break in period which consists of babying the engine and running the truck around in circles with a cool down period between tanks. The Traxxas Break-in Procedure is as follows.

Continue reading →

Tagged , ,