I got to spend a little quality time at the bench this weekend with a LaTrax Teton, last spotted in our May 2014 issue. The inexpensive 1/18 scale fun runner is fine out of the box, but LaTrax offers a gang of hop-ups to trick it out, so trick it out I did. Take a look..
Here’s the spread from the May 2014 issue.
Stock LaTrax Teton. The truck rolls out RTR with a 2.4GHz radio system, battery, charger and brushed power for $150.
The #7525 graphite chassis set makes the biggest difference in the truck’s mild-to-wild makeover. It trims about 8 grams and is stiffer than the plastic parts, but the real selling point is the graphite wow factor. LaTrax lists the price as $100, but a Google search found stores selling the kit for $70.
Plastic versus graphite. That’s not all the pieces, but you get the idea.
Here’s the chassis assembled, minus suspension. Note that the battery strap is secured by plastic clips. They have a lip on them so you can pluck them off with a fingernail.
Barely visible in the chassis shot as a sliver of blue is this upgrade, the 7555X one-way driveshaft. The stock shaft is aluminum as is this one–the difference is the front tip, which houses a one-way bearing. This should help reduce understeer and tighten up handling. Downside: it allows the front wheels to freewheel when braking, so only the rear wheels can apply braking force. For high-grip surfaces, it should be the hot ticket.
Also in the drivetrain department are these guys, the 7650R aluminum CV-style shafts. They’re shown here with the stock plastic universals. Blue anodized aluminum for the win, with greater durability and efficiency.
Installed. The shafts come assembled in pairs for $20 a set from LaTrax.
After the graphite chassis, LaTrax’s flashiest upgrade is this, the #7665 GTR aluminum shock set. The tiny shocks are built just like race-ready 1/10 units, with hard-anodized threaded aluminum bodies and TiN-coated shafts.
The shocks arrive assembled and include silicone oil. Just fill and install.
Stock plastic shocks versus GTR. The GTR’s definitely look more like serious high-performance RC stuff, but I can’t knock the stock shocks–they’re very smooth. But the GTRs will stay smoother longer, and just look at them, they’re awesome.
LaTrax also offers these dress-up washers (7668R) for the wheels bolts, which are purely for style but who cares–they look great. You can also get them in green (7668G), blue (7668), and orange (7668X).
See? Nice.
Here’s the finished truck, minus speed control and receiver. I left them off to show off the chassis. I wish LaTrax offered a brushless power system for the Teton/SST/Rally triplets to go with all the other upgrades, but they don’t. I’ll have to see what else I can fit in there…
Mock-up with the RTR body, I’ve got a clear one to paint. Not sure how I feel about this look. The wheels and tires are from the old Traxxas 1/16 Rally, and are “standard 1/10 sedan size.” The rear wing is off a 1/16 E-Revo, and attached with servo mounts.
Are you feeling the street-tire/silly wing look, or should I stick with the stock wheel and tire combo? I’ll figure it out when I paint the new body.
UPDATE: I’m with the gang on Facebook: wheels and wing gotta go. New pics when I get that clear body painted…
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