In order to make sure you do not damage or melt your brake or clutch assembly, follow these instructions carefully. They are already noted in your kit manual, but it is worth checking before your run your truck.

PILOT SHAFT
It is very important that as you build your Nitro MT kit that you tighten the pilot shaft on the engine. See page 29 of your instructions (page 13 for the Nitro MT RTR kit) if you are unsure what the pilot shaft is. The middle row of pictures shows #A805, this is the pilot shaft. If it is loose apply some thread locking fluid to the threads and tighten the pilot shaft down with the proper tools. Use an 8mm wrench (a glow plug wrench is the same size) for a perfect wrench fit.

DOGBONES
If you've purchased a kit after April 2000 you have the newest dogbones available, these are stronger than the original dogbones that came with the kit.  

NOTE: Using the updated dogbones does not mean that they are indestructible - they are simply stronger and can stand up to more abuse than the stock dogbones. See Page Two of the 2nd Update Sheet for tips on jumping. We will not replace broken or bent updated dogbones. 

For the highest performance aftermarket parts available, we highly recommend the HPI-MIP Shiny CVD set for the Nitro MT, the HPI part number is #80814 for the front and #80815 for the rear. If you can't afford both front and rear, start with the rears and get the fronts when you can. 

DOING DONUTS
It is very important to note that the popular "donuts" (holding full throttle while turning all the way in one direction) is extremely stressful to the differentials, and is NOT recommended.

SUSPENSION ARMS
The Nitro RS4 MT  suspension arms have been updated and should prevent most crash damage to make them stronger. We still suggest that all Nitro MT owners boil their suspension arms in water for 10 minutes. This will soften the nylon plastic, allowing the arms to flex in a crash. While this won't prevent damage from the hardest hits, it will let the arms survive most wrecks and crashes. Boiling the parts will not hurt them in any way, and it will greatly reduce the chance of them breaking in a crash.

FLANGE SHAFTS
If you bend the stock front A281 flange shafts in a crash, we suggest that you use our heavy duty part #6282 3 x 42mm stainless steel hinge pins or purchase our #72171 stainless steel hinge pin set.

JUMPING YOUR NITRO MT
Click here for suggestions on how to properly jump and land your truck!

THINGS NOT TO USE
From extensive testing with the Nitro MT, we suggest you DO NOT use these parts for your truck: 

TITANIUM HINGE PINS
Do not use titanium hinge pins, they are not strong enough. From our tests, we know that our stainless steel hinge pins are much stronger than titanium pins. Use #6282 for the front inner hinge pins and #6284 for the front and rear outer pins. The #6282 pins are too short for the rear inner because of the thick brace found in the Nitro MT. You can also purchase our set of stainless steel hingepins (#72171) for the Nitro MT kits, it includes an additional aluminum brace for the rear hingepins. 

HPI UNIVERSAL DOGBONES
Do not use our A518 and A519 Universal Dogbones, they are not strong enough. We highly recommend the HPI-MIP Shiny CVD set for the Nitro MT, the HPI part number is #80814 for the front and #81815 for the rear. If you can't afford both front and rear, start with the rears and get the fronts when you can. The shiny CVD's are much stronger than the standard CVD's, they are worth the extra cost.  

GRAPHITE SUSPENSION ARMS
Do not use our A466 Carbon Graphite Suspension Arms, they are more brittle than the stock arms. Our stock arms will be the best choice, especially after they have been boiled for 10 minutes.

ALUMINUM SUSPENSION ARMS
Do not use aftermarket aluminum suspension arms, they will bend in a crash and possibly cause other parts to break on the truck. Our stock arms will be the best choice, especially after they have been boiled for 10 minutes.

UPDATE SHEETS
We are including update sheets to fix minor errors in the Nitro RS4 MT manual, including ways to prevent damage to the dogbones. The latest kits also include thicker axles and the washers that were mentioned in our last update.

Save these images to your hard drive, and print them out using an image viewer. Don't print them from your browser, because you will get strange results!

Second Update Sheet - Page One
Second Update Sheet - Page Two

Update Sheets included with second production run of Nitro RS4 MT Use these sheets to check against your kit manual. Owners of the third and later production runs of the Nitro MT shouldn't have to refer to these sheets.

Kit Update Sheet - Page One
Kit Update Sheet - Page Two