Micro-T Racing Guide

By Mike Shelby

• The Micro-T is a 1/36 scale version of the Losi XXXT that shares a lot of the same features in a scaled down frame.
• It comes equipped with four wheel independent suspension, differential equipped slipper transmission, and digital proportional steering.
• Out of the box it’s a lot of fun and ready to bash.

• There are already several aftermarket upgrades available for the Micro-T some that are beneficial for racing purposes for example; the aluminum battery box cover, motor guard, and front bumper. The battery box cover and motor guard act as heat sinks to help keep the electronics cool. The aluminum bumper adds enough weight to the front end to help the car properly set when cornering.

• Aftermarket springs are available as well and I highly recommend them. I have found the stock springs to be too bouncy and leave the chassis with more travel than necessary. That is the biggest complaint I’ve heard from experienced racers is that the Micro-T is uncontrollable. To make it handle better I have found that you need to shorten the stock springs or go with aftermarket short springs. Atomic R/C offers short front and rear springs, however the short front springs are too short and allow the chassis to bottom out without spacing. I recommend using the short rear springs on the front and rear, the short rear springs are still shorter than the stock front Losi Springs.

• If you are looking for more speed Losi offers a Li-Po battery pack that will increase speed as well as run time. You do however want to be careful when charging and running a Li-Po. Failures of Li-Po packs can result in fire. Also remember even though you have the benefit of being capable to run longer you should monitor motor temperature so that you don’t ruin your motor. Also running longer can lead to a build up of heat in the micro speed control/receiver unit eventually leading to electronics failure. I recommend only running about five minutes before letting the motor and electronics cool for a few minutes.

• I have also found that the stock antenna is very brittle and easy to detach from the circuit board and or break. The wire strands in the stock antenna are very tiny and brittle, if one or two strands break inside the insulation it can result in a glitch. I have found that a suitable stronger replacement is a five and a half inch piece of cat five wire.  

• The stock Micro-T comes with knobby tires on the rear and ribbed tires on the front which will work on just about any surface. However on carpet the knobby rear tires can cause the truck to hook in the corners and flip this is called a traction roll.
• The Street meat tires seem to be more suited for carpet racing because they don’t produce the amount of side bite the knobby tires do therefore reducing the odds of traction rolling. The only compromise on the street treads is the amount of forward bite available which causes the chassis to slide in the corners.
• The best tire choice I’ve found is a combination of knobby, ribbed, and street treads. Every driver is different as far as how they have a static feel for a car so the best advice I can give is play with different combinations of tires until you find what works best for you.

• The stock motor is capable of producing plenty of speed. I have found a couple of motors with bad capacitors and they will not work without the capacitors. The replacements for these are standard 104ohm capacitors.
• If you change the motor in your truck I highly recommend using a new pinion gear, because they are plastic the removal of a pinion can result in warping.
• There is an aftermarket motor available but the only difference between it and the Losi motor is the price. My Losi motor is actually stronger than the pricier motor.

• The stock gearing on the Micro-T is just about right for a ten by twenty foot oval. As a general rule of thumb if your motor is getting too hot after a heat of racing you should drop one tooth on the motors pinion gear.

• The Micro-T uses a slipper clutch transmission which will occasionally need to be tightened. If your truck seems sluggish on take off but is still capable of reaching top speed usually a loose slipper is the culprit. Use caution when tightening the slipper, if the o ring behind the spacer is bulging out on one side you have over tightened the nut which can result in a loss of speed.

• The stock bushings are plastic which causes a lot of friction. I highly recommend replacing the bushings with ball bearings. The bearings are about a mile per hour faster which in oval is all the difference in the world.

• The transmission is pretty solid. If the tires spin under power, but you hear a grinding noise when you put it on the ground and it doesn’t want to go, take the transmission case and check the transfer gears on the outdrives.