First time upgrade, need advice [Ruckus 2WD]

[Mikeyy109]

Hi guys, very recently got into rc stuff for something to do with my little boy, ended up loving it more than I expected lol. I got a new ruckus brushed, hugely disappointed with run time so got myself a 5k 2s lipo and charger, made a big difference and also a big speed increase too, very happy. On my second day taking it out (over fields so I realise puts extra strain on everything} my motor started smoking badly and stunk of burning, instantly disconnected battery and let it cool off.

After a cool off the motor seems fine but I'm guessing that didn't do it any good, so I thought maybe the stock motor can't handle the extra power from a high grade lipo. Did some research, ended up buying a Castle Sct 3800kv + esc combo as it seems there highly regarded, it's getting delivered tomorrow so I am going to attempt to make the upgrade.

My question is do I need anything else? Ive been reading up about pinions and aluminium replacement parts but can't seem to find any pinions and not sure if I need any other upgrades. I'm not looking to spend loads of money, to be honest I've already spent too much. I just want it to plow over a field with no issues, any advice or tips for me would be hugely appreciated

 

[WoodiE]

@Mikeyy109 first off, welcome to ECXForum and the addiction called RC, the ECX Ruckus is a fun truck.

To answer your question, I wouldn't go hog wild yet on hop-ups but instead run it with your new electronics when they get delivered to see how things hold up. As for aluminum, it's a great material for some hop-up items, but not everything. Basically anything that needs to flex should not be aluminum.

If there was one thing I'd buy right away now that you have new electronics coming - it would be an infrared temp gun so you can keep an eye on the motor temp as not to burn it up.

One of my favorite, and most members here, companies to get hop-ups from is RPM RC Products and they make a-arms, caster blocks, axle carriers, spindle blocks, and a servo-saver eliminator bellcrank that many people have gave pretty decent reviews on. Basically most anything RPM is going to be pretty good plus all their parts come with a lifetime warranty - you break it they'll send you a new one. That said, again I'd still run the truck with the new electronics and then replace things with stronger items as you break the stock parts.

 

[Mikeyy109]

@WoodiE thanks yeah that does make sense, I'm going to order a heat gun, found a cheap one on ebay.

@X really? I had no idea.. That's really ruined my plans for tomorrow :/ I thought it would be a straight swap. A new receiver and transmitter sounds expensive, I definitely can't pair the transmitter to a new receiver? Thanks for the heads up, I'll have a look at flysky..

Edit: @X it seems your post was deleted as I was replying?

 

[X]

@WoodiE thanks yeah that does make sense, I'm going to order a heat gun, found a cheap one on ebay.

@X really? I had no idea.. That's really ruined my plans for tomorrow :/ I thought it would be a straight swap. A new receiver and transmitter sounds expensive, I definitely can't pair the transmitter to a new receiver? Thanks for the heads up, I'll have a look at flysky..

Edit: @X it seems your post was deleted as I was replying?

I apologize on that, I was thinking of the Amp. Your ruckus looks to have a separate esc and receiver. Was hoping I got that out of there before you saw it.....

 

[Mikeyy109]

I apologize on that, I was thinking of the Amp. Your ruckus looks to have a separate ESC and receiver. Was hoping I got that out of there before you saw it.....

No worry's I'm just glad I haven't got to fork out for trans/reciv lol. Although I've had issues with controls just cutting out at distances I wouldn't of thought 2.4ghz would have problems with, so I'm guessing the stock isn't brilliant anyway, maybe next payday haha

 

[X]

No worry's I'm just glad I haven't got to fork out for trans/reciv lol. Although I've had issues with controls just cutting out at distances I wouldn't of thought 2.4ghz would have problems with, so I'm guessing the stock isn't brilliant anyway, maybe next payday haha

When I took a quick look at the pictures I didn't see the receiver. Then after posting I looked at the parts list and saw it.....then saw in the exploded view it was under a cover in front.

I've never had an issue with the DX2E transmitter. Have you checked to make sure the antenna on your receiver is ok? When this happens are you on a fully charged battery, or have you been driving for a while?

 

[Mikeyy109]

When I took a quick look at the pictures I didn't see the receiver. Then after posting I looked at the parts list and saw it.....then saw in the exploded view it was under a cover in front.

I've never had an issue with the DX2E transmitter. Have you checked to make sure the antenna on your receiver is ok? When this happens are you on a fully charged battery, or have you been driving for a while?

I haven't, I'll check that when I'm fitting the electronics tomorrow, can you improve the range by extending the wire? Happens when the truck gets to a certain distance, at a guess I'd say about 20 meters, after that its unresponsive until I've walked to within 5-10 meters then it kicks into life again. Not a huge issue but have flown quadcopters that used 2.4ghz and got much more range out of them