I got my set of Mini-T Wheel Adapters in today.

First impressions, they look great. Nice blue finish with silver nubs (which take the place of the pin on a Mini-T axle). The price for a pair is $4.50, so $9.00 for a set, which is a good deal. These will let you run any Mini-T wheel available (and of course the tires to go with them). This includes the Trinity Monster Mini wheels, which is what I used for the review. Whether you go with the Trinity's, Mini-T's, or other Mini-T wheels, make sure you get 2 pair of rear wheels/tires, since the MQ is 4WD.

Here's the Monster Minis next to the stockers:





This is the package you will see at the hobby shop or in the shipping box, depending which method you take to get them.




Here's an upclose shot of the parts unpacked. Each pack comes with 2 adapters, 2 screws, and 10 washers.




Upclose shots of the adapter itself.





More upclose shots. These 2 show the adapter on the back of the wheel and on the truck.





For the installation, let me break down the steps I took. Do these for each wheel, one at a time.

1) Get each adapter out, put 5 spacers on each screw.

2) Remove the wheel/tire from the MQ. At this time I suggest taking one of the screws and threading it into the driveshaft end. This will make sure that the driveshaft is ready to accept the screw for a later step, which will greatly help.

3) Place the adapter onto the MiniQuake. This part can get tricky and may frustrate some people. Pop off the upper arm from the knuckle and/or pop off the steering linkage (or rear-steer lockout linkage). This gives you a better grip of the driveshaft. From here, hold the driveshaft in place in the knuckle through the inner bearing, and place the adapter into the knuckle through the outer bearing; lining up the notches on each part. You may have to force the adapter in a bit before its fully installed.

4) Now place the wheel/tire onto the adapter. The Mini-T stock wheels are a bit loose on them, while the Trinity Monster wheels are tighter.

5) With the wheel in place, place the screw through the wheel and gently begin screwing it in. I say gently because if you push too hard when trying to thread the screw in, you could push the driveshaft out of the adapter/knuckle and you'd have to start back at #3. Can get annoying after awhile. I did it a couple times myself

6) Continue threading the screw in and tighten it down. Don't over tighten though, as the driveshaft you are screwing into is plastic and could easily strip if over tightened. Once the aluminum CVDs are available, those will be easier for installing the adapters and screwing the wheels on.

Do these steps for each adapter/wheel individually. If you have them all off at the same time, the driveshafts can get jammed inside the knuckles or in wierd positions. Besides, you can only do one at a time anyways.



Now on to more pics. Here are a couple before and after shots:









The MiniQuake finished and posing on the stockers:




And here are some shots of the MiniQuake finished with the body on:







Also as I mentioned earlier, the adapters provide extra width to the truck. This happens because the adapters push the wheels out an extra 1 - 1 1/2 mm from the knuckles, and the Mini-T wheels have more offset than the stock MiniQuake wheels. Here are some pics to show this difference. Its roughly 1/4" on each side. I measured 3.5" from the center to each stock wheel, and 3.75" from the center to each Mini-T wheel (that measurement is to the outer edge of each one).






Overall, I like the adapters. Duratrax has 3 different tread patterns and 2 different wheels (including the stock wheels and tires), but the added ability to use the Trinity Monster series tires/wheels or the regular Mini-T wheels/tires, adds alot more choices. Plus the wider stance will likely make it a bit more stable. I don't have any track time with these yet, so I can't tell you whether the adapters themselves add any performance benefits. I did do some forward/reverse slam tests in the air and on the ground with the stock setup (motor, ESC, battery....and my ESC has the instant reverse issue that cause outdrive problems). Nothing broke and the adapters held up nicely.

I can't wait to see the different wheel/tire choices people use now that these are available. Even better, if Xray and Hotbodies use the same mounting system as the MiniQuake or Mini-T, you will get the benefit of being able to use their wheel/tire combos. Personally, I like the MiniZilla tires and can't wait to see how they look on the MiniQuake

wider is better! makes me want a mini quake almost..

Does your quake still cog?

well, i can't test it since the mamba is out of the mq (and isn't going back in). but i doubt it will change things since the tire size is only short by about 1-2mm.


funny though, your the 2nd person to ask this. i think too many people are holding onto the idea that the mamba is still usable in the miniquake. the esc is, but the motor is not.

Alright. Let us know what brushless motors you've tested and if there is cogging.

This is a hot topic over at One18th. Here are a couple of good threads to read:

http://www.one18th.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14244
http://www.one18th.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13727

time to get some sand paddles for mine