Any tips for a new Slash owner?

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Visited one of the LHS last Wednesday and saw a whole bunch of guys I knew from BITD racing. I knew instantly that I had to get back in so I bought a Slash since SC truck is the biggest class. I like the looks of the HPI and would of course love an SC10, but when in Rome... Not to mention they have a great selection overall, but parts support for the Slash is most prevalent. Anyway, just wondering if anyone has any "must do" tips for a new Slash? Both oval and off-road are offered there, but oval will probably be my main choice. I like the SC option 'cause at least you can do either with it. It's pretty much spec. You can run lipo and another radio, but everything else has to be stock or intended for the truck you run. I'll put my M8 in after converting it to 2.4 and run a 6000mah Maxamps lipo. The rear tire wells seem dangerously close to the rear tires I noticed right off. When they balloon I would think they would rub. Are there other things? I just bought it so I haven't looked it over too closely. Obviously I'll check screws and mesh and things like that, but I mean things I may not notice. I doubt I run a lipo cut-off since I can just check the voltage after each heat. The version I got came with a 7cell 3000mah pack which will be nice for my Pumpkin or to pair up with the other in my E-Savage(which is technically only rated for 14.4). $229 with a 7cell and crappy A/C charger is a pretty good deal for non internet I think. Anyway, here's a pic of the oval. Their off-road track is way bigger and they have another off-road outdoor, but oval will be my main interest so I'm just including that one. There's a pic of the Slash too, but I'm not sure why since they all look the same...Looking forward to racing again!

[civilguy]

Put the rear body mount as high as it can go (moved up one hole I believe) and raise the front somehow too. I used longer screws (20 or 25mm, can't recall) and put two Tamiya plastic bearings (with a copper tubing spacer) under the stock body posts. That seems to work fine with minimal rubbing. Also check the wheel nuts and also back off the slipper a little.... it comes reamed on.
Otherwise, we have a box stock class at the local track, so that's all I've done to mine and the kids'. Have fun!

[WillyThickfoot]

Moving the body mounts work great.I put on a set of 2.2 RPM Revolver wheels with the Yokohama Geolandars and I'm real happy with em!Here are a couple pics of mine compared to my son's stocksetup.


Dave

[illshou]

I replaced the front steering blocks with a aluminum set. Seem to be one of the first parts to break.

[civilguy]

I replaced the front steering blocks with a aluminum set. Seem to be one of the first parts to break.

Wow... what do you guys do to your RCs? I raced my Slash quite a few times last season and I have never broke anything. Well, one nerf bar but a marshall picked it up by it and I think that's what snapped it. Must be once you go brushless or higher voltage???

[markt311]

The roll pin the keys into the top gear on the slipper shaft is a weak spot. I had one break into 3 pieces, luckily it didn't get into the other gears in the tranny. I took a roll pin from the parts bin at work and dremelled it to the correct length, haven't had a problem since then. That broke while running the stock motor with a 2s 20C lipo. That truck has been running a 10.5 for the last few months with no problems.

Also the rear hubs tend to break if you crash just right, RPM makes replacements that will probably never break.

Tell Jay, Cody and Shawnda hi for me, I might be going up there in a few weeks with some guys from Nashville to race offroad.

[tamiya]

haha first Slash i bought was also silver Amsoil

... You can run lipo and another radio, but everything else has to be stock or intended for the truck you run.

you'll be wanting lipo unless they allow the 7c battery, then its pretty even imho

if stock tyres aren't mandatory you'll be wanting Prolines or JConcepts etc, what do others run?

The rear tire wells seem dangerously close to the rear tires I noticed right off. When they balloon I would think they would rub.

yes you will lose the paint very quickly

jack it up as described above but the shell is also pretty heavy so consider your CoG

Are there other things?

drain the shocks and refill with 50-70wt; i'd tend heavier with such flat track

are you allowed to reposition the stuff around the chassis?

you guys running Titan motors? they go a bit better after some running-in
eg when the brush "W" serrations are worn down enough to meet comm fullface

There isn't much difference between Titan 550 12T and a stock 17.5 BL system;
both are noticeably faster than a 27T brushed stock.

i swapped the XL5 for a Novak ESC as the XLS ain't lipo cutoff compatible.
XL5 isn't too shabby on the fwd-drive portion but the brakes are real weak;
just swapped ESCs and the drivewheels lockup on braking now.

I doubt I run a lipo cut-off since I can just check the voltage after each heat.

yea... it dun work with XL5 anyway

each 5min race only used about 1300-1400mAh for me (offroad, pretty bumpy large track)
and wasn't much difference in draw between 18/20/23 pinions either.
Motor just gets a little warmer when geared up.

[tamiya]

*if* they allow it...

i'd also be dumping your suspension down as far as you can afford

&

try some stiffer non-progressive springs

... seeing you're racing on such a flat arena

[PBR Allstar]

I run a slash on a very similar, small, indoor oval in Box stock class. It's the track record holder in the box stock slash class, and due to how well it handles I can usually run in the top 3 of the mod class with the same truck

the only thing I've done to my truck are:

raise the body posts like others have said.
.300" droop limiters inside all four shocks (I used fuel tubing), 30wt oil front, 40wt oil rear.
RPM rear hub carriers. (most tracks will allow these in box stock class. the stockers are weak)


I run about 1.5* negative camber on the right side and about 1* positive camber on the left side. I do most of my tuning with spring clips on the right side at that point, move them from the right front to the right rear to free up the truck, and vice versa. Also run the battery as far forward as possible.

Other than that I've been through my gearbox, make sure it's as free as possible, same with all the suspension arms, hinge pins, etc. I use some dry graphite on the trany gears, and slider axles.

[tamiya]

haha, "stagger" the suspension for oval running - i like it

how about putting both 'front' wheels onto the 'out'side too, any luck?

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Thanks for the input everybody. After seeing how it did stock, I limited the shocks and went to 45wt shock oil. The track is super fast. We turn about 4.2-5.0 second laps. It's the purest racing I've personally ever been involved in. The trucks are so even that it's scary. I did go to the RPM rear bearing carriers after breaking one. Other than that it's been solid. Made some other tweaks to the camber similar to what PBR suggested. It changes pretty dramatically with the steering full on. I'm not a huge fan of the toyishness of the truck, but this thing was just made to run. Fun to bash too, although I reserve most of it's running time dedicated to racing and leave the bashing to my other cars. It's all about staying out of trouble and guarding the corners. Going to race again tonight and it's by far the funnest class I've ever ran. Thanks again everybody.