The same can be said for many manufacturers. I steer clear of any OEM or OEM remans like Spektrums and certain HWs. Safest bet above 11.1V is Castle ESC and a HW motor.
From my experience, belted tired are good for speed runs, but they aren't good for bashing. They're harder and don't hook up as well, heavier, and you want your tires to balloon a little when doing backflips because it gives you more air control.
Non belted tires are like having an automatic transmission. Lower overall ratio at low speeds and higher overall ratio at high speed due the ballooning making the tire bigger. If someone could only make a set of non-belted light weight tires that don't come apart life would be good.
I took my brand new XRT out and within 10 mins blew the gears.... while its a cheap fix. It really pisses me off that Traxxas would not include the hard steel gears out of thr box ffs.
Strange, all of the product information and reviews all mention that the gears are machined hardened steel, is it possible you just ended up with a genuine lemon (gear wise at least)?
Thanks Mark for find out what the problem was and was not. I was going to purchase the XRT Ultimate but did not want to spend 1600.00 . So now I will buy the XRT. And save 500.00 Dollars.
When the tires expand, they change the ratio of the gearing. Too bad we couldn't adapt this concept to full scale. "Expanding tires". 😉😉😉😁 PS: I miss my 1982 5.0 Mustang. It had only 3200 miles on it when I bought it from the Ford dealership I worked at. I sold it three months later for a $1200 profit. I'll always regret that decision.
Glade you showed us the whole story. Seeing it go by on speed run does not look like tires are ballooning enough to gain that much more speed.It was a little dark in video but I felt that way about other cars I have seen on speed runs. I thought sure it was batteries because I have seen that multiple times.
Heck yeah! You learned something that's what matters! My Rlaarlo AMD12 has huge tires for the platform it's built on (wltoys 12) and for that reason alone, it does 39mph on 2s, and 53mph on 3s. It outruns my friend's MJX infraction while my friend runs 3s. That's mainly due to the ridiculous tire diameter on my car (96mm). But if i switch to different wheels, just 90mms, he outruns me instead.
Not for nothing, but a stock Wltoys 124016 will do 49mph on 2s with 87mm tires. But point taken, tires are one of the easiest and biggest performance changing components that can be made, yet one of the most overlooked.
Thank you for making this video. I have an XRT with a 1100 KV G2 and Max 5 G2 in it... Let's just say ballooning is real in the front tires and I no longer have a front tires.. this will significantly slow down the car to make it more drivable. Definitely getting the belted 10:44 tires now...Greatly appreciate the video
It would be interesting to see the same type of comparison between the stock Traxxas batteries and a higher power set of 8s batteries. Excellent video.
Dude... Man... Mark.... Mr. Santa Maria... I somehow think you knew this. Somewhere in your head this knowledge must have already been stored... With your history in RC... I guess the part of you that wants to get new RC stuff just blocked that knowledge. 😂 Great Video. I think that will help a lot of people who want to see that extra few Miles...
_I truly thought that this was going to be one of the very first things he checked! He handles so many products that he simply forgot he even swapped out the tires since they look nearly identical to the OEM set!_ *_Crazy!_*
Mine was doing the same thing same speed then I found out there was a defective motor they sent me a brand new one it does 59 now big difference very happy with Traxxas service
Thanks so much. I have an xrt ultimate and was like dang this thing is incredibly slow. Only used it twice. I randomly picked up unbelted tires for it during the sale when it started. I’ll have to run it now that I have it on. I was about to change the gearing
new to xmaxx the sledgehammer tires would expand so much I couldn't keep the front down. I put those tires you have on the front and rides much better. leaving the more expandable tires on the rear. the front was blowing tires apart
I had the exact issue with my XRT. Used my old 6700s and would only see 44 out of it. Got some fresh batteries and saw 47 and then I pulled the belted tires off and put the stock ones back on and saw 53. lol I was pretty dang shocked. Was on a warmer day though so I imagine the cold we are dealing with at the moment may be why you are a couple MPH slower still.
You can't forget about the tires! When I slapped Hoss tires on my 2WD Stampede, it stopped wheeling as much and became more stable overall. It also lost some speed due to the added weight of the Hoss tires compared to the stock talon tires.
I saw the video when you installed those belted tires. I thought to myself “does he know that they are going to make it slower?”. Guess you found out….. Eventually
Yo, thanks for this video. I just bought the new xrt ultimate ( love it ) but haven't been able to drive it yet because it's been over 113 degrees outside every day, and i don't want to burn up my ESC, or something else. I was going to put my speed tester on it and see if it actually went 50 mph out of the box. Now i know that it won't unless I change tires. ( crazy ) Thanks for your troubles. I would have thought it was my gearing.
Hi, on my Rustler 2wd vxl, due to issues with rear exploding tires, I put Louise (same as Duratrax) belted tires that are a little bigger than my previous conventional Louise tires and the original ones and I didn't notice any difference in speed. (Maybe a lil bit acceleration due to extra weight).. The fact that the tires are slightly larger compensates for the typical expansion of conventional tires at high speeds. But in your case, the belted and non-belted tires seem to be identical in size, which if we add the extra weight, affects even more the top speed of your car.
I have worked on cars for many years and always check the easy stuff 1st. I can't count how many times a vehicle has come in with problems and it is just a fuse.
Reminds of pinewood derby. The more surface contact on the tire, the slower it goes. The less surface contact, the less friction, the faster it goes. In this case I think it might be the same, including weight.
A great watch as yes, what a rabbit hole you went down but good to see you come back out!! 🐰😆 Who’d of thought the difference, I didn’t know myself so something learned. 😎👍
My xrt came with a bent spur shaft, and a some sort of metal pimple on the stock motor shaft. Caused it to strip gears unknowingly to me. Finally figured it out and called Traxxas. There answer was “o ya, that’s within tolerance”. 😂 What!! Last traxxas I will ever buy.
My XMaxx ultimate is way slow and I even put a 46 spar on it. I mean I bet you it doesn’t even it does right around 40 right now I’m gonna throw a set of my StockX max tires on it and try it now that’s interesting. I knew it would. It took some of the speed out of it but I just thought of it right before you said it, thanks man👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
This is why i tell people to avoid Belted tires if you a big basher. Simply venting tires, taping the holes in the rims, Add earplugs to the center diff and bash away! It will almost eliminate the balloning of front tires.
Yup. Plug the holes on the rim with tape or glue. Then make 2 holes on the tire on opposite ends. I use my soldering iron with a pointy tip. Works perfect!! MUST DO THIS!!
Mark, I really enjoyed this video because I felt your pain going thru those gymnastics, and when you said, "I'm done..." 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣 Hopefully Traxxas will let you expense this 😅👍
You still use the pun system for mesh set up? I didnt think anyone used that any more. So that being said, is your mesh set right, or could it be to tight.? Just a brain thought. Have Fun.
This is not an indictment of the belted tyres, but proof that batteries make a big difference on top speed runs, and that gearing is critical for a fixed amount of wattage.
When a typical RC basher guy gets an opportunity to see a professional RC racing program it seems like it's in a different language because you haven't experienced it it's the latest in technology across the board I started when I was a teenager and I've been following it for many many years
My XRT has a Hobbywing max 5/800kv combo with a 25/25 belt drive, want to race? Haha just kidding, it's almost undriveable but it's a ridiculous amount of fun...as long as the tires don't blow off.
Nonbelievers tires expand changing the gear ratio in 5he tires . U look at top fuel cars at the growth of those slicks from start to finish it a ton of difference.
Belted tires are heavier and it drags the car down a lot compared to none belted tires belted tires are good for not blowing so much but it does decrease your speed
Oh shit you have one to!?! Iv got a 2015 mustang that is work car. I put like 2-300 miles a day for work on the poor thing lol I'm at 160k and not a single problem!
Unrelated but have you noticed the BL-2S 4x4 vehicles are coming with the wrong spur gears. In the Manuel they say it has a 52T but it has a 54T installed not a major issue but enough to make them go under 25th 😂
Traxxas stuff is cool but thers no race heritage there at all. RC is The Cutting Edge of future Technologies that are up-and-coming. Traxxas is basically a plastic replica of older race technology but with big gears and and big motor. They have apps and software and Racers have it too but it's a little different and probably more complicated it always is when it's brand new and still being race tested. Traxxas gets it 10 years later and it gets made into a plastic toy replica that looks looks cool but and u get a high speed turf running but u don't get the engineering like what you would get with an RC 10
Underpowered ESC get a spektrum, castle, or hobbywing and keep the motor. Big difference!
Seriously. Just get a HW and I bet it's 50plus with same gears and everything.
The same can be said for many manufacturers. I steer clear of any OEM or OEM remans like Spektrums and certain HWs. Safest bet above 11.1V is Castle ESC and a HW motor.
From my experience, belted tired are good for speed runs, but they aren't good for bashing. They're harder and don't hook up as well, heavier, and you want your tires to balloon a little when doing backflips because it gives you more air control.
Funny, I thought belted tires would’ve been faster! thanks for the lesson!
Thanks Mark for going above and beyond to do all the research necessary to prove why your Traxxas XRT is so slow.
Alex kowaliuk here, I'm glad you dug into this as hard as you did , wow.
Dragsters rely on tires expanding too, to see the higher speed 👍🏻
Non belted tires are like having an automatic transmission. Lower overall ratio at low speeds and higher overall ratio at high speed due the ballooning making the tire bigger. If someone could only make a set of non-belted light weight tires that don't come apart life would be good.
I took my brand new XRT out and within 10 mins blew the gears.... while its a cheap fix. It really pisses me off that Traxxas would not include the hard steel gears out of thr box ffs.
Strange, all of the product information and reviews all mention that the gears are machined hardened steel, is it possible you just ended up with a genuine lemon (gear wise at least)?
Thanks Mark for find out what the problem was and was not.
I was going to purchase the XRT Ultimate but did not want to spend
1600.00 . So now I will buy the XRT. And save 500.00 Dollars.
When the tires expand, they change the ratio of the gearing. Too bad we couldn't adapt this concept to full scale. "Expanding tires". 😉😉😉😁 PS: I miss my 1982 5.0 Mustang. It had only 3200 miles on it when I bought it from the Ford dealership I worked at. I sold it three months later for a $1200 profit. I'll always regret that decision.
Glade you showed us the whole story. Seeing it go by on speed run does not look like tires are ballooning enough to gain that much more speed.It was a little dark in video but I felt that way about other cars I have seen on speed runs. I thought sure it was batteries because I have seen that multiple times.
Heck yeah! You learned something that's what matters!
My Rlaarlo AMD12 has huge tires for the platform it's built on (wltoys 12) and for that reason alone, it does 39mph on 2s, and 53mph on 3s.
It outruns my friend's MJX infraction while my friend runs 3s. That's mainly due to the ridiculous tire diameter on my car (96mm). But if i switch to different wheels, just 90mms, he outruns me instead.
Not for nothing, but a stock Wltoys 124016 will do 49mph on 2s with 87mm tires. But point taken, tires are one of the easiest and biggest performance changing components that can be made, yet one of the most overlooked.
Thank you for making this video. I have an XRT with a 1100 KV G2 and Max 5 G2 in it... Let's just say ballooning is real in the front tires and I no longer have a front tires.. this will significantly slow down the car to make it more drivable. Definitely getting the belted 10:44 tires now...Greatly appreciate the video
Just got the sledgehammers and they look so good on the XRT
It would be interesting to see the same type of comparison between the stock Traxxas batteries and a higher power set of 8s batteries. Excellent video.
Dude... Man... Mark.... Mr. Santa Maria... I somehow think you knew this. Somewhere in your head this knowledge must have already been stored... With your history in RC... I guess the part of you that wants to get new RC stuff just blocked that knowledge. 😂 Great Video. I think that will help a lot of people who want to see that extra few Miles...
_I truly thought that this was going to be one of the very first things he checked! He handles so many products that he simply forgot he even swapped out the tires since they look nearly identical to the OEM set!_
*_Crazy!_*
Mine was doing the same thing same speed then I found out there was a defective motor they sent me a brand new one it does 59 now big difference very happy with Traxxas service
Thanks so much. I have an xrt ultimate and was like dang this thing is incredibly slow. Only used it twice. I randomly picked up unbelted tires for it during the sale when it started. I’ll have to run it now that I have it on. I was about to change the gearing
Wow that's awesome 🎉👏glad to see you got some snow, looks like you got to enjoy it still crazy you got that much snow
new to xmaxx the sledgehammer tires would expand so much I couldn't keep the front down. I put those tires you have on the front and rides much better. leaving the more expandable tires on the rear. the front was blowing tires apart
I had the exact issue with my XRT. Used my old 6700s and would only see 44 out of it. Got some fresh batteries and saw 47 and then I pulled the belted tires off and put the stock ones back on and saw 53. lol I was pretty dang shocked. Was on a warmer day though so I imagine the cold we are dealing with at the moment may be why you are a couple MPH slower still.
You can't forget about the tires! When I slapped Hoss tires on my 2WD Stampede, it stopped wheeling as much and became more stable overall. It also lost some speed due to the added weight of the Hoss tires compared to the stock talon tires.
I saw the video when you installed those belted tires. I thought to myself “does he know that they are going to make it slower?”. Guess you found out….. Eventually
haha, same. I was yelling its the tires in the first minute.
@@iflyrcmike i get 50mph with the belted gravix and stock electronics and gearing
I get 48mph
Yo, thanks for this video. I just bought the new xrt ultimate ( love it ) but haven't been able to drive it yet because it's been over 113 degrees outside every day, and i don't want to burn up my ESC, or something else. I was going to put my speed tester on it and see if it actually went 50 mph out of the box. Now i know that it won't unless I change tires. ( crazy ) Thanks for your troubles. I would have thought it was my gearing.
Hi, on my Rustler 2wd vxl, due to issues with rear exploding tires, I put Louise (same as Duratrax) belted tires that are a little bigger than my previous conventional Louise tires and the original ones and I didn't notice any difference in speed. (Maybe a lil bit acceleration due to extra weight)..
The fact that the tires are slightly larger compensates for the typical expansion of conventional tires at high speeds. But in your case, the belted and non-belted tires seem to be identical in size, which if we add the extra weight, affects even more the top speed of your car.
I have worked on cars for many years and always check the easy stuff 1st. I can't count how many times a vehicle has come in with problems and it is just a fuse.
Reminds of pinewood derby. The more surface contact on the tire, the slower it goes. The less surface contact, the less friction, the faster it goes. In this case I think it might be the same, including weight.
A great watch as yes, what a rabbit hole you went down but good to see you come back out!! 🐰😆 Who’d of thought the difference, I didn’t know myself so something learned. 😎👍
Mark, have you hooked your transmitter up with Traxxas Link to make sure it’s not limiting the throttle?
May have been exhausting for you but great consumer information and an entertaining watch
My xrt came with a bent spur shaft, and a some sort of metal pimple on the stock motor shaft. Caused it to strip gears unknowingly to me. Finally figured it out and called Traxxas. There answer was “o ya, that’s within tolerance”. 😂 What!! Last traxxas I will ever buy.
I always gear up for belted tires. My Erevo lost over 10% on belted tires as they were a little bit smaller diameter and no expansion
Cool video...I was engaged. I would have started from the outside of the rig to the inside when troubleshooting speed.
Where is the Maxx slash Track vids. I need more Info😂😂😂😂 I can’t wait till the 8th lmao
I could tell by the sound it wasn't winding up like it should. Glad you figured it out.
No you couldn’t!! Liar. There’s no way dog. Cmon man. Really? You got canine hearing?
My XMaxx ultimate is way slow and I even put a 46 spar on it. I mean I bet you it doesn’t even it does right around 40 right now I’m gonna throw a set of my StockX max tires on it and try it now that’s interesting. I knew it would. It took some of the speed out of it but I just thought of it right before you said it, thanks man👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Check your driveline make sure you can spin your hubs with your fingers I heard some of the diff covers are binding?
Also most belted tires are around 20% heavier than stock tires. That really messes with performance all around.
So when would you want to use them? For racing or something, where you want it not to Balloon, maybe?
In you old videos comparing you Xmaxx sledge and xrt you got like 50 or closer to 60 mph
This is why i tell people to avoid Belted tires if you a big basher. Simply venting tires, taping the holes in the rims, Add earplugs to the center diff and bash away! It will almost eliminate the balloning of front tires.
Earplugs in the center diff? Can you explain more, please? I'm curious
Glad that I will buy the XRT Ultimate.
@@AKYLE315 it’s a commen way of locking it
Vent the tires and taping a hole in the rim? My rims come with holes already. Am I missing something?
Yup. Plug the holes on the rim with tape or glue. Then make 2 holes on the tire on opposite ends. I use my soldering iron with a pointy tip. Works perfect!! MUST DO THIS!!
How do you fond the servo? Would you recommend that over the perfect pass monster servo? Looks like I will stick to the standard tyres also
FINALLY THE MUSTANG!!!!!! I am so glad to see it still movin.
Mark, I really enjoyed this video because I felt your pain going thru those gymnastics, and when you said, "I'm done..." 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
Hopefully Traxxas will let you expense this 😅👍
Always great information car looks insane sounds good
Get rid of those batteries to and get higher C rated
Was it the tires not ballooning, or the extra weight slowing it down? Or both?
Glad that I prefer belted tires.
Cool vid. Do you have any MSM decals available?
Yeah, I agree that is definitely is quite a performance difference I think I’m just gonna stick with stock unbelted tires for now as a basher
Good information. Thanks for sharing.
LOL!! I thought I was the only one with a large garage nic nac! 2005 Mustang with only 15k miles 🤭
You still use the pun system for mesh set up? I didnt think anyone used that any more. So that being said, is your mesh set right, or could it be to tight.? Just a brain thought.
Have Fun.
Glad that I will buy the XRT Ultimate.
This is not an indictment of the belted tyres, but proof that batteries make a big difference on top speed runs, and that gearing is critical for a fixed amount of wattage.
How’s u come to that conclusion? He changed the batteries and it went no faster. When he changed the tires, it did.
It did go faster… go back and look again bro!
Wow👏🏼👏🏼 We learn something new everyday. 🤟🏼
When a typical RC basher guy gets an opportunity to see a professional RC racing program it seems like it's in a different language because you haven't experienced it it's the latest in technology across the board I started when I was a teenager and I've been following it for many many years
Great video. Good research
In the traxxas app did you turn up the throttle to 120%? That should gain you about 4 mph!
My XRT has a Hobbywing max 5/800kv combo with a 25/25 belt drive, want to race? Haha just kidding, it's almost undriveable but it's a ridiculous amount of fun...as long as the tires don't blow off.
Nonbelievers tires expand changing the gear ratio in 5he tires . U look at top fuel cars at the growth of those slicks from start to finish it a ton of difference.
Hey Mark, do you know what kind of adapter I need to use that XBC100 smart checker for my traxxas batteries? I am going to purchase that thing today
Did you ever find what adapter was needed? I'm looking for the same thing.
Edit: I believe I found it, TRA2938X.
@@chinokmetz no I didn’t sorry
@Animusborn confirmed the part number I listed above is what's needed. I got it all today.
@Animusborn confirmed it's the part # I listed above, got mine today.
Will those tires fit the sledge.
Nice investigation! Good 2 know!
Belted tires are heavier and it drags the car down a lot compared to none belted tires belted tires are good for not blowing so much but it does decrease your speed
Oh shit you have one to!?! Iv got a 2015 mustang that is work car. I put like 2-300 miles a day for work on the poor thing lol I'm at 160k and not a single problem!
Good show man that would drive me crazy also
Screw the Traxxas power system …put a castle monster mamba X with a 1650kv motor 😅
With belted tires you need to gear up because the don't grow as the unbelief tires do
Get an Arrma, 😱 they always reach their top speeds.
Nice buddy!
Nice work buddy 👍
My XRT has 2 pins under the motor, I see yous has 4 , did I lose 2 ? Is everyone else has 4 ?
Put the belted tires back on and use a larger pinion
That will put more heat into the power system as the belted tires are heavier than the non belted
Thank you bro for letting me join your channel I like your Channel
Nice car cool video enjoy the weekend brother
If its cold outside the lipo batterys won't be able to do the same discharge rate. Run time can be reduced too. I can't wait for summertime!
I put belted tires on my granite 3s and I took them off so quick because of the same reason lol
What did you think of the new servo Mark?
Did you put the belted tires on it like you said you were gonna.
It made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.
Curious what you thought of the servo?
Have to change the gearing for the tires.
Would be cool if they could make belted tires that could expand some but not allow the tires to explode.
All Traxxas cars and trucks stock out the box will not do the speed on the box
They aren't supposed to. 😂
@@jamesplymire5342perhaps they shouldn't "advertise" it then, yeah?
Yo mark tho what you finna do with the faulty* brushles system cus it would look nice in my revo ynyn😂
Great video
what did you use to mount the speed meter to the car? Ive been looking for ways to mount it because ive got the same one.
Velcro bro. Pay attention
@rudysrc6652 thanks. Not math class though, don't need to pay that much attention.
Unrelated but have you noticed the BL-2S 4x4 vehicles are coming with the wrong spur gears. In the Manuel they say it has a 52T but it has a 54T installed not a major issue but enough to make them go under 25th 😂
That’s rough!
Why doesn't yours wheelie off the start mine always pulls wheelies and its bone stock everything gearing too and mines way faster on 5000 4s batteries
Traxxas stuff is cool but thers no race heritage there at all. RC is The Cutting Edge of future Technologies that are up-and-coming. Traxxas is basically a plastic replica of older race technology but with big gears and and big motor. They have apps and software and Racers have it too but it's a little different and probably more complicated it always is when it's brand new and still being race tested. Traxxas gets it 10 years later and it gets made into a plastic toy replica that looks looks cool but and u get a high speed turf running but u don't get the engineering like what you would get with an RC 10
You should get better batteries and electronics..those traxxas products are meh.. love the vid btw that was interesting
Im getting 50mph with the belted tires using stock electronics and gearing...
Use high c rate add more pinion teeth less spur teeth . A guy is say he used M1.5 teeth he went 122
Time to test the X-Maxx Ultimate now, haha!
Talbot did. I think it a 34 stock and 39 speed gear. It was slow
I feel bad for him. Ive dumped close to 300 on my traxxas slash and this alone is like triple that
Best Tires period are The Arrma Dboot Backflips 8's
Coyote has entered the chat
Second go around much faster!! 😊
NEEDS a HW max5 g2
Cool!❤🎉
Awesomeness