Traxxas Spartan

[stringfly]

Traxxas recommends only a 42mm prop (max) with the stock set up. The stock composite prop is a 42mm with a 1.4 pitch. Will need to try a Octura X442 on it.

Stringfly <>+++

[Make-a-Wake]

Yep, much sharper and less flex outta do it well...................

[oscarel]

That makes me feel better, that's about 16% left in your packs...
Did the LVC kick in durring the run?

It didn't kick in during the run but after I pulled it in after the 3rd run and I tried for another.

I got my GPS worked out so I'm going to try one set of runs tonight with 4s and 6s. Apparently the GPS doesn't like more than 5.85V..

One more thing to note, I"m looking at the manual and for the ESC it says 80A continuous and 300A peak so it's got a pretty beefy yet small ESC.

[oscarel]

Traxxas recommends only a 42mm prop (max) with the stock set up. The stock composite prop is a 42mm with a 1.4 pitch. Will need to try a Octura X442 on it.

Stringfly <>+++

I do have and will try.

[Brushless55]

It didn't kick in during the run but after I pulled it in after the 3rd run and I tried for another.

I got my GPS worked out so I'm going to try one set of runs tonight with 4s and 6s. Apparently the GPS doesn't like more than 5.85V..

One more thing to note, I"m looking at the manual and for the ESC it says 80A continuous and 300A peak so it's got a pretty beefy yet small ESC.

sweet!

[oscarel]

Here's data with x442. I would watch it running with this prop on 6s, it heated up pretty quick when the run was over. Also the boat had a lot of chine walk or prop walk, the back was swinging back and forth and the boat was wobbling side to side at WOT. I was able to get a video on 4s but not 6s and I will post it tomorrow. Also the boat's owner came and picked it up today so this is the end of the testing for now. Hopefully this helps those looking to buy it. With a little adjusting I'd say this is a pretty sweet RTR for the price. I bought a Blackjack last year to get back into boating and I replaced the steerable drive before it ever hit the water and the Spartan I wouldn't change a thing. I don't have any experience with monos and I'm sure the wobbling could easily be corrected with the tabs, but I wasn't going to adjust them with a pair of pliers since I didn't own it! I do see however that Traxxas sells a bolt on adjuster which they should've included.

[oscarel]

And if anyone is interested I do have the eagle tree bdr files

[Checkmateguy01]

All this info is great!! My Spartan is just sitting waiting for the ponds/lake to thaw out, still got a way's to go. So, how did it run on 4s?? Any 4s top speed numbers? I have a set of DTX 7-cell NIMH's that i will run for sure, but i'm seriously considering getting a Hobby King Quatro 4 out-put lipo charger and a set of 2s lipo packs just for this boat. Curious if it will be worth the money over the 5000DTX 7 cells or not. Don't need 50+ mph for my lake, upper 30's to 40 mph will be just fine for me!

[oscarel]

4s is in the first two pics above, 33 I think was max with x442

[Checkmateguy01]

4s is in the first two pics above, 33 I think was max with x442

Ok, i just wasn't reading the charts right then. Only 33 on 4s huh? How come such a big jump to high 40's -50 mph with 6s? I would think good 7-cell NIMH's should get low-mid 30's, i guess i'll see when ever i get to run it for the first time.

[Brushless55]

so 47mph with the better prop on 6s?
great info man!

[Brushless55]

Ok, i just wasn't reading the charts right then. Only 33 on 4s huh? How come such a big jump to high 40's -50 mph with 6s? I would think good 7-cell NIMH's should get low-mid 30's, i guess i'll see when ever i get to run it for the first time.

going from 4s to 6s is a 50% jump in volts
so 33mph on 4s calculates to 49.5mph on 6s (with 50% jump)

[Checkmateguy01]

going from 4s to 6s is a 50% jump in volts
so 33mph on 4s calculates to 49.5mph on 6s (with 50% jump)

Ahhhh, OK, makes sense! So, then two 2s lipo's is 14.8 volts right?, and two 7 cell NIMH's is 16.8 volts, the NIMH's would be faster than 4s lipo, correct?

[Make-a-Wake]

Ahhhh, OK, makes sense! So, then two 2s lipo's is 14.8 volts right?, and two 7 cell NIMH's is 16.8 volts, the NIMH's would be faster than 4s lipo, correct?

Actually not, they weigh quite a bit more than lipos, and only put out about 40-45 amps for a high quality one. A 40c 5000 mah lipo puts out 200 amps constant, and will give more than the motor is asking for, hence more "power" more speed. Plus, a fully charged 2s lipo is 8.4 volts and has minimal drop compared to a nimh. Nimhs would come in very hot after a hard run.

[Brushless55]

Ahhhh, OK, makes sense! So, then two 2s lipo's is 14.8 volts right?, and two 7 cell NIMH's is 16.8 volts, the NIMH's would be faster than 4s lipo, correct?

depends on prop and the grade of cells of the Nimh packs
but most likely the lipo packs will be faster because they put out more amps for the motor to run faster

when I get mine, I'm going to cycle the Nimh packs a few times through my Revo and then try them in the Spartan and see what speeds I get vs my 4s packs

[Checkmateguy01]

depends on prop and the grade of cells of the Nimh packs
but most likely the lipo packs will be faster because they put out more amps for the motor to run faster

when I get mine, I'm going to cycle the Nimh packs a few times through my Revo and then try them in the Spartan and see what speeds I get vs my 4s packs

7-cells or 6-cells? I'm curious as to how the boat is really going to run on NIMH's, that's what i'll be using the majority of the time. You can run one 2s pack and one 3s pack in the Spartan (5s) as long as they are the same MAH and C rate right?? 5s would theoretically get it to about 40mph roughly. That may be my other option.

[Brushless55]

7-cells or 6-cells? I'm curious as to how the boat is really going to run on NIMH's, that's what i'll be using the majority of the time. You can run one 2s pack and one 3s pack in the Spartan (5s) as long as they are the same MAH and C rate right?? 5s would theoretically get it to about 40mph roughly. That may be my other option.

7cell nimh that the boat comes with.. I also have some better ones I use in my ERevo that I'm going to try
I am going to run 4s, 5s, and 6s and see how she runs
I hope to see 50mph on 5s!

[keithbradley]

Ok, here's temp and amp data. Again the GPS unit didn't record. I've got to play with that a little more. I ran it on 4s until I got bored and then 6s. It took on some water today so I wasn't going to sacrifice my cellphone. 4s was a continuous run, 6s there are 3 runs. I had a Garmin 855 in and I recorded high speed of 44 but the boat was bouncing back and forth so I brought it in and removed the GPS. Second run it was also bouncing around and I found the rudder tilted up so I moved it back straight and went for the 3rd run. There is no place to hook up the eagle tree so I had a 1500 3s battery powering it and I would imagine the weight of that plus the GPS would add up almost to another 3s 5000 battery.

What kind of problem are you having with the GPS? I ask because if its not recieving a good strong signal, it will not read accurately. I've gotten high 70's out of a 60mph boat when I had a weak signal. I notice the same in my car, sometimes going under bridges, ect, the mph will jump up for a moment.

If you take enough readings you can tell becaue they just wont be consistant. With a good signal my RCs will duplicate the same mph over and over.
Im not sure if you have room in the spartan, but I have put my gps inside a tupperware container that I velcro'ed to the hull in some of my larger boats. Its good insurance if you DO happen to take on water!

[keithbradley]

Ahhhh, OK, makes sense! So, then two 2s lipo's is 14.8 volts right?, and two 7 cell NIMH's is 16.8 volts, the NIMH's would be faster than 4s lipo, correct?

The motor/esc will try and pull whatever current it needs to get the job done. When the batteries cant supply teh required current, the voltage will drop. The voltage will most likely end up lower with the nimhs under load.

[oscarel]

What kind of problem are you having with the GPS? I ask because if its not recieving a good strong signal, it will not read accurately. I've gotten high 70's out of a 60mph boat when I had a weak signal. I notice the same in my car, sometimes going under bridges, ect, the mph will jump up for a moment.

If you take enough readings you can tell becaue they just wont be consistant. With a good signal my RCs will duplicate the same mph over and over.
Im not sure if you have room in the spartan, but I have put my gps inside a tupperware container that I velcro'ed to the hull in some of my larger boats. Its good insurance if you DO happen to take on water!

It turned out that the GPS will not work if the input voltage from BEC is over 5.85 volts, I had it set at 6v. Once I searched on rcgroups and found this it works perfect now. It always worked when doing live capture connected to a PC but seemed to lock on 6v but it would never record.

[Steven Vaccaro]

Traxxas recommends only a 42mm prop (max) with the stock set up. The stock composite prop is a 42mm with a 1.4 pitch. Will need to try a Octura X442 on it.

Stringfly <>+++

Traxxas got the carbon props from me to test that boat. If they ended up with a 42mm prop there is no guarantee that a x442 will be better. I've run a 2317.42 Graupner and a x442 in one of my race boats and the 2317.42 was faster. I'm sure someones going to ask, so yes the x442 was sharpened, thinned and balanced.

[Brushless55]

Traxxas got the carbon props from me to test that boat. If they ended up with a 42mm prop there is no guarantee that a x442 will be better. I've run a 2317.42 Graupner and a x442 in one of my race boats and the 2317.42 was faster. I'm sure someones going to ask, so yes the x442 was sharpened, thinned and balanced.

Steven, how much faster would you say the Graupner was?

[Steven Vaccaro]

Steven, how much faster would you say the Graupner was?

I dont remember. It was back in 2005 at the nats. But it was enough difference in take off speed that I had to quickly switch back to carbon. Please DON'T take this the wrong way. I'm sure I could have found a faster metal prop. I just didn't have the time to do it. I'm just trying to stop people from buying expensive props that "may" be close and not make much of a difference. Which prop is best on the stock Traxxas setup is going to take some testing.

[Brushless55]

I dont remember. It was back in 2005 at the nats. But it was enough difference in take off speed that I had to quickly switch back to carbon. Please DON'T take this the wrong way. I'm sure I could have found a faster metal prop. I just didn't have the time to do it. I'm just trying to stop people from buying expensive props that "may" be close and not make much of a difference. Which prop is best on the stock Traxxas setup is going to take some testing.

thank you!
I have one of these Spartans on the way

[JPriami]

I have one on order too. I hope I'm able to break 50mph with a few changes. Otherwise it will be a bit boring.

[Brushless55]

I sure hope the 50mph advertised, is not the tops of this thing
stock

[JPriami]

Nah I think modding you can always make something faster. But will it handle higher speeds? That's what we will find out :)

[Brushless55]

Nah I think modding you can always make something faster. But will it handle higher speeds? That's what we will find out :)

we will find out with one of my CC1520's!

[tim v]

any of you guys have a water issue ? no water coming through my buddy for cooling , he is going to put bigger hose on it...

[oscarel]

I would also let traxxas know.