Traxxas JATO?

[DrOlds]

Has anyone ran or seen a JATO on a dirt oval yet? They look like they should work pretty good.

[John Binz]

There are some that run here on ovals. Do pretty good.

[antilley]

A couple of guys bought them and ran them bone stock and won the first race out of the box. But, the drivers were also some of the best in DFW and can take a shoebox and a pull string to the "A"

They loved them --- and according to the lap totals they should :) as I am pretty sure they were very close to a track record bone stock.

[mike1976]

Do thier tranny's hold up? Ive heard thats a week point on some of thier other trucks.

[rm-rf]

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Tranny holds up fine. I have converted my tranny to a single speed tho.
Think I finally got mine all setup was only a few tenth off the fastest guy last weekend on my fastest lap. But then again my driving is real rusty I need to get way more consistant.
Made some more changes this week. Tires and Springs. Hopfully I'll get to see if they work this Saturday.

[Dirtdog]

A few guys here locally have raced them on the oval. They have even raced them with foam tires on the dirt oval. They are fast, and seem to hold up alright. I am not a big Traxxas fan, but these trucks arouse my curiousity. One guy here is even looking into making a sprint car out of his Jato.

[rm-rf]

A few guys here locally have raced them on the oval. They have even raced them with foam tires on the dirt oval. They are fast, and seem to hold up alright. I am not a big Traxxas fan, but these trucks arouse my curiousity. One guy here is even looking into making a sprint car out of his Jato.

I looked at converting one then just ordered a custom works. its just not worth everything that would need changed.

[Dirtdog]

Me too, but the guy I mentioned is a bulldog. He really likes a challenge, and he likes things that no one else has. Me, I am too lazy. I like to stay on the porch in the shade.

[mike1976]

Thats cool that they seem to be pretty reliable. I was mainly asking for a buddy of mine he wants one in the worst way. He picked up a Ofna mbx comp 1/8th scale and has had nothing but trouble with it. basically he was looking at the Jato as being a good beginners 10th scale truck. A nd he likes the fact that it has the easy start setup on it.

[Dirtdog]

Whoa. A beginner's truck. Maybe not. If the guy has little or no R/C knowledge, I would recommend an Associated RC10GT RTR or a Losi XXX-NT RTR. The Traxxas Jato is a pretty sophisticated truck. As far as the ez start goes, it uses a one way bearing that will probably slip after some use. All the Traxxas vechicles that I have seen have this situation after a couple of months of use. Not to say the ez starts are a bad thing, I have just seen problems with them. You can drill a small hole in the rear engine cover for the starter and squirt engine cleaner into the hole and it will work okay for awhile. Just keep repeating the process when it slips again. The Jato seems to be a good truck, but it might be alittle intimidating for a novice, especially when it comes to working on one. Another problem that I have seen with Traxxas vechicles is their shifting. If the engine gets out of tune the car shifts funny or maybe not at all. If you have R/C experience you will probably have to coach your friend until he acquires some confidence with the Jato. The bright side, is that you get a R/C buddy to race around with.

[mike1976]

I was kina figureing on the coaching part, ive been doing that with his ofna buggy. he overheated the motor and now i needs new crank bearings! far as that goes ive been telling him to get a gt right along, i love mine. plus we can get parts locally. He just really wants the jato, i guess he is most impressed with the 2 speed tranny.

[Dirtdog]

Sounds like his mind is made up. Good luck with coaching him and his new Jato. Traxxas is a local company here in the Dallas area, (Plano, Texas to be exact, surburb of Dallas). I race with some of the Traxxas employees. Good bunch of guys. They also have a good tech department for when you need help. You might remind your friend that if he gets a RC10GT, he can convert it into an Outfront Frames Sprint car when he gets tired of it being a truck. I did and have been happy ever since.

[mike1976]

Dirtdog, i showed him youre post. as soon as he saw where you mentioned about the ability to convesion kits for the gt he changed his mind. he's geting an rtr gt from our local hobbyshop. He's all exited and says he's gonna woop me with it! That and he's chomping it to bit to get his ofna fixed too. problem is i cant cant find any info on his force.21 that came in the car. I emailed ofna but they wont tell me nothing its like they wont sell the bearing for his motor or something!

[mike1976]

Dirtdog, i showed him youre post. as soon as he saw where you mentioned about the ability to convesion kits for the gt he changed his mind. he's geting an rtr gt from our local hobbyshop. He's all exited and says he's gonna woop me with it! That and he's chomping it to bit to get his ofna fixed too. problem is i cant cant find any info on his force.26 that came in the car. I emailed ofna but they wont tell me nothing its like they wont sell the bearing for his motor or something!

[John Binz]

What bearing you need, I think I may be able to get it for you.

[Mark Leber]

I believe the Ofna .21 is basically the same motor as the HPI nitro star S-25 that was used in the Savage. If you can find a bearing for one of these it should fit. Hope this helps.
Mark Leber

[Dirtdog]

Mike, I am glad your friend got a new car. I hope he is happy with it. The RTR is a good basic truck. As he breaks things, he can upgrade to better parts or even to a different type of car (i.e. Nitro EDM, Nitro sprint car, Nitro Open Gas truck, etc.) Out Front Frames makes kits for several different conversions based on the RC10GT truck. As far as bearings go, here in Dallas we get our bearings at local bearings stores. Take the bearing out of the engine (intact preferrably) and take it to a bearing store. The store should be able to measure the bearing and get you a new bearing. We have found that most bearing stores handle a better quality bearing than what comes in most engines. Make sure the bearings have a phenalic (sp?) race. This type of bearing race holds oil better, and has less parasitic drag on the engine. Good luck with your friend and your racing.

P.S.-I think your friend will be happier with his RC10GT than he would have been with the Jato. They are easier to work on, and with an engine upgrade they can be made to literally fly. Ask Bulletproofgt about his Out Front Frames truck conversion for his GT. I hear that he has been kicking fanny in Florida. JND

[axis]

He meant to say Ohio Mark.. :D

[Dirtdog]

OOPS! Anyway Mark knows where he is at.

[mike1976]

its the crank bearings, mostly the one toward the clutch but i figure ive got it apart i'd better do both.

[Dirtdog]

Yes, by all means change both bearings.

[Mark Leber]

Mike, Your buddy made a good choice in going with the GT. They are in my opinion the most durable and versatile of all the gas trucks. He shouldn't have any problem getting help from fellow racers and theres no shortage of factory or aftermarket parts either. If he ever wants to upgrade with an oval conversion I would recommend he take a strong look at the Out Front Frames Truck/EDM kits. We have been racing and testing with them all season and have experienced great results. They retain the stock shocks, and utilize a cantilever system to lower the center of gravity and overall body height, while improving the suspension geometry and handling. All without reducing overall suspension travel. In short, they hook up great, are easy to drive, and respond well to basic adjustments. If I can be of any further help feel free to post up or PM me.

Mark Leber

[Dirtdog]

Another satisfied customer.

[mike1976]

You said you might be able to hook me up with those bearings?

[stratcat]

sorry to sound stupid here, what class do you guys race the Jato in? everything at the local track seems to have a limit of .15 engines..


(I'm just trying to eventually justify buying a Jato)

[John Binz]

You said you might be able to hook me up with those bearings?

For a Force .21 right? I will ask a guy tommorow when I go race if he can get you the bearings. If I can I will see how much they are and get back with you. You can also just go to your local bearing supplier and get them faster.

[Dirtdog]

sorry to sound stupid here, what class do you guys race the Jato in? everything at the local track seems to have a limit of .15 engines..


(I'm just trying to eventually justify buying a Jato)

The Jato comes with a 15 engine. Traxxas calls it a 2.5 engine, but it is a 15. Here locally, they run them as Open Gas trucks due to there tire size and width. Most guys at our local track are racing them on foam tires. They are a "hang on tight ride" on foams. On another track in town, they race on stock rubber tires. They work well both ways.

[intimidator]

all the ofna .21 engines take the same bearings
front bearing- mr607-zz-7idx19odx6 width mm
rear bearing-mr6901/3th9(c)-13idx24odx6 width mm

[stratcat]

The Jato comes with a 15 engine. Traxxas calls it a 2.5 engine, but it is a 15. Here locally, they run them as Open Gas trucks due to there tire size and width. Most guys at our local track are racing them on foam tires. They are a "hang on tight ride" on foams. On another track in town, they race on stock rubber tires. They work well both ways.

cool, I was thinking that the 2.5 was a .18 engine... must've confused myself..

[Graphite07]

they are okay!!

some guy at local track runs one i beat him all the time with my factory team gt. i run a emd body on it, i believe it spins out to much and needs a lot of set up time to make it work on a dirt oval.

but i want a jato they look cool and seem to be fast.

[lawtonlosi]

I saw some run in Dallas Friday night, and it was haulin. Just takes a lil setup and a good driver.

[signman501]

We've got a jato. It's a fast sombuger. My wife is having a good time with it.
Problem is getting wheels to fit the thing. I have used three different so far but am having trouble making them fit. I see that Pro-Line may be making them now, hope they work out. We have to use rubber tires here.

[mike1976]

Sorry bout taking so long to get back to you guys, been busy lately. My buddy decided just to get a new force .26 so he'd have the old one for parts. personally i'd have fixed it for him to save some $ but he wanted the new motor. thanks anyway guys!