Took the old T-maxx for a bash.

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21bangbang

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Today I wound up looking at the truck that got me, and I assume many many others into RC. The T-maxx 1.5. The old truck still runs with just about all stock parts. The reverse is finicky as all hell but now and then it still works. I must have bought this truck 20 years ago and it amazes me it still runs. It must be over 10 gallons of nitro run through it. I probably had the most fun ive had driving rc in a long time taking the truck out. If any of you still have your old rc's kicking about and don't use them, I highly recommend you do. Just be careful with your old am radio, I snapped my aerial because im not used to it being there. Jabbed it straight into the frozen ground.20191207_173247.jpg
 
I traded my old Savage for a Dominator hybrid truggy. In retrospect, the Savvy was a much better option. I had modified it to use a special bump starter, so I could drop any motor on it. I bought it with an RB WS7 Worlds that had been modified with a pull start.

At the time, there were no good motors with pull starters. The HPI .25 was just released, and it couldn't hold a candle to race spec .21 motors. I got one of the last gen Nova Rossi/Picco .21 motors The bump starter was basically a wheel mounted on a lever that had a flex shaft you could mount to an airplane starter motor. You cut a small square hole in the chassis and mounted the "L" bracket to the truck. To start it, you would lock the starter into the bracket, start the starter motor, and "lever" the starter unit into the flywheel.

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I feel like a complete idiot for trading it out. The Dom hybrid was nice and all, but it never had the appeal of the Savage. Some months later, I was running the Dom and the throttle servo gears broke at WOT. The truck hit a curb at full speed and basically turned itself into scrap for the recycle bin.

Ironically, I have a friend in my old hometown with an almost NIB Savage from that same time. Maybe I'll hit him up and see if he'll give me a good deal on it.
 
I miss my savage sometimes. Should of kept it, but nitro was always a pain

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It still is a pain. Even with the Traxxas electric start I struggle to keep them running well. I just never got good at tuning Nitro. Was still a great time taking the old truck out again. Ill probably use it a few more times, drain it, oil it, and back to the basement for another few years. Ill never sell it though.
 
It still is a pain. Even with the Traxxas electric start I struggle to keep them running well. I just never got good at tuning Nitro. Was still a great time taking the old truck out again. Ill probably use it a few more times, drain it, oil it, and back to the basement for another few years. Ill never sell it though.


I hear that, I sold all my nitro vehicles in order to get into 1/5 scale and never looked backed. The savage I had before this one I sold for $1300 and turned around and bought a MTXL. Worth it lol
 
?It's funny when I read how people had a hard time tuning nitros but they usually have stock or cheap nitros engines to start with. Then they get into 5th scale and go for the best/reliable engines like Zenoahs 32cc and 34cc or even better/more expensive OBR, RCMaxx, or ALX and say they never looked back. Of course not, cause you are using good engines to start with. My 8th scale nitros are Novarossi/Triton/LRP that range from $300+ with no issues of starting or tuning. It still goes back to the old saying "you get what you pay for." The one thing I definitely agree with is the amount of gear you need to have an enjoyable experience. That and the added maintenance nitros require are the only negatives I see in nitro IMO.
 
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I never had issues tuning nitros. They are just a pain, the extra poop needed on top of the daily tuning sucked.
Yeah I carry a pit bag, head warmer, and bumpstart, at minimum any time I go to take my nitros out. With the 5th all I need is a gas can and my pit bag since it has screwdrivers and Allen's already in it and easy to grab n go.
 
I never went crazy chasing perfect tuning. I was always content as long as they ran. The Traxxas electric start made extra gear a non issue. Fuel, a screwdriver, and a start stick was all I needed. Thats only 1 more thing than my gassers require. Add to that the ease of moving the vehicle and its far less of a chore imo. I never understood how people can find nitro more of a pain than 1/5 scale. I guess the after care can suck, but I honestly spend way more time cleaning my 1/5 than draining and oiling a nitro. Biggest issue I have with nitro is the fuel costs and glow plugs burning out.
Had so much fun with the T-maxx that I've broken out my other 2 nitros. A Tmaxx 3.3 and a Jato 3.3. The jato fired up no problem, but the other Tmaxx not so much. One way bearing in the electric start seems spun out. I bought these 2 Nitros right before my fist kid and left the hobby for years shortly after. So they're basically brand new. The Tmaxx is loaded with cheap integy upgrades, rpm arms, and a few other dewdads. The jato has a awsome telemetry system thats fun to toy with. Working on that old duratrax I found really got me intrested in Nitro again. While nothing will replace my 1/5 scale losi's, sometimes its nice to play with something smaller. Something about these little engines screaming about makes me smile. Gotta figure out how to share video on here.
 

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Still have my savage xl. And all my other rc's save my e revo, that's more or less my brothers now a days. As for the nitro vs 2 stroke... 2 stroke all day every day. I can tune an engine just fine. Just never cared for the nitro engines being so picky. I have a few OS engines, they were great, just not worth the money to outfit all my rigs with them. I'm big into chainsaws as well so 1/5 scale just seemed natural to me. I still have a bunch if nitro rigs, fuel will have to come way down in price, or my kids really get into rc before I go and get another gallon.
 
I used to feel the same way before getting into 8th scale track time. Nothing like maneuvering a technical track and getting better with each lap. Way different then just bashing. I think I have a similar love for nitro as i do for 5th gas. Nitro fuel is stupid expensive tho??but to me being on a competitive track kinda makes up for the price of fuel.
 
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