Best and cheapest lipo battery recommended for your Axial Yeti and Exo (4s only!!)

After I planned to upgrade my Axial Yeti 1/10 (to goes 4s or beyond), one of the first things I look at is the battery case. Apart from limited motor space, there is actually also limited battery space as well. So I have to find battery which can fit my Axial Yeti first.

The Turnigy 5000mAh 4S1P 14.8v 20C Hardcase Pack from Hobbyking fit both of my Yeti and Exo perfectly. For the Yeti, you simply just need to take out the roll-cage holder and battery will fit straight in. For the brushless system, you may need to look for Tekin Pro 4 HD 4S - 1850kV if you have budget. The motor will fit perfectly.

There is a few reasons that I go for 4s for both of my Axial Yeti and Exo. One reason is that I found 4s lipo battery is relatively cheap (for more power). Each 4s battery is around US25. So I just turned down the pinion/spur setting abit, adding a cooling fan and I will lot of fun with massive power of 4s lipo.

For those who planned to run on 4s, do not use motor which is higher than 3000kV. As the RPM would be very high and your motor will overheated. Short course combo is ideal for Axial Yeti, but most SCT esc is 120A (not sure about those from Castle Creations and Tekins). If you want to run the Axial Yeti like a truggy like me. I prefer Monster Mamba 2 (waterproof and sensorless) or Tekin RX8 Gen 2(sensored) or 150A esc to give more robust power for the vehicle.

Set up of my Axial Exo Terra Buggy on 4s!

After getting back to RC hobby months ago, Axial Exo Terra Buggy is one of the RC that really catch my attention. The look of it is sick and the general weight balance, and steering and control just so nice (thanks to the review of JANG, founder of the URC forum). However, the Axial Exo Terra Buggy went out of stock everywhere and I soon figured that Axial has discontinued both the KIT and RTR version.

Luckily enough, I found someone who was selling a used (yet 95% new) Axial Exo kit with carbon fiber, aluminum and RPM A-Arms upgrades. He sold for around US250 without shipping through Buyee. Although the service fees and postal cost is not enough (I forgot the exact amount), I like the Axial Exo and it is a discontinued RC with great condition.

As my Axial Yeti will be using sensorless system. I really want my Exo goes sensored. On the hand, I figured that the Exo and Yeti both has the similar battery room (after mods), so I decided to use 4s lipo on both of them. The reason I use 4s? I just want more power for my RC and 4s lipo is cheap :D

For the brushless system, I don't have the budget for the Tekin Pro 4 HD 4S - 1850kV. Instead, I went for the Hobbywing XERUN-SCT-PRO 1/10 Combo 3400kV. I bought from Asiatees and this brushless and sensored system is actually really nice. It is really responsive and there is no clogging at all. I will a bit too much on 4s, so I have to add a double fan cooling fan from Yeah Racing.

I will post more photos and diff oil, pinion/spur set up later.

Axial Yeti 1/10 with Nascar racing deacls and mods

Just posted some photos of my black Axial Yeti with Nascar racing decals bought from Mike's Decal. It is a 1/10 decals but fit perfectly on the Yeti :)

The decals is really nice and made my Yeti come to live. Also, the simple black colour body matched brilliantly with the Proline Interco TSL SX Super Swamper XL 2.2" G8 Rock Terrain Truck Tires and Aluminium Front/Rear 2.2 Wheels Beadlock (6 Poles Swirl).

For the body, I actually trimmed both sides to make it looks thinner and less clumsy. I also cut the front light area, giving it another look.

The dust cover is made from 0.5mm aluminum plate. The plan is thin enough so that I only need a scissors to make it.

Pretty happy with the new look of my Yeti so far. Widened width of the Yeti also make it looks cooler and more stable. Will put on the Monster Mamba 2 to it (with the stock rtr motor lol) and see how it goes.

UPGRADE REVIEW: Axial Yeti Aluminum Front Bumper Set from Boom Racing

Bumper is a great upgrade to make your Yeti more durable. When the Yeti was first released, there is bumper from T-Bone Racing which you can add an extra bumper on top of the original Yeti bumper. The bumper from T-Bone Racing is made from durable plastic and gave the rig and the shock extra protection. However, I always want a aluminium upgrade to make my rig looks cooler and tougher :)

I still keep the T-Bone Racing front A-Arm skids, but put the Booming Racing Axial Yeti Aluminum Front Bumper Set as replacement.  Please note that the bumper set came with the bumper along with aluminum front arm bulk. So you can upgrade two parts of the Yeti with one purchase. It's a pretty good deal.

Feedback: 8/10
There is a few things I like about the upgrade.

at first, as I mentioned above, the upgrade consisted of the bumper and the bulk. The bulk is one of the crucial upgrade for a stock Yeti as the plastic bulk will break quickly because Yeti's a-arm will suffer a lot pressure from bashing and jumping. And when the plastic bulk breaks, it will cause a chain-reaction and damage the a-arm and other parts at the a-arm. In my case, I broke the screw and a steering rod, half broken screw left in the chassis and I eventually need to buy another chassis as replacement :(

Secondly, the design of the bumper is cool. The new design did not just copy from the original plastic version and gave my black Yeti metallic looks.

Also, the aluminum bumper is NOT a one piece aluminum. It is assembled with at least 2 parts. There are 2 screws beneath the horizontal bumper rod. You can remove those screws and take out the top part of the bumper, making the bumper looks like the one of the Axial Exo.

I just ordered the Monster Mamba 2 ESC from Castle Creations at Tower Hobbies during the sales period. Will put a 4s battery into this thing and see how it goes.

Product Review: TrackStar Vehicle Hauler Backpack

All RC owners carry their vehicles around, but many of them don't have a RC carry bag. Although it is messy to put your muddy truggy or buggy back into the bag, it is better to carry it around with an empty hand or plastic bag. 

There are many after market companies sell different size carrying bag for 1/10 and 1/8, but many of them are quite expensive in terms of materials that they are offering. If you are looking for a decent 1/8 scale carrying bag for your truggy, the TrackStar Vehicle Hauler Backpack is definitely a good one.

The TrackStar Vehicle Hauler Backpack consists 3 different compartments, in a total of 7 compartments, including 1 major backpack, 2 medium bags and 4 small bags. And their sizes are: 

Main Compartment Size: 560x360x180mm

Medium Compartments Size: 180x290x70mm

Small Compartment Size: 140x200x50mm

I do not have an 1/8 scale truggy with me at the time I did the testing, but I did try to put my Axial Yeti 1/10 in it and see whether it would fit. Hobbyking advertised it for 1/8 truggy and I found the bag fit my Axial Yeti perfectly as you see in the picture.

Also, I'm so impressed with the quality of the bag. As you can see in the pictures. The bag actually consist 3 layers. Thicker nylon material on the outside and the smooth nylon at the insider. And there is actually a soft, gently insert between 2 layouts, giving a good buffer for the RC within it.

Top 10 upgrades for Axial Yeti 1/10

For many RC hobbyists, the Axial Yeti is definitely one of the most popular off-road RC in 2015. However, this cool looking rig has quite a lot of problems since its release. The rear plastic wheel hub is easy to strip, also the 6-bolts plastic wheels. Thanks to many aftermarket upgrades, many problems of the Axial Yeti are fixed.

I'm not an RC expert, just a regular guy who loves RC and bashing around. In the coming paragraphs, I will list out 10 of most important upgrades for the Axial Yeti, based on my personal experience.

BASIC UPGRADES

Axial Yeti Aluminium  Wheel Hub (from GPM, Boom Racing)
If you are running Axial Yeti RTR with 3s lipo battery, you will immediately encounter the first problem of this rig, which the plastic wheel hub (especially the rear one) will strip due to its immense power. Although Axial released a better plastic part as replacement. The aluminium wheel hub will certain solve this problem for goods.

Axial Yeti Aluminium Front/Rear 2.2 Wheels Beadlock 6 Poles Swirl (from GPM) 
The second, also the most painful problem for the Yeti is their 6 bolt plastic wheels. Bolts hold up to the wheel hub will tear the plastic wheel and the plastic wheel will run off during the run. I found myself and guys in Youtube have the same problem.

There aren't aftermarket 6 bolt wheel on the market, especially if you are looking for light-weight aluminium beadlock wheels for speed run. Vanquish has the best after market aluminium 6 bolt wheels on the market but it is expensive. On the other hand, GPM has the best solution to the problem by designing the aluminium wheels beadlock 6 poles swirl. Those are direct replacement for Axial Yeti original plastic part. And you need to combine original beadlock rings and inner-beadlock to assemble it, as the GPM parts only have the outer-wheels.

Alumiuium Front Arm Bulk
This part is small but important. After many runs and crashes, I found the original plastic front arm bulk is pretty weak. One day, I hit a tree with my Yeti. Although it was not a big hit, but the whole right arm was completely ripped off from the body. The arm screw was broken into two and half of it was left inside the screw hole of the body. One arm pole was broken. The A-arm was fine as I upgraded it to aluminium. I highly recommended Yeti owners to upgrade it as soon as possible to prevent disastrous outcome after crashes.

Wide Rear Axle Kit for Axial Yeti (from SSD)
Considering one of the most innovative upgrades for the Axial Yeti, the wide rear axle kit from SSD makes its rear wheel-width similar to the front, allowing Yeti owners to use wheel hex instead of 6 bolt wheel hub. With the wide rear axle kit equipped, you can put whatever wheels you want to your Yeti.

Aluminum Rear Lower Links
One of the most predictable parts that is going to replace after a few runs. The original plastic links simply cannot the take the force and the impact of the vehicles. Many after-market companies have released its aluminum rear lower links. Its all matter of your tastes.

Aluminium Spur Gear (from Axial)
Another obvious part which will need upgrade sooner than other parts. The original plastic gear will not sustain the force of 3s lipo. There are few after market options for spur gears upgrades, but Axial provide many options, ranging from 56T, 60T, 64T and 68T for different driving settings and preferences.

PERFORMANCE UPGRADES (optional)

Yeti Double Sheer Steering Rack Kit (from Vanquish Products)
Vanquish is the first after market company that released the steering rack upgrade for the Yeti. Comparing to the original plastic rack and bearing, the upgraded one improves the steering performance of the vehicle significantly.

Delrin Hex Wideners +5mm/+10mm thickness (from GPM)
The Axial Yeti has a similar size with a 1/8 scale truggy. If you want your Axial Yeti to go fast and stable, one of the key upgrades is to increase the wheel-width to make it more stable. The wide rear axle kit from SSD will equalize the wheel-width of the front and rear. If you are still using 6-bolt beadlock wheel on your Yeti as I do, the delrin hex wideners from GPM could easily increase the wheel-width of your Yeti by 10mm  to 20mm. With the delrin hex widners, wide rear axle kit and 22mm aluminium wheel hub combined. The wheel-width of my Axial Yeti is 66mm wider than the original one.

Two Speed Transmission (from SSD)
The two speed transmission upgrade not only providing low speed option for crawling, but also provides alternative pushing Yeti to the extreme. The low transmission gear ratio allows the Yeti has a much more aggressive spur/pinion gears setting. With the right setting, it allows the Yeti to goes fast at the low transmission and EXTREMELY FAST at the high gear.

40 - 60wt rear shock oil setting
The original shock oil setup for the Yeti RTR and KIT versions are 10wt. Thin shock oil makes its rear shock too responsive. When I was driving off-road with high speed, the back of the Yeti was bumpy and almost like it was flipping forward. To make the Yeti run more stable, using the thick shock oil would definitely make the rear shocks less responsive and stick to the ground.