Traxxas Rustler Paddle Sleeve 003

UPDATE I have put up the fourth (and final) iteration of these paddles.

This is the third iteration of the Traxxas paddle tires I have been playing with. The first set I designed were large and were burning clutches and shearing pins in the transmissions when going full throttle in fine sand.

Also, I really wanted to make them with elliptical paddles and surfaces like a real tire has. I made a second attempt with smaller paddles, but I hadn't figured out the elliptical cross section yet, so these were like the first with just flat paddles (looking across them from the front) with radiused corners. These paddles were about half the size of the first attempt, but they ended up being too small to work well in the pea gravel common at the beaches where I live. Also, to be honest, the paddle geometry is wrong. The back side of the paddle is scooped too far back.

So this is the third iteration of my paddles. I got the elliptical cross section right this time and they work really well. Unfortunately, if you get on them too hard in really fine sand, they do like the first set and either burn up your clutch or shear the shear pin in the transmission.

They are a lot better though about not flinging sand quite as high as the first two sets I made. To be clear, they still fling sand like an angry toddler, just not as bad.

These are compatible with the rims from here.

Heres a Traxxas Rustler 4x4 VXL hydroplaning across a puddle with the fourth iteration of these paddles.

Category: R/C Vehicles