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Fast
Lane Machine Rustler Kit – Ultimate Rustler
By Tony Arnold - StampedeProject.com
Over a year ago, we showed off FLM’s drool-able
Extended Stampede Kit which generated tons of ohhs and ahhs. This month we
are again going to blow your mind with the stunning FLM Rustler kit loaded
with upgrades and tweaked by yours truly.
Shiny & Tough
For bashing, you gotta have a Rustler, but ever wish you could actually
tune it? FLM’s Rustler parts provide tons of tuning options including
regular or extended chassis options, “evened” stock or extended stock
arms, multi-point camber & shock mounts, rear toe in options, and even
CVD drive shafts. A tunable
Rustler made of solid super durable billet aluminum – this definitely
isn’t a beginners RC any more.
No cheap materials here.
Every FLM part is CNC machined from hardened 6061 T-6 aluminum and
meant to be flogged. FLM states they are making parts for drivers, not for
show. Each part is backed with
a lifetime replacement warranty. With a warranted, all billet aluminum
chassis the FLM Rustler becomes the launch pad for truly stupid antics.
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New Parts
Some of FLM’s parts are not new, however this kit shows new Steering
Bell Crank, Steering Drag Link, CVD drive shafts, Front C-Hubs, Rear
Bearing Carriers, and Upper Deck. FLM’s
part options are plentiful. We choose the 4-degree toe-in rear arm mount
option and the 1” extended Slash length chassis.
We picked standard extended “evened” arms that rid ourselves of
the goofy Traxxas wheel offset and allow direct front-to-rear tire
rotation of standard 12mm hexed wheels. The result when paired with all
the other FLM Rustler/Stampede parts is a near 100% FLM Rustler chassis
ready to receive stock transmission internals and electrics. A couple new
tweaks to the kit were minor fitment improvements and thicker 1/8”
Camber Link Rods tip-able with even stronger Maxx or Jato captured link
ends – completely bulletproof.
<IMG8.JPG>[CAPTION – Pro-Line’s Body
Clips made swapping packs painless.]
The Build
Bolting together the FLM chassis is as familiar as stock, but requires
a big tube of thread lock. I
transfered the stock Rustler VXL transmission internals into the beautiful
billet FLM transmission housing. The
included steel FLM links were outstanding, however it’s hard to do a
red, white, and blue Rustler with no blue on the chassis so Traxxas Links
were used. The new FLM links will find a home on my FLM Stampede.
<IMG9.JPG>[CAPTION – FLM’s new Emaxx
strength Black Links should be virtually indestructible.]
The stock 2055 steering servo pictured was upgraded
to a torquey HiTec 645MG with a heavy duty servo saver. Other upgrades
were a full set of Boca Plus Plus Ceramic bearings for the ultimate spin.
Since FLM has a billet 5x11 rear bearing carriers all I needed were some
front RPM 5x11 bearing carriers to
mount
Pro
Line 30 Series wheel and bowties. As with the FLM Stampede, one omission
in the FLM parts list is a front body mount however the stock plastic
mount is preferred for a little flex to prevent body damage to the Pro
Line Crowd Pleaser body. The
stock shocks fit perfectly, however I can’t leave anything alone so I
went big bore with huge Revo shocks filled with lighter weight oil… just
the right feel for bashing. Now
of course building the ultimate Rustler wouldn’t be complete without a
warp speed brushless system. My choice was Tekin’s new R1-Pro ESC
powered brushless system with a Redline 537 3700KV motor and dual 6.6V
A123 packs. Last but not least
was to upgrade the RX/TX to a Spectrum unit for worry free bashing on this
60+ MPH red, white and blue basher.
<IMG10.JPG>[CAPTION – The Tekin brushless
system and A123 packs kicked out car flipping power.]
--------Call
Out-------------
FLM
Parts Used - $367
Aluminum Tranny Case & 4 Degree Rear Blocks
Extended Rustler Chassis
w/ Bumper, Rear Braces, &
Battery
Ties
Upper
Chassis
Front & Rear
Shock
Towers
Caster Blocks
Electric Arm Conversion Kit
Adjustable Front Bulkhead
Steering
Bell
Crank
Drag Link
CVD Kit
Rear Bearing Carriers
All hardware included with parts
Additional
Parts Used $1000
Boca Ceramic 5x11 bearings
Tekin R1-Pro ESC/Motor system
A123 6.6V Packs
Revo Shocks
Spectrum RX/TX
HiTec 645MG Servo
Pro Line 60 Series Tires & Wheels
Pro Line Crowd Pleaser Body
Pro Line Pro Body Pulls
RPM Front Bearing Carriers
Total Project Upgrades $1367
(give
or take a few bucks)
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Performance
Testing
I’d like to say I spent long days at a well groomed track, but I
didn’t, I punished the FLM Rustler in a far more brutal environment…
my backyard. My backyard and
adjacent lots with a roughed out track have totaled more RCs than I care
to count. It is a landscape
riddled with large petrified dog turds and everything from patches of
dense grass and weeds that overheat electrics, to hidden rocks that shred
parts and explode shocks, and finally the 4-10 foot dirt mounds in the
adjacent lots that have served up death to almost all that get tossed in
the air at high speed. The FLM Rustler survived unscathed a week-long
session of nightly bashing, jumping, and what can only be termed as
blatant abuse. During high
speed blitzes, the longer chassis and tuning options helped keep the
Rustler under control at even top end speeds.
What We Liked
A solid aluminum show-quality chassis that performs better than it
looks with adjustments that would keep a maniacal TC tuner occupied.
Bulletproof parts backed by a lifetime warranty. FLM’s link design has
been improved to an indestructible level with all the features of standard
links. Pro level tuning capabilities paired with extended FLM chassis and
“evened” arms up-sizes the RC to 1/8th scale buggy proportions.
I previously purchased stock Rustler Bell Cranks by the dozen, the
FLM replacement will be the last one I ever buy.
Every part is a stock replacement swap.
The Tekin brushless system tossed the Rustler around easily and is
right at home on this hot looking chassis.
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What We
Would Change
The parts are 100% and functioned perfectly, however with all the
extra screws included (a plus), lots of extra chassis holes and zero
instructions, assembly of the rear and upper braces was a little
confusing.
Conclusion
The FLM chassis represents a HUGE performance and durability increase over
stock, if you actually break down and decide to get it dirty.
Whether you are looking for a show quality RC or to never have to
buy another replacement part for your bashed and thrashed Rustler, the FLM
kit is a deal at $367 for all the FLM parts shown.
At well over a grand, I may have gone a tad over budget on the
other upgrades… errh just a little. Its worth it for this smoking hot
Rustler which will cook a Jato and tough enough to survive high speed
tumbles. FLM has reengineered
the Rustler into bashing perfection.
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SPECS
Vehicle: 2WD Stadium Truck
Type: 1/10th Scale Electric
Class Rivals: In all aluminum? Nothing close
DIMENSIONS
Width: 25cm
Length: 28cm wheelbase
Weight with electrics: 1695g – 3lbs, 11oz.
Ground Clearance: 19mm
Chassis: 6061 T-6 Aluminum
Drivetrain: Steel CVD
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Highs – Will
put a HUGE dent in a garage door and still be unfazed.
Lows – Instructions, limited distribution.
Final Call – Wish I would have bought one of when I entered RC.
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Sources:
Fast Lane Machine FLM – www.FastLaneMachine.com, Tekin –
www.TeamTekin.com, A123 Racing
– www.A123Racing.com, Boca Bearings – www.BocaBearings.com, HiTec –
www.Hitecrcd.com, ProLine – www.Pro-LineRacing.com, Spektrum –
www.SpektrumRC.com, Traxxas – www.Traxxas.com, StampedeProject.com
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