MST MTX-1 Project
Page 2: Upgrades!
As you can see, the pile of upgrades I ended up installing is pretty
extensive. I replaced the entire electronics suite and also
upgraded the whole drivetrain and suspension system.
The stock servo lasted less than one battery's worth of driving.
The first impact on a front tire shattered the internal gears which is
surprising given that the servo saver is supposed to prevent exactly
that. I replaced the servo with an EcoPower metal gear servo and
also put on the aluminum servo tray while I was at it. I also added metal hexes.
The RTR version of this truck came as 2WD even though the kit version is
4WD. The red plug on the back of the front axle housing shows
where the differential would be if there was one. I bought the
upgrade 4WD kit and installed it as shown.
These are the steel axles and CVD joints for the front axle
assembly. There are not replacing anything because the original
axle housing was empty.
I stole the plastic drive shaft from the rear axle and moved it to the
front. Because I planned to add a lot more power, I put a steel
drive shaft on the rear as shown.
I opened up the gearbox and replaced all the plastic gears with metal as
shown. Hopefully this will handle all the power I am adding.
I replaced the stock 30T brushed motor with a brushless. I wanted
to get the official MST brushless motor but couldn't find it for sale
anywhere. Instead I put on a similar sensorless motor from
Hobbywing. At 3300kV, I figured I would still be able to run it on
2s and pull wheelies, then switch to 3s for insanity.
The 2WD RTR version comes with one shock per corner while the kit comes
with two. I wanted to add an additional set of stock shocks but
they were sold out so I got some Desert Lizard shocks instead. It
took me quite a bit of tuning to get them right. Out of the box
they have an internal droop spring as shown. I removed the droop
spring and added the softest internal spring but they still made the
model much, much too stiff. The suspension didn't move at
all. I later removed the internal spring entirely and switched to
the thinnest shock oil I had. That worked perfectly.
Here is suspension before and after the addition of the second shock set.
The picture on the left shows the steel drive shaft I used on the rear
axle as well as the added sway bar. This keeps the truck from
torque rolling so much when lifting into a wheelie. The completed
upgraded chassis is on the right.
©2021 Eric Albrecht
