bandit xl-5

[ljn521]

So am I the only person with a bandit ? if not lets talk. looking to get some ideas for possible hop-ups?

[GeekyLotus]

I sort of have a Bandit.

However...

I have changed the A-arms, camber links (front and back), toe links, drive shafts, caster blocks, and shocks to Rustler versions of upgraded parts. I am running the larger tires and have geared down for the tires and to accomodate my Mamba Max 5700.

For all intents and purposes, I now have a Rustler with a Bandit body, which is a bit Frankensteinish, but I like it anyhow.

You can order the Fast Lane Machine super chassis for the Rustler and I can't think of any reason that would not work. FLM also makes a nice rear shock tower that will work, but the front one does not look like it will support the body mounting point for the Bandit body. It is definitely made for a Rustler. Their stuff is nice high quality aluminum. I like the Traxxas aluminum stub axle carriers and steering blocks (and I have them). Those will work for the Bandit. They are coming out with a really nice bellcrank set in December, also. I don't like the FLM axle carriers because they don't use 5x11 bearings, they use the stock 5x8 size, and those are just too small. If you do not want to foot the bill for the aluminum carriers, RPM makes some nice carriers that support 5x11 bearings, they just lack the bling factor. They are still plenty strong. I have to admit to liking the aluminum bling.

One of the things I did not like about the Bandit was a lack of wheel choices. I wanted to experiment with using wheel hexes and wheels from other makers, but I never got to it before my conversion.

I didn't stick with the stock motor. Many people like the VXL system. It is very good from what I hear. I own the Mamba and love it. I will crow about the ability to hook it up to a PC and configure it since it does have that advantage.


Those are the hop-ups off the top of my head.

-T-

[ljn521]

thank kyou for all the great ideas. i will look into these soon . talk to you soon.
larry

[GeekyLotus]

By the way, someone was under the impression from my post that I had the VXL system and changed to the Mamba... I did not. I had a Titan with an XL-5. I was just trying to relate that The VXL is a very nice system, but the Mamba has some configuration advantages. I have no experience with the Velineon system, however. I have heard nothing bad about it at all.

By the way, another nice upgrade is the aluminum transmission case from Fast Lane Machine. I have heard that it really quiets the car down. The down side to a lot of these aluminum parts is weight. They make your car heavier. It is not an issue for me. I am not a racer, and with the brushless on board, the weight actually helps me plant some of the power when I get on loose dirt.

If you go to brushless, by the way, seriously consider getting the hardened steel idler gear for the transmission designed for the VXL (only $3) and the differential case with the steel ring gear ($8, I think). These will keep that extra power from chewing up your tranny. The idler in the XL-5 is plastic and it *will* strip out. I know this from experience. I actually still have the plastic diff case and it is holding up, but I have the one with the steel ring gear on order and expect it soon. Many have stripped out the ring gear. There are makers (including Fast Lane Machine) who make aluminum diff cases with steel ring gears, and those are nice, but they are $60. Traxxas uses the plastic ones with the steel ring gears in the VXL, and I can't help but think that they will hold up with a Mamba and it saves me $52.

-T-