Well after ripping my truck completely apart last night I'm happy to report she's running great.

One thing I noticed is that my rear end was wayyyyy lower than the front. I don't know how much that would upset the handling and characteristics.

I set the level at 25 mm both sides.

I'm really liking the RX8 esc, the programming software is sick. The 4600 kv is straight up BEASTLY. I'm running a 15 tooth pinion. I'm going to closely watch my temps.

Per Mantis I'm running the 3-2 toe block, yellow springs/yellow sway up front and blue springs/blue sway out back.

I really like those Hazard wheels, they are sick.

i'm hoping it doesn't rain today or I'll be really pissed LOL

Well, I already have the ESC! It's just the motor I'm looking for for now.

a lot of people have been having issues with the novak just fyi.

I damn near rebuilt my whole tuck last night doing general maintenance, and finally found the root cause of my belt problems. At some point (probably when swapping motors) The motor mount slipped out of it's slot and was to the right of the groove instead of in it. That was just enough offset not to notice, but caused the belt to be pushed out to the right and caused the pinion to wear unevenly on the spur.

This caused the belt to bind up under hard breaking, which then caused the stress on the gear train causing the shaft gear to strip.

What a mystery! the drive train is back to being butter smooth with all damaged parts replaced.

Another tip I figured out, my rear diff bearings (the big ones on the outside) where kinda crunchy sounding like there was fine dirt inside. I soaked them in WD-40 inside a shot glass for about 30 mins shaking them and working all the dirt out. They sill make a scratching noise but now will spin free.

Are there any good aftermarket bearings you guys have tried that help keep dirt out better?

AVID makes good bearings for cheap.

Boca Bearing.

Boca bearings for sure!!! Not cheap but there worth it

I would think the Pro 4 would work fine, i'm using it with the MMP with good results, I don't think it's too brand picky. The RX8 I'm sure is the best, that's why it's $200 for what you could otherwise get for around $120 or less.

I liked that esc when I had it. Fairly easy to program using the tx, had smooth throttle, but eiter it or my motor started getting the "kick start" syndrome where it didn't want to move off a stand still, send the whole combo back to amain, hopefully I get full credit for it.

I live just a few blocks from Novak so I can stop by for help anytime anyway.

If I really struggle with it I suppose I can always sell it.

Unless anyone has any other advice I'll probably pick up a Novak motor today.

has neone tried the stock shocks with new shafts and differnt o rings.were they any smoother? i dont have any leak problems but ther are not smooth and cartridge is not to tight. any suggestions

I'm using the Ti nitride shafts, I put them in from day one when I built the kit so I wouldn't' have to deal with bent shafts. They are smooth with an otherwise stock setup.

I have been running the Havoc pro sc esc / 550 4.5 combo for the past 4 months and it runs great. Tons of torque and very fast. Plus it's rebuilable and affordable.

That's exaclty what happened to me just now. Two of the bolts on my transmission backed out and caused the motor plate to shift. Its my fault I only snugged them but next time I'll make them tighter.

Still fighting belt slip problems. Think I have it resolved now I hope. Anyone run those STRC belt tensioners?

Truck handles good I ran on a sandy dusty hard packed medium size track. The 4600 kv is a beasty motor, even with the power backed down and current limiter at 60%. Prob going to a 4000. I was running 15/62 and coming off at 177 deg on motor.

A lot of people are morons too. I have ran Novak exclusively since I started running brushless, and I've never had a failure. Ever.

^^ lmao