Features
Chassis • The Monster GT features a layout reminiscent of the T-Maxx—center tranny, front and rear diffs, and double wishbone suspension. The MGT’s chassis is unlike any on the market. It’s an extruded hunk of aircraft aluminum. The chassis reaches from end to end, and thanks to its design and material, it is unbelievably rigid. There is absolutely NO chassis flex in the MGT. Considering the MGT is a monster truck, the chassis layout lends itself to a low center of gravity. Nearly half the center transmission sits below the chassis’s top deck. Both the front and rear differentials sit below the chassis’s top deck, but they are encased by the extruded chassis. Front and rear blue anodized aluminum skid plates add additional suspension and chassis strength while protecting the suspension, diffs, and steering. On the sides of the extruded chassis are molded nerf decks. The right side deck that holds the steering servo has a cool molded shield to protect the servo from getting torn up when you’re motoring through a rock quarry.

Suspension • The suspension of the MGT uses upper and lower A-arms. The upper arms are cut out to allow the dual shocks to dampen each corner. Both arms, along with most of the truck’s molded pieces are made from a fiber-reinforced molded resin. Each arm and suspension piece has a beefy look that leads us to believe that durability will be on of this truck’s strong suits. The suspension arms are anchored to the chassis via low molded bulkheads and machined aluminum upper mounting brackets. The rear suspension arms sit level with the chassis, while the front arms angle upward with 10-degrees of kick-up. At the ends of the arms are captured ball knuckles. The captured ball design allows for easy camber adjustment. Front and rear toe are also easily adjustable thanks to steel turnbuckles. The truck’s suspension is supported by eight oil-filled, coil-over shocks. The shocks are molded and use the same basic design as other Associated shocks. One thing I was disappointed to learn once I got my truck was that the piggyback shock reservoirs on all eight shocks are just for looks. Without the reservoirs, the shocks still feel good. Overall, the suspension is beefy and adjustable; most suspension aspects allow some type of adjustment or fine-tuning.

Drive Train • The MGT’s drive train has all the bells and whistles you’d want out of a monster truck. From the engine out, the MGT uses a vented flywheel and a three-shoe sprung clutch and a 32-pitch 15-tooth vented clutch bell. The center transmission takes care of many chores; inside that round box is a two-speed shoed clutch as well as a reversing mechanism. On the outside of the transmission is a slipper clutch to absorb the impact of rough landings. Adjusting the two-speed is easy thanks to a hole in the tranny that’s plugged by a rubber stopper to keep junk out of your tranny. From the center transmission, a pair of thick steel universals put the power to both ends. The pinions and diff gears have a slight helical cut to help spread the torque load over a wider area. Both the front and rear diffs are 1/8-scale style and are sealed so that you can change the differential action by altering the grease or oil inside each diff. From the diffs outward, heavy-duty steel universals are recruited for duty. A massive fiber disk break sits just in front of the center tranny and is bound by the throttle servo when called upon.

Steering • The steering system on the MGT is conventional. It uses two bell cranks and a servo-mounted servo saver. Toe is adjustable thanks to threaded steel turnbuckles. When the truck is standing still, turning the steering servo yields almost no noticeable result, but once the truck is rolling, the steering system shows its worth.

Power Plant • A Pro.21 ABC four-port engine is what powers the MGT. The engine is a rear exhaust engine with a pull start, and it has an input hex that allows you to start the engine with a cordless drill. This very cool feature helps to make starting up the big engine a snap. The carburetor is a slide carb and has the basic high- and low-speed needle adjustment points. Out of the box, a throttle return spring comes installed. The engine is strapped to an aluminum exhaust header and a single chamber tuned pipe. The pipe uses a silicone stinger that routes the exhaust and fuel that has not been burned down to the bottom of the truck.

Body, Tires, and Wheels • We were among the lucky few to get one of the first MGTs with the American flag paint job. Team Associated has limited production of these bodies to just 2000 pieces. Once those are gone, you’ll be able to choose from two different flame paint schemes. Both paint jobs look good. The body has a generic full-size look, kind of a cross between a Ford and a Toyota; it’s a good-looking combo. The body comes with a cool flag and flagpole to add that authentic TNN Monster Jam look. A unique one-piece body-mounting clip holds the body onto the rear body mounts. The tires are huge and are molded in a chevron design. The tires mount to chromed eight-hole, bead-lock-look wheels. The wheels are industry standard (T-Maxx compatible) so that other industry-standard wheels will fit the MGT.

Other Features • The 150cc fuel tank is a pretty cool contraption. It features dual pick-ups. That way if the truck should find itself on its lid, there’s no need to gun it or worry about the engine stalling out quickly. The fuel system uses an inline bubble primer to rush fuel into the carb at startup. The truck’s entire drive train is supported by metal-shielded ball bearings for a smooth and quiet run. The receiver and receiver battery reside in separate sealed boxes that open with a quick removal of a body clip. A large rollover bar doubles as a handle.

RTR Gear • The MGT comes with an odd-looking XP3 three-channel AM radio. The radio, along with servos and receiver, is made by Thunder Tiger, but it is serviced and supported by Team Associated. The throttle and forward/reverse servo are standard spec, but the steering gets a heavy-duty, high-torque metal gear servo. The MGT comes with the body prepainted and precut, and the tires are preglued. You’ll need fuel, a fuel bottle, glow igniter, radio batteries, and oil for the air filter.

Testing
Testing the Monster GT was done on a variety of surfaces over the course of a week. I ran the truck on asphalt, concrete, gravel, loose dirt, hard packed dirt, some mud, a grass soccer field, everything but the snow and the beach. My conclusions are based on overall observations unless noted.

Acceleration • Of the new class of “supersized” monster trucks, the MGT was the quickest I’ve tested. No wheelies off the line, but acceleration was instantaneous, surprisingly quick for a truck that also has reverse. When the monster takes off, the entire suspension squats down and begins to hurl forward with some major authority. It looks like Associated found the perfect internal ratio for a truck of this size and weight.
Rating: 9

Top Speed • The MGT doesn’t give up top speed for acceleration. The Pro .21 winds out nicely; when coupled with the two-speed transmission, the MGT tops out at an impressive 34 MPH. One thing you will notice when running the truck is the audible volume of the truck itself. The engine is very, very loud. Keep that in mind when you’re deciding when and where to run the MGT.
Rating: 8

Braking • Out of the box, the brakes weren’t set very aggressively at all. After playing with the linkage adjustment, I had them grabbing pretty well. Even with a fresh five-cell battery installed, the brakes were good but not excellent. The combination of the brake material used and the torque of the throttle servo are outmuscled by the physics of 12 pounds of speeding monster truck.
Rating: 8

Low-Speed Handling • At low speeds, the Monster GT is maneuverable and goes wherever you want it to. The steering is responsive. Considering the truck’s dimensions, the steering feels very neutral when lumbering around under 10 miles per hour. Not too much push, and no oversteer. I actually had a lot of fun with the truck at low speeds on a dried construction site that had a ton of deep tractor treads carved into the landscape. Watching the suspension work as I got air with just a quick hit of the throttle is an awesome thing to see.
Rating: 9

High-Speed Handling • At high speeds, the Monster GT is like many monster trucks: it pushes. As for steering, you’ve got to kind of plan things out in advance. Evasive maneuvers don’t always go as planned. But one thing that was very impressive was the truck’s ability to handle whatever came its way. Even at very high speeds, the suspension on the MGT is what I would expect if Cadillac made a monster truck: plush. The MGT soaks everything up, and nicely so. Rocks, no problem; tree limbs, no problem; cinder blocks that just happen to be half buried in the dirt, no problem.
Rating: 8

Rough-Track Handling • See my previous comments. Even on the toughest terrain, the MGT soaked everything up. There’s no such thing as “rough terrain” when it comes to this truck.
Rating: 9

Jumping • LOL (laugh out loud). Let’s talk about jumping. Sure, there were plenty of opportunities to jump the truck nearly everywhere I tested it, but nothing compared to the skate park. Trying to get some photos, Jason and I headed to the local skate park. How does 6 to 8 feet of vertical air sound? Crazy. Before I get too far, let me tell you that the truck jumps very level, a little nose up, but nothing letting off the throttle doesn’t cure, when it comes to regular RC-type jumps. But, at the skate park, it’s a whole different story. It was like an episode of Jackass. You know, where you grimace in pain after watching someone get kicked in the crotch? You’re expecting them to be dead, but they just keep getting up. Well, that was the case. I was putting the truck—I kid you not—8 feet in the air, straight up. And I was landing on all four with the suspension crashing down. No worries; the truck would just drive off. There was lots of hang time, to say the least. I did have one mishap that you’ll read about in my damage report.
Rating: 9

Tuning • The only tuning adjustments I made to the MGT were to the engine and the brake linkage. Other than that, I left everything alone. There was no need to do otherwise. This truck, however, does have nearly every adjustment point you can image a monster truck would. If you like to tune, knock yourself out.
Rating: 8

Damage • Under normal useage, the only thing I broke were some screws in the rear bumper. Almost everything was solid and in one piece. Under obscene, abusive, and “never would I try this if I had just paid $600 for it” use, I did break once. On my very last jump at the skate park, I got a little carried away trying to get just the right angle for a picture, and wouldn’t you know it, I landed directly upside down from a max height of about 7 feet. The engine head is a little worse for wear, and the stock engine mounts broke. Seven dollars later, I was back on the road. Considering what it took to break this truck, I’d say it’s near bulletproof.
Rating: 9

Conclusion
The monster truck class is the most crowded in RC. Nearly every RC car manufacturer in the world has something to offer. The Monster GT is nothing short of what I would expect from a company known for building some of the finest cars ever. Its suspension, although eerily similar to a T-Maxx, is superb, and the driveline is nothing short of perfect. Designing and building this truck was a joint venture between Thunder Tiger and Team Associated. It’s no doubt that Associated’s engineers had a lot to say in its development. If there were a nitro monster truck world championship, Associated would be putting another trophy on that already filled mantel.

Downloads
Specifics.pdf [708kb]