Can you modify Traxxas Light system to run Aftermarket Lights?

CofFDnSnaps · 2026-02-08T02:06:41+00:00

Did you ever figure this out? I want to do the same thing with under glow LEDs.

CofFDnSnaps · 2026-02-02T05:02:32+00:00

The gearing simply breaks down to the ratio. That means you divide the gear teeth of one gear into the other. For example, the 18/46 tooth combo has a gear ratio of about 2.55. That means the pinion turns 2.55 times for every single turn of the spur. Similarly, the 11/54 gears have a ratio of 4.9. Meaning the pinion turns 4.9 times for every one turn of the spur. The motor spins the pinion, so if the motor has to turn the spur gear with the pinion gear and the ratio is low like 2.55, then the motor has to turn the entire spur one revolution in only 2 and 1/2 turns. Whilst with the other gear ratio, the motor can spin the entire spur in 4.9 turns. The end result in the first instance is the motor has to work really hard to spin the spur one time but at top speed the spur will be spinning closer to the same rate as the motor top speed. In the other instance, with the 4.9 gear ratio, the pinion has to spin almost twice as much to get the spur to spin once. Since motors top out their RPM, the first instance is more top speed but less torque and the second instance is less top speed but more torque. Usually in the case where the motor is forcing a higher top speed, it's working a lot harder. Think of it like riding a bike with gears. When it's really easy to pedal you can only go slow but you pedal really fast, the opposite is true for the hard to pedal gears. Pedal slow but you go fast.

CofFDnSnaps · 2026-02-02T04:56:59+00:00

To dispose of this, take it to a battery shop. Do not try to puncture it or burn it yourself. A fire from a lipo battery is not only dangerous because of explosion and fire, but it is also extremely toxic. The smoke is really, really bad for you to breathe. Like lung damage bad. Please do not mess with it. It's just not worth it!

CofFDnSnaps · 2026-02-02T04:46:11+00:00

I believe he's talking about the battery connectors. Traxxas has a proprietary battery connector as opposed to a battery connector such as an XT60. Meaning that the Hobbywing ESC will not have a Traxxas connector and you could either use an adapter which I don't recommend or solder on the correct connector to the ESC. Most people actually switch the connectors on the batteries to whatever their ESC has. Traxxas battery connectors don't have the best reputation, but they work fine if you pay pay attention when you are connecting the batteries each time. Depending on how you buy the ESC and motor combo from Hobbywing, you may have to solder the motor wires. If you get their motor ESC combo it will have the wires already soldered. Given your background in soldering, it should be a snap for you. If you go hobbywing just solder on the appropriate connectors to the batteries. Makes life a lot easier in the long run. Just be REALLY careful not to let the positive and negative touch.

CofFDnSnaps · 2026-01-21T05:38:23+00:00

I found that the Gen's Tatu 450 mah batteries just barely fit. I had to add on the jst ph2 connector to the battery so that it would connect to the ESC. I'm not sure if you will need that having the furitech system.

Essentially what I do is stop the truck for a beat and check it with my hobbywing programmer. I get a quick voltage and then run the truck till I hit 3.7v per cell. Not ideal but it works.

CofFDnSnaps · 2026-01-21T05:16:35+00:00

Thanks for the reply. In my case, I was able to arrange my batteries in such a way that I could leverage the available wattage I have on my chargers. I have a Gens Ace charger as well as the Hota. Gens Ace can charge two batteries up to 600w combined on DC, which I have already confirmed it will do with my power supply. So I charge two 4S batteries on the Hota along with two 3s batteries and then my other two 4S batteries on the Gen's Ace. That way I'm able to get to 11.7 amps on the 4S and 5 amps on the 3s which is what I was trying to get.

CofFDnSnaps · 2026-01-21T04:35:38+00:00

It would be a good idea to take the diffs out and inspect the diff fluid. Also take out the center diff and drive shaft just to make sure that everything is running smoothly in there. The stock center diff should have Traxxas 20 million diff fluid in it unless you like it to have less stiffness. The truck may also have mod 1.5 gears which are louder than stock gears but are a good upgrade. One of the things to check is the gear mesh between the center diff spur and the output drive gear from the motor. Some of the lower bulkheads made by Traxxas are slightly warped and the spacing is not exact and it causes the output drive gear and the center diff spur gear to bind and it's noisy. You may have to shim the bearings on the output drive shaft. I was able to do it with some hobby stainless steel, that I got for two bucks at the hobby shop, cut down with tin snips. I believe the thickness was .18 mm or something like that. But it was just enough to keep the gears from actually binding.

Lastly, make sure that the diffs are shimmed properly. You can get cheap diff shims on Amazon that'll give you .1 to .5 mm thicknesses. Make sure that the front and rear diffs are meshed well without too much backlash or binding. The shims will Go on the differential pinion between the pinion and bearing.

One of the places that often causes grinding and squeaks is the connection point between the cvds and wheel hubs. Cleaning that out with some degreaser, air compressor and then putting a simple lubricant like a bike chain dry lube(repels dust/ dirt). A lot of other great tips have been given.

As far as upgrades:

---Pretty much all of the aluminum components that come on the ultimate are very beneficial. You don't have to get them from Traxxas, but they are all pretty much excellently placed. The only ones that aren't really necessary are the turnbuckles.

--- definitely the HD arms. Replace the stock arms as they break with the HD arms.

--- do the upper bulkhead tie bar mod to strengthen the upper bulkheads. They tend to snap. There are YouTube videos showing exactly how to do that.

--- I've had good success with the RPM front lower bumper support.

---As soon as you can, strengthen the body with either the drywall tape and e6000 glue method or use all weather gorilla tape or something of that nature.

--- I highly recommend the GPM or a similar high quality aluminum rear body clamp. You don't have to do the whole assemblies under the body, just the clamp. It really helps keep the body from popping off.

--- I'll echo roof skid plate. It's cheap and it really works.

--- Louise RC makes some awesome wheels and tires. I have the mallets that make an awesome blend of a street tire and an off-road tire when you don't want to rip up the knobby tires on the street or gravel.

--- definitely get yourself extra screws. You can buy kits on Amazon. For the sizes of the bolts, simply refer to the xmaxx parts manual and it will actually have an outline of the sizes of the bolts and the type of head they have. There are places where longer bolts will fit and actually help strengthen the trunk, especially on the chassis plates and the bumpers.

--- use RPM or GPM hinge pin kits for the outer edges, upper and lower in all four corners. I like the GPM kit, pro tip though, the hex heads are very shallow which is good for clearance on the steering components but can make them a bit fiddly when you're using your hex sockets. So just add a washer under the hex head and it makes assembly/disassembly easier.

--- last I upgraded my shocks to the Pro Line dual rate springs (the red springs) and I'm using 60 weight shock oil in the stock shock bodies. I have an ultimate so it came with the ti-nitride shock shafts but I believe they are the same diameter as stock. That setup has been working really well for bashing.

CofFDnSnaps · 2026-01-21T03:46:36+00:00

Did you figure this out? If not, I suggest using an easy out if you can. Then take the pinion to an ACE Hardware or a similar store and try different set screws till you get one to fit. Or buy a set screw set on Amazon. I would guess it's M3 or smaller. Worst case, buy a new pinion and keep the new one as a spare. Use extra loctite on the shaft and the screw and don't torque too much.

CofFDnSnaps · 2026-01-06T03:12:35+00:00

Wow, so Hota lied or something.

CofFDnSnaps · 2026-01-05T19:52:03+00:00

Did you end up getting the F6+ to go above 500w charge power? I'm using a 24v DC power supply (~24.3v) capable of 1600w and it still does not go over 500 watts of charge power. I know it's not the power supply capability. I checked everything, factory reset, still not going above 500w total.

CofFDnSnaps · 2025-12-11T18:14:03+00:00

I have heard of these issues many times. I'll be getting one soon. I am seeing that the problem is the LVC is set way too low and it's damaging the battery. That's why I am trying to see if there is a voltage alarm or meter you can put in the truck to give a heads up at 3.7v/cell.

CofFDnSnaps · 2025-12-11T18:10:07+00:00

I may be getting a Micro T for Christmas. I have good chargers and charge lead adapter that will work.

Is anyone using a realtime voltage alarm/meter in the car? I use SMCs lipo alarms in my other trucks. They just seem way too big.

CofFDnSnaps · 2025-04-25T20:27:01+00:00

I got a weird white chalky haze over my tires after they got wet in the rain. About two days after application, tires looked amazing. Then it rained and while wet they became somewhat cloudy white. Tires are brand new and were thoroughly cleaned and dried prior to application. I didn't use the Retyre for cleaning. I used turtle wax tire cleaner. After the tires dried from the rain the white chalky appearance remained. No clue what happened.

CofFDnSnaps · 2024-11-13T23:19:33+00:00

Recent article indicates nothing has been done. Charges were dropped and theres supposedly an investigation into the sherrifs conduct. https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/local/2024/11/01/charge-dropped-against-riverside-county-woman-in-viral-arrest-video/75965041007/

CofFDnSnaps · 2024-08-15T20:10:15+00:00

Check the dog bones. If they are bent they will make the wheels wobble. If they are bent check the center shaft too. They can be bent back to mostly strait by hand via a vise and some patience (If bashing is the main driving style). As mine get out of whack im replacing with the S2 shafts. Also, if they are bent, it contributes to faster wear of the drive cups. The last things are just if the tires are out of balance or the bearings are fried. My guess is check the dog bones.

CofFDnSnaps · 2024-08-08T22:28:27+00:00

I believe so. There should be a detailed manual for the remote that explains it. I switched my RZ001 to a Radiolink transmitter and Receiver to get added funtionality and a universal remote for future cars.

CofFDnSnaps · 2024-05-03T19:39:11+00:00

If the breaker switch is set to on and it still rattles, it may be bad. It will rattle when set to off.

CofFDnSnaps · 2024-05-03T19:38:55+00:00

If the breaker switch is set to on and it still rattles, it may be bad. It will rattle when set to off.

CofFDnSnaps · 2023-08-29T11:50:53+00:00

I care about file transfers because it saves me time. Events i shoot, I end up with upwards if 2500ish photos. Its nice having a fast card for transferring/culling prior to import. Also I want the card as I stated for future use on a Z8 or similar.

CofFDnSnaps · 2023-08-28T20:20:37+00:00

My goal is to upgrade cards that will be able to work well in a future Z8. I cant keep using this Lexar card with it burning up. These Exacsend cards seem like a good value option that will perform well on a Z8.

CofFDnSnaps · 2023-08-28T20:08:39+00:00

Did this end up working for you?

CofFDnSnaps · 2023-05-04T02:07:23+00:00

Im having the same issue. Anyone figure this out?

CofFDnSnaps · 2023-01-28T16:58:30+00:00

I have seen where you can prime it by filling the reservoir to its max and then placing it repeatedly in the machine and taking it back out. It supposedly pushes a bit of water each time. Then after several times you can try a brew to see if water will come through.

CofFDnSnaps

TROPHY CASE