vettespeed

I bought an electric Traxxas Stampede used off of ebay RTR w/a Dynamite Vision Peak 2 charger and (2) "AMP MAX II 1500 MAH" batteries. Everything is used but seems to have little use on it. I don't know what to expect because I am new to electric R/C but was just simply looking for something to play around the house with that would run good in the grass and handle a little terrain, just your typical unperfect bumpy lawn. The GS Strom Pro Nitro) is just too loud for the neighborhood. This thing seems to be gutless. It goes OK on flat carpet or ground but any incline at all or any bumpiness in the grass and it will barely move. It definately isn't doing wheelies like on the side of the box. Maybe the batteries are shot??? Maybe the motor is shot??? Maybe the charger isn't working properly??? When I hook up the batteries to the charger the LED indicators climb until it reaches the "Full" green indicator which then proceeds to flash but the directions to the charger say that "once the battery has peaked, the charger will automatically switch to trickle charge. You will know that the charger has entered trickle when the charger repeatedly beeps, and the LED continuously flashes." Well the charger doesn't beep. Am I expecting too much from this thing or do you think something is wrong? I have made adjustments to the ESC as the directions describe and everything seems to be running free without anything binding. Any advice that would either point me to the problem or let me know that my expectations were too high would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot, Mike.

P.S. The charger manual describes "re-peaking" a battery after a full charge, what does this mean and why would you do it?

mstng87gt

how is the steering when trying to go up a hill or any incline. does it run like this with either battery or have you only charged one. one other thing to check is the motor, are the brushes worn.

vettespeed

The steering seems to work fine and the steering does suffer when the battery becomes almost drained, but even with a full charge it seems like it is way underpowered. As far as the brushes go I just pulled the motor and it doesn't appear to come apart, how do you check the brushes, or better yet change them or clean the motor. One battery seems to work a little better than the other but neither seems to give it more power, maybe slightly more run time and I just ran it out in the street after a full charge and I don't think it ran for more than 5 minutes.

I B RACIN

Alot of it will depend on what batterys you have, if they are low end sport packs they wont be fast, a good 3300 7 cell hump pack will really wake that thing up. the next thing would be to put a 17 turn motor in, thats about all the power that truck will handel.

also make sure that your batts are warm to the touch when they come off the charger, if not restart the charger as many times as needed, thats what re-peaking is.

I B..

Charlie O

First get ride of that stock motor you cant rebuild it or take it apart, it's a sealed endbell. you want power, get a 19 turn spec motor they are the torqueyest motor you can buy usually around $30 and super effecient, (more run time with 1500 packs) if you still want more get a better battery, for about $40 you can get a reedy matched stick pack 3000 Mah, after that just mess with the gearing to get what type of power you are looking for. (torque or top speed)

vettespeed

I'm starting to think the motor/truck has more time on it than was stated. The motor appears to be the stock "Stinger" motor that is shown on the side of the box and it has the stock XL-1 speed control. What is a good replacement motor that is low maintanence and will provide good runtime but that can be opened up and serviced and what should I expect to spend. I'm not looking for a screamer, just something with good overall performance. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks a lot, Mike.

mstng87gt

i would honestly say if possible get a new speedo and if needed motor. the speedo has a lot also to do with the way it runs. unfortuntely the package you bought is less then desired but it does allow you to use the truck. the only thing that sounds useable is the truck itself. as i b racing mentioned your batts should be warm to the touch. see if maybe you can borrow either someone's battery and try it in your truck or borrow a charger and see how the battery works after a good charge.

vettespeed

This Stampede has the XL-1 speed control and it says it can handle a 17 turn motor. The hobby shop it trying to steer me in the direction of 27 turn stock motors for about $38.00 that they claim will run a lot better than the 20 turn motor that comes in the Stampede, can this be. Is there something out there that is better but will retain good runtime, reliability, and is affordable, $40.00 or less. I'm seeing a lot of "Mad Dog", "Venom Fireball" & "Racers Edge" motors and "Racers Edge" and "Powerizer" batteries really reasonable on eBay, are these things junk??? Thanks guys, Mike.

Charlie O

Go to www.Ultimatehobbies.com or call (714) 921-0424 open at 11am pacific time, they will set you up with a 19 turn spec motor (epic outlaw, Trinity Chameleon 2, or Reedy)
the motors are $32.95 I guarantee you they will kick a@# over anything a 17 turn or stocker will put out and your speedo has no problem with it! they also have the reedy 3000Mah matched packs for $39.99 or for $20.00 a bottom of the line 3000Mah battery. and if you want a charger they have MRC super brain peak detection chargers for $45.00 i use them they work great!

vettespeed

Charlie O,
Or anybody else, how is it that a 19 turn spec motor will have more power than a 17 turn motor. I thought less turns meant more power, is it because of the "spec" designation??? What does "spec" mean. Thanks, Mike.

Charlie O

Because it is a full blown race motor, balanced, dyno tuned, trued commutator, high performance brushes. what few 17 turn motors that are out there aren't race motors. and like i said 19 turn motors have the most torque you can get, ask them at ultimate or any racer and they will tell you that 19 turn spec class has the fastest cars on the track. stock, mod, or brushless.

I B RACIN

Vettespeed,

A 27 turn stock motor will be faster than the 20 turn stinger, because it has advanced timing.

What everyone needs to keep in mind here (Charlie O) is, this is not a race truck, its just for fun, the speed control is fine for that.

Is a 19 turn spec mod the fastest motor, Well NO. At our track its the class for people who can't handle the power of real mod yet.

Good batts and any motor from a 27 turn stock up to a 17 turn mod will be better than what you have now, I have 2 of these trucks and have tryed them all, I like the 17 turn mod the best, it makes the Stampede just a little faster than a race truck with a stock motor.

let us know what you do and how you like it.

I B..

ritchie

hey charlie, ritchie here, met you at the hpi race in tacoma, and again last year at tcs, leave me out of the ask any racer stuff, i've been kickin 19t butt all over the place with those 23t tamiya motors i got at tcs

Cain

iTrader: (294)

I responded on the wildhobbies forum about your problem.

You may want to look into doing a revision of your electronics starting with the motor and speed control. The stock speed control that comes from traxxas isn't that good. If you want something that has good power and performs quite well but want it on the cheap and want reverse, the LRP runner esc is a good choice and they go on ebay for 30 to 35 dollars, alot of times brand new. If reverse isn't a requirement, the Duratrax streak esc is about the best for the money in that price range. Really good speed control.

For motors, I think for bashing your best bet is the 19T spec motors. My favorite choice right now is the Reedy Quad Mag 19T motor. Runs really cool and have loads of power. Only thing with this motor is you probably will have to gear up higher than you would with a stock motor. its alittle strange at first, but this motor runs better that way. Also, the Orion Element or Peak Dynasty ( same motor ) have loads of torque in them as well are are good motors. I don't like the trinity or epic motors since they don't perform as well as the ones I mentioned above. ( I have had 5 chameleon motors and none performed at all well, got 1 dynasty and it was a screamer ).

You can get these motors with free shipping from www.roadragehobbies.com , I got my Quad Mag for 34 dollars shipped. Also, talk to your LHS and see if they can cut you comm when you feel your motor dropping off and install new brushes. Some simple maintenance of your motor will go a long way as well.

About your batteries, how are you charging them, what amp rate? You want to do the closest to 5 amps as you can and make sure the pack is warm when it comes off the charger. If you know someone ( like your LHS ) who has a charger than can measure the amount of runtime going into the pack and can discharge them for you to see what performance you get would be great as well. This can tell you if the battery is any good. in general, 1500 packs are so cheap now that you can get new one for about 10 bucks. check www.roadragehobbies.com to see what they are selling them for. Also, promatch racing is selling 1900mah SCR Sanyo batteries for 12 bucks a pack. Good cells and will give you better run time than you get now. In general you should try and get new batteries since you know how they are being charged and maintained.

So to sum it up, I think your vehicle is ok, just replace the stinger motor and probably the speed control and you should be all set. Also, you may want to consider a set of ball bearings if the truck already doesn't have them. You will get much better runtime than you do now.

Charlie O

Vettespeed, here are some motor ratings from trinity/epic i got from an ad in R/C car action mag, i think it's in most issues.
Part #9254 speed gem Amber 17x2 mod motor
Power/Efficiency
75W/61%
Rpm/Torque
19,500/120

Part #Ep1101 Epic Binary Pro 19x1 mod motor
Power/Efficiency
98W/61%
Rpm/Torque
23,000/132

Part #RC2123 Chameleon 2 Pro 19x1 mod motor
Power/Efficiency
92W/59%
Rpm/Torque
22,500/125

I hope this helps in your decision!