Pro-Line recently wrote up an article showcasing some of the modifications that you can do to your Twin Hammers while using their existing products. These mods give the Twin Hammers a unique look while also improving performance. Some of the modifications outlined are- installing new wheels/tires, mounting a new body, and putting on scale accessories. To get all the details on how to use Pro-Line products to trick out your Twin Hammers just hit THIS LINK.

Looking for more Pro-Line news? Check out THIS LINK right here on BigSquidRC.

Comments are on, let us know what you think of the Pro-Line Twin Hammers.

I Have a stock brushless 2wd Slash and want to upgrade to Anza LCG or Proline LCG chassis but keep everything else stock. I bash w/ some backyard racing. Which would you recommend?

I’ve looked closely at both BSRC reviews but Proline review was w/ completely upgraded parts & Anza was stock. I know proline is a sponsor and don’t want to create problems so will not post response. Any help you can give is much appreciated. Keep up the good work. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jerry H.

Cubby- Congrats Jerry, I proclaim your email as the “letter of the month”. Shoot Brian your snail mail (don’t forget your shirt size) so we can ship you out a new BSRC t-shirt.

Actually, both Pro-Line and Anza (Firelands/HobbyTown USA) are advertisers with us. Thankfully both “get it” and know we don’t hold punches for advertisers. If I said one or the other totally sucked I’m quite confident neither company would freak over it. They advertise with us because of who we are, because we aren’t afraid to say what needs to be said.

To get to your actual question- I’ve driven both chassis kits on Slashes that were bone stock. But… I’ve never driven them back-to-back.

Due to the fact we haven’t driven them back-to-back with stock running gear I can’t give you a real world, definitive answer on this one. Both kits improve cornering, both are well made, and both take a pretty serious beating in the field. It would really take a shootout to give you a proper first hand answer and I don’t see that happening any time soon.

However… if it was up to me (and cash out of my own pocket), I’d go with the Pro-Line. IMO it’s slightly more sano, slightly easier to install, and replacement parts can be found easier (Pro-line parts can be had by most any hobby shop in the country, where as Anza parts are a HobbyTown USA exclusive). But, and there is always a but, if you have a HobbyTown USA close to you and you like the look and/or price of the Anza, it is a quality unit, don’t hesitate to bust out the cash. To boil it down, both are very good, you won’t be disappointed with either.

Hi, so I put sand tires on my blitz and after the first time I drove it, the spur gear got destroyed, I mean, all the teeth got destroyed, the center of it got all messed up, and the slipper pads look like they melted.

It is all stock except for a strc motor plate, a sidewinder 3 system, 3s lipo, and aluminum rear shocks. Are there some upgrades, and techniques you guys know so that doesn’t happen every time I drive it in the sand. I really want to turn my blitz into a really high performance sand machine, that is very reliable.
thanks,
James D.

Cubby- Hey ya James, thanks for the email. Shoot Brian your info (Brian at BigSquidRC.com) so he can send you a BSRC sticker pack for your Blitz.

Ok, James, there are two things you can do here.
1. Extensively mod your Blitz by “bomb proofing” your entire drive-train.
2. Take some time and carefully set your slipper.

Route #1 is expensive and can take some serious wrench time, but in the end you should be able to drive your Blitz like it owes you money without any issues.

Route #2 just takes time.
At one time a slipper was used as a type of traction control coming out of slick corners on a track. Now days, under huge Lipo power, it’s used more like a shock absorber for your vehicles drive-train. But the problem is- setting a slipper on 2S is a snap, setting it for 3S is harder, and setting it for 3S on a high grip surface (like sand) can be a real challenge.

From your email it sounds like you initially had your slipper set too loose, therefore it got hotter than the core of the sun and melted down, eventually locking up completely. After it melted, becoming one mass of semi-molten goo, you ended up blowing out your spur gear because the slipper was no longer working.

My recommendation to you is to go the cheap way first. Put in the time to properly set your slipper for your power and traction level.
Here is the process-
1. Pound the gas from a dead stop. If it slips it’s too loose. Keep tightening until it doesn’t slip from a dead stop. If it slips from a dead stop it will get too hot under hard driving conditions.

2. Bust out a temp gauge. Seriously, trust me on this one, do not be tempted to use your fingers. Drive your Blitz hard for one minute (no more) then pull it in and check the temp of the slipper. If the temp is above 140 F, tightening it up a bit. If the slipper is ambient temp, it’s not working at all so loosen it up slightly. Keep driving for short 1 minute stints until you find the setting where it’s not getting too hot, yet is still actually working.

3. If you have to error, error on the side of the slipper being slightly too tight.

4. You’ll need to re-adjust your slipper for different traction and power levels. Time consuming yes, but just the way it is.

Have fun, go fast, and hook us up with some sweet 30 foot rooster shots of your Blitz when you get it dialed.

First up we have a Pro-Line Racing coupon code. You can save 15% on your entire order by using code HONOR15 from now to Monday May 27th 2013. Click HERE to visit the Pro-Line Racing site and use the code.

Next up there is a sale going on over at A Main Hobbies. From now till Monday May 27th 2013 you can get FREE shipping on most orders over $25 as well as save 10% using the coupon code MEMHK513. Click HERE to visit the A Main Hobbies site and use your coupon code.

Our friends over at Tower Hobbies are showing their support by putting together a huge list of MADE IN THE USA rc products for you to check out. There is some good stuff listed over there, and if you have been thinking about picking up a copy of Real Flight, now might be a good time. Check out the Tower Hobbies MADE IN USA list.

The folks from Acer Racing are offering 10% off with their coupon code E10! They always have free world wide shipping as well. So if you are looking to make the jump to some serious bearings go get your 10% off!

Also, many hobby shops have sales on the holiday weekends as well! So take the some time this weekend and head out to your local shop and see what they have to offer! Make sure to tell them Big Squid RC sent ya!

Don’t forget to pay your respects to the men and women who gave their lives protecting and serving our country. And keep in mind those that are still out there doing their job and risking their lives every day!

The Trencher 2.2 uses horizontal “H” shaped tread for outstanding forward bite and have a height of 3.62″ and a width of 1.73″. Their part number is #1194-00, street price is $16 a pair and they are available right now for your bashing pleasure. To read more about them hit up THIS LINK over on Pro-Line’s website.

What else has Pro-Line been up to lately? Check out THIS LINK right here on BigSquidRC.

First up are their new Shockwave 3.8″ pre-mounts. These feature their new Shockwave tires mounted up on 3.8″ F-11 black wheels made to bolt right up on your monster truck. These lightweight tires give better than stock traction on all the surfaces that bashers like- grass, pavement, and of course in the mud. Street price for these monsters is $45 a pair and they have a part number of #1193-13. Click Here for more information.

Pro-Line has announced new Badlands pre-mounts as well. Badlands are perhaps the most popular bash tire here at BigSquidRC and the new pre-mounts come on black Renegade wheels in both Slash rear and Pro-Line ProTrac offsets. Part numbers are #1182-15 for the ProTrac offset and #1182-13 for Slash rear. Street pricing is $35 a pair, simply click THIS LINK for more information.

For you guys that do most of your bashing on the street Pro-Line has introduced new Road Rage 2.8″ pre-mounts. Road Rages give great traction on pavement and seem to wear forever. These come in two different offsets, #1172-12 and #1172-13 to ensure a proper fit on your Traxxas Stampede. Street pricing is $35 a pair and HERE is the link you want to get more information.

On the opposite end of the spectrum Pro-Line has you covered with new Sling Shot paddle tire pre-mounts for short course trucks. The new Sling Shot pre-mounts come in two different offsets on black Renegade wheels. Part numbers are #1158-17 for Slash rear offset and #1158-18 for Pro-Line ProTrac. Street pricing is $35 a pair, for more information THIS is the link you want.

The last set of new pre-mounts are Trencher 3.8″ mounted up on black F-11 wheels. Trenchers are a legendary bash tire that we use on a daily basis here at BigSquid because they work great on nearly every surface. These new pre-mounts come with 17mm hexes to fit vehicles like the Revo and the Summit and have a part number of #1184-13. Street price is $45 a pair and check out THIS LINK for more information (and even a BigSquid mention!).

Pro-Line has just announced three new scale accessory packs for you guys that like your rigs to look perfectly scale authentic. All the accessory packs are incredibly detailed to take your trucks scale realism to the next level, and they look great thanks to their hand painted detailing.

The part numbers for the new packs are #6107-00, 6106-00, and #6105-00, and street pricing should be just over $20. For more information on scale gear at Pro-Line check out THIS LINK.

What else has Pro-Line been up to? Take a look at THIS LINK right here on BigSquidRC.

Thanks again to Pro-Line Racing for the awesome Rat Rod prize pack, and thanks to all of our readers who sent in their “Mevo” pictures.

Our random official winner is Shelby S. of Croydon, PA. Congrats Shelby! We will be sending you an email to get your address and info!

We got a TON of enteries and some great pictures. Posted below are just some of them, I figure 30 should keep you guys happy.

If you didn’t win this time, stay tuned, we have a bunch of great contests coming up including one that will be announced Monday!

The ShockWaves are designed for Traxxas style 3.8″ rims and will also be available as pre-mounts on black Pro-Line F-11 wheels with 17mm hexes. More information will be available on these very soon, until then HERE is the link to the official Pro-Line website.

Dare to click on a BigSquidRC TGIF Myster Link? You know you want to!

Cubby – First off I would like to add some info/data to the answer I gave Dave B in last weeks ASK Cubby. Dave’s email basically said that “C” ratings on Lipo batteries seem to be a bit shady, and well, you need to read LAST WEEKS COLUMN to see how I replied.

A bit over a year we reviewed a Zeus 3S 850 mah Lipo pack. Our West Mountain CBA is fully capable of testing a pack of that size to its stated “C” rating, so of course we did just that. The pack was rated at 25C, which is 21.25 amps, and after testing the pack lived under that load. At 25C the pack exhibited a big horseshoe in the discharge curve, meaning it was being pushed to its limit, but otherwise it didn’t get too hot and lived to fight another day.
If anyone out there is looking for proof that not everyone lies about their “C” ratings, the Zeus pack we tested would make a good example. IMO a 25C continuous rating on that pack was in the ballpark, I would have considered it a rock solid 25C pack if there was no horseshoe in the discharge curve. When we dialed up the discharge rate to 30C (25.5 amps) the pack couldn’t take the load and dropped below 3 volts per cell immediately. HERE is the link for the review (with full graphs) that I am talking about.

But… a small capacity pack with a low “C” rating isn’t exactly what Dave was complaining about, so this week I broke out the West Mountain again. Yes, we’ve connected big loads to packs before, but we’ve never connected a big continuous load in a more controlled setting with the CBA. I took half of a 5000 mah 55C saddle pack and decided to go big with it, our West Mountain tops out at 120 amps continuous on a 1S/4.2 volt battery. So… what happened to our 1S 5000 55C Lipo under 120 amps continuous? It wasn’t good, LOL. The voltage immediately dipped below the 3 volt cut-off. By immediately I mean in less than 5 seconds. The curve looked like a cliff, the voltage went straight down to below the 3 volt cut-off. Also of note… I wired up the pack like it would be used in the real world, with 12 gauge wire and a Traxxas connector. The Traxxas connector got mildly warm, but the wire got straight up HOT (and I have a blister on one of my fingers to prove it). We knew the wiring was going to be the weak link in advance and our testing simply proved it. I then backed off the discharge to 100 amps with pretty much the same end result. Finally I dropped the load down to 80 amps where the pack behaved in a more “normal” manner, except the wire was still getting hot. The voltage dipped hard under 80 amps, but not below the cut-off value, and the battery itself stayed at a relatively low temp throughout the entire discharge. I am going to re-do the test later this week, this time with heavier wire and post the graphs in next weeks ASK Cubby. Is 120 amps continuous too much for the cells in a 5000 mah 55C Lipo or are they more than up to the task given heavy enough wiring? More info next week on this one.

Hello Bigsquid,
I have a brand new Slash, what is the first mod I should do? I was thinking a brushless system but don’t know what is a good brand.
Emilio

Cubby- Yo what’s up Emilio, thanks for the email and mad props for the super easy question. I have a very clear cut first mod on the Traxxas Slash- new hinge pins. The stockers are made out of butter and like to work their way loose. Uber hinge pins are a relatively affordable mod that makes the truck more durable, easier to work on, and can improve the way it drives. They don’t add to the bling factor, but good hinge pins won’t bend and won’t back out, making them worth their weight in gold. I’ve used two different brands- Pro-Line and ST racing Concepts. The Pro-Line Set runs about $22 and are super easy to install. The STRC set sells for $18 and I’ve also had good luck with them. Both sets can also take a pretty intense beating. You can barely tap a pipe and bend the stockers while after slamming a cement curb the aftermarket pins remain straight as an arrow. Pick a set and install’em, you’ll be thanking me later.

The next hop-up/mod I would recommend wouldn’t be a brushless system either, it would be a good Lipo battery. Not only will a good Lipo give you more power and run-time, but having an extra battery around comes in really handy. Check out one a 2S Venom 5000 mah pack, they have good performance, don’t break the bank, and are readily available from most hobby shops.

Aww yea! It’s time for your chance to win one of the coolest bodies recently released, the Pro-Line Rat Rod! Everyone has been talking about this one since it was released, and now it’s time to take one home. You also get Pro-Line rims, and wheels to complete your conversion as well as a Pro-Line T-shirt and hat!

So how do you enter? Easy! Send us a picture of your 1/16th scale Traxxas E-Revo (That’s the vehicle this body fits) and you are entered to win! We will randomly choose a winner from all valid entries.

Pictures should be sent to pics@ (bigsquidrc dot com)

Pictures must be received by May 18th, 2013 Midnight cst. Please no pictures just taken from the web and sent in, we want to make sure the winner can actually use this stuff! Last time we did a similar contest, someone sent in a picture from OUR own site with the Big Squid logo attached.. I know we are not the brightest folks around here but.. seriously.

Special thanks to our the awesome people at Pro-Line for hooking us up! Check out their site for more awesome bodies, wheels and hop-ups!

Need more Pro-Line news? Get it at THIS LINK right here on BigSquidRC.