MatJ

I understand many will consider this question stupid, but I'm totally new to off-road. I do race on road but wanted to try 2wd so I picked up a dex210 from eBay that's suposedely in good condition.

Can I ask, how many variants of the dex210 are there ? How can I check which one is mine ?
Any upgrades recommended ? What are the basic things to look out for when buying second hand ?

I plan on rebuilding it fully to check for any issues.


Thanks to anyone that can help

Lone Star

iTrader: (3)

If it has an alloy chassis,then go online to see the different shapes of the v1 & v2 sidepods. Also look for type b parts like gearbox, trans brace, arms, shock towers, etc.

Airlmeier4422

iTrader: (10)

Technically their is only 2 versions, dex210v1 and v2. The great thing about Durango is v2 parts can be directly attached to the v1 without mods so some racers have a mixture of v1 and v2, like myself.

Here is v2 parts that are most notably difference:
http://www.amain.com/team-durango-hd...-arm-2/p296476
http://www.amain.com/team-durango-sh...type-b/p298932

v1 parts:
http://www.amain.com/team-durango-fr...-set-2/p213146
http://www.amain.com/team-durango-sh...er-set/p213151

The difference between the arms is the v2 are solid vs v1 are gull winged and open. The difference between towers is the v2 is lower vs v1 are taller.

I only have one recommended upgrades and it is these:
http://www.amain.com/team-durango-14...-red-2/p274295

Here is a great site for team builds, manuals, gearing, upgrades and more.
http://durangofansite.com/main.php?v...ket&itemid=104

Second hand items and be just fine. Just make sure to replace any wobbly parts, stripped screws and any thing else that looks not right. Having the manual next to you works great.

blankenj99

If it has a plastic chassis it may be an RTR which can be a good starting point too but FYI they're 8 mm longer and the side pods are also shaped different so affects which bodies will fit

Cain

iTrader: (294)

anyone use AE springs? If so, how was fitment and performance in comparison to durango ones?

Thinking of going that route since a lot of the springs that came in don't appear to be durangos and I don't know what they are. Also, the paint on the springs for the durangos where the color coating is seems to come off easy.

Wanderer77

iTrader: (2)

@MatJ - There are 3 versions. 2 kits, the v1 and v2 and 1 RTR version. The RTR version is it's own beast that comes (came with) with almost all v1 parts on a +8 dimec v2 chassis. The RTR gear diff is also only a 2 gear vs a 4 gear. If it's a used car it may be hard to tell exactly what it is as almost all of the parts are interchangeable between all of the variants.

@Cain - I tried the AE springs with no luck. The Losi springs are real close and have to be pushed on to the spring keepers. I'll be trying some Kyosho later this week.

Wanderer

Cain

iTrader: (294)

Cool thanks. I wish I new what these other springs were. I better just take pics so I can find out what they are.

Is there a chart or something out there that you can use to identify durango springs when the color is not visible? I though ti saw something once breaking down diameter, turns, etc. but don't know where I saw that now.

Wanderer77

iTrader: (2)

I haven't seen any chart to identify springs by anything other than color. I had a simple spring test rig in the past. I need to get around to making another one for big bore springs.

The rig is basically like this...

Flat metal plate with feet on bottom. Bolt up through middle of plate, smooth rod just smaller than spring diameter threaded onto bolt. Rod needs to be ~1/2 height of shortest spring to be measured. Put a small weight on spring (like from science lab kit) and measure spring compression. It's not the most precise, but should get you close.

Wanderer

Cain

iTrader: (294)

I think this is it:

http://www.team-durango.com/pdf/setu...t-Complete.pdf

what exactly is pitch and how you measure it?

Wanderer77

iTrader: (2)

Distance from center to center of coils.

MatJ

Thank you very much to those who replied regarding the variants and upgrades ! I really appreciate it. It seems like it is the V1, it has an alloy chassis but the buldged wishbones.

I'll look into the links that were posted.

Regards

fredswain

iTrader: (1)

The Durango springs work just fine and they've got a broad enough selection for any situation. I've got nothing against Losi or Associated but there isn't any reason to think you'd be better off with one or another. Most people don't understand the concept of balancing spring rates on the vehicle so concentrating on a posted number isn't going to be very beneficial. Keep it simple. Buy the Durango springs and then learn about balance tuning.

Doughty

3 gear vs 4 gear

I'm with Fred on this one, 3 gear the motor will always spin in the same direction (when the car is going forwards) no matter where is in the car.

I was an early adopter of the MM principle making a MM Losi XXX around the same time xfactory were working on their car.
I've been through all the headaches of having the car running backwards etc etc...

they key thing is when you think about the wheels having to rotate forwards, each gear added reverses the direction which the motor has to spin.

because motors have static timing and a lot of ESC's don't allow them to run in reverse, the only way to do it is to flip the transverse orientation of the motor.

so... assuming the car will always go forwards, if the motor shaft points left (looking from the back) the kick of the motor adds weight transfer (even number of internal gears). if the shaft of the motor points to the right (looking from the back) the motor neutralists weight transfer (odd number of internal gears).

I hope my explanation is clear enough

fredswain

iTrader: (1)

Here's the thing about motor rotation and it's effect on the car that needs to be understood. The wheels are irrelevant. What is important is the motor and the chassis. Imagine just those two things floating in mid air. As is well known, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The rotation of the motor means that whatever the mass of the rotor is, it's rotational force in its direction of rotation will be met with the exact opposite force being exerted on the chassis. Imagine placing a camera on the pinion shaft of the motor. The video will show the chassis rotating around in the opposite direction as would be seen if the camera were mounted on the chassis looking at the pinion rotation direction. It doesn't matter if that motor is mounted at one end of the chassis such as in rear motor or near the middle of the chassis such as in rear motor. The same force in the same direction still applies.

The location does play an important role though but not because of the wheels. It's leverage. In rear motor, the motor is trying to exert a force from the very end of a long lever. Think about a baseball bat, or even just a stick. If you hold it on the end and swing it, it moves at a certain rate. What about holding it near the middle? You've got more leverage on the stick and can move it much faster. Try spinning each like a propeller and see which one you can move faster. That's what the motor towards the center in mid motor is doing vs out back. It's rotation has a more pronounced effect on the chassis rotation and rate of rotation in mid motor.

Where the wheels come into play is with static weight. In mid motor, some of the motors weight is on the front wheels. In rear motor not only is all of the motor weight on the rear wheels, but due to lever action with the wheels, it is actually removing some weight from the front of the vehicle. A motor in front of the rear wheels will not have as large of an effect on the actual static weight on the rear wheels as a motor mounted behind them. Even if they are the same distance away from the wheels in opposite directions.

tc5 man

Well think im done with Mid motor and doing rear motor it just fits my kind of driving .